Alex Santoso's Blog Posts
Capri, carpi, what's the difference? Apparently, about 400 miles. Here's what happened to a couple of Swedish tourists who mistyped the destination in their GPS:
Officials say a Swedish couple looking for the pristine waters of the popular island of Capri ended some 400 miles (660 kilometers) away in the northern industrial town of Carpi after misspelling the destination on their car's GPS.
Angelo Giovannini, a spokesman for the Carpi town hall, near Modena, said Tuesday the couple drove into the main square last week and asked the local tourist office how to reach Capri's famed Blue Grotto sea cave.
[YouTube]
Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom is a silly yet utterly fascinating collaboration between our pal, animator and T-shirt designer extraordinaire Nathan Mazur of Scared of Bees and Parry Gripp (of the pop punk band Nerf Herder). In the version above, Nathan added animation to Parry's notoriously catchy tune (I apologize beforehand for getting the song stuck in your head).
If you like that, there's *a lot* of similar songs over at Parry's Song of the Week website: Link
Previously on Neatorama: He's a Cat, Flushing the Toilet!
Takin' a break from weighty science research like finding a cure for cancer and whatnot, scientists have now solved the riddle of why we swing our arms when walking:
Swinging one's arms comes at a cost. We need muscles to do it, and we need to provide energy in the form of food for those muscles. So what's the advantage?
Little or none, some experts have said, contending that arm-swinging, like our appendix, is an evolutionary relic from when we used to go about on all fours.
But a trio of specialists from the United States and the Netherlands have put the question to rigorous tests.
They built a mechanical model to get an idea of the dynamics of arm-swinging and then recruited 10 volunteers, who were asked to walk with a normal swing, an opposite-to-normal swing, with their arms folded or held by their sides. [...]
Arm-swinging turned out to be a plus, rather than a negative, the investigators found.
For one thing, it is surprisingly, er, "'armless" in energy costs, requiring little torque, or rotational twist, from the shoulder muscles. Holding one's arms as one walks requires 12 percent more metabolic energy, compared with swinging them.
The old ad slogan "Guinness is good for you" may actually be true: a study showed that drinking just over a pint of Guinness at mealtimes may help reduce the blood's ability to form dangerous clots that may lead to heart attacks.
Drinking lager does not yield the same benefits, experts from University of Wisconsin told a conference in the US.
Guinness were told to stop using the slogan decades ago - and the firm still makes no health claims for the drink.
The Wisconsin team tested the health-giving properties of stout against lager by giving it to dogs who had narrowed arteries similar to those in heart disease.
They found that those given the Guinness had reduced clotting activity in their blood, but not those given lager.
Link (Image: spleeney [Flickr])
Previously on Neatorama: Stories Behind 7 Famous Beer Logos
Neatorama Server Issues
Late last night (two nights ago for our readers in the East Coast), our data center and hosting service SoftLayer was hit with a massive distributed denial-of-service attack. The attack was aimed at their DNS service, which caused many websites hosted at the company - including neatorama.com - to fail to resolve.
For those who don't know, DNS servers (or name servers) translate domain name (like neatorama.com) into IP address of the website's server. Without it, your browser wouldn't "know" where to contact the website's server.
The DDoS attack caused browser errors for some, but not all of you who try to visit the blog. I had trouble visiting the blog all night yesterday from home (with Comcast cable Internet) and all day today at work (with AT&T DSL). Anyways, the issue was finally resolved late today afternoon.
Softlayer is one of the largest data centers in the world (with over 21,000 servers). It's DNS servers use anycasting, so I couldn't begin to imagine what kind of DDos would bring them down for so long.
Mystery Sale - Quickie Update
We've shipped out about 3/4 of all orders - if you haven't received yours
yet, please be patient! It's on its way! (Again, our thanks for participating in the latest Mystery Sale). We'll do another update after we've completed shipping all of the orders.
Our web pal Asylum sent one of their editors, Brian Childs, to the Red Bull Air Race, and had him not only interview pilots, but also go up in a plane.
Brian, being Brian, had an ... um, shall we say, unusual reaction to the whole adventure, which he described in a colorful (a tad bit NSFW if you're prudish) language: Link [embedded video clip] - Thanks Alex!
What do you get when you cross a snake with a robot? Howie Choset and the rest of the wily geniuses at Biorobotics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University have created snakebots that can move by sidewinding, corkscrewing, rolling ... and as you can see in the video clip, can also climb up your leg (yikes!)
