Sortkwik keeps your fingers from feeling like desiccated leather

I bought this amazing clear pink substance called Sortkwik so I could have more control of playing cards for magic tricks, as I have naturally dry hands. It has a bit more viscosity than Chapstick. It's meant for people who need to leaf through lots sheets of paper and don't like the idea of licking their thumb. You just swipe your fingertips over the stuff, rub your fingers together for a few seconds, and you are ready for action. I now use it all the time because I hate the feeling of dry fingers and it's not greasy or smelly like lotion. A 3-pack is $7.

Memento Mori – Spectacular book of essays and 500 photos of the dead among us

One of my most unforgettable travel experiences was visiting the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora, near Prague. This small 19-century monastery chapel would be unremarkable, except that it is decorated with thousands of human bones and skulls. There are skull- and femur-decorated columns, hanging garlands of bones, a chandelier made of every bone in the human body, and a replica of the Schwarzenberg family coat of “arms” – that also includes leg, finger, scapula, and coccyx bones! The memory of that space makes any Halloween display seem tame and unimaginative.

If Kutná Hora isn’t in your travel plans, check out Memento Mori, a spectacular book of essays and photographs by UCLA PhD and art historian Paul Koudounaris. His 500 color photographs here are arresting, both in subject matter and photographic technique. The handsome hardbound book includes a stunning centerfold of a bejeweled and gold-encrusted mummy. The detail and visual opulence of the photo justifies the giant four-page spread. I enjoyed reading the informative essays about the use of human bones as a form of remembrance in cultures around the world, from Europe to Thailand, Japan to Peru, and from ancient times to the present day. Here’s just one fun fact: there are two venerated human skulls (ñatitas) enshrined in the homicide division of the national law enforcement agency in El Alto, Bolivia. These two cranium crime-stoppers have provided “clues to difficult cases and have been credited with helping to solve hundreds of crimes.”

Memento Mori: The Dead Among Us
by Paul Koudounaris
Thames and Hudson
2015, 208 pages, 9 x 13.3 x 1 inches (hardcover)
$39 Buy a copy on Amazon

See sample pages from this book at Wink.

Wolf Head crotch underwear "make man looks sexy and wild"

Behold! There is an entire range of Wolf Head Crotch Underwear for gentlemen. They "make man looks sexy and wild" and can be yours for as little as five American dollars.

3D wolf pattern print underwear make man looks sexy and wild
• the wide waist design make man comfortable no tight feeling
• U convex design, large space and breathable
• High quality material and great handwork, perfect gift to boyfriend or husband

Here's a pack of three "Sexy Hipster Wolf Animals", available in several different wolves and also in eagle. [Amazon, via Dangerous Minds]

Migingo Island - Population density: 169,500/sq mi

Uganda and Kenya both claim Minigo Island (Area:0.0008 sq mi) in Lake Victoria belongs to them. One hundred thirty one people live on the island, because they like the valuable fish, as well as the "four pubs, a number of brothels, and a pharmacy."

This short documentary is called "Migingo: The Iron clad Island," by Peter Scott.

Also check out photographer Jesco Denzel's photoessay, Migingo: Business on the Rock.

Not too late to host a "Weeny Witch" Halloween party tonight!

For several decades, the company behind the Skinless brand of hot dogs tried very hard to make "Weeny Witch" parties a thing. Unfortunately it didn't catch on, but perhaps the time is finally right. More information over at Weird Universe, including rules for a delightful party game called "Feeding the Weeny Witch."

Unsecured Internet of Things gadgets get hacked within 40 minutes of being connected to the net

The Atlantic's Andrew McGill set up a virtual server on Amazon's cloud that presented to the internet as a crappy, insecure Internet of Things toaster; 41 minutes later, a hacked IoT device connected to it and tried to hack it. Within a day, the "toaster" had been hacked more than 300 times. (more…)

Woman who wins $43 million on a slot machine, given steak dinner instead of jackpot

Katrina Bookman was excited when the slot machine she was playing hit the jackpot: $42,949,672.76. Resorts World Casino in New York, which was happy to take her money while she was putting it into the machine, weren't as happy about giving her the prize. MACHINE R BORKED, they told her. NO MONIES FOR U. U CAN HAZ STAKE DINNR, THO!

