http://www.si.edu/pollinators/
It's Hard to Be a Bee
Vanishing Pollinators is a new exhibition at the National Zoo about yet another ecological problem. Every time we use a pesticide it kills not only the intended victims, but also friendly insects like bees. As those pollinators get scarce, so do flowers, apples, peaches, and a rash of other useful crops. This site tells the story of 34 plants and their endangered pollinators and offers alternatives to the chemicals that cause this kind of damage.

http://www.mos.org/sln/SEM/
Too Close for Comfot
The Scanning Electron Microscope lets you get up clsoe and personal with lots of icky things. Head for the image gallery, where you can choose from animals (deer ticks, weevils, earthworms), plants (cucumber skin, diatom), and various images (dentist's drill, toilet paper, kosher salt). There is another section that explains how the pictures were taken and how the microscope works.

http://www.neurophys.wisc.edu/brain/
Gray Matter
The Comparative Mammalian Brain Collection contains images of the brains of over 100 species, including humans. Choose from the list of specimens, then pick either the common or the Latin name. Read about brain sections and evolution for a little background on what you're looking at. The Exploring Collections explains how the specimens were gotten, prepared,a dn imaged.

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~UN6K-HSMT/English/ENGindex.htm
World Music
In Japan, where space is at a premium, some people keep insects as pets, and their sounds are part of the home. Insect Sound World supplies those sounds for those of us who would rather enjoy the music without the crawlies themselves. The site is organized by common name. Click on the thumbnail once to get a bigger picture. Another click plays the audio.

http://www.time-travel.com/
Out of Time
The Time Travel Research Center believes it is possible to travel both forward and backward in time. There are papers that prove the concepts and calim that advances are happening as we speak. The site is partially funded by membership, so if you join, you might be the first one on your block to time-travel.

http://www.escape.com/~paulg53/math/pi/
A Piece of Pi
Paul's Page of Pi pays homage to that most important of irrational numbers. The main page tells you both why pi is important and why calculating it to more than 20 or so digits is worthless. Find out how some of the big names in math, from Archimedes to Newton, calculated it, and just for un check out the section dedicated to music and poems about pi.

http://onlineconservatory.com/
Practice Practice Practice
Now your kid has no excuse for not taking music lessons. The Online Conservatory offers lessons over the Net. You'll need the right hardware, a sound card, and an MIDI keyboard, but otherwise the site will connect you with an onlilne teacher who will conduct traditional lessons without ever coming to your house. There are even links to online sheet music distributors, so you won't even have to go shopping for music; you can just print it out.

http://www.last-word.com/
The Last Word
The New Scientist magazine sponsors the Last Word, a site that answers everyday science questions such as "Why don't penguins' feet freeze?" or "Why is yawning contagious?" The site is organized by category (Plants & Animals, Around the House, Your Body, and so forth), within which people submit questions. Alternatively, you can use a keyword search to get the answer to that nagging question.

http://www.brainpop.com/
Pop Goes The...
BrainPOP has got fun down to a science. This flashy, funky site has plenty to get kids interested in learning, thanks to a series of animated movies on health, science, and technology (with topics such as acne, static electricity, robots, and so on). Whether your kid is looking for some Web fun or answers to homework questions, this is one site to bookmark.

http://healthgrades.com/
Give Your M.D. a Checkup
Most people put more research into buying a dishwasher than they do into choosing a doctor. HealthGrades makes the task easier. It has information on 600,00 physicians, 5,000 hospitals, and about 400 health plans. For a physician, you can find board certifications, years of experience, and records for state medical boards or Medicare complaints. Health plans are ranked relative to other plans.

http://www.herbmed.org/
Folk Is Not Necessarily Safe
HerbMed is an electronic database from the Alternative medicine Foundation. The information is presented objectively and includes all the known benefits and drawbacks of any given herb. For each one it gives evidence of activity (that is, does it really do anything), warnings, preparations, and mechanisms or action. Entries can get somewhat technical, but you'll definitely glean enough to know if something is potentially dangerous or not.

http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/iceland.html
A Horse of a Different Color
Horses were introduced to Iceland in the 9th century by the vikings. Because of the country's isolation of the centuries, the Icelandic Horse has evolved into a different animal, with behaviors and characteristics unique to that religion. For example, they are smaller than the average horse but thought to be more intelligent. In addition, there is a specific Icelandic style of horse training. This page introduces the breeds, history, character, life, and training of these singular animals.

http://www.webmolecules.com/
Beyond the Naked Eye
WebMolecules is a databse of three-dimensional models of over 200,000 different compounds. You'll need a browser capable of displaying either VRML or Chime format files (plug-ins are easily downloadable). Select a compound, and the molecule will be displayed in a manipulatable 3D format (rotate it, stretch it, make it a line).


