An Anniversary Worth Celebrating
On October 26th, 1977, a hospital cook in Somalia named Ali Maow Maalin was diagnosed with smallpox. What makes this so remarkable is that no naturally-occurring cases of smallpox have been diagnosed in the 32 years since.
The global eradication of smallpox was certified, based on intense verification activities in countries, by a commission of eminent scientists on 9 December 1979 and subsequently endorsed by the World Health Assembly on 8 May 1980[10][48] as Resolution WHA33.3. The first two sentences of the resolution read: “Having considered the development and results of the global program on smallpox eradication initiated by WHO in 1958 and intensified since 1967 … Declares solemnly that the world and its peoples have won freedom from smallpox, which was a most devastating disease sweeping in epidemic form through many countries since earliest time, leaving death, blindness and disfigurement in its wake and which only a decade ago was rampant in Africa, Asia and South America.”[49]
Smallpox once killed millions of people every year, and may have been responsible for up to 500 million deaths in the 20th century. National vaccination programs began in the early 1800s, but it was a global push by the World Health Organization begun in 1958 that finally led to the eradication of the disease worldwide. Link -via Bad Astronomy Blog
(image credit: CDC)
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The Top Ten Ghost Ships
The term ghost ship can refer to a mysterious apparition of a ship when a ship is not really there, or it can refer to an abandoned ship found with no crew or passengers, usually under mysterious circumstances. Both kinds are listed in these ten stories spooky enough to share with anyone to whom you want to give nightmares. Pictured is the Baychimo, used in Arctic waters until it became trapped in ice in 1931. The crew was airlifted and the ship abandoned. However, the boat survived to mysteriously float on its own for decades. It was last seen in 1969. Link -via Unique Daily
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Earhart's Final Resting Place Found?
Theories (some as kooky as being abducted by aliens or assuming another identity) have been swirling for years about the fates of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan, who disappeared during an attempt to fly around the world in 1937.
And now, researchers may have found the final resting place for the missing aviators:
Legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart mostly likely died on an uninhabited tropical island in the southwestern Pacific republic of Kiribati, according to researchers at The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR).
Tall, slender, blonde and brave, Earhart disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937 in a record attempt to fly around the world at the equator. Her final resting place has long been a mystery.
For years, Richard Gillespie, TIGHAR’s executive director and author of the book "Finding Amelia," and his crew have been searching the Nikumaroro island for evidence of Earhart. A tiny coral atoll, Nikumaroro was some 300 miles southeast of Earhart’s target destination, Howland Island.
A number of artifacts recovered by TIGHAR would suggest that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, made a forced landing on the island’s smooth, flat coral reef.
Just in time for the Hilary Swank’s new movie "Amelia". Coincidence? I don’t think so!
Link | Nikumaroro Island on Wikipedia
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The Secret of a Successful Marriage: Trophy Wife!
Researchers have finally unlocked the secret of a happy marriage: trophy wife!
No, seriously. The study found that marrying smarter and younger women results in less fewer divorces and greater marriage bliss:
The researchers studied interviews of more than 1,500 couples who were married or in a serious relationship. Five years later, they followed up 1,000 of the couples to see which had lasted.
They found that if the wife was five or more years older than her husband, they were more than three times as likely to divorce than if they were the same age.
If the age gap is reversed, and the man is older than the woman, the odds of marital bliss are higher.
Link (Image: a Halloween costume from BuyCostumes)
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The M*A*S*H Quiz
It’s hard to believe 26 years have passed since the TV series M*A*S*H aired its final episode. Today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss will test how much you remember about the series. I was embarrassed to score only 80%. Some of the questions are hard! Link
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Magic Wand For Levitation
Wingardium Leviosa! The spell from Harry Potter may be fun to say while using the Fly Stick Van De Graff Levitation Wand, but it’s not exactly required. See this and nine other cool levitating objects for the home at Gajitz.
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Tetris Chair
Image: Gabriel Cañas
Mexican industrial designer Gabriel Cañas created this fiberglass Tetris-inspired chair. So far, it’s one-of-a-kind, so it’s not yet available for retail. Follow the link to Cañas’ portfolio for more odd furniture.
