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Image: Tony Talbot/AP
Look closely. See it?
The "pig" in the cow logo was added by a Vermont prison inmate who makes the decals for the state police cruisers:
According to the Burlington Free Press, who originally reported the story, Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn said the disclosure of the incident made him chuckle.
"This is not as offensive as it would have been years ago. We can see the humor," Flynn said.
He said the artist has talents that could be used elsewhere. "If that person had used some of that creativeness he or she would not have ended up inside."
Some
things may be obvious to you and me, but - surprise! - that's not good
enough for research scientists. After all, questioning assumptions and
testing hypotheses are what science is all about (except quantum physics
- that's just magic).
Scientific American has a list of 11 obvious science findings, which include these gems:
4. Pigs love mud
Turns out pigs aren't just putting on a show when they haul butt around their muddy quarters, diving into the muck. They actually like it. While mud baths keep pigs cool, a review of research reported in 2011 found wallowing may also be a swine sign of well-being. While the review found the strongest reason noted in the past studies for wallowing was to keep cool, the pigs kept it up through winter months.
5. Fashion magazines glorify youth
Surprise, surprise: Fashion mags portray women over 40 sparingly, if at all. Young celebrities and models dominate the pages of these publications, even ones targeted at older age groups. For example, researchers reported in April in the Journal of Aging Studies, that 22 percent of the reader base of Essence is older than 50, but only 9 percent of the women in its pages were even older than 40. Vogue featured only one woman over 40 on its covers in 2010: Halle Berry (then 43).
8. People aren't doing anything in particular on the Internet
Anyone who has ever gone down an Internet black hole, only to emerge hours (and dozens of Wikipedia articles) later, will be less than shocked at the revelation that online is the place to go for mindless entertainment. According to a Pew Research report released in December, 53 percent of people ages 18 to 29 get online at least once on any given day just to pass the time. Using the Internet to goof off isn't limited just to the young, either: Fifty-eight percent of all adults said they sometimes get on the Internet for no reason other than casual entertainment.
Could you imagine writing a grant proposal for these? Link
Your cute video of the day is brought to you by the Hillside Animal Sanctuary, where Tabitha the Pig plays with her best buddy Susie the Dog.
Andrew Hough and Martin Coutts of The Telegraph has the story:
Five-week-old Tabitha was found close to death by the side of a road in Norfolk when she was just a couple of days old. She was found "shivering and alone" by a member of the public on a country lane on the outskirts of Norwich.
Susie, who is five years-old, was rescued from appalling conditions at a Welsh puppy farm two years ago where she had been used to breed from.
Wendy Valentine, the founder of Hillside, said: “They just took an instant shine to each other and whilst Susie wanted to mother Tabitha at first as she’s grown older they seem to be the very best of friends.
“They are constantly with each other and don’t like being separated. "They go to sleep with each other and eat next to each other. It’s lovely to see them playing with each other, Susie is very gentle with her and seems to know she’s only young."
Ormie wants a cookie. There’s a reason we put cookies up on top of the refrigerator -so little pigs can’t get them! Ormie does have his own Facebook page, though. Link -via the Presurfer
Angry Birds Plush Laplander Hat – $19.95
Attention Angry Birds fans! As you are well aware it is a bird versus pig world out there. Now is the time to declare your allegiance by donning one of the above Angry Birds Laplander hats from the NeatoShop. Are you a hungry pig or an angry bird? The war against cold heads and ears is on.
These super soft Angry Birds Plush Laplander Hats are sold separately and are available in Red Bird and Green Pig.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Angry Birds items and Headgear fun!
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Photo:
Japanese artist Mori Chack (famous for the Gloomy Bear character) made this morbidly cute (cutely morbid?) vinyl sculpture of a pig who committed suicide. Can someone tell us what's written in the note?
Pig Jax – $3.95
Bringing home the bacon is hard work. Add some fun to your weary workday with the Pig Jax from the NeatoShop. Gather around some coworkers to chew the fat, bounce around some ideas, and watch the pigs fly.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop’s Bacon Store for more pigerrific fun.
