Wes Phillips

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine estimate that the human eye transmits visual data at more or less the rate of an Ethernet connection.

Well, the last time I was in Peru, I bought a piece of eight because I heard that's what Brian May uses as a pick—but that was only 400 years old and only cost about $4. These picks, made from meteorites, are 4.5 billion years old and cost over $100.

<I>Scientific American</I> says cognitive scientists believe chess really is "the touchstone of the intellect." Although it makes for a good story, I suspect they just think that little horsie looks cool.

I hate when that happens.

Jon Carroll reports on his summer reading&mdash;<I>Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England,</I>&mdash;and proves yet again that he can turn out better stuff daily than most of us can hope for in a lifetime.

I've never been a huge New York Dolls fan, but I like the energy of this single&mdash;and I love the cameo by the Flying Spaghetti Monster at the end of the clip.

And a bottle, too. Wayne Curtis considers <I>The History of the New World in 10 Cocktails</I>.