Archive for February 12th, 2009
Pringles Can iPod Dock
Ah, the Pringles can. Is there anything it can’t do? It works as a container that keeps not-potato chips crispy for years (yes, a court has ruled that Pringles aren’t potato chips for tax purposes), act as a Yagi antenna (the infamous Pringles WiFi antenna), and even as a coffin.
Now, thanks to Neatorama reader Nick M., an empty Pringles can also doubles as an iPod dock:
I made this project for a friend in about an hour. It is al made from found parts laying around our apartment. I uses a set of speakers, and an ipod charging cable. The entire project cost around 5 dollars and was quite fun. The project requires nothing but the can itself, a set of speakers, hot glue, ipod cable (if you want), and an exacto knife. The can holds itself up.
Thanks Nick M.!
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72-year-old ex-sprinter foils thief
A teenage thief thought the old lady she was helping into a car would be easy pickings: just grab her bag and go. What the bag-snatcher didn’t know is that this old lady was a 100-yard British national champion in her youth, and she still had some fire left. Mrs. Jean Hirst, a widow and retired teacher, began chasing the thief, who finally gave up the goods.
“Suddenly I felt 18 again. The adrenaline just kicked in and I seemed to turn back the years.
She had a head start but I covered 70 yards in about 15 seconds and was within two strides of her when she looked over her shoulder and saw me…The look on her face was one of sheer amazement and she just threw my bag aside.”
Photo via Raymonds Press Agency
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Working GameBoy Costume
This kid’s costume at the Ohayocon is fantastic. It actually works too!
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Zombie Kitty Noms
I just can’t stop watching this hypnotic video of a cat mindlessly licking food from the man’s fingers. It’s so funny and yet, somehow disturbing.
Link Via Giggle Sugar
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Bike Washing Machine: Pedal Your Clothes Clean
A middle-school student in Guandong province in China figured out a way to run a washing machine without electricity.
He rigged up a washing machine to a stationary bicycle and pedaled until the clothes were clean. He demonstrated that you can wash your clothes, keep in shape, and protect the environment at the same time.
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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 Black Mustang with White Stripes shown to the left. It's the perfect gift for the auto-enthusiast in your life! |
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Man Has Surgery to Reattach His Hand. For The Second Time!
It’s a fairly rare thing to be clumsy enough to cut off your hand, and I’m sure it’s even rarer to do it twice.
That’s what happened to New Zealand meatpacker Bryan Speers. While cutting meat with a band saw, he slipped and accidentally severed his left hand. He was rushed to hospital where the attempt to reattach his limb was hindered by scarring from a previous operation to attach the same hand after a previous accident!
Eventually surgeons did manage to successfully reattach his hand, and while he is expected to make a recovery, he will have to remain in hospital for quite a while while he regains the usage of his hand.
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Oldest Human Hair Found in Hyena Poop
Paleontologist Lucinda Blackwell and her colleagues at the University of Witwatersrand were digging in Gladysvale cave, South Africa, when they came upon a sensational find.
In the fossilized hyena waste they collected they found the remains of human hair dated 195,000 to 257,000 years ago! This predates the earliest known sample of human hair by 200,000 years.
She and her team removed a 9.8-inch block of calcified hyena waste from a brown hyena latrine found in the cave. Such latrines are only used by one animal and are typically demarcated areas that measure about 6 feet round in size.
The researchers then extracted 40 hairs from a single coprolite using fine tweezers. Although amino acid analysis detected no protein, and DNA sampling was not possible, very high magnification revealed that the size and shape of the hairs, along with their distinct cuticular scale patterns, best matched those of human hair.
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VideoSift Clips of the Week
(Links open in a new browser window/tab)
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Juggling with Bowling Ball I kid: that's not a bowling ball, but it sure does look like one! Link |
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Dog Hates the Happy Birthday Song! |
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Physics Fun: Jell-O + Electricity = FIRE! Link (Includes the phrase "electrically active Jell-O mound" that is PURE WIN) |
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Cell Phone Reunion From the geniuses over at CollegeHumor: Link (NSFW language - the ending makes it all worth the wait) |
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The Crazy PS3 Kid Banned From Playing PS3 His range of emotion is amazing! Christian Bale, watch out! Link |
For more the web's most interesting videos, check out: VideoSift.
