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Antony Bowness, a butcher, knows that true love is served rare. That’s why he made a rose bouquet out of steak. Gentlemen, take note. This is how to be romantic.
Link -via Gizmodo | Photo: Hungeree
The best way to deal with not having a sweetheart on Valentine’s Day is to have a sense of humor about it. If you’re at all familiar with the “forever alone” meme, you know that it’s all in fun, and nothing is forever. With that in mind, Ranker has collected the 40 best images about how those who are “forever alone” deal with the most romantic of holidays. Link
This Valentine’s Day supercut is the perfect way to make the object of your affection go all gushy inside, in case you want to send it to someone you love. It worked for me! This was edited as a labor of love by Matthew Belinkie, who tells about how he selected and organized the clips at his website. Link -via mental_floss
If she could just stop getting kidnapped, Link would finally be able to give her his heart, but I doubt that’s ever going to happen. Oh well, we can still appreciate the card, created by Adam Bing, even if Zelda herself will never get it.
The perfect geeky Valentine for any Whovians out there. I don’t know about you guys, but I’d love to get a homemade card tailored to my personal interests like this.
Link Via The Daily What
Sweethearts: those little chalky heart candies you know so well -or do you? They’ve been in production for decades, but they weren’t always hearts. At one time, they came in the shapes of scallops, baseballs, and horseshoes. And they didn’t always have messages on top; those messages used to be printed on paper and were inside the candy!
More than eight billion (some 13 million pounds) of the little hearts are sold in the six weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. Sweethearts make up 40 percent of the Valentine candy market, just behind chocolate, according to Aimee Scott, Necco’s marketing director.
One of America’s oldest candy companies, Necco was founded in 1847 in Boston by Englishman Oliver Chase, who got the business off to a good start by inventing devices that cut candy lozenges and pulverized sugar. Necco first sold confections similar to Sweethearts, but in the shape of scallop shells.
Sweethearts are still evolving every year. Smithsonian magazine has all kinds of interesting facts about Sweethearts. Link
(Image generated at Cryptogram)
Whether or not you’re in a relationship, it’s still pretty easy to get swept away in the romantic spirit of Valentine’s Day. In honor of the holiday, let’s take a look at some of the most romantic world records ever achieved.
I don’t know about you guys, but I would need a serious Chap Stick infusion after kissing someone for 46 and a half hours. The couple, Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat, was part of a contest held in Thailand in 2011, which led to seven couples breaking the existing record of 32 hours that was set back in 2009.
It takes two people who can both hold their breath for a long while to break this record, which is why it is so impressive that Italians Michele Fucarino and Elisa Lazzarini were able to hold their breath while kissing for 3 minutes and 24 seconds.
While the Italian couple may have set the record for longest underwater kiss without breathing, Antonio de la Rosa Suarez holds a different but equally impressive record for kissing underwater. In his case, two women took turns kissing him while passing air to him. He stayed down there for 7 minutes, which seems like a relatively short record given that he was allowed to breathe during the process. Maybe one of you guys could take a crack at this one.
Love Sharon Stone? Not as much as Joni Rimm apparently. Rimm actually shelled out $50,000 for one kiss with the actress, who offered up a lick-smacking session as part of a charity auction supporting Project Angel Foods, a charity dedicated to providing free meals for people with HIV and AIDS.
As if having a giant wedding ceremony wasn’t romantic enough, the fact that 34 couples opted to exchange wedding vows underwater on Valentine’s Day makes this one sweet occasion, even if kissing the bride 33 feet underwater isn’t exactly an easy proposition.
It seems strange, but the world’s longest hug was actually almost a full day shorter than the world’s longest kiss. At only 24 hours and 33 minutes, it seems that this record, held by Ron O’Neil and Theresa Kerr, is just begging to be broken –so if you want to get in the book, better start locking arms now.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, these kitties want to show us just how to celebrate the upcoming holiday. Isn’t love beautiful?
Okay, I’ve got one of Shakespeare’s love sonnets in the original Klingon. Now I need a good valentine before Tuesday. Thankfully, Eric Goodnight of How-To Geek has a step-by-step tutorial with screenshots that shows how to make a geeky valentine with Photoshop. He also has eleven ready to use, including the two you see above.
