99% of all infographics are made by companies trying to get links to their websites, but that last 1% are often fantastic, like this one, by artist Kevin Tong, depicting all the rules one must follow while working in Walter White's meth lab in Breaking Bad. The chart is so perfect it actually looks like something that could hang on the lab wall, just so it can be referenced whenever Jesse messes up again. Don't miss the full chart at the link.

Link Via io9

(Video Link)

There is no description on this video, so I can't tell you why Digger happens to be in a diaper, maybe you guys have some theories.

Via I Can Has Cheezburger

(Video Link)

Mochi may not have gotten any breaks after her newest litter, but she seems OK with taking on all the work when it means getting to play with a little one this cute.

Unless you had crazy parents who locked you up inside all day, all of us have enjoyed the freedom and wonder that make playgrounds magical. But it goes without saying that some playgrounds are far more spectacular and imaginative than others. Here are a few of the coolest playgrounds you’re ever likely to enjoy.

Clemyjontri Park, Virginia

Finding a playground designed for handicapped children is hard. It’s even harder if you’re hoping to find one that their abled-bodied friends can use and enjoy at the same time. Enter Clemyjontri Park, a playground specifically designed to provide fun for children of all ages and ability levels.  Some of the swings offer higher backs to provide extra support to those who need it. Wide, graceful ramps allow those in wheelchairs full access to the park’s amenities. And in the middle of the two acre park sits a massive carousel.

Belleville Park Playground, France

While this playground may not be as accessible as the Clemyjontri Park, it is still unique in the number of challenges it offers to children of all ages and ability levels. The most famous and most popular attraction in the park is the massive climbing course, which incorporates the ground’s natural slope and offers a variety of inclines for children of all different climbing abilities. For those that prefer more traditional play structures, there is a large jungle gym/playhouse at the top of the hill as well.

Takino Hillside Park, Japan

This amazing Japanese park was designed to help get kids interested in nature again. Of course, many of the play structures are unlike anything else on Earth, but hey, getting kids to use their imagination is never a bad thing either. The main theme for the playground is nests and the most famous (and most gorgeous) attraction in the park is the Rainbow Nest Dome designed by Fumiaki Takano and fabric artist Toshiko Macadam. But there are plenty of other fun play zones at the park, including bouncy hills made from plastic and foam, delightfully odd playhouses designed to look like massive beehives and more. In the winter, the entire face of the park changes when it is converted into “Takino Snow World,” which offers guests fun winter play options like snow shoeing, sledding and skiing. Images Via The City of Sapporo's Website

Nishi-Rokugo, Japan

You probably already know what an albino is, but the opposite, known as melanism, is much less known. The look is still just as striking though, particularly in the case of the penguin seen above. See pictures of melanistic deers, lizards and more over at the link.

Link

(Video Link)

When we hear about those who can't do the the basic things the rest of us take for granted, we tend to feel sorry for them. But even though Loca can't run right, she's still precious and lives a happy and wonderful life with her owners and other dog friends.

Via I Can Has Cheezburger

Gamers will game, but sometimes they crave more stimulation, and sometimes personalized character attributes still leave a lot to be desired. That’s why mods are so darn cool. And while most modifications are designed to actually improve the game by making it play better or look more awesome, sometimes they’re created with other purposes in mind. Here are some of the silliest and coolest gaming mods around.

Skyrim

You’ll notice the game with the most over-the-top stupid and funny mods is Skyrim, and there’s a good reason for that –it’s one of the best selling PC games ever. As if it’s popularity weren’t enough, there’s also the fact that Bethesda encouraged fans to make their own mods, whereas many game companies discourage such actions. In fact, there are so many funny Skyrim mods that I left out a few good ones, like the famous Monocled Mudcrab, so there would be more room for those on other games. That being said, if I left out your favorite, please feel free to vent in the comments.

(Video Link)

Perhaps the most famous, and in my opinion, the best, Skyrim mod was the one by FancyPantz that turned the fearsome dragons into WWE superstar Randy “Macho Man” Savage.

(Video Link)

For the Bronies out there though, their preferred dragon mod was certainly the one by zdzichorowerzysta that turned the dragons into an adorable My Little Ponies.

(Video Link)

Alternatively, those that were so inclined could also play as Pinkie Pie the My Little Pony by picking up the armor pack created by Circuit Board.

(Video Link)

For those that prefer using their ponies as, well, ponies, there’s always the mod by zdzichorowerzysta that turns all the games horses into lovely rainbow My Little Ponies.

(Video Link)

Somewhere some sick person is training puppies everywhere that if they chase car bumpers, they'll get a delicious treat. I hope you're happy with yourself you monster.

Just joking, Maymo's owners are very loving and even have their own YouTube channel dedicated to her.

Via I Has A Hot A Dog

I know April Fool’s Day was yesterday, but since most people don’t go to work on Sundays, today is certainly the best day to pull off any office pranks you’ve had planned. Admittedly, most good office pranks take a bit of time and preparation to pull off, so it might be too late to do something super outrageous if you haven’t already planned it, even so, these might at least give you some inspiration for April 1, 2013.

LEGO Car

(Video Link)

At LEGOLAND, employees quickly learn that anything can be remade with legos…including the vehicles of their co-workers. So naturally, the team stole another employee’s car, moved it and forklifted in a LEGO version of the same vehicle. The doppelganger car weighed 2,934 pounds and took 201,076 LEGOs to build. Of course, being a LEGO-lover himself, the victim couldn’t help but be impressed.

Office Bathroom

(Video Link)

No, these clever pranksters didn’t do anything to the office bathroom –that kind of potty humor is too immature for a workplace environment. Instead, they turned their co-worker’s office into a bathroom. This one takes a lot of time, money and effort, so make sure you’re ready to commit to the project before diving in….also, make sure the victim isn’t dumb enough to actually try using the toilet after you put it in her office. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had a lot of bosses I wouldn’t trust not to use it.

Turn A Keyboard Into A Planter

Who doesn’t love having some live plants growing at their desk? Oh yeah, someone who has a keyboard full of cress. To try this prank out for yourself, simply remove the keys of a keyboard and place down some cotton. Sprinkle in some cress or grass seeds and water, and then replace the keys. Spray lightly with water a few times a day and in a few weeks you’ll have a healthy baby garden ready to confuse your victim. Just switch out his keyboard when he’s not looking, and you’re done!

