Archive for June 4th, 2007
FSM Toast.

The image of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has been spotted on ordinary toast! Just kidding. This is the work of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, more of their dot matrix heat gun printing experiments. However, they are selling one of these on eBay. Link
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Portable Lap Counter

Bryan Gaynor.
20-year-old computer science major Brian Gaynor has scoliosis, but he can do a mean robot, a dance he calls Chibotics. He did not advance past the audition round for So You Think You Can Dance, but he is in discussion for a movie role. Push play or go to YouTube. See more Gaynor videos at his YouTube page. -via Metafilter
Knit Graffiti Around Stockholm, Sweden

You might have heard about Knitta, a “tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art, wrapped around everything from beer bottles on easy nights to public monuments and utility poles on more ambitious outings”.
Masquerade is doing the same thing in Stockholm, Sweden (which happens to be where I live). I haven’t spotted any of these yarn tags yet, but will make sure to go knit graffiti hunting now. They’ve even put up a convenient Masquerade tourist map.
Seen above is “The Ring” from Munkbrokajen.
World's Most Awesome Shirt.

Why that’s Intercourse, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, of course, between nearby towns of Blue Ball and Paradise.
This awesome picture was found at Miss Cellania, whose great links of today focuses on geography test (the Diner bit is great!)
Update 6/4/07: That’s Hoss of Old Horsetail Snake modeling his shirt.
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Flush It Down the (Virtual) Toilet.
This is a strange Flash game from Kohler: the toilet bowl maker invites you to flush things down the toilet that would get you in trouble if you were to do in real life.
Kids, don’t try this at home!
Oh, and, if only all plumbers look like that … Link [Flash] – via Say No to Crack.
2,100-Year-Old Melon.
This piece of withered fruit excavated in Japan turned out to be an incredibly well preserved 2,100-year-old melon. How did it stay so fresh? Vacuum-packing, of course!
Archeologists used radiocarbon analysis to estimate the age of the fruit, believed to be the oldest melon found with flesh still on the rind, said Shuji Yamazaki, a local official in the city of Moriyama. [...]
The melon might have been so well-preserved because it was in a vacuum-packed state in a wet layer below the ground, an environment hostile to microorganisms that might otherwise have broken down the remains, Yamazaki said.
Link – via Scribal Terror
Star Wars Belt and Buckles.

Oooh yeah, here comes the Star Wars belt and buckles, for those of you old enough not to get beat up at school for wearing ‘em: Link – via Smidigt
Super Awesome Super Mario Cake.

University student Su-Yin created this super cute Mario cake for her friend’s birthday – more pics at Spluch: Link
Housewives Tarot.

Paul Kepple and Jude Buffum of Headcase Design designed a set of tarot cards , called The Housewives Tarot, specifically for the domestic divas:
According to gossip, The Housewives Tarot was invented by housewife extraordinaire Marlene Louise Wetherbee in the early 1950s. She was a happy homemaker who seemed to have it all – a devoted husband and obedient children, a sparkling home that was the talk of the town, a fashion sense to die for, a far more than her fair share of women’s intuition.
One fateful afternoon, while playing bridge with the gals from the neighborhood, Marlene decided the time had come to reveal the secret of her success. When she removed a mysterious tarot deck from her pocketbook, her friends gasped.
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Why Every Kid Needs a Pet.
Here’s a cute video of why every kid needs a pet! Hit play or go to Link [Glumbert] – via Random Good Stuff
A New World Hot Dog Eating Record!
The record world record for hot dog eating returns to the United States (USA! USA!) when Joey Chestnut, 22, of San Jose, ate 59 and a half hot dogs:
Chestnut, 22, of San Jose, broke the record previously held by Takeru Kobayashi of Japan by downing 59½ "HDBs" — hot dogs and buns — during the Southwest Regional Hot Dog Eating Championship at the Arizona Mills Mall in suburban Tempe.
Kobayashi set the old record last year, when he filled his belly with 53¾ hot dogs in 12 minutes, at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, held at Coney Island in New York, said George Costos, who helps runs the regional contests for Nathan’s.
And what did Joey win? More hot dogs, of course!
Chestnut won a free trip to New York, a year’s supply of hot dogs and a $250 gift card to the mall.
Shuttle Plume Pointing Towards Moon.


