A group of scientists has hit upon an ingenious way to get funding for their research: “they have identified the brain region that becomes active as the shopper reaches to the supermarket shelf to make their final choice.” Seriously, though, these researchers from the U.K. have been using magnetic encephalography to identify the regions of the brain that are active when people make their shopping choices. These regions may be used in more important life decisions as well. But it’s not surprising to me that they picked an experiment that is likely to cause some interest among industries that can generate money from their findings. Will they one day discover how to turn every shopping choice into a “no brainer” decision?

The Covers Project uses a database of cover songs to create chains of cover songs. “A cover chain is a set of songs in which each song is a cover of a song by the band who covered the preceding song.” Another fun place to plow through for favorites. (via xBlog)

An exhibit of airline memorabilia is opening at the San Mateo County History Museum (note: that link resizes your browser window). It was the personal collection of John Hickey, whose wife donated it to the museum after his death in 1990. Swizzle sticks, posters, signs, Waterford glasses from the inaugural flight of the Concorde, and a multitude of wings, it’s all there. The items recall a time when taking a plane flight was a luxurious experience for all involved. I remember seeing similar items exhibited in the mezzanine at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos.

Can you identify books from their first lines? The children’s books are especially fun. The categories definitely help a lot in narrowing things down. I don’t recall the exact first lines as much as I can remember names of characters or settings. If I had to recite first lines after being given a book title, I think I could only do one, “Tale of Two Cities”. And maybe certain versions of the Bible. (via Provenance Unknown)

Things I’ve Learned From Bad Dreams (first in a potential series)

When the president is on every channel of the television, he will continue to appear on the screen even if you turn it off. Unplugging the TV does not help. Throwing bricks at it is not advised.

If two tigers regularly prowl about your property looking for tasty treats, you must disclose this fact if you are selling your home. However, if you are selling a condiminium, you are not legally obligated to tell potential buyers about any tigers.

Never sleep in the dishwasher.

The Museum of Ancient Inventions, virtually housed at Smith College, grew out of a course on the history of science. Students in the Ancient Inventions course researched and constructed all the items. Some are surprisingly sophisticated. There’s a coin-operated machine that dispenses holy water, a battery, and a steam engine. (via whim & vinegar)

Did you know that grapefruit juice is not the best way to wash down certain prescription pills? In simplified terms, grapefruit juice increases the absorption of some medicines, which is sometimes not how they are intended to work, and in rare cases can be life-threatening. These pages go into more detail about the science behind the interactions and also some deaths that have resulted from it. Although I can’t verify all the information presented by that site, there is a list of references at the end.

Snarkout’s latest post has some interesting links for environmentally friendly homes: solar shingles, efficient windows, and bamboo flooring.

I have not been watching baseball closely enough. I just learned about the traditional ball flip to the first baseman from this article. “In every major-league game, each time the side is retired and the first baseman trots off the field, someone in the dugout tosses him a ball. It is the infield warm-up ball.” What other bits of baseball heritage have I been missing and what has been lost to the ages? On the opposite end, new baseball trends, the Oakland A’s pitching coach has been working with a sports medicine surgeon to map pitching motions and analyze the movements of good pitching. They hope to reduce injuries and keep the pitching staff in good form.

Violinist Joshua Bell was featured on Prairie Home Companion this past weekend. You can listen to his segments from the show in Real Audio format. Josh has been working with the MIT Media Lab’s Hyperinstruments Group on their HyperViolin.