Booby Traps!

It might not be the safest or most grown-up prank out there, but let’s face it, turning your co-worker’s desk into a booby trapped mess is certainly one of the most fun pranks out there. If you want to build your own, Instructables user PocketSized has all the guidance you need to create a tripwire-activated booby trap. Of course, you have to be careful as you don’t want to shoot anyone’s eye out with a poorly aimed push pin.

Trolling A Computer

No matter how interested you are in history, you probably have still heard a lot about the Dark Ages, but much of that information, even the stuff you learned back in school, is actually fiction. Here are five commonly held beliefs about the Middle Ages that aren’t actually fact.

Note: While the specific time period coverd by the term the "Middle Ages" (also called the "Dark Ages" and the "Medieval period") can vary, in this article, they refer to the years 500 - 1500 A.D.

Medieval Doctors Weren’t Completely In the Dark

When most people think of medieval doctors, they tend to think of barbarians whose only solution to problems was to bleed the victim until the problem went away or until the patient died. While its true that the doctors of the time were operating under the Greek concept of humours, that have since been proven wrong, that doesn’t mean that doctors of the time were totally inept or that there were no improvements to medicine made until the Renaissance. In fact, the idea of doctors needing to attend a University was first developed during this period and those who wished to become a Doctor of Medicine would need to go through ten years of higher education in order to qualify.

During the Crusades, European and Islamic doctors began exchanging techniques and while it’s easy to think that the Westerners got the advantage in this trade, there was still useful information traded from both sides. In fact, it was the European doctors who taught Middle Eastern practitioners that wound infections could be successfully treated with vinegar.

During the early Middle Ages, surgery was considered to be less important than the practice of other medicines, but as time progressed, surgery started to earn a much higher regard. By the fourteenth century, doctors had discovered a number of innovations in the field including the use of antiseptics to prevent infections and anesthesia made from opiates and herbs to help patients through the procedure.

Additionally, hospitals were first developed during this period, originally operating as hostels for travelers, clinics for the injured and homes for the disabled. Italy led the trend of hospital building and, by the end of the fourteenth century, Florence had thirty hospitals within its boundaries. In England and France, most hospitals were established in Monasteries, where monks would help care for sick travelers and victims of chronic diseases and plagues.

So next time you end up needing to visit the hospital, get better, and then remember you have those alleged bumbling fools of medieval doctors to thank not only for the treatment center, but also for the idea that doctors should be well-educated before they are allowed to start serving the public.

Source

Bad Hygiene Wasn’t Actually Common

For years, stories have been circulating that the average person of the Dark Ages would only bathe once a year and that the reason brides carried bouquets was to help them ward off the gross smell of the guests at their wedding, but really, people of the time had pretty decent hygiene. In castles, the wealthy would have a tub with a stool in it so they could sit and bathe for long periods of time. Many castles also had a special room next door to the kitchen that was exclusively for bathing parties.

While the poorer populace may not have had their own tubs inside their home, they still could visit the public baths in the city or bathe in rivers or lakes near their home. In fact, bathing didn’t fall out of fashion until the Renaissance, when it was believed that water could carry disease. So there’s a good chance that a peasant from the thirteenth century actually smelled a lot better than Leonardo da Vinci.

Their clothes didn’t smell horribly either, laundry soap was introduced from the Orient in the early Middle Ages and while clothing did go unwashed in the freezing winters, as soon as spring hit, laundresses went out in droves washing clothes on the local river banks.

Sources: Gode Cookery and Wikipedia

Spices Weren’t Used to Hide the Flavor of Rotten Meat

I don't know about you guys, but unless the applicant was absolutely terrible, I would totally hire him after that.

Link

Even if you don’t live in America, you’re probably familiar with our New Year’s Eve traditions, being as how they’re played on TV stations across the globe and portrayed in countless movies. That being said, there are tons more celebrations out there that don’t involve kissing at midnight, watching a ball drop and staring at fireworks in awe.  Here are a few New Year’s Eve traditions from around the world.

Image Via asterix611 [Flickr]

Bring Gifts to Neighbors

It’s always nice to get a gift from a neighbor, friend or family member, but in some countries, visitors bearing gifts are practically guaranteed on the first day of the year. The tradition is commonly known as First-Footing and while it’s practiced everywhere from Russia to Wales to parts of the U.S., it is most common in Scotland. While the gifts brought for the occasion are important as they represent the type of luck the recipient will receive, it is also important who brings the gift. Ideally, the first person to enter a home at this period will be a tall, dark man, as this will bring the most luck.

Swing a Fireball Above Your Head

Scotland’s New Year’s Eve celebrations are known as Hogmanay and the celebration is responsible for introducing the "Auld Lang Syne" song to the world. But the festivities vary from place to place and while some areas celebrate by singing and linking arms at the appropriate point in the song, other celebrations are much more dangerous.

In Stonehaven, locals make up balls of chicken wire filled with newspapers, sticks and rags that sometimes measure up to two feet wide. Each ball is attached to a chain or nonflammable rope about three feet long. At midnight, the balls are then set on fire and swung around the heads of their creators as other revelers watch the spectacle. Eventually, the fireballs are put out or thrown into the harbor. Despite the dangers, the event has drawn in many tourists and the small town now sees around 12,000 people standing in the city streets to watch the fire balls spin. If you want to see the action without risking life and limb, the celebration is now streamed on the internet.

Image Via MrPurple [Wikipedia]

Burn Effigies

If you just can’t get enough burning out of your New Year’s experience and you’ve already visited Stonehaven, then perhaps it’s time to purchase a ticket to Ecuador. That’s because on New Year’s Eve, locals line the streets with effigies of people who have made a negative impact on the last year, most commonly, unpopular politicians. Thousands of dummies are lit up at the stroke of midnight in an effort to prevent the negative events associate with those people from impacting the new year.

Image Via lowfill [Flickr]

Munch Some Grapes

Just like humans, when an animal loses a leg or other important body part, a prosthetic can mean the difference between living a normal life and struggling on a day to day basis. Here are ten stories of animals that suffered loss and then learned to live with a new adaptation to their body.

