The athletic store Distance in Paris has a strange promotion in the run-up to the Olympics next summer. In the "Rob It To Get It" campaign, they say go ahead and shoplift from them- you can keep the merchandise if you can outrun the store's security guard. The twist is that the security guard is French Olympic sprinter Méba-Mickaël Zézé. In this compilation video, he caught 74 would-be thieves, while two people got away.

The stunt makes Zézé look really good. But what does it say about theft? If it wasn't completely staged, this had to be a low-key, limited time offer. There doesn't seem to be any consequences for attempted theft, and probably was pretty hard on Zézé while it lasted. Besides, they will never see those two potential champion runners again, unless they try again. Also, any American will unlock the secret to this stunt in about ten seconds. All you need is more than one thief making a break for it at the same time, running in different directions. -via Digg

There is an unnamed grocery store in rural Norway, near the border with Sweden, that apears to be haunted. For years, employees have experienced unexplained phenomena such as electrical malfunctions, shadowy figures, and broken flower pots. People who worked there questioned their own sanity, but eventually customers started noticing things, too. When a customer was hit with a flying potato, the news got out and paranormal investigators descended. So far there is no explanation for the eerie happenings. Well, no logical explanation, anyway- three ghosts have been identified.

Lars Birger Davan came to the store by accident and learned of its history. He is a doctoral candidate in sociology at Oslo Metropolitan University, and began to study the store. No, not the ghosts' mischief, but the employees' response to it. It turns out that experiencing paranormal activity can be very isolating, because people are afraid others will think them crazy. It's actually a relief to know that other people are observing the same things. Read about the haunted grocery and the people who must deal with it at Atlas Obscura.  

(Image credit: Lars Birger Davan)

Why did we ever think that robots had to resemble humans? Because that's what the science fiction novels told us. True, the earliest idea of a robot was a machine to replace a person and do a person's work. But as we came up with more and more uses for a robot, our ideas changed. Soft, flexible robots are more useful for getting around in uneven terrain, and tiny robots can go places and do things humans could never do.

The ultimate soft, flexible robot would be a liquid, right? Interesting Engineering introduces us to one. This robot is semi-liquid, made of polymers, borax, and alcohol, and embedded with neodymium particles throughout so it can be controlled by magnets. The slime is a non-Newtonian fluid that can become solid and then liquid again depending on conditions. It can squeeze through the tightest cracks and stretch to amazing lengths. This slime robot may have innumerable medical applications. It's not pretty, but that doesn't matter when you need it to go get that battery your toddler swallowed. -via Geeks Are Sexy

For the 49th year in a row, Nikon is recognizing outstanding microphotography (or photomicrography, if you prefer) in its Nikon Small World competition. The highest honor goes to Hassanain Qambari and Jayden Dickson of the Lion's Eye Institute in Perth, Australia, taking the image above. What you are looking at is the optic nerve of a rodent. Fluorescent dye shows the astrocytes in yellow, the contractile proteins in red, and the retinal vasculature in green. Got that? All the winning images are breathtakingly beautiful. The one that really drew my eye was the third-place image by Malgorzata Lisowska of Mazowieckie, Poland.

These are breast cancer cells at 40x magnification. The image involved brightfield lighting and image stacking, but I can't help but wonder whether there was some manipulation going on. Or is it just serendipitous pareidolia? See the top 20 images ranked with their descriptions in this gallery. Check out the honorable mentions, too. -via Digg

The Beer Marionette is a drinking game from Bavaria. This ingenious invention requires precise maneuvering, attention, and thirst. Each rig costs €169 ($178 USD) as well as the beer necessary to motivate the player. The company's Instagram page shows how hard it is for all but the most skilled puppeteers to successfully lift a glass to one's lips for a sip of German nectar.

-via No Context Humans

After living in Korea, a very highly advanced country, I can say that living in a cashless society makes transactions a lot easier and faster, and depending on the policies and systems in place, a lot safer and more secure. It frees up a lot of space in your pockets and in your wallets. In fact, you don't even need to bring your wallet. All you need to bring is a debit card, or if your bank has a mobile app, then you just need your phone and a good internet connection. Thankfully, if you can find WiFi anywhere, then you're all set.

