https://youtu.be/b5Qh72h8vkkBy Tal Prints. See below for "Chebacca screaming like a grown man in a torture porn movie." [via Kotaku] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SaJYW-vrwM

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Once Seattle became the first city where Uber drivers were allowed to unionize, the drivers started getting "customer service" calls that polled them on their satisfaction with the company, while ham-handedly pushing anti-union messages. (more…)

Inspired by the Library Freedom Project's uncompromising bravery in the face of a DHS threat against a town library in Kilton, NH, that was running a Tor exit node to facilitate private, anonymous communication, the New Hampshire legislature is now considering a bill that would explicitly permit public libraries to "allow the installation and use of cryptographic privacy platforms on public library computers for library patrons use." (more…)

There's a hard-fought lawsuit underway about whether California schools failed in their duty to provide special ed to students, and as a part of that, the court has ordered disclosure of the school records of every California so the plaintiffs can analyze them. (more…)

Five years ago, the city of Calgary gave in to a scientifically illiterate campaign against fluoride in its water supply; five years later, Calgary's grade two children each have an average of 3.8 extra cavities. (more…)

My santoku was dull, and my chef's knife was a disappointment! Dull knives can be dangerous to work with, don't ask how I know. This $20 set of diamond whetstones, and the video above, really helped me out!Set of 3 diamond whetstones (Coarse, Fine and Extra-Fine,) by DMT via Amazon

Michael Hayden sure does love him some drone-killing. (more…)

Apple said no to the government, and the government is pissed. (more…)

Silicon Valley has managed to break apart the long-locked cable TV bundle. On Thursday, The Federal Communications Commission okayed a proposal to let cable TV customers swap out their Comcast or TWC cable boxes for third-party boxes and applications. (more…)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is preparing its comments to the US Copyright Office on the notoriously abuse-prone DMCA takedown process, which is widely used to commit Internet censorship with perfect impunity. (more…)

Bad News: Das BootUgly break up: Das BootTired after a long day: Das BootParty at my place: Das BootDepression: Das Boot, Uncut miniseries versionDivorce: Das Boot, Directors CutLost a pet or family member: Das Boot, German TV miniseriesWrong party wins election: Das Boothttps://youtu.be/suY06PVK_bIRegistered to vote: Das BootNew child is born: The Last StarfighterDentist appointment tomorrow: Das BootTaking over a Federal Wild Life Preserve to demonstrate whatever: Team America, World Police Birthday, yours: Das BootBirthday, mine: The Magnificent SevenFirst day of school, K-12: Das BootJury duty: Das Boothttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P2jiRPlq2URoad trip: Chitty Chitty Bang BangI am sure there are more.

In an "essay in 50 tweets," Clay Shirky explains how the growth of direct-to-voter channels has ruptured the mainstream political parties in America, who relied upon party power-brokers to enforce a prohibition on mentioning the third-rail topics that are the fissure lines the parties paper over. (more…)

An independent review board has ordered an unspecified health insurer in the northeastern USA to reimburse a patient for a $69,500 exoskelton from Rewalk, whose products enable people with spinal cord injuries to walk. (more…)

Limacina helicina, a mini sea snail, moves using "underwater flight," write researchers in the Journal of Experimental Biology. (more…)

The Kindle edition of Neil Gaiman's Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances is on sale today for $2.Multiple award winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman returns to dazzle, captivate, haunt, and entertain with this third collection of short fiction following Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things—which includes a never-before published American Gods story, “Black Dog,” written exclusively for this volume.In this new anthology, Neil Gaiman pierces the veil of reality to reveal the enigmatic, shadowy world that lies beneath. Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces of short fiction—stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013—as well “Black Dog,” a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection.Trigger Warning explores the masks we all wear and the people we are beneath them to reveal our vulnerabilities and our truest selves. Here is a rich cornucopia of horror and ghosts stories, science fiction and fairy tales, fabulism and poetry that explore the realm of experience and emotion. In Adventure Story—a thematic companion to The Ocean at the End of the Lane—Gaiman ponders death and the way people take their stories with them when they die. His social media experience A Calendar of Tales are short takes inspired by replies to fan tweets about the months of the year—stories of pirates and the March winds, an igloo made of books, and a Mother’s Day card that portends disturbances in the universe. Gaiman offers his own ingenious spin on Sherlock Holmes in his award-nominated mystery tale The Case of Death and Honey. And Click-Clack the Rattlebag explains the creaks and clatter we hear when we’re all alone in the darkness.A sophisticated writer whose creative genius is unparalleled, Gaiman entrances with his literary alchemy, transporting us deep into the realm of imagination, where the fantastical becomes real and the everyday incandescent. Full of wonder and terror, surprises and amusements, Trigger Warning is a treasury of delights that engage the mind, stir the heart, and shake the soul from one of the most unique and popular literary artists of our day.