Link via GearFuse | Previously on Neatorama: Tetris Furniture
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Klingon Military Recruiting Video
(YouTube Link)
Meredith Woerner of the sci-fi blog io9 suspects that this video might be viral marketing for the next Star Trek movie. Ostensibly, it’s a Klingon military recruiting commercial. I’m not sure what is the original language, but thankfully it’s been dubbed into Klingon for your convenience.
via io9
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World's Smallest Working Model Train
Model train enthusiast David K. Smith has built a miniscule train layout which works – the train travels in an ellipse, including through a “mountain.”
“Thus, what was intended to be a Z scale model of a 4- by 8-foot HO scale layout became a Z scale model of a 2- by 4-foot N scale layout! After I picked myself up off the floor, I made a few quick calculations… the modeling scale would be an eye-popping 1:35,200, and the finished layout would measure .125 by .200 inches…”
The video shows the basics of the layout and the clever solution re the motor. Further details re the construction are here.
Neatorama has previously posted links to about 80 of the world’s smallest things.
YouTube link. Via Nothing to do with Arbroath.
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The Last Supper Made Out Of Rubik's Cubes
(YouTube Link)
Five artists from the art collective Cube Works in Toronto recreated Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper out of 4,050 cubes, in all measuring 8.5 by 17 feet. The work was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records and sold to a collector in Florida.
Link via Popped Culture | Artists’ Website (Warning: self-starting audio)
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Das Kapital Money Bank
Das Kapital Money Bank – $19.95 + s/h
This one will make Karl Marx spin in his grave (you may be surprised to find where the father of communism was buried. No, not the Soviet Union. Karl Marx was buried in London.)
Behold the Das Kapital Money Bank – a secret storage case shaped like his Das Kapital manifesto. And at $19.95 over at the Neatorama Shop, you don’t have to be the bourgeoisie to buy one: Link
See also: Good Marx, Bad Marx T-Shirt
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10 Neat Facts About SpongeBob SquarePants
Are ya ready kids?
Aye, aye captain!
I can’t heeeeaaaar yoooouuu!
AYE, AYE CAPTAIN!
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Sponge Bob Square Pants!
Absorbent and yellow and porous is he.
Sponge Bob Square Pants!
If nautical nonsense be somethin’ ya wish …
… then read on ahead for Neatorama’s 10 Neat Facts About SpongeBob SquarePants!
1. We can thank Jacques Cousteau for the invention of SpongeBob. Sort of. After finding inspiration in Cousteau films, SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg got a degree in natural resource-planning with an emphasis in marine resources specifically. He taught marine biology at the Orange County Marine Institute for several years before pursuing his second love: animation. You wouldn’t think that marine biology and animation necessarily go together, but Hillenburg married his two careers and came up with the squishy yellow guy that made him famous. Hillenburg knows the combination is a strange one … in 2002, he said, “When you set out to do a show about a sponge, you don’t expect the kind of appeal that he’s had.” Another Hillenburg/SpongeBob similarity: Hillenburg was also a cook at a quick-service restaurant (seafood, actually). Picture from MyMommaMadeMeDoThis.
2. SpongeBob’s name was originally supposed to be SpongeBoy, but bizarrely, the name was already copyrighted … for a mop. I think it’s safe to assume that SpongeBoy hasn’t reached the household-name status that SpongeBob has. Hillenburg wanted to make sure that the word “Sponge” was retained in Mr. SquarePants’ name so children wouldn’t mistake him for a large chunk of cheese living under the sea.
3. If the theme song has ever planted itself firmly in your brain for days on end, you’re not alone. The catchy tune has been covered many a time, presumably by musicians who decided the only way to get their song out of their skulls was to create a more grown-up version. Based on an old sea shanty called “Blow the Man Down” the song you hear in the cartoon’s intro is sung by Painty the Pirate (AKA Patrick Pinney in real life, who has also provided voices for Mighty Mouse, The Fraggles and Robot Chicken). But Avril Lavigne did a punk-pop version for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and the Violent Femmes tried their hand at the ditty for a commercial. Although they haven’t covered the theme song specifically, musicians who have appeared on the show or have loaned their music to a Spongy Soundtrack or two include Twisted Sister, Wilco, The Shins, Pantera, The Flaming Lips, and Motorhead. Seriously.
4. Similarly, celebrities are clamoring to do guest spots on the show. To date, stars who have done a stint under the sea include Alec Baldwin (he played a hitman), Alton Brown, Amy Poehler, Christopher Guest, David Bowie, David Hasselhoff, Davy Jones (Davy Jones’ locker, duh), Gene Simmons, Johnny Depp, Mark Hamill, Pat Morita, Scarlett Johansson, and Ray Liotta. Picture from Yahoo Movies.
