Archive for January 3rd, 2008

Hofbrauhaus Catastrophe

When you’re working on beer by the liter, be careful not to toast too heartily! This once-in-a-lifetime photo is from Flickr user Slake B. Link -via J-Walk Blog

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Neatorama Shop » Food & Drink » Offbeat Mints & Candies
Pac-Man and Ghosts Candies	Bacon Gumballs	Nihilist Flavorless Mints
See more Offbeat Mints & Candies »

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Shaving with Hands - Stop Motion Video

A fun stop motion video showing a guy shaving off his beard using his bare hands.

Link [YouTube] – via Beyond The Invisible

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Kung Fu Election: Mortal Kombat-Styled Flash Game for Political Junkies

Just in time for the Iowa caucus hullabaloo, here’s a Mortal Kombat-styled Flash game called Kung Fu Election by Atom. See politicians kick the crap out of each other – choose your favorite candidate and fight to the finish!

Link – Thanks Sarah Jayne Giannantonio!

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5 Movies that Proved MPAA's Movie Ratings Suck

Can parents rely on MPAA’s R or PG-13 ratings as a guide whether to let their kids watch a movie?

No, according to David Chen of More Than Fine blog. He picked 5 movies released in 2007 to illustrate how the MPAA movie rating system is broken. Take, for instance, the gory animated movie Beowulf:

2. Beowulf
What it was rated: PG-13
What it should have been rated: R
Comments: Despite being animated, this movie features an Angelina Jolie that’s basically naked, a hideous monster that murders – often brutally – dozens of townspeople (for example, he tore one in two and chewed off another one’s head, slowly), several impalings, a graphic dislocation of an arm, a graphic severing of an arm, and lots of gore in the slaying of the monsters featured. One character’s family is burned alive, although this is only implied off screen. I went to see it in IMAX 3d (a great experience, by any stretch of the imagination) but was disappointed to find out that several families had brought infants in with them to see the film. As I saw Grendel’s horrific visage barrel onto the screen, a prelude to his murderous rampage, I myself was on the edge of my seat and just a little frightened. I can’t imagine the mental scars that these kids in the audience would have to bear. Beowulf 3D is what little kids’ nightmares are made of.

Link – Thanks David!

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Male Monkeys "Pay" For Sex

Michael Gumert of Nanyang Technological University of Singapore discovered that male macaques "pay" to have sex by grooming the females. Interestingly, market forces apply even to monkey sex:

On average, females had sex 1.5 times per hour.

But this rate jumped to 3.5 times per hour immediately after the female had been groomed by a male — and her partner of choice was likely to be the hunky monkey that did the grooming.

Market forces also acted on the value of the transaction.

If there were several females in the area, the cost of buying sex would drop dramatically — a male could "buy" a female for just eight minutes of nit-picking.

But if there were no females around, he would have to groom for up to 16 minutes before sex was offered.

Link – Thanks casey!

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Neatorama Shop » Toy & Games » Science Toys
	BuckyBalls Magnetic Toys are 216 rare earth magnet balls that can be shaped and molded into virtually any shape. Tear 'em apart and snap 'em back together in unlimited ways for hours of fun! Watch the video for a quick demo of what BuckyBalls can do. Remember to get two for twice the fun! Link
See more Science Toys »

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DIY X-Ray Photography with Polaroids

Aaron Muderick of Omnimatter (a fantastic blog, btw) is fascinated with x-ray. Turns out, it’s not so difficult to make your very own x-ray photography using Polaroids!

Here’s a step-by-step guide (using naturally occurring radiactive material and and other radioactive sources):

For some time I’ve been fascinated with the idea of reproducing these types of images in my home lab without great cost and with relative safety. As a collector of radioactive minerals and other ephemera, I decided that I wanted to use naturally radioactive materials as the source for my ‘penetrating rays’ rather than an amateur electrical x-ray machine setup. Secondly, as a participant in the digital revolution, the whole concept of a darkroom with the necessary equipment and development chemicals seemed unwieldy. I knew a digital setup wouldn’t provide any results but I didn’t want to invest in a darkroom.

Then it occurred to me: Polaroid! Polaroid film is readily available and it develops itself. However, a workable technique needed to be developed. How to expose the film for hours or days without the need for absolute darkness? How would I develop the film reliably after an exposure was made?