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Hellboy-Sackboy Hybrid
From his sawed-off demon horns and ever-present cigar to his massive stone hand, this creature is Hellboy. But those big button eyes, oversized head, crocheted body and zippered torso, surely that’s Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet?!
Credit for this crocheted mashup goes to Caustic Muse, who designed it, based in part on an Etsy pattern. Say hello to HellSackBoy! He’s adorable and terrifying.
Photo by CausticMuse2
Link – via craftycrafty
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The Rubens' Tube: Physics + Fire = Awesome!
[YouTube - Link]
Physics can be fun if you don’t have to take a test. The scientific principles behind the Rubens’ Tube (showing standing waves) involved in this demonstration are explained at Wikipedia, but are more dramatically illustrated in the video.
– via dilidoo
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Wildfires From the Inside
Everyone’s seen the photo of the poor koala drinking from a fireman’s water bottle in Australia after the blaze was out. But what’s it like to be in the forest when the flames are raging?
Photographer Mark Thiessen provides a unique perspective on fighting wildfires, because he’s been to fire school and gets recertified every year. This gives him special access at a firefighting site that ordinary news photographers can’t get.
In this short video, Thiessen talks about the 2007 fire season in California, and what it was like to be in the thick of it, when he was shooting a story on wildfires for National Geographic. He also explains how well-intentioned but wrongheaded fire prevention policy has made today’s wildfires hotter and more dangerous than ever.
Photo by Mark Thiessen, National Geographicstaff
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Post-it Note Artwork!
Post-it notes arn’t just for jotting down random notes. This ever growing collective of artists have been drawing on post-it notes in their spare time at work and posting to this blog on a regular basis.
“this blog was originally dedicated to documenting the post-its i doodled while at work. however, this blog has grown beyond it’s original intent to encompass the post-its drawn by me and and any post-it compatriots who deem to grace it’s halls with their own artfull pictographs.”
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Guitar Store
Flickr user hey mr glen found this awesome storefront that advertises what’s inside. Bonus: the dials go to eleven! Link -via reddit
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European Fast Food
HealthAssist is beginning a series on fast food around the world, beginning with Europe. In Denmark, sausages resembling long hot dogs called røde pølser are dipped in ketchup, and bread is a side dish. In the Netherlands, french fries are most commonly dressed in mayonnaise. Of course, in Belgium you can buy waffles from a fast food stand. In Poland, enjoy Zapiekanki which resembles a pizza sandwich. In most of Europe, fast food means sausage. Link -Thanks, Karen!
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Forget flowers: Say it with stickies!
Somebody in Antigua, Guatemala found an eye-catching way to profess his love. Each of the sticky notes covering this wall is inscribed with the message "Te amo, Cristina."
This photo won honorable mention in the National Geographic International Photo Contest 2008, in the Places category.
Photo by Lori McConnell
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The Biology of Romance
A group of researchers are studying the biological basis of romantic love. No matter how much we talk about love from the heart (or other organs), they’ve found it really is all in your head.
In humans, there are four tiny areas of the brain that some researchers say form a circuit of love. [Dr. Bianca] Acevedo, who works at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, is part of a team that has isolated those regions with the unromantic names of ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens, the ventral pallidum and raphe nucleus.
The hot spot is the teardrop-shaped VTA. When people newly in love were put in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine and shown pictures of their beloved, the VTA lit up. Same for people still madly in love after 20 years.
The VTA is part of a key reward system in the brain.
“These are cells that make dopamine and send it to different brain regions,” said Helen Fisher, a researcher and professor at Rutgers University. “This part of the system becomes activated because you’re trying to win life’s greatest prize – a mating partner.”
Link -via Geek Like Me
(image credit: Larry Young, PhD.)
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Pink Underwear Protest
The Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women is a Facebook group formed to protest the actions of an Indian group called Sri Ram Sena (Army of Lord Ram). Members of the group were arrested for attacking women in a bar in Mangalore last month. The attack was caught on video.
Pramod Mutalik, who heads the little known Ram Sena and is now on bail after he was held following the attack, has said it is “not acceptable” for women to go to bars in India.
He has also said his men will protest against Valentine’s Day on Saturday.