YouTube description:

Call it the almost $42.9 million selfie. Katrina Bookman flashed her multi-million dollar smile as a slot machine screen appeared to show evidence of her mega win.The apparent jackpot hit was in late August at Resorts World Casino in New York.It was casino chaos in this video shot by Katrina's partner after she reported her huge winnings. She was surrounded by customers and casino personnel and security. Escorted off the casino floor, she was told to come back tomorrow for the decision.Katrina remembers her next day visit to the casino, "I said what did I win? (casino rep said) You didn't win nothing." Katrina says the only winning the casino offered was a steak dinner. keep in mind the max payout on the machine was $6500.

The Shadow Brokers dump more intel from the NSA's elite Equation Group

In August, anonymous hacker(s) dumped a cache of cyberweapons that appeared to originate with The Equation Group, an elite, NSA-affiliated hacking squad. (more…)

62-pound pumpkin modded into a 144-decibel subwoofer

YouTuber Mattizzle008 decided to mod a hallowed-out (get it?) pumpkin to measure its acoustics in a car subwoofer rig. He even took it to Xclusive Autosound to get it metered for science. Turns out pumpkins can get some if you need all that bass.

(more…)

Wells Fargo blackballed employees who refused to commit fraud, forcing them out of the industry forever

Earlier this month, Planet Money aired an interview with a Wells Fargo whistleblower who was fired for trying to alert the bank to the millions of criminal frauds being committed against its customers, and we learned that the whistleblower had been added to a confidential blacklist used by the finance industry, preventing her from ever getting work in the industry again. (more…)

French town upholds law against UFOs

After a rash of UFO sightings across France in 1954, Lucien Jeune, mayor of the small southeastern village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, issued the following law:

Article 1. — The overflight, the landing and the takeoff of aircraft known as flying saucers or flying cigars, whatever their nationality is, are prohibited on the territory of the community.

Article 2. — Any aircraft, known as flying saucer or flying cigar, which should land on the territory of the community will be immediately held in custody.

Article 3. — The forest officer and the city policeman are in charge, each one in what relates to him, of the execution of this decree.

Jeune's son Elie says the law was mostly a publicity stunt. Still, 62 years later, current mayor Claude Avri told news outlet France Bleu that he is "not going to touch the ban."

When the first wave arrives, I'll be on the next flight to Châteauneuf-du-Pape where I can watch the invasion while sipping a rich red.

"French Town Upholds 62-Year-Old Ban on UFOs" (Mysterious Universe)

Listen: free recordings of Edgar Allen Poe stories, read by Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone

If you've got a Spotify account, you can tune into the classic Caedmon Poe recordings (also available on 5 CD), featuring classic tales like The Masque of the Read Death; The Pit and the Pendulum; The Black Cat; The Cask of Amontillado; The Imp of the Perverse and The Gold Bug. (via Diane Duane)

Patient's fart in surgery causes fire, severe burns

A patient at Tokyo Medical University Hospital was undergoing laser surgery on her uterus when she farted, apparently starting a fire that badly burnt her.

"When the patient's intestinal gas leaked into the space of the operation (room), it ignited with the irradiation of the laser, and the burning spread, eventually reaching the surgical drape and causing the fire," according to a report from the hospital.

(The Straits Times)

Watch Pee-wee Herman's Halloween appearances on David Letterman (1983 and 1984)

Pee-wee's sage trick-or-treating advice: "Don't eat any apples you can shave with."

(/r/obscuremedia, thanks UPSO!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8dHJrEig5k

Dance to Ministry's "(Everyday Is) Halloween"

Al Jourgensen may prefer to forget that he once cultivated an English accent and created this underground club hit, but on this day, we happily remember Ministry's "(Everyday Is) Halloween" from 1984. Above, a fan video cut up from horror films.

Really not sure about this livestream from Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel's livestreaming a press event: the PayPal billionaire is explaining why he's supporting Trump, how he's going to speak truth to power, why his comments about women aren't "big" issues, and so on. This is just a taster of what's coming in the new year, obviously.