Today’s collaboration with Cellar Image of the Day is this fantastic photo of the Atlantis shuttle plume shadow pointing to the moon from Astronomy Picture of the Day:
Why would the shadow of a space shuttle launch plume point toward the Moon? In early 2001 during a launch of Atlantis, the Sun, Earth, Moon, and rocket were all properly aligned for this photogenic coincidence. First, for the space shuttle’s plume to cast a long shadow, the time of day must be either near sunrise or sunset. Next, just at sunset, the shadow is the longest and extends all the way to the horizon. Finally, during a Full Moon, the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of the sky. Just after sunset, for example, the Sun is slightly below the horizon, and, in the other direction, the Moon is slightly above the horizon. Therefore, as Atlantis blasted off, just after sunset, its shadow projected away from the Sun toward the opposite horizon, where the Full Moon just happened to be.
Link | Don’t forget to check out Cellar IotD for more amazing pictures every day!
The Top Ten Geekiest Yarn Creations on the Web.

Items include the Moebius strip scarf, a memory stick cozy, Space Invader socks, and this cute crocheted Yoda. Most include links to instructions or sale sites. Link -via Metafilter
The Bob L. Head Bobblehead.

The Portland Beavers, the Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate of the San Diego Padres, ran a contest to design a bobblehead figure after a real person. The competition was only open to men whose name is Bob L. Head! Dozens entered nationwide, and the winner (by vote among the three finalists) is Bob Leroy Head of Maquoketa, Iowa (show here with his wife). On August 18, the first 2,000 fans at the Beavers’ game will receive a Bob L. Head Bobblehead. Link -via Mental Floss
Butterflies and Their Color Palettes.

The Color and Design Blog listed 18 beautiful butterfllies with their color palettes to show how well nature selects colors. Any of these combinations would make a pleasant decor for a room or a website. Link -via Dump Trumpet
Movies You've Never Seen.

Movies.com posted a list of The 25 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen. I have seen three of them, and they were much more enjoyable than the box office receipts would indicate. These movies are not new, so you’d probably have to get them through Netflix. Link -via the Presurfer
Animals with a Nose for Trouble.

After this fox was rescued from a wheel last week, The Daily Mail pulled out its archives and put together a gallery of animals who got their heads stuck into things. All the animals were eventually freed. Link -via Arbroath
Chicago By Night - 1000 Megapixel Photo