The Facebook group urges its over 28,000 members to send pink chaddis (underpants) to Mutalik’s office on Valentines Day in protest. Link to story. Link to website. -via Arbroath
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Lego Casemod
The name of this geeky retro work of art is Big Blue.
Lego PC that SCREAMS 80s LEGO with what I think are the most recognized LEGO sets of the 80s representing Space, Castle, Town, with Touch Screen LCD, RF Remote, Blue NEON light, Spectrum Analyzer display, HDTV Tuner card coming soon. I call it BIG BLUE.
See lots more pictures at Brickshelf. Link -via Gizmodo
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Black History Month: 5 Must-See Underrated Movies
Am I the only one that remembers it’s Black History Month? I we finally have a black president, but does that mean we don’t have black history month anymore? Last I checked, it’s still on the calendar.
If you do want to celebrate black history month, you may enjoy watching a few great films regarding race and our society. I know everyone thinks of Malcolm X, Amistad and The Color Purple when they think of African American films, but here are five great movies that tend to get overlooked.
Bulworth
The Basic Plot: A white senator [Warren Beatty], sick of politics and life in general, takes out a life insurance policy on himself and hires a hit man to whack him. Since he doesn’t care what happens to him, he starts speaking to people about the truth of politics, for example, if you don’t donate money to your representative’s campaigns, they won’t represent you. In the process of exposing Washington corruption, he finds a new interest in life when he falls for a beautiful black woman from Compton [Halle Berry]. Now he needs to avoid the hit man, win his lady and deal with the media frenzy his new “campaign tactic” has created.
Why Was It Underrated: People either thought it was going to be a stupid movie about a white senator pretending to rap, or they heard about the politics of the movie and were turned off. Either way, this movie is constantly listed as one of the top underrated films of the 90’s.
Why You Should See It: It is damn funny to see someone tell movie executives they wouldn’t be criticized about decency standards if they just made better movies. Aside from the humor though, there are some great political points about what happened to the leaders of the black community, why so many black youths enter gangs and more.
More: Bulworth
Bamboozled
The Basic Plot: An African American television writer [Damon Wayans] is criticized one too many times by his white “not racist” boss [Michael Rapaport] for not being street enough. As a way to get back at his condescending boss, he proposes a modern day minstrel show, complete with black actors in black face. Amazingly, the show not only is approved by the executives, but becomes a nation-wide success leading to legions of fans running around the streets in black face. As you could guess, things could only go downhill from there…
Why Was It Underrated: Some people found the whole concept rather offensive, completely ignoring the fact that it was a satire created by a black man. Other people simply don’t look to Spike Lee for humor, though if they did, they may be pleasantly surprised.
Why You Should See It: It’s a funny movie filled with some of the best, biting satire of the last century. You’ll find yourself laughing awkwardly and not believing your eyes at points of the show. At the same time, you’ll realize that the show isn’t much of a stretch for modern television.
More: Bamboozled
Men of Honor
The Basic Plot: The true story of the first African American U.S. Navy diver. Carl Brashear [Cuba Gooding Jr.] must not only struggle to become a diver, but to live through the harassment and racism of his fellow trainees and the trainer [Robert DeNiro] determined to see him fail. In the end, he not only wins the respect of other soldiers, but manages to become the first black diver and the first amputee diver.
Why Was It Underrated: Maybe it was Cuba Gooding Jr. – after all, a lot of people consider him to be about as “black” as Colin Powell. Maybe it’s diver-discrimination and people would much rather see a movie about black fighter pilots than a black diver. Whatever the reason, this moving film received little attention, especially when compared to the George Lucas Tuskegee Airmen film, Red Tails, expected to come out sometime this year.
Why You Should See It: This is a touching story showing the ugliness of racism and the strength of the human spirit. I know it sounds kind of cliché, but it is a good movie depicting how many obstacles we can pass when we set our hearts to doing something.
More: Men of Honor
Dead Presidents
The Basic Plot: Three young black men are recruited to join the Vietnam War. After serving duty, the three friends all end up back home in New York. After finding it difficult to adjust to modern society outside the army, the group sets up an armored car heist. The ensuing action is not to be missed.
Why Was It Underrated: Between Menace II Society and their later works like American Pimp and From Hell, this fantastic film directed by the Hughes brothers seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Additionally, many people didn’t know how if this movie was a heist movie, a Vietnam flick or a statement about racism in America. Since people often like their movies to be easily classified, this may have been the film’s downfall.
