Archive for December 4th, 2007
Here Comes Another Bubble
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Matt Hempey wrote and produced this song about the inflated value of Web 2.0. It’s a Silicon Valley music video by The Richter Scales. -via Reddit
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Birthplaces of Ten Great American Foods
American cuisine might not be the healthiest on earth, but we love it anyway! mental_floss brings you the places (and stories) behind your favorites, such as hamburgers, onion rings, corn dogs, and root beer floats in the article The 10 Greatest Birthplaces on the Great American Food Trail. Link
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Dinosaur "Mummy"
Scientists have announced the discovery of a dinosaur “mummy”, a dried hadrosaur with much of its skin, tissue, and bones intact. The find was made in 1999 in North Dakota. The presence of tendons and ligaments give researchers new insight to how dinosaurs moved. Although the hadrosaur was 35 feet long and weighed 35 tons, they estimate he could run up to 28 miles per hour, faster than a T. rex! Link to story. Link to video report.
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Upright Kitten
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This cute kitten is just playing, but he looks like he wants to be Maneki Neko! If that makes no sense to you, see the earlier post Seven Strange Lucky Charms. -via Arbroath
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Next Generation Wheelchairs
Deputydog has a roundup of the latest technological advances in wheelchairs. There are chairs that can climb stairs, chairs that help you stand up, and even chairs that go through snow! Several videos show them in action. Link
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Charlie the Coyote
Writer and photographer Shreve Stockton took in a baby coyote when his parents were shot for killing sheep in Wyoming. She is documenting Charlie’s life with her and Eli the cat on the blog The Daily Coyote.
If Charlie demonstrates the need or desire to be out in the wild, there are places around here I could safely set him loose. There’s no question he would survive in the wild just fine – his instincts are very intact (more on this later), and though he is gentle and attached to me and to MC, he is afraid of other people.
From the beginning, I have made the commitment to let Charlie decide his destiny; to do right by him without attaching my own desires to the outcome or interfering with human logic. You can join me in seeing what unfolds.
MC refers to a coyote expert who is helping with Charlie. Scroll down the blog and check the archives for adorable baby pictures. Link -Thanks, Bill!
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Panoramic Videos
Immersive Media makes 360-degree panoramic videos. Push play, then mouseover to move your viewpoint left or right while the scene moves. You can also pan while the video is paused. This video is 42nd Street in New York City. Other video demos are available at the site. Link -via Metafilter
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T-shirt answers question, What stories do ghosts tell around the campfire?
If you’re so inclined, you can vote for (or against) this design by clicking on the voting widget:
You can see more Ghostbusters links here. And you can see more of my Threadless picks here.
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Woman Born With Feet Facing Backwards Runs Faster Than Others
A waitress has refused to be classified as disabled even though she was born with feet that face backwards.
Wang Fang, 27, of Chongqing city in China, was born with her feet facing the wrong way, but has learned to live with her condition without problems and recently refused a disability pension.
Wang, who has a five year-old son with normal feet, said: “I can walk as well as anyone else and even run faster than them. I’m like everyone else – except of course that I put my shoes on backwards. There is no reason to class me as disabled.”
Source: DailyMail
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The King of Maneuver
Is it possible for a double-decker bus to make a U-Turn while on a bridge just two lanes wide? Unbelievably, the answer is yes. It takes some skill, guts and lots of patience to be able to do that. Hit play to watch
Link: LiveLeak
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Seven Strange Lucky Charms
Lucky charms, amulets, and talismans have been in use since prehistoric times all over the world. Stones, coins, and amulets with symbols are the most common. Others are taken from nature, such as the rabbit’s foot (which wasn’t so lucky for the rabbit), or are considered lucky because of their rarity, such as the four-leaf clover. But a few are just a bit odd.
1. Lucky Swastika
The swastika reminds us of Nazi Germany in the first half of the 20th century, but the symbol has been used for many purposes in many parts of the world. Swastika-shaped ornaments have been found dating as far back as the Neolithic period. Hindus use the swastika as a symbol of the elephant-headed god Ganesh. Jains use it as a symbol of the seventh saint, and begin and end religious services by making the swastika sign. The symbol is supposed to bring long life, good health, and good luck. In fact, the word swastika itself is derived from the Sanskit word svastika, which mean lucky charm.
2. Vulture Heads
Vultures have such great eyesight that they are said to be able to see into the future. South African lottery players would love to have that power, and have made vulture heads into lucky charms to help them win. A poacher can make up to $1,000 on one properly-dried vulture head, leading to a depletion in the vulture population.