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Pig Nose Mug - $7.95
Are you looking for a funny yet discreet coffee mug? You need the Pig Nose Mug from the NeatoShop. The mug looks like a plain, white coffee mug until you take a drink. Printed on the bottom is a hilarious picture of a pig nose. This mug is perfect for the lighthearted worker who is stuck in a stuffy office environment.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more hilarious Glassware & Drinkware!
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Betcha can’t see wall plugs the same way anymore after you see this little gem from Brock Davis! Link – via Visual News
Previously Boba Fetts Invoice for Jabba the Hutt, also by Brock
Pig Matryoshka – $15.95
This little Pig Matryoshka went to the NeatoShop! That little piggy, that little piggy, that little piggy, that piggy, that little piggy, and that piggy went to the NeatoShop too! This was all so that you could shop from home in your underwear. Yippee, yippee, yippee! Isn’t online shopping grand!
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop’s amazing Bacon Store!
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Pig Popper – $9.95
Do you ever feel like hurdling something soft at one of your co-workers? Now you can! The Pig Popper from the NeatoShop, stress relief never felt so fun.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more piggy fun!
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Forget swimming with the dolphins! Here’s the better (stranger) vacation idea: swimming with pigs!
Swimming with dolphins? You can go one better! Visit the paddling porcines in Big Major Cay and jump in for a dip if you’re brave enough. They won’t bite—well, as long as you don’t whisper "BLT" within earshot.
Read more strange vacation ideas from Oddee: Link
If it’s cute and it’s viral, Parry Grip will write a song about it. Here he lends his talents to the Boar-riding Monkey at the Fukuchiyama Zoo in Kyoto, Japan. -via Laughing Squid
Previously at Neatorama: The Nom Nom Song and He’s a Cat Flushing a Toilet.
Photo: Rich Marafioti (2009)
These bacon tattoos are so smokin’ hot that you can almost smell the sweet aroma of sizzling bacon. Almost.
Oddee has got the gallery of 12 Craziest Bacon Tattoos: Link | After that, be sure to visit the NeatoShop’s Bacon Store
German artists Yvonne Fehling and Jennie Peiz of Kraud created what is probably the world’s oinkiest footstools (or are they merely art pieces?) in the shape of three little pigs! Link
A stretch of interstate highway near St. Louis, Missouri is now paved with asphalt made from pig manure:
“Whew!” gasped a worker with Pace Construction Co., the St. Louis County road contractor that joined forces with Innoventor, the Earth City-based engineering and design firm that perfected the process of converting the animal waste into a bio-oil used in asphalt binder.
To others, the air swelled with the sweet smell of potential for new manufacturing opportunities, jobs and, possibly, profits. How big is that potential? Nobody knows yet.
“If this works out, it’s a win-win situation for everyone,” said Karlton Krause, a hog producer from northern Iowa. “For farmers, it produces revenue. And at the same time, it helps clean the environment. We’re taking a waste product and finding a value-added purpose for it.”
Link via Stuff | Photo: US Department of the Interior
With livestock farmers on both sides of the family, I thought all manure was eco-friendly up to a point. But domesticated pigs have excess phosphorus in both their urine and feces, which does awful things to the water supply and organisms living in the water. Now researchers in Canada have developed a genetically-altered “Enviropig” that produces plenty of the enzyme a pig needs to process phosphorus.
To fix this problem, the scientists tinkered with the swine’s genes to make the pig produce its own phytase in its salivary glands. When the cereal grains are consumed, they mix with the phytase in the saliva, and throughout the pig’s digestive tract the enzyme works to break down the phosphorous in the food. With more phosphorus retained within the body, the amount excreted in waste is reduced by almost 65 percent, say researchers.
The researchers who created the Enviropig say it’s not just eco-friendly, but it also cut farmers’ feed-supplement costs. If the pigs eventually become common, they could also help U.S. farmers comply with “zero discharge” rules that forbid pork producers from releasing nitrogen or phosphorus runoff.
