Essayist Gerard Van Der Leun is now in his 70s. He is a Baby Boomer and grew up in the postwar prosperity of Los Angeles. When he was a little boy, his family moved to the scenic mountains of the town of Paradise in nothern California.

Van Der Leun was 9 and his brother, Thomas, was 7. They enjoyed the freedom of wandering through the woods of this old gold prospecting territory, having adventures as young boys should. While exploring the wonders of the area near their home, the boys found a box of dynamite.

Yes, actual dynamite.

In a beautiful essay titled "I Once Had Fortress in Paradise," Van der Leun tells the story of what he and his late brother did with that dynamite. And he tells that story masterfully.

-via Instapundit | Photo: US Forest Service

Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues famously invented the World Wide Web in 1993 at CERN--the European Organization for Nuclear Research. CERN's facilities are in Switzerland so it's commonly said that the Internet was invented in Switzerland.

But that's not quite correct. David Galbraith writes that CERN's facilities actually cross the French border, but the main entrance is in Switzerland, which is why it is thought of as a Swiss location. But Building 31 of the scientific research complex--where Tim Berners-Lee actually worked--is actually a few feet across the French border.

There's a commemorative plaque at CERN noting the invention of the internet. The plaque, though, is in Switzerland, which contributes to the popular confusion about this French invention.

-via Kottke

Denis Jaffré, a French beekeeper, lost half of his beehives to the stingers of Asian hornets, which are an invasive species in his country. But now it’s payback time and he’s targeting the creatures that murdered his beloved bees.

Design Boom introduces us to Jabeprode, which is a baited trap that lures insects inside. Bees are small enough to exit through a mesh screen, but Asian hornets aren’t.

Both insects can pass through the exterior mesh, but only bees can get through the interior mesh to access the bait. The hornets, unable to escape, die…eventually.

Jaffré could make a lot of money off his invention, but he sees more focused on killing hornets. So he’s helpfully provided a YouTube tutorial that shows you how to make your own Jadeprode. Now that’s dedication!

How else would you expect us to give children candy on Halloween? FIRE MISSION!!!
🇺🇸 💥 🎃 👻 🍬 🍭 🍫 🍪
💥Blast credit: 1-78 FA#happyhalloween #motivationmonday @178FABN1 @USArmy @TRADOC @6_fires @7Fires3 @USAFAS @U_artillery @75thFA_BDE @434FA_BDE @428THBDE @3ADABDE pic.twitter.com/j8ip6xG4pJ

— US Army Fort Sill (@OfficialFtSill) October 31, 2022

I think that it's a M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which is currently in use by Ukrainian forces against the invading Russians.

At Fort Sills, Oklahoma, home to America's field artillery, the US Army is deploying at least one unit to propel Halloween candy to local trick-or-treaters. If I interpret the tweet correctly, it's from the first battalion of the 78th Field Artillery Regiment.

-via Super Punch

English is a peculiar language, what with its many letters that are left silent. To make pronunciation even more challenging, which letters are silent is not always consistent. This is often due to the introduction of words from foreign tongues, such as French and Texan.

Internet comedian Matt Colbo addresses the complexity of English pronunciation by imagining an encounter in the woods with an alternate universe version of himself--one from a universe in which every letter is pronounced.

As far as encounters alone in the woods with versions of yourself from alternate universes, that's a pretty safe encounter.

CONTENT WARNING: FOUL LANGUAGE.

-via Nag on the Lake

Mondrian painting has been hanging upside down for 75 years https://t.co/TKyyo0g84H

— The Guardian (@guardian) October 28, 2022

In 1941, the Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian painted this untitled work, which was first displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1945, and then the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany.

Recently, curator Susanne Meyer-Büser researched Mondrian’s work to prepare for an upcoming exhibition on his work. She determined that Mondrian tended to put thicker lines at the top of his paintings. Furthermore, a photograph of Mondrian working on this piece shows with it rotated from its usual direction on his easel.

Thus, this painting certainly upside down—and had been for over 75 years.

The Guardian reports that the exhibition, which will open today, will not reflect this new conclusion. The Mondrian piece will continue to be hung in its traditional orientation—upside down.

-via Dave Barry

My friend's sister's Halloween costume is too good not to share pic.twitter.com/4V0eMy7CIm

— Steph (@EristicEnigma) October 26, 2022

Some environmental activists are keeping busy lately by vandalizing famous works of art and/or gluing themselves in public places, such as roadways or convention centers. A couple weeks ago, two such activists threw tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London, then glued themselves to the wall on which the painting hung.

The good news from that incident is that the precious painting is safe. It was protected by a sheet of glass.

An acquaintance of Twitter user @EristicEnigma was inspired by the incident to make this amusing Halloween costume. She's dressed as the defaced painting.

-via Super Punch

Bar-tailed godwits are known for their spectacularly long flights during their annual migration. The haul from Alaska to Tasmania is brutal, but #234684 was up for the task, even though he lost half of his bodyweight during the ordeal.