The answer came from Kevin Clark of the Yahoo group, "GeigerCounterEnthusiasts". Most of the conversation on this group surrounds the maintenance, repair and collection of old civil defense-era radiation detectors. However, there is some list activity on other radiation-related topics. It was here that Clark explained his simple, yet reliable, technique for creating inexpensive Polaradiographs.

Items you’ll need:

1. A Polaroid SX-70, Type 600, or Spectra camera
2. A package of unexposed Type 600 or Spectra Polaroid film
3. One metal cookie tin at least six inches in diameter
4. A few sheets/roll of aluminum foil
5. Radioactive material

Link – Thanks Jon Jason!

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Cynergy Lab's Project Maestro: Minority Report-Like Mouse Glove in Action

Remember the scene in Minority Report where Tom Cruise worked the computer by waving his hands frantically in front of it? Well, the technology is coming. Here’s Rick Barraza showing of Cynergy Lab showcasing Project Maestro featuring infrared "mouse" glove for multi-touch at a distance.

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – Thanks Alan!

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365 Chiat Days: Taking Snapshot of a Desktop Everyday for a Year

Sean Ohlenkamp took a snapshot of his work desktop at advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day every day for one whole year, and made a short movie out of it.

I quite like the clever ways he arranged folders to make them a "part" of the desktop background image.

Link (Quicktime movie) – Thanks Sean!

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Drag Racing Gone Wrong

Here’s something you don’t see every day. This drag racer lost his axle on take-off. Notice the driver’s reaction as he gets out of the car in this funny video.

Link: maniacworld

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MC Hammer to Launch Video Site

MC Hammer is set to launch a new video site called DanceJam.

The Web site, scheduled to debut in mid-January, will try to upstage YouTube and become the Internet’s hub for sharing and watching dance videos. DanceJam then hopes to make money by grabbing a piece of the rapidly growing Internet advertising market, which is expected to rake in $27.5 billion in 2008, according to eMarketer.

Hammer has been a technogeek since the early days of Silicon Valley, but he didn’t see the entertainment value of the internet until he saw what YouTube was doing. DanceJam is expected to launch later this month. Link to story. Link to Hammer’s blog.

(photo credit: Jeff Chiu/AP)

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Neatorama Shop » Ambigram T-Shirts
Friend / Enemy Ambigram	See more Ambigram T-Shirts »

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18 People Stuck On Roller Coaster

Eighteen people who rode a roller coaster in Anhui, China, got more than they bargained for: they got stuck upside down for half an hour when strong winds caused the roller coaster to stop on its track!

Strong winds brought a roller coaster to a halt at the top of its loop at a fun park in Anhui province in east China, leaving 18 people hanging upside down for about half an hour with six of them falling ill, an official said.
All the six persons were sent to a hospital and were discharged later, the official said.

The equipment was in good condition and the weather was suitable when the coaster began its journey but a sudden gust halted it, which was then locked to the loop by safety devices, with the passengers hanging upside down.

Zhang Shengying, Deputy Director of the Wuhu Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, said investigation showed that the accident had been caused by “extreme weather” at the amusement park.

Source: ptinews
Image: China.org

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Poli-Talks: Peculiar Quotes By Politicians

