In the new book The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths Are Solving America’s Coldest Cases, science writer Deborah Halber describes how amateur web sleuths are solving some of the oldest and coldest cold cases in the country. And there are dozens of these cases which these amateur sleuths have helped to solve, with exotic names like “The Lady of the Dunes”, “The Head in the Bucket”, and “Tent Girl”. While these cases bring the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew to mind, these are real cases, with real victims, that have been solved by real people just like you.

The Google Goggles application, available for both Android and iPhone, now solves Sudoku puzzles! All you have to do is snap a picture of the Sudoku puzzle with your phone, and Google Goggles will solve it! (Although we are forced to ask, where’s the fun in that?) Here are screen shots of it in action.