Owl Microwaveable Snuggle Hottie – $27.95

Are you sad because you don’t have anyone to snuggle with this Valentine’s Day? You need the Owl Microwaveable Snuggle Hottie from the NeatoShop. This adorable microwaveable pillow, with wheat insert, will always be there when you need a warm and soothing cuddle because your tummy or muscles are sore. Some might say he’s even better than a boyfriend.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Microwaveable Pillows and fun Health & Wellness items.

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What A Hoot Owl Apron – $35.95

Valentine’s Day is coming! Have you found the perfect gift for your wise, owl loving, sweetheart? You need the What A Hoot Owl Apron from the NeatoShop. This flattering apron features an adorable owl with embroidered eyes and applique nose.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fun Aprons and great Valentine’s Day gift ideas!

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“A lot of people who have never seen one before have rushed out and seen multiples,” said Marshall Iliff, an ornithologist at Cornell and the project’s leader. “And photographers are having a field day.”

Additional hot spots include the mouth of the Columbia River in Washington State, with 10 to 13 birds; 20 at Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota, and 30 in Boundary Bay, near Vancouver in British Columbia.

The owls are even showing up in urban and suburban areas, along highways, on signs and fence posts, and in other places where people can more easily spot them. It has been a good snowy owl year at Logan Airport in Boston, too. Because the airfield looks like tundra, snowy owls tend to flock there, and they must be trapped and removed.

“We’ve removed 21 so far this year, and the average is six,” said Norman Smith, who works for the Massachusetts Audubon Society and traps the birds. The most ever trapped was 43 in 1986, Mr. Smith said, “but the year’s not over.”

Experts say that the birds don’t seem to be particularly hungry or stressed, so that doesn’t explain the move south. The owls are expected to return north as the seasons change. Link -via Holy Kaw!

(Image credit: Flickr user Ian Turk)

Stressful day so far? Take a quick break with this video clip, featuring the CUTEST owl on the planet! Meet Mr. Nura-T Molla, who loves a little pat on the head.

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Notcot | Cute owl stuff over at the NeatoShop

This organisation is dedicated to saving, rehabilitating and reviving the Macramé Owl.

The Macramé Owl is a rare species that is dreadfully declining in numbers worldwide. This heartbreaking situation is partly due to the difficulty in finding jute at local craft shops. It is further exacerbated by a lack of a sense of humour in humans for the sake of Seriousity.

Learn about owl watching, macrame owl hoots, the different variety of owls, and what you can do to save them. Link -via Laughing Squid

This eagle owl is coming in for a landing. The film was shot at 1000 frames per second, so you don’t miss a muscle movement. What you do think would be the proper musical accompaniment for this? -via Buzzfeed

Jonti Picking recently found footage of a scientist demonstrating head stability in an owl in 1962 and wrote a little song about it. -via Arbroath

Do you ever find a bird image on your windows? Me, neither, but I don’t have any big picture windows. This eerie image of an owl was left when the bird crashed into Sally Arnold’s window in Kendal, Cumbria, UK.

Experts said the silhouette was left by the bird’s “powder down” – a substance protecting growing feathers.

Mrs Arnold said she could find no sign of the owl, so assumed it had flown off without serious injury.

Link -via J-Walk Blog

(Image credit: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)

Owl Kitchen Timer

What a cute little companion in your kitchen! This owl will tell you whooo, uh, I mean when, your food is done because he’s a timer. No batteries, just wind up and keep time up to an hour. Get your Owl Timer today from the NeatoShop!

Check out other kitchen gadgets as well as more clocks and timers at the NeatoShop.

Do you know a wise old bird in need of some organization? Get them the Owl Accessory Holder from the NeatoShop.  The desk will probably stay just as cluttered, but now you will have a cute owl to distract you from that horrific mess.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Office & Desk fun!

Do you have trouble looking at the sunny side of life? Maybe you need the Sunny Outlook Solar Powered Owl from the NeatoShop.

Sit the Sunny Outlook Solar Powered Owl on your desk and be instantly whisked away to your happy place.  Now revel in your new found happiness. See, wasn’t that simple.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fabulous Cubicle Toys.