Link -via Geek Crafts
Looking for a sweet gift that won’t add to someone’s waistline? Then why not crochet some adorable truffles in a heart-shaped box using this great pattern.
If you didn’t have any instructions, how would you duplicate this cupcake? Suggest a method and then click on the link to see Kurryleaves’s clever approach. Did you guess correctly?
Link -via Tasteologie
Can you imagine anything more romantic, personal, and memorable than a proposal at a pizza chain? Pizza Hut is offering a deluxe Valentine’s Day proposal package that includes an engagement ring (no diamonds though -it’s ruby), photographer, videographer, limousine, fireworks, and a ten dollar pizza! The cost? Just $10,010. Better hurry and reserve your package, because they are only selling ten of them. But hey, if you miss out on the deal, you can a) make your proposal a surprise, 2) do it in a more personal place, and c) save enough money to pay for a nice wedding and/or honeymoon. Link -via Jezebel
To promote its floral products, the Walmart-owned supermarket chain Asda commissioned this amazing dress made from flower petals. Joe Massie, an award-winning florist, and his team assembled it using roses, chrysanthemums and gerberas:
The gown, designed for the upcoming Valentine’s Day, involves more than 170 hours of labor and reportedly weighs just under two stone.
The gown features petals from 1,000 Naomi red roses all over the dress, fifteen Carmen roses and 200 chrysanthemums, decorated with gold-leaf, around the hip and skirt of the dress, and petals from 150 Purple Power roses, 75 gerberas and 300 carnations, all picked from Walmart’s Valentine’s bouquet collection, to flush this creation.
You can view more and larger pictures at the link.
Link | Video | Photo: Press Association/Yahoo
This Valentine's Day, tell your sweetheart that your love will never die - in fact, it will survive a nuclear holocaust, just like a cockroach.
This Valentine’s Day, the Bronx Zoo wants to start a new lover’s tradition: giving the gift of a cockroach.
You won’t actually get a pet cockroach; rather the gift will be in name only. For $10, you can name a Bronx Zoo roach after your beloved. For $15 more, you can commemorate the occasion with a dark chocolate roach. Though the chocolate roaches are lifelike, they don’t actually contain real roach. Proceeds benefit the Wildlife Conservation Society and its five parks in New York.
Unless there is a huge demand for the name-game gift, don’t worry about the zoo running short on supplies. There are more than 58,000 Madagascar hissing cockroaches in the Bronx Zoo.
Link | Bronx Zoo's Name a Roach web page
What says "I love you" more than Madagascar hissing cockroaches? Perhaps only the Love Rats from the NeatoShop.
For those of you looking for ideas for a romantic Valentine’s Day date, the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn is offering a morning tour of its sludge-processing facility.
Put on some comfortable boots, snuggle up with your companion, and hold your breath when the plant’s ruggedly handsome superintendent, Jimmy Pynn, explains how the city cleans 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater each day.
You’ll get to see every aspect of the plant’s waste treating process, and even take a trip through its suggestively shaped digester tanks, where plucky microorganisms break down what you and your date ate for lunch yesterday, producing methane and carbon dioxide gas.
And at the end of the tour, Pynn will give each attendee a Hershey’s Kiss — because there’s nothing sweeter than protecting the environment.
One thing’s for sure -it will be a Valentine’s Day neither of you will ever forget. Link -via Breakfast Links
(Image credit: New York City government)
Looking for something really different to give your loved one this Valentine’s Day? How about a roach?
How better to express your appreciation for that special someone than to name one of the Bronx Zoo’s 58,000 Madagascar hissing cockroach after them? Best of all, when you purchase this everlasting gift, you’ll help support the Wildlife Conservation Society and its five parks in New York City.
Ok, so technically, it might not be the most romantic gift, but it’s certainly something that won’t soon be forgotten, which is more than you can say about a dozed roses.
Link Via The Mary Sue
Beth Jackson Klosterboer made little cheesecakes shaped and decorated like the classic Sweetheart candies. Each one is about two inches across. Klosterboer has demanding standards for cheesecake filling and used what she considers to be finest recipe. You can find it at the link.