Apple has apologized to users whose phones were bricked by a recent update that interpreted third-party repairs as attempts to hack the device. It also released a new update that revives the dead handsets through iTunes.Some customers’ devices are showing ‘Connect to iTunes’ after attempting an iOS update or a restore from iTunes on a Mac or PC. This reports as an Error 53 in iTunes and appears when a device fails a security test. This test was designed to check whether Touch ID works properly before the device leaves the factory.Today, Apple released a software update that allows customers who have encountered this error message to successfully restore their device using iTunes on a Mac or PC.We apologize for any inconvenience, this was designed to be a factory test and was not intended to affect customers. Customers who paid for an out-of-warranty replacement of their device based on this issue should contact AppleCare about a reimbursement.Previously.

https://youtu.be/qBfNJ3-xYwg"This is an amazing piece of 3D art [by Patrick Hughes and on display at Birmingham Art Gallery] where the closest part of the picture appears to be the furthest away, an optical illusion known as "Reverspective". As you move around the painting, the room in the painting appears to move with you."

Pope Francis, according to ABC News, suggested that U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump is "not Christian" due to his building of symbolic walls rather than bridges.The pope's strong dismissal of Trump was in response to measures Trump has proposed on the campaign trail, including building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and deporting millions of undocumented immigrants living and working in the U.S.When asked by a reporter, "Can a good Catholic vote for this man?" Francis responded by saying, "Thank God he said I was a politician, because Aristotle defined the human person as 'animal politicus.' So at least I am a human person. As to whether I am a pawn -- well, maybe, I don't know. I'll leave that up to your judgment and that of the people… And then, a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. It's not quite as if he said, as some have reported, that Trump was not a Christian. But if ever it was obvious to all that Trump believes in little beyond his own vanity, look who it took to say it almost-plainly.Update: This is purportedly Trump's response, but I'm genuinely confused about what reality is at this point.

Another oldie, doing the rounds today thanks to Twitter, is a 2011 "values" poll from Pew Research which found striking differences between how Americans and Europeans think about stuff. (more…)

"And the Americans headed to the West, the final frontier, to boldy go where no man has gone before, and kill a lot more Indians." (more…)

See sample pages from this book at Wink.The Sandman: Overture calls itself “a tale two decades in the making,” and happily lives up to that challenge. Overture is mainly a prequel to the original series, detailing the events immediately preceding Dream’s capture in Sandman #1. Yet author Neil Gaiman manages to sneak in references to the end of the series in a way that makes Overture something of a Sandman Möbius strip. His desire is for fans to read Sandman, then Overture, and then Sandman again, picking up new details on each reading. The interesting thing is despite Gaiman’s feelings, I don’t think Overture actually requires you to have finished Sandman before reading it. Those already familiar with the universe (and Gaiman has created a universe here, there is no doubt) will notice moments that refer to the original storyline, but there’s nothing in here asking you to know what those references mean. Even one moment in the second issue that chronologically takes place after Sandman doesn’t technically spoil anything because new readers won’t have any context to understand what is being spoiled. I truly believe you can pick up Overture and read it as if it were Sandman #0.The story is about Dream of the Endless, Morpheus, the Dream King, the Sandman. After a version of himself is killed galaxies away, Dream has to uncover the truth of what happened, and his journey takes him to the corners of time and space, where he may just have to battle for the fate of the universe. Sandman as a series was known for epic stories that pushed the boundaries of comics, and Overture does its part to present possibly the biggest story yet.I absolutely believe every comics fan should read this. The story is engaging and interesting, and the artwork creatively breaks the form of comics itself. In the introduction, Gaiman mentions asking the artists to draw "impossible" things, and that shows in the unique design work. Artist J.H. Williams creates pages that are more like collages than comics panels, while Dave Stewart uses color to create the most vivid dreamscapes yet seen in Sandman. There are even two large fold-out scenes in the book (the earlier one is pictured above) that are used not only to express the scale of the scene, but are actually story points in and of themselves. Almost every page features some moment worthy of stopping just to admire how Williams made it all connect together. Overture is like reading a dream.As if all that weren’t enough, this collected deluxe edition also has about 50 pages of interviews with the artists and an exclusive gallery of additional artwork. This section covers the process from the writing, to the drawing, to the coloring, even down to the lettering of the speech balloons. You would be hard pressed to find another behind-the-scenes that covers so much in such detail. Comic fans will love it, and I think it’s likely to bring some new fans into the fold as well.– Alex StrineThe Sandman: Overtureby Neil Gaiman (author) and JH Williams III (artist)Vertigo2015, 224 pages, 7.4 x 11.2 x 0.6 inches $15 Buy a copy on Amazon