“A woman walking her dog alerted the police after seeing the bird sitting by the side of the road oblivious to passing traffic,” Frank Otruba, spokesman for the police in the southwestern city of Pforzheim, told SPIEGEL ONLINE.

The Brown Owl didn’t appear to be injured and officers quickly concluded that it had had one too many. One of its eyelids was drooping, adding to the general impression of inebriation.

“It wasn’t staggering around and we didn’t breathalyze it but there were two little bottles of Schapps in the immediate vicinity,” said Otruba. “We took it to a local bird expert who has treated alcoholized birds before and she has been giving it lots of water.”

The owl will be released when sober. Link -via Arbroath

A young owl practices pouncing on imaginary prey. Or else he just wants to show off how cute he is! -via Arbroath

Am I the only one that found it’s ironic to put the design of a nocturnal owl on sleeping masks? Well, no use losing sleep over it!

The Owl Sleeping Mask from the NeatoShop has been a popular item so plenty of you either found it cute or think that it is a great gift for night owls: Link | More Fun Personal Care Products

Peek into a nest with Molly the mother owl and her baby Max (and more eggs) on this live webcam. I saw her eat a rat this morning! Nom nom nom…

Live feed from inside an owl box! This is the first year that an owl has made it a home. Molly laid 5 eggs in Feb, one died and one has hatched. 4 more will hatch this week live on camera.

Link – via buzzfeed

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by tylerthevideoguy.

YouTube link.

Sadie is a Pomeranian who ran away from her home in Iowa after being frightened by fireworks.

“Sadie was swooped up by an owl in the woods,” the AP reports. The dog was discovered when she fell out of the sky, landing in the middle of the road in front of a surprised driver, Jamie Padden. Padden had gotten out of the car to help the dog when she saw the owl returning.

The rest of the story is in the video, or you can read the text at Pawnation.

(YouTube Link)

The last thing seen by many a field mouse.  1000 frames per second.  (via Cynical-C)

Look closely: that’s a wonderful OWLS sweater, made by Kate Davies of needled blog (who’s offering the pattern for free). The buttons really made the design pop! Link – via NotCot

Everyone knows about Charles Darwin and his theory of natural selection, but did you know that he once ate an owl, just for kicks? Or that he almost didn't make it aboard HMS Beagle because of the shape of his nose? Behold Neatorama's 10 Fun Facts About Charles Darwin:

1. Darwin Once Ate an Owl

Darwin was an inquisitive man. Sure he was curious about nature and all that science stuff, but he's also a guy. So when he saw strange animals, he often wondered what they would taste like. The difference between Darwin and the rest of us is that he actually ate 'em!

While he was at Cambridge University, Darwin joined the "Gourmet Club," which met once a week to eat animals not often found in menus, like hawk and bittern (a type of wading bird in the heron family). His zeal for weird food, however, broke down when he tried an old brown owl, which he found "indescribable."

But that one episode didn't end Darwin's weird gastronomic proclivities. During the voyage of the Beagle, he ate armadillos and agoutis (the rodents were "best meat I ever tasted," he said).

In Patagonia, South America, Darwin ate a puma (it tasted like veal) and an ostrich-like bird called a Rhea. Actually, Darwin had been looking for this particular species of Rhea, only to find that he had been eating one all along. He sent back the uneaten parts to the Zoological Society in London, which named the bird Rhea darwinii after him!

In the Galapagos, Darwin ate iguanas and giant tortoises. He liked it so much he loaded up 48 of them aboard the Beagle, to be eaten on the journey back!

Sources: Darwin's Dinner at Quite Interesting | The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin by Charles and Francis Darwin

2. Darwin Wanted to Be a Doctor, But He Couldn't Stand the Sight of Blood

Darwin attended Edinburgh University in hopes of becoming a physician like his father, but soon abandoned the idea because he couldn't stand the sight of blood. So he decided to study divinity instead and become a rural cleric, which would fit his hobby of being a naturalist just fine (Source).