While some people criticize the efforts put into these prosthetics, particularly in species that are not under threat of extinction, it is important to realize that these developments could help save a critical breeding member of an endangered species one day. Additionally, many of these techniques are brand new and by testing them on animals, researchers are developing useful insights to see if they may one day work on humans. If you end up losing a body part and get a bionic replacement twenty years from now, you might just have a cat or dog to thank for your top-of-the-line prosthetic.

Oscar the Cat

(Video Link)

Oscar lost his two rear legs in an accident with a combine harvester. After losing so much blood, his owners were told to expect the worst, but even after he survived the ordeal, their vet warned that cats rarely live happy lives with only two legs. Fortunately, he referred Oscars owners, Kate Allen and Mike Nolan to a veterinary surgeon who specializes in state-of-the-art animal medicine.

After looking at Oscar’s situation, Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick agreed to take on the new patient, surgically fitting him with implants that can eventually be attached to prosthetic paws. The surgery makes Oscar a notable kitty as he is the first cat to ever have prosthetic paws.

While the process was a success, Oscar’s paws haven’t yet been perfected for outdoor use. He has been made to be a house cat for the rest of his life, but really…that’s not all that bad now is it, especially when you consider how he was injured in the first place.

Storm the Dog

The first animal to receive such treatment though was Storm, a Belgian Sheperd, who lost his paw after it became infected with a tumor. The same vet that would later provide Oscar with his bionic paws, Noel Fitzpatrick, was the first to offer this service to any animal and Storm was the perfect candidate. Fitzpatrick says that he hopes his developments can eventually be used to help soldiers returning from Iraq and victims of the July 7^th bombings in London.

Naki’o the Dog

(Video Link)

Earlier this year, Naki’o became the first dog in the world to be fitted with a full set of bionic paws from Orthopets, a leader in the pet prosthetics industry. Far from just helping him walk easier, the paws are so well attached that he can now run and swim just as he did before the accident. Naki’o lost his paws due to severe frostbite after his previous owners abandoned him to fend for himself throughout the freezing winter in Nebraska. Despite the fact that the poor pup had to crawl on his stomach to move, he still found a loving adoptive family who worked tirelessly to raise the money to get Naki’o the prosthetics he desperately needed. Their efforts paid off as Naki’o is now thrilled to have his bionic paws and is eager to run, jump and fetch with his new family.

Boonie the Goat

Wind, rain and waves can do some amazing things to rocks, which is precisely what made these amazing rock formations seen over at BuzzFeed. Be sure to click on the link, the formations are certainly all worth a view.

Link

I don't know about you guys, but this bike path in Ireland does not look like a place I'd want to take a trek. Oddee has even more outrageous paths for your viewing enjoyment and fear-inducing travel inspiration.

Link

Most old tires end up in landfills, but these amazing artists, philanthropists and creators have gone out of their way to ensure that these old tires are turned into something better. WebEcoist has 25 cool items made from these useful, but no longer needed car accessories.

Link

From a hook being left on a door handle by a crazed serial killer to a gang that will shoot you if you flash your bright lights at them, Halloween is a ripe time for horrific urban legends to be spread around. While most of these are fiction, the reality is that some of these stories originate from real news stories and sometimes things that start out as urban legends eventually become real horror stories. Here are five terrifying tales with some scary truths behind them.

Dead Bodies Under The Mattress

This one involves someone checking into a hotel room and noticing that something smells rotten. Eventually, they realize it’s coming from under the bed. So they move the mattress and discover a dead body. This story has been going around forever and has even been featured in movies like Four Rooms. It seems like this story is pretty unlikely, particularly given that you’d at least think a hotel maid would notice the smell of a rotting body before a hotel guest enters the room, but if you believe that, you’re giving hotel staff too much credit. In fact, the most disturbing thing about this story is how often it actually happens.

In 1982, a few auto thieves killed an accomplice and left him under the bed of their hotel in New Jersey. Four days later, someone discovered the corpse, but the room had been rented three different times in the meanwhile and no one noticed they were sleeping above a dead body. In 1987, a drug user overdosed and his high friend stuffed him under the bed and then ran away. Three days later, a family reported a nasty odor in their room, prompting the hotel staff to discover the body.

In New York 1988, a murderer was clever enough to actually put the body inside the box spring. Even so, the smell still gave away the body’s hiding place only a few days later. This time, at least two guests slept on top of the mattress, not knowing what was below.

There are tons more stories like this. Apparently hotel workers often shrug off these types of odors and go on with their business until a guest complains or even refuses to stay in the room thanks to the smell. If there’s anything to be learned here, it’s that you should never stay in a hotel room with a funky smell. And, if you do notice something off, check under your bed or mattress…or you might not want to, that is, if you’d rather not know what’s below.

Source: Snopes

Image Via neekatnite [Flickr]

Spooky Acts Resulting In Death

Halloween is coming up soon and what better time to talk about superstitions than a holiday focused on spirits and symbolism. Whether you’re superstitious or not, discovering the origins of these common beliefs is a fascinating look at religion and human psychology. So enjoy!

Friday The Thirteenth

The fear of Friday the thirteenth and the fear of the number thirteen are both so common that they each even have their own psychological names, paraskevidekatiaphobia and triskaidekaphobia, respectively. But who ever decided that one number is unluckier than any other or why it’s particularly bad for the thirteenth day of the month to happen to fall on a Friday? As it turns out, there are a lot of reasons behind the superstitions surrounding the mystical number.

In Christianity, there were thirteen people at the Last Supper, including Judas who has been rumored as being the last person to sit at the table. In Viking lore, Loki was the thirteenth god and in the story of Norna-Gest, when uninvited guests showed up at an infant’s birthday party, bringing the number of guests up to thirteen, the last of the guests cursed the child. Even ancient Persians were weary of the number thirteen because they believed the twelve constellations of the Zodiac would each rule the earth for a thousand years, but after the cycle ended (in the thirteenth millennia), the sky and earth would collapse into chaos.

Interestingly, the fear of Friday the thirteenth is actually a relatively recent development. In fact, historians have found no evidence that anyone ever had talked about “Friday the thirteenth” until the 19^th century and the earliest mention of the evils of the date were seen in an 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini. Even then, the myth didn’t really get going until the 20^th century, when Thomas W. Lawson’s novel Friday, the Thirteenth became a best seller. After the book became a household name, so did the stories about how unlucky the day was.

