- February 7, 2001
The Satirical Newspaper The Onion takes a look at the resiliency of this camp, cool, kitch, passe novelty which we all love.
"According to a report issued Monday by the U.S. Department of Retro, the status of the multi-colored, mildly psychedelic light fixtures changed again in 2000, reverting from a tired form of passé retro kitsch back into a novel form of retro camp. The switch marks the 17th time the government has changed the lava lamp's retro classification since its initial resurgence in 1976 as an amusing, campy throwback to the then-outmoded '60s hippie drug culture..."
Lava Lamps Revert From Passe Retro Kitch Back To Novel Retro Camp
 

- August 20, 2000
The day the lava died: August 15, 2000 - after suffering from cancer, Inventor Craven Walker passed away. He was 82 years old and is survived by his wife, two daughters, and two sons. His death comes only one month after his lamp was christened "A Design Classic" by the Design Council. He will be truly missed by all of us at OozingGoo.
Lava lamp inventor dies in London, CNN
 

- July 11, 2000
- Oozing Goo Syndicate Members offer insight on the popularity and all-around coolness of LAVA. Check out this great article by Cynthia Hanifin for the Journal Sentinel in Milwaukee, Happy Birthday to Goo. Cynthia interviewed Jeffrey Gaskin (an avid lava lamp collector, not to mention a prime contributor to Oozing Goo), Peter Fransee (also a huge collector who lives in Wisconsin) and Mark Goo (who you all must know from his site-wide shenanigans. By the way, his true identity is revealed in the article.) Thanks Cynthia, you did us proud. Darn good photos too. Go there.

Happy Birthday to Goo by Cynthia Hanifin
How do Lava Lamps Work?, The Straight Dope by The Great Cecil Adams
Like Groovy Man...Lava Lamps are Hipper than Ever by Hillary Chura, AP Business Writer
How Does a Lava Lamp Work? by Ask Science Theater (old but acurate description of the physics.)

Apparently, random numbers aren't as easy to come by as you and I would think. Lavarand, a project developed at Silicon Graphics, was using the unpredictable motion of lava lamps to help generate data like this:

Ü·}7ÀÈ»o @¹3?s+íY¨v» HµÌÍœ³k tü; Ãµî¨ wå Z ÕïJ²0@÷q'¦Å"þ ü‚ d£?C@|&§zÑxؽJß-y#poz?‰Ù -Ð â¨^S£GMþ‡ w¸¢3 Ý }ÞE|?ÅÃxCù ¥ xDÉw2 =„"Û^ün^îèå,ÄO> ˆ„q8É« ?1jó¿Èÿ£Ñæs§j©Œ*#Ó w_?6

Ever thought about consuming the Lava in an attempt to reach a higher level of groove? Well, haven't we all? Here's one good reason to stick to the kool-aid.

"Acute renal toxicity after ingestion of Lava light liquid" T.B. Erickson, S.E. Aks, R. Zabaneh, R. Reid, "Annals of Emergency Medicine," vol. 27, no. 6, June 1996, pp. 781-4.

"A 65-year-old man with a history of alcohol abuse and seizure disorder presented to the emergency department with altered mental status, increased anion gap acidosis, phenytoin toxicity, and acute kidney failure. The patient had ingested the liquid contents of a Lava light.... After 3 days of declining mental status and worsening kidney function, the patient required hemodialysis. After a prolonged hospitalization, the patient was discharged home with residual renal insufficiency. Although multifactorial, the associated renal toxicity was most probably related to the low molecular weight polyethylene glycol content of the lamp's liquid contents."