3. Darwin's Nose Almost Cost Him The Voyage on the Beagle

The Captain of HMS Beagle, Robert FitzRoy, was about to embark on a survey expedition to South America, but he was afraid of the stress and loneliness of such a voyage (indeed, they have driven the previous captain of the ship to commit suicide). So FitzRoy asked his superiors for a well-educated and scientific gentleman companion to come along as an unpaid naturalist whom he could treat as an equal. The professors at Cambridge recommended then 22-years old Charles Darwin for the trip.

At first, Charles' father Robert objected to the appointment - after all, such a voyage would take years and would get in the way of him being a clergyman. But Darwin's uncle was able to persuade him not only to let his son go, but also support him financially.

Darwin and FitzRoy got together well, but later Darwin found out that he almost didn't get picked for the voyage ... on account of the shape of his nose!

"Afterwards on becoming very intimate with Fitz-Roy, I heard that I had run a very narrow risk of being rejected [as the Beagle's naturalist], on account of the shape of my nose! He was an ardent desciple of Lavater, and was convinced that he could judge a man's character by the outline of his features; and he doubted wheather anyone with my nose could possess sufficient energy and determination for the voyage. But I think he was afterwards well-satisfied that my nose had spoken falsely." (Source: Charles Darwin: His Life Told in an Autobiographical Chapter, and in a Selected Series of His Published Letters, by Charles Darwin - 1902)

4. Best Birthday Gift Ever: a Mountain!

Mount Darwin in Tierra del Fuego, Photo: Victory Adventure Expeditions

For Darwin's 25th birthday on February 12, 1834, Captain FitzRoy named a mountain after him. Yup, Mount Darwin. It is the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego.

A year earlier, Darwin and his shipmates were on a small island in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago when a huge mass of ice fell from the face of a glacier and plunged into the ocean, causing a huge wave. Darwin ran to the shore and saved the ship's boats from being swept away. For saving everyone from being marooned, FitzRoy named the area Darwin Sound.

And as if one mountain isn't enough, Darwin got three more named after him: There are other Darwin Mountains located in California, Tasmania, and Antarctica.

5. The Full Title of "On The Origin of Species"

Larger photo: University of Sydney

You probably know that Darwin's most famous work, outlining his theory of evolution, is On the Origin of Species.

But what most people don't know is the full title: On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. It was published in 1859, twenty years after his epic voyage (yes, he took his sweet time in publishing his work, which he only did because Alfred Russell Wallace came to the same conclusion of evolution and Darwin didn't want to be left behind). A total of 1250 copies were printed and it went on sale for 15 shillings. It's now valued at around $23,000.

In the 6th edition, the title was changed to The Origin of Species.

6. Darwin Didn't Invent the Phrase "Survival of the Fittest"

That was Herbert Spencer, a philosopher and contemporary of Charles Darwin. After reading Darwin's On the Origin of Species, Spencer wrote Principles of Biology in 1864. He coined the phrase "survival of the fittest" and extended Darwin's theory of natural selection into the realm of sociology, ethics, and economics.

Darwin himself used the phrase in his 5th edition of The Origin and gave full credit to Spencer.

7. Darwin Married His First Cousin

Darwin was a logical man, and he approached the important issue of marriage like he would any problem. In The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Darwin made careful pro and con list of marriage to his first cousin, Emma Wedgwood:

Image: Cambridge University Library - The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online

Under the title "This is the Question," Darwin wrote in the "Marry" Column:

Children — (if it Please God) — Constant companion, (& friend in old age) who will feel interested in one, — object to be beloved & played with. — —better than a dog anyhow. — Home, & someone to take care of house — Charms of music & female chit-chat. — These things good for one's health. — Forced to visit & receive relations but terrible loss of time. —

W My God, it is intolerable to think of spending ones whole life, like a neuter bee, working, working, & nothing after all. — No, no won't do. — Imagine living all one's day solitarily in smoky dirty London House. — Only picture to yourself a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music perhaps — Compare this vision with the dingy reality of Grt. Marlbro' St.

