We use the term "snake oil" for anything promoted as a cure-all that doesn't work, whether it is medicine or political policy. But back in the 1860s, Chinese immigrants who worked on the Transcontinental Railroad used oi...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/21/how-snake-oil-got-a-bad-rap/Twenty years after the Cold War ended, more and more classified documents from that era are being released, which means we are gradually learning about what really went on at the infamous Area 51. It was a serio...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/21/how-area-51-hid-secret-craft/(Video Link) For the first twenty seconds, she bores her way in. Then she starts to tank up, and her body swells with blood. This is an everyday event, but it's so fascinating at this close-up view. via First Thi...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/close-up-footage-of-a-mosquito-sucking-blood/(Video Link) Students at the University of Maryland build a functional helicopter that is powered only by human exertion: The X-shaped helicopter, called Gamera, has 42-foot diameter rotors at each end of 60-foot...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/human-powered-helicopter/Charles Dickens’s letter opener with the paw of his cat, Bob, 1862. Berg Collection. Does the handle of that letter opener remind you of something? Perhaps something feline? It's Charles Dickens' letter ope...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/charles-dickens-cat-paw-letter-opener/(Video Link) You may have encountered people who can't walk down a hallway without running into other people, or waddle down the center at the slowest possible speed. Or maybe it's just me. I walk fast, so this is a...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/flooring-to-prevent-hallway-collisions/Get in my mouth! But first, dunk yourself in chocolate. Granted, this isn't as classy as deep fried butter and deep fried beer, but hey, I'll try anything once. There's a recipe by Bellalimento at the link. Lin...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/deep-fried-strawberries/I do not know the origins of this picture, but the dog's owner should be commended for providing much-needed protection from arrows and bladed weapons. She is ready to go to both the dogpark and the Ren fair. via...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/dachshund-in-chain-mail/In the past, Scott Blake made composite portraits of people using barcodes. Now he's getting with the times and using QR codes instead. Pictured above is a portrait of radio show host Amy Goodman. Each one links to s...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/qr-code-art/Although it lacks the refinement of a Geo Metro, a 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado station wagon isn't a bad foundation for a limousine. This was one of several dozen built during the defunct custom car builder Miller-Meteo...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/custom-9-door-6-wheel-station-wagon-limousine/The helicopter has really changed the way that many things are done since it was invented. Traditionally, the helicopter has a rotor or two up top and a tail rotor. The upside to the design is that it can take off an...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/eurocopter-hybrid-demonstrator-combines-air-plane-with-helicopter/Cats are cool and all, but I have yet to see a cat that I would want playing my iPad. If your cat is the pampered sort that has everything, it may be time to get your feline its own iPad or Android tablet. Friskies h...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/friskies-offers-games-for-cats-on-ipad-and-android/Just because Armageddon is happening Saturday as foretold by Family Radio Worldwide's Harold Camping doesn't mean you have to give up the love of your pets. One group is offering services to take care of your furr...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/eternal-earthbound-pets/The Bible says in Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." That never stopped people from trying to predict when the world will end. Smithsonia...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/ten-notable-apocalypses-that-obviously-didnt-happen/There are some words in foreign languages that just don’t have a direct translation to English. Here now is a list of twenty of them. Your failure to learn them will give me plenty of schadenfreude. When linguists...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/20-awesomely-untranslatable-words-from-around-the-world/The Hubble Space Telescope has brought us some truly amazing images of the universe. To appreciate these vast objects check out the gallery at the link. Who knows what unimaginable mysteries they truly hold? The...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/mind-expanding-photos-of-the-universe/Hard to believe that some of these photos are over 130 years old. This post features a collection of interesting photography from the 1880’s of London. Some of the photos give a sense of everyday dwellings that peo...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/lost-london/I’m someone who can barely make a credible smiley face with a pencil. So seeing these amazing three dimensional drawings done in pencil are truly mind blowing. See the link for the full gallery of drawings by the y...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/3d-pencil-drawings-by-17-year-old/Barak Hardley decided to draw all the presidents. Some he drew more than once, some are actually sculpture, but these are not your everyday presidential portraits. He drew Jimmy Carter as a vampire, Richard...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/the-presidents-illustrated/One way mammals are different from most animals is their large brains, in relation to the rest of the body. A new study says that the larger brains were developed for the sense of smell. CT scans of 190-million-year-old...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/big-brains-the-better-to-smell-you-with/Clive Thompson gave in and chatted with “babygurl01475,” who had been trying to engage him for a couple of days. He spoke of technological philosophy while "she" tried to get his credit card number. Apparently, b...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/a-conversation-with-a-chatbot/Sheng Xianhui of Kunming, China went into a hospital to have gall stones removed. A week after surgery, his wife noticed a tattoo on his rear end. Sheng claims that the staff at Yunnan Stone Disease Hospital tattooed his...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/man-says-hospital-tattooed-his-butt/(YouTube link) A gamer breaks out his handy spare joystick to save the world from an alien invasion of pixels! -via BB SpotGame, space invaders, aliens...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/space-invaders-in-real-life/Disney fans rejoice, it’s time for yet another set of Neatorama Facts featuring the Happiest Place on Earth. This time, we’re taking a detailed look at “the wildest ride in the wilderness,” Big Th...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/20/neatorama-facts-big-thunder-mountain-railroad/(Video link) A beautiful video clip that shows tiny origami creations being unfolded on water. Flotilla is a video of micro-origamis (2 ou 3 centimeters long) which are opening slowly onto the surface of the...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/19/micro-origami-in-water/Are any of you old enough to recall the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962? The world came close to a nuclear war and kids like me participated in nuclear attack drills in which we were instructed to hide under our desks a...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/19/better-homes-and-bunkers/It's a simple but elegant design. The Woodsman table, by designer Chris Duffy, takes its inspiration from the folktale "Little Red Riding Hood." Link via Born Richcoffee table, Little Red Riding Hood, tables, Grim...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/19/woodsman-coffee-table/(Video Link) Actually, it's not the real Darth Vader. It's just an actor dressed up as Darth Vader. Specifically, this is Jonathan Arons, who puts on a truly original performance for people at a senior center in New...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/19/salsa-dancing-trombone-playing-darth-vader-entertains-seniors/Jully Nascimento from Brazil got this QR code inked on her arm. When scanned, it reads "hold on". That's the name of a song by Good Charlotte that was meaningful to her in her youth. via Geeky Tattoostattoos, QR c...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/19/qr-code-tattoo/There's just something majestically beautiful about cement-filled Budweiser cans linked by a chain. This work by Brooklyn-based designers Chen Chen and Kai Tsien Williams is called "American Ninja". via Colossal |...
https://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/19/beer-nunchaku/