Can't say it was what I expected but still looking forward to what Disney does with Episode VC!

Chicago has about 40% fewer African-American teachers than in 2001

This month's Mother Jones examines a shocking statistic: "According to the Albert Shanker Institute, which is funded in part by the American Federation of Teachers, the number of black educators has declined sharply in some of the largest urban school districts in the nation. In Philadelphia, the number of black teachers declined by 18.5 percent between 2001 and 2012. In Chicago, the black teacher population dropped by nearly 40 percent. And in New Orleans, there was a 62 percent drop in the number of black teachers." (more…)

An illustrated microhistory of micronations

Sofie Louise Dam and Andy Warner drew up this charming overview of some of the more notable micronations in world history. (more…)

Get Your Hands On Boing Boing’s Best-Selling Deals of October

#1. 10-Ft MFi-Certified Lightning Cable: 3-Pack

With this deal, for the price of one Apple Lightning Cable, you get three ($21.99): now you can keep a cable at work, one in the car, and one at home, too. The cables are MFi certified, so they’re guaranteed to work perfectly with your Apple devices. And of course, their 10ft length means you won’t have to get out of bed or walk across the room to use your phone while it’s powering up. Finally—no more having to deal with a dead phone battery, no matter where you are.

#2. Ultra Soft 1800 Series Bamboo Bed Sheets: 4-Piece Set (White)

There are a lot of ways to unwind after a long day, but our personal favorite is settling down to sleep on these ultra-soft, ultra-luxurious bed sheets. Bamboo Bed Sheets ($32.98) are made with a combination of bamboo yarns and microfiber, and come specially treated and pre-shrunk—so not only are they ridiculously comfortable, they’re crazy durable, too. One set includes a flat sheet, a fitted sheet, and two pillowcases.

#3. Piper Computer Kit

The Piper Computer Kit ($279) gives you a real engineering blueprint that you can follow to assemble your own self-contained computer—which runs on the Raspberry Pi 2 Project Board. Once you’ve assembled your computer, you can access PiperUniverse, an educational Minecraft story mode that will deepen your understanding of computer engineering principles. The Piper Computer Kit makes the perfect present for kids and adults alike.

Also explore the Best-Sellers on our network right now:

• Python
  
  • Python Programming Bootcamp ($39) 

• Cord-Cutting
  
  • Ghost Indoor HDTV Antenna (57% off)

• Coding
  
  • Learn to Code 2016 Bundle (Pay What You Want)

• Music + Entertainment
  
  • Brain.fm: 3-Year Subscription ($29)

Lovely exhibition of origami flora and fauna

Folded Transformations just opened at The Huntington. The exhibit features 25 beautiful works by origami master Robert J. Lang. (more…)

The Candy Hierarchy for 2016: Halloween's best and worst treats

Click to view the below full-size; or download as a a high-quality digital poster (4MB) for detailed scrutiny; or proceed for the plain text, abstract and analysis...

The Candy Hierarchy (2016)

TOP LAYER

Any full-sized candy bar
Cash, or other forms of legal tender
Kit Kat
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Twix
Snickers
Tolberone something or other
Lindt Truffle
Peanut M&M’s
Milky Way
Nestle Crunch

POST TERTIARY LAYER

Butterfinger
Rolos
Dove Bars
Regular M&Ms
Mars
Hershey's Dark Chocolate
Reese's Pieces
Chardonnay
York Peppermint Patties
Three Musketeers
Heath Bar
100 Grand Bar
Junior Mints
Caramellos
Skittles
Mr. Goodbar
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate
Hershey's Kisses
Mint Juleps
Starburst
Milk Duds
Nerds
Whatchamacallit Bars
Sweet Tarts
Jolly Ranchers (good flavor)
Cadbury Creme Eggs
Smarties (American)
Glow sticks
Swedish Fish
Gummy Bears straight up
LemonHeads
Sourpatch Kids (i.e. abominations of nature)
Smarties (Commonwealth)
Mint Kisses
Vicodin
Licorice (not black)
Pixy Stix
Minibags of chips