______________________________

http://crime.com/
Just the Facts
Crime.com is a disturbing mix of crime prevention and pop culture entertainment. On the one hand, there are sections with information on crime statistics, travel tips, and victims' aid resources. On the other, there are streaming videos of dangerous car chases, as well a Jail Cam showing live, uncensored images from the inside of an Arizona jail. Add the Crime Store, and it's easy to believe that the blinking Warning! of potential profanities and violence is meant to be a draw rather than a deterrent.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/
It Kills Me When...
If you're really interested in what kills people, look at WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System). It allows you to query the official Centers of Disease Control injury-based mortality database. For example, did you know that 14 people died from unintentional overexertion in 1998? Or that 825 pedal cyclists died in the same year (not in vehicular accidents)? This is a great tool to get your facts straight before you petition the city council to ban whatever.

http://inequality.org/
While the Rich Get Richer
Inequality is concerned with the widening division of wealth in the United States. Consider that 34 percent of the homeless in Silicon Valley have full-time jobs but can't afford housing close enough to keep their jobs. Or that most CEOs make more in one day than the average American's annual income. These facts are the teasers that lead you to articles detailing the disparity of wealth in the United States.

http://www.bham.ac.uk/theology/goodacre/multibib3.htm
Siting Chapter and Verse
Althought the Biblical Resources Search is designed for people doing scholarly research, it can certainly be useful to anyone interested in casual biblical study. Enter a keyword or, if you know your stuff, a specific chapter and verse, and the site will conduct a search through a number of online Bible resources. There are also links to ancient world resources (maps, holy land archaeology, and so on) and a listing of discussion groups sorted by topic.

http://www.best.com/~gazissax/city.html
Taphophiles Delight
City of the Silent is devoted to the study of cemeteries for their cultural meanings. There you'll find a history of cemeteries, a glossary of cemetery terms, an index of the "gods of death," and cemetery symbolds. Especially interesting is the Epitaph Browser, a collection of final statements listed alphabetically by the deceased. For example, Jack London, a comedian to the end, has an epitaph that reads "The Stone the Builders Rejected."

http://ulc.org/ulchq/
minister in Your Spare Time
There's e-mail, e-commerce, and e-books; why not e-ordination? The Universal Life Church has been ordaining all who ask since the mid-1960s. At their site, you just need to click on the Be Ordained link, and it will be so. What you do with your newfound spirituality is up to you, since the ULC's theology is to not stand between a person and his or her God--whatever form it takes.

http://www.nypl.org/utopia/
Build a Better World
Utopia traces the concept of an ideal world from the first mention of it in the oldest recorded thought up through modern ideas about it today. The beginning splash screen is worth paging through for the images of the Garden of Eden and other utopian paintings. Click the Exhibition link at the bottom to get the real meat. The exhibit ends with the idea that the Internet is a utopia--though the jury is still out on that.

http://www.vmyths.com/
Virtual Urban Legends
Vmyths dispels urban legends specifically about computer viruses. Think about all those stories you've heard about the friend of a friend whose hard drive was annihilated by one virus or another. Before you buy the story, visit this site for the straight dope about the many hoaxes floating around out there. In addition to an A-Z list of false alarms, there is a Myth of the Day and information on which virus warnings you should take seriously.

http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/
Get Psyched Up
The Encyclopedia Mythica is a complete mythology resource that goes beyond the standard Greek and Roman myths. The site includes celtic, Chinese, Hindu, Latvian, Persian, and many more. Browse the contents of the encyclopedia, or search for something specific. Check out the Geneology Tables to learn about descendants of the gods who appear in various myths, and the Image Gallery for illustrations to help you put a face to the names you read about.