The pigs are now being raised on test farms, and won’t be available to consumers anywhere for a few years. Link
Whereas other little piggies went to market, stayed home, had roast beef or had none, a little piggy named Oscar had a birthday and broke a world record:
Oscar the pig turns 20 years old and is crowned the world’s oldest living pig. O.K., technically the little porker turned 20 in October, but us slow pokes are just getting around to wishing him a very happy belated birthday.
quote:
The attempt for the Guinness record came on a whim. Kimbell’s boyfriend – himself the owner of an 11-year-old potbellied pig named Ziffle – looked up the current record and discovered Oscar was older.
The application process involved a lot of paperwork to prove his age. Kimbell sent in Oscar’s birth records, photos of him growing up with her, and letters from veterinarians and his travels.
She got word of their success in late December.
Kimbell doesn’t have any big plans for her record-holder. She turned down an invitation to Rome for a Guinness TV show because Oscar’s too old to travel. He turned 20 on Oct. 29.
Here’s hoping Oscar has many more years of belly rubs and falling asleep in front of the television: Link
Residents of Axedale, Australia called authorities when they smelled what they believed to be a gas leak. Firefighters responded to the home and found a 120 kilogram pet pig, which they believe to be the source of the gas.
“She got very excited when two trucks and 15 firies turned up and she squealed and farted and squealed and farted,” said fire chief Peter Harkins.
“I haven’t heard too many pigs fart but I would describe it as very full-on.”
Mr Harkins said the family had done the right thing by calling 000 to report a suspected gas leak: “It’s all bottled gas up here and a leaking cylinder could pose a major fire risk.
“It was because we took it so seriously that 15 volunteers still managed to attend the call out at 10.30 on Tuesday night.”
The pig’s owners are embarrassed over the incident and refused to let the pig be photographed. Link -via Arbroath
(image credit: AAP)
A tiny breed of pig is born the size of a teacup and is the hot new pet among British celebrities. The micro pig is about nine ounces and the size of a teacup when born, but can sell for up to £700. Breeder Jane Croft has given up her former career to breed the tiny pigs full-time.
At two years old they are fully grown and weigh in around 40-65lb and are about knee height at 12-16in tall.
They can live for up to 18 years, but make popular pets as they are low maintenance, quiet and surprisingly clean.
‘Micro pigs make fantastic pets as they are very low maintenance. You don’t have to take them for walks and they have very few health issues,’ said Miss Croft.
‘They don’t make much noise, they are easy to toilet train and once they have bonded with you they are very loving
The pigs are also good pets for people who are allergic to dogs or cats. Link -via the Presurfer
(image credit: Geoff Robinson Photography)
Xavier Rosset, a young Swiss adventurer, recently returned to Europe after spending 300 days on an isolated island, armed with only a few knives and a baby pig for companionship. He voluntarily chose the volcanic isle of Tofua, which has nothing except "some pigs, lots of coconuts, a lake and tropical forest."
Rosset’s goal was to ‘relearn’ the natural survival skills which many urban males seem to have forgotten.
“At the beginning I had to try hard to survive,” the former professional snowboarder said.
“I had to find the food and water, build shelter, learn how to fish, everything.”
Last September, just 10 days in, he had a realisation that he was all alone and would be for many months to come.
“That was very hard, without my family, my girlfriend, my friends. There was a lot of loneliness.”
But he was kept busy just trying to survive.
Link – via uniquedaily
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.
Photo: Vince Lauro
Pigs may never fly, but they certainly can swim! Vince Lauro won National Geographic Traveler’s Great Outdoors Photo Contest with this awesome photo of the Caribbean swimming pig. From the Intelligent Travel blog:
As the first mate on a 118-foot motor yacht, Vince Lauro has the opportunity to continuously travel across the Caribbean. This photograph was taken near a small key famous for the "swimming pigs." A colony of pigs lives on the key, and they often swim near visiting boats. To capture this clear image Lauro said, "I had to lure this pig into an undisturbed area with its favorite food: fresh watermelon."