LOWER TIER

Mike and Ike
Bottle Caps
Coffee Crisp
Lollipops
LaffyTaffy
Kinder Happy Hippo
Goo Goo Clusters

Candy Corn

Now'n'Laters
Reggie Jackson Bar
Licorice (yes black)
Good N' Plenty
Fuzzy Peaches
Mary Janes
Bonkers (the board game)
Hard Candy
Dots
Bonkers (the candy)
Chick-o-Sticks (we don’t know what that is)
Necco Wafers

LOWEST TIER

Hugs (actual physical hugs)
Trail Mix
Tic Tacs
Healthy Fruit
Maynards
Chiclets
Sweetums (a friend to diabetes)
Black Jacks
Senior Mints
Person of Interest Season 3 DVD Box Set (not including Disc 4 with hilarious outtakes)

TIER SO LOW IT DOES NOT REGISTER ON OUR EQUIPMENT

Pencils
Peeps
JoyJoy (Mit Iodine!)
Generic Acetaminophen
Spotted Dick
Vials of pure high fructose corn syrup, for main-lining into your vein
Jolly Rancher (bad flavor)
Box'o'Raisins
Creepy Religious comics/Chick Tracts
Those odd marshmallow circus peanut things
Anonymous brown globs that come in black and orange wrappers
Whole Wheat anything
Dental paraphenalia
Candy that is clearly just the stuff given out for free at restaurants
Kale smoothie
Gum from baseball cards
White Bread
Broken glow stick

“What’s going on with Kit Kats Dave?”

ABSTRACT

Candy candy candy. Co-principle investigators (PIs) Cohen and Ng again report on new findings. From 2006 to 2013, the PIs conducted a longitudinal study guided by PI expertise and cloaked pseudo-corporate sponsorship. Yet, lo, and thine PIs were so moved by the yearly outpouring of commentary that they opened up the study to additional data sources, namely people. The 2014 Candy Hierarchy resulted from survey data in the thousands; the 2015 Candy Hierarchy was based on 518,605 data points obtained from 5459 individuals. It also opened up a new flank in the survey beyond candy that the PIs continued this year. The secondary study sought to understand the character of the survey takers. It was also used to force an agenda that an area podcast won’t shut up about, like preferred days of the week and proper apple eating and now here we are with about 1275 respondents and 120,000 results and a real swell hierarchy. Just real swell.

TRANSCRIPTION OF THIS MORNING’S CONFERENCE PROCEEDING DISCUSSION, WITH COHEN AND NG.

BC: What’s going on with Kit Kats Dave?

DN: I was about to ask you the same.

BC: Something’s going on with Kit-Kats.

DN: But what?

BC: That’s what I asked you.

DN: Something weird, that’s all I know.

BC: Because we have to start accepting a consensus result. Not counting the full-sized candy bars or hard cash—which are gimmes, we don’t even need to ask that—the year-after-year consensus has a pretty stable top 4.

DN: Kit Kat, Peanut Butter Cups, Twix, Snickers.

BC: Huge news there—Kit Kats put Peanut Butter cups in their place, kicking them down a notch.

DN: I’m sure that pleases you. So we can talk your peanut butter thing now.

BC: My Big Peanut Butter thing. I see two problems with Big PB, neither of them acceptable to me.

DN: You haven’t shut up about this for about five years. You’re about to go into your Mint ra—

BC: CHOCOLATE-MINT COMBOS ARE SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHER CHOCOLATE COMBOS, PB included.

DN: Thank you for screaming. And notice there is not one choc-mint combo in the top 20.

BC: I wasn’t listening, what?

DN:

BC: Doesn’t matter. I have other concerns. Like allergies.

DN: Medical science. You’ re trying to get us legitimacy?

BC: Yeah. We’ve come up to speed in most public eating forums on peanut allergies. But not Halloween. What gives?

DN: I have no reply to that.

BC: What’s the other big news this year?

DN: Yeah, let’s pivot.

BC: We have some good health news. People prefer “whole wheat anything” to “white bread.”

DN: Maybe. But people would also prefer Person of Interest Season 3 Box Set to a Box of Raisins.

