Author Maurice Sendak won a Caldecott Medal in 1964 for the picture book "Where the Wild Things Are." Most of us grew up with that book and others by Sendak, who is known for adding dark and subversive stories to the mostly sanitary, adult-approved children's books of the time. Sendak died this morning in Connecticut due to complications of a recent stroke.

Roundly praised, intermittently censored and occasionally eaten, Mr. Sendak’s books were essential ingredients of childhood for the generation born after 1960 or thereabouts, and in turn for their children. He was known in particular for more than a dozen picture books he wrote and illustrated himself, most famously “Where the Wild Things Are,” which was simultaneously genre-breaking and career-making when it was published by Harper & Row in 1963.

Among the other titles he wrote and illustrated, all from Harper & Row, are “In the Night Kitchen” (1970) and “Outside Over There” (1981), which together with “Where the Wild Things Are” form a trilogy; “The Sign on Rosie’s Door” (1960); “Higglety Pigglety Pop!” (1967); and “The Nutshell Library” (1962), a boxed set of four tiny volumes comprising “Alligators All Around,” “Chicken Soup With Rice,” “One Was Johnny” and “Pierre.”

Last year, Sendak released “Bumble-Ardy,” the first book both written and illustrated by Sendak in 30 years. A posthumous book, “My Brother’s Book,” is scheduled for release next February. Sendak was 83. Link -via The Daily What

See also: Maurice Sendak’s Pierre With Music By Carole King at NeatoBambino.

John Pemberton earned a medical degree when he was only 19 years old -and then worked as a pharmacist, trying to invent new drugs. He particularly needed a new kind of pain relief, as he was badly wounded in the Civiil war and had become addicted to morphine for relief.

After the war, Pemberton settled in Atlanta, where he began work on a beverage combining coca leaves and cola nuts. His objective was to create a pain reliever but when his lab assistant accidentally mixed the concoction with carbonated water on May 8, 1886, the two men tasted it, liked it, and decided it might make a profitable alternative to ginger ale and root beer.

Pemberton sold the rights to Coca-Cola (twice, actually, but that’s another story) as his behavior became more erratic. He died only two years after his accidental invention and only a few months after the Coca Cola Corporation was incorporated.

The Coca-Cola that you may be drinking right now has been reformulated a bit over the years, but the basic beverage is 126 years old today. Link

The Canadian Paralympic Committee ad campaign for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London features this awesome poster (click to see full size), and a video that you can see (and read more about) at Laughing Squid. Link

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When the Robopocalypse begins, you'll need some pointers for survival. Epipheo Studios brought in an expert: author Daniel H. Wilson.  -via Blame It On The Voices

Throughout the history of warfare, armies have looked for ways to attack the enemy while defending themselves from harm, which led to some pretty strange battle machines. These defensive conveyances evolved into the modern tank, with many odd permutations along the way. Some designs were inspired by nature, such as the armor worn by turtles or beetles, as you can see in the 1855 British steam engine design shown here. See a lot more at Dark Roasted Blend. Link

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Some people install cat ladders and others go high-tech with self-serve cat elevators. YouTube user Ignoramusky shows us a quick-and-inexpensive way to construct an elevator for your cats, providing them easy access to the second floor. At least, easy for the cats. Or maybe it's a way to steal first-floor cats! -via reddit

Tom Scocca is upset with celebrity chefs and recipes that tell you to caramelize onions in ten minutes. You can sauté onions in *ten minutes, but caramelization takes around 45 minutes, meaning "the best time to caramelize onions is yesterday."

Here, telling the truth about how to prepare onions for French onion soup, is Julia Child: "[C]ook slowly until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Blend in the salt and sugar, raise heat to moderately high, and let the onions brown, stirring frequently until they are a dark walnut color, 25 to 30 minutes." Ten minutes plus 25 to 30 minutes equals 35 to 40 minutes. That is how long it takes to caramelize onions.

But if you take the time to do it right, you'll be rewarded with some mighty delicious cooked onions. The article at Slate looks into how chefs come up with their timetables, which are different from what goes on in your kitchen. Link -via Metafilter, where you can find a lengthy but helpful discussion on onions.

(Image credit: Flickr user Esteban Cavrico)

*Actually less than ten minutes, but the linked article is only about caramelization.

Randall Munroe knows how hard it is these days to select your college major. He wrote a little song about it ...well, he wrote a comic about it that you can sing to the tune of "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General." There are three verses in total, which you can see at xkcd. Link -via Bad Astronomy

Update: Errol actually sang it!

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Troy Hurtubise in an early version of the series of suits of armor he invented to protect himself against grizzly bears. Photo courtesy of Troy Hurtubise.

by Marc Abrahams, Improbable Research staff

Troy Hurtubise, who was awarded the 1998 Ig Nobel Prize in safety engineering, for developing and personally testing a suit of armor that is impervious to grizzly bears, has a new book out.

Here’s a passage that brings together some of the main themes. Troy reveals a few secrets about the most advanced version of his suit, the hard-shelled, shiny techno-fruit of 15 mostly unfunded years of fevered solo R&D:

“Electronically speaking, the M-7 was right out of a movie. It sported an onboard viewing screen, an onboard computer built into the thigh cavity, a bite-bar on the right forearm, a five-way voice activated radio system, and an electronic temperature monitor. For protection against the grizzly’s claws and teeth, the M-7 boasted an entire exoskeleton made up of my newly developed excalibre blunt trauma foam to dissipate the bear’s deadly power....Testing on the the M-7 [was] short and sweet. A thirty ton front-end loader in fourth gear smashed me through a non-mortared brick wall and I suffered not a bruise. The world watched the test on CNN, and then came the sheer stupidity that nearly cost me my life, the fire test. My bear research suits were never designed for fire."

Polaroid co-founder Edwin H. Land was born on May 7, 1909. In honor of his birthday, LIFE magazine has a tribute to his most popular invention, the Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera. Introduced in 1972, everyone wanted the "magic camera" that developed photos all by itself -no need to count the seconds and pull the film apart, as with earlier Polaroids. And the chemicals didn't leak. You could even watch the picture fade into view! Shown here is Edwin Land himself taking a picture with his SX-70. Link

(Image credit: Co Rentmeester—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

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This cat is singing the blues because the guy he lives with keeps playing the guitar and preventing him from enjoying his nap. -via Laughing Squid

Ridley Scott's prequel Prometheus comes out next month, so prepare yourself by revisiting the original Alien movies. Or maybe just the first couple of them. Go look at a collection of photographs taken on the set of the first film -and you'll get to see the actor who is inside this Alien Queen costume. Link

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Luo Wencong's dog Li Li guards his bike in Nanning, China. The dog is a local celebrity! Jeff, who shot this video, is raising funds for a proper dog seat for Luo's bike. Li Li also helps Luo carry groceries and even takes out the trash! Link

The Red Cross published recruitment and fund raising posters in various countries during World War I, and many of them are works of art! The poster shown here was designed by Harrison Fisher in 1918. See a collection of the best at Oddee. Link

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Alex George mechanized and filmed a miniature version of the Main Street Electrical Parade seen at Disneyland. The entire tableau is about the size of a coffee table, and there's a "making of" video that reveals how it was made. Link -via Boing Boing