______________________________

http://www.worldrps.com/index1.html
Child's Play
Believe it or not, a number of sites are dedicated to the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (or Roshambo). The World RPS Society takes the simple children's game to its farcical extreme. The site starts with the basics of the game, but quickly moves to basic strategy and then to advanced strategy. For the really advanced player, it explains the addition of dynamite to the game (dynamite blows up rock...).

http://cybercafes.com/
Keeping Wired
If you're traveling to faraway lands (or not so far away, for that matter) and absolutely must stay wired, Cybercafes.Com will prove invaluable. The site contains a database of over 4,185 Internet cafes in more than 148 countries. Search by city or country name, or click a location on the world map. The listings contain the address, URL, and e-mail of the nearest cafes, as well as the hours of operation and the rates they charge for the use of their machines.

http://www.cheatcc.com/
Cheaters Sometimes Prosper
Cheat Code Central colects cheat codes, Game Shark codes, and strategy guides for Sony PlayStations, Nintendo, Game Boys, and much more. Select the gameyou want, and learn the secret codes you can enter to give your character more power, make it jump to a particular place, and so forth. In addition, the site also has game reviews, descriptions, manuals, and saved games that you can download.

http://pdagames.com/
All Work and No Play...
If you thought your personal digital assistant (the pocket computer everyone has) was good only for calendars or to-do lists, visit PDA Games. There are reviews of commercial and shareware games, which frequently have screen shots to let you really get a feel for them. Download a game and play through that next staff meeting--rather than sleeping through it.

http://www.dotcomfailures.com/
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
If you thought all you needed to become a millionaire was .com on the end of your name, check out Dotcom Failures. Start with the late-breaking news of the latest failures and layoffs at Web companies that are short gone (you can't be long gone on internet time). You can click on each of the dead companies and find out what they were selling and why they went under, so you won't make the same mistakes.


______________________________

http://www.movieflix.com/
Catch a Flick
Movieflix is the place to watch "classic" movies and TV shows over the Net. The only downside is that the selections are old and range from remarkably good (Long John Silver and Ozzie & Harriet episodes) to those campy favorites like Rocketship X-M. The good news is that they are all full-length and free (although you do need to register).

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awlhtml/awlhome.html
I Remember It Well
America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894 to 1915 is another entertaining site from the Library of Congress. There are 150 short movies of Americans at work and play. They are listed by subject (from Acrobatics to Yellowstone National Park) and by title (from Columbia Winning the cup to Wrestling at the New York Athletic Club). Most of the films are just a few minutes long.

http://www.adflip.com/
It Is a Classic
Before television, advertisers put most of their effort into printed ads, many of which can be seen at AdFlip. There are many ways to view this site--you can use the search box to look for a particular year, or if you prefer, you can sit back and brose the ten highlighted ads of the day.

http://bestwebs.com/vaudeville/
Will It Play in Peopria?
The Vintage Vaudeville & Ragtime Show gives you a feel for what vaudeville was like in its heyday. Take a tirp back to the Palace Theatre in New York, the mecca of the genre from1913 to 1932. Take your seat and read about the show while sampling audio clips of the famous artists who graced the stage. There is also a gallery of famous vaudevillians, with a short biography of each one.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/T-Shirts/
Signs of the Times
Nothing documents the pulse of a nation quite like the slogans on T-shirts. Howard Besser's T-shirt Database is a sample from the students who pass through UC Berkeley. Besser archives and indexes the pictures and slogans on their shirts, which you can view by topic (academic to war) or search by keyword or phrase. Of course, Berkeley students do have a pretty risque view of the world.

http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/amposter.htm
Uncle Sam Wants You
Veterans Day began life as Armistice Day to commemorate the end of the First World War. In the preradio days of WWI, posters were the method for mobilizing the public. First Call is an online exhibit of approximately 30 war propaganda posters from the period. Most familiar are those containing Uncle Sam, while others referencing the menace of the "Huns" will seem downright racist in retrospect.

http://www.lib.muohio.edu/pictbks/
Picture This
Having trouble remembering the title of your favorite children's books? This is what makes the Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University invaluable. You can search for books by title, author, abstract, or descriptive keyword, and the site will return a list of matches. It's as simple as ABC.

