I've read that cat food manufacturers struggle with having to walk a fine line between making cat food smelly enough to attract our feline pets, but not smelly enough to make their owners sick when opening the can. Cats love smelly foods, and what's stinkier than surströmming, the Swedish fermented fish famous for its strong smell? Viral internet videos make it clear that just opening the can can make humans lose their lunch. Etiquette requires you open a can of surströmming outside.
This guy asked his cat Pusic (previously at Neatorama), who we have called Russia's most pampered cat, and his year-old sister Mila if they would like some surströmming. The two cats are curious, bordering on excited, but will they eat it? The average house cat naturally loves fish, but fermented fish in a can is something outside their wheelhouse. Too bad we don't get to see the human's reaction.
What do you know about Vincent van Gogh? Most people would say he painted The Starry Night and cut off his own ear. The artist was a complicated man who suffered from mental illness and died at age 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1890. Ever since then, people have been trying to untangle what was wrong with Van Gogh.
In addition to a very unhealthy lifestyle, Van Gogh had pica, an unnatural compulsion to consume things that are not food. He ate paint, particularly the yellow paint he used so much, plus the paint thinner turpentine. These dangerous substances can cause brain damage, but no one knows for sure whether the cravings were his primary problem, or just another in a pantheon of mental illnesses. Van Gogh himself didn't know why he ate paint. One theory is that he had a biochemical craving for terpenes, the chemicals that give plants their distinctive aromas. Read about pica, terpenes, and Van Gogh's obsession that may have led to his death at Big Think. -via Metafilter
(Image credit: Vincent van Gogh/GoldenArtists)
We recently showed you a robot soccer game in which small humanoid robots competed (poorly) using artificial intelligence. In this robot kickboxing tournament held in China, the action is much more exciting. These are Unitree G1 EDU model robots, which can be operated by a remote control, by voice commands, or by motion sensing. In these fights, they are using remote controls. The robots are quicker and better balanced than the AI robots playing soccer- and a little taller, although not yet human sized. Most impressively, they also have the ability to get back up when they are knocked down (cue "Tubthumping"). They even show a little personality in their fighting style, which might be hard to replicate in AI. In this video, their main vulnerability seems to be a tendency to get lost when they aren't facing the right direction. Read more about robot kickboxing at Cnet. -via Geeks Are Sexy
A photographer from the Atelier d'Ora in Vienna took the photo above in December of 1916, on the occasion of the coronation of Karl I, Emperor of Austria, as the King of Hungary. It was a grand affair, as we can see by the sumptuous finery worn by the ladies. But it seems strange that the photographer would take portraits of a pair of shoes! Three such photos exist, focusing tight upon the footwear that appears to be made of silk brocade laced with satin ribbons, and the rich lace petticoat adorned with fabric flowers. And all that would scarcely be seen at all under the fur-trimmed gown worn over top.
The images were labeled as those of Countess Erdödy. There were three Countess Erdödys at the coronation. There was Countesses Johanna "Jenny" Margareta Margit Maria Gobertina Erdödy and her sister, Countess Franziska Violet Maria Gobertina Erdödy, and their mother, Countess Erdödy, the American Julia Hanby Scott who married Count Gyorgy Maria Gobert Erdödy de Monyorókerék et Monoszló. We have portraits of the two younger countesses at the coronation, and they are not wearing fur-trimmed gowns. So this must be the feet of their mother.
Read what we know about these "shoe portraits" at Gods and Foolish Grandeur. In the comments we learn about the photographers of Atelier d'Ora, although we don't know which one was so fascinated with the countess's shoes and took these pictures. -via Everlasting Blort
Women secured the right to vote in the United Kingdom is 1918 after an activist movement overcame popular and political opposition. Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, the occupant of Number 10 from 1908 to 1916, was an opponent of the movement. Emmaline Pankhurst was ultimately victorious in a February 1918 act which extended the franchise to men over 21 and women over 30.
Pank-a-Squith was a pro-suffrage board game published in 1909 in which players acted as Panks (Pankhurst) to overcome the resistance of Squiths (Asquith). Hanson's Auctioneers sold the copy photographed above. You can download and print out your own copy here courtesy of Johns Hopkins University Libraries.
-via Women's Art
Alcohol is the most familiar and widespread drug we have. People have been consuming alcohol for thousands of years for many reasons. In small amounts, it makes you feel good, acts as a social lubricant, and can make you forget your miseries for a while. People are willing to commit crimes to get alcohol, as Prohibition taught us. But what does alcohol do to our bodies?
We know the dangers of operating heavy machinery while drunk. That wasn't a problem until we developed heavy machinery, like cars. We also know what chronic alcoholism does to families. And heavy drinking or long-term drinking will cause liver failure. But that's just one organ. Alcohol affects every organ in your body, including the brain. At some point, that damage can become permanent and even deadly. And that's before we even get to alcohol's addicting qualities. Kurzgesagt goes through all the things that alcohol does, and it's rather scary.
What do you get when you combine dodgeball with Asteroids? Or maybe it would be more descriptive to compare this game with "bullet time" in the Matrix movies. Anyway, in Dodge This, you (the green ball) have to avoid being hit by red bullets. The bullets are traveling fairly slowly for bullets, but they are coming from all directions. Whoever is shooting at you is not particularly well-aimed, either. You could survive a half-minute or so by not moving at all. But once you are hit, the game is over. The scoring system can easily confuse people who aren't paying close attention, because when it says you are "top 94%," that's actually really bad.