The following is from Uncle John’s All-Purpose Extra Strength Bathroom Reader. Sick and tired of political campaigns this election year? Let’s take a step back with something you can appreciate from the politicians: strange and peculiar quotes. They’re not to be “misunderstimated”! "I think that the free-enterprise system is absolutely too important to be left to the voluntary action of the marketplace." – Rep. Richard Kelly (R-Fla.) "If a frog had wings, he wouldn’t hit his tail on the ground." – George Bush, on unemployment benefits "I make my decisions horizontally, not vertically." – Sen. Bob Kerry (D-Neb.) "I hope that history will present me with maybe two words. One is peace. The other is human rights." – Jimmy Carter "The streets are safe in Philadelphia, it’s only the people who make them unsafe." – Frank Rizzo, mayor of Philadelphia "If we don’t watch our respective tails, the people are going to be running the government." – State Sen. Bill Craven (R-Ca.), on state initiatives "Democracy used to be a good thing, but now it has gotten into the wrong hands." – Sen. Jesse Helms "I don’t see why the legislature should be in the business of artificial intelligence, real intelligence or any intelligence at all." – Rep. Hunt Downer (D-La.) "A zebra cannot change its spots." - Al Gore "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" – George W. Bush "We, as Republicans, need to start rowing with one oar." – Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohio) "I haven’t committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law." – David Dinkins, former New York mayor "I don’t have the brains for business. I want to go into politics." – Mao Xinyou, grandson of Mao Zedong "I’m not indecisive. Am I indecisive?" – Jim Scheibel, mayor of St. Paul, Minn. "If BS was a dollar a pound, we would have paid off the deficit at about noon." – Rep. Jim Ross Lightfoot (R-Iowa) "Congressmen are so damn dumb they could throw themselves on the ground and miss." – Rep. James Traficant, Jr. (D-Ohio) "I think that’s self-evident, but not true." – Bill Clinton "It’s hard for somebody to hit you when you’ve got your fist in their face." – James Carville, on negative campaigning "What’s the difference between a politician and a catfish? One is a wide-mouthed, bottom-feeding, slime sucker – and the other is a fish." – Preston Manning, Reform Party leader "I’m a politician, and as a politician I have the prerogative to lie whenever I want." – Charles Peacock, ex-director of the Madison Guaranty S&L "Look, I’m trying to run for president! I can’t sit here and debate free trade versus fair trade!" – Pat Robertson "The contagious people of Washington have stood firm against diversity during this long period of increment weather." – Marion Barry, former mayor of Wash., D.C. "The senator has got to understand – he can’t have it both ways. He can’t take the high horse and then claim the low road." – George W. Bush, referring to John McCain "I’m glad I’m not Brezhnev. Being the Russian leader in the Kremlin, you never know if someone’s tape-recording what you say." – Richard Nixon

The article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John’s All-Purpose Extra Strength Bathroom Reader. The 13th book in the series by the Bathroom Reader’s Institute has 504-all new pages crammed with fun facts, including articles on the biggest movie bombs ever, the origin and unintended use of I.Q. test, 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. If you like Neatorama, you’ll love the Bathroom Reader Institute’s books – go ahead and check ‘em out!

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What Is It? Game 49

W00t! It’s time for this week’s collaboration with What is it? Blog. For this game, the first of the year 2008 (and because I missed most of last month’s), let’s make this extra fun: Guess what this strange contraption is for and win a Free Neatorama T-Shirt!

Two ways to win: 1) the first correct guess and 2) the funniest/most creative (but wrong) guess!

Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment and please post no URL (let others play). You can submit as many guesses as you can think of. For more clues, check out What is it? Blog.

Good luck!

Update 1/4/08 – the answer is:

Phone booth key, it’s one of the two keys used to get the money out of the phone.

Congratulations to AliBaba007, who got it right first, and to Carl from Santee, for the funniest/most creative (but wrong) guess:

It looks to me like a brass, face guard for a one-eyed, gladiator owl. It’s been flattened of course.

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Human Tetris

We’ve posted Guillaume Reymond’s other GAME OVER Projects, like the Human Space Invaders, Human Pole Position and Human Pong before … Now Guillaume has returned with another masterpiece: the Human Tetris!

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]

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RIAA: Transferring Music From Legally Bought CD to Computer is Illegal Still Okay

We don’t normally post stuff like copyfight and the RIAA’s quest to quash music piracy through lawsuits (blogs like Boing Boing covered this subject well enough), but this recent article in the Washington Post is too good to pass up: apparently the RIAA now maintains that it’s illegal for you to transfer music from a legally bought CD to your computer!

In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.

The industry’s lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are "unauthorized copies" of copyrighted recordings.

Link

Update 1/3/07: Apparently, the article was wrong: Jeffrey Howell was sued not because he ripped music from CDs to his computer, but for sharing them in a P2P basis. – Thanks Matthew McVickar!

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Hunt Rettig's Artwork

Aspen artist Hunt Rettig used paperboard, plastic, wood, metal and silicone to create a three-dimensional sculpture, which he then covered with a translucent film to make it look like a two-dimensional photo!

The result is a series of mixed media assemblage that seems to glow with soft, cool colors: Link – via dear ada

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Trivia: What Does the L.L. in L.L. Bean Stand For

The L.L. in L.L. Bean stands for Leon Leonwood. In 1912, Leon Leonwood Bean started a mail order company by selling "Bean Boots," waterproof boots sold to hunters.