Adam Savage has a nice collection of bullwhips. In this video he shows off a new addition to his collection - a nylon bullwhip made by a 17-year-old fan.

https://youtu.be/dZ4E2gHoz6gMoyo the baby elephant was saved From drowning when he was only four days old. His rescuers delivered him to Roxy, a woman who rehabilitates wild animals. As the baby elephant has grown, he has become something of a nuisance in the house. He grabs things off kitchen counters, knocks over plants, sticks spoons in his mouth, and pees on the floor. Roxy is very patient with Moyo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkrgUT70MboTim from Grand Illusions (which sells cool cabinet-of-curiosity style stuff) demonstrates the Assassin's Teapot:This teapot comes from China, and it is a trick teapot! Inside there are two separate compartments, and depending where you place your fingers - either covering one hole or covering another hole - you can get the teapot to pour out of either internal compartment. Supposedly, back in the day, it was a way to get rid of an enemy, since you could pour out some tea for yourself and drink it quite safely (provided you had covered the correct hole) and you could then pour a drink for your enemy, and they would unknowingly get what was in the second compartment, maybe poison. I also like his demo of an "atomic trampoline":https://youtu.be/EzFjZJEAt18

[My friend Peter Sheridan is a Los Angeles-based correspondent for British national newspapers. He has covered revolutions, civil wars, riots, wildfires, and Hollywood celebrity misdeeds for longer than he cares to remember. As part of his job, he must read all the weekly tabloids. For the past couple of years, he's been posting terrific weekly tabloid recaps on Facebook and has graciously given us permission to run them on Boing Boing. Enjoy! - Mark]Proving that the tabloids have more to offer than just Bat Boy and alien abductions, this week’s masters of stretched plausibility plunge into American politics with their traditional commitment to accuracy and credibility.The U.S. presidential race in the eyes of the National Enquirer is reduced to a series of dubious allegations:Marco Rubio was busted by police at a “notorious ‘cruising’ spot for gay guys” when 18, and partied in an all-male “foam party.”Bernie Sanders in his youth wrote questionable sexual fiction about “a woman on her knees, a woman tied up, a woman abused.”Ted Cruz’s wife Heidi was once picked up by police sitting “with her head in her hands” feet from a Texas expressway, where officers feared “she was a danger to herself.”Hillary Clinton “turned a blind eye” when her husband sexually assaulted other women (Well, that’s certainly a revelation.)And what shocking scandal has the Enquirer unearthed about Donald Trump?“Donald Trump has been hiding a secret,” it declares. “He has even greater support and popularity than even he’s admitted to!”Their investigative team must have dug really deep for that insight, though it’s hard to imagine that Trump could ever be accused of underestimating his own popularity.The Globe, not to be left out in the quest for journalistic gravitas, reveals Hillary and Bill Clinton’s “divorce deal,” in which “if at any point her campaign ends in defeat, they will divorce in six months.” No matter that the Globe has been predicting their break-up for years. They can dream, can’t they?Back in the real world outside Washington D.C., the Globe tells us that "the dying Queen” has ordered Prince William to get hair transplants (because every dying monarch’s fervent wish must be to leave an heir with hair), actor Hugh Jackman has “6 months to live” (because he had a small skin tumor removed from his face, and the Globe’s reporters are all licensed oncologists), and Carnie Wilson is “eating herself to death - again” (presumably she failed the first time, but full marks to her for persistence.)The Globe carries its obligatory story insisting that Robert Wagner murdered Natalie Wood, disclosing that Christopher Walken in a “new police interview” revealed that Wagner had argued with Wood, accusing her of an affair with Walken aboard their yacht in 1981. This “new” interview apparently took place when police reopened their investigation five years ago. And as the Enquirer helpfully notes of Walken’s revelation: “He was sticking to the same story he gave the first time he was questioned.” In other words, Walken said this 35 years ago. That’s what passes as news in the world of the tabloids.Us magazine features actress Eva Longoria explaining “How I Changed My Life,” by gaining a “sexy fiancé, three step-kids, a hit show,” and “survived heartbreak and started over” . . . “inside my $11.4 million mansion.” It must be hard starting over in a second-hand pre-used mansion that you buy from Tom Cruise: you repeatedly imagine him sliding across all your hardwood floors in his socks and tighty-whities and Raybans - but Eva’s bravely battling through.Jennifer Garner takes the People magazine cover, while reveals “How She’s Moving On” after her split from Ben Affleck. People doesn't let the fact that Garner and Affleck jetted off with their kids for a Valentine’s weekend retreat in Montana get in the way of her “moving on.” A “source” reveals: “She seems much more relaxed and is enjoying life.” And that’s how you move on after a break-up, apparently.Sienna Miller wore it best, Lena Dunham is allergic to artichokes, actress Jaimie Alexander has keys, lip balm and what looks like a giant lethal hunting knife in her handbag (because what actress hasn’t needed to skin and dress a wild deer after a night out in Hollywood?), and the stars are just like us: they ride bikes, work out, text and walk, and read newspapers.Seriously? Who reads newspapers these days?Onwards and downwards . . .

