Need something to do this weekend? Dissect a Black Widow

Dissecting a black widow spider to get its silk glands seems like a task fraught with peril. Luckily, for anyone who dares, now there is video from scientists to show you how it’s done.

via  Scientific American

There’s video too?

Technology revolutions that are gone

Before there were photocopiers, scanners and printers, there was the Ditto Machine (a.k.a. spirit duplicator), produced by the Illinois-based Ditto Corporation. Originally introduced in 1923, the Ditto Machine was a printing method that transferred ink onto a master copy made of smooth, waxy paper. An alcohol-based fluid (hence “spirit”) was then applied to transfer the image to a copy. Primarily used by schools and churches, the Ditto became less and less commonplace as other copying technologies were brought to market.

More via  Mother Nature Network

The best thing about taking a test in school was the smell of the Ditto copies. I can smell it now.

Out of work? Look on the bright side: traffic flow is better.

Image via Wikipedia

A couple of years ago we didn’t drive because gas cost too much. Now, we’re not driving because we’re out of work.

As it turns out, one of America’s darkest economic periods has led to more free-flowing highways, something that will probably be fleeting as the country’s economic engine regains steam.

A new study out today from the Texas Transportation Institute shows that the country saw a historic dip in traffic jams in 2008 and 2009.

via As jobs vanish, so do area traffic woes – KansasCity.com.

Related Articles

• Study: Recovering economy means increased traffic (sfgate.com)
• SFgate.com Bay Area traffic no longer among worst 5 in U.S. (sfgate.com)
• Recession bonus: Fewer traffic jams (chron.com)

Next time you’re in France, check this out

When Frenchman Louis Mantin died in 1905, he mandated that his house be sealed up for a century, then reopened to the public as a museum.  And now it is, effectively becoming a time capsule for all to see.

The French mansion, located in the town of Moulins, is full of artifacts and pieces that Mantin had collected over the course of his life, including paintings, tapestries, prehistoric flints, Egyptian relics and other pieces from the Medieval and Neolithic eras.

via This Mansion, Sealed Shut For Over a Century, Is Now a Time Capsule for All to See.

Related Articles

• Time capsule mansion unlocked (bbc.co.uk)
• Century-old French home/cabinet of curiosity opens as museum (boingboing.net)
• Mansion Untouched for 100 Years (neatorama.com)