So, what are the steps toward becoming a cashless society? Australia is currently underway toward becoming one, and even though they are not completely there yet, it only takes a few years to prepare and be fully cashless. But as it stands, there are already players who are invested and are well on their way to taking advantage when the time comes that Australia becomes a cashless society. I'm not sure about America, but from what I can surmise, it might still be a long way before the US can become a cashless society. It's not really a priority at the moment. However, the benefits of transitioning into a cashless economy, I would say, greatly outweigh the costs it would take to fully implement. What are your thoughts on the matter?

(Image credit: Tech Daily/Unsplash)

Being a movie extra must really seem cool for those of us outside of the entertainment industry. You'd get to be filmed on camera and you can act alongside some of the biggest names in cinema. However, from an insider's point of view, especially from someone who has experienced being called to take part as an extra in a movie several times, Kimberly Nelson knows the deal with being a movie extra, and though she admits that it's a great feeling to be able to see yourself on screen, even for just a few seconds, everything that happens behind the scenes is anything but glamorous.

She shares with us her forays into the movie extra gig along with the ups and downs, the challenges, the disappointments, and the moments of elation when you finally see yourself in the big screen. Read her story on Chicago Mag.

(Image credit: Brands&People/Unsplash)

Being someone who was born at the cusp of the digital boom, I knew what life was like before the internet or smartphones, and I'm sure a lot of our readers on Neatorama feel the same. But from the 2010s on, I think the ubiquity of smartphones and the internet has taken over our lives. We cannot live without them, although if by some circumstance, we find ourselves without them, we'll most likely find ways to entertain ourselves or make do without them.

There is this joke about Gen Zs that I found quite interesting because I wasn't sure how true or the extent of its reality was. The comedian was saying that the best kind of punishment parents nowadays can implement on their children is by taking away their phones. I have come to realize that it's true that Gen Zs have become totally dependent on technology. I don't have to look any further than my immediate family. My nieces and my nephews almost always have their faces stuck to their phone screens, and you'll be hard-pressed to get them off those screens.

This brings us to this phobia, which I have just recently discovered, called nomophobia referring to phone separation anxiety. A group of researchers have conducted a study on undergraduate students that tried to find what the factors contributing to nomophobia are, and what the possible means could be of alleviating one's separation anxiety from their phones. You might find it an interesting read especially if you know someone who might be experiencing this condition.

(Image credit: Creative Christians/Unsplash)

Writers know that being a writer is not a lucrative career path. With the very rare exception of hitting the jackpot, generally writers can live comfortably but not luxuriously. A few writers have definitely made it that I know: JK Rowling is probably top-of-mind for a lot of people in this regard, and another famous one would be Stephen King. However, there are cases in which an author can make a fortune off of a singular work, and live off the royalties of that. And Salman Rushdie is that one author, with his book Satanic Verses.

Recently, Salman Rushdie has been on the news for the attempt on his life, but along with that, some people online have gathered that his net worth is around $10 to $15 million, off of his most controversial novel, and one of the banned books in America. If you want to learn more about the circumstances of how one book earned Rushdie $2 million on the first year of its release, read more about it on Sports Keeda.

(Image credit: Ken Conley/Wikimedia Commons)

There are several banned books in America, and I have read quite a few of them, all of which have widened my horizons, not only in literature, but also in my perspective of the American culture. Some of my favorite banned books are The Catcher in the Rye and 1984. Being banned books does not mean that the authorities have deemed them worthless, but I would think it's quite the contrary. Perhaps, the reason why they are banned, or were banned, is that they exposed the realities of life and challenge the prevalent mores and perspective in society.

Out of the 50 states, Florida is considered as one of the worst states for having the freedom to read whatever you want, with 13 school districts adding 357 books to their banned list over the past year. In response to that, Banned Books USA has launched an initiative to circumvent the prohibition: they are offering banned books to any and all residents to Florida. You can even go to their website, and donate or send a book to a shipping address in Florida. - via Lithub

(Image credit: Kimberly Farmer/Unsplash)

Altruism can be defined as showing selfless concern for the well-being of others. Though it may not look it, we do experience humans expressing altruism in more ways than one. Apart from non-profit organizations or volunteer groups, whose sole purpose is to engage in activities for the welfare of a particular group that they are catering to, there are individuals who have launched their own altruistic initiatives and have found success in helping out others.

