Quirky Euro Files: Dress Up As a Tree In Switzerland

Dress up as a tree and throw women into fountains in an old fertility ritual.  Oooooookay.  

I Would Have Totally Named Him "Higgs." Or "Hadron."

I'm not even kidding.  Here's a snapshot of the proud papa.  Congrats!

Flooding in Central Europe

Photos of the terrible weather and its effects.  #13 especially caught my eye.

Friday Fun Video: Helvetia By Night

Gorgeous Swiss landscapes in time-lapse photography done by Helvetia By Night.  My favorite moment begins around 2:35.  Amazingly beautiful.

The 2012 Index of Economic Freedom Is Out

We're not doing so well?  The US is out of the top tier at #10. What would Milton Friedman say?  By the way, the top tier rated "Free" consists of Hong Kong at #1, followed by Singapore,  Australia, New Zealand, and (the first non-Asian country on the list) Switzerland.  Taiwan is #18.  C'mon, guys, we can do better than that.

Dutch and Swiss Governments: the Anti-SOPA

The Dutch and Swiss governments' approach: downloading movies and music will stay legal.  Internet policy?  You're doing it right.

Quirky Euro Files: Fun with Stereotypes

Hilarious, if you're not easily offended.

Quirky Euro Files: Extreme Jacuzzi From Switzerland

Just read this news story and this, and then to the official website.  The photos are insane, though everyone involved looks like they're having a great time.

Quirky Euro Files: A Swiss Political Party Hates PowerPoint

LOL!

Friday Fun Video: Human Pac-Man

Here is something delightful by the French-Swiss artist Guillaume Reymond.  By the way, stay for the credits at the end:  they acknowledge the "Patient Human Pixels."

Nerd/Geek Fun: The Large Hadron Collider Explained Visually!

Seriously, who's got the time or inclination right now to go into the nitty-gritty details about how the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva works?  It's the world's largest particle accelerator, right?  Check out Geeks Are Sexy's hilarious visual aid:

Hm, why isn't the animated GIF working on my blog?  Just go to Geeks Are Sexy  to see the fun.

Quirky Euro Files: the Swiss Road Angel

I'm not making this up, I swear!

Life Imitates "Lord of the Rings": the Hobbit Hole House in Switzerland

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

Via Neatorama comes this odd little story about a Swiss attempt at "green living." Check out the image gallery at the link; the Swiss hobbit hole looks rather ... comfy. Well, all hobbit holes are supposed to be! Personally, I think the whole project's a great attempt to make a Middle Earth fanboy obsession look like respectable tree-hugging enviro-trendiness.

Awesome Origami Art

WOW! And from Switzerland, of all places.

Quirky Euro Files: Cow Fighting in Switzerland

No, I didn't say "bull fighting." I said "cow fighting." And it is a completely different matter. (Be sure to take a look at the photo gallery.)

Quirky Euro Files: How Do You Give Parking Tickets to Identical Twins in Switzerland?

The amusing answer is: you don't!

Geek Fun in the Kitchen: A Cooking Robot!

From a laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland, comes this latest project: a robot that learns how to cook! (Longer version with explanation here.)

Remembering Forgotten History: The Swiss Student Who Tried to Kill Hitler

His name was Maurice Bavaud, and he was a 22-year-old theology student when he attempted to assassinate Hitler at a Munich rally in 1938. He was eventually executed in Berlin in 1941.

The Swiss government has rehabilitated his memory and acknowledged that, at the time, it should have done more to save him.

Bavaud's 81-year-old brother Adrian has this to say: "Switzerland should be proud of someone like Maurice."