“We see various symbols and signs every day, and maybe think ‘I know what that means, but I wonder where it came from’? Well, here’s a look at some of mankind’s more familiar symbols’ origin and meaning, plus some interesting art and photography associated with them.” w/ photos

“Tilting your head boosts your sex appeal and makes you more attractive to the opposite sex, experts have found. Boffins claim their tests prove the simple action can play a significant role in how attractive we are to the opposite sex. A team from the University of Newcastle in Australia asked people to rate the attractiveness of computer-generated 3D faces at different angles. It was discovered women are more attractive if they tilt their face forward at an angle while men are most appealing when tilted backwards. It’s thought this could be because men are usually taller than women… said the researchers with their necks now tilted at bizarre angles.” w/ photo

“Try as you might, you can’t walk in a straight line without a visible guide point, like the Sun or a star. You might think you’re walking straight, but as NPR’s Robert Krulwich reports, a map of your route would reveal you are doomed to walk in circles.” — NPR

“Every year millions of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving without giving thanks to the people who made Thanksgiving possible — the pilgrims at Plymouth who celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621. This infograph, which is loaded with Thanksgiving facts and numbers, is dedicated to those brave souls who crossed an ocean, survived a deadly winter, befriended the natives and settled what would become the greatest country in history. This one goes out to all the pilgrims.” w/ photos

“We all know or have read about the wild girls, the ones who use trickery and deceit to lure a man into their bed, or those who like a little kink with their sex to spice it up. Well, there is a group of flowers whose sex life is as naughty as it gets, and we humans could take lessons from them. Orchids have evolved myriad ways of attracting their partners in reproduction, even to the point of entrapping and kidnapping them. They use every trick in the book, from sexy dresses to perfumes and bondage. And for a few that are unable to attract a partner, no asexual reproduction for them… they have learned how to have sex with themselves. When it comes to orchids and sex, drama abounds! Follow me into their pornographic world.” w/ photos

“Neolithic engineers may have used ball bearings in the construction of Stonehenge, it was claimed today. The same technique that allows vehicles and machinery to run smoothly today could have been used to transport the monument’s massive standing stones more than 4,000 years ago, according to a new theory. Scientists showed how balls placed in grooved wooden tracks would have allowed the easy movement of stones weighing many tons. No-one has yet successfully explained how the heavy slabs used to build Stonehenge were shifted from their quarries to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire… Experts hit on the new idea after examining mysterious stone balls found near Stonehenge-like monuments in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. About the size of a cricket ball, they are precisely fashioned to be within a millimetre of the same size. This suggests they were meant to be used together in some way rather than individually.” w/ photos

“Thanks to human genes spliced into their genome, the mice are the first genetically modified animals to produce lactoferrin. This human breast milk protein protects babies from viruses and bacteria while the infants’ immune systems are still developing. The ultimate aim of the Russian team, and of similar research projects in other countries, is to extract lactoferrin from the milk and use the protein to create healthier baby formula. “Mouse milk is very protein-rich, and this can also translate into very high concentrations of transgenic protein,” Patrick van Berkel, a senior director at the Danish biotech company Genmab, wrote in an email. Breastfeeding mothers typically produce 0.1 to 0.2 ounces of lactoferrin per liter of milk. The modified mice churned out maximum concentrations equal to 6 ounces per liter, said team member Elena Sadchikova of the Institute of Gene Biology at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.” w/ photos

“Scientists say they’ve discovered some prehistoric monsters would only have been able to fly by first pole-vaulting themselves into the air. Researchers say the pterosaur — previously thought to have been too heavy for flight — could actually fly, but only after an odd take off. It’s claimed the giraffe-sized reptiles used their limbs to ‘pole-vault’ over their own wings and then push off the ground using their arm muscles. However, once airborne it’s thought the pterosaur – which had a 32ft wingspan – could fly huge distances and even cross continents.” w/ photos

“A brief, interesting clip from National Geographic’s ‘Ape Genius’ documentary, demonstrating problem solving skills in chimpanzees, by requesting cooperation. Also shows chimpanzees providing assistance to humans, by noticing assistance is needed, and retrieving out of reach objects for their human companions. As time goes on, it becomes more and more obvious that the great apes are our evolutionary cousins. I would hope everyone viewing this would be able to share in my astonishment and awe at the brilliance displayed by these amazing creatures.”

“When President Obama commented that the Republicans were standing around drinking Slurpees while the Democrats were busy creating real change in Washington, it caused quite a storm. Now that he’s sitting down with the new Republican leadership, the so-called ‘Slurpee Summit’ is the talk of the nation. While most of us have had one of 7-Eleven’s frozen concoctions, there’s plenty more you probably don’t know about this too cool drink.” w/ photos