Largest Book, Egg Watcher, and Tai Shan the Panda!

Hello everyone!  So here’s some interesting random stuff that I came across.  If you want to read the articles or explore the websites in detail, just click on the images.

First we have the World’s Largest book display!  It’s like 5′ (tall) x 6′ (wide) and requires six people to lift it!  This 350 year old Klencke Atlas was apparently presented to King Charles II by Dutch merchants and placed in his cabinet of curiosities! This will be one of the main highlights during this Summer’s big exhibition on maps by the British Library.
A few things that came to my mind as I saw this.  First, I want to know what else was in that cabinet of curiosities?  Giant pen? Oooh a magnifying glass to read the giant book?  A dinosaur?  Who knows maybe there were giant sized gems? or Aladdin’s lamp? Okay i know that it’s not a ‘Giant’ cabinet of curiosities but still. You know, I think I would love to have my own cabinet of curiosities! How fun! Although If i made such a cabinet in my parent’s house, they’ll most likely declare it as trash and sent every item to Purple Heart.  Seriously sometimes I wonder if they think they are a trash or a recycling center.  Second, I was thinking wow what If I really had a giant book as part of my decor? What are the chances that it will fall on my guests? or heck, on me?  Then I’ll be really living inside the book 🙂 Imagine trying to swap such a book.  Back then maybe you needed a buggy or a Donkey cart, today you’ll most likely need  6 men and a truck to move this piece of art!  I find it cool how the Kings supported publishing back in those days.  If nothing at least books were a status symbol! Could we say the same today?

Next on the list is this cool EggWatchers site that I came across.  With their help watching boring eggs boil will never be the same again.  Basically they present you with an egg timer that will entertain you while your eggs get boiled.  So you give them your egg preferences and it tells you exactly how many minutes it will take to cook your egg.  During that time, they hook you up with a cool video that is equal to that exact cooking time.  When the video is done, Ping! Your eggs will hopefully be ready. This way you don’t have to stare at the boring eggs and get bored!

Lastly, I would like all of you to join me in saying goodbye to Tai Shan the cute panda who will be FedExed to Chengdu, China soon. Not in a box of course but a large steel crate.  Tai Shan my cuddly friend I hope you have a safe and happy journey! Enjoy your bamboo, fruits and cookies! 🙂

You can listen to his story and read related articles at NPR.

My Tea For The Moment: I tried out TWININGS of London’s Fujian Chinese Pure White Tea. This has a very light flavor strength to it.  I think this one tastes the best if steeped only for one minute. The first time i let it steep for over 3 minutes and it killed its delicate smooth flavor.