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The skinny

By TIMES WIRES
Published April 11, 2007

CONVENIENCE ALERT

THE ONLY STAMPS YOU'LL EVER NEED ARRIVE THURSDAY

The "forever" stamp goes on sale Thursday, with an opening day ceremony at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. The stamp, which carries an image of the Liberty Bell, will sell for 41 cents and will remain valid for first-class postage regardless of future rate increases. The current 39-cent price for first class mail rises to 41 cents May 14, but buyers can use the forever stamps before that if they wish. The stamps will be sold in booklets of 20, and postal officials said there is no limit on purchases. When postal rates go up in the future, the cost for the forever stamp will also rise, but old ones will still be valid for mailing a letter.

KITCHEN CHEMISTRY

Better bacon through science

Should it be slithery or scrunchy, glutinous or grilled? The answer behind the perfect bacon sandwich, British scientists say, may come down to a mathematical formula that establishes the amount of force in the bite, expressed in newtons, and the level of noise, expressed in decibels, to make the perfect crunch. Researchers at Leeds University spent more than 1,000 hours testing 700 variants of the bacon butty, as it is known in Britain, for the Danish Bacon and Food Council. We could give you their formula, but all you really need to know is that the best butties are made with crisply grilled, not-too-fat bacon between thick slices of white bread.

WILDLIFE RELOCATION

Devils will try to outrun cancer

Tasmanian devils are being relocated to an island off Australia to avert their extinction by a contagious cancer. The fox-like animals with a bloodcurdling growl are being wiped out on the Australian island state of Tasmania by a contagious cancer that creates grotesque facial tumors, and state and federal governments are expected to soon approve moving 30 Tasmanian devils to Maria Island as a quarantine measure.

ANTIQUITY RECOVERY

Egyptian mummy's hair found on Web

Egyptian officials unveiled locks of 3,200-year-old hair Tuesday from Pharaoh Ramses II, returned after being stolen 30 years ago in France and put up for sale on the Internet in November by a French postal worker. Jean-Michel Diebolt, 50, apparently got the hair and other items from his late father, a French researcher who examined the mummy in 1976. Ramses II, who ruled from 1270 to 1213 B.C., is one of ancient Egypt's most famous pharaohs.

Compiled from Times wires and other sources.

[Last modified April 11, 2007, 02:36:08]