Staff Picks January 2012

Each month, our writers share their favorite online stuff with you.

Johanna’s Pick: Personalized Hour Glass

Check out thisissand.com and personalize you very own hourglass—or computer window. At first this webpage looks pretty blah, but just click on the only object there is—the small, grey box in the upper left-hand corner—for instructions on how to try your hand at being a digital sand artist.

Brittany’s Pick: Kid History

Children are unique storytellers. They pick up on details that adults miss and sometimes remember events a bit differently. Enter Kid History, a short series on YouTube where kids retell stories and their dads act them out. One of my co-workers showed me Kid History – Episode 4, and it is still my favorite.

Beth’s Pick: Stickman Adventures

Start by drawing a stick figure, and then see what happens next! There's a whole storyline at Draw a Stickman, and your stick person is the hero. Even though I've been through the story a couple of times, I still can't resist it. Quick! Draw me a sword!

Christine’s Pick: Susanna the Turtle

When I was in Hawaii, I got to snorkel for the first time and had some amazing experiences with sea turtles. I found this cool video of a young sea turtle, Sea Turtle Swimming, being released in Spain.

Jordan’s Pick: Paying With Paper

Derren Brown is somewhat of a mental magician. He’s famous in the UK, but in Paying with Paper he comes to America and pays for such things as produce and jewelry with nothing but paper. That’s right—not a dollar, not a pound, and not a rupee, but plain white paper.