http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/
Greetings from Seussville
Dr. Seuss Went to War chronicles the time when Theodor Seuss Geisel was the editorial cartoonist for a New York newspaper during World War II. These propaganda cartoons are especially bizarre because they are in the Seuss children's book style we all know and love. Stop by and find out who the Grinch really was.

http://www.yesterdayland.com/
Living in the Past
If you like to live in the past, it's time to visit Yesterdayland, the place where people gather and talk about TV, toys, movies, music, and even the lunchboxes of days gone by. The site caters to a wide audience, and each topic of nostalgia is broken down by decade, traveling back in time all the way to 1900.


______________________________

http://wildbrain.com/
A Brainstorm
One of the premier Web animation sites is Wildbrain. There are about eight strips with names like Kozik's Inferno and Anita Bomba--you get the picture. These are not mainstream cartoons, but work being done on the cutting edge. The only catch is the speed requirement. Almost everything they do is streaming video, which is okay on a standard moden. But the faster your connection, the better off you'll be.

http://www.studentreel.com/
Send You Reeling
Student Reel is a site for aspiring filmmakers. The concept is that rather than making a film, duplicating it, and sending it off to get discovered, students can post it on this site, where it will have an instant audience. The set of films is changing constantly as new films get submitted. Most are fairly short, and the topics vary. In addition, future movie critics can register and critique what they see.

http://www.alternativemuseum.org/
Alternatively
Fo 25 years the Alternative Museum in New York has provided a venue for artists outside the mainstream to show their work. Now, even if you can't visit in person, you can view the exhibits online. Featured artists change about four times ayear, and the outgoing exhibits are archived at this site.

http://www.joecartoon.com/
On the Edge
If you think South Park is edgie, check out the Joe Cartoon Co., a series of bizarre, flashy animated cartoons on a variety of topics: elections, pot smoking, the Web, and interpersonal relations. For a special treat there is a section of interactive animations such as Frog in a Blender and Microgerbil--just click the cartoon and...well, you can figure out what happens.

http://www.poemsthatgo.com/
On the Go
Poems That Go is an animated poetry site. The poems are viewed with Shockwave, so not only do the words appear with the intended cadence, some are read by the poets who wrote them. Plus, special effects enhance the poem's appearance on the screen: stars twinkle, sand blows, water flows, people appear and dissolve. New poems appear every quarter.

http://www.webfilmschool.com/
Do It Yourself
Think you can make movies better than the trash you see in theatres today? The Hollywood Film Institute has what you need to get started. It offers online courses such as "The 35mm Shoot" or "Directing Crash Course." Once you've mastered the theories, check out the filmmaker's resources, which offer advice on selling a sitcom script, renting equipment, and contacting casting agencies.

http://www.graffiti.org/
The Writing on the Wall
Art Crimes: The Writing on the Wall collects high-end graffiti from around the world. The site is generally organized by location--United States, Europe, and the rest of the world--then by country and city. For each location, you see thumbnails of the work as well as larger pictures. There is also a special section specifically on train graffiti.


______________________________

http://www.turnerporter.ca/etiquet.htm
Miss Manners
Sooner or later we all end up having to attend a funeral, and unless it's your own, you'll want to act appropriately. Funeral Etiquette gives you hints on what to expect and how not to make the worst of a bad situation. It talks about services, pallbearers, eulogies, condolences, flowers, donations, on and on. The most important section is dealing with the family: What do you say? How can you be of help? and more.

http://myskinmd.com/
Protect Your Complexion
MyskinMD offers a dermatologist's perspective on the various commercial skin care products on the market. In addition to helping sort out which product claims are true, the site, which has specific sections for men, women, seniors, teens, and children, contains a Healthy Skin Zone, a medical library, an Ask the Experts section, and a search engine to help you find a dermatologist. Be sure to visit the Skin Profile section, where you can gauge your risk for skin cancer.

http://www.rateyourself.com/
How Do You Stack Up?
Rate Yourself offers a set of self-evaluation tests in the general areas of careers, love,, personality, hot topics, and knowledge. Find out where you are on the scale in terms of comfort with your sexuality, job satisfaction, and knowledge of current events. Questionnaires can be completed in less than five minutes, and you can e-mail the ones you like to friends if you want.