ABC News reports that for 11 days, without interruption, #234684 flew 8,426 miles, which is about 311 miles longer than the previous record for a bird migration, which was also held by a bar-tailed godwit. Scientists were able to track his movements with an electronic device.

#234684 didn't rest or feed. That's because godwits don't have webbed feet. If they land in the water, they die because they can't get airborne again. And as most of these godwits weigh just under a pound, they don't have a lot of body fat to burn through. So they just have to persevere, as #234684 did.

-via Massimo

In the glorious ending of The Shawshank Redemption, Warden Norton realizes that Andy Dufresne has not only escaped from prison, but trapped him in his own. He opens his safe and finds Andy Dufresne's Bible inside. It's inscribed with a simple message:

Dear Warden,

You were right. Salvation lay within.

Andy Dufresne

Norton turns to the Book of Exodus, where pages have been hollowed out to hide Andy's rock hammer--the one that he used to tunnel out of the prison.

That prop Bible used in the film will go on auction on November 3. Fine Books Magazine expects that it will sell for perhaps $115,000-$172,000 USD. That sale will also feature the prop newspaper that breaks the story about Warden Norton's corruption.

-via John Overholt | Photo: Propstore Auction

There's a thriving new profession in Brazil. Universa (English translation) interviewed a few women who work as "loyalty testers". Women hire them to hit on their boyfriends or husbands and see if the men reject the advances of these seducers.

One of these testers, who is named Nicolly, was approached by a married woman who hired her to "accidentally" message her husband on WhatsApp. The man enthusiastically continued the conversation with the strange, beautiful woman. Nicolly then took screenshots of the conversation and sent them to her customer.

Nicolly earns about $750-940 USD per month at this job.

Other gigs in this line of work are more unsavory. Nicolly has been hired by women who are interested in married or otherwise taken men. Such customers want to see if their prospective lovers are open to the idea of an affair or even destroy the married man's marriage in the hope of creating an opening.

Nicolly works solo, but Universa reports that this market is launching professionally organized businesses. One of them has 16 employees to offer customers a variety of options when selecting a temptress.

-via Marginal Revolution

pic.twitter.com/j8zCG4a4js

— Out of Context Simpsons Treehouse of Horror 🎃 (@OOCCouchGags) October 25, 2022

Death Note is an acclaimed manga and anime series about a high school boy who encounters a magical notebook dropped by a death demon. If he writes someone's name in it, that person dies. This young man suddenly has the power to kill anyone he can name.

The Simpsons is usually less disturbing--until now. The upcoming Halloween episode, "Treehouse of Horror XXXIII", depicts the people of Springfield in an anime style. The death demon once again drops his "death tome". This time, it falls into the hands of Lisa Simpson.

I can't wait to see this episode! In the meantime, let us content ourselves with screenshots from it at Kotaku.

Okay, yes, flying a plane sounds really exciting. But flight simulators are hard to complete successfully and take a lot of work. Wouldn't you prefer to just sit in a comfortable reclining chair while someone else flies the plane?

Alex Shakespeare built this simulator of the experience of being a jetliner passenger. It has a window that is actually a monitor that can be changed to accurately reflect different airports, including ones in Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, and Innsbruck.

The overheard service board includes functional lights, a fan, and a call button. The button marked with a trumpet plays the iconic Ryanair landing jingle.

All that Shakespeare needs to complete the experience is a food cart with overpriced drinks. 

-via Hack A Day

This video allegedly shows helmet camera footage from a Russian Air Force pilot ejecting from his Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot" attack aircraft. Internet rumor initially said that he was shot down over Ukraine, but later rumors assert that the pilot hit a power line while flying in Russia itself.

That's probably a pretty embarrassing mistake.

In just a brief moment, the flight went from calm and normal to a midair catastrophe. The pilot ejects while only a few hundred feet off the ground, then parachuted down to the ground. At about 0:11 into the video, we see the broken Frogfoot crash into the ground.

-via Dave Barry

King Charles Albert (1798-1849) of Sardinia-Piedmont owned this spectacular writing desk, which is now up for auction by M.S. Rau in New Orleans. A mere $266,500 can get you behind the ultimate power desk for your office.

Antiques expert Bill Rau takes us on a tour of the desk and its many, many secret compartments. Hidden buttons open spring-loaded drawers, as well as a centerpiece that pops out of the top. And if that's not enough, there are even hidden compartments in the chair.

I wonder if Rau has actually discovered all of the secret compartments or if some remain yet undiscovered.

-via Steampunk Tendencies

Received this at my grandmas funeral. What an icon. pic.twitter.com/EhxhzHJfoZ

— gracie perryman (@qrracie) October 18, 2022

On Twitter, Gracie Perryman shares a wonderful photo from her grandmother's funeral. The grand lady exits the stage with a joke. Would you like to have a conversation with her even now? The ouija board will let you drop in to say hello at your local seance.