BC: It’s not even their best season.

DN: You’re preaching to the choir.

BC: Bonkers the Board Game is preferable to Bonkers the candy.

DN: Most Just Born brand candies are mid-tier—

BC: Your Mike and Ikes, your Hot Tamales, your Peeps, right.

DN: Actually, Peeps didn’t fare well, and we forgot Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews (though someone wrote it in).

BC: And I just realized we didn’t put Hot Tamales on there.

DN: Political results were interesting.

BC: Do tell.

DN: I don’t think we’re telling tales out of school to announce that people prefer Blue M&Ms to Red M&Ms by a 2-to-1 margin. Although to be fair, most folks didn’t seem to care one way or another.

BC: I don’t think we’re telling tales out of school to say that Red folks preferred Skittles more than Blue did.

OUR POLITICAL PROXY

In this year’s Candy survey we included a politics proxy matrix, polling for JOY versus DESPAIR in Blue versus Red versus Third Party M&M’s. Although most respondents didn’t get it (or did they?), we devised an algorithm to parse out Democratic versus Republican leaning survey takers. For transparency’s sake, this algorithm looked a little like this:

Notable observations include the following:

1. Strongly leaning Republicans (red JOY versus blue DESPAIR) appear to prefer Skittles over strongly leaning Democrats (blue JOY versus red DESPAIR). Here Republicans had a +7 JOY rating (from n=11 respondents), and Democrats had a +6 JOY rating (from n=22 respondents).

2. Democrat leaning participants had Cash at the number one rank, possibly supporting the view that Halloween hauls are a means of social support for “the 99%.” Cash did not make the top 10 for Red-state respondents. Coffers already full?

3. The statistics involved in this statement need to be fact checked (seriously).

DN: You’re really extrapolating beyond statistical validity, I fear.

BC: I like how now you act like that’s a concern.

DN: Speaking more scientifically, people who chose the “Yahoo! Finance” headlines at the bottom preferred cash too. That makes sense.

BC: Plus, BoingBoing readers are overwhelmingly scientifically curious (choice of “Science” in the last question, n=983 out of 1232). That’s hopeful.

DN: Yeah, you don’t get that scientific anchoring in those off-brand polls, like the Influenster one I saw last week. Besides, I think they invalidate their own survey since Candy Corn was highest rated with their metrics.

CANDY CORN AGAIN

We wish to address the elephant in the room. That is, the “scientific survey” conducted by Influenster, reported on by ABC News. This apparently places Candy Corn at the top of their hierarchy. To be blunt, we found this to be statistically invalid, as Candy Corn in our total rankings, as well in every demographic (except one) consistently placed Candy corn in a MEH to slight DESPAIR rating. Furthermore, last year’s data would further support our findings, so basically LONGITUDINAL DATA BITCHES! Note that the one exception were those respondents who preferred the “YAHOO! Finance” choice in the last question – read into that as you will.

BC: Speaking of scientific legitimacy, I can’t believe we haven’t talked about the results that are already shocking the world.

DN: You’re talking about the Friday/Sunday question, I assume.

BC: Of course, Dave, yes, I’m talking about the Friday/Sunday question. Last year we had a near perfect 67:33 ratio of a Friday-to-Sunday preference.

DN: But something happened, because this year we had a sea change, to 65:35 Fri:Sun.

BC: I don’t even know what’s real anymore. We’ve continued that survey at Various Breads and Butters for a year now, with lock-tight 2:1 results.

The Platinum Ratio, as people call it now.

DN: It could be bad data. Or campaign fatigue.

BC: Would explain why people are definitely poll-weary, that’s something.

OUTLIERS

Although for the following observations we did not specifically calculate p-values, and we shuddered at idea of degrees of freedom, the most striking preferences exhibited in our demographic data appeared to surface in three places:

1. The Betty versus Veronica divide. First, it should be noted that almost identical numbers of respondents chose Betty (n=509) versus Veronica (n=500, what is wrong with you people?). Although there are minor preferences shown in various candies, there was a very observable difference in preferences for Sour Patch Kids. Veronica folks strongly favored these candies, whereas Betty folks did not.