As China's banks struggle under the weight of never-to-be-repaid subprime loans (which were turned into bonds using the same trick that produced the US/EU subprime crisis), the Chinese government is throwing money at them to loan out to ever-dodgier borrowers, just to change the ratio of delinquent debts to ones that have yet to turn delinquent. (more…)

Student debt is a life-destroying trap, engineered by Wall Street and backed by the US government. (more…)

The FBI has ordered Apple to provide it backdoor access to the iPhone operating system, writes CEO Tim Cook in a letter to customers published Wednesday. Apple opposes the order, he says, because it would be impossible to do so without putting millions of customers' privacy at risk.Smartphones, led by iPhone, have become an essential part of our lives. People use them to store an incredible amount of personal information, from our private conversations to our photos, our music, our notes, our calendars and contacts, our financial information and health data, even where we have been and where we are going.All that information needs to be protected from hackers and criminals who want to access it, steal it, and use it without our knowledge or permission. Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information, and at Apple we are deeply committed to safeguarding their data.The circumstances of the order center on the investigation into last year's San Bernardino terror shootings in California: "Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession."Once a backdoor exists, no-one can control who copies the keys, picks the locks, or kicks it down with brute force:Rather than asking for legislative action through Congress, the FBI is proposing an unprecedented use of the All Writs Act of 1789 to justify an expansion of its authority.The government would have us remove security features and add new capabilities to the operating system, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. This would make it easier to unlock an iPhone by “brute force,” trying thousands or millions of combinations with the speed of a modern computer.The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.Read the whole letter. [Apple]

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead in his room at a luxury hunting ranch in Texas a few days ago, and conspiracy theories that he was assassinated are flying all over. Who among the current round of presidential candidates is doing the most to fan the flames of crazy? You guessed it, Donald Trump. (more…)

Google's Eric Schmidt today broke the news that the 'Google Ideas' thinktank will become a technology incubator to be called Jigsaw. (more…)

The internet was very angry at Manny Pacquiao today. (more…)

“The Fantasy Sports Gamble” is a must-see Frontline documentary investigated with The New York Times about fantasy sports and online sports betting. (more…)

https://youtu.be/IiQyDY6mUXUI love Loog 3-string guitars. They use open-tuning, which makes them very easy to play. Amazon is selling the new Loog electric model for $199, a savings of $100 off the regular price.

https://youtu.be/Quo-Oen1wkYThe takeaway from this upcoming Netflix movie is that Paul Reubens (63) is immortal. (more…)

Adam J Calhoun wrote on Medium: "I wondered what did my favorite books look like without words. Can you tell them apart or are they all a-mush? In fact, they can be quite distinct. Take my all-time favorite book, Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner. It is dense prose stuffed with parentheticals. When placed next to a novel with more simplified prose — Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy — it is a stark difference (see above)."

