Friday links

Attempts to patent the wheel: Australia has quietly revoked the patent it granted in 2001.  Kind of related: 25 Useful Inventions That You Never Knew You Needed.

The History of the Egg Cream and How to Make One in the Authentic Brooklyn Style.

Gorgeous illustrations from a book published in 1717 entitled The Miraculous Transformation and Unusual Flower-Food of Caterpillars.

Why is your brain in your head instead tucked away safe and warm down with all your other organs?

After Google Glasses come Smart Contact Lenses.

Science Graphic of the Week: Hummingbird Wing Aerodynamics.

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include the special effects of 1954's Creature from the Black Lagoon, skills that you great-grandparents had (and you don't), health benefits of fart-smelling, and Mark Twain’s 1865 children’s book.