This 5-year-old girl named Muskaan skated underneath 40 cars last Thursday in Gwalior, India, demonstrating awesome flexibility, control, and courage. To see the feat, hit play or go to YouTube. More details about her are available on this earlier video…when she was only four!

Long before the Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka movie or the creepy Johnny Depp version, there was the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) [wiki] by famous British author Roald Dahl.

You may be familiar with Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee and of course Charlie Bucket. But are you familiar with Miranda Piker?

That’s right: a character that Dahl edited out of the book at the last minute. Here’s the missing chapter of Miranda Piker: Link

Remember the Bling H20 we had before on Neatorama? Here are some more designer water, designed to separate rich people from their money: Link

Most people are familiar with Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking video for the song Thriller. Lately, we’ve also seen the video in different forms, such as the Thriller in Legos, Thriller in Second Life, and the Bollywood style (although its a different song). But nothing beats a live public recreation! Every October, Mecca Dance Studio and Gallery stages a resurrection of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video in the streets of downtown Lexington, Kentucky. See a video of last year’s performance here, and a Flickr photoset here.

This year’s event is set for October 22nd. Participation is free and open to the public. However, they would like you attend the rehearsals.

Michael Jackson: From Bad to Worse with Moonwalker.

Ostensibly holding out for a video game system that could more accurately portray his angular nose, Michael Jackson’s [official site, wiki] window opened with the technological improvements provided by Sega Genesis. "Moonwalker [wiki]" hit stores in 1989 and featured synthesized versions of such M.J. hits as "Billie Jean" and "Beat It." The music, however, didn’t sound nearly as sketchy as the game’s concept – to follow the superstar as he danced his way through graveyards and pool halls looking at (that’s right) kidnapped children. What’s fun about that?

Evading danger often involved unleashing a funky moonwalking wrath upon the captor and his cohorts, at which point good and evil called off the fight in order to bust a move together, à la the "Thriller" video … oh, and the "Beat It" one … oh, and "Bad."

KISS: The Big Pinball Kiss Off.

KISS [official site, wiki] became famous in the mid-70′s for their heavy metal meets heavy makeup style … and for their ability to bilk fans out of money via an onslaught of consumer products. During the band’s comeback in the mid-90′s, they realized that their 1979 pinball machine had become quite the collectible, and promptly took the next logical step: converting it to the video game world. The "KISS Pinball" package for home computers and gaming systems wasn’t exactly a smash success.

Image from pcgames.de

Bit its dim sales didn’t scare KISS away from releasing yet another video game, "Psycho Circus," which failed as miserably as its attendant album.

Aerosmith: Not So Revolutionary Revolution X.

In the early ’90′s, Aerosmith [official site , wiki] starred it its very own arcade game called "Revolution X [wiki]."

Image from MobyGames

The goal, which might better be explained by lead singer Steven Tyler’s psychiatrist, involved players saving the band from the clutches of a child-snatching villainess named Helga. If they succeeded, they were treated to a special ending in which they were allowed to destroy all of Aerosmith’s trophies. Some fans wondered why such a violent act of vandalism would be considered a prize, but most "Walk This Way"-saturated radio listeners (and, let’s be honest here, Aerosmith band members) saw the poetic justice of the ending.

The Journey’s Half the Battle.

Thanks to the "Don’t Stop Believin’" moxie of Journey [official site, wiki] and the blocky goodness of the Atari 2600, one of the first blessed unions between band and video game occurred in 1982. Dubbed "Journey: Escape," the game challenged players to guide each band member past "hordes of love-crazed groupies, sneaky photographers, and shifty-eyed promoters to the safety of the Journey Escape Vehicle." It was surprisingly successful, despite dismal graphics that made it difficult for players to discern between the pixelated blocks representing the shifty-eyed promoters and those symbolizing the band members – ironically implying that musicians looking for royalty rights off video games weren’t shifty-eyed promoters themselves.

Buckner & Garcia: A Good Pac-Man is Hard to Find.

While it’s usually the bands that lend their fame to video games, it’s apparently possible for video games to lend fame to bands – or at least one. Jerry Buckner & Gary Garcia [official site, wiki], a musical duo inspired by the video game craze of the early 80′s, were the toast of the town when their pop-culture ditty, "Pac-Man Fever [wiki]," hit the Billboard Top 40 in 1982. But they didn’t stop there. Buckner & Garcia cashed in on the country’s obsession by translating their clever idea into an entire album. Favorites such as "Froggy’s Lament," "Ode to a Centipede," and the classic "Do the Donkey Kong" gave kids everywhere lyrics they could relate to, as well as finally bringing attention to the plight of ape-harassed Italian plumbers everywhere.

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The article above appeared in the March-April 2005 issue of the mental_floss magazine, and is featured in Neatorama in partnership with mental_floss. Be sure to visit mentalfloss.com, buy their magazine, read their blog and feed your brain!

ConocoPhillips continued their 54-year tradition of turning a 3-million gallon storage tank at its Los Angeles refinery into the world’s largest Jack-O-Lantern:

Preparing Smilin’ Jack for his annual appearance requires more than 100 gallons of orange, black and white paint. According to refinery engineers, if the giant jack-o-lantern were filled with pumpkin meat, there would be enough to make 26,800,000 pumpkin pies!

If you want to visit, it’s open the nights of October 30 and 31 from 6 to 9pm at 1660 West Anaheim Street, Wilmington, CA 90744.

Link

In the Gujarat Province on the Gulf of Cambay, India, there is a shanty small town called Alang. It is a place few tourists will ever see and its famous for one thing. It is the place where ships go to die: Link – via growabrain.

Probably the world’s weirdest exercise video: Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via digg

Cute and cuddly animals at Cute Overload may get all the limelights, but we also love the ugly underdogs who now have a blog of their own: Ugly Overload – via mentalfloss and presurfer

A fantastic combination of form and function: a set of 8 flower bowls: Link – via NOTCOT

From the website:

Bling H2O is the inspiration of Kevin G. Boyd, Hollywood writer-producer. While working on various studio lots where image is of the utmost importance he noticed that you could tell a lot about a person by the bottled water they carried.

In Hollywood it seemed as if people flaunted their bottled water like it was part of their presentation. Whether the bottles had a cool shape or came from an exotic island, none truly made that defining statement. Bling H2O was fashioned to make that defining statement. The mission was to offer a product with an exquisite face to match exquisite taste. The product is strategically positioned to target the expanding super-luxury consumer market. Initially introduced to hand-selected athletes and actors, Bling H2O is now excitedly expanding it’s availability. Bling H2O has been featured at many recent celebrity events including the MTV Video Music Awards and television’s biggest event, The Emmys. Bling H20 is pop-culture in a bottle. But it’s not for everyone, just those that Bling.

How much? If you have to ask, you can’t afford it. I’ve always wanted to say that. It’s $35 per bottle … of water! Link