See sample pages from this book at Wink.Terry Gilliam’s memoir is as unique as the man himself. Known for his work with Monty Python and as a director of films like Brazil, Time Bandits, and Twelve Monkeys, Gilliam’s work has always had a surreal quality that makes it instantly recognizable. His “Pre-posthumous Memoir” happily possesses a similar quality.Most authors would write a memoir that is a prose account of their life, and maybe they would include a couple pictures of the highlights for added effect. Gilliam, originally a cartoonist and animator, naturally flips this idea on its head and sticks pictures all over the book, drawing attention to them with handwritten notes. Sometimes the pictures are a direct reference to the text, sometimes they are tangentially related to the text, and occasionally they have no apparent connection to anything outside of Gilliam’s head.What we get reads less like a book and more like a collage of many art pieces. The actual text of the memoir ends up being just one piece of many that ties the others together. You could probably only read the handwritten notes and pictures and still get a good sense of Gilliam’s life and personality. The pictures scattered throughout the book are a collection of old family photos, sketches, illustrations, magazine ads, set photos, and more. Gilliam’s early years in advertising and comedy magazines include some of the most surprising work, with hints of what the artist Gilliam would later become.As far as story content, Gilliam spends a lot of time on his childhood and formative years before Monty Python and his work in Hollywood. We get a great glimpse into his decision to leave America for Britain, and his own self-proclaimed ability to somehow always be in the right place at the right time. Readers looking for in-depth details about the making of his films won’t find much besides the occasional hindsight infused self-analysis of his choices. Gilliam instead seems to be most interested in connecting the dots of his life after the fact, trying to make sense of the events that led him to being such an offbeat artist. We’re treated to an excellent journey into the mind of an artist who after an illustrious career spent questioning the boundaries of reality finds himself asking those same questions, just in newer (and sometimes stranger) forms. He never quite gets an answer, and fans of his work should find this is no surprise.– Alex StrineGilliamesque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoirby Terry GilliamHarper Design2015, 352 pages, 7.9 x 10.2 x 1 inches $22 Buy a copy on Amazon

https://youtu.be/MVI87HzfskQApple is warning people not to change the date on iPhones to May 1970 or earlier because it "can prevent your iOS device from turning on after a restart." Apple has promised a software update that will prevent this from happening. In the meantime, don't try it on your late model (64 bit) iPhone, because it will likely brick it. In the above video, Tom Scott explains why changing the date to 1/1/1970 breaks the phone. If you can't resist setting the date back to see what happens, this video will show how to unbrick it. Be warned - you'll have to open your phone to fix it.

Thinkgeek's all-cotton Star Trek: TOS sleep shirts come in Command Gold, Science Blue, or Expendable Operations Red, and cost $24. (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXzyCM23WPIChris from Clickspring is building a skeleton clock from scratch using a home machinist's shop, and documenting it in lavish, hypnotic detail in his Youtube channel. (more…)

Matt Ruff is a spectacular and versatile science fiction writer who is perhaps most commonly considered an absurdist, thanks to his outstanding 1988 debut Fool on the Hill, but whose more recent works have highlighted his ability to walk the fine line between funny-ha-ha and funny-holy-shit. The Mirage was one such novel, but as brilliant as it was (and it was), it was only a warm-up for this book, Lovecraft Country, a book that takes a run at the most problematic writer in today's pop culture canon and blasts right through him. (more…)

Super creepy “Prosperity Christianity” preacher-scammer Mike Murdock is endorsing Donald Trump for president. Seems a good fit. Says Murdock, “I ain’t seen a woman as good looking as a $100 dollar bill.” (more…)