Anatomical
Heart Pencil Holder - $19.95
This Valentine's Day, give your loved one your heart ... Your Anatomical Heart Pencil Holder from the NeatoShop, that is.
This sculpted heart can serve as a vase for flowers or pencils and pens. It's an unforgettable Valentine's Day present that your loved one can use every day.
Link | View more Valentine's Day gifts | Unusual Pencil Holders
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Carey of Petite Kitchenesse calls it an “egg in the basket”, but here in the South we refer to this dish as a “toad-in-a-hole”. They’re easy to make, and Carey’s variation makes them a great Valentine’s Day breakfast.
Link -via Tasteologie
We’ve previously featured Spabettie’s scrumptious-looking vegan s’more cocktails. The cups were made out of chocolate using Cool Shooters ice trays, so you can devour them with no clean up concerns.
Now Spabettie is continuing with the same theme, this time using vegan white chocolate. She poured a pepper-infused vodka into the chocolate cups to create a hot Valentine’s Day treat.
Link -via Tasteologie
Psshh…chocolates are so twentieth century. In a world that’s obsessed with zombies, there’s no better Valentine’s gift than a simple, handmade set of zombie monsters. You can buy you own set over at Etsy.
The Oatmeal is certainly the first site I think of for cards when I want to slide a note over to my secret crush at the Neatorama office. That’s why the site’s Valentine’s Day cards are just so darn wonderful… of course, that might also be why Zeon has a restraining order against me.
Planning
something special for Valentine's Day? Not if you're in Uzbekistan. The
authorities in the Central Asian nation has canceled Valentine's Day:
Instead, residents in the capital of Tashkent can enjoy readings of poems by Mughal emperor Babur, who died in the 16th century.
The unofficial ban on romance-related festivities echoes long-standing antagonism in Uzbekistan toward the holiday. Last year, the Turkiston newspaper described Valentine's Day as the work of "forces with evil goals bent on putting an end to national values."
See also: Neat Valentine's Day gifts from the NeatoShop
Google Maps has a cute new function called Map Your Valentine. It lets you create a heart around a special location and send a message to your sweetie. When received through email, the valentine reads “I picked this place especially for you.”
Link via Fast Company
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Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I thought I’d share this oldie but goodie Geeky Science Valentines, first published on Neatorama back in 2008.
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Valentines Day, a day to celebrate love or even just the concept of love and romance. What better way to inspire those romantic feelings than cute critters kissing? Rue the Day has a collection of 14 pairs of animals smooching, plus a chance to enter a contest as well! Link
(Image credit: Flickr user muzina_shanghai)
Not everyone has plans for a romantic date on Valentines Day, and those who don’t might want to get their minds off all this love stuff. There are alternatives! Phil Haney has a roundup of activities and adventures that have nothing to do with Valentines Day, from arranging your own kidnapping to eating your heart out …way to oblivion. Shown is Fat Dave, your guide to Famous Fat Dave’s NYC Eating Tour. Link
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“Flowers wilt. Chocolates melt. Roaches are forever.”
That’s the advice offered by the Bronx Zoo in conjunction with their limited-time Valentine’s Day offer:
How better to express your appreciation for that special someone than to name a Madagascar hissing cockroach after them? Naming a roach in honor of someone near and dear to your heart shows that you’ve noticed how resilient, resourceful, and loyal that person is. Or maybe it’s in recognition of your one and only’s virility, or strength in the face of high radiation…
For a $10 donation, the Wildlife Conservation Society will name one of the hissing cockroaches after your loved one and send him or her a “truly memorable Certificate of Honor.” About 1,700 names have been assigned during the first two days of this inspired promotion. Details at the link.
Link.
Artist Elliot Quince made linocut prints of creepy/funny zombie valentines you can print out and give to someone you love -if they have a sense of humor! What better way to say “Happy Valintestines Day”? Link -via Laughing Squid
What happens in the few days leading up to Valentines Day? Several preparatory activities are explained in line graphs, from gift purchases to texting to bikini waxes at Cool Material. Link -via Buzzfeed
