Did my mother really see a demonstration of ancient Egyptian mummification on a modern human cadaver on PBS in the late 90s? [more inside]
posted by Meg_Murry on Oct 16, 2009 - 8 answers

I'm looking for a fascinating piece that I read a few years back that painted an extensive portrait of the lives and culture of runaways and other people living on the margins, written from personal experience. I think it was very long, divided into two pages, and possibly specifically directed at writers whom the author was criticizing for getting their culture wrong. I remember that s/he alked about getting started mugging or shoplifting, how to handle yourself in fights to minimize the amount of actual fighting you would be forced to do, and I forget what all else. One part that I particularly remember asserted that people in this sort of situation could be very conservative sexually but promiscuous emotionally, or something like that. [more inside]
posted by mayhap on Oct 15, 2009 - 4 answers

What does a paleopathologist actually do? I'm not looking for technical terms, but rather "a day in the life of." Is there another term for this specialty that can lead to more information about the profession?
posted by biochemist on Jun 18, 2009 - 4 answers

I need a new "big think" book! I just finished Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, and I loved his other books as well. I've read everything Jared Diamond has published (Collapse, Guns, Germs & Steel, The Third Chimpanzee etc.) I like books that stretch your brain and reveal the hidden factors in life, the world and society. [more inside]
posted by musofire on May 10, 2009 - 65 answers

I’m trying to remember the name of a set of themed encyclopedias for children from my childhood. [more inside]
posted by studentbaker on Mar 9, 2009 - 11 answers