2. Males have overall JOY for Vicodin, whereas Females have overall DESPAIR.

3. Those who see a White and Gold dress overwhelmingly exhibit more JOY for this than Blue and Black folks (here, it is close to an overall MEH rating). We posit that this is a colour thing. Maybe folks see red licorice differently – next year, we will need to include CT scans in the proceedings.

DN: Good point. We only had about a fourth the respondents as last year, at close to 1300. It’s the political season. People are done with it.

BC: They’re done with apple questions too.

DN: Yeah, I’m still struggling to figure out what that East-West apple-eating question is.

BC: Most people are. It just shows that you eat apples from side to side, not bottom to top (core and all).

DN: Why is that even a question?

BC: There’s some freak in my hometown that does it that freak way, and then some guy in Northern Virginia. Outliers.

DN: Tell them to eat apples 10,000 times, they’ll learn.

BC: Donny P said “I hope they print my manifesto about the correct way to eat an apple,” but nimelennar knew the sticking point “I doubt they will. The apple lobby is dominated by in-ciders.” This entire line of reasoning has been redacted.

BC: Any other insights to offer.

DN: Not really, but how about lots of graphs.

BC: And more footnotes?

DN: Yes, footnotes galore.

BC: I can’t go on like this.

DN: Well? Shall we go?

BC: What?

DN: Shall we go?

BC: Yes, let's go.

They do not move. Cos of the candy? Sugar crash.

FOR DATA GEEKS

For you viewing pleasure, we have released the raw data for this year’s candy hierarchy, which can be found here. Furthermore, don’t forget that last year’s raw data can also be obtained from this link. Finally, if you like graphs, there are lots to be found at the above link – mostly candy hierarchies of the various demographics. Seriously now, if anyone wants to do a proper statistical look at the data, then please contact the authors. This sort of stuff might be perfect for a predatory journal or two. Oh yes, and we’ll also leave the survey open for a while, in case people want to add to it, post-Halloween.

FOOTNOTES

1. As before, in which NF = |JC – DC| denotes the difference between the empirical measurement of joy versus despair. Hence the term: Net Feelies.

2. Beschizza Bars, they call them (Beschizza, 2010)

3. Look: Kit Kats. They’re up a spot. The Kit-Kat v. Peanut Butter Cup battle is the Yale v Harvard of candy. Or Kanye v. Taylor. Or Bojack Horseman v Mr. Peanutbutter.

4. Two years in a row, we remembered to include Butterfinger (2015)

5. People keep forgetting, but these may be rolled to a friend.

6. Not to be confused with soap.

7. Yes, God's Candy

8. Like Peeps (lower on the tier), CCE’s are this weird seasonal dissonance as an Easter not Halloween candy. Appropriate ranking may depend entirely on date of purchase versus date of opening. Experts in this field often refer to this dichotomy as "fresh CCE" versus "stale CCE," or FCCE versus SCCE (Beschizza, 2011). Note that its interior has also been described as "pustulent." (Petersen, 2010)

9. We now accept that these and chalk are one and the same (Gadgetgirl, 2010). Also known as Rockets in Canada and the UK. Though rockets are known as bookmarks in the US. And bookmarks are known as Drop Love licorice in The Netherlands, a popular sugar-free laxative.

10. This does not refer to herring.

11. So this is interesting. Folks who like reading ESPN seem to have a problem with mint kisses (Nf of -16, compared to Nf of +83 for Science readers). This trend doesn’t seem to happen with any other mint related candies, and so we are left to assume that folks that enjoy ESPN have a problem with kisses.

12. Given the political season, it kind makes sense that Vicodin moved up a few spots in the rankings,

13. In 2014, Joy and Despair mostly cancelled each other out. Hence the great “Licorice Root Beer Debate of 2014.” This year and last, however, we split it between black and non-black licorice. You all can fight this out. Note the NSFE, or Not Suitable for Europeans label (jhbadger, popobawa4u, chgoliz, SpunkyTWS, Donald_Petersen, Ambiguity, bobsyeruncle666, SuprWittySmitty, SteampunkBanana, SARSaparilla, SmashMartian, daneel 2014)

14. Or did we mean bags of minichips? This may be a typo. We had copyediting outsourced.

15. This is from EU pressure, known in diplomatic circles as the “Hornby Concession" (see his many footnotes from the 2012 version). Also cf. Mister44, 2016 [https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/tell-us-about-your-halloween-candy-preferences-and-other-things-besides/88024/5].

