Friday Fun (v.1.15)—Tailgating with Eskimo Pee

I was supposed to attend the Iowa civil war today, but was waylaid by the start of what is shaping up to be a nasty cold.  So, I shipped the sig other off to Iowa City with some friends and bail money, and dropped the Berkster off for a full day playdate with his brother Bo.  Thankfully, that gave me a full day of napping with some football watching thrown in.

Berkeley and Bo on a play date this spring (Left).  Bo napping at our house (Right).

Berkeley getting comfy.

Sig other tailgating with Santa Claus

at the Iowa-Iowa State "game".

With both of the boys having crashed after their full days of fun, I have time to share some fun sites with y'all.  Enjoy!

• My alma mater, Drake University, has been in the news because of its "D+" ad campaign.  D+?  Wow, guess I could've gone out more and studied less! 
• Anyone who went to physics class could've developed a bar trick based on sticking their bare hand into a beaker full of liquid nitrogen, without suffering any tissue damage whatsoever!  (Link includes pictures). 
• Speaking of cracking the books, here's a Cliff Claven factoid:  "Well, ya know Normie, book sizes are based on sheep."
• Speaking of livestock, the recent Iowa State Fair featured a blue ribbon champion steer which had previously won the blue ribbon in 2008.  Now, considering champion market steers are always auctioned for slaughter, how did "Doc" pull off this apparently impossible miracle? 
• Continuing with the freaky science, I just learned that figs are carnivorous.  I'm certainly never going to look at a Fig Newton cookie the same again.
• For those students who prefer to party, here's a list of alternatives to booze, just in case you find yourself out of beer after the liquor stores close.  Not sure if fish heads and Eskimo pee are readily available, but it's always good to know you have options.
• Finally, check out this interesting video of the stroboscopic "rolling shutter effect" (via Neatorama) and some similar still photos by Jason Mullins (ADDENDUM: and a neat helicopter optical illusion).  My readers who are photo buffs probably already know all about this effect, but it was new and quite fascinating to me.