In reality, the idea of Friday the thirteenth being unlucky is most likely a result of the fact that both Fridays and the number thirteen are both considered unlucky. Friday has been considered unlucky since at least the 14^th century, as Chaucer mentioned the superstition in The Canterbury Tales. The most likely reason for people to consider Fridays unlikely is that according to scripture, Jesus was crucified on a Friday. It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to imagine that people decided that if Fridays are unlucky and the number thirteen is unlucky, then any time the thirteenth occurs of the Friday, it’s really unlucky.

The fear of Friday the thirteenth is still very common. In fact, around 19 million Americans are affected by a fear of the day and many are so scared that they refuse to leave their house on Friday the thirteenth. Accordingly, the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that businesses lose around $850 million ever time the date rolls around on the calendar.

Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2

Images Via W.J.Pilsak [Flickr] and wiccked [Flickr]

Breaking A Mirror Causes Seven Years Bad Luck

When I was a kid, I was told that this superstition came about because in medieval times it would cost an average person seven years to save enough money to buy a mirror. As it turns out, this is bull hockey and the origin of the superstition is a lot more spiritual and a lot older than the one I was told.

The Romans were the first people to create glass mirrors. They also believed that their invention had the potential to steal part of the soul of the person using it. If a person’s reflection were distorted while using a mirror, then their soul would be corrupted and trapped as a result. Fortunately, the Romans believed your soul could be renewed –after seven years time. Until that point though, the person would suffer from bad luck since they did not have a whole, healthy soul to fight off evil.

If a person wanted to shed their bad luck a little sooner, there were a few methods to free your soul including grinding all the pieces of the mirror into a fine dust or burying the pieces under a tree during a full moon. While these options seem a little challenging, they still seem way easier than waiting seven full years to get your soul renewed.

Source

Image Via eeekays photography [Flickr]

Knock On Wood

If you're looking to plan a creepy vacation for Halloween time, the BBC has you covered with this wonderful article documenting some of the scariest spots on earth. Pictured is the Island of the Dolls.

Lying off the canals of La Xochimilco, in Mexico, is a chinampa (floating garden) covered with the hundreds of dolls. Gathered by Don Julian Santana Barrera who scrounged rubbish piles, the dolls were hung from trees to keep away evil spirits and remember the drowning death of a young girl. According to Barrera, the dolls he planted and hung around the chinampa were still alive, but forgotten by their owners. While alive, Barrera would move the dolls around the island from different trees, creating a chilling sight. The chinampa is accessible by boat and the dolls are still around, despite Barrera’s death in 1992.

Personally, I'd love to visit any of these spots, but I'm a bit morbid.

Link Image Via SkilliShots [Flickr]

I know school's about to start (if it hasn't already), but just in case you want to provide them with a few last educational activities at home, this geode egg project is a good way to get them interested in the science of crystallization.

Link Via Craftzine

I write a lot about animals for Neatorama and that’s because I’m always reading about them. The coolest thing about the vast variety of critters is that there are so many and each has evolved their own strange adaptations to survive in their own niche of the planet. With each animal trying to carve out its own special place in the world, it’s not too surprising that there are some that had to dig a little harder and have ended up adapting in very strange ways. These six creatures might not seem too strange at first, but just wait until you read more about their bizarre adaptations.

I’d like to give a special thanks to The Proceedings of the Ever So Strange and The Book of Animal Ignorance, both of which greatly contributed to the information in this article.

1. The Texas Horned Lizard’s Blood Shooting Defense

Generally, when you’re being attacked by something that wants to eat you, the last thing you want to do is let them get a taste of your delicious, delicious blood to further entice them. But for critters that aren’t as tasty as us humans, this rule applies less and less. In fact, the Texas horned lizard has blood that tastes so gross that it voluntarily gives predators a taste just to show them that they won’t find any pleasure snacking on the lizard. As if that weren’t strange enough though, the source of the lizard’s blood buffet is even weirder …it launches its fluid sample straight from its eye. Even if the taste of the little critter’s blood wasn’t enough to turn away a potential predator, this horrifying scene certainly is!

Source Image via randomtruth [Flickr]

2. The Hippopotamus’ Blood Sweat

Being the most deadly animal in Africa, the hippo doesn’t have much to worry about in terms of predators. Sure, an occasional lion, croc or hyena might munch on the babies, but once these river monsters grow up, they’re pretty much at the top of the food chain. That’s why their biggest defenses aren’t against other creatures, but against the ravaging African sun and disease-causing bacteria. While rolling around in the mud can work as a natural sunscreen, it’s simply not enough when the majority of their day is spent wading through the river. Instead, hippos have developed their own natural sunscreen, which oozes out of their pores in a shocking, bright red color. This strange secretion has earned the appropriately horrific nickname of “blood sweat,” although it contains neither bodily fluid. Instead, it is made up of a number of highly acidic compounds that absorb ultraviolet light, preventing sunburn, and that inhibit the growth of bacteria. While we usually think of the blood sweat as bright red, it actually comes out clear, turns red and then fades to brown as it becomes exposed to the air.

Source Image via Hrosi.org

3. The Komodo Dragon’s Filthy, Disgusting Mouth

Being stuck on an island with no natural predators, the Komodo dragon already has a good evolutionary hand, growing to become the largest living lizards on earth, reaching almost 10 feet long. But as many lizards will be happy to tell you, “size doesn’t matter,” so the Komodos also evolved a quite nasty way to bring down their prey.

IKEA is the world’s largest furniture store. In fact, the company is so big, it is estimated that around 10% of all Europeans alive today were conceived on an IKEA bed. Despite its success though, the company still has quite a few dark secrets, as well as a number of interesting trivia bits. Whether you love the flat-pack manufacturer or hate it, these 10 facts about the company are certain to spark your interest in the things that happen behind the scenes of IKEA.

Image via Calvin Teo [Wikipedia]

1. The Store Was Created By A Nazi Sympathizer. Founder Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943. He was only seventeen at the time. At the same time, he was also directly involved with fund-raising and recruitment for the New Swedish Movement, a pro-fascist, anti-Semitist group that emphasized Swedish Nationalism. When the matter came out in 1994, Kamprad claimed it was the biggest mistake of his life. He apologized for his involvement with the group and wrote a letter to every Jewish employee on his staff to personally apologize for his actions. Even so, the issue caused a minor controversy when IKEA opened its first store in Israel. In the end, the country seemed to forgive him and IKEA is now one of only a handful of companies to have stores in both Israel and other Muslim Middle Eastern countries.