5. Another famous fan? President Obama. He told T.V. Guide in 2007 that his favorite cartoon character is”SpongeBob SquarePants, because SpongeBob is the show I watch with my daughters.” Hillenburg was shocked and please to hear that, telling the Washington Post, “That leaves me kind of speechless. There have been some administrations I wouldn’t have been happy to hear that from.”
6. So why in the heck does SpongeBob live in a pineapple, of all places? If you pay attention to the show, not only do nautical and sailing motifs come up on a regular basis, Polynesian references are often thrown into the mix as well (surely you’ve noticed Squidward’s Easter Island Head home). Pineapples are used commonly in tropical decor, but Stephen Hillenburg also imagines that SpongeBob would just like the way living in a pineapple would smell. Picture from TinyPineapple.
7. That laugh. You know the one I’m talking about. If you think it’s grating, imagine having to make that sound as part of your job. Tom Kenny, the voice of Mr. Squarepants, says he makes the distinctive laugh by saying “Ahhhhh” in SpongeBob’s voice while hitting himself in the throat repeatedly. Ouch. Kenny says it’s supposed to make viewers think of a dolphin with a touch of seagull shriek thrown in for good measure.
[YouTube Clip]
8. If you’ve ever paid close attention, you have probably noticed that Squidward lacks the proper number of tentacles to be a squid or an octopus (the show has referred to him as both over the years). The animators believed that giving Squidward more than six legs would just weigh him down too much visually, so they chose to go with inaccuracy over bad aesthetics. But that makes sense – SpongeBob is clearly a kitchen sponge, not a sea sponge. This was also done for aesthetic reasons – Hillenburg said his drawings of sea sponges looked like nothing more than blobs, and when he substituted a kitchen sponge, it just clicked. Plus, it’s funny.
9. SpongeBong HempPants? Yup. Several years ago, a company called Camp Chaos made a cartoon based on SpongeBob and his oceanic friends, except they were all based on drugs and drug paraphernalia. It was never actually released (you know, advocating drug use and all), but the cartoons did turn up on YouTube (doesn’t everything?)
[YouTube Clip]
10. SpongeBob is not gay. According to Entertainment Weekly, SpongeBob seems to have a loyal following in the gay community because of his “flamboyant attitude and tolerant attitude.” Hillenburg has denied that SpongeBob (or any) of the characters on the show are gay. SpongeBob came under fire when two Christian activist groups singled him out for holding hands with his best friend, Patrick, and for appearing in a video promoting diversity and tolerance. Evangelist James Dobson claimed the video was a “pro-homosexual” video. “I always think of [the characters] as being somewhat asexual,” he said, adding, ”I do think that the attitude of the show is about tolerance. Everybody is different, and the show embraces that,” he says. ”No one is shut out.”
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No-English Traffic Ticket
Can’t speak English? You better not be pulled over in Texas … Nearly forty people have gotten "no-English" traffic violation tickets:
The Dallas Police Department said it was embarrassed by what it calls a mistake by rookie Officer Gary Bromley after he stopped Ernestina Mondragon for making an illegal U-turn.
In addition for being cited for the U-turn violation, Mondragon received another ticket for being a "non-English speaking driver."
Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle issued an apology:
"We don’t have abilities to determine proficiency in any language, and we shouldn’t be doing it in the first place," Kunkle said. "I apologize to the Spanish-speaking Hispanic community."
After a review of the records, Kunkle said about a half-dozen officers had issued a total of 38 similar citations. He said police would recommend to the courts that any pending cases be dismissed.
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Colors of the World's Flags
Media designer Shahee Ilyas has created pie charts showing the colors of the flags of over 200 nations.
Using a list of countries generated by The World Factbook database, flags of countries fetched from Wikipedia are analysed by a custom made python script to calculate the proportions of colours on each of them. That is then translated on to a piechart using another python script. The proportions of colours on all unique flags are used to finally generate a piechart of proportions of colours for all the flags combined.
Embedded on top is a screencap of a portion of the display, alphabetically arranged (Afghanistan, Albania…); the original at the artist’s website will display the name of the country when a mouse is passed over the pie chart. The larger pie chart on the bottom is a composite of all the colors from all of the flags.
Via The Life and Times of Michael5000, who notes that the color violet/lavender/purple is notably absent from world flags (as is gray).
