Years ago, on TV, I remember seeing a standup comic do a hilarious riff on the idea of Tennessee Williams as an NBA announcer. Anybody remember who this guy was? Bonus points for a YouTube link.
posted by jonmc
on Jun 18, 2013 -
3 answers
We recently found this piece of art, a bronze plaque, at a table sale. It looks like something created by a known artist, their name is on the tip of my brain, but I'm drawing a blank. Does it ring any bells with any of you?
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posted by feelinglistless
on Jun 17, 2013 -
5 answers
Cleaning my balcony yesterday, I overturned a bench to find these small eggs attached by a fine, stiff filament
• • • • (or if not egg sacs, what, fungus maybe?). I'd like to know what will be issuing from them. I'm in Sydney, Australia.
posted by unliteral
on Jun 10, 2013 -
2 answers
We noticed
this strange device on our roof at work. It's not connected to any power source and we're at a loss for what it is. Any ideas?
posted by Cogito
on May 30, 2013 -
18 answers
I found
this rock by some train tracks today. The rock could be from anywhere since the rock beds for the tracks are often laid with rocks shipped in from everywhere. A Google search hasn't been much help yet. Anyone?
posted by SarahBellum
on May 27, 2013 -
4 answers
I'd like to get some good mystery movie recommendations from the 80s on.
It's OK if they veer toward the thriller, like
Michael Clayton, ridiculous like
Ford Fairlaine, noirish like
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, or are a more standard outing with a strong, interesting, well developed detective lead like
Zero Effect. Drawing room mysteries totally A-OK too. Super bonus points if I can stream them now on Hulu plus or Netflix.
posted by jsturgill
on May 16, 2013 -
25 answers
Does anyone know what happened with the
10 dollar art mystery? It’s been a while and I can’t find a resolution. There’s the
Wiki, but if it has any more information I didn’t see it.
posted by bongo_x
on May 16, 2013 -
3 answers
Hello darlings. I'd like your help, specifically in the form of looking at a painting and telling me if you recognize any parts of it from the city you live in, especially if that city is Boston. There's a fair amount of background in terms of what to look for, so please do bear with me. It's all relevant, I promise.
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posted by FAMOUS MONSTER
on May 14, 2013 -
185 answers
What in the world could be causing itchy scalp and neck for three members of the same family... but isn't lice?
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posted by Andrhia
on May 11, 2013 -
28 answers
So, about a year and a half ago, we bought a house! Awesome. For the first time, I have a back yard and a front yard and a lawn and...
stuff, and I don't know, maybe because I'm old and boring now, I've started to give a crap about making my lawn look nice. Something is really starting to piss me off...
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posted by kbanas
on May 11, 2013 -
25 answers
It's actually a series. The protagonist is a female detective, who seems to be in love with her ex-husband, and at some point has to live with him and his new wife because she is injured. I think she has lived with her elderly mother, too. Sorry, not much to go on!
posted by cherrybounce
on May 8, 2013 -
4 answers
I saw
this little
critter swimming around in my outdoor goldfish pond. It's maybe a little over 1/8" in diameter, seems to paddle around carelessly with feet/paddles on its underside. It's kind of flat, roundish and transparent, except for some spidery markings/innards. Seems to have a hint of a tail, and a couple eye-like spots. A search for baby crawfish turns up nothing quite like this. Mysterious how he got in the pond in the first place.
posted by 2N2222
on Apr 18, 2013 -
7 answers
How do police departments use/search partial license plate information in their investigations? Or incomplete information about cars generally?
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posted by Admiral Haddock
on Apr 18, 2013 -
5 answers
The Secret History. The Talented Mr. Ripley. Can you suggest any more books about evil prep-school types? Mystery or psychological thriller elements a plus, but not necessary. Nonfiction is okay too.
posted by Ralston McTodd
on Apr 10, 2013 -
25 answers
I have a pretty big collection of mod pottery that is all marked WEG. Cake plates, espresso cups, martini pitchers, vases, beatniks smoking on little dishes, horses running around mugs, it's all there. I have been to antiques roadshow, asked a million
ebay sellers about the different stories they use to sell it, grilled antique dealers, and more and have not been able to track down the mysterious WEG.
See flickr set here. [more inside]
posted by katinka-katinka
on Apr 6, 2013 -
6 answers
I'm trying to remember the name of a computer game I used to play in the early- to mid-90s. I think it was a series set in suburbia with two kids (possibly brother and sister?) tasked with solving crimes. It had suspects, a map with possible locations, and it was probably vaguely educational. It was not Carmen Sandiego-related. What was the name of the game?
posted by flibbertigibbet
on Apr 4, 2013 -
2 answers
Posting for a friend, who says: "While cleaning up their old barn in Esnom-au-Val, France, my relatives discovered some writings left on the wall by American GIs in the First World War...."
She has their signatures, but does not know what happened next. Please help her track down their fates. Did they make it home? How can she find their survivors (if any) and reconnect them with these signatures? Can you suggest any resources or search strategies?
