It was on June 5, 1977 that the Apple II, the world's first "practical" personal computer, went on sale.

Featuring an integrated keyboard, built-in BASIC programming languages, expandable memory, a monitor capable of color graphics, a sound card and expansion slots, the Apple II resembles today's modern desktops in the way a '38 Plymouth resembles a Cadillac Escalade. Cruder, perhaps, with fewer bells and whistles, but a smoothly functioning machine nevertheless.

A few years later I upgraded from a TRS-80 to a second-hand Apple II. I was amazed at the ease of a computer that you didn’t have to program yourself! Link

A woman in Leatherhead, England took a hedgehog to the vet because it was so big it couldn't move. The animal was suffering from "ballooning", a condition in which air escapes from the lungs and is trapped under the skin. Vets inserted a tube into the hedgehog to release the air, essentially deflating him. Link -via Arbroath

The image of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has been spotted on ordinary toast! Just kidding. This is the work of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, more of their dot matrix heat gun printing experiments. However, they are selling one of these on eBay. Link

20-year-old computer science major Brian Gaynor has scoliosis, but he can do a mean robot, a dance he calls Chibotics. He did not advance past the audition round for So You Think You Can Dance, but he is in discussion for a movie role. Push play or go to YouTube. See more Gaynor videos at his YouTube page. -via Metafilter

Items include the Moebius strip scarf, a memory stick cozy, Space Invader socks, and this cute crocheted Yoda. Most include links to instructions or sale sites. Link -via Metafilter

The Portland Beavers, the Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate of the San Diego Padres, ran a contest to design a bobblehead figure after a real person. The competition was only open to men whose name is Bob L. Head! Dozens entered nationwide, and the winner (by vote among the three finalists) is Bob Leroy Head of Maquoketa, Iowa (show here with his wife). On August 18, the first 2,000 fans at the Beavers’ game will receive a Bob L. Head Bobblehead. http://www.portlandbeavers.com/newsroom/pressrelease/index.html?article_id=839 -via Mental Floss

The Color and Design Blog listed 18 beautiful butterfllies with their color palettes to show how well nature selects colors. Any of these combinations would make a pleasant decor for a room or a website. Link -via Dump Trumpet

Movies.com posted a list of The 25 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen. I have seen three of them, and they were much more enjoyable than the box office receipts would indicate. These movies are not new, so you’d probably have to get them through Netflix. Link -via the Presurfer

After this fox was rescued from a wheel last week, The Daily Mail pulled out its archives and put together a gallery of animals who got their heads stuck into things. All the animals were eventually freed. Link -via Arbroath

Weird Converter makes comparisons between things you normally wouldn’t consider. For example: in the weight scale, one African Elephant equals 71.32 kegs of beer, and one male Polar Bear equals nine Jennifer Annistons. There’s also a height/length scale. Why do this?

Well, while watching the Discovery Channel one day, listening to the narrators compare the size of a truck to blue whales, I thought that someone should make a converter to change other completely unrelated items. So I built one. And come on, who hasn't pondered how many poops a blue whale equals?

Link -via Militant Platypus

The Pink Dolphin is an endangered river dolphin that lives in the Amazon Basin. They get their strange coloring from eating crustaceans such as shrimp, much in the same way flamingos maintain their pink color. http://www.amersol.edu.pe/ms/7th/7block/jungle_research/new_cards/14/report14hm.html -via Digg

Belgian photographer Laurent Malbecq has an awesome photoset on Flickr entitled A View From Above. Link -via Dump Trumpet

New York Rises: Photographs by Eugene de Salignac is a collection of photographs taken by Salignac as photographer for the New York City Department of Bridges/Plant and Structures from 1906 to 1934. The photos are on display at The Museum of the City of New York through September. Some are also featured in an online BBC gallery. The photo above shows workers painting the Brooklyn Bridge in 1914. Link to event site. Link to gallery. -via Look at This

Local Harvest is a locator service for foods grown nearby. You can find farmer’s markets, groceries, and restaurants that sell or serve locally-grown organic produce or grass-fed meats by entering your city or zip code.

People worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher than anything in the supermarket and that means it is tastier and more nutritious. It is also good for your local economy--buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business.

You can also read up on products and trends in the food industry. Link -via Transbuddha

Artist Kim Dingle made this oil painting from maps drawn by teenagers in Las Vegas who were asked to recreate the outline of the United States without looking at a map. The only thing they all seem to have in common is Florida. Link -via the Presurfer