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The Complicated Physics of a Dribbling Teapot
When flow from a teapot (or a liquor bottle) is very slow, the liquid has a propensity to dribble back along the surface of the spout.
“Previous studies have shown that a number of factors affect [dribbling], such as the radius of curvature of the teapot lip, the speed of the flow and the “wettability” of the teapot material. But a full understanding of what’s going on has so far eluded scientists…”
Now scientists at the University of Lyon have identified a “hydro-capillary” effect that can be overcome either by thinning the edge of the spout, or by applying superhydrophobic materials to the lip. Superhydrophobicity is sometimes referred to as the “Lotus effect,” because the leaves of the lotus and certain other plants (and the wings of some insects) are among the most water-repellant surfaces known to science.
Further details about the “Teapot effect” are available at M.I.T.’s Technology Review, via the New Shelton wet/dry.
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Comic Strip/Sci-Fi Mashups
Image: Ryan Dunlavey
Artist Ryan Dunlavey has created several comic strips mixing science fiction franchises with classic comics, such as the above mashup of Family Circus with The Fantastic Four. Others include He-Man with Garfield, Peanuts with X-Men, and Alien vs. Predator with Spy vs. Spy.
Previously on Neatorama: Dunlavey’s Action Philosophers comic book series.
Link via io9 | Artist’s Website
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Giant Sea Gull Walks Behind TV News Anchor
[YouTube - Link]
Nothing could stop veteran news anchor Peter Hitchener of Australia’s Channel Nine News from delivering a serious bit of news. Not even a giant sea gull walking up behind him:
Ever the professional, the news stalwart only mildly flinched on
noticing the seagull but later told 3AW radio the studio cameramen hid
behind their cameras to hide their laughter.
"I was reading
away, and it was a serious story, and I suddenly thought, ‘Oh my gosh
that seagull’s back again’, because we had bit of a problem last
night,” Hitchener said.
"About 50 seconds to 6 o’clock this
seagull arrived and started pecking at the camera and it had the
beadiest huge eyes you’ve ever seen in your life.”
– via huffingtonpost
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The Future of Architecture
Photo: Tom Bonaventure/Getty Images
There’s also speculation about recreating processes like limestone formation -which usually takes nature thousands of years- that eats carbon from the air.
Nanoarchitects are aiming to speed the process up to a matter of days. They believe it could be done simply by coating the walls of buildings with tiny droplets of engine grease. The grease would be laced with a common salt such as magnesium chloride. When the magnesium reacts with carbon dioxide in the air, a solid magnesium carbonate pearl begins to form.
This serves as the seed for the growth of white, wheatsheaf-shaped carbonate crystals. The large surface area of a droplet of grease maximises the interface between the magnesium and the atmospheric carbon, speeding up the rate of the reaction. Within days, the grease would be transformed into a sparkly crystalline coating similar in appearance to heavy frost or snowfall… A green city…would look like Narnia under the White Witch, crystal white and beautiful. The carbon choking our planet could become a harmless decorative feature.
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Bizarre Spike Jonze Short
Last February, director Spike Jonez (Where the Wild Things Are) agreed to shoot a video for Kanye West’s song, “See You in My Nightmares,” which was then expanded into a creative, short film – shot at a nightclub over two days.
The end result is an uneasy glimpse of Mr. West at his worst, premonitions of his MTV Video Awards appearance abound, and the ending says a lot about the musician’s own battered image of himself. It’s a fine piece, and will soon be available on iTunes.
Unfortunately for Spike Jonez, it was leaked last week with the help of…Kanye West.
“We Were Once a Fairytale” was leaked to the Internet and posted on Mr. West’s official Web site, kanyeuniversecity.com. Within a couple of days it was taken down without explanation. Mr. Jonze said the film was accidentally leaked from the postproduction studio of a friend, and that Mr. West did not realize that it was not meant to be circulated yet. “I think he was like: ‘Oh, it’s out. I’ll link to it,’ ” Mr. Jonze said. (A representative for Mr. West declined to elaborate.)
NYT has the whole story here and here.
“We Were Once a Fairytale” (embedded video)
(Photo: Spike Jonez, Inc. & Getting Out Our Dreams Pictures)
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Taun Taun Cake
According to The Empire Strikes Back, there’s no smell in the galaxy as bad as the inside of a dead Taun Taun. When Chris and Julia Trevas got married, they hired Food Network baker Courtney Clark to make the cakes. The groom’s cake was in the shape of a dead Taun Taun, complete with Luke Skywalker inside! I would guess the authentic smell was not included. Link -via Boing Boing
(image credit: mod4)
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Neatorama Shop Story: Voodoo Doll
The following is a Neatorama Shop Story, a narrative starring the products carried in this blog’s very own online store.
