Mark Twain at Stormfield, 1909

In honor of the author's 176th birthday this little nugget has been floating around the Internet today. The film is silent and has deteriorated significantly, but still makes me smile. Thomas Edison captured the only video of "father of American literature" Mark Twain at his home in Stormfield, CT in 1909. The video shows him walking about and playing cards with his daughters, Clara and Jean.

Book Challenge!

I spend a lot of time making lists of books I intend to read next; then I begin thousand-page, 5-book and counting series (yes, I’m talking about you, George R.R. Martin). My affinity for long-winded fantasy and sci-fi series means I rarely make much progress with my list, which currently stands at over 100 titles.

So, I’ve set a challenge: I will read 10 books off the top of my ‘Classics’ list in the next 5 months. 

I will admit this particular list is entirely influenced by what was available for free on the Kindle, but hey, they’re still good reads.

The list:

•  The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
•  Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne
•  The Idiot – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
•  Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
•  The Man in the Iron Mask – Alesandre Dumas
•   Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
• Dracula – Bram Stoker
• Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
•  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde

I’m easing myself into it -- The War of the Worlds weighs in at about 100 pages, and despite being published in 1890, still features all the science fiction elements the geek in me craves.

I’ll update on my progress as I go, so far I have to say the juxtaposition between horse and buggies, gas lamps and giant tripod-esque Martian machines rules. The Tom Cruise film adaptation would have been so much better if it had been set in the 19^th century. 

What do WarHeads & Battery Acid Have in Common? Acid pH levels.

Well, this is absolutely terrifying. The acid levels in some of our favorite sour candies rivals that in battery acid. Really.

The Minnesota Dental Association compiled this list, and I can safely say I will never touch another sour candy.

Source: Minnesota Denta Association

Leaning Trees of Poland

Nowe Czamowo, a small town in western Poland, is home to approximately 400 pine trees that have grown with a 90 degree bend at the base of their trunks. Surrounded by normal, straight pine trees, this group of trees is now known as the "Crooked Forest". 

The trees were apparently planted around 1930, and grew normally for 10ish years before something caused them to "mysteriously" bend north. It certainly seems like human intervention had a role in this, but why all the effort?