General

Here are posts of general interest to me.

$2.6 Million to Teach Chinese Hookers to Drink

“The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will pay $2.6 million in U.S. tax dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job.”

Read all about it.

The Cracked Mirth Canal

The Mirth Canal. Some of the best stuff on the web, according to Cracked.com.

Steam Powered Fish

“The thinking at the time was that it was almost impossible to run a steam engine underwater because it would use up all the oxygen and convert the inside of the ship into an oven. To overcome this, Monturiol invented a chemical furnace based on a reaction between potassium chlorate, zinc and manganese dioxide – a process that produced enough heat to boil water to run the steam engine. To complement this ingenuity, the reaction gave off oxygen as a by-product.” Low-Tech Magazine