1932, Vieux Carré. The spirited jazz befit the life the old lady had lived. She had been known for curing illnesses, lifting curses and brewing love potions, all without charging. She had gotten along with everyone, even the reclusive nocturnal couple who rented the windowless basement apartment. The procession wound its way back to her grand dwelling on St. Ann Street where we found ourselves at a wake hosted by the deceased’s attractive young niece, Sookie, who had just returned from her studies abroad.
We had only recently taken up residence in the sun-drenched breezy balconied rooms on the second floor. The first floor was occupied by a handsome but shy young pianist. He and the old lady had “adopted” each other some years earlier and had become constant companions, so his absence from the procession had raised our eyebrows and our concern. Later, when we did not see him at the wake, we feared he was bedridden with grief and loneliness, yet our worries melted away like Cajun crawfish croquettes as we eagerly sampled the buffet before us. In anticipation of crossing over, the old lady had written out a meticulous plan which Sookie had followed to the letter, lovingly preparing all of her Aunt’s secret recipes, and placing at the center of the table a voodoo doll toothpick holder. With each miniscule skewer removed by a guest and plunged into cayenne crab cakes, deep fried jambalaya crisps, or gator gumbo gobs, everyone present felt a pang of sadness lift, and recalled in its place a joyous memory of a joke shared or wisdom gained in times spent in the company of the dearly departed.
The jazz band paused as the very house itself seemed to groan and sob a long cathartic wail. Just then, our mysteriously absent neighbor stumbled through the doorway, clutching his bosom. Our hostess looked into his eyes and then down at the table, where a lone stick jutted from the heart of its man-shaped holder. Plucking the tiny toothpick from its hole, she stabbed a soft praline ball and lifted it to the quivering lips of the young man whose hands promptly fell from his chest to his sides and then wrapped themselves around the waist of his savior. The two young people closest to the old lady’s heart would now dwell in each others’, as she had long intended.
We knew it was past our bedtime when our subterranean neighbors arrived bearing blood-sausage-stuffed po’ boys. As we were saying goodnight, the hostess passed us the little perforated person who had served up so much deliciousness and pain. She said, “Please take this. My aunt would have wanted you to have it. She told me that your love spanned the ages.”
Our little friend is now marketed under the name of “Ouch! The Voodoo Doll Toothpick Holder.” We have employed ours on several occasions without attracting the attention of authorities. It has retained its power as a great party starter. We have used it at an acupuncturist’s reception, and have adorned “Ouch!” with ruffle-ended toothpicks to evoke a grass skirt for a Very Brady taboo/voodoo luau. When he is not partying, “Ouch!” makes a nice paperweight and graciously holds our “flags of all nations and eras” pushpin collection (essential in mapping our adventures). Just hanging out with him imparts a comforting feeling that you have a tool with which to control the universe. “Ouch!” does not appear to have been approved for use with sparklers, so we cannot advise in good conscience that you try it. Suffice it to say that it would look wicked cool and the spell would be that much more effective.
Ouch!
Voodoo Doll Toothpick Holder, available from the Neatorama
Shop for $7.95
__________
The story above is written by the dynamic duo Drs. Ernest and Convalescence Bidet-Wellville (hey, I didn’t name ‘em) of the University of Self-Conscious Consumerism in Olde Busytowne, Connecticut. I suspect they write cover stories for the CIA, so if I’m inexplicably missing the next few days, you know what happened.
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Two Ducks from One Egg
The Cornish Duck Company checks its eggs for viable embryos. They noticed one egg had two embryos, and were prepared with a camera when it hatched.
Local vet Barrie Fleming, who advised the farm’s owners, Roger Olver and Tanya Dalton, on the hatching, said they had “every reason to be excited by the birth” as it was a very rare occurrence.
The BBC has the video. Link -via Arbroath
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Chihuahua Smuggled in Luggage
Customs officials at the Dublin Airport at first thought the x-ray showed a toy dog in the suitcase, but they opened it up and out popped a live puppy! A Bulgarian man on a flight from Madrid was trying to smuggle the young chihuahua.
It is understood the dog was being smuggled in as a gift for someone.
Legally, dogs must have clearance and a health certificate before being brought into the country.