http://www.queendom.com/personty.html
Through the Mirror Darkly
Get the inside scoop on what makes your personality tick at Queendom's Tests Tests Tests, a collection of Web-administered personality tests. some, such as the verbal IQ or the conflict management style tests, will help you professionally. Others, such as the romantic personality and sensuality tests, have the potential to improve your social life. Each lists how long it takes to complete, with the more complex ones lasting as long as 40 minutes.

http://www.bartleby.com/95/
Probably a Bit Dated
Emily Post has ben the authority on questions of etiquette ever since the publication of her 1922 book, Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home. Now the entire contents of her famous tome are accessible online, where you can scroll through the table of contents to select a particular chapter or enter a keyword for the answer to a specific question about proper behavior.

http://www.eyeglasses.com/
What Was I Thinking?
Have you ever bought something and when you got home thought, What was I thinking? Eyeglasses.Com will help prevent that from happening with your eyewear. In the Try It On section, you can upload a photo of yourself and add various designer frames to your face to see how they look. If you see something you like, you can, of course, buy the frames from them, but it isn't required. Most major brands are represented.

http://makeoverstudio.com/
What Was I Thinking!
Makeover Studio.com allows you to test out your beauty impulses in your own home, before committing to something you'll have to live with. Registration is mandatory (and free), but once you sign in you'll be able to upload your actual picture onto the site. If you don't have a photo to upload, select a face that best matches your own from their library of images. Then you can sample different hairstyles, makeup, and accessories and see what they look like.


______________________________

http://netstorm.net/~mauldin/dpa/dpa.html
Relationship Roulette
If you find that you're less than lucky when it comes to love, try the Dating Pattern Analyzer for help. You rate past dates (you must have had at least thre--nerds need not apply) on a variety of personality and physical characteristics. Next you tell how staisfied you were with each one. The Analyzer will attempt to detect patternes and tell you what they all had in common, what positive traits you should look for, and what traits to avoid.

http://www.santesson.com/aphrodis/
In the Mood?
Modern medicine will tell you it's useless, but there it is anyway: All You Need to Know About Aprodisiacs. Down the left side is a list of all the purported useful products (some of which are deadly). There is also an introduction to the subject and the Exchange, where people can suggest what has worked for them. Funny, but money was the only proven aphrodisiac that didn't show up on the list.

http://presentpicker.com/ppp/
It's the Thought That Counts
'Tis the season, and if you're stumped as to just what to give as gifts, the Perfect Present Picker can help. Enter the specifics of what you're looking for--type of gift, the personality and interests of the recipient, and so on--and you'll receive a list of possible gifts, complete with pictures and links to online merchants.

http://www.deepshock.co.uk/
Can't Seem to Remember
Here's the scenario: You wake up in the morning after a bout of drinking wiht a phone number in your pocket and the vague memory that you kissed someone, but you have no idea who. This fun but nameless site will help you reconstruct your mystery liaison. Answer a series of questions about the evening in question for a composite of what the person looks like. Based on the results, you can decide to ditch the number or dial pronto.


______________________________

http://starchefs.com/
Startlingly Good Food
Star Chefs is a site where famous chefs tout their skills and novices try to improve their skills. Search for recipes by keyword or view the most-requested ones, and read articles such as one by Van Aken about using foams in cooking. For those already in the business, there are plenty of Want ads or training opportunities.

http://www.fatfree.com/
Fat-Free Is Phat
If you must follow a low-fat/no-fat diet for medical reasons, Fatfree: The Low Fat Vegetarian Recipe Archive will save you from a life of eating cardboard. Though the categorized recipe list is the most popular feature at this site, that's not all it offers. Also useful is the mailing list, where people trade low-fat tips and links to other resources--especially useful for novices who may be unfamiliar with some of the more obscure ingredients that pop up in the recipes.

http://www.coffeereview.com/
Caffeine Craze
True java junkies should be sure to visit Coffee Review--a site that applies all the seriousness of wine tasting to coffee. Choose the kinds of beans ou're interested in--blends, dark roasts, organics--and the site will rate them for you. On the subject of brewing, they also rate grinders, pots, and home roasters.