Image via yassan-yukky [Flickr]

2. It Is Technically A Charity. If Nazism wasn’t bad enough, IKEA is also has one of the most elaborate tax evasion schemes of any company that still manages to operate within the law. IKEA is owned by INGKA Holding B.V., a Dutch corporation that is controlled by a non-profit Dutch foundation known as the Stichting Ingka Foundation, which was founded by Kamprad in 1982. This Foundation is headed by a five-person committee that includes Kamprad, his wife, and his attorney. IKEA’s intellectual property is owned by Inter IKEA Systems, which is owned, indirectly, by the Inerogo Foundation, which is also controlled by Kamprad and his family. IKEA has to pay 3% of its profits to the foundation to license its own trademarks. Because IKEA is owned by charities, none of its profits are taxed, making the Ingka Foundation the largest charity in the world, with a net worth of $36 billion. Of course, the charity isn’t nearly as generous as most (being as how it’s mostly just a tax evasion strategy), so it only gave away $65 million in 2010. To put that in perspective, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has a net worth of $33 billion and they give away around $1.5 billion per year. The whole scheme is pretty complex, so if you want to read more about it, I recommend checking out this great Mental Floss article on the issue.


3. The Name Is Actually An Acronym. While most people assume IKEA is just a Swedish word or a nonsense word like Kodak, it is actually an acronym with close ties to Ingvar Kamprad’s heart. The letters stand for his initials, the initial for the farm he grew up in, Elmtaryd, and the town the farm was located in, Agunnaryd.



Image via DrJohnBullas [Flickr]

4. They Have A Very Specific Way Of Naming Products. Because Kamprad is dyslexic, he found it extremely difficult to manage an inventory that was made up of product codes, so he instead decided to name everything with words instead. I always thought that the products names were all Swedish words describing the objects, but as it turns out, that only applies to a handful of kitchen items. For the most part, all items are named according to a system developed by IKEA where each type of item carries a different name origin. For example, dining tables and chairs generally are named after places in Finland. Carpets are named after places in Denmark. For more examples, check out this article in The Guardian.


5. They Also Sell Houses. Ready to buy a new home? If you live in Scandinavia or the UK, don’t head to a real estate agent, head to IKEA and grab a flat-pack house for a fraction of the cost. The BoKlok houses were originally released in Sweden in 1996, and have since expanded to IKEA stores across Northern Europe.


6. Their Catalog Is More Popular Than The Bible. Ok, maybe that’s a little misleading, but every year, there are almost three times more copies of the catalog printed than the bible. They started printing the catalog in 1951 and it has since taken on a life of its own, consuming a full 70% of the companies marketing budget every year and developing a devoted fan base of people who analyze the images looking for obscure books in the bookshelves, Mickey Mouse references and cats hiding in the fake households. There are now 55 editions printed in 27 languages every year.


7. You Can Buy Their Merchandise For Your Virtual Family. If you’re running out of space in your home for all the great IKEA stuff you want, maybe you should consider shopping for your virtual home instead. Since 2008, players of The Sims 2 have had the chance to purchase the IKEA Home Stuff pack and deck out their character’s houses with the décor.





Image via thekellyscope [Flickr]

8. The Store Really Is A Big Deal. Most of you have probably become used to IKEA and no longer consider the store all that special, but for many people, the chance to shop in the Swedish furniture store is an exciting occasion –particularly when they are offering $150 gift certificates to the first people who shop there. This exact promotion actually lead to the trampling deaths of three people when the store opened in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2004.


9. It Can Be A Great Way For Parents To Get A Break. Many stores offer free daycare centers with playgrounds and beepers that can be used to contact the parent if the child needs mommy or daddy before they finish shopping. Stressed out parents can then easily enjoy a nice meal, a nap in one of the bedroom displays or, you know, an actual shopping trip knowing their little ones are safe and secure within the same building.


10. They Were The First Company To Feature A Gay Relationship In a Commercial. While the commercial only ran once in 1994, it was still a big deal for such a major company to release an ad with a homosexual couple. Since then, the company had ran a number of ads targeting the gay community, including one of the first ads to feature a transgender person.

Do you like the company or hate it? More to the point, have you changed your opinion after learning about Kamprad’s dirty secrets or about their progressive ads targeted to homosexuals?

Sources: Wikipedia and Mental Floss

While there are plenty of bizarre Blogger and Word Press pages, the number of off-the-wall Tumblr accounts is a little astonishing. I don’t know what it is about Tumblr, as opposed to all the other blog programs out there, but something about it just seems to inspire people to create some of the weirdest sites around the net. Here are a few of my favorite strange, niche and just plain silly Tumblr blogs.

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich:

Perhaps one of the strangest Tumblr blogs around, Selleck Waterfall Sandwich is exclusively dedicated to three things: Tom Selleck, waterfalls and sandwiches.  You’ll be amazed just how many ways these three things can come together in an image.

Citation Needed:

Have you ever seen a citation needed tag on Wikipedia and thought, “really, they need a citation for that?“ Well, that's the whole point of Citation Needed. One of my personal favorites on the site is this gem, "The band March Hare is named after the March Hare. [citation needed]“ Unfortunately, many of the funny bits on this site are removed from Wikipedia, making Citation Needed the only archive of such comments.

Hungover Owls:

There’s a reason owls are nocturnal creatures –they’re too hung over to be awake during the day. But while hungover humans tend to look downright disgusting, Hungover Owls look absolutely adorable –in a slobbish, grumpy and tired kind of way.

Captcha Art:

Have you ever read a captcha and laughed at how humorously the words seemed to go together? Captcha Art asks you to take a screenshot of the captcha and then submit your artistic interpretation of the message.

