When Victoria's Secret model Karolina Kurkova walked down the catwalk, people started wondering: where is her bellybutton?

The newspapers call it the "riddle of the £2.5m beauty". The beauty in question is Czech supermodel Karolina Kurkova. The riddle is her non-existent belly button.

Its absence was noticed this week when the 24-year-old graced a US catwalk for lingerie giant Victoria Secret. While most of us have an "outie" or an "innie", Ms Kurkova has a smooth indentation (although sometimes a tummy button is airbrushed onto her photos in post-production).

Otherwise known as a navel, the belly button is the rounded, knotty depression in the centre of the abdomen caused by the detachment of the umbilical cord that fed you while in the womb. We all have umbilical cords, so why don't we all have a belly button?

Ms Kurkova has not spoken publicly about how she came to have a smooth navel, and all her agent will say is "she's not an alien".

Link

If you're missing a bellybutton, fear not: cosmetic surgery can help! Here's what Urlesque blog found out about umbilicoplasty, the surgery to reconstruct a bellybutton: Link (with photo of a guys' newly constructed ... and hairy bellybutton - you've been warned!)

Now *this* is the way to learn math: Behold the Chocolate Pie Chart by Mary& Matt. 70% milk + 20% dark + 10% white chocolate = 100% chocolaty goodness!

Link - via Swissmiss

Digital illustration by Brian Goggin

Artists Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn are collaborating to create an art installation called "Language of the Birds," opening next week in San Francisco. The sculpture is an "illuminated flock of twenty three translucent, suspended open books with bindings positioned as if they are the wings of birds in flight. These books will appear to be taking off and flying above the plaza."

It seems like a fantastic idea! Can't wait to see the thing in action (well, on YouTube perhaps, because I live far far away from San Francisco now ...) http://www.metaphorm.org/pages/portfolio/LanguageBirds.html - via Laughing Squid

Woodland Scene (2006)

Castle on the Hill (2007)

Belgian artist Magdalena Bors' artworks depict a fairy tale scene woven directly out of common household things. Check out her website for more: Link - via Notcot

Bald? That's not a problem with this "flair hair" visor from Kotula's:

We all have "bad hair" days; some of us have "no hair" days. When you need to cover your dome, you’ll want something that does the job, something that adds a little fun, a little flair; your very own FlairHair visor. This cool little item will keep you covered and its built-in visor will protect your eyes from the sun, all while giving you a distinctive, 1970s, Bjorn Borg-at-Wimbledon look. Adjustable visor features hook-and-loop enclosure. Meeting with the queen not included.

http://www.kotulas.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&productId=10802 - via Museum of Hoaxes

Japanese publishing company Jiyu Kokuminsha released its annual list of 60 most popular Japanese words and phrases of 2008 - and thanks to Pink Tentacle blog, we can all read about them in English ;)

For example:

9. Hime-den: This abbreviation of hime-denwa (lit. “princess phone”) describes a garish style of mobile phone decoration popular with junior high and high school girls. Hime-den are typically decorated with glitter, fake jewels, ribbons, lace, and little teddy bears.

19. “The Homeless Junior High School Student” (homuresu chugakusei/kaisan): “The Homeless Junior High School Student” is a best-selling memoir by comedian Hiroshi Tamura, who became homeless as a 10-year-old after the death of his mother and the break-up of his family. Some of the hardships Tamura recounts include spending nights in public parks and eating cardboard and grass to survive. The book sold over 1 million copies within two months of its release, making it the fastest selling non-fiction book on record in Japan. The story was adapted to the screen this year as “Homeless Chugakusei” (”The Homeless Student”).

23. “It’s all good.” (kore de ii no da): In the eulogy, Tamori also borrowed a phrase used frequently by a character in Akatsuka’s Tensai Bakabon manga series, when he said: “Your liberating ideas helped us accept and affirm the way things really are. That is, you taught us, ‘It’s all good.’”

41. Manager in name only (nabakari kanrishoku): “Managers in name only” are company employees who put in lots of overtime but do not get paid for their extra work because they are called “managers,” even though in fact they have no administrative authority. One of these “managers in name only” at the McDonald’s fast-food chain filed a lawsuit against the company for unfair labor practices. In January, the Tokyo District Court ruled in his favor, ordering McDonald’s to pay its outlet “managers” for overtime because they are given no administrative authority. (The law is designed so that companies in Japan do not have to pay overtime to real managers with actual administrative authority.)

If you're a Japanophile, this one you definitely have to see: Link

At the grand old age of 90, Lonesome George, a giant tortoise from the Galapagos Islands, suddenly got interested in the opposite sex:

A Pinta Island tortoise, George had showed little interest in sex during 36 years in captivity. At 90, George is in his sexual prime and his low libido even raised tabloid-like rumors the 198 pounds (90 kilograms) creature preferred other males. After trying almost everything from artificial insemination to having George watch younger males mate, his keepers had nearly lost hope. But his new-found libido has raised hopes he could save his subspecies from extinction.