Now a study has found that this trait of altruism is not only present in humans, but also in bees. Furthermore, their altruistic nature is not merely instinctive but hereditary. And the way this is expressed is truly fascinating. Since every hive can only have one queen, this begs the question, what do the other female honey bees do? Well, they serve the queen, and they do so by taking care of the queen's offspring. This may sound horrendous for some, but it is in the genetic makeup of the bees that leads to this behavior.

Of course, as humans we probably wouldn't think of giving up our entire life for the service of one particular person, although there are people who do that, and it is quite a noble and honorable thing to do. But I would think a lot more people would have different means of expressing altruism. Salon has distilled the most salient points from the paper which was published on Molecular Ecology.

(Image credit: Ante Hamersmit/Unsplash)

Pet owners will know that sometimes our pets will do the silliest random things that will be enough to brighten our day. Perhaps, that's one of the reasons why they do it as they probably feel when we're stressed and need some means of releasing all the pent-up tension within us. At times, they are just instinctively crazy, at least in my opinion. All the same, we love them for their antics and some owners luckily were able to capture their pets' silliest moments and are now sharing them in this latest TikTok trend, where they show videos of their pets' craziest moments with Hamilton's "Dear Theodosia" playing in the background.

The photo above was shared by billyboy_cat on TikTok and for a second, you might think that the box around the cat's head was a filter, but when you look closely, it's an actual box fitted over the cat.

Another photo, uploaded by domesroams, in the same vein as the first shows our little feline friend sporting a plastic bag from a bagel store and giving a whole new meaning to the word catwalk.

And perhaps my personal favorite out of this collection is the one posted by wisaandthecattos with yet another plastic bag draped over their head making it look as though they were a newborn baby. And what a cute baby it is.

For a look at all 50 photos, check them out on Bored Panda.

(Image credits: billyboy_cat, domesroams, wisaandthecattos)

Out in cinemas for the past two weeks now, The Exorcist: Believer is a reboot of the 1973 original directed by the late William Friedkin. Following the tradition of David Gordon Green's reboot of Halloween, The Exorcist: Believer will be a sequel to the original film disregarding other previous sequels. It might seem odd to sort of sever the continuity of The Exorcist franchise, but it makes sense, in that Green wants to build upon the foundation that the original film established using a new set of perspectives, themes, and milieu.

Ellen Burstyn, who starred in the original film, will be reprising her role of Chris MacNeil, but instead of the story revolving around her character, Green takes on a different approach with the concept of synchronized possession. Nevertheless, we will still see Burstyn's character now fulfilling the role of the expert on demonic activity. For other details on the concept of The Exorcist: Believer as well as the technical aspects such as makeup which was highly acclaimed for the original film due to the superb work of the late Dick Smith, check out Martyn Conterio's article on NME.

(Image credit: Angel Paredes Aldrete/Pixabay)

After a long day at work, sometimes you just want to kick back and relax while watching your favorite Netflix series, however, you find that there's nothing for you to eat in the fridge. What better way to enjoy your night than with a delicious meal? So, instead of ordering food online, why not try out some of these dinner recipes that will only take you less than 30 minutes to prepare?

From healthily appetizing meals like Citrus Coconut Steamed Cod to savory Salsa Steak Garlic Toasts, you will find all sorts of recipes submitted to Taste of Home by various people all around the United States. Some are even contest-winning recipes like Jennifer Pemberton's Chicken with Mushroom Sauce. Others are delightful hybrids of savory desserts such as Sue Gronholz' Meat Loaf Cups. Take a look at 80 Quick Dinner Recipes at Taste of Home.

(Image credit: Farhad Ibrahimzade/Unsplash)

Have you ever gotten a receipt from Costco with a smiley face drawn on it? It seems like a very unusual thing to encounter, and perhaps you have wondered what it actually means. Well, much like Starbucks is known for their baristas writing customers' names on their cups haphazardly, Costco apparently has this tradition of drawing smiley faces on customers' receipts and the reason for them doing this is quite simple than you would expect.

Reader's Digest shares that, for as long as Costco has had the practice of checking receipts as customers are going out the door, Costco employees just want to make people smile in any way they can. Initially, the smiley faces were meant for children but even teenagers and adults found them cheekily enjoyable, as the TikToks on RD show.

Not all Costco stores have this tradition, though, as some stores say that it depends on their employees. Furthermore, there are some branches which have prohibited their employees from continuing to engage in the said practice. However, if you are lucky enough to come across a Costco that still doodles smileys on your receipts, consider yourself lucky.

(Image credit: Ann Fitz/RD)