... and in the "Not Marry" column:

No children, (no second life), no one to care for one in old age.— What is the use of working 'in' without sympathy from near & dear friends—who are near & dear friends to the old, except relatives

Freedom to go where one liked — choice of Society & little of it. — Conversation of clever men at clubs — Not forced to visit relatives, & to bend in every trifle. — to have the expense & anxiety of children — perhaps quarelling — Loss of time. — cannot read in the Evenings — fatness & idleness — Anxiety & responsibility — less money for books &c — if many children forced to gain one's bread. — (But then it is very bad for ones health to work too much)

Perhaps my wife wont like London; then the sentence is banishment & degradation into indolent, idle fool —

He concluded that he should marry, and wrote:

Marry - Marry - Marry Q.E.D.

It is ironic that the man who gave rise to the importance of genetics in natural selection chose to marry his first cousin (Darwin wasn't alone in this - Einstein also married his cousin), but one thing is for sure: Darwin cleverly avoided adding more relatives to visit!

8. How Darwin Lost His Faith in Christianity

Darwin was actually quite a religious fellow when he began his voyage on the Beagle (he was fresh out of divinity school). Aboard the ship, Darwin was known to quote passages from the bible to rowdy sailors on board.

But something happened during the trip that made him less religious. Darwin saw slavery firsthand as well as the wretched living conditions of the natives of Tierra del Fuego and wondered why God allowed such inhumanities to happen (Source). Darwin became skeptical of the history in the Old Testament, yet still believed in the existence of God.

Darwin lost his faith when his daughter Annie caught scarlet fever and died at the age of 10. He wrote "We have lost the joy of the household, and the solace of our old age ... Oh that she could now know how deeply, how tenderly we do still & and shall ever love her dear joyous face." The heartsick Emma filled a small box with Annie's small treasures and kept it until her own death. (Source)

From then on, Darwin continued to help the local church with parish work, but would go on walks while his family attended church on Sundays. When asked about his religious views, Darwin denied that he was an atheist, but called himself agnostic.

In 1915, Lady Hope claimed to have visited Darwin and witnessed his deathbed conversion back to Christianity. This was refuted by his children, who noted that his last words were to Emma: "I am not the least afraid of death - Remember what a good wife you have been - Tell all my children to remember how good they have been to me." (Source)

9. Darwin was a Backgammon Fiend

After his return from South America, Darwin developed a life-long illness that left him severely debilitated or bed-ridden for long periods of time. Darwin consulted with more than 20 doctors, but the cause of his disease was never discovered (Wikipedia has a n interesting list of possible illnesses).

Over the years, with the help of Emma, Darwin developed a strict routine that seemed to help in alleviating the symptoms. AboutDarwin.com has an interesting glimpse into what everyday life was like for Darwin.

Of note is Darwin's strict schedule for playing backgammon. Every night between 8 and 8:30 PM, Darwin would play 2 games of backgammon with Emma. He even kept score of every game he played for years!

10. Church of England Finally Apologized to Darwin

When Darwin's work on the theory of evolution came out, the church attacked him vociferously. Now, 126 years after his death, The Church of England has apologized to Darwin:

Charles Darwin: 200 years from your birth, the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still. We try to practice the old virtues of 'faith seeking understanding' and hope that makes some amends. But the struggle for your reputation is not over yet, and the problem is not just your religious opponents but those who falsely claim you in support of their own interests. Good religion needs to work constructively with good science – and I dare to suggest that the opposite may be true as well. (Source)

If you like this article, you'll probably love these 10 Fun Facts articles on Neatorama:

• 10 Strange Facts About Einstein
• 10 Fun Facts About Pablo Picasso
• 10 Neat Facts About ... Rick Astley!
• 10 Fascinating Facts about Edison
• 10 Kick Ass Facts About Bruce Lee
• 10 Strange Facts About Newton

After a hard night terrorising the local vole population, this little owl is trying to catch up on some well-deserved shuteye.

But, snuggling into its cosy hidey-hole, the tawny owl hasn’t twigged that its cover has been blown by the fall of autumn leaves. [...] Now, despite its best efforts to blend into the woody background –not to mention keeping its eyes tightly closed, it seems the owl may have to bow to the inevitable and start hunting for a new home.

Link | O RLY Shirt

(Photo: Alban pix)