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This is probably the world’s smallest personal helicopters. Unfortunately I don’t have any information on the designers of these flying toys but it sure would be nice to have one.
Videos: Dailymotion; Youtube
Hurry! Today is the last day to enter in the Tokyoflash watch contest.
The good folks at Tokyoflash are giving away watches to 4 lucky Neatorama readers. Winners will be announced tomorrow.
For more details, check out Neatorama’s exclusive article Top 10 Most Difficult to Read Tokyoflash Watches.
Update 1/31/08: Here are the winners – Thanks for playing, everyone!
Update 2/1/08: Here’s a coupon code for 1500 yen ($14 or 7GBP) discount off your Tokyoflash purchase until February 15, 2008: NEAT8
Conspiracy theorists rejoice! There’s a new "automotive Bermuda Triangle," a five-block radius around the Empire State Building, where cars mysteriously die:
No one is sure what’s causing it, but all roads appear to lead to the looming giant in our midst – specifically, its Art Deco mast and 203-foot-long, antenna-laden spire.
“We get about 10 to 15 cars stuck near there every day,” said Isaac Leviev, manager of Citywide Towing, the AAA’s exclusive roadside assistance provider from 42nd St. to the Battery. “You pull the car four or five blocks to the west or east and the car starts right up.” [...]
Since the 9/11 attacks destroyed the twin towers, the building has regained its status as the leading transmission site for commercial broadcast outfits, with 13 TV and 19 FM stations mounting antennas on its spire.
The Empire State Building Co., which refused to provide the Daily News a list of its antennas, denied it has created any “adverse impact” on automobiles.
“If the claim were indeed true, the streets in the vicinity of the building would be constantly littered with disabled vehicles,” the building’s owner said.
According to many doormen in the area, they often are.
Link – via Fortean Times
Photo: Eisbeertje [Flickr]
Flickr user Eisbeertje has a neat collection of photos from the Dutch Ice Sculpture Festival 2006/2007 in Madurodam and 2007/2008 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
This one above, titled Gouden Koets [wiki] or Golden Carriage is beyond fantastic!
Links: Magic Ice Madurodam 2006 and IJSsculpturenfestival Eindhoven 2007/2008 – more at Dark Roasted Blend
A little known fact about me: I can’t grow a moustache let alone a beard to save my life (curse these Asian genes!) So LOLstache, a Flickr pool where you can upload your own typographical moustache and beard, is as close as I get to facial hairiness.
//That’s me holding Ziggy. Please excuse the unruly hospital hair – this photo was taken without the benefit of prior showering. And yes, I’ll upload this to the pool as soon as I can remember my darned Flickr login.
Link – via Ectoplasmosis
Mel Kadel, whom we have featured before a while ago on Neatorama, has a few more new drawings. I particularly like this one, titled "Carrying the Load," as that’s exactly how I feel some days…
In the late ’90s, two record producers had a bet on who could get the worst song possible into the charts. The result: Vanilla, a girl band from Barnet, London whose single "No Way No Way" peaked at number 14 in the UK Singles Chart in 1997.
If you’re wondering, the song is based on Piero Umiliani’s Mah Nà Mah Nà.
Nothing To Do With Arbroath blog has the video clip: Link [embedded YouTube]
Now THIS is an awesome hot air balloon: the 156-ft tall Flying Scotsman. The balloon is skippered by one Muir Moffat, a retired logistics company employee (and 100% Scottish!).
The Daily Mail’s Robert Hardman recounts his experience aboard the Flying Scotsman hot air balloon up in the skies of Switzerland:
There’s no secret about what this particular Scotsman has under his kilt.
Like me, around 20,000 people are staring straight up it to discover nothing more than a lot of hot air.
The sound of amplified bagpipes is ringing round the valley and when there is finally sufficient heat beneath these vast folds of tartan, this giant piper slowly drifts off towards Mont Blanc.