While houses may look entirely different on the outside, most of them contain very similar products on the inside. Sink cleaners, microwaves, dishwashers, air fresheners and hand soaps can be found in all kinds of homes across the world. But just because something is a household name doesn’t mean it is boring. Here are some fascinating histories behind a few common household products. Of course, if you don’t have any of these products or brand names in your house, then you’re probably either a hardcore hippie or you’re living in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

20 Mule Team Borax

Admittedly, many homes find themselves without borax these days, but there was a time where it was one of the most common cleaning products around. Of all borax brands, 20 Mule Team Borax is most certainly the best known, in part due to their distinctive packaging depicting a mule team carrying a number of cargo containers. The name was created all the way back in 1890 and the distinctive logo was created in 1891. In that time period, twenty-mule teams were actually used to carry borax from the desert where it was collected to the closest rail station. To help promote their brand image, the company even sponsored a radio and television program called Death Valley Days. The program, which was broadcast on the radio between 1930 and 1945 and on television between 1952 and 1975, dramatized real stories of the Old West. Source, Image via dok1 [Flickr]

Air Fresheners

I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn that people have been covering up odors with pleasant fragrances since the beginning of time, but our modern concept of an air freshener is much more modern than that. In fact, the sprayable air fresheners we’re all familiar with weren’t introduced to the public until 1948. The original spray bottles used were based on military developments that were originally designed for dispensing insecticides. Of course, this major technological advance used a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellant, which was later discovered to wreak havoc on the ozone layer. Modern air fresheners all use different technology, but the concept is still the same. Source, Image via Roadsidepictures [Flickr]

Colgate

These days, Colgate is known for making toothpaste, which is why it just might surprise you that during the first 67 years the company was open, they didn’t touch the stuff. Instead, they sold soaps. It wasn’t until 1873 that the company introduced their first toothpaste, which was originally sold in jars. Tubes of Colgate weren’t released until 1908. Source, Image via thelampnyc [Flickr]

Last year, John Farrier wrote a great Neatogeek post about geeky love songs. While the twelve listed were great, there were still plenty more great geek ballads out there. Here are ten more love songs sure to get your nerd juices flowing.

1) Thomas Dolby: She Blinded Me With Science

How is it nerdy? This is the song that inspired me to write this list. It’s an ultimate geek love song in that a woman is able to seduce her love interest not through her looks but through chemistry and other scientific fields.

Choice lyrics: It's poetry in motion/And now she's making love to me/The spheres are in commotion/The elements in harmony/She blinded me with science/"She blinded me with science!"/And hit me with technology

Video:



Video link

2) Marshall Gray: Critical Hit On My Heart

How is it nerdy? It might just be impossible to write a romantic song with more Dungeons and Dragons references.

Choice lyrics: I picked up spell resistance from the enchanted school/So I could bend up all these magic pretences/And though always use it as a general rule /This time I'm lowering all my defences

Video: There’s no official video for the song, but here’s a YouTube video with the song.



Video link

3) Mc Chris: Nerd Girl

How is it nerdy? MC Chris is one of the biggest stars of the nerdcore hip hop scene and this serenade to a nerd shows just how geeky he can be, even when discussing matters of the heart.

Choice lyrics: She's romantic, known to panic/With anxiety attacks/Literary, it's so scary/Reading Brontes back to back/She's playing Ragnarok on her mom's Magnavox/She's underneath my skin like a million nanobots

Video:



Video link

4) Bad Religion: I Love My Computer

How is it nerdy? It’s not even about a girl, it really is about loving a computer and how the computer is far better than a real girlfriend.

Choice lyrics: I've never been quite so happy/all I need to do is click on you/and we'll be joined/in the most soul-less way/and we'll never/ever ruin each other's day

What is it about interspecies animal friendships that make humans so infatuated? Is it the unlikelihood of the partnerships or the simple cuteness of two different species reflecting so well upon one another? Whatever it is, these adorable animal pairings are simply precious no matter how you look at it.

A Dog, A Cat and A Mouse

Perhaps one of the most famous strange animal friendships involves Greg Pike’s three companions, Booger, Kitty and Mousie, who constantly ride on top of one another. His animals were named by a group of school children who Greg gave the opportunity to name.

Pike is a busker who receives monetary compensation from passersby who wish to photograph his bizarre animal trio. He currently resides in San Francisco, but he and his pets previously lived in a small border town in Colorado, Arizona, in Santa Fe, New Mexico and in Santa Barbara, so if you think you may have seen him in person and you happened to be in one of those places, then you almost certainly saw the real act, not an impersonator.

Greg likes to think of them as a symbol of peace, if these three national enemies can get along, why can’t we humans. If you like the act, you can always make a donation via his website.

Source Video link

A Dog and An Owl

When Stuart and Caroline Ward bought an owl named Boobah right before her German shepherd, Hazel, gave birth to puppies, they worried the dog would be overprotective of the litter and act aggressive towards the owl. Fortunately, the exact opposite was true. Hazel immediately started to look after her owl friend who took to riding on the dog’s back for rides. The pair soon became inseparable and Boobah even tried to suckle milk from Hazel like the young puppies did.

Source

A Monkey and A Pigeon

Many people have seen this image without ever seeing the equally sweet story. The 12 week-old macaque was brought to an animal sanctuary after he was discovered close to death after being abandoned by his mother. After his rescue, his health improved, but he remained listless until he struck up a friendship with an unlikely suspect –a white pigeon. The two were so close keepers almost never found them more than a few feet from one another’s side. The friendship managed to bring the monkey back from the brink and he displayed a whole new attitude.

Source

A Blind Dog and A Cat

While some consider cats and dogs to be mortal enemies, it is still fairly common to see the two animals become close friends after living together. As common as cat and dog friendships are, it takes a special bond to capture the interest of a nation, but Cashew and Libby were that close.

Cashew was an older yellow lab that had gone blind and deaf in her old age, but his feline friend, Libby, didn’t let that stand in the way of their friendship. Libby served as a seeing-eye cat for her elderly friend, leading him to his food and watching over him while the pair slept next to each other. The cat would even follow her friend on walks to make sure he got back safely.

After Cashew passed, Libby has shown no interest in other dogs and has been known to hang around at her friend’s favorite nap spots. The cat’s utter loyalty to her friend earner her the Cat of the Year from the ASPCA, a high honor with so many great kitties in the country.

Source Image via ASPCA

Two Dogs and A Goat

While the header for this one has the makings of a great animal sitcom, it’s actually a true story that warms your heart. It al started when a stray goat and dog were picked up by animal control outside of a wedding chapel in Dallas. They were brought to the East Lake Pet Orphanage, where volunteers soon saw the pair was inseparable. Unfortunately, Texas law requires that abandoned pets must be kept with animals of the same species, so a sheriff’s deputy took away the goat, named Minnelli. If the goat stayed unclaimed, she would have been sold at a livestock auction.