All of us at Neatorama would like to be the first to welcome our new robot snake overlord: Link - via Suicide Bots
Previously on Neatorama: Snakebot and other robotic snakes
It's a good thing that I've completely given up on aquariums (mine was cheekily named "The Last Stop Before Fish Heaven"), because this one by ZeroEdge is absolutely gorgeous. With its overflowing water, it's what you get when you cross an infinity edge pool with an aquarium ... Link
Okay, okay - Neatorama is rated PG, so I won't show it here, but this video clip by YouTube user youkilledkenny is just too funny not to share.
In the clip, kenny shares with us his travails in trying to teach his Chinese grandma some um, choice words of English. Kenny, you're going straight to hell (and I'm probably following for showing you guys the link).
It's surely mean and adolescent humor, but I can't stop laughing. I Have Seen the Whole Internet blog has the clip: Link [NSFW words, obviously] | The Sequel, this time with his little cousin, if once is not enough.
Calling all photoshoppers! Our web pal designboom has just launched a design competition in collaboration with Nissan, called "Think Outside the Parking Box."
Challenge conventional urban parking! playful enhanced parking technology, robotic facilities, safety, dynamic services, green parking ... creative solutions that address urban parking problems, statements of objections, creative-innovative-and-hilarious ideas in form of videos, art- design objects and illustrations can be submitted.
First prize is a cool €5000 euro, so make it good: Link - Thanks Andy Butler! (You know the competition is pretty cool when designboom actually uses capital letters ...)
Frank McCourt (RIP) may be better known for his Pulitzer Prize winning memoir Angela's Ashes, but little did we know that he's also a teacher of creative writing at Ralph McKee high school.
Reader's Digest has an excerpt from another one of Frank's memoir, Teacher Man, about his experience dealing with his students' forged notes:
Isn’t it remarkable, I thought, how the students whined and said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject? But when they forged excuse notes, they were brilliant. The notes I had could be turned into an anthology of Great American Excuses. They were samples of talent never mentioned in song, story or study.
How could I have ignored this treasure trove, these gems of fiction and fantasy? Here was American high school writing at its best—raw, real, urgent, lucid, brief, and lying. I read:
• The stove caught fire and the wallpaper went up and the fire department kept us out of the house all night.
• Arnold was getting off the train and the door closed on his school bag and the train took it away. He yelled to the conductor who said very vulgar things as the train drove away.
• His sister’s dog ate his homework and I hope it chokes him.
• We were evicted from our apartment and the mean sheriff said if my son kept yelling for his notebook he’d have us all arrested.
The writers of these notes didn’t realize that honest excuse notes were usually dull: “Peter was late because the alarm clock didn’t go off.” One day I typed out a dozen excuse notes and distributed them to my senior classes. The students read them silently, intently. “Mr. McCourt, who wrote these?” asked one boy.
“You did,” I said. “I omitted names to protect the guilty. They’re supposed to be written by parents, but you and I know the real authors. Yes, Mikey?”
“So what are we supposed to do?”
“This is the first class to study the art of the excuse note—the first class, ever, to practice writing them. You’re so lucky to have a teacher like me who has taken your best writing and turned it into a subject worthy of study.”
Everyone smiled as I went on, “You didn’t settle for the old alarm clock story. You used your imaginations. One day you might be writing excuses for your own children when they’re late or absent or up to some devilment. So try it now. Imagine you have a 15-year-old who needs an excuse for falling behind in English. Let it rip.”
http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/excuses-excuses-an-excerpt-from-teacher-man/article156072.html - Thanks Yan!
Update 7/26/09 - As promised in the previous post in the Squirrel Underpants saga, the best reply to the original letter by Deborah & Wayne wins a free novelty ice tray from the NeatoShop. Congratulations to lunarmagpie who wrote the eloquent reply!
... and we have a reply from Deborah & Wayne:
To the several it apparently concerns:
Thank you to everyone for the helpful suggestions. We are grateful for the attention our order has received from your diligent staff.
We have taken many of the suggestions under advisement, and all of the lab technicians here at the sartorial squirrel division of dressyourrodentforsuccess.com have been busy testing the results. Our first test employed the suggestion of flipping the urination flap to the rear and threading the tail through the hole. This solution was found to be acceptable by 51% of the squirrel population, who are accustomed to removing their underwear and sitting to urinate. The remaining 49% found it emasculating to have to pull the underpants off and “pee like a girl.” In addition, there were complaints that we think had something to do with nuts, but these were hard to decipher due to the strange high pitch in which they were uttered. Chafing was reported in a mere 13.3% of the sample, while wedgies were a very deep concern in an alarming 67% of cases. Discomfort aside, squirrels are, as you know, a vain bunch, and the top complaint, affecting 100% of study participants, was the unattractive mark left by the elastic waistband on their pinned tails, likened by the males to the marks that remained on their ankles when they removed their socks, and referred to by females as a “Barbie dent” when a ponytail holder is removed from one’s hair.