16. Yeah, this candy corn thing. There was that one weird poll from Influenster that claimed candy corn was the top choice in all U.S. states. As dutiful readers know, Candy Corn remained unclassified in 2006, was tentatively placed in the Upper Chewy/Upper Devonian in 2007, fell away in 2008, regained its footing in 2009, found a spot somewhere in the middle in 2010, and has wavered just below the Peterson Influx ever since in the Marcellus Wallace Cusp. We’re waiting for D. Petersen to tell us how it sits near the Petersen Influx. We’re waiting. Tick tock.

17. Thanks, Obama.

18. No comment. Not even to Access Hollywood.

19. But not erasers (N. Johnson, 1977).

20. Placed solely to acknowledge, make fun of, and possibly undermine British opinions. Google it, but be careful (2012).

21. These things keep coming up. Stop it.

22. You’re welcome, America.

23. Whoppers still blow. QED.

24. Look at you, Helvetica, holding strong against Times New Roman as a top-tier font. We’ll hand those out next year with the Kit Kats.

Secret society curios: classic Masonic and Odd Fellows folk art

Allison Meier at Hyperallergenic has a fascinating look at The American Folk Art Museum’s exhibit of classic secret society folk art. (more…)

Candy cigarettes, the best worst thing since Jarts

Stanford historian Robert Proctor amassed a remarkable collection of candy cigarette packaging in Golden Holocaust, like this candy cig marketed as "Just Like Daddy!" Yes, they were evil, but sometimes the best things in life are. (more…)

Former Attorney General: FBI Director "made a serious mistake"

Last week, FBI director James Comey released a vague letter saying the FBI was investigating more emails that had something to do with Hillary Clinton's personal server. The media largely ran with the GOP characterization of this as reopened investigation into Clinton herself, but things soon got muddy and even conservative commentators found the situation unacceptable. First, the emails were on disgraced politician Anthony Weiner's computer, impounded in his teen sext case. And second, the FBI doesn't even know what's in them, suggesting an attempt to tip the election or appeasement to political pressure that makes everyone look bad. Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General until last year, writes that Comey's made a "serious mistake." (more…)

Original 176 emoji acquired by New York's MoMA

In 1999, Shigetaka Kurita created 176 digital icons that fit in a 12x12 pixel grid. Pagers, then cell phones, then smartphones ran with the emoji concept. Now MoMA is acquiring the original set, and MoMA's Paul Galloway will be discussing the collection at Emojicon this week. (more…)

Heaven's Gate Away Team Patch

After a recent update on the surviving members of the Heaven's Gate cult and their ongoing maintenance of its now-fashionably anachronistic website, (previously) I checked again and found that the Heaven's Gate "Away Team" patches are finally available again for purchase.

The only pair of Nike Decades currently on offer, though, is from someone on eBay who wants $6,600 for a pair.

e-ink keyboard changes for every purpose

I've been into old-fashioned mechanical keyboards lately; Sonder's e-ink model promises to bring the fetish into the 21st century. Each key is both mechanical and a tiny e-Ink display that can change on a per-application basis.

The Sonder Keyboard combines a sleek new design with a built-in rechargeable battery and enhanced key features. With an improved mechanical mechanism beneath each key for increased stability, as well as optimized key travel and a lower profile, the Sonder Keyboard provides a remarkably comfortable and precise typing experience. It pairs automatically with your Mac, so you can get to work right away. And the battery is incredibly long-lasting — it will power your keyboard for about a month or more between charges.

The styling is minimal and Apple-oriented. Sonder's keyboard uses Bluetooth, but comes with USB and a lightning port too. It's $200, which seems reasonable for such a specialized device: compare to Art Lebedev's Optimus Popularis color LED model, still a pricey curiosity at $1500.

