Take 5... err 10!
Created | Updated Jun 21, 2003
Every day ten newly approved entries are recommended on the h2g2 Main Page. These go by unnoticed to most users as they focus around their own page. This weekly article points out and reviews the five most entertaining and interesting entries of the week.
How Proteins are Made is a great explanation of the scientific process of protein creation. It's amazing how common protein is, and to find out the many complex actions it performs. After all, DNA, the basic building block of life, is a complex protein chain. Be prepared to be flooded with information but why ever not? It's nice to be aware of the stuff all life depends on... (well, one of them anyway!)
Feral Children tells of a few cases of feral upbringing, and the many interesting questions brought up thereby. Although these cases are often tragic and the victims never get to live a normal life, they do lead to some revelations about human beings. Fortunately and unfortunately, feral children are rare phenomena. But, from investigation of the 'subjects', we discover how much of our behaviour is dependent upon upbringing, and how fixed
it becomes.Triskaidekaphobia tries to explain this great superstition. There is no good defence to being obsessed by certain numbers. Different cultures seem to pick different generic numbers to cast out and shun. If one followed all number-related superstitions you'd get that 'eerie feeling' every time someone dared to speak out a numeral. Now, doesn't that sound fun?
Banana Slugs writes about these wonderful, slimy invertebrates. Then it advises how to conduct a certain 'experiment' to show that slugs are not homeless snails. Unfortunately this experiment involves oral contact with the slug.I wonder how many times this researcher conducted this experiment? Just
how often do they bite their tongue?Beer Laws explains about the many limits imposed on the poor beer-drinker. It gathers laws from several countries across the globe. Though complex and no longer relevant, Britain's laws seem to be favourable according to polls. The idea that 'old habits die hard' might refer to the beer drinkers more than the poll voters though :-).
Floor Jumping writes about this great, productive activity. Or maybe not. Well, it's at least as productive as err... no! But it does sound like great fun, unless you're the victim, or an aspiring jumper making the first plunge.
Lager is a nice summation of the history of lager. It explains how the drink came about and the alterations done to make it the drink we all know far too well. Explaining how the brands got their names, the entry tells of the competing breweries. It's interesting to know so many are based on their
origins. Now, I wonder if one would find a beer museum in Budweis...
Parallel Parking explains how to achieve this great feat. It all looks like an unneeded hassle. There must be a better, less time-wasting way to achieve this state of inertia. This does not mean putting shopping trolley wheels on your car or granting it life! Why not build more streets with angled parking spaces? Imagine the time it would save!
Aach! The story of Nessie hits the shores of h2g2! (Sorry about that). Yes, the tale of The
Loch Ness Monster is told in this article. This entry investigates the yet-to-be-proved sightings. Is there a logical explanation or is this a myth spurred on by the media and Scottish tourist industry? As of yet, no long green carcasses have been recovered and all useful photographs have been uncovered as
hoaxes. But is there some lake-monster up there? Perhaps we'll never know...The Tact and Diplomacy of Prince Philip lists some of the great moments of the great man. Oh, how many public relation disasters has he been responsible for! How can people uphold the claim that the monarchy is in touch with the people? But still, he does provide a good laugh - at least for us cynics, that is ;-).
Well, with that I'll be signing off. Doing Take Five (and now Ten) has been Great, but it has become too much work for me. For now I'll stick to writing non-review articles as reading fifty entries a week is just too much! But don't worry (or celebrate), you haven't seen the last of me!
*cue evil laugh*