A defect in the original design led customers to return 9 out of every 10 boots purchased. Bean made good on his money-back guarantee, corrected the design, and continued to sell the boots till today.

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Giant Underwear Saved the Day!

Jenny Marsey knew that her giant underwear would come in handy one day. Like putting out a fire, for instance:

Jenny Marsey’s size 18-20 cotton pants were grabbed to cover a frying pan fire at her home in Hartlepool.

Her son and nephew were trying to fry some bread when the blaze broke out, reports the BBC.

They grabbed the knickers from a pile of washing, doused them in water, and threw them over the fire.

Mrs Marsey, 53, said: "My £4.99 parachute knickers have come in handy for something. We’ve had a good laugh that they were a bit like a fire blanket."

Now that is something a thong couldn’t do! Link

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Orangutan's Laughter is Infectious to Other Orangutans

Scientists discovered that orangutan’s laughter is infectious (to other orangutans, that is). And that evolutionarily, this may be a precursor to human emotions:

Orang-utans can also make each other chuckle – in fact, they are now thought to have developed laughter before us.

Our close biological cousins have a sense of empathy and mimicry which is an essential part of laughter, scientists at Portsmouth University discovered.

When one orang-utan displayed an open, gaping mouth – the equivalent of laughter – its playmate displayed the same expression less than half a second later, suggesting the mimicry was an involuntary display, their research showed.

Link

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Can Neatorama Make You Smile Again?

Sure we can!

This kid should win an Oscar for Best Evil Eye Performance:

[YouTube Link]

And two evil laughs:

[YouTube Link]

and this evil scientist that I cannot embed.

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Neatorama Shop » Computer & Office » Road Mice
	Why settle for a boring computer mouse when you can surft in style with Road Mice, a cool wireless computer mouse that looks just like the car of your dreams? Road Mice is available in various Chevy, Chrysler, Dodge, and Ford models including the popular Dodge Viper shown to the left. It's the perfect gift for the auto-enthusiast in your life!
See more Road Mice »

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Bloody Beowulf LEGO Diorama: Then Came Grendel .. He Bore God's Wrath!

No wussy LEGO diorama for Brickshelf user MicahBerger – he went straight for the jugular with this blood-drenched scene from Beowulf, aptly titled "Then came Grendel … He bore God’s wrath." Link – via The Brothers Brick

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Worst Christmas Ever: Man Spent Christmas Eve Stuck in Septic Tank

How did you spend Christmas Eve? Was it at an awkward family gathering? Scrambling to buy last minute gifts? No matter how stressful it was for you, Robert Schoff has got it beat: he spent it trapped upside down in a full septic tank!

The 77-year-old Des Moines, Iowa man began his holiday with a toilet problem. So he went out to his septic tank and tried to remove the clog. Instead, it removed him. The senior lost his balance and fell into the slop, with his head trapped inside and his feet kicking wildly in the air. The 5′5", 135-lbs. man tried yelling for help at the top of his lungs but no one heard him.

He stayed that way for about an hour unable to escape his smelly predicament until his wife began to wonder where her husband disappeared to. [...]

Eventually 911 and fire officials rushed to the scene and pulled him to safety. A long shower followed. "I thought it was the end of my life," he reflects. "Thank God my wife saw me. I don’t think I could have stood staying in there much more."

Afterwards, Robert said that "It was the worst Christmas Eve" he’s ever had. And that’s no bull: Link

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Quote: Lily Tomlin on Language

"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain."

– Lily Tomlin, actress and comedian (b. 1939)

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Wall-Mounted Paper Folder Shaped Like Computer Desktop Folders

German designer Wir Gestalten created this wall-hanging paper folder called "Neuer Ordner" (New Folder) shaped like a desktop folder on your computer!

Link – via swissmiss

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Could You Pass Eighth Grade Science?

Could you pass eight grade science? Take the quiz! I did well, partially because I help my fifth-grader study these exact things for her science class. Link -via Geek Like Me

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Packing Tape Art

Mark Khaisman is a Ukranian artist and architect living in Philadelphia. His mixed media works were made by applying packaging tape to plexiglas panels! Link -via Dump Trumpet

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