Is this the most effective political ad of 2016?

US Senate candidate Jason Kander was consistently trailing incumbent Roy Blunt in the Missouri race until this month. Many attribute the shift to a simple and memorable ad in response to criticism of Kander's position on gun background checks. (more…)

Mesmerizing 3D fractal animations: ECHOES

San Francisco-based artist Chris Bjerre created these gorgeous black-and-white forms that pulse between elemental shapes. (more…)

Watch Before the Flood, an urgent call to arms about climate change

National Geographic released Before the Flood over the weekend, and it is a calm but clear-eyed overview of the scope of the environmental crisis facing our planet. It also looks at pragmatic steps we can take right now to slow the damage. (more…)

Great primer on cooking with and caring for cast iron skillets

Cast iron skillets should be a part of everyone's kitchen, but some people feel intimidated by with the preparation, use and maintenance. This nicely-produced video by Tasty shows how even an old hand-me-down skillet can be transformed into the perfect tool for great stovetop results. (more…)

Clown porn searches peaked up 213% this month

Pornhub reports that creepy clown surges spark creepy clown urges. As the creepy clown fad has spiked, so has interest in clown-related erotica. And it's popular with the ladies: "women are 33% more likely to search for clown porn than men." (more…)

Benjamin Button reviews the new MacBook Pro

Apple's just-announced 2016 MacBook Pro hasn't gone down well, particularly among developers. Maciej Ceglowski's review of the previous model, from the perspective of a man traveling backwards through time, is the best of the complaints. (more…)

Teasmade: the classic British bedside tea-brewing alarm-clock, now available in the USA

A decade ago, I made note of the fact that the iconic UK Teasmade alarm-clocks (which automatically brew a cup of tea using an improbable, Wallace-and-Grommity/Heath Robinson set of mechanical actions) were to be reissued, and today I come to find that they now exist and can be purchased in a model that runs on US electrical current. (more…)

300 Million Children Breathe Highly Toxic Air, reports UNICEF

“Almost one in seven of the world’s children, 300 million, live in areas with the most toxic levels of outdoor air pollution – six or more times higher than international guidelines” UNICEF said today, in releasing a new report on how air pollution around the world affects our most vulnerable.

(more…)

FBI gets warrant to search Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin's email

Hillary Clinton's email woes won't die.

Federal investigators today obtained a fiercely-sought warrant to begin searching a large cache of emails sent to or from Huma Abedin, longtime confidante and senior aide to Hillary Clinton. Federal law enforcement officials told reporters the warrant was in on Sunday, as prosecutors with the Justice Department and agents from the F.B.I. rushed to review as much of the emails as possible before Election Day, which is now only one week away.

(more…)

How Minnesota's governor performed an economic miracle by raising tax on the rich and increasing minimum wage

By every measure, Minnesota governor Mark Dayton's five year run as governor has been a stellar success: while Tim Pawlenty, his tax-slashing, "fiscally-conservative" Republican predecessor presided over a $6.2B deficit and a 7% unemployment rate (the mere 6,200 jobs added under Pawlenty's 7-year run barely registered), Dayton added 172,000 new jobs to the Minnesota economy, brought Minnesota down to the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the country, and brought the average Minnesotan income up to $8,000 more than the median US worker, while posting a $1B budget surplus. (more…)

4 egg mold fails that you should definitely try at home

In honor of Halloween, the Boing Boing Store is featuring an awesome Egg/Cookie Mold Set. Naturally, many have tried and many have failed to use egg molds in the past - and today we're celebrating those that have "Nailed It"! 

#1 One of these things is not like the other...

#2 No kidding...

#3 YUM

#4 Nailed it!

These molds are supposedly easy to use—just place the mold in your frying pan and crack two eggs into the rings. In the time it usually takes to cook your eggs, you’ll either have an awesome creation or a total fail. Either way, you're a winner in our book.

For a limited time, the Skull & Owl Egg/Cookie Molds are 40% off retail, just $11.98—grab yours before they're bought up by internet meme enthusiasts everywhere.

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