What could we bring you today that would make you smile instantly? How about a greyhound frolicking in the snow while wearing his Batman pajamas? Although in his everyday life he is known as Mosley, today he is BATDOG! -via Daily Picks and Flicks
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Since the launch of its first film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli has enchanted viewers around the world and hooked many people on anime. Rocket News 24 recently rounded up a long list of trivia that you might not know about the studio and its films.
For example, the castle in Howl's Moving Castle sounds like a loud, clanking machine that belches fire and smoke as it moves. Hayao Miyazaki, the director of the film, found a natural way of acquiring those sounds:
Miyazaki’s version of the castle is also more of an almost-organic clump of pipes, turrets, scaffolding and legs. To create the sound of the castle, Ghibli hired a team of carpenters, filled the studio with tools and asked them to do what they do best.
As promised, Simon Tofield continues the story of Simon's Cat and the musical Santa Claus he found in part one of Christmas Presence. This time he makes good use of his new friend!
This great Buzzfeed article is titled 29 Things That Are Way More Important Than Work Right Now, but these adorable little fuzzballs aren't just more important than work, they're more important than anything else you could be possibly be doing right now -other than maybe actually playing with your own adorable critters.
Then again, if you bookmark the page to look at while at work, you'll be happy to have it available whenever you feel annoyed and stressed about your job.
(Image: Make Medicine Better)
Dr. Ted Rummel is an orthopedic surgeon in O’Fallon, Missouri. A few years ago, a blood-filled cyst in his spinal cord ruptured, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. That tragedy may have slowed Dr. Rummel down, but it didn’t stop him. After a year of physical therapy, Dr. Rummel has returned to the operating room. He has resumed consulting with and operating on patients at a hospital in the St. Louis area.
To operate, Dr. Rummel uses a customized standing wheelchair while in the operating room. A nurse uses a control pad on the back to move Dr. Rummel into position at the operating table, thus keeping the room sterile. You can watch a video of him at work here.
-via Oddity Central
Danish stand-up comedian Nikolaj Wulff (@nikowulff) shared this photo of his pet guinea pig getting REALLY excited about finding a piece of carrot. I have the same expression when I run across a slice of cake. Carrot cake, of course.
(Image: Radoslaw Botev, modified)
Sweden and Switzerland are two countries somewhere in Europe--or so I've heard. They are, it turns out, not the same place, nor interchangeable.
Chinese tourists, however, are not always aware of this:
The problem largely stems from the fact that both nations' names are written similarly in Mandarin - Ruidian (Sweden) and Ruishi (Switzerland) – which begin with the same symbol, according to the Swedish Consul General Victoria Li in China.
The Swedish and Swiss consulates in Shanghai want to find a solution to this problem. So they've jointly launched a contest, inviting people to think of funny ways to tell the countries apart. The winner gets a 12-day trip to both countries. Afterward, the winner must report back on his or her findings.
How would you tell them apart?
-via Dave Barry
Most americans have only enjoyed sesame seeds on the top of their cheeseburger buns, but they have a delightfully rich, peanuty taste when eaten alone. That's why this new black sesame McFlurry from McDonald's sounds so darn delicious. Unfortunately, it's only available in Korea (my bad) Singapore, so we won't be able to do any Neatorama taste tests any time soon.
If you're looking for a new McFlurry flavor that's available stateside though, try the limited edition Pralines & Cream. I had it and it was utterly fantastic, which was really great, since I can't even eat most things at McDonald's.
Via Food Beast
Did Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes out of thin air? Elementary, my dear Neatoramanauts, he did not. Meet the real life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes: Dr. Joseph Bell, a physician and lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh.
Conan Doyle met Bell in 1877 while he was studying to be a physician. Later, Bell would appoint Conan Doyle as his clerk, which allowed the author plenty of opportunities to learn about Bell's legendary deductive abilities (somewhat similar to playing Dr. Watson to Bell's Sherlock Holmes.)
Bell emphasized the importance of close observation when making medical diagnosis - to demonstrate this, he would often pick a stranger and deduce the man's occupation and recent activities by observation alone.
In the book Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle, author Daniel Stashower illustrated Bell's observation skills: Bell was able to tell that a man was an alcoholic by observing that he habitually carried a flask in the inside breast pocket of his coat, and that another man was a cobbler by seeing that the inside of the knee of the man's trousers was worn (that's where the man had rested the lapstone - a tool used by cobblers to condition leather). Bell was able to discern different accents to deduce a man's origin. He was also able to tell the difference between hand calluses of a carpenter from a mason, and the difference in the walking gait of a solider and a sailor.