Fortunately, the story already hit the papers and the Dallas County Commissioner assured the public Minnelli would not end up on someone’s dinner table. A few days later, the animal’s owner came forward. The family also owned a three-legged yellow lab and could no longer afford to take care of their animals, so they signed over the rights to all three pets to the East Lake Pet Orphanage.

The shelter received hundreds of adoption requests for the unlikely trio, which they then narrowed down to the five best applicants. Representatives from the shelter visited each home to ensure the pets were given to the best possible candidates. Eventually, they were adopted by Norman and Sandra Williams who owned three acres of land and plenty of other critters to keep their new family members company.

Source: #1, #2

A Bear and A Cat

Most of you are familiar with American, Canadian and English Christmas customs, which are largely the same, including Santa bringing presents that sit below a lit up tree. But have you ever wondered just how Christmas is celebrated in China, or in Finland? Whether you’re just interested in learning more about other cultures or want to incorporate some new traditions into your holiday celebrations, this article is filled with all you need to know about international Christmases.

Austria:

Austrian children still get to celebrate the arrival of Ol’ Saint Nick, but they also have to brace themselves for the arrival of his evil counterpart, Krampus. Where Saint Nicholas rewards good behavior with treats and toys on December 6, the demonic Krampus arrives on December 5, looking to punish all the bad children. His weapons of choice are birch switches to beat children with and burlap sacks to kidnap them and throw them into the river.

The worst part is that local men actually dress up like Krampus (just like many men dress up as Santa in America) and terrorize the streets. In some villages, kids are even made to run what is known as a Krampus-gauntlet, in an attempt to outrun the switches.

Czech Republic:

The Czech version of Saint Nick is known as Svaty Mikulas, who is said to climb down to Earth from the heavens using a golden rope. Mikulas is accompanied by an angel and a devil who help him decide which girls and boys deserve treats and toys, and which ones deserve a swatch.

There are a lot of fortune-telling traditions that are associated with Christmas as well. One involves a family member cutting a branch from a cherry tree and putting it inside in water. If it blooms in time for Christmas it is good luck. It also may represent that the winter will be short, or if a single woman picked the branch, it could mean she will get married in the next year.

On Christmas Eve, single woman also try to see if they will get married in the next year by standing outside with their back to their front door, removing one of their shoes and throwing it over their shoulder. If the shoe lands with the toe facing the door, then she will marry in the next year. If not, she will have to wait at least another 12 months.

Image via tomu [Flickr]

Finland:

This Halloween, Neatorama’s already given you costume ideas and spooky food inspirations, so now it’s time to think about your home decoration. Whether you’re planning to decorate for a killer Halloween party or just want to impress the local trick and treaters, these cool geektastic decoration ideas are sure to impress.

Because pumpkins are one of the most critical elements of Halloween decorations and because there are about a billion pumpkin galleries online, the first half of our decoration ideas focus exclusively on Jack-O-lanterns. If you’ve already got your carving planned or are sick of looking at orange sculptures, then feel free to skip further down.

LED Lights:

Video link

When you want to do something more techy, try making your own LED pumpkin with an artificial pumpkin wired with lights and controlled externally so you can change the expression at will.

Dark detecting:

To take LED lights to a new level, you can always try installing circuitry that will tell your pumpkin to turn on when it is dark. While I haven’t seen this done, I think a motion detecting light would also be pretty awesome. Any readers want to give it a shot?

Snap-o-lantern:

Video link

When you want to go a step beyond LED lights, try buying a mini-pumpkin and engineering it to snap its mouth at passers by. This is also a good decoration for your cubicle since it doesn’t take up much space but is sure to get a lot of attention.

Robo:

Video link

While there are plenty of pumpkins that look like robots, this is the only one I have seen so far that actually is a robot.

Steampunk:

I know you Neatonauts are torn on the whole steampunk thing, but those who do like the art form are sure to appreciate this awesome steampunk pumpkin.

If you’re throwing a Halloween party this month, don’t let it be a regular old costume party. Instead, spice things up by adding some of these Halloween-themed recipes into the mix. Whether you opt to have a full dinner party or just have a few spooky beverages and snacks, these creepy cocktails and frightful foods are sure to set the perfect mood.

Drinks

Every party has to have drinks and here are a few perfect brews for O Hallows’ Eve, including one virgin punch that is perfect for kid’s parties.



Perhaps the most beautiful Halloween cocktail is this Morphing Martini that changes colors from blue to fuchsia and has an impressive layer of fog over the top thanks to the addition of dry ice.



Alcoholic brain Jell-O is one of my own concoctions that involved the wonderful brain mold from the Neatorama shop. It’s delightfully sweet, looks creepy and the addition of Knox made it sturdy enough that guests were able to take slices from the brain a mess on their hands. If you replace the alcohol with water, this could also be a great kid-friendly dessert.



Swamp Juice is a fun, kid-friendly cocktail made with gummies, tapioca pearls, seltzer water, lemonade and some food coloring. Aside from the spooky look, the strange texture is sure to be a hit with kids too.

Appetizers

If you’re throwing a full dinner party, many of these can be repurposed as side dishes to round out your main course, but these snack-sized treats are also perfect creepy canapés.



While the potential messiness of roast tentacle au jus makes it a little intimidating for a party setting, the pure awesomeness of an alien tentacle complete with bones makes it worth buying a few party plates and forks.

On April 15, 1955, Ray Kroc opened his own McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois (seen below). While tons of people head to this so-called “first McDonald’s” every year, the fact is, the building standing there is not only not the first McDonald’s (Kroc actually opened the ninth location of the franchise), it’s not even the original building, but just a reconstruction. Even so, that spot of ground did have a huge impact on American life as we know it and spawned what was at one point the largest restaurant chain in the world --the title is now held by Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, etc.) and followed by Subway.


Image via ChicagoGeek [Flickr]

How Did McDonald’s Get Taken Over By Kroc?

