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As noted the other day, I’m going to be microblogging from the set of Big Bang Theory tonight, provided it’s not illegal. (If it is, the contest will still happen, just a little earlier or later depending on the situation.)
Before I get to the rules, here’s what we’ve got to give away:
1. A 2-Disc Collector’s Edition of Disney’s Atlantis – The Lost Empire
2. Two copies of Matt Groening’s The Simpson Futurama Crossover Crisis, a deluxe slip-cased hardcover
3. Two t-shirts from our the Science T-shirt section of our store.
If you want a chance to win, make sure you’ve Fanned us over on our Facebook page and and/or are following us on Twitter.
I’ll update this as I go, both on FB and on Twitter, but the way it will probably go is like this:
1) Watch for FB status updates and tweets coming from the Warner Brothers’ lot starting around 5:30 pm PT.
2) Eventually, there will be some trivia questions related to the show posted on our Facebook page.
3) You don’t have to be a ‘Fan’ (or even on Facebook) to read the status updates and questions I’ll be posing. All you have to do is follow this link and keep the page refreshed for the latest status updates.
4) When you see a question, answer it by sending me an e-mail at: david@neatorama.com
5) There are two ways to win:
First way: Whoever sends in the right answer first will get a prize of his or her choice**
Second way: As long as you send in the right answer within 12 hours, you’ll be entered into the random drawing category and we’ll pick a prize for you
**How will we determine who gets which prizes? Simple! If you’re following us on Twitter or FB, you get a pick of whatever you want, so long as we haven’t used up all the prizes in a previous question. But there’s a catch (isn’t there always???) To exercise this privileged of choice, you must have already copied, pasted & tweeted out/updated your status with the following:
Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries – the Big Bang is happening over at www.neatorama.com #TheBigBangTheory
Otherwise, we’ll decide which prize you get.
Once again, that e-mail address is: david@neatorama.com
As part of Gatorade’s new branding campaign (apparently research shows more people will buy sugar water if it’s called “G”), TBWA/Chiat/Day and Tarsem teamed up to make a brilliant parody of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Enjoy this ten minute film, as King Kevin Garnett and various other athletes go on a quest for hydration. Can’t say it made me want to buy more . . . G, but I’d buy a pagan Kareem and his talking goat herald toy in a second.
Rob Lammie of our pal mental_floss blog wrote a very nifty post about the origins of 8 tech names. For instance, ever wonder why it’s called a Tivo?
Can you imagine if, instead of “TiVo-ing” the latest episode of Lost, you were “Bongo-ing” it? “Bongo” and “Lasso” are just two of the 800 possible names the marketing folks kicked around before settling on TiVo. The final name was cobbled together from “TV” and the engineering acronym “I/O,” which stands for “input/output.” Little did they know their noun would become a verb and their oddly-named invention would forever change the way people watch television.
Previously on Neatorama: Evolution of Tech Logos
In this comic titled "Other Vaders," artist Adam McCauley imagined a world where the Sith Lord had gone out to do other things like being country music star or a real estate mogul instead of a Star Wars villain.
Here’s a "man fights City Hall" story, with a twist: when Old Town Alexandria’s architectural review committee forbid Michael Zarlenga from altering historic property and renovating his store, he decided to exact a little revenge:
To many in Old Town Alexandria, the sex shop that opened recently on King Street is nothing short of scandalous, a historical desecration just blocks from the boyhood home of Robert E. Lee.
But to Michael Zarlenga, it’s justice.
Zarlenga spent $350,000 on plans to expand his hunting and fishing store, the Trophy Room. He worked with city officials for almost two years and thought he had their support — until the architectural review board told him he couldn’t alter the historic property.
Furious and out of money, Zarlenga rented the space to its newest occupant, Le Tache.
"I can’t say I didn’t know it would ruffle feathers," said Zarlenga, 41. "Actually, I was hoping for a fast-food chain because I thought that would be more annoying to the city."
Allison Klein of the Washington Post has more on the story: Link (Photo: Tracy A. Woodward)
Previously on Neatorama: Man Fights City Hall … With Signage
Andrew Hicks, a mathematician at Drexel University, have created a mirrored surface that is bent in a way so the image you see is not reversed (not a mirror image).
From the New Scientist:
By calculating how to vary the way each of tens of thousands of points on a mirror’s surface reflects light he can create mirrors that do amazing things. For example, reflecting text without reversing it or capturing a full 360º scene without distorting objects.
Link – via geekologie
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by philosophile.
Inspired by some old Indianapolis racing books, Joseph Ihnat of Whiting, Indiana designed a 1930s-style race car sized to fit a four-year-old. He used some old kitchen equipment, including a Smoky Joe barbecue grill, for parts.
The body is riveted sheets of aluminum, except for the nose piece which is made from a porcelain enameled roasting pan lid, cut in half, with the handle removed.