Link – Thanks Marilyn!
Now, on to the Neatorama and Hobotopia‘s Caption Monkey part of the post: funniest caption will win a custom black and white Monkey drawing by our favorite artist, Adam "Ape Lad" Koford.
Contest rules are simple: place your caption in the comment section. One caption per comment, please. You can enter as many as you can think of – just make ‘em funny! Be sure to visit Adam’s blog for inspiration. Good luck!
Update 8/26/09 – Adam has picked the winner! Congrats to Lisa G. who came up with this (very punny) gem: Oinkers aweigh!
Due to fear of swine flu, Afghanistan has quarantined its pig. Yes, the nation’s only pig, normally on display along with other exotic wildlife at the Kabul Zoo.
The pig is a curiosity in Muslim Afghanistan, where pork and pig products are illegal because they are considered irreligious, and has been in quarantine since Sunday after visitors expressed alarm it could spread the new flu strain.
“For now the pig is under quarantine, we built it a room because of swine influenza,” Aziz Gul Saqib, director of Kabul Zoo, told Reuters. “We’ve done this because people are worried about getting the flu.”
Link -via YesButNoButYes
Forget people! The real concern for farmers is not that humans get swine flu from pigs … it’s the other way around!
Humans have it. Pigs don’t. At least not yet, and U.S. pork producers are doing everything they can to make sure that the new H1N1 virus, known around the world as the "swine flu," stays out of their herds.
"That is the biggest concern, that your herd could somehow contract this illness from an infected person," said Kansas hog farmer Ron Suther, who is banning visitors from his sow barns and requiring maintenance workers, delivery men and other strangers to report on recent travels and any illness before they step foot on his property.
"If a person is sick, we don’t want you coming anywhere on the farm," Suther said.
Previously on Neatorama:
- Scientists: Swine Flu Milder Than Run-Of-The-Mill Winter Flu
- Swine Flu: Bacon’s Revenge
- What is Swine Flu? How Does an Animal Disease Spread to a Human Host?
- 5 Deadliest Pandemics in History
Fatigued and irritable, with a touch of fever? No, it’s not swine flu. Chances are, you’ve caught swine flu overload.
And who’d blame ya …with "breaking news" every few minutes over possible cases of the flu, followed with even more breaking news of press conferences of denying that those cases were even flu to begin with. Not that Neatorama isn’t guilty of hyping up the swine flu, mind you.
So. Pigs have gotten a lot of bad press, lately, and the only cure for swine flu overload is … more news about pigs (positive spin, of course). That’s just what Nicholas Nadel of Asylum has done – here’s a look at the 10 Pigs We Will Always Love:
3. Babe
Smart, adorable, and with the voice of Bobby Hill, Babe is the only pig with an Oscar nomination under his belt. In fact, he’s such a well-rendered pig, he beat "Apollo 13" for best special effects. (The bad blood between Babe and Tom Hanks is legendary.) He even scored a sequel, the darkly surreal "Babe: Pig in the City." Fun fact: "Babe" was banned in Malaysia for not being "halal." That won’t do pig, that won’t do.
Link – Thanks Kurt Patat!
I know some people find text-based games (“Interactive Fiction”) a little dull, but I love them. I was seriously addicted to a certain text-based game back in the day, so I have a soft spot for them. This one is pretty fun – you’re an, um, not-so-smart guy named Grunk who works on a farm herding pigs. Except you’ve lost one. Naturally, you need to go find it if you want to keep your job, but you don’t have much direction as to how to go about that. Imagine you were actually looking for a lost pig and think about what you would do first. You’d listen for pig noises, wouldn’t you?
There, I’ve given you your first hint. Oh, and in case you’ve never played these types of games before, just type simple commands: “E” for go east, “get shovel” for, well, get shovel… that sort of thing. Have fun!
Link via Jayisgames (with a walkthrough in case you get stuck)