The animal, which Mr Broni said seemed tired but unharmed, was handed over to Department of Agriculture officials where it was placed in quarantine.
The man was not detained, but a file is being compiled on the case. Link -via Unique Daily
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Wearable Hummingbird Feeder
If you’d like to see a hummingbird’s beak just millimeters from your face, this wearable hummingbird feeder is for you:
Hit play or go to Link
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Busy College Undergrad Got a Job For You: Be His Personal Assistant
Psst! Need a job? Here’s an opening for you: $10 to $12 an hour, with the possibility of an occassional bonus. All you have to do is cater to the "everyday tasks" of a Georgetown University sophomore.
That’s right. Charley Cooper is a busy kid. He’s got classes, homework, and even a part-time job at a financial services company. So he’s looking for a personal assistant to handle the mundane part of everyday living like doing laundry, organizing his closet, and so on:
Cooper, 19, logged on to the university’s student employment Web site last week and posted an ad for someone to tackle "some of my everyday tasks," such as organizing his closet, dropping him off and picking him up from work, scheduling haircuts, putting gas in the car and taking it in for service, managing his electronic accounts and doing laundry (although the assistant will be paid only for the time spent loading, unloading and folding clothes, not the entire laundry cycle).
The successful applicant can expect to work three to seven hours a week and make $10 to $12 an hour, although "on occasion it will be possible to work additional hours and/or receive bonuses at my discretion." Preference will be given to Georgetown undergraduates, Cooper says in the listing, and the assistant can spread his or her tasks throughout the day.
"As my PA you will receive an email once a day by 9:00 am with a task list for that day and a time estimate for each task," Cooper wrote in the job listing, which was first reported by the student newsmagazine, Georgetown Voice. "Important tasks will be bolded on the list and must be done that day (even though everything on the list should theoretically be finished on a daily basis). At the end of the day you will send me an email telling me what tasks are incomplete or that all tasks have been completed."
More at Gawker and Georgetown’s Blog Vox Populi.
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Inside Out Horses
In order to teach horse owners about their horses, Gillian Higgins spends up to four hours painting anatomical features on her white horse – in essence, turning it inside out!
No more wondering about where a particular bone, joint, or muscle is located – they’re on the horse!
Link – via cakeheadlovesevil
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Parody of Glengarry Glen Ross for the Harvey Awards
(Video Link)
The Harvey Awards are given annually by the comic book industry. This promotional video for them is a parody of Alec Baldwin’s sales rant from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross. The corporate office sends Val down to talk to the dregs in the sales department: Garfield, Heathcliff, Dagwood, Charlie Brown, and that guy from B.C. The message is simple: sell newspapers or you’re fired.
First prize is a Harvey Award. Anybody want to see Second prize? A can of spinach. Third prize is you’re fired. You get the picture? … You’ve got a readership. The syndicates paid good money. Get them to buy the newspaper!
Here’s the original scene from Glengarry Glen Ross. Content warning: adult language in both videos.
via Popped Culture | Harvey Awards
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10 Internet Rules and Laws
The laws of the internet were never legislated, but passed into law by being evident over and over again. I was familiar with most of these laws, but some I didn’t know had names or documented origins.
4. Skitt’s Law: Expressed as “any post correcting an error in another post will contain at least one error itself” or “the likelihood of an error in a post is directly proportional to the embarrassment it will cause the poster.”
It is an online version of the proofreading truism Muphry’s Law, also known as Hartman’s Law of Prescriptivist Retaliation: “any article or statement about correct grammar, punctuation, or spelling is bound to contain at least one eror”.
That’s nice to know. Link -via Digg
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They're Alive: Real Scientific Reasons to Believe in Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies
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The article above, written by Matt Soniak, appeared in Scatterbrained section of the Mar - Apr 2009 issue of mental_floss magazine (the excellent "The 25 Most Powerful Books of the Past 25 Years " issue). It is reprinted here with permission. Don't forget to feed your brain by subscribing to the magazine and visiting mental_floss' extremely entertaining website and blog today!
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Autonomous Indoor Helicopter
(YouTube Link)
Researchers at at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been working since the 1990s on helicopters that can navigate indoor spaces autonomously. This one won the 2009 AUVSI Aerial Robotics Competition. Laser scanners and cameras allow it to move through a building on its own. Potential applications include industrial inspection and disaster rescue in hazardous locations.
Contest Page via Popular Science
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