The front bumpers are from a 1950s kitchen canister sliced in half, the headrest is made from an old chocolate malt shaker cut lengthwise, and the radiator cap is a lid from a maraschino cherry jar.
Ihnat found some 18-inch bicycle wheels for proper scale, and added "six exhaust stacks per side, providing plenty of pretend V-12 power."
“I upholstered the seat by cutting foam swimming pool noodles in half lengthwise and covering them with naugahyde.”
– Joseph Inhat
Link – via dinosaursandrobots
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.
A family of foxes in Ipswich, England, have ditched their usual habitat in an underground burrow, and gone with something with a better view. Baffling wildlife experts, they have chosen to nest 30 ft up a tree!
(Photo: Caters News Agency)
Julian Roughton, of Suffolk Wildlife Trust, said it was an ‘unusual’ nesting place for foxes.
‘Foxes are quite inquisitive creatures but this is unusual behaviour for them,’ he said.
‘They must feel very safe in the tree and it might be that they are enjoying a sunny spot.’
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Jake.
Graduate students Patrick Bennett and Ryan Miyakawa at UC Berkeley made an entry for the "What is Nano" video competition, where people submit their explanations of what exactly nanotechnology means.
However, instead of a boring lecture with slides, they made an amazing Sesame Street-style musical, complete with homemade puppets! (The singer is Glory Liu)
Link to competition.
– via physorg
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by easf.
Comedian Louis CK was on Late Night with Conan O’Brien explaining how amazing everything is, and yet nobody is happy. You’d think with all this technology and instant gratification, we would at least realize how lucky we are.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by JKirchartz.
The Hoshi Ryokan hotel, located in Ishikawa prefecture Japan, has the dual distinction of being the oldest company and hotel in the world still operating today. It was founded in the year 717 A.D. and is still operated by the same family over 40 generations later!
One night’s stay will cost you $350 with breakfast and dinner included, and as this is a traditional style ryokan, there are many cultural activities to witness.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.
This cat’s full name is Ugly Bat Boy, and he lives at Exeter Veterinary Hospital in New Hampshire. His owner, veterinarian Stephen Bassett says that he is normal in every way, except that he’s ugly. The eight-year-old cat is bald in most places, but has a long flowing “mane” on his chest. Ugly has become a local celebrity. Veterinary employee Christie Hartnett calls him “Dr. Bassett’s little wonder cat.”
Workers said many people who come into the building can’t really believe what they’re seeing. But they said despite appearances, Bat Boy has a nice disposition and real inner beauty.
“The impression from clients that come in is he’s not real because he just sits so still, and when he does move, he scares them, but they think he’s mesmerizing,” Hartnett said.
Be warned that if you go to the story and click on the “slideshow” button, the first picture may frighten young children. Link -via Metafilter
Transparency in animals is something that is still not entirely understood by science. The beautiful Glasswing butterfly possesses this feature in abundance – a great percentage of its wingspan is almost completely transparent.
It is thought that the wings have large amounts submicroscopic protrusions that have the same refractive index which means that they do not scatter light, so giving the impression of transparency. Whatever the reason, this is a startling and little known creature.
A butterfly with transparent wings? Surely not. Yet there is a species that exhibits this trait. Take a close look at the incredible Glasswing, an enchanting species that confounds science. Greta oto may sound like the name of a silent movie star from Eastern Europe but is in fact the scientific name for one of the most exquisite – and little known – species of butterfly on the planer. This butterfly’s claim to fame is that its wings, spanning up to six centimeters, are almost completely transparent. That’s right, you can see just about right through them.
Link – via webphemera
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by taliesyn30.
If you think that talking on the cell phone and driving is dangerous, wait till you hear what else this woman did: she breastfed her baby while driving her other children to school!
Police say it is against the law to drive with a child in your lap. Children under 4 or 40 pounds must be properly restrained in a child safety seat.
In this case, officers said Compton had the child in the lap with the baby’s head up against the steering wheel. They say there is not only the risk of a crash, but deployment of the airbag.
Compton said she will take the advice of the officers into consideration, but she may breast feed her baby while driving in the future if she feels that is is necessary.
If you think about it, she’s got some skillz breast feeding, talking on the phone, and driving all at the same time!
WHIO Dayton TV has the story (and video clip): Link
AskMen has a pretty nifty article about the 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Sideburns. For instance, how the facial hair style got its name:
1- Sideburns are named after a Civil War general
Ambrose Everett Burnside lived from May 23, 1824 to September 13, 1881. A Union Army general in the Civil War and later a Rhode Island politician, Burnside was well known and well liked. He wasn’t known as a good general, often getting his forces in trouble, but people forgave him because of his freaky facial hair. Two burly muttonchops grew dangerously long and connected to a handlebar mustache. Originally they became known as burnsides, but over time the syllables were switched around.
