U.S. plans to test more thoroughly for BSE (mad cow disease), but ignores recommendations that might help to prevent it. Now 500,000 cattle will be tested instead of 40,000, which was the USDA’s previous plan—but cattle will continue to be fed chicken and ruminant remains, as well as “high risk cattle tissue,” i.e., cow brains. […]
Mr. Potato Rats
Seth Stevenson attempts to answer questions that you probably (okay, definitely) do have about those Quizno’s Sub creatures. Like, What are they? (I honestly would have been content never knowing, but the explanation is strangely comforting.) If you don’t want to bother reading the article, the answer—part of it, anyway— is that they’re Spongmonkeys. Although […]
Posted by Ben on March 13, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/mr-potato-rats/
P.S. Mueller…
…has an uncanny sense of the absurd, which is something I’ve known for a long time. He also has a website, which is something I haven’t known. Until now. You should probably check it out; you’ll thank me later. (Or, if you prefer, you may thank me now and take your chances.)
Posted by Ben on March 10, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/ps-mueller/
LEWISITE smells like GERANIUMS
Mmm-mm-mmmm. The Otis Historical Archives over at the National Museum of Health and Medicine has a somewhat curious collection of images (and a couple interesting posters) relating to military medicine, e.g., WWI and WWII photos. Not that military medicine is inherently interesting, but for what it’s worth, this collection has a couple interesting images (as […]
Posted by Ben on March 9, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/lewisite-smells-like-geraniums/
Lost?
Above, one of the many curiosities to be glimpsed over at Found Magazine. This item consists of a group of Iraqi passport photos found in a desk drawer, the faces scribbled over for who-knows-what reason (a couple possibilities come to mind, though of course you can’t know for sure). The site has an interesting assortment […]
Posted by Ben on March 6, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/lost/
Round-up
Putting things into perspective: worldwide, 3200 people die every day from road traffic accidents; 186 die from ‘drug use disorders’; 630 die from war. (Via the WHO) Leap Day Year Facts. (Okay, so I’m a little untimely in passing this along, but it’s mildly interesting. Probably nothing you didn’t already know—except maybe the part about […]
Posted by Ben on March 3, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/round-up/
O$CAR: It didn’t seem like a bad idea
Okay. So I have a mild curiosity as to the Oscar winners. No major investment—no money riding on any of the nominees (honest!), just a mild, vaguely saprophytic curiosity. (And yes, I realize that saprophytic almost definintely makes no sense whatosever in that context.) Moreover, using the seemingly bottomless pool of numbers over at The […]
Posted by Ben on March 1, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/ocar-it-didnt-seem-like-a-bad-idea/
The Snow Goose and the Survival of the Human Species (and so forth)
Last night I went to see a noisy staging of snow geese. It was a pretty marvelous sight. And you think to yourself—you’re maybe a little impressed at the showing of birdpower and a little amused by the showing of people parked alongside the road to watch the avifauna—but you have to ask yourself, what […]
Posted by Ben on February 29, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/the-snow-goose-and-the-survival-of-the-human-species-and-so-forth/
Gaps in logic and law
Every year, passports are stolen. No big surprise there. But many of these documents (more than you’d think) are stolen blank, i.e., ripe for planting pictures and fake names and so forth. Also no big surprise, terrorists/criminals/corrupt officials/etc. can use these passports to cross borders. Interpol (that nifty international crimefighting organization) keeps a database of […]
Posted by Ben on February 28, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/gaps-in-logic-and-law/
Intelligent and astute, you have a persuasive manner and are an excellent promoter.
It’s funny that we can impart meaning on something as aberrantly vague as “you are expert at probing the motivation of others.” But I guess all we want is some hidden insight into the future, and if there’s even a shadow of a possibility that we might decipher something from a book and/or newspaper, we’ll […]
Posted by Ben on February 27, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/intelligent-and-astute-you-have-a-persuasive-manner-and-are-an-excellent-promoter/