3. Ship’s Figureheads
Ship’s figureheads were useful for identifying a ship and intimidating its enemies, but they were mostly charms to protect sailors from harm. A ship’s spirit, or klaboutermannikin, would inhabit the figurehead, and either protect sailors, or in the event of their deaths, would escort them to the proper afterlife. They were also sentimental symbols of one’s ship, to be fought for and protected. To damage an enemy’s figurehead was the ultimate insult. Carved figureheads date from as far back as ancient Egypt, where they resembled deities. About three hundred years ago, figureheads of women became popular because of the old legend that says a woman’s bare breasts will calm the seas. Each sailing era had it own fashions and types of figureheads, but they are all important to those who sail behind them.
4. Maneki Neko
(image credit: Searobin)
Maneki Neko, or the Beckoning Cat, is a Japanese good luck charm. It was first documented in 1870, but its origins may go back much further. There is a theory that the cat became popular at the end of the Edo period, when western sensibilities caused phallic worship and prostitution to go underground. The beckoning cat became a euphemistic symbol of such activities. Businesses which displayed a Maneki Neko were quite profitable, so the symbol spread to other types of shops as a good luck charm. If the cat is raising its right paw, it will attract money. If it is raising its left paw, it will atract customers. Maneki Neko even has a fan club!
5. Bezoar
A bezoar is a “stone” retrieved from the gut of an animal. They are formed by animal secretions (as in pearls), or material consumed but not digested, such as hair, food fiber, or other material (as in hairballs). The word bezoar comes from a Persian word meaning “antidote to poison.” There is some evidence that bezoars made of hair will absorb small amounts of arsenic, but will have little effect on other poisons. Bezoars of all kinds are used for lucky charms and talismans, and for psychic healing, in addition to protection against poisons.
6. Jatukam Ramathep Amulets
Jatukam Ramathep amulets are all the rage these days. They are sold by Buddhist temples in Thailand. Earlier this year, the Thawee Kara Anant temple near Bangkok got into some hot water for making “special” Jatukam Ramathep amulets out of the cremated remains of infants who died from natural causes. Around 140,000 amulets were made from a combination of herbs and human ashes. The practice is not illegal, but the monks involved were reprimanded by religious leaders.
7. Raccoon Penis Bone
(image credit: Mordicai)
A raccoon penis bone, or baculum, is regarded as a lucky charm, especially for fertility or gambling. They are available alone or made into necklaces or earrings. These bones go by many names; one of the few that can be said in polite company is “Texas toothpick.”
Any object can be a lucky charm if you believe in it. If it gives you confidence in your daily activities and decisions, then it is indeed “lucky”.
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Caption Monkey 15: Running Man
Photo: billy verdin [Flickr]
It’s time for this week’s Neatorama and Hobotopia Caption Monkey game! Ape Lad picked this photo for all of you to submit funny caption.
Funniest caption wins a Free Monkey (or any other animal) drawing by Ape Lad. Contest rules: place your caption in the comment section. One caption per comment, please, but you can submit as many as you can think of. You can also vote for your favorite… just not your own!
Good luck!
Update 12/10/07 – Ape Lad has picked the winner! Congratulations to Ian Schwartz #47 who wrote:
Do you like my new letterhead?
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Funny Japanese Ad: Norton Fighter
Link: Norton Fighter vs. Botlas Part 1 | Part 2 [YouTube, with English subtitles]
To promote its anti-virus software in Japan, Symantec created this fantastically retro ad campaign styled after those 1960s Ultraman TV shows. In the ad, the superhero "Norton Fighter" battles computer virus Botlas and his pesky henchmen. – Thanks Chris!
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The Homespun Analogy Generator
Generator Land has this Homespun Analogy Generator, which will spit out funny analogies as funny as Dave Chappelle before he went nuts.
Here are some from the hall of fame:
I’m as gassy as a sick seal in a bowl of soup.
He’s as grumpy as a holy badger at a pie eatin’ contest.
She’s as undecided as an oriental sloth with an itch.
I’m as truthful as an overweight antelope having a sneezing fit.
Link – Thanks Mike Raia!
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CD Shaped Like Retro Floppy Disk!
Here’s something retrotastic: a CDR shaped to look like 3.5 in floppy disks!
The disks can hold 200 MB of data (compared to the 1.22 MB it is modeled to look like) and comes with blue, red, green, and yellow "labels." Link – via Geeked Info, thanks Ed!
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Anti-Child Abuse Coloring Book Warns Chidren of Being Alone with Priests
The New York Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic church came up with a way to warn children against child abuse (and being alone with priests, perhaps):
At first glance, "Being Friends, Being Safe, Being Catholic" is what you’d expect from a Christian handout: lessons in loving thy neighbor and knowing we’re all special in God’s eyes, plus a fun word search with names of people whom kids can trust (parents, counselors, teachers). Many of the book’s cartoon-sketch drawings, which were created by a church volunteer, are light in tone and narrated by an angel looming overhead. But on one page, the angel warns of an online predator—with
chest hair exposed—who attempts to chat with a child; on another (shown above), the angel implies that children should make sure they’re never alone in a room with a priest.
