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The mutilated chessboard problem is a famous puzzle introduced by Martin Gardner in his Scientific American column Mathematical Games. The problem is as follows: Suppose a standard 8x8 chessboard has two opposite corners removed, leaving 62 squares. Is it possible to place 31 dominoes of size 2x1 so as to cover all of these squares?

Solution: The puzzle is impossible. Any way you would place a domino would cover one white square and one black square. A group of 31 dominoes would cover 31 white and 31 black squares of a chessboard, leaving one white and one black square uncovered. The directions had you remove opposite corner squares, and such squares are always either both black or both white.

References: McCarthy, John (1999). "Creative Solutions to Problems". AISB Workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Creativity. Retrieved on 2007-04-27. See also: Domino tiling, My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles By Martin. Gardner, Dominoes on a Checker Board by Jim Loy,
Dominoes on a Checker Board. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dominoes on a chessboard puzzle". Link may die if entry is finally removed or merged.

Ranked by critical review score, based on a four out of four scoring system.

- Singin' in the Rain (1952) starring Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. Scores 3.9 of 4 and 3rd in best of all time.
- Casablanca (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Scores 3.9 of 4 and 5th in best movie of all time list.
- Gone with the Wind (1939) starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. Scores 3.85 and 14th overall.
- Annie Hall (1977) starring Woody Allen and Mia Farrow. Scores 3.6 and 43rd overall.
- Notorious (1946) starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. Scores 3.57 and 55th overall.
- Rebecca (1940) starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. Scores 3.57 and 56th on the best of all time list.
- The Philadelphia Story (1940) starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. Scores 3.5 and lands 64th overall.
- Titanic (1997) starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Scores 3.5 of 4 and 72nd overall.
- Shakespeare in Love (1998) starring Joseph Fiennes and Geoffrey Rush. Scores 3.45 of 4 and 86th overall.
- Before Sunrise (1995) starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Scores 3.4 and 89th overall. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Best romance movies of all time". This entry is a fragment of a larger work. Link may die if entry is finally removed or merged.

A list of unsolved problems is a list that contains the unsolved problems of a specific area of interest. An unsolved problem is a question that has been developed but currently has no answer, nor means for formulating an answer.

Unsolved problems in biology Unsolved problems in chemistry Unsolved problems in cognitive science Unsolved problems in computer science Unsolved problems in economics Unsolved problems in Egyptology
Unsolved problems in linguistics Unsolved problems in mathematics
Unsolved problems in medicine Unsolved problems in neuroscience
Unsolved problems in philosophy Unsolved problems in physics

See also: Open problem; Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential; Union of International Associations' list of unsolved problems.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lists of unsolved problems". Link may die if entry is finally removed or merged.

Dead-eye syndrome is a condition in computer generated films where the human characters appear artificial and creates a doll-like feeling to the characters, sometimes projecting there is no humanity in their eyes. This problem typically arises with computer generated characters made using motion capture technology. Since so much of human expressivity is determined by eye and eyelid movement, and since motion capture is unable to capture such subtle gradations, computer characters' eyes seem fixed and dilated, giving the feeling that the characters, though in motion, are dead.

Though it was not the first film to use motion capture technology, The Polar Express is generally regarded as the first film where the dead-eye syndrome was most noticeable and most distracting.

Notes: ^ a b "Quint has your first look inside the offices of Robert Zemeckis' BEOWULF!!!", Ain't It Cool News (February 7, 2006) by Eric Vespe;
Electrooculography; Uncanny Valley; Beowulf (2007 film); The Polar Express (film); Electroretinography. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dead-eye_syndrome". This entry is a fragment of a larger work. Link may die if entry is finally removed or merged.

A Million Penguins is a collabrotive effort to write a novel. The web site through which the novel is being written uses a wiki for the authors to add their submissions. Due to the overwhelming number of edits, over 100 every hour, Penguin has had to impose "reading windows" whereby they freeze the novel so that the more serious editors can read over what has been changed and thus get their bearings on where the story is going.
The novel soon became largely incoherent as many contributors strived to develop their own independent characters and story lines. In an attempt to control the chaos, several different versions of the novel were created. These include a choose your own adventure version, and a 'banana' version. The latter being formed when the editors grew tired of removing the recurring multitude of banana references.

Many collabrotive efforts are dedicated to writing software, scientific research, or amassing knowledge. Examples of these efforts are open source software, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SETI%40Home, and Wikipedia. A Million Pengiuns is different in that the goal is one of art as opposed to science. Although Penguin put a lot of effort into advertising the wiki-novel, it quickly became a target for vandalism, which has led many of its early contributors to quit the project.

References: a wiki-novelty, The Million-Author Project, A Million Penguins Novel Official site. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "A Million Penguins". Link may die if entry is finally removed or merged.

This is a [parial] list of famous people, for whom smoking is clearly a recognised part of their public image, or who are known for some unusual aspect of smoking.

Pat Nixon - Was a closet cigarette smoker, a fact that came out shortly after her death. Lucille Ball - Her image was used to advertise Philip Morris cigarettes from the 1950s until the 1970s. Drew Barrymore of the famous Barrymore family smokes Marlboro Reds, about 2-3 packs a day. She started smoking cigarettes at age 9 1/2. David Bowie - Several photos--both on stage and publicity shots-- depict Bowie smoking. According to the biography Strange Fascination, he smoked both Gitane and Marlboro cigarettes. Quit in early 2000s after a heart attack. Bette Davis - American film actress who was never without a cigarette. She starred in Now, Voyager (1942), which has the famous scene in which Paul Henreid places two cigarettes in his mouth, lights them, and then passes one to Bette Davis. She died in 1989 after a long battle with breast cancer and having suffered several strokes. Sammy Davis, Jr. - American singer/actor. Often seen smoking on stage and in interviews. Died of throat cancer in May 1990 at age 64.

Walt Disney - His years of chain-smoking led to his death of lung cancer at age 65. George Harrison - Member of The Beatles who was famously seen smoking in the movies A Hard Days Night and Help!. His off-screen chain-smoking habit lead to his death from lung cancer in 2001. Peter Jennings - Journalist and former anchor of ABC World News Tonight. Died of lung cancer in 2005. Kate Moss - Model; smokes four packs of Marlboro Lights per day and has been smoking cigarettes since the age of 12. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of famous smokers". This entry is a fragment of a larger work. Link may die if entry is finally removed or merged.