The Guardian publishes a list of things to accomplish in life, with a distinctly scientific bent. The list is drawn from the book 100 Things To Do Before You Die by Valerie Jamieson. (Can't find a link.) Some of the suggestions actually don't fit within the definition of "before you die." Here are a few examples:
Extract your own DNA by spitting gargled salt water into diluted washing-up liquid and slowly dribbling ice-cold gin down the side of the glass. Spindly white clumps which form in the mixture are, basically, you.
Link your home computer to the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico (via
setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu) and you could be the first person to spot messages from aliens for which the telescope constantly checks. If your computer gets the first, the Americans promise to give you the credit.
Become a diamond. LifeGem of Chicago, Illinois, the book reveals, will take a few grains of your cremated remains, subject them to high pressure and temperature, and you will emerge from the process, 18 weeks later, as a sparkling one-carat diamond.
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