The Futility Closet (Trivia)

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: The Futility Closet, by Greg Ross

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.futilitycloset.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: A collection of curious facts in history, literature, mathematics, language, art, and philosophy.

MY REVIEW: This is a fun blog, wiht 3 or 4 updates most days. Each update is a bit of trivia from history, literature, etc. At 99 cents a month, this blog is an informational bargain.

Here's an interesting post, for example:

Lake Huron’s Manitoulin Island contains a lake of its own, Lake Manitou. Lake Manitou is the world’s largest lake-on-an-island-in-a-lake.

Lake Manitou itself contains two islands; each is thus an island in a lake on an island in a lake.

or

When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” — John Maynard Keynes

or

What constitutes a name? In 1976, North Dakota short-order cook Michael Dengler sued for the right to change his name to 1069. He said that each digit reflected an aspect of his identity; 6, for example, symbolized his “relationship with the universe in my understanding of my spatial occupancy through this life.” He insisted that “the only way that this identity can be expressed is 1069.”

The state supreme court wrestled with the implications:

If the proposed change is written or printed it would simply appear in Arabic symbols, 1069; but if it is verbalized would it be ‘one thousand sixty-nine,’ ‘one naught six nine,’ ‘one zero six nine,’ or would it be ‘ten sixty-nine’? Petitioner, during the oral argument, stated how he would verbalize it, but this would not eliminate the problem because other persons will not know this.

Some observers joked that he could go by “Juan.” But in the end the court refused the request altogether. “Innovative ideas, even though bordering on the bizarre, are frequently encouraged and may be protected by the law and the courts, but to use the court or law to impose or force a number in lieu of a name upon society is another matter.”

RECENT POSTS:
--The Annual Liars
--“Take Heart, Illiterates”
--A Penny Saved
--Concentric Landmarks
--The Next War


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New Reviews published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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Check out the following blogs:
Seaborn: Oceanography Blog
Star Trek Report: Space Sciences
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
Rush Limbaugh Report

The History & On This Day (education, trivia)

REVIEWED BY:

MY RECOMMENDATION:

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: The History and On This Day blog, by Media Services

WEB ADDRESS: Can't find

BLOG DESCRIPTION: If you love to read, this blog will present you with a wealth of information on the past. Certainly a blog that history buffs will enjoy. On This Day is updated daily. And past weather and history stories will be posted twice a week.

On This Day In History updated daily.
Past weather and history stories posted each week.
Weird news stories from the past posted each week.
Weird or strange facts posted weekly.
Biographies posted monthly.

MY REVIEW: This is a fun blog. It gives the happenings on each day, for a number of years.

On May 1, 1805, for example, the state of Virginia passed a law requiring all freed slaves to leave the state, or risk either imprisonment or deportation.

On May 1, 1863, the Battle of Chancellorsville began.

On May 1, 1877, U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes withdrew all Federal troops form the south, ending Reconstruction.

This is one of several blogs that gives the exact same information - I suspect they all get it from one feed - which I couldn't find. I suppose it's all available at Wikipedia. However, it's nice to have it delivered directly to your Kindle every day, so its worth checking out.

RECENT POSTS:
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Ms. Cairo writes two blogs of her own:
Winged Victory: Women in Aviation
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters

Anupam Blog 3, Broken Secrets, Mysterious Issues

1. Anupam blog 3 NO
2. Broken Secrets YES
3. Mysterious Issues MAYBE

The author of Anupam Blog 3 is named Anupam, but he doesn’t give a description of what his blog is about. I decided to subscribe to it anyway, because I was curious. However, it hasn’t been updated since January 6, 2010, which is why I’m saying no and putting it in the inactive section of my index page.

It’s too bad, it looks like it could have been interesting. Anupam lives in Bangalore (I think), and talks about culture and life in India. It’s a little difficult to follow, as his English is not as precise as one would wish, but at the same time overly detailed. But if it had been updated regularly, I would have recommended this as an excellent look into the life and culture of the Indian continent.

Broken Secrets is a much more fun version of “Improve Your Knowledge Daily.” Instead of a single fact, easy to read and as easy to forget, these “secrets” are couched in a friendly manner, and just more fun to read.

Here’s how its described:

This blog is updated every weekday with little known facts and helpful secrets that you probably don't know, but should find useful and entertaining. The topic of every post is a treat for your curiosity and the next time a conversation hits a lull, it's your ace in the hole for bringing it back to life.

As a subscriber to Broken Secrets, you'll read about time saving tricks that baristas use when making coffee; how to keep takeout food warm; why airlines dim the lights before landing; how mechanics keep their hands clean; why you shouldn't drink hot water from the faucet; how to defog your bathroom mirror in 30 seconds; why restaurant food stays warm on your plate; how to open a bottle of wine without any tools... and many more!!

The last five entries:
--The History of Valentine’s Day
--Rescue A Disc From Your Drive With A Paper Clip
--The Massive Underground Vault Near the North Pole
--The Meaning of the Numbers inside the Recycling Symbol
--Shop at Off-Peak Hours for Time Savings

I’m not quite sure what’s going on with Mysterious Issues . I was able to find the URL of this blog on the web, and its been updated practically every day, with the latest update being on Feb 11, 2010. http://mystery.weborglodge.com. Yet when I subscribed to it a couple of days ago, the last entry I received was November 11, 2009. (The same thing is happening with *my* blog, The Friends of Mr. Cairo. I’ve updated it several times, yet I receive no entries to my Kindle. Today I canceled the subscription, and then resubscribed, and after an hour or so I got a new update. We'll see if I get an update tomorrow...)

Rather disturbing. How can some blogs download regularly, but not others?

In any event, here’s the description: Writing tips and sharing experiences of writing my first mystery. If you're an aspiring writer, you'll enjoy it.

Give it a try via Kindle. If it doesn’t work, complain to Kindle, and check it out on the web! (And do the same for Mr. Cairo, too!)