Beakman's World was a kids' science show in the nineties. Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss tests how well you remember the show. I am shocked that I scored 82%, since I never saw the show! Sometimes common sense (and a bit of TV production knowledge) comes in handy. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/17794

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Fortune cookies are a strange, unfamiliar food in China. They were developed in Japan and popularized in the US. Nana Shi began selling them online in China and found that she needed to include instructions! Link -via Dark Roasted Blend

I'm not familiar with a vegetable called a marrow (it seems to be some kind of squash), but this one is apparently the biggest ever at 113 pounds! There were lots of huge vegetables at a giant vegetable show in England.

The skin is craggy and dark, indicating it might not make the best offering at dinner, but it overtook the current world record by a whopping three kilos.

Grown by Ken Dade, from Norfolk, it had benefitted from the wet conditions during the spring and summer.

Show organiser Roy Davey is hopeful the show could yet produce another giant vegetable record. 'We have hopes for a record cucumber,' he said.

There's a picture of the cucumber at The Daily Mail, but I can't tell how long it is. Link -via Unique Daily

Any of these prison escape stories would make an exciting movie (and some of them already have). Not all of the escapees were hardened criminals; some were prisoners of war, and Alfréd Wetzler (pictured) along with his partner Rudolf Vrba escaped from Auschwitz by hiding inside a wood pile for four days! He later provided extensive details of the death camp to Allied forces.

The 32-page Vrba-Wetzler report, as it became known, was the first detailed report about Auschwitz to reach the West that the Allies regarded as credible.

The evidence eventually led to the bombing of several government buildings in Hungary, killing Nazi officials who were instrumental in the railway deportations of Jews to Auschwitz. The deportations halted, saving up to 120,000 Hungarian Jews.

Read about Wetzler and nine escape stories at The List Universe. Link -via the Presurfer

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Why did I spent so much time trying to make a raisin milkshake when I could've been doing something fun like this? It turns out that you can make raisins dance in any kind of carbonated beverage. Link to an explanation. -via YesButNoButYes

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If you've ever wondered what your dog does while you are at work, this may enlighten you. Flickr user Bill Binns made a video of what his dog did from 8AM to 5PM. Relax, the time-lapse video is only about a minute long. Now I know the meaning of the phrase "It's a dog's life"! -via Unique Daily

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A graduation project by several students at the French animation school Gobelins: Julian Bocabeille (who now works for Dreamworks), FX Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier, and Emud Mokhberi. See a list of awards and a making-of featurette at the Ocktapodi site. Link -Thanks, Bill!

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At a recent appearance in California, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking keeps relativity on a layman's level. -via b3ta

It's Friday and you are online reading blogs instead of working. This chart may hit a little close to home! Only a small portion is pictured here; you can see the entire chart at Project Sidewalk. Link -via Geek Like Me

An all-star gathering of legendary American astronauts appeared in Cleveland Aug. 29, 2008 to celebrate NASA's 50th anniversary. John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, Jim Lovell, veteran of two Apollo missions, and Kathryn Sullivan, the first woman to walk in space joined 15 other astronauts from Ohio.

Link -via Digg

(image credit: NASA)

NASA also has an interactive timeline about their 50 years in the space exploration business. Link

Check out this Flickr set of classic video games recreated in Lego! Pictured is NES Castlevania. Link -via b3ta

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The problem: grilling a hot dog bun on a barbecue without ruining the hinge. The solution: build a gadget. Evil Mad Scientists Laboratories has step-by-step instructions for making you own bun jig. Link

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In a way only he could do it. -via Unique Daily

American artist James Powderly of Graffiti Research Lab went to Beijing during the Olympics last month to stage a demonstration about Tibet. He was arrested by Chinese authorities and sent to a local jail. In this ABC World News Webcast video, he talks about his experience. Link to Powderly segment. http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5727278
to full webcast.

Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss has to do with a character on The Simpsons.

It’s rare to meet a fan of The Simpsons who doesn’t have a hysterical Milhouse quote at the ready. “The ‘House” (as he has referred to himself) is the animated embodiment of the public’s love affair with the perennial underdog. Take our Milhouse quiz and show us how much you know about one of the most comically tormented characters in television history.

I didn't even try, since I'm not at all familiar with the character. I hope you can do better! http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/18125