Sunday smörgåsbord...

... on Monday because Sunday was our first day of autumn temperatures after weeks of brutal heat and humidity, and the outdoors beckoned.

There is no such thing as "cello scrotum."  There ARE entities called "horn player’s palsy, cymbal player’s shoulder, drummer’s digit, harpist’s cramps, clarinetist’s cheilitis, tuba lips, fiddler’s neck, flautist’s chin, guitarist’s groin and guitar nipple," but "cello scrotum" was a hoax.

The new Australian prime minister has affirmed that she does not believe in God (but has great respect for religion).

The winners, runners-up, and dishonorable mentions of the 2010 Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest.

A comment and a long discussion thread at Reddit regarding paying cash at small merchants to save them transaction costs.

A column at The New Yorker points out that the word "soccer" is not an Americanism used to refer to European "football" - it has an "impeccably British origin" ("The “soc” part is short for “assoc,” which is short for “association,” as in “association football...")

A rare mushroom - the "little white" - is causing an epidemic of sudden deaths (400) in China.  "We heard amazing stories about how people would drop dead in the middle of a conversation..."

A column entitled "Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning" has been linked everywhere in recent weeks.  I'll add it here even though it's not a "TYWK" because it is definitely worth knowing.  If you've not read it elsewhere, please consider reading it now.

Someone responded to one of my posts about the Gulf Oil Disaster by saying that the Torrey Canyon spill in the UK was worse, but it was quickly over with.  Not quite true.  This post at the Guardian points out that 40 years later there are still environmental problems from the spilled oil.

"Did Sarah Palin buy herself a couple of luxury items?"  Wonkette dishes the dirt...

Maggots fell from an overhead luggage bin on a passenger airline.

Links to 100 science-fiction movies you can watch online.

A video of the alternate ending of "Titanic."

The blog The Final Sentence is comprised of final sentences (or paragraphs) from literature.  English majors will enjoy browsing the site.

How cranberry juice fights bacteria.  It's not just an old wives' tale - there is a molecular basis for the interaction.  "...exposure to cranberry juice causes the fimbriae on E. coli to curl up, reducing their ability to attach to urinary tract cells..."

If Proposition 19 passes in California, the price of weed could drop by 80% to about $38/ounce.

In this remarkable photo composite, our sun is represented at the far left by a single pixel.  Click the pic to magnificate it.

There is a tumblr dedicated exclusively to Stephen Fry - 42 pages worth.

Pixcetera has assembled a collection of 50 photos to illustrate "The Decade in Pictures."  Predictably, not very many of them are happy ones...

A site called Arachnoboards has links for discussion boards for everything the arachnophile needs.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center has charts and images showing the continuing decline of Arctic ice fields.

Timothy M. Weiner and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill advise that you should beware of flaming hairballs ("...the first reported association between trichobezoars and potential intraoperative fire...).

Those links should keep you busy for a while.  Time for me to get back outdoors for yard chores.

(Photo credit Chad Lindstrom)