Bloxers

Image licensed under Creative Commons by pickledshark

Bloxers: The unfortunate conceptual collision of explosion &/or blow-up and boxer briefs. Exploding undergarments for failed terrorists. Also, gives new meaning to the phrase "fire-in-the-hole"...


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/5nDffr


FOM: EXCLUSIVE: Photos of the Underwear Bomb and Northwest Airlines Flight 253.









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Acipenser transmontanus

Image licensed under Creative Commons by SFBoater

Acipenser transmontanus: Biggest fish (the white sturgeon) in North America - soon to be extinct?


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/6rw6RU

FOM: N. America's biggest fish slips toward extinction









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Bobbycam

Image licensed under Creative Commons by Metropolitan Police

Bobbycam: The portmanteau of Bobby and camera. Suggested nickname for the new cameras mounted on police helmets &/or heads.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/6zYNVo


FOM: Police mount cameras on officers' heads and Taser AXON Head Camera









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Xylomannan

Image licensed under Creative Commons by alaskanent

Xylomannan: A new kind of antifreeze molecule so far found only in the Upis ceramboides - which can survive temperatures < - 100° F.

Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/6V6Lro

FOM: Antifreeze Molecule in Alaska Beetle

University of Alaska Fairbanks (2009, December 29). Scientists isolate new antifreeze molecule in Alaska beetle. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/12/091214131134.htm







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Irukandji

Image licensed under Creative Commons by ultrahi

Irukandji: Deadly poisonous jellyfish from Downunder. That chap with 'best job in the world' managed to get stung by one on his last week on the job. Ouch! Not the best way to close that job... You still with us, Ben???


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/6cvqW1


FOM: 'World's best job' man is stung









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Nonanal

Image licensed under Creative Commons by smccann

Nonanal: Your body naturally emits this chemical - which keeps the mosquitoes coming after you.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/84oJvX


FOM: Dominant Chemical That Attracts Mosquitoes To Humans Identified

Nonanal

Culex mosquito





University of California - Davis (2009, December 30). Dominant Chemical That Attracts Mosquitoes To Humans Identified. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 30, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/10/091026172056.htm









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Superatom

Image licensed under Creative Commons by distopiandreamgirl

Superatom: A cluster of atoms that can "mimic" the chemical behavior of a rarer (translation: expensive) atom or element.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/8d6nxm


FOM: Superatoms Mimic Elements: New Materials?









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Cordycepin

Cordyceps mushroom image licensed under Creative Commons by pellaea

Cordycepin: Anti-cancer drug originally derived from wild mushrooms. Inhibits protein production.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/7ICBL5


FOM: Scientists discover how wild mushroom cancer drug works









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Hijra

Image licensed under Creative Commons by Michael Foley Photography

Hijra: In South Asia (Pakistan), now (legally) known as the third gender. Spotted one of these on a train with Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations (Episode 2-09, 2-10?...). Well, no, they weren't together...sigh, sorry Mr. Bourdain. Is there a 4th gender? Hugo: Yeah, you. AZD: Stop it...


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/7U1Qpy


FOM: Hijra

Hijra (visWiki)




Pakistani eunuchs to have distinct gender













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Sinornithosaurus

Sinornithosaurus milleni image licensed under Creative Commons by Cryptonaut

Sinornithosaurus: Recently hypothesized (as) venomous dinosaur - due to the finding that its teeth/fangs are/were grooved. (Still, impossible to prove...sorry to say...).


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/6k7W35


FOM: Bird-like dinosaur was 'venomous'

Poisonous Prehistoric 'Raptor' Discovered in China

University of Kansas (2009, December 22). Poisonous prehistoric 'raptor' discovered in China. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 27, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/12/091221212630.htm

1. Sinornithosaurus Pictures


Sinornithosaurus - Wikispecies

Sinornithosaurus

Sinornithosaurus (visWiki)









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Mammalodon colliveri

Mammalodon colliveri: Ancient toothed-whale recently hypothesized to have subsisted by sucking mud from the sea bottom.

Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/7SBsqZ

FOM: Mammalodon colliveri

Mammalodon colliveris (in visWiki)


Ancient whale sucked mud for food

Australian Fossil Unlocks Secrets to the Origin of Whales

Erich M.G. Fitzgerald. The morphology and systematics of Mammalodon colliveri (Cetacea: Mysticeti), a toothed mysticete from the Oligocene of Australia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010; DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00572.x

The morphology and systematics of Mammalodon colliveri (Cetacea: Mysticeti), a toothed mysticete from the Oligocene of Australia
ERICH M. G. FITZGERALD 1,2,3 *
1 School of Geosciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia 2 Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia 3 Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, NHB MRC 108, PO Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

Painting by Carl Buell on flickr







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The Golden Ratio

The Golden Ratio: Positing the 'animal creation' of this magical ratio, Adrian Bejan has developed an interesting body of work on how it arises from horizontal flow, self-preservation and behavior. We submit that this means that the GR is more like a process - or even a system. We further speculate on this by questioning Platonism itself. Indeed, form follows function and the metaphysical becomes mere function. Functions, math, symbols and so on... do not exist until they are 'formed'? And, further...oh no, we've gone cross-eyed...

Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/8kOeYR

FOM: Mystery of Golden Ratio Explained, Golden Ratio Discovered in Quantum World, Golden Ratio and http://www.constructal.org/

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TiME or Titan Mare Explorer

Titan image licensed under Creative Commons by nasa1fan/MSFC

TiME or Titan Mare Exlporer: Proposed floating ("boat") scientific instrument for exploring the Ligeia Mare on the moon Titan.

Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/6fZcyT

FOM: NASA spies lake on Saturn moon, Space sailing and TiME (Titan Mare Explorer)

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The Dead Girl

Image licensed under Creative Commons by Rob & Jules

The Dead Girl: Ironic role for the recently-deceased actress Brittany Murphy?

Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/4xIAzj


FOM: Brittany Murphy played "The Dead Girl" in 2006 Film "The Dead Girl" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Girl #OMGFacts









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Virtual Fidelity or Cyberfidelity

Image licensed under Creative Commons by myvirtuallady

Cyberfidelity or Virtual Fidelity: A rather strange - and possibly disturbing - case from Japan. Man marries his cybergirlfriend... To be faithful to one's cyberfriend to the extent of entering into the marriage contract with that one.

We wonder...since one is basically marrying a code or 'thread' - could it also be called "Codelity" or "Threadelity". The penultimate in mixed marriages? Pendelity?

Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/5EX5ur

FOM: Wedding in Cyberspace (MSNBC), Hologrope and Hologroper

Revised/Updated: Sunday, December 20, 2009






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Skygrabber

Image licensed under Creative Commons by ThisIsIt2

Skygrabber: First learned of this software's name on Rachel Maddow Dec 17 2009. Actually designed to hack satellites, but being used on MQ-1 Predator.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/5p7e15


FOM: Iraq rebels 'hack into US drones'









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Trigona carbonaria

Image licensed under Creative Commons by Arthur Chapman

Trigona carbonaria: An Australian stingless bee observed to encase its enemy (Aethina tumida) in resin, wax and mud - thus 'mummifying' the invader and killing it.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/6tGqrn


FOM: How stingless bees 'mummify' their enemies alive









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Liquidus Aurum

Image licensed under Creative Commons by Milena Mihaylova

Liquidus Aurum: Translation (Latin) provided by the InterTran website translation engine (if you haven't visited this website yet, WOW!). With reference to the possible death caused by imbibing this once popular elixir of life by Diane de Poitiers.

Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/51TN51

FOM: Study: Too much drinkable gold for king's mistress, Gold and InterTran.

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Bon-Bon Paradox

Image licensed under Creative Commons by andeanom

Bon-Bon Paradox: To paraphrase Winston Groom; When you're young, life appears to be a box of bon-bons. When you're older, it appears emptier.

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Efimov State

Borromean Rings Image licensed under Creative Commons by Leo Reynolds

Efimov State: The no longer theoretical state that allows three quanta to be bound together - an impossibility for two. We assume this is a little more sophisticated than the classical 'three body problem'.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/5RK4lT


FOM: Strange physical theory proved after 40 years, Vitaly Efimov, Efimov State, Energy levels arising from resonant two-body forces in a three-body system and Evidence for Efimov quantum states in an ultracold gas of caesium atoms.

