Link roundup

1. "Is the Downfall of Dominique Strauss-Kahn Also the Downfall of the Euro?"

2. Gawker:

In 2009, the Cerdas, a Las Vegas family whose two daughters suffered from immune deficiency disorders, appeared on the reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Their old, moldy house was torn down, and new one, designed to protect the young girls, was built in its place. But as it turns out, the Cerda girls may not have been sick at all.

Six doctors in Oregon testified that neither Molly, age 10, or Maggie, 8, suffer from an immune deficiency disease. Rather, their mother Terri may suffer from Munchhausen by proxy syndrome, a psychological disorder that leads caregivers to invent or exaggerate health problems in others for attention or sympathy.

3. In a pinch, you can use tinfoil to more easily move heavy furniture.

Link roundup

1. "Infographic: Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus."

2. "In China, where a growing demand for organ transplants coupled with a dramatic shortage of donors has fuelled a rampant black market trade, selling your organs for cash is a mouse click away." Via.

3. Guidance (but not instructions) on how to knit the Companion Cube sweater that was featured on various sites last week.

Link roundup

1. Top 50 scifi and fantasy novels. (Not sure why I Am Legend is classified as fantasy.)

2. Supposedly, criminals in Turkey are knocking on doors, dressed as doctors, giving people "medicine" that turns out to be sedatives, and then ransacking their homes while they sleep. Via.

3. Washed up celebrity chefs trying to make a comeback. David Rosengarten "recently produced a YouTube pilot for a show called Hava Lasagna!" Via.

Link roundup

1. Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey gives his baseball bats geeky names, including Orcrist from The Hobbit and "hrunting" based on Beowulf.

2. I didn't read the article for fear of spoiling the headline:

'Mad hatters' gang of middle-aged women blamed for Detroit crime spree

Police in Detroit are hunting a gang of middle-aged women, nicknamed the "Mad Hatters", who they blame for a string of robberies, purse snatching and fraud.

Via.

3. My local theater doesn't show pre-movie commercials anymore, but the theaters that do are having trouble filling the slots:

Part of the reason for the shortfall, according to the firm's CEO, is lack of advertising from Japanese auto and electronics makers who are suffering following March's earthquake and tsunami, as well as the National Guard, which no longer needs to advertise as much because high unemployment numbers push so many candidates its way.

Link roundup

1. Peyton Manning explained how players beat the NFL's concussion test, but then claimed it was just a joke.

2. Gabe Delahaye on the new Transformers trailer:

“OPTIMUUUUUUUS!” Haha. That does get me every time. “OPTIMUUUUUUUS!” I think Shia LaBeouf is a perfectly decent actor, but every time he has to dramatically scream a SPACE ROBOT’s name it breaks my heart. Just kidding, no it doesn’t. But hopefully it breaks his.

3. "Most people probably don’t think of Corning as a crime fighting company, but when it sold its Pyrex brand to World Kitchen in 1998, the company accidentally made the illegal manufacture of crack cocaine more difficult—a fascinating example of unintended consequences." Via.

Link roundup

1. LA Times:

Gang tattoo leads to a murder conviction
Inked on the chest of a Pico Rivera gang member was the detailed scene of a liquor store slaying that had stumped an L.A. County sheriff's investigator for more than four years. It leads to a jailhouse confession from Anthony Garcia — and a first-degree murder conviction.

Via.

2. Animated gif featuring Jesse Venture and Old Painless from Predator.

3. A claim that Jim Shooter's blog is filled with lies.

*Buy Tattoo of Death (Choose Your Own Adventure #22) at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. "In 2005, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) predicted that there would be 50 million refugees in 2010 due to climate change." Apparently, when a reporter tried to follow up on that prediction, "UNEP tried to erase the evidence of its initial claim."

2. CBS News: "A major ticket fixing scandal is rocking the NYPD, and as many as 400 cops could face bribery and larceny charges for making tickets disappear in exchange for gifts." Via.

3. Gawker media's traffic has either totally nosedived, or not.

Link roundup

1. Andy Helms posted a wallpaper-sized version of his clever Star Wars poster designs.

2. The FBI raided the apartment of two University of Michigan students under the belief that they were gold farmers. Via.

3. Win a 3A Toys Bramble.

Link roundup

1. Calvin and Hobbes by Francesco Francavilla.

2. Penelope Trunk on how to turn your child into an entrepreneur.

3. "Wrightwood woman who drugged, painted horses as part of sales scam sentenced."