It’s an extraordinary sight – a 156ft flying Scotsman floating over the cuckoo-clock chalets, snow-caked slopes and rocky peaks of Switzerland. But the view is even more impressive from where I’m standing. Because I happen to be in his sporran.
Link (GREAT photo!)
Previously on Neatorama: Darth Vader Hot Air Balloon | Festo’s Upside-Down Hot Air Balloon | Condom-Shaped Hot Air Balloon
If you’re squeamish, you may want to skip this one: In Peru, Extracto de rana or frog juice is a popular drink touted to cure asthma, bronchitis and …. impotence!
You go to the market stall and you pick your frogs from a tank. The vendor takes them out and bangs them against the table to kill them. Then she peels the skin off them and she fills the blender with hot white bean broth, some honey, raw aloe vera and a generous portion of maca. Then she adds your plucked frogs and she turns the blender on. And voila, a delicious warm glass of frog juice.
Nothing could stop Mass in a small church in Trento, Italy, not even death:
Pio Lieta, 86, suffered a fatal heart attack during an early-morning service at the Church of the White Madonna last Sunday.
An ambulance was called, and Mr Lieta, whose name means "pious" in Italian, was pronounced dead at the scene.
However, instead of halting the Mass, Father Mario Peron asked for the body to be covered with a white cloth and left Mr Lieta in the nave of the church while he finished the service.
It is against Italian law to move a body without the authorisation of a local magistrate.
"What could I have done?" said Fr Peron afterwards. "The Holy Mass has to be celebrated. It is not right to make an exception for one individual. Only people who do not understand the point of Mass would not understand the logic of my decision. We could not stop. We were united together in church and we prayed for him."
That little Martian humanoid we posted about before wasn’t the only thing that was strange about the Red Planet. Turns out, it also has circular "crop circles" (yes, I know, there are no crops on Mars, but you know what I mean) left behind by dust devils!
The Martian dust devil documented on March 15, 2005, was spinning across the surface of Gusev Crater just before noon on Mars. NASA’s Spirit rover took a series of images that were later assembled to a spectacular 21-frame animation with its navigation camera.
The event occurred during a period of 9 minutes and 35 seconds beginning at 11:48 a.m. local Mars time, recording the dust devil’s progress in a northeasterly direction about 1.0 kilometer (0.62 mile) away from Spirit’s perch on the slopes of the "Columbia Hills." The whirlwind was travelling at about 4.8 meters per second (16 feet per second) and covered a distance of about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile). The dust devil is about 34 meters (112 feet) in diameter.
Link | NASA’s animated footage
The organ dates from 1523. The case, which was built by the carver Nicolas Bachlier, is one of the most luxurious examples from 16th century in Southern France. The present instrument was built by A. Cavaillé-Coll in 1876.
Link -via Ursi’s Blog
(YouTube link)
The loris tarsier is looking at YOU. -Thanks, Jan!
Agility competitions for cats? It’s a growing trend, although some cats are more keen on finishing the obstacle courses than others are. The contests are fashioned after canine agility contests.
“Some of the cats finished in two minutes, some didn’t finish at all, some got distracted in the middle and went off on their own adventures,’ says Bengal cat breeder Ree Hertzson, who saw her first agility competition at The International Cat Association show in Syracuse. “And the Persians would stop after a few seconds and lie around looking pretty.”
Participants say cats can be trained to compete, although you have to find a unique motivation suited to the cat’s personality. And they have to be in the mood on contest day. Link -via Geek Like Me
(image credit: Richard J. Carson/USA Today)
I’m a huge fan of the TEDTalks Conference videos where a bunch of talented folks ranging from scientists, artists, writers, inventors and all around smart people come together from all over the World to deliver presentations about their work and findings. So, here is one that I think a lot of us Neatorama folks will enjoy and perhaps learn something along the way about some amazing sea creatures.
