From this unusual page about the Simpsons in Thailand, check out the three censored screen grabs of Patty and Selma. In addition to banning smoking in most public places, the Thailand government mandated a ban on depictions of smoking on television. Still, California is stricter on one count: you can smoke in bars and nightclubs in Thailand. (Found while searching for this Simpsons sound clip.)

Some time in 1995, a year or so after I had embraced the Web, I slowly lost interest in local BBSes completely. This January 1995 file list (518 KB text) comes from the Cajun’s Corner BBS in Ventura, California; probably the last warez board in the 805 area code. I used to save the file lists for offline browsing. This was the last I ever downloaded.

Among the “Elite” files are Ecstatica, System Shock, and the September 1994 build of the Chicago beta 1 (later dubbed Windows 95).

Funny… Every file uploaded to the BBS, including those that stayed offline on tape backups, would have fit on a measly three gig drive. (If you’re interesting in playing any of the games on that list, try the Underdogs.)

This is the best optical illusion ever. The squares marked A and B are the same shade of gray. I had to open it in Photoshop to prove it to myself, but it’s true. (Update: For those non-believers without Photoshop, try these animated or static proofs.)

These photo galleries (1, 2) of balloon-animal enthusiasts (or “twisters”) and their creations are freakishly cool. I never would have guessed that a global balloon-animal community existed, but popular balloonicature events like the Belgian Millennium Jam, German EuroJam and Texan TJam prove otherwise.

Plus, balloon porn and a balloon toilet.

I just noticed that former G.E. CEO Jack Welch and Springfield Nuclear Power Plant CEO Montgomery Burns are currently neighbors on Yahoo’s Most Popular News, both in the classic evil-CEO pose. Here’s the screenshot, archived for posterity. Excellent!