Why You Should See It: Although on the surface, it appears to be a heist movie, this film highlights important issues facing black veterans of the Vietnam War and the continuing racism they experienced when they returned home to a country still wrought with civil rights injustices. This early Hughes Brother’s film is a great display of their talent and a promise of the good things to come.
More: Dead Presidents
Higher Learning
The Basic Plot: When three kids from all walks of life start attending college together, they start encountering racial tension and personal problems like finances and personal insecurities. The main African American character [Omar Epps] is a young African American track star without an exceptional mind. The main female character [Kristy Swanson] is date raped and joins a feminist group to cope with her demons. She begins to become attracted to another woman [Jennifer Connelly] in the group. The main white character [Michael Rapaport] has a hard time fitting in with anyone until a group of white supremacists accept him as one of their own. Rape, racism, sexuality, education and more are all touched upon in this intense film depicting reality on college campuses across the nation.
Why Was It Underrated: Many critics found the characters to be a little stereotypical, but when there are so few movies actually exploring these roles in depth, is that really a problem? Another reason it may be underrated: how many people expect a deep-thinking movie to involve Tyra Banks?
Why You Should See It: There is an all-star cast in this film and it does an excellent job depicting relationships of all types –student/teacher, woman/man, woman/woman, white/black and more. Additionally, it’s one of the few college movies that moves beyond grades, booze and money and depicts a student’s path to self-discovery.
More: Higher Learning
Do you think I missed any? If so, please let me know in the comments.
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If the Dealership Goes Bankrupt, The Car You Sold May Come Back to Haunt You
Did you just sell your car? If the dealership you sold your car to goes under because of the economic crisis, you may find that you’re still on the hook for that car loan:
The national wave of auto dealership closures has come crashing down on thousands of people who are on the hook for used-car loans that dealers were supposed to absolve.
When a car buyer still owes money on a vehicle he is trading in, the dealer promises to pay off the outstanding loan, then resells the vehicle. But as more dealers go out of business, some are sticking consumers with the bill. Lenders can then go after the previous owner who thought the debt was paid, or repossess the car from the new owner who assumed it came with clear title.
"It’s devastating for people when it happens because they have two car payments and they can’t afford them," said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a Sacramento-based nonprofit that lobbies on behalf of vehicle owners. "Their credit is destroyed for no fault of their own because the dealer defaulted."
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Amusement Ride Accidents
Who doesn’t love going to an amusement park? There is no comparing the thrill you get from such a controlled environment. There is that off chance though that something could go wrong.
The blog below tells, in great details, every amusement ride accident dating back to 1998. There are roller coaster derailments, inflatable bounce castles blowing away with people still inside, and the county fair rides that were just not put together right, it’s all there.
I promise that you will be amazed and a little creeped out by how many of these "incidents" occur but you never hear a word.
Link – via suburbanfoodforthought
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Sally Hemmings's University of Virginia
When in school you may have been told that it was Thomas Jefferson who came up with the idea to found the University of Virginia. But do you think it’s possible that Sally Hemmings, his educated slave and mistress, had a part in it?The History Bluff thinks so.
(Pictured is the son Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings had together).
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Update 2/12/09 – Caveat lector (reader beware), the History *Bluff* is sort of The Onion of history. Funny stuff, but not real.
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An Unlikely Encounter
If there’s ever been two animals you wouldn’t have expected to see together it’s these two.
(Photo by Mike Owyang/AP)
Beauregard, an 8-month-old male Grants zebra is greeted by Brandy, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin while out on a daily walk around the park at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007. Beauregard was hand-reared at the park and takes daily strolls around the 135-acre park.
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Devolve Me
Upload a picture, and see yourself turned into an much earlier version of human! From left to right, this is me as an Australopithecus afarensis, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo heidelbergensis. Oh, and as Homo sapiens, too. Link -via J-Walk Blog
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Moss Carpet
If you love being outdoors and the feeling of grass under your toes you’ll be pleased to know that you can bring that feeling into your home. Nguyen La Chanh’s Moss Carpet is a miniature lawn that thrives in humid conditions, making it the perfect addition to your bathroom. The carpet’s base is made from plastezone, a decay-free foam and is landscaped with ball, island and forest moss.
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