When I was a kid, I always thought whoever Mr. McDonald was, he must be super rich. As it turns out, Richard and Maurice McDonald, who started the original restaurant, only made $2.7 million on the deal. While that does seem like a good amount of cash, just think how much the restaurant is worth these days. To make matters worse, the brothers insisted on retaining the rights to their first restaurant in San Bernardino, so Ray opened a McDonald’s restaurant right by theirs and ran them out of business. Worse still, even though the original deal involved the brothers earning 0.5% of the chain’s annual revenues, Kroc refused to honor that part of the verbal agreement after the McDonald’s brothers refused to sell him their original restaurant and the land it stood on.



And it’s not like the McDonald’s Brothers didn’t do anything but open an everyday burger joint; if they did, Ray probably wouldn’t have been so interested in taking the whole thing over. They innovated many of the ideas that have made modern fast food restaurants so successful, including assembly line kitchens, simplistic menus and self-serve counters. The menus had nothing on them but hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, potato chips, sodas, milkshakes and apple pies. Because things were so quick and efficient, prices were about half of what it cost to get a similar meal at a diner.

Image via _skynet [Flickr]

McDonald’s Across the Globe

It wasn’t too long after Kroc took over completely that the chain expanded out of America, first to Canada, then Costa Rica, Panama, Japan, Europe and Australia. These days, there's McDonald's located all over the world. In fact, the image above shows just how widely spread they are in the U.S.

While this world-wide globalization has led to many negative views of the corporation, some people say the company has actually helped improve the standard of service in some areas of the world. For example, when McDonald’s opened in Hong Kong in 1975, it was the first restaurant to consistently offer clean public restrooms. Soon afterwards, customers began to demand the same from other restaurants in the area.

Whether McDonald’s has a positive or negative impact in the country it enters may be a matter of opinion, but one thing the restaurant takes great pride in is their localization of the menu based on the native tastes of the area. Some interesting menu items from around the world include:

• Quebec has a regional treat known as poutine, which is a dish with French fries and cheese curds covered in gravy. McDonald’s in the area serve this as a popular side dish.


• Throughout Canada, you can order chicken fajitas from McDonald’s. This seemed weird to me that you can’t find these in South Western American states where fajitas are a popular staple of Mexican restaurants.


• In Egypt, you can find Big Macs with chicken or fish in place of beef and a “McFalafel” sandwich.

• Throughout the Middle East, McDonald’s offers a “McArabia” sandwich, which is a piece of flat bread with chicken or beef patties. They also serve a special wrap called the Paneer Salsa wrap, which takes fried, seasoned cottage cheese and wraps it in flat bread with veggies.


• Most Indian menus are largely different than those in America, as pig and cow products are not served outside of Southern India. The chicken and fish are also prepared in separate areas because or strict religious laws regarding the preparation of food for vegetarians. One of the area’s specialties is the Maharaja Mac, which was originally made with lamb meat but now is made with chicken. They also serve a dish called the McCurry pan, which consists of a bowl made from flakey dough filled with chicken in a tomato-curry sauce. Of all the international McDonald’s menu items, I think this is the one I’d want to try the most.

• Throughout Asia, you can order a side of McRice in place of fries, this is just an order of plain rice with a cool name.


• In China, you can enjoy pineapple and taro pies and a Shogun burger with teriyaki pork. You might also consider the Rice Fantastic, which is like a beef or chicken sandwich with rice patties in place of buns.


• On the Chinese island of Cheung Chau, you can also enjoy mushroom burgers in place of beef during the local Bun Festival.


• In Japan, they serve something called the Ebi Fillet-O, which is a fried shrimp sandwich. There is also a Tamago Double Mac, which has three beef paties, a poached egg, bacon and pepper sauce. You can even top off your meal with tea milkshakes.


• In Thailand they sell corn pies.


• In Finland and Norway, you can have wraps with fried fish instead of chicken or beef.


• In El Salvador, you can often have French fries made with yucca instead of potatoes.


• In Mexico, a popular breakfast option is the McMolletes, English muffins with refried beans, cheese and pico de gallo salsa.


• In New Zealand, a popular favorite is the Kiwiburger, which has beef, a poached egg, veggies, cheese and beetroot.

Images via Weather Sealed, xetark [Flickr], Allan Reyes [Flickr],

Good Ol’ American Innovation

Even in America, certain locations have their own specialty treats. The McLobster and McCrab are served seasonally throughout New England. And in the late 1990’s, Chicago locations offered a hamburger with barbecue sauce and Canadian bacon that was dubbed “the Beef Wennington” after a notable Chicago Bulls player.



Many of the company’s biggest successes were actually created locally by franchisees, including the Filet-O-Fish, the Big Mac and the Egg McMuffin.  The Filet-O-Fish was made by a Cincinnati franchise owner who wanted to offer his Catholic customers a meal they could still eat on Fridays and during lent. Ray Kroc tried a similar idea at his original restaurant, but his Hula Burger, a sandwich a pineapple slice in place of meat was a huge flop.

As for the Big Mac, it was created by an early Pittsburgh franchiser who wanted to serve something adults would enjoy when feeding their kiddos at the restaurant. The corporate heads told him he could only create new menu items creating ingredients on the existing menu, which is where the Big Mac was born.

The Egg McMuffin was in a similar position as the Big Mac inventor, only he went ahead and added a new creation to the menu without contacting headquarters. The corporation was quite upset that he started selling the McMuffin without their blessing, but they quickly changed their minds when they saw how popular it was.

Image Via VirtualErn [Flickr]

McDecor

It’s not only the menu that headquarters like to keep consistent. Locations are largely required to look similar to one another on the inside. That’s not to say there aren’t a few stand out locations though. The “Solid Gold McDonald’s” by the Rock and Roll of Fame is themed after fifties rock and roll. Victoria, British Columbia has a restaurant with a 24-carat gold chandelier and other fancy light fixtures (seen above). The McDonald’s in Stratford-upon-Avon has a very subtle design, as all buildings in the area are required to conform to the historic look of Shakespeare’s birthplace.

Whether you love McDonald’s or loathe it, there’s no arguing that the restaurant has had a huge impact on our society. Heck, Fast Food Nation has estimated that one of eight workers in America have been employed at the restaurant at some point of their lives. So you guys have any weird McDonald’s in your area? Maybe one with unique menu items or a strange design.

Image Via buschap [Flickr]

Sources Mental Floss #1, #2, Food Network Humor, Wikipedia #1, #2, #3