We have concluded that the variability of tail set could be easily accommodated with a vertical button-hole slit.
We are happy to report that only one squirrel was harmed during the testing; fortunately, we always have our “guinea pigs” sign consent forms in advance.
Rabbits, rats and mice showed similar results to squirrels in preliminary tests. Unfortunately, due to the rarity of prairie dogs in our region, they can be quite picky about what sort of employment they accept, and will only do runway or print work for our brochures. Not one has been willing to be a fit-model under laboratory conditions.
Just as we began the ferret phase of our trials, there was an incident that necessitated summoning the assistance of the fire department. After they arrived and employed the “jaws of life” (which, given all the frantic flailing could easily have become the jaws of death) the ferret was freed, but all of the pieces of the underpants, sadly, cannot be put back together again, as the horses and men of this town are all thumbs.
Of course, we realize that we have voided our warranty by using the underpants on rodents of the non-squirrel variety, and thus have left ourselves without recourse other than to appeal to your sense of honor and respect for our common cause.
We understand the expense that would be involved in a recall of this magnitude; therefore, our suggestion is that you add the rear-view image to the product page so that others may see the sans-tail-holed squirrel underpants for themselves and make a fully informed choice. However, we must say that at the sale price, these are an exceptionally good deal for defective squirrel pants. Will you be coming out with anything specifically designed for the ladies, or for couples? We suggest something edible. Please do keep us apprised of the developments, and of course, we would be happy to work with you on the designs as per our availability. We are very busy during this time of year, as you may be aware that we are the only facility of our kind outside of Beatrix Labs in Cumbria, England.
To those who have called our sanity or treatment of squirrels into question, we know not what reassurances we can offer if our first letter did not convince you of our sincere effort and devotion in the cause of anthropomorphizing little furry animals for human entertainment. Belittling our work is offensive to our illustrious clientele, who range from the multinational dresslikeyourpet.org and Pet-e-Coats inc. to mom and pop operations such as piratepets.biz.
Best Wishes,
Deborah and Wayne
Photo: Law Offices of Nick Pacheco
Gang member Richard Rodriguez fled on foot after a car chase, surrendered and subsequently got himself kicked in the head by an El Monte police officer (Don't remember this? LAist blog has the video clip). And now, he's suing for $5 million.
To better his chances in court, Richard's lawyer Nick Pacheco will perform what we'll call a "Gangbanger's Extreme Makeover":
... the attorney said his heavily tattooed client will be getting an extreme makeover in time for a trial, complete with a thick Tom Selleck mustache -- think "Magnum P.I." -- to cover the name of his street gang, which is inked on his upper lip. Richard Rodriguez will also grow hair to cover the tattoos on his shaved head. And he'll wear a nice, conservative suit. [...]
In the booking photo, Rodriguez's head is shaved, and the name of his gang hangs over his lip. Tattoos climb his neck. In the "after" rendition, he's wearing a black suit with a metallic gray tie, neatly combed hair and a lush mustache.
"People get past looks when you put on a suit and your hair is grown," Pacheco said.
The next time you open a bottle of beer, don't just chug the brew - take a look at the logo on the label. Ever wonder who St. Pauli Girl actually is? Or why there's the mysterious number "33" on Rolling Rock beer bottles? Read on. Neatorama takes a look at the Stories Behind 7 Famous Beer Logos:
St. Pauli Girl: Probably Not Just a Waitress
Photo: safoocat
[Flickr]
What's not to like about the St. Pauli Girl? She's blonde, big bosomed, and brings us big frothy mugs of beer! But what most people don't realize is that she's not exactly just a waitress. Yep, St. Pauli is the famous red light district of Hamburg, Germany.
In 1977, St. Pauli Girl Beer started to choose a spokesmodel to represent the beer brand and appear on the popular St. Pauli Girl poster. In 1999, they started using Playboy magazine playmates as the girl (the 2008 St. Pauli Girl is Irina Voronina). Here's the gallery of St. Pauli Girls from 1977 to 2007: http://www.stpauligirl.com/pastgirls.php
Pabst Blue Ribbon
This one's pretty straightforward. PBR was originally named Best Select, then Pabst Select and finally Pabst Blue Ribbon, named because the practice of tying blue ribbons around the beer bottleneck from 1882 until 1916.