Link

James Bond's gadgets had captivated moviegoers for a looong time! Here's a 1966 article from Popular Science detailing some of the gadgets featured in 007's Thunderball:

Because their success has spawned so many imitators, the Bond producers now have to reach for some pretty spectacular devices to keep Bondophiles on the edge of their seats. So they’ve invested about $500,- 000 for the zany gadgets in the newest 007 thriller, Thunderball, starring Sean Connery.

Most of the infernal devices never existed in the original Ian Fleming stories. “Our only excuse for using them” says screenwriter Richard Maibaum, “is that such devices are available and cry out to be buckled onto James Bond’s back.”

Some of the gadgets actually are buckled onto Connery’s famous back. One is the Bell jet-pack flying belt Bond uses in the beginning of the film to escape from a French chateau. Connery has to wear a special Dacron suit whose color won’t bleach out when touched by the belt’s highly concentrated peroxide fuel. The belt provides about 20 seconds of flight, but only 10 seconds is used for the upward flight. It would be disastrous to run out of power a couple of hundred feet up in the air.

Thunderbolts prize piece of gatgetry is a $300,000. 64-foot hydrofoil yacht. It belongs to 007’s enemies—SPECTRE—a sinister gang of international criminals that has hijacked two H-bombs from NATO. They’re holding the bombs for $300 million in ransom. If the Allies don’t pay off, SPECTRE threatens to wipe out two Western cities.

SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion) is led by Emilio Largo from the hydrofoil floating fortress called the Disco Volante.

Ah, the Disco Volante! I had forgotten about that ... Link

All right, all you guessing experts - here's this week's collaboration What is it? blog: can you guess what this strange object is (and don't say trumpet, cuz it's not!)

Place your guess in the comment section - no prize this week so you're playing for bragging rights only.

For more clues, check out the What is it? blog. Good luck!

A house jack, primarily used for leveling houses and barns, these were also used for lifting vehicles and machinery.

Rare, Medium and Well Done Books is an "awesomely unorganized bookstore" in Lincoln Park, Chicago. If I'm ever in the Windy City, this will definitely be a place to visit.

A fantastic photo by Doug Oldham [photo.net]

Photo: deeeeaaaan [Flickr]

It looks either like a fire death trap or a treasure trove of a bookstore with a great sense of humor ...

With apologies to Johannes Vermeer. If you don't get this, then count yourself lucky because you're obviously not a nerdy geek ;) That is all. Move along.

Miss Cellania has the classic "a whole bunch of scientists walk into a bar ..." post. It's an oldie but goodie, and I couldn't help but laugh at some of them. For example:

Rene Descartes was sitting at a bar. The bartender came over and asked if he would like another drink. He replied, "I think not." And he vanished.

Heisenburg was also sitting at the bar. After Descartes vanished in a puff of smoke, the bartender walked over to him and asked, "Did you see that?"

To which Heisenberg replied, "I can't be certain."

The bartender then noticed Einstein was there. So he asked him if he could believe what had happened. Einstein replied, "It's all relative."

Then the bartender noticed that Carl Sagan was there. He walked over to him and asked, "Can you believe that all these famous people are here in THIS bar?"

Sagan replied, "No. Why, there must be BILLIONS and BILLIONS of bars out there."

Read the rest here: Link

We've blogged about Dean T. Fraser's blog, Springfield Punx, where he draws characters in the style of The Simpsons ("Simpsonized," I suppose).

Here's a new one that I just couldn't pass up: Rick Astley Simpsonized! Link - via Super Punch

Previously on Neatorama: 10 Neat Facts About Rick Astley

All right, if that's not your thing, how about a poster of the Springfield Punx characters that have graced the blog?

Gasp - these are wonderful ... in a geeky way: behold the Star Trek: The Next Generation light-switch or power-outlet cover plates, perfect
for the Trekker in all of us (these are made by Eugene Roddenberry, son of the Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry)

Link - via GeekAlerts

This would be perfect in the Star Trek House

When times are bad, lots of people go to the movies to escape their troubles. But you're having a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day, there are a few movies that will make you think that your life isn't really all that bad.

Always Watching blog got a list of 8 of such movies. For example:

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

His problem: Suffered an unpredicted stroke, resulting in complete paralysis except for his left eye, and died two years later.

Your problem: Alone on Valentine’s Day.

By all accounts, French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby led a pretty great life. He had found success and fame as the editor of Elle magazine, was a father to two kids, and certainly wasn’t lacking in female companionship. Wealth, family and romance – the rest of us could only be so lucky. But on December 8th, 1995, Jean-Do had a debilitating stroke, leaving him with someone called “locked in syndrome.” Paralyzed everywhere except for his left eye, he could still see and hear but was totally unable to reply to his surroundings in any way.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a very subdued film about hope and inspiration, in that it doesn’t go for the typical “do your best!” platitudes, but instead subjects you to very difficult circumstances and allows the main character to accomplish incredible things in them. The movie is shot primarily in first person, which does a superb job at making you feel really fucking frustrated for Jean-Do as he lolls around without an ounce of control of his own body. The aforementioned inspiration comes from that, even in this state, he managed to write a book by blinking it out one letter at a time. And now he’s got a pretty damn good film about him, too. Kind of makes you feel unaccomplished, huh?

http://www.alwayswatching.org/features/8-eye-opening-movies-remind-you-your-life-isnt-so-bad