See how far you can zoom in on this 7 GB large photo of Chicago at night. It was shot in October 2006, from a break-wall just outside the Adler Planetarium.
The Origins of State Names.
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The following is reprinted from Uncle John’s Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader. You know the names of all 50 states…but do you know where any of them come from? Here’s the best information we could find on the origin of each. ALABAMA. Possibly from the Creek Indian word alibamo, meaning "we stay here." ALASKA. From the Aleutian word alakshak, which means "great lands," or "land that is not an island." ARIZONA. Taken either from the pima Indian words ali shonak, meaning "little spring," or from the Aztec word arizuma, meaning "silver-bearing." ARKANSAS. The French somehow coined it from the name of the Siouan Quapaw tribe. CALIFORNIA. According to one theory, Spanish settlers names it after a utopian society described in a popular 16th-century novel called Serged de Esplandian. COLORADO. Means "red" in Spanish. The name was originally applied to the Colorado River, whose waters are reddish with canyon clay. CONNECTICUT. Taken from the Mohican word kuenihtekot, which means "long river place." DELAWARE. Named after Lord De La Warr, a governor of Virginia. Originally used only to name the Delaware River. FLORIDA. Explorer Ponce de Leon named the state Pascua Florida – "flowery Easter"—on Easter Sunday in 1513. GEORGIA. Named after King George II of England, who charted the colony in 1732. HAWAII. An English adaptation of the native word owhyhee, which means "homeland." IDAHO. Possibly taken from the Kiowa Apache word for the Comanche Indians. ILLINOIS. The French bastardization of the Algonquin word illini, which means "men." INDIANA. Named by English-speaking settlers because the territory was full of Indians. IOWA. The Sioux word for "beautiful land," or "one who puts to sleep." KANSAS. Taken from the Sioux word for "south wind people," their name for anyone who lived south of Sioux territory. KENTUCKY. Possibly derived from the Indian word kan-tuk-kee, meaning "dark and bloody ground." Or kan-tuc-kec, "land of green reeds", or ken-take, meaning "meadowland." LOUISIANA. Named after French King Louis XIV. MAINE. The Old French word for "province." MARYLAND. Named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of English King George I. MASSACHUSETTS. Named after the Massachusetts Indian tribe. Means "large hill place." MICHIGAN. Most likely from the Chippewa word for "great water." micigama. MINNESOTA. From the Sioux word for "sky tinted" or "muddy water." MISSISSIPPI. Most likely taken from the Chippewa words mici ("great") and zibi ("river"). MISSOURI. From the Algonquin word for "muddy water." MONTANA. Taken from the Latin word for "mountainous." NEBRASKA. From the Otos Indian word for "broad water." NEVADA. Means "snow-clad" in Spanish. NEW HAMPSHIRE. Capt. John Mason, one of the original colonists, named it after his English home county of Hampshire. NEW JERSEY. Named after the English Isle of Jersey. NEW MEXICO. The Spanish name for the territory north of the Rio Grande. NEW YORK. Named after the Duke of York and Albany. NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA. From the Latin name Carolus; named in honor of King Charles I of England. NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA. Taken from the Sioux word for "friend," or "ally." OHIO. Means "great," "fine," or "good river" in Iriquois. OKLAHOMA. The Choctaw word for "red man." OREGON. Possibly derived from Ouaricon-sint, the French name for the Wisconsin River. PENNSYLVANIA. Named after William Penn, Sr., the father of the colony’s founder, William Penn. Means "Penn’s woods." RHODE ISLAND. Named "Roode Eylandt" (Red Island) because of its red clay. TENNESSEE. Named after the Cherokee tanasi villages along the banks of the Little Tennessee River. TEXAS. Derived from the Caddo Indian word for "friend," or "ally." UTAH. Means "upper," or "higher," and was originally the name that Navajos called the Shoshone tribe. VERMONT. A combination of the French words vert ("green") and mont ("mountain"). VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA. Named after Queen Elizabeth I of England, the "virgin" queen, by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584. WASHINGTON. Named after George Washington. WISCONSIN. Taken from the Chippewa word for "grassy place." WYOMING. Derived from the Algonquin word for "large prairie place." |
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The article above, titled “State Your Name,” is reprinted with permission from Uncle John’s Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader. This special edition book covers the three "lost" Bathroom Readers – Uncle John’s 5th, 6th and 7th book all in one. The huge (and hugely entertaining) volume covers neat stories like the Strange Fate of the Dodo Bird, the Secrets of Mona Lisa, and more … Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. Check out their website here: Bathroom Reader Institute
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360 Cities: Panoramic VR Portal.

Our Pal Jeffrey Martin of Prague360 and his brother has completed an ambitious website that hopes to catalog the best of 360° panoramic Virtual Reality photos around the world.
So far, they have Prague, Moscow, Venice, Los Angeles, Belgrade, and Syria listed for you to explore. The pic above is from The Arches, Syria.
Great work, guys: Link – Thanks Jeffrey!
Solomon's Castle in Ona, Florida.

Solomon’s Castle in Ona, Florida (Image Credit: AlohaTiki [Flickr])
Solomon’s big and shiny castle (it’s made by printing plates discarded by the local weekly newspaper) was built by Floridian sculptor Howard Solomon to house his quirky artworks. Link – Thanks Gamzu!
Chuckerbutty Ocarina Quartet.
The Chuckerbutty Ocarina Quartet is a group of middle-aged men playing classical music, like Schubert and Wagner using impossibly odd musical instruments like rubber trout, tea kettle, crumhorn, ocarina, melodica, and even a telescope!
Link – Thanks Terry O!
Game Theory Analysis of the Toilet Seat.
Should you leave the toilet seat up or down? Here’s the game theory analysis of leaving the toilet seat down:
In this paper, we internalize the cost of yelling and model the conflict as a non-cooperative game between two species, males and females.We find that the social norm of leaving the toilet seat down is inefficient. However, to our dismay, we also find that the social norm of always leaving the toilet seat down after use is not only a Nash equilibrium in pure strategies but is also trembling-hand perfect. So, we can complain all we like, but this norm is not likely to go away.
Link – Thanks David R!























