Farhad Manjoo, in Slate, explains why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period:

Can I let you in on a secret? Typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and inarguably wrong.

Part of the problem is that most smartphones (BlackBerrys, Androids, and iPhones, at least) have an option to automatically insert a period and a space if you hit two spaces after a letter, thereby reinforcing the “two spaces” action at the end of a sentence. I doubt I will be able to break the habit (however, I did switch the wrist I wear my watch on, so there’s a chance).

Louis Martin, a wealthy French gentleman, stipulated that his house should be locked for 100 years after his death and then reopened as a museum.  The BBC has a short video tour of the museum.

Hot towels after your bath?  It’s a shame we don’t still do that.

Starbucks is adding ‘Trenta’ size cups to it’s drink lineup.  The 31-ounce cup will be used only for iced coffee and iced tea drinks and will cost $0.50 more than a similar Venti sized drink.

The National Post has a graphic showing how large the new cup really is (hint: it’s bigger than an average stomach).

The Most Amazing Press Release Ever Written:

“I’m quoting myself again because the first quote didn’t do it justice,” says Delaplane.  ”If you’re still reading this news release, then you know what I’m talking about when I say it’s something special.  In fact, it’s 483 words of pure awesomeness.  When it crosses the wires, I believe history will have been made.”

There’s lots of flooding in Queensland, Australia, and if you’re 19 years old, what else is there to do but try to ride an inflatable sex doll down a swollen river?

The incident prompted a warning from police that blow-up sex toys are “not recognised flotation devices’’.

Australian for “duh”.

The USA now has snow on the ground in 49 out of 50 states.  Snow fell on the Mauna Kea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, making Florida the lone holdout.

There are no reports of all 50 states having snow at once. The AP reported that Jan. 19, 1977, had snow in all states but South Carolina.

You know there’s a bunch of people saying, “What about all this global warming hogwash?” right about now.  Leave it to the English to set everyone straight.

Archaeologists have found a 6,000-year-old facility in an Armenian cave that was probably used to make wine.

The wine press measured about 3 by 3 1/2 feet and was positioned to drain into a deep vat more than 2 feet deep. Similar to presses utilized as recently as the 19th century throughout Europe and in California, it was clearly meant to be used to smash the grape by foot. All around the top of the press, researchers found handfuls of grape seeds, remains of pressed grapes, grape must and desiccated vines. Botanists determined the species to be Vitis vinifera, the domesticated variety still used to make wine.

The vat would have held 14 to 15 gallons and was covered by a dark gray residue that contained the plant pigment malvidin, which gives wine its red color and stains clothing and carpets.

Those wine stains really stick around!  The archaeologists should use Wine Away to clean them up.

John Kestner created a nightstand that…well…I’ll let him explain it:

Tableau acts as a bridge between users of physical and digital media, taking the best parts of both. It’s a nightstand that quietly drops photos it sees on its Twitter feed into its drawer, for the owner to discover. Images of things placed in the drawer are posted to its account as well.

Tableau is an anti-computer experience. A softly glowing knob that almost imperceptibly shifts color invites interaction without demanding it. The trappings of electronics are removed except for a vestigial cable knob for the paper tray. The nightstand drawer becomes a natural interface to a complex computing task, which now fits into the flow of life.

Just go to his web site and watch the video.

It’s a prototype now, but is expected to go into mass production this year.

The Observer has a slideshow of photos from Yves Marchand’s and Romain Meffre’s mesmerizing book “The Ruins of Detroit”.

Their web site has other amazing photographs of Detroit (and Theaters is fascinating too).  Reminds me of Chernobyl.