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posted by MonkeyToes
on Apr 3, 2013 -
23 answers
Asking for a friend:
Sometime within the last four years, I heard a dancehall/calypso song that samples/references "Every Breath You Take" in the chorus, except the line is "every breath you take, you make the dancefloor shake". Does anyone know what this song could be?
posted by sea change
on Mar 30, 2013 -
2 answers
This envelope with a letter inside was found inside a large decaying bound edition of Shakespeare auf Deutsch in a junk shop in Bushwick that was only apparently open for a few months before disappearing. The letter, postmarked 15 March, 1939 - was sent to Paris by a Mr. Henri Wolf. The contents of the letter appear to be German shorthand. Included was small piece of what looks like code, there's nothing else on the back.
The letter, envelope, postcard, etc in question are at this imgur album. Hivemind: What the hell is this?
posted by The Whelk
on Mar 14, 2013 -
28 answers
I work in an art supply store. People ask for rolls of tracing paper very frequently, and I'm curious as to what they need them for.
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posted by blnkfrnk
on Mar 11, 2013 -
35 answers
My friend has this thing in her bathroom beside the sink and she doesn't know what it is. It was there when she moved in and the former owners are long gone. Does anyone know what it does and does it have an official name? Like, would I be able to find a new one in a store?
Here is a small gallery of 3 photos I took of it. Thank you!
posted by Sully
on Mar 4, 2013 -
5 answers
This comment in a Hacker News thread introduced me to Yashavant Kanetkar. Apparently his C programming books are the worst of the worst. Yet somehow, the Indian education system uses his books pervasively. I tried to find out more about this guy and the controversy around him, but web searches turned up a flat nothing. Anyone read his books or know about the story?
posted by scose
on Mar 3, 2013 -
2 answers
What is this thing my cat brought to my porch?
http://i.imgur.com/cejZcGe.jpg It appears to be something between an animal fetus and organ. When I turned it over it looked the same on the other side. There were no visible eyes/mouth/features. It was larger than a quarter and there was no blood present. A possum visits regularly, and the area has many moles, birds, and raccoons.
posted by Locative
on Mar 1, 2013 -
18 answers
Help me fill in this vague recollection of a story I read? I read it probably as recently as last year. I don't remember if it's a short story or an incident in a novel.
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posted by Infinity_8
on Jan 17, 2013 -
6 answers
A few years ago (at least 3 years but probably 5 or more), I was driving with my mom and we saw the extremely decorated house in these pictures:
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posted by jaimystery
on Jan 16, 2013 -
7 answers
My mom has
a bar of soap that I probably gave her as a gift several years ago. We're trying to figure out what language, if any, the logo/brandname are in and what it means. It could be mirrored or upside down but it still doesn't look like any character set I recognize. The soap was probably purchased at a fair trade store so it could be from anywhere.
posted by ChrisHartley
on Jan 14, 2013 -
7 answers
What is this non-English, possibly German word? Sounds like veetsul zooten, means emotional from an impending change.
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posted by BusyBusyBusy
on Jan 3, 2013 -
9 answers
Sometimes when I have a sexual thought, I can literally feel a buzz, a reaction in my brain just above the ears on both sides of my head, almost an electrical feeling, usually in two short pulses. What is this? Do you experience it? More details inside.
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posted by anonymous
on Dec 12, 2012 -
7 answers
My daughter throws up after she showers. (And a few other times, too.) It's been going on for nine days. What could be causing my kid's mystery vomiting, and what can I do about it?
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posted by Andrhia
on Dec 12, 2012 -
43 answers
What are the best non-Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories, collections, and novels?
posted by jsturgill
on Dec 7, 2012 -
20 answers
BookFilter: The sketchy detail kind. This is about a young adult novel, available by the early 80s, set among a family of artists or writers in, I think, New York City.
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posted by Miko
on Dec 6, 2012 -
5 answers
Seeking recommendations for (non-American/British) crime novels that also serve as interesting social commentary
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posted by 1901gunner
on Dec 2, 2012 -
17 answers
My computer cycles off without warning, and it's on a battery pack/surge protector UPS. What gives?
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posted by Chris4d
on Nov 14, 2012 -
13 answers
I would like to find the name of a film I saw a decade ago. To my recollection, it came out in 1992-1993 and had a male lead whose name I recognized at the time. A couple are driving in a snowstorm and go off the road. The wife disappears and the man makes his way to town (in Colorado, I believe).
He tells the sheriff and others that he doesn't know what happened to his wife, but she shows up and it is revealed that he tried to have her killed for financial gain.
posted by Radiophonic Oddity
on Oct 30, 2012 -
10 answers
There's a strange poster that's been posted all over my neighborhood in Vancouver. I can't figure out whether it's viral marketing, obscure religious propaganda or somebody's strange
idée fixe. Can you help me figure out what it means?
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posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow
on Oct 28, 2012 -
6 answers