______________________________

http://www.halfbakery.com/
Low-Calorie Baked Goods
The Halfbakery is a communal database where people post half-baked ideas. Did you ever get an idea to build something that is so bizarre it almost scares you? Say, for example, off-the-shelf, prewritten diaries for people who are too busy to keep their own? Ideas are added regularly, and registered users can vote on what they see.

http://www.tveyes.com
Be an Xtreme Couch Potato
Afraid you'll miss something crucial on TV? Don't worry, TV Eyes will keep an eye on things for you. Enter a few keywords that you'd like them to look out for, and the site will track around 30 networks, 24 hours a day. The moment any of your words pop up, you'll receive an e-mail alert. Register for a password and you can file away lists of keywords and turn them on and off whenever you want.

http://www.dialabc.com
Phonetic Phone Numbers
DialABC takes any phone number and returns a list of all the words that can be created with the corresponding numbers. So, for example, if your home phone is 628-6325, you can tell your friends to just dial OATMEAL--or maybe you could try to sell it to Quaker Oats!

http://www.delphion.com/gallery
Wish You'd Thought of That?
The Gallery of Obscure Patents will convince you of either the craziness of people who invent things or the craziness of U.S. patent law for taking them seriously. Inventions change regularly and include things like the mechanical ice-cream-cone rotator (easier on the tongue). If you have an invention to add, thehre's a section where you can nominate your own or someone else's idea.

http://www.pipes.org/
Put That in Your Pipe and Smoke It
If you like to smoke a pipe, stop by Pipes.Org. For novices there is some good information on how to get started. For the current smoker, the pipe picutre gallery is sure to be of interest. There is also a blind tobacco testing section to help you pick the tobacco of your dreams. In an effort to be fair, there are also links to many smoking risk-related sites.

http://www.slanguage.com
Are You Fluent?
Slanguages pokes fun at regional dialects. The site lists slang phrases and prnunciations for over 50 English-speaking regions and includes a special selection on foreign languages. Be sure to visit so you'll know to ask for the tarlet (toilet) next time you're in Indianapolis or the bubbler (water fountain) if you're ever passing through Milwaukee.

http://webfeet.com
Hunting to Get Ahead
Webfeet helps people make good career decisions. It brings together both statistical information (such as salary and cost of living) and consulting suggestions (like resume writing and interview strategies). One of the most interesting things it offers are subjective reports from people in various fields who share their ecperiences working in an industry, working for a company, or living in an area.

http://www.attrition.org/mirror/attrition/
URLs from the Fringe
Attrition.Org is a site that collects links to sites that have been defaced by hackers and displays them for the public to see. Though it may seem this is meant to give bragging rights to people taking part in illegal activities, it's actually meant to generate accurate statistics and keep a historical account of hacker activity on the Web. Attrition neither prevents nor endorses the practice and says up front that any event it know about in advance will be reported to law enforcement.

http://duke.usask.ca/~elias/left/left2.htm
Left Out
Lorin's Left-Handed Site deals with lefties on two levels. The first is a discussion of handedness in general. It answers questions such as how many people are lefties, life span of righty vs. lefty, and what causes handedness, and it dispels common myths. The site is also meant to be a resource by southpaws for southpaws--there are links to articles and books on the subject, addresses of shops that cater to left-handers, and lists of famous people who are lefties.

http://www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/
A Tip of the Fez
Anyone who thinks that Shriners are just people in maroon fezes who drive funny cars during parades should visit the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The site covers the group's 22 hospitals that serve and admit children free of charge. Learn about the hospitals and their locations, as well as what the admission policies are and how to apply to have a child treated.

http://www.chemistry.co.nz/stain_frame.htm
Abstain from Stains
Allan Cmapbell's Stain Guide has the answer to all your stain removal questions. From the alphabetical list, select the item you are trying to remove and receive instructions on what products work best and how to handle specific fabrics. The only drawback is that since the site is baased in New Zealand, a few of the items mentioned for cleaning may not be easily obtained outside that country. Have no fear, though: there are links to a plethora of stain guides availiable on the Web.