Link – via Boing Boing, thanks Neal Ungerleider!
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Dexia Tower in Brussels: 38 Floor + 150,000 LEDs = One Awesome Building!
Patrick of Creative Review blog went to Brussels and told us about the highlight of his trip: a 38-floor Dexia Tower. With 150,000 LEDs on its exterior walls, which means only one thing: one heckuva light show!
Dexia, a bank, opened its Tower, next to the Rogier Metro station at the end of one of the city’s main thoroughfares, last year. [...]
The current show is on the theme of weather. As explained on LAb[au]’s site, “The project displays tomorrow’s temperature, cloudiness, precipitations, and wind, by using colors and geometrical patterns to visualise these data. A color-code corresponds to tomorrow’s temperature compared to the monthly average, linked to a scale of color-temperatures ranging from violet (-6° or colder), blue (-4°), cyan (-2°), green (monthly average), yellow (+2°), orange (+4°) to red (+6° or warmer)”
Link (with embedded YouTube clip showing the lightshow) – Thanks Patrick!
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The World's Oldest Cat
Meet Pussywillow, Lin Brown’s cat, which may just be the oldest cat alive today:
A 26-year-old domestic cat from Shropshire could be one of the oldest in the UK.
Pussywillow lives in Ratlinghope and is still "sharp in her mind and her eyes", according to owner Lin Brown.
The black cat, who now enjoys curling up by the stove, lived off
animals she caught herself until she was 22, Ms Brown said.
Link – Thanks Ellen Woods!
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Stuffed Animal Big Game Trophies
If you’ve ever wanted a safari big game trophy to hang above your fireplace mantle but haven’t the heart to acquire one the "traditional" way, here’s something for you, a stuffed animal heads handcrafted by a small company in Boulder Colorado: Link – Thanks LH!
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The Iran-Contra Cargo Plane, Now a Restaurant and Bar!
On October 5, 1986, a cargo plane delivering supplies to the Nicaraguan Contras was shot down. This ultimately led to the uncovering of the biggest scandal of the Reagan administration: the Iran Contra [wiki].
But what happened to the plane itself? Turned out, someone made it into a restaurant and bar aptly called “El Avion”! Link – Thanks Trip!
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One Week at the Mall of America
Think that your Black Friday holiday shopping experience was bad? How about living in a mall for one full week?
For this article, reporter Matt Snyders of City Pages spent one whole week at the Twin Cities’ megamall Mall of America and lived to tell the tale:
… how to go about wrapping your head around a monolith that employs more than 11,000 workers, including clerks, security guards, tour guides, and ride operators? That spans 4.2 million square feet? That rakes in almost $2 billion a year from visitors? That, according to an awesomely arbitrary stat rundown on its website, can fit seven Yankee Stadiums into it?
One way is to eat, breathe, drink, and sleep in the place for seven days, inhabiting it during all open hours, 10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Which is exactly what I did. I realized going in that boredom would be my greatest adversary. These misgivings were compounded by the guidelines I was determined to follow:
* I was not to leave the building for any amount of time during open hours.
* I was to at least step foot in every one of the mall’s 520-plus stores.
* I was required to sleep a minimum of one night in the mall. Somehow.
* No outside food, water, or alcohol. Everything consumed must be purchased onsite.
* No iPod or other distractions allowed.
* No poking fun at the mall’s Santa Clauses.
* Not even the one that kind of looks like a pedophile.
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The Tin Foil Apartment
When your friend let you stay at her apartment while she was away for one week, do you repay her kindness by:
A) Buying a really nice bouquet of flower
B) Keeping the place real clean and nice
C) Wrapping everything – and I mean everything – in her apartment with tin foil.
Guess which answer was right:
From the website:
What was Liz’s reaction?
At 5:15pm EST on November 29, 2007, I received the following email from Liz:subject: habitat
message: YOU R DEAD!Story in development. Updates to come.
How many rolls of tin foil did you go through?
Six rolls of 50 ft and 4 rolls of 75 ft.How long did it take you?
Round 1 = 6 hours. Round 2 = ~10+ hours. I slowed down and lost track of time once I found out she wasn’t coming back yet.This isn’t photoshopped, is it?
Nope. 100% aluminium foil.What’s that can?
Ashtray with smoked cigs.What’s on the back of the door?
Bathrobe.Why didn’t you sleep on the bed?
Sleepovers are for couches and floors. Besides, I was a soaked mess after the shower incident. It’d be just wrong.Let me get this straight, she was nice enough to let you stay there….and you tinfoiled her house?!
Yes. My friendship is an acquired taste.
Link – Thanks Emahn!
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