From what I've heard, this is much harder on a touch screen than for those of us with a mouse. My advice is to stay away from the edges, because you never know where gunfire will originate. Ultimately, your score depends on how long you survive. Therefore, your maximum score depends on when you are obliged to stop and do something important. -via Metafilter
If you've been following Neatorama for any length of time, you are surely familiar with artist Theo Jansen's enormous Strandbeest wind-powered kinetic sculptures. Every time I see one, I always feel sorry for the way he has to chase them down when the wind is blowing and they are walking fast. Yeah, their legs are way longer than his! But now he's got that problem worked out. Not only can he keep his creations on a leash, but he doesn't even have to run to keep up with him. The solution is a chair Jansen calls the Caterpillar. It glides smoothly across the sand on rolling, uh, "wheels" that resemble tank treads. And it's powered by the much bigger Strandbeest that is pulling it along.
Jansen says the Caterpillar device will eventually find itself incorporated into a Strandbeest. That sounds pretty neat, but I don't think it would be nearly as cool to watch as seeing his previous works of art walking down the beach on their many legs. -via Geeks Are Sexy
Dennis "Tink" Bell was a scientist who served in the British Antarctic Survey. The Guardian reports that in 1959, he fell into a crevasse on King George Island, which is just north of the Antarctic Peninsula, during a mission. His companions were unable to pull him out and he died.
In January, shifting ice exposed Bell's well-preserved body, which was found by Polish explorers. DNA testing compared those remains with surviving siblings and confirmed the identity of the body.
The Antarctic Monument, an organization that honors British explorers who died exploring the Antarctic, notes that Bell was noted for his great sense of humor. He's the man on the left in the photo engaging in playful tomfoolery to the amusement of his colleagues.
-via Glenn Reynolds
Katia Lekarski loves to attend weddings, but doesn't get invited to as many as she'd like. Figuring that there are other people like her, she created the app Invitin. This app allows people to invite strangers on the internet to attend their weddings in exchange for ticketing fees. The Guardian explains that couples can sell these tickets to defray the costs of their special events.
There is a screening process. Guests must abide by a dress code and event organizers can vet them by their profiles prior to approval. But it is otherwise a straightforward process to attending a wedding.
-via Dave Barry | Photo: outreachr on Wikimedia Commons
Do you need a bit more light in your workspace? This lamp and provide a simple and practical solution. The Swedish design firm Front, which consists of Sofia Lagerkvist and Anna Lindgren, created this lamp for the furnishings and furniture store Moooi.
It's part of a series of animal-themed lamps that the designers say you will "fall in love with at first sight, or hate forever." Well, I'm in love with the idea of a 7-foot tall horse lamp in my home.
-via Toxel
Redditor /u/Pavelcraftleather is a Romanian master leatherworker who produces unique leather products, notably masks, helmets, and bags from overstock material, and sells them at Atom Leather.
I'm especially taken with this beautifully formed purse that resembles a shrimp. The whirling lines and the forms they create are a delight to the eye.
The Hustle interviewed a few Chuckheads--adults who loved visiting Chuck E. Cheese restaurants as children and relish those experiences to this day. They collect memorabilia and artifacts from the company's history and document the history of this icon of their childhoods. One of them, Damon Breland, operates an appointment-only museum with many of the original animatronics for which Chuck E. Cheese used to be famous.
How does the private equity firm that owns Chuck E. Cheese feel about Chuckheads? It's an uneasy relationship. The Chuckheads want to maintain the traditional style and activities of the restaurants, whereas the owners want to modernize. But the company has agreed to maintain six Chuck E. Cheese restaurants according to the folkways that Chuckheads appreciate.
-via Dave Barry | Photo: Damon Breland
I recently had to spend the night at the Dallas Love Field airport due to weather-related flight delays. This was not a pleasant experience, although I have seen worse airports at which to spend the night.
What was notable during that evening and morning was that several travelers were remarkably well prepared for the experience. They camped out on padded benches and had blankets, pillows, face masks, and noise-canceling earmuffs. Because these items were not standardized, I think they were unlikely to have been provided by the airport; these were personal possessions that had been thoughtfully packed for just such an event.
Perhaps these prudent travels were familiar with Sleeping in Airports, a website dedicated to providing information about this experience. The site provides tips and reviews for different airports, as well as provides suggestions about how to sleep effectively.
One such tip is to rent a car...and then just go to sleep in it without driving it anywhere.
-via Book of Joe | Photo: Flickr user Oakley Originals used under Creative Commons license
We do everything with our hands, some of it dangerous, so it's no surprise that the US sees around 45,000 finger or thumb amputations every year. It was a breakthrough when reattachment was developed, but that's not always possible. Alternatively, some of those fingers are replaced by amputating a patient's toe! Moreover, a study in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery tells us that the long-term outcomes for replacing fingers with toes is better than reattaching the original finger. The survey compared outcomes of 75 patients with 126 toe transfers to 52 patients with 96 digit replantations five years later, and found the toe transfer patients had significantly better hand function. The loss of a toe or two did not significantly affect foot function.
You have to feel for the folks who lost two or more fingers. Then you might wonder why toe replacement works better on average. The study doesn't go into it, but it may be that a deliberate toe amputation done in the same surgical procedure is fresher and less damaged than a retrieved finger. Read more at Discover magazine, or here if you're out of free articles. -via Damn Interesting
(Image credit: sole_lover)