David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a shape-shifting cuttlefish, a pair of fighting squid, and a mesmerizing gallery of bioluminescent fish that light up the blackest depths of the ocean. He focuses on the work of two scientists: Edith Widder at the Ocean Research & Conservation Association, and Roger Hanlon at the Marine Biological Lab.
Press play or you can watch it from the You Tube link – Here.
Or you can watch it off from the TEDTalks website – Here.
In this leaked Top Secret footage Phil Plait tells the real story, before NASA edited it and no doubt forced him to post it on his blog in order to prevent the inevitable public panic.
Ha! At least the earth is still here today. Link
I drove my own car to the prom, but it’s been so long I don’t remember if I bothered to wash it. In this century, high school students want to make the ride to the prom something they -and their friends- will always remember.
“The journey was really exciting with all of us allowed to take turns in the two gun turrets of the vehicle. Inside it was more comfortable than we had imagined. We certainly got plenty of attention en route and when we arrived at the hall.”
Photo: Orange_Beard [Flickr]
Neatoramans, lend me your ear (get it? Or maybe we should just stick to the old and boring "Listen up"): Our Caption Monkey collaboration with Adam "Ape Lad" Koford of Hobotopia is back, and this week, the funniest caption will win his book Meet the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats.
The book features Kitteh and Pip, the hobo cat stars of the old timey comic strip featured at Adam’s blog Hobotopia. Over 250 comics, including comments by Aloysius P. Koford (don’t know who this is? check out Boing Boing TV’s explanation) and never before seen drawings.
Contest rules are darned simple: place your caption in the comment section. One caption per comment, please, but you can enter as many captions as you can think of. The funniest caption (Adam’s pick) will win the Meet the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats book.
Good luck (but if you don’t win, don’t despair: just get your own copy at Lulu).
Update 2/1/08 – Congratulations to MariV #23 who won with: The decaf was MIIIINNNNEEEEEE! (I had to think about it for a while … )
| The following is reprinted from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader: World of Odd.
From the dustbin of history, here are the stories of some of the past’s strangest people and events: THE FLEA KILLER
To accomplish this feat (this was long before the invention of chemical insect repellents), she commissioned the construction of a tiny, one-inch-long cannon, that was packed with tiny flea-sized cannonball. Whenever she spotted one, she fired the tiny cannon at it and occasionally made a killshot. THE SKULL IS IN THE MAILWhen Germany conquered Tanganyika (a region of eastern Africa) in 1898, Chief Mkwawa, the leader of the Wahehe tribe, was killed. The Germans then sent Mkwawa’s head to Germany, where it was displayed in a museum in Bremen. During World War I, the British kicked the Germans out of Africa, aided by the Wahehe. H.A. Byatt, the British administrator now overseeing the former German-controlled area, lobbied the British government for the return of Mkwawa’s skull in appreciation for the Wahehes’ War effort. The return of the skull was even stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles, the 1919 agreement outlining terms of German’s surrender. But Germany denied taking Mkwawa’s head and the British government didn’t push the issue, accepting the German explanation that the skull was lost.
In 1953 Sir Edward Twining, the British governor of Tanganyika, vowed to track down the skull … and found it in the Bremen Museum among a collection of dozens of skulls taken in the 1890s. Mkwawa’s skull was finally returned to the Wahehe in July 1954 and now resides in a museum there. THE GENDER-BENDING BULLFIGHTERIn 1900, a 20-year-old bullfighter known only as “La Reverte” debuted in the Madrid bullring. What’s odd about that? La Reverte was female bullfighter. She remained a crowd favorite for seven years until 1908, when the Spanish government decided it was immoral for women to fight bulls, and La Reverte was banned from the ring. But La Reverte wasn’t worried. Why? She was really a he. At the conclusion of one of her final bullfights, La Reverte took off her wig and fake breasts, revealing she wasn’t a woman, but a man named Agustin Rodriguez.