Conan Doyle recounted this celebrated example of Bell's abilities when a patient whom Bell had never seen or talked to before came forward:
"Well, my man," Bell said, after a quick glance at the patient, "you've served in the army."
"Aye, sir," the patient replied.
"Not long discharged?"
"No, sir."
"A Highland regiment?"
"Aye, sir."
"A non-com officer?"
"Aye, sir."
"Stationed at Barbados?"
"Aye, sir."
Bell turned to his bewildered students. "You see, gentlemen," he explained, "the man was a respectful man but did not remove his hat. They do not in the army, but he would have learned civilians ways had he been long discharged. He has an air of authority and he is obviously Scottish. As to Barbados, his complaint is elephantiasis, which is West Indian and not British, and the Scottish regiments are at present in that particular island."
For Bell, observation skills are integral to become a great doctor. "In teaching the treatment of disease and accident," he said, "all careful teachers have first to show the students how to recognize accurately the case. The recognition depends in great measure on the accurate and rapid appreciation of small points in which the diseased differs from the healthy state. In fact, the student must be taught to observe."
Conan Doyle acknowledged Bell's influence in the creation of Sherlock Holmes, when he wrote a letter to his old university professor, "It is most certainly to you that I owe Sherlock Holmes ... round the centre of deduction and inference and observation which I have heard you inculcate I have tried to build up a man."
Scary legs -you know what that means, don't you? Spider! But if you are scared of spiders like Simon is, you'll be glad to have a cat around to eat them for you. But sometimes, especially with Simon's cat, it doesn't turn out the way you expect. This Halloween cartoon is brought to you by animator Simon Tofield. -via Viral Viral Videos
If there's anything The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy teaches us, other than the importance of the number 42, it's that you never want to forget a towel. With that in mind, this fantastic messenger bag by Nerd By Night will ensure that you always have a towel wherever you go and an easy place to carry your Hitchhiker's Guide wherever you go. Best of all, the site even has directions on how to make your own bag.
If you bring this to high school, no one will get it, but if you want to be cool in college, this bag is certain to get you noticed by all the right people.
Via Geek Crafts
Do you remember the Eighteenth Century childbirth simulator we featured two months ago? This is a more modern version from Laerdal's Natalie Collection of midwife and birth assistant training aids.
Image: Wikipedia
A 19th century training text used by martial arts school in Japan to teach the bushi (samurai) class has been deciphered. Bugei no jo, or "Introduction to Martial Arts" is dated to the 15th year of Tenpo (1844) and contains 12 rules that samurais were expected to follow, including:
Do not leave the path of honor
Do not commit shameful deeds
Do not let the school's teachings leak out
Do not compete
Do not tell bad things about other schools
Read more about the samurai text in this intriguing article by Owen Jarus over at LiveScience.
(Photo: Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP)
Belgians claim to have invented and perfected what we Americans call French fries. Belgians, though, call them frites and cook them in beef fat. They're also now available on demand in Belgium, thanks to a newly-invented vending machine:
Customers pay €2.50 (£2.13) for a 90-second fry-up of a 135g portion of chips accompanied by fork, salt and ketchup or mayonnaise, with or without harissa, but definitely without the customary moules. Three filters are meant to cut out the smell of the frying.
With a few modifications, perhaps we could have a poutine vending machine.
How to educate the public about the new laws governing marijuana use in Washington state? The Seattle Police Department has a great idea. They will be at the Hempfest pot rally this weekend -giving out bags of Doritos, each bag with a sticker outlining the new laws.
Because while stoners have no problem ignoring a leaflet, police recognize that it's nearly impossible to turn down a bag of Doritos.
"Distributing salty snacks at a festival celebrating hemp, I think, is deliberately ironic enough that people will accept them in good humor," says police department spokesman Sergeant Sean Whitcomb. "We want to make sure people learn the rules and that they respect the vote."
The labels on the snack-sized bags will direct festival attendees to the SPD's post-legalization FAQ titled "Marijwhatnow?" which went viral last November, reminding citizens that possessing up to an ounce of pot is allowed, but selling and growing the stuff remains illegal (until licenses are issued later this year by the state).
With funding for the project coming entirely from the privately run Seattle Police Foundation, police say they plan to distribute about 1,000 bags of Doritos over the weekend.
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