The geekiest engagement ring ever! Jennifer Flume designed this USB Flash Drive Swarovski Crystal Engagement Ring. The idea is that two people can exchange information by connecting the rings (photos, messages, or other data). You can then transfer data to a PC with the aid of a USB necklace that accompanies the set. It’s a design concept not yet on the market. http://nexus404.com/Blog/2008/03/15/usb-flash-drive-swarovski-crystal-engagement-ring-for-brave-stupid-geeks-in-love/ to story. http://www.jflume.com/flash.html to Flume’s flash site. -via Geek Like Me

I knew the game FreeCell was addictive, but I didn’t know it was so old! Early versions of the card game may date back as far as 1945, with developments made between 1968 and 1977. Grow-A-Brain has an overview of the history of FreeCell and speculations on why people become hooked on solving it. Link

Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by layers of snow that react to different conditions.

Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet fills up with meltwater and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form.

When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a green stripe.

Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea.

Link (with more pictures) -via Geek Like Me

(image credit: Oyvind Tangen)

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This adorable baby gorilla was rejected by her mother. Now six weeks old and named Tia, she is being fostered by employees at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Hythe, Kent. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/03/17/rejected-baby-gorilla-tia-is-being-lovingly-raised-by-zookeepers-89520-20353754/ -via Arbroath

This is just silly. But it made me laugh! Created by comedian Dan Allen. Link -via the Presurfer

Salamanders can regrow limbs after they are torn off; why can’t humans do the same?

Many years ago studies in the laboratory of our colleague Susan V. Bryant at the University of California, Irvine, demonstrated that the cells in the blastema are equivalent to the cells in the developing limb bud of the salamander embryo. This discovery suggested that the construction of a limb by the blastema is essentially a recapitulation of the limb formation that took place during the animal’s original development. An important implication of this insight was that the same genetic program is involved in both situations, and because humans make limbs as embryos, in principle we should already have the necessary programming to regenerate them as adults, too. It seemed, therefore, that all scientists needed to do was figure out how to induce an amputated limb to form a blastema.

The April issue of Scientific American looks at research that may one day lead to self-regeneration of human body parts. Link -via Digg

(image credit: Aaron Goodman)

Thousands of sheep died one night in 1968 in Skull Valley, Utah. Army officials got busy drafting a denial. They had been testing Cold War chemical and biological weapons, one of which was called VX.

VX was a triumph among the biological warfare community. Odorless and tasteless, it's three times as toxic as Sarin. In initial trials, this over-acheiving compound was also found to be highly stable, enabling long shelf life and environmental persistence. VX works by blocking chemicals in the victim's body from functioning. It prevents the enzyme acetylcholinesterase from allowing muscles to relax, resulting in the contraction of every muscle in the body. Exposure to a minute or diluted dose of VX will cause muscle twitching, drooling, excessive sweating, and involuntary defecation, among other unpleasantries. Exposure to a lethal dose — about ten milligrams — will cause convulsions, paralysis, and eventually asphyxiation due to sustained contraction of the diaphragm muscle. Unless the affected skin is cleaned and an antidote is administered immediately, a single drop of liquid VX will kill a person in around ten minutes

The sheep were not the only animals who died near the Dugway Proving Grounds. Read the rest of the story at Damn Interesting. Link

The Lunchtime Quiz today at mental_floss is entitled Medieval Torture Device or Bed Bath and Beyond Gadget? I didn’t score very well at all, since they all seemed to be medieval torture devices to me. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/13284

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One owl has a repertoire of responses to different threats. He can make himself big, make himself small, or just ignore the enemy. Although he was in no real danger, I felt sorry for the little guy. -via Everlasting Blort

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The YouTube entry says “Clearly the three best singers the Muppets have ever had to offer, together at last.” The Leprechaun Brothers perform Danny Boy in honor of St. Patrick's Day. -via Boing Boing

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Jerry doesn’t have to wait for anyone to throw the ball. He has a computerized ball-launcher he can reload himself! -via Digg

Questionaut is a beautiful click game where you answer and collect elementary-level questions. From the picture, you may have guessed it’s from Amanita Designs (yes, the Samorost people). I wish I had all day to play! Link -via Metafilter

The theme of this Worth 1000 contest is to insert modern products into vintage advertising. Computers, game consoles, vehicles, and even Viagra get the treatment. I especially loved this Nokia flyer. http://www.worth1000.com/contest.asp?contest_id=18731&display=photoshop&page=1 -via Dark Roasted Blend

Peter Kelly reponded to the post about rattlesnake vodka with this photograph he took in Vietnam. The caption reads

These are artistically arranges snakes in bottles of liquor. People drink this. Really.

Link -Thanks, Peter!

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission seized an unusual cache of vodka at a rattlesnake farm in Palo Pinto County. The 411 bottles each contained not only vodka, but also a ten-inch rattlesnake! Sgt. Charlie Cloud said he’s never seen anything like it.

TABC officials said alcohol containing snakes or scorpions is popular in Asian cultures. An Internet search found operations selling Thai scorpion vodka, cobra whiskey, giant centipede whiskey, herbal gecko lizard wine and Mekong River eel wine.

"It's very bizarre," Cloud said. "We learned that these are believed to contain aphrodisiac properties. We heard that some people believe having a venomous animal creates hallucinations."

TABC agents received a tip several weeks ago and sent an undercover agent to the rattlesnake ranch to purchase the vodka. It wasn't on display.

"We had to go in and ask for it," Cloud said.

Bob Popplewell, the owner of Bayou Bob's Brazos River Rattlesnake Ranch, is expected to face charges of selling alcohol without a permit. http://www.star-telegram.com/275/story/530369.html -via Arbroath

(image credit: TABC)