Did La Reverte resume a bullfighting career as a man? Nope. Bullfighting fans instantly turned on him, angered by the fraud. Within the year, Rodriguez fled Madrid and retired quietly in Majorca. TIME TO GET THE CLOCK FIXED
Illig believes that the Early Middle Ages – the years 614 to 911 – never actually happened and that all evidence of the 300-year period is faked. He says that in 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar (which we still use) in order to correct a ten-day error, he actually added 300 years. Among the historical evidence that Illig uses to support his claim are “fraudulent” records of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, whom Illig says is actually a fictional character. … AND THE DISH RAN AWAY WITH THE SPOONOn May 9, 1962, a Guernsey cow in Iowa named Fawn was picked up by a tornado and flew through the air for a few minutes before landing softly and safely at a nearby farm a half a mile away. The flight is believed to be the longest (but no the first) unassisted solo cow flight in recorded history. Fawn safely landed in the pen of a Holstein bull at a neighboring farm before she successfully wandered home. (The brief encounter resulted in a calf.)
Amazingly, Fawn had a chance to beat her own record. In 1967, she was out grazing a country road and was caught up in another tornado. She flew over a busload of gawking tourists and landed safely on the other side of the road. From then on, Fawn’s owner locked her up whenever there was a storm warning. |
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The article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Wonderful World of Odd.
This book focuses on the odd-side of life and features articles like the strangest TV shows never made, the creepiest insect on Earth, odd medical conditions, and many, many 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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A jiffy is actually an actual unit of time. It’s 1/100th of a second!
Photo: Chris Fellows
Wildlife photographer Chris Fellows spends half of each year waiting off the coast of South Africa to capture some amazing photos of sharks hunting its prey:
"The sharks feed on young seals when they are attempting to return to Seal Island after a few days out feeding," Mr Fellows said. "The sharks will bite the seal, typically in half in the first go, and then come round and pick the other half up. It is all on the surface and it happens in a few minutes."
Mr Fellows added: "When children see a shark eat a seal they feel sorry for the seal, but it’s like a lion catching a zebra – it’s a natural phenomenon.
"To see a perfectly streamlined great white slowly cruising in clear water with shafts of light bouncing off its back is like watching a sports car effortlessly cruise past you on the freeway. It is just one of those moments that makes you appreciate a beautiful creation."
An underground collective of artists called illegal art used hundreds of Post-its to create a giant to-do list in New York City’s SoHo. What’s even better, passer-bys can "participate" in the art project by writing their own notes!
This, and a neat list of more Post-it artworks can be found at WebUrbanist – Thanks Jon Jason!
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"When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is."
– Oscar Wilde, author (1854 – 1900)
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Queen Christina ruled Sweden from 1632 to 1654. What did she consider the biggest threat to her kingdom? Fleas. The Queen hated them and wanted each and everyone one she found in her palace killed … individually.
In 1996, German systems analyst Heribert Illig introduced a theory he called “phantom time hypothesis.”
“Not everyone needs to take maternity leave but with heartbreak, everyone needs time off, just like when you get sick,” says CEO Miki Hiradate, of Tokyo-based Hime & Company. The company gives “older” staff (over 29) more time off, under the theory that break-ups are more serious when you’re older.
You can read the rest of the article here. Via Tokyomango.
What do you think, are break-ups harder with age?
(The image is a t-shirt submission currently up for vote at Design by Humans.)
Some of you might remember the Family Guy Star Wars Style Poster entry that was posted here at Neatorama late last year. Original sketches from this “Family Guy: Blue Harvest” special are now available from foxstudioart.com.
Since traditional cels were not actually created for this special (coloring, etc was done in the computer), these are the closest you’re going to get to hand-drawn artwork.
Prices start at $140, with new art replacing those that get sold.
Link – via The Official Star Wars Blog
Google Maps joins science fiction lore in this eerie video. -via Digg
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