A CT scan of a Stradivarius suggests that its critical difference from other violins is the density of its wood:

Using an adaptation of a computer program developed to calculate lung densities in people with emphysema, they were able to analyze the physical properties of violins without risking damage to instruments worth millions of dollars.

They found no significant differences between the median densities of the modern and the antique violins but did discover far less variation between wood grains of early and late growth in the old ones.

Link (Photo: Brendan McDermid of Reuters)

Here's a list of twelve curious facts about the Nobel Prizes.  For example, however well-deserving, Mohandas Gandhi never won the Nobel Peace Prize, but the prize was once withheld for a year in his honor:

Amazingly, the person probably most likely to have deserved the Nobel Peace Prize was never awarded one. Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, Indian leader who advocated non-violence in the struggle for Indian independence from colonial rule, never won the award. He was nominated five times, but failed each time. He was assassinated just two days before the nominations for the 1948 prize were due, which, since he was deceased, disqualified him from the nomination and, therefore, the prize.

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee considered selecting Gandhi for the award in spite of the rules, but because he left no legal heirs, they were not sure of who to award the prize to. Instead, the committee elected to withhold the award that year, stating that "there was no suitable living candidate" for the award, a clear reference to the recently-deceased Gandhi.

Image by Flickr user niznoz

Link via Evangelical Outpost

On May 3, 1978, Gary Thuerk, a marketer with the Digital Equipment Corporation, sent the very first spam e-mail to 393 Arpanet users. You can read the actual e-mail and its consequences at the link.

Image via Flickr user eurleif (R)

Link

Photo: raingirllori

Flickr user raingirllori made a Cthulhu-themed cake:

Here is Cthulhu rising from the oceans, using a convenient little island with a tower on it to climb up. The base was cherry-chip cake, the island and tower a mix of cherry chip and yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Also used small chocolate 'pearls' as rocks. Cthulhu himself is all fondant, with two chocolate pearls that I seeped in red dye for eyes.

Link Corrected Link

(YouTube Link)

The first 30 seconds of this video is a clip from one of the X-Men movies, and the rest is footage of an explanation and demonstration of this marvelous gadget.

Link via Ace

Those of us who have watched The Planet of the Apes are probably concerned about where this is going: a male orangutang was photographed on Borneo using a pole to try to spear fish in a river.

Image by Gerd Schuster et al and found at The Daily Mail.

Link via Ace

In 1994, New York University physics professor Alan Sokal made headlines when he published his article "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity." in the sociological quarterly Social Text.  He then revealed that he had submitted the article as a hoax and that the text was a parody of postmodernist philosophy.  Sokal completely fooled the "scholarly" editors of Social Text into printing his parody of their intellectual presuppositions.

In this vein, you, too, can enjoy instant pomo goodness with the Postmodern Essay Generator, courtesy of the blog Communications From Elsewhere.  Just click on "refresh" for instant, angst-filled, tenure-track gratification.

Link via Jim Morrow

[Video Link] Dr. McCoy's classic line, plus a few contributions from Spock and Uhura. 41 seconds long.

http://www.glumbert.com/media/deadjim via Ace

(YouTube Link)

A somewhat subtle literary joke. Previously on Neatorama: William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy singing.

Via Ace

"I am obviously being targeted by extraterrestrials. I don't know what I have done to annoy them but there is no other explanation that makes sense. The chance of being hit by a meteorite is so small that getting hit five times has to be deliberate."

He does have a point, there.

Image via Flickr user yuan2003 (R)

Link via Richard Hall

The Associated Press reports that a group of students at the University of Texas at San Antonio were tasked with coming up with a code of academic integrity in order to combat plagiarism.  Now these students are being investigated for plagiarising their code from that of Brigham Young University.

Picture via Flickr user yosunkwon (R)

Link via Ace

A weird experiment from Duke University:

Whether you are a Mac person or a PC person, even the briefest exposure to the Apple logo may make you behave more creatively, according to recent research from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and the University of Waterloo, Canada....

The team conducted an experiment in which 341 university students completed what they believed was a visual acuity task, during which either the Apple or IBM logo was flashed so quickly that they were unaware they had been exposed to the brand logo. The participants then completed a task designed to evaluate how creative they were, listing all of the uses for a brick that they could imagine beyond building a wall. People who were exposed to the Apple logo generated significantly more unusual uses for the brick compared with those who were primed with the IBM logo, the researchers said. In addition, the unusual uses the Apple-primed participants generated were rated as more creative by independent judges.

Link via Evangelical Outpost

The Quantum Sleeper is a bed that converts into a bullet-proof, airtight shelter that is shielded from biochemical attacks with filtered ventilation and rebreathing equipment. Options include a toilet, a short-wave radio, and motion detectors.

Link via Gizmodo via Ace

Alex previously linked to the amusing blog Stuff White People Like, a blog about white American culture.  Here's a spinoff: Stuff Christians Like, a satirical poke at American evangelical culture.  One of my favorites:  

#68.  Saying "I don't even own a TV." 

When someone tells me at a party, "I don't even own a TV," I immediately stop, drop and roll my way into another room. It's not the most graceful escape but it works. I am completely cool with people that don't have televisions. I think I watch too much. I wish I didn't know who got a really horrible angel tattoo on the show, "Biggest Loser." I wish my Tivo didn't know me better than some friends do. I don't think watching a lot of television is a good thing, but I can't stand how condescending people get when they've "conquered" television and want to tell you about it. Even worse is when they say, "I don't even own a TV, I like to spend time with my kids instead." Oh, low blow. What that sounds like is, "For me, my kids are more important than the show Lost, but then I'm not a horrible dad." If you don't own a TV, that is cool, seriously, but let's talk about something else if you see me at a party. Please.

Link via Thinklings

The Washington Post examined 209 items of technology, such as cassette tapes and physical currency, and social conventions, such as blind dates and body hair, that are on their way out.  Here's what the article has to say about short basketball shorts:

The practice of playing games in retro uniforms is common in basketball now; it gives teams another jersey to sell at the concession stands. But last December, in a game against the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers took it one step further -- they wore throwback shorts. As in short shorts. For anyone who has mourned the days when a player's full legs were as conspicuous as his tats, it was a moment of glory.

A brief one. The Lakers immediately fell behind. Despite a halftime change to the usual baggy, floor-scraping uniforms, the players were so shellshocked from the sight of their upper thighs that they lost.

"I don't know what it feels like to wear a thong," said Kobe Bryant after the game. "But I imagine it feels something like what we had on in the first half. I felt violated. I felt naked."

Link via Evangelical Outpost