The thing about learning is, sometimes you need a break. Sometimes on that break, you take a nap or make a sandwich or watch TV and actually it’s more like a mini-vacation. With this set of training videos, that’s cool. It gets you and your chill lifestyle. Learn now, pizza time, learn later, no big deal. For 85% off, this bundle of Adobe training videos will let you become the Jedi Master of design on your own time, at your own pace. They're yours for life.There are courses here that will elevate your creative game to genius level. If you’re a beginner, it’ll teach you the basics and if you know a thing or two, it’ll sharpen your skills even further. It includes Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, JavaScript, Premiere and even more essential programs. All the courses are updated for Creative Cloud 2015 and all you need is a creative mind and a computer with the internet. There are even mobile apps included in the bundle so you can keep working and learning on the go.When you finish, you’ll get a certification of completion to show the world that you know your stuff. So add a few more bullets to your resume, get a raise or a new job, then start making some incredible art because with these tools in your arsenal there’s nothing you can’t make look even better. For 85% off, you can become a total rock star of the design world, learning whenever and wherever the creative spirit strikes you.Save 85% on a Lifetime Subscription to the Adobe Training Videos in the Boing Boing Store.

https://youtu.be/P8NRh9UI1aQSimon Pierro's iPad Magic delights an mystifies chimpanzees, especially because the magic tricks involve peanuts, which the chimps like to eat.

Presidential candidate Ben Carson, famous for insisting that he really did try to gut stab a classmate when he was 14, closed the Republican debate on Saturday with a fake quote from Joseph Stalin. “Joseph Stalin said if you want to bring America down you have to undermine three things -- our spiritual life, our patriotism, and our morality,” said Carson.Stalin never said it. From Gideon Resnick of The Daily Beast:Any quick Google search of the quote’s origins would lead Carson to discover that the line comes from an image that was passed around on Facebook and in the chain emails grandparents send around to family members."America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within,” the fake quote goes.When it comes to fake quotes about patriotism and religion, I prefer the one Sinclair Lewis didn't say: "When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."

https://youtu.be/ucpGlWnq8EETim Friede, 37, has been working on a snake venom vaccine for 16 years, allowing himself to be bitten by venomous snakes nearly once a month.To prove his self-immunization theory works, Tim from Wisconsin, USA, recently took back-to-back bites from two of the world’s deadliest snakes – a taipan and a black mamba whose bite can kill in minutes. Unsurprisingly, his obsession with saving the tens of thousands of lives lost every year to snakebites has nearly killed him on a number of occasions and also cost him his marriage. His wife Beth Friede, 35, divorced him in October after 20 years together when she finally had enough of Tim’s snake obsession. Despite the controversial nature of his experiments Tim does have some backing from the scientific community. Dr Brian Hanley, a PhD Microbiologist from the University of California, says a test suggests Tim now has twice the number of antibodies and hopes his company Butterfly Sciences will help him develop his vaccine and find investors to get it into the field.

Last year I posted about a Hawaiian mushroom that allegedly induces orgasms in women who sniff it. Christie Wilcox, a writer for Discover, read the post and went on a mission to track down and test the mushroom's effects on herself. It's called "Expedition Ecstasy: Sniffing Out The Truth About Hawai‘i’s Orgasm-Inducing Mushroom" and it's a great read.View post on imgur.comAs the story goes, one day, [John C.] Holliday [author of the paper, "Spontaneous Female Orgasms Triggered by the Smell of a Newly Found Tropical Dictyophora Desv. Species"]needed an x-ray, and ended up politely chit-chatting with the x-ray technician in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. “She said ‘What do you do?’, and I said ‘I am a mushroom scientist’, and she went, ‘I have to ask you: my mother and I like to go out and sniff mushrooms. Do you think we are crazy?'”She was reluctant to explain why she and her mother did this, but eventually, she admitted to Holliday that she got a kind of euphoric effect from the smell. “It did not sound real but worth looking into,” Holliday told me. “I talked them into taking me out on their little adventure, and a group of girls on Saturday morning and I went out to Lava Tree State Park and found them. Found one, that is it—they are not common. That one got used up. I took photographs of it, and I posted photographs all around that area, and I put a reward out for this. I got three or four calls, and when I plotted them on the map, they were all within about a two- to three-mile radius around Lava Tree State Park. They were all found either under Albizia trees or Casuarina trees.”“There you go; that is all I am going to tell you. Have fun.”

These feel like the winners of a photoshopping contest, but if they are, I can't find the source. (more…)

Jessica Norris, wine director at New York City's Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, worked with Vivino to develop 12 wine-pairings for Girl Scout Cookies, so that you can extract maximum pleasure from your midnight wolf-down sessions as you try desperately to rid your home of the tiny, sugary punishments for your charitable spending. (more…)