Flickr: Borromean Rings links









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Jukup or Splurk

Image licensed under Creative Commons by Steven_M61

Jukup or Splurk: The unfortunate portmanteaus of (MSN)Juku, screw-up and Plurk. Having the misfortune of using illegal, stolen or otherwise inappropriate code on one's website.

Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/8ksXRF

Hugo: Like this one? AZD: No, Hugo!!!

Related: We're not superstitious about technology, but our CPU crashed while we were writing and editing this post-entry, hmmmmm.... Hello!!

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Pstyping

Id Monster image licensed under Creative Commons by Michael Heilemann

Pstyping: The portmanteau of psionics and typing. Breakthrough technology that allows people to type with thought. A vast improvement, don't you think? OK, forget about the Krell, they were fictional... Yeps, the "p" ips psilent, Psilly.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/59hwBz


FOM: Machine allows people to type with their minds and Forbidden Planet









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Morgan Freeman World

* Image licensed under Creative Commons by Thorsten Becker

Morgan Freeman World: It has been ironically pointed out that even in a world inhabited solely by Morgan Freemans, there is still a hierarchy. A concept we found difficult - and strangely frightening - to grasp at first.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/5l2TtF


FOM: Somebody Just Made a Morgan Freeman Chain of Command, Multiverse and OMG Trend.

* #Strange: We had to hashtag this as Mr. Becker uses the URL http://www.flickr.com/photos/alternatewords/. Strange.









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ECM (Extracellular matrix)

Image licensed under Creative Commons by organ_printer

ECM (Extracellular matrix): If you or any of your loved ones are missing any ears, digits or other body parts, you MUST see the Morley Safer/60 Minutes report on this precious biological material from Sunday, December 13, 2009. We were astounded. And most of it is due to the ECM - a basic material found in almost all living animals/organisms. The source for some of the ECM in this story? Waste pig bladders. (No, not a football...).


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/6EPpNp


FOM: Growing Body Parts (CBS 60 Minutes) and ECM (Extracellular matrix). See also: Tissue differentiation









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Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome

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Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome: From potentially-sublime (racist?) humor to the nauseating. Turns out that the great Charles Darwin suffered from this malady. The acronym of which is the same as a large-chain-retail pharmacy, hmmmm....

Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/8WJ8I6

FOM: Darwin had inherited illness: professor and Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome

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Afro-American Heart Monitor

Image licensed under Creative Commons by knellotron


Afro-American Heart Monitor: First thing this morning, a little levity (and racism???). NOT A TERM OF OUR MAKING. This outrageous device was a new invention of Peter Griffin and his assumed leadership of Carter Pewterschmidt Industries. Seems the hilariously-out-of-touch-with-common-experience-bordering-on-solipsist-insulated-by-vast-wealth Carter never had a bachelor party (a totally alien concept to him...as well as friends...), so Peter decides to be a pal and throw him one. As a consequence, Carter suffers a heart attack, goes into a coma and Peter and Lois find a loophole in Carter's self-encyclopedic-coverall video-will allowing Peter to take over the company. The Afro-American Heart Monitor (being Peter's first new product) has two settings: Barry White and Bill Cosby. The latter being (naturally) the more hilarious. The device mimics Cosby all-but-perfectly, just falling short of hawking Jello-Pudding-Pops (How did you miss that one, Seth? Too retro?). Outraged upon waking out of his coma with the insanity-inspired thing attached to his arm et. al., Carter sets off the machine (and himself) plunging helplessly into hilarious machination and histrioncs of Cosby-like gurning. In our opinion, they could spinoff an entire series with the love-to-hate(ful) Carter Pewterschmidt, whose first and last name can only suggest the humblest of ironic beginnings. The episode climaxes in an homage-to-Scooby-Doo.


Bit.ly: http://bit.ly/7IMB8P


FOM: Family Guy, Episode 9, Season 8, "Business Guy".









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