Tony Stephens / Simian Design

Alan Weisman ponders what the effects would be if all humans left.  Fascinating.

Hover over each time period to see what happens

Wow.  French people were sick. Cat-burning, according to the all-knowing Wikipedia, was a popular form of entertainment in sixteenth-century Paris.   According to historian Norman Davies, “[T]he spectators, including kings and queens, shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized.”

That actually gives me the shudders.

The R.A. Maguire Cover Gallery is a fantastic idea. You can buy 8.5×11 reproductions of these masterpieces.

The site is split into three main sections, the covers, photos and originals. You can also see the originals next to the final product as well.

My favorite section might be the originals, though there are some fun ones in the covers. Photos don’t do as much for me, other than maybe just admiring the women. But I like to try and guess what the title might be for some of the art. (no fair looking at the other galleries that give this away.)

I love these old book designs. I’m not so much a pulp mystery type of reader, more of a pulp sci-fi reader, but these covers do a good job of making the book interesting.

Keith Olbermann gets it right, again. Here he is talking about Habeus Corpus.

“Today, 135 years to the day after the last American President suspended habeus corpus, President Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006. At it’s worst, the legislation allows President Bush or Donald Rumsfeld to declare anyone — US citizen or not — an enemy combatant, lock them up and throw away the key without a chance to prove their innocence in a court of law. In other words, every thing the founding fathers fought the British empire to free themselves of was reversed today with the stroke of a pen.”

Superb vintage magic posters and related items from the golden age of magic, 1890 - 1930.

The 20th anniversary of the opening of Capones ‘Vault’.  Suck it Geraldo. (via)

Wall found in New York that existed nearly 200 years before the American Revolution.

Lest we forget. Amazing stories from WWI Vets.

Japanese Castle Browser. Wow. So many good photos of gorgeous castles.

The Fall of the Mongol Hordes, a naval disaster that changed the world.