Pabst advertisement from 1911 (Source)
Rolling Rock 33
The mysterious '33' has been on the label of Rolling Rock since the Latrobe Brewing Company brewed its first batch in 1939, but what does it actually stand for? Theories about the origin of the cryptic '33', some undoubtedly hatched in bar arguments, range from the year 1933 (the year Prohibition was repealed), how many steps it took to walk from the brewmaster's office to the brewing floor, the number of the racing horse on the label, and even the highest level of Freemasonry (33rd degree).
According to James Tito, the former CEO of Latrobe Brewing, the number '33' may actually be an accident. When the founders of the company came up with the slogan
Rolling Rock - From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you.
someone wrote '33' at the end to indicate the number of words, but the bottle printer mistakenly incorporated it into the label graphic. They decided to keep the 33 instead of having to scrap and replace the bottles. Even though the slogan had been changed several times in the history of Rolling Rock, the company had made sure to use the same number of words. (Source - see argument against this reasoning within)
(Image: Gravy Bread)
Heineken: the Friendly 'e'
The logo of Heineken is rather simple: it consists of the five-pointed red star and the word "Heineken" in green, but there's something remarkable about it: Alfred Henry (Freddy) Heineken, the grandson of the founder of the company, Gerard Heineken, helped develop the company's own typeface (common today, but rare back then). He insisted that the 'e' in the logo should look friendlier. Indeed, the three letters 'e' in the logo are slightly tilted backwards to make it seem that they are smiling.
Guinness: Harp of Brian Boru
Arthur Guinness brewed his first stout in 1759, it took Guinness over 100 years later to select its logo - the harp of Brian Boru - a gaelic harp in Ireland's heraldic emblem and a symbol of Irish unity, not to mention the Euro coin. By the way, Ireland is the only country in the world with a musical instrument as a national emblem.
Brian Boru was the king of Ireland that ruled from 1002 to 1014 and protected and/or freed - depending on who you ask - the Irish people from the Vikings. The harp named after him, however, was actually much, much older. According to Celtic myth, the gaelic harp was owned by the Dagda, a king/god/father-figure, that can summon the seasons.
There's actually a real instrument named the harp of Brian Boru. It's one of three surviving medieval harps dating from the 14th or 15th century and is on display at Trinity College Dublin.
By the way, if you are named O'Brien or O'Brian, then you're a descendant of King Brian Boru - so a toast (Guinness, of course) is in order!
Stella Artois: the Horn
Stella Artois was launched as a Christmas beer in 1926 - its name is a combination of the latin word for "star" and Sebastian Artois, a brewmaster in the Den Hoorn Brewery (founded 1366) in Louvain, Belgium.
The logo of Stella Artois beer reflects the beer's origin - Den Hoorn is Dutch for "The Horn," and the now-defunct brewery lives on as the horn prominently displayed on the top of the label of every bottle of Stella Artois beer. The fancy frame around the name is also in the style of Flemish architecture in the city.
Bass Red Triangle
(L) Bass & Co's Pale Ale, the very first trademark registered in the
UK (1876) at the Intellectual
Property Office; (R) current logo
Bass Pale Ale's Red Triangle logo may be simple, but it's pretty darned special: it's the very first trademark registered in Britain. When trademark registration law took effect on January 1, 1876, a Bass employee was sent to wait overnight outside the registrar's office in order to be the first in line to register a trademark the next morning. Bass & Co. Brewery got the first two trademarks, the first being the Bass Red Triangle for their pale ale and the second the Bass Red Diamond for their strong ale.
Bass is also the most frequently featured beer in fine arts. Bottles of Bass beer can be seen in Manet's 1882 painting Bar at the Folies-Bergère.
Bar in den Folies-Bergère by Edouard Manet (1882)
Bonus: Old Milwaukee's Swedish Bikini Team
Okay, so this isn't exactly about beer logos - but brewers often advertise their beers in outrageous manners, and there's nothing quite as outrageous as the notorious Old Milwaukee's Swedish Bikini Team:
Ironically, there's nothing Swedish about the Swedish Bikini Team - the women were all played by American actresses wearing platinum blonde wigs!
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Obviously we haven't talked about many other beer logos. So if your favorite beer isn't listed here, why not tell us all about it in the comment section?
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If you like the article above, take a look at the rest of Neatorama's Logo series:
- Evolution
of Tech Logos
- Evolution
of Car Logos
- Stories
Behind 10 Famous Food Logos
- Stories
Behind Hollywood Studio Logos
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