Because many people wait until Halloween is only a few days away to buy candy so they aren’t tempted to snack on it before the trick or treaters arrive, I assume many of you still haven’t hit the stores to stock up on sweets. If you’re looking to get candy that fits the gross and creepy mood of the holiday, then you’ll be happy to hear that I collected some great ideas to disgust your ghoulish guests. If you already have candy or don’t get any trick or treaters, then you can still read about these abhorrent candies and wonder about the sick minds that come up with this stuff.

Harry Potter Cockroach Clusters

You’ve probably all seen the Harry Potter jelly beans with such delightful flavors as earwax, pepper and vomit, but these cockroach clusters are equally disgusting although less popular. Like a real cockroach, they have a squishy center with a crunchy shell. Fortunately, these candy versions have a gummy underbelly with a crunchy candy shell on top.

Hotlix Suckers

If fake cockroaches don’t do it for you, perhaps real bugs will. Whether you like worms, crickets, ants or scorpions, Hotlix sells a variety of bugs sealed in a lollipop. All of them are entirely edible and utterly icky.

Image via Erin_M [Flickr]

Fear Factor Candy

With all the nauseating eating challenges in Fear Factor, it’s only sensible that the show spawned its own line of revolting treats. While there are way too many products to list here, some highlights include slimy gummy octopuses in syrupy goo and gummy frog legs with crunchy bones that come with a blood dipping sauce.

October 27 marks the 152 birthday of one of our nation’s most memorable presidents and one of my personal heroes, Theodore Roosevelt. The twenty sixth president of the United States isn’t just a favorite of historians and scholars, but he’s also popular among the masses, constantly rated as one of America’s greatest presidents (or, in the words of Cracked, “The Most Badass President”). To celebrate one of the country’s most beloved leaders, it’s only fitting to take a look back at his life and learn what exactly made him so popular.

A Difficult Childhood:

While most people know Roosevelt was an avid sportsman with an outgoing personality, he wasn’t always like that. As a child, he was asthmatic and constantly sick. Much of his childhood was spent propped up in bed or slumped over in a chair. He was also rather shy and spent much of his time reading rather than engaging with others his age. As a result, he ended up being incredibly brilliant and well-read and was known to read several books a day throughout his presidency. In fact, he and Thomas Jefferson are considered to be the two most well-read presidents ever. Roosevelt wrote 18 books as well as numerous articles throughout his lifetime. Despite his sickliness, he developed a deep interest in zoology at only seven years old when he saw a dead seal at a local market. He immediately set about learning taxidermy and created a “Roosevelt Museum of Natural History” at home with two of his cousins.

The supposed museum featured a number of animals he caught, killed and stuffed. By age nine, he used his observations to write a paper entitled “The Natural History of Insects.” As his health started to improve a little, his father started encouraging Theodore to take up exercise to improve his overall well-being. As a result, Roosevelt started taking boxing lessons, which became a lifelong interest, although he had to give up the sport during his presidency when a blow detached his left retina and left him blind in that eye.

A True Romantic:

While many presidents are known for their playboy behaviors, Roosevelt seemed entirely dedicated to his two wives. His first wife, Alice, died two days after giving birth to their child. Theodore also lost his mother that same day and he wrote about the events in his diary by simply stating “the light has gone out of my life." Throughout the rest of his life, Roosevelt refused to talk about Alice, leaving her out of his biography and ignoring his daughter’s inquiries to learn more about her mother. While you’ve probably heard Roosevelt called “Teddy”, it was actually a name he loathed throughout most of his life because it was Alice’s nickname for him. Throughout his presidency, those close to him always called him by his military rank or his full name –although the press insisted on calling him Teddy throughout his lifetime.

His First Rise And Fall:

In 1880, Roosevelt graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard and began attending Columbia Law School, but he dropped out a year later when he had the chance to run for New York Assemblyman. He won and served as the youngest member of the Assembly. In 2008, the school awarded him a posthumous law degree. During his years in the Assembly, Roosevelt was a dedicated activist, writing more bills than any other legislator in the state. Unfortunately, his first attempt at a political career turned sour when he became disenchanted with the results of the Republican National Convention in 1884. He soon announced his retirement from politics and then moved to the Badlands of the Dakota Territory.

The Cowboy of the Dakotas:

While living out west, Roosevelt served as deputy sheriff and wrote about his frontier life for magazines back east. He learned to raise cattle, ride horses and hunt down outlaws. While he loved his time in the Badlands, he gave up his cowboy life after the severe winter of 1886 wiped out his entire herd of cattle. He returned to his home in New York, where he lived throughout the rest of his life (with the exception of his time in office). Upon his return, he attempted to get back into politics, running for Mayor of New York City with the title of “The Cowboy of the Dakotas,” but he lost.

Cleaning Up The Streets (And The Offices):

Prior to the 1888 presidential election, Roosevelt traveled the Midwest and avidly campaigned for Benjamin Harrison. After Harrison’s inauguration, he appointed Roosevelt to the U.S. Civil Service Commission where Theodore served until 1895, fighting the corrupt spoils system that was in place at the time. In 1895, he left his position in the Civil Service Commission to serve as the president of the New York City Police Commissioners board. Rather than just work on fighting crime in the streets, Roosevelt cleaned up the department itself and radically changed the way the department ran. When he entered the office, the NYC force was one of the most corrupt in the nation, but Roosevelt soon established new rules, standardized the use of pistols by officers, established meritorious service medals and introduced annual physical exams to the force. He also created a bicycle squad to help deal with traffic problems in the city.

Rough Riding Ahead:

Roosevelt left his commissioner position when he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by William McKinley in 1897. Despite the fact that he had never served in the Navy, Roosevelt displayed unique qualifications due to his groundbreaking study of the U.S. and British roles in the War of 1812 that was published after he left Harvard. Unlike other studies of the war, his book was unbiased and looked at specific facts of the naval strategies involved. The book was so well-written that it is even considered applicable today and is still in publication. Because the Secretary of the Navy was largely inactive, his assistant Roosevelt was able to take full control of the department, where he played a critical role in preparing the Navy for the Spanish-American War. As soon as war broke out though, he resigned and formed the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, although you probably know this group by the name used by the press, the “Rough Riders.”

Interestingly, Roosevelt was the only Rough Rider that actually had a horse, as the rest of the horses were left behind due to limited access to transport ships. Theodore was originally given command of the regiment and promoted to Colonel, where he would ride back and forth between two fronts of the force to pass along news and orders. At one point during the war, Roosevelt and other officers sent a number of letters demanding they be returned home and these letters were leaked to the press.  Many, including Roosevelt himself, believe this is why he was denied a Medal of Honor. He was posthumously awarded the medal in 2001. In 1944, his son was also posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions in WWII, making them one of only two father and son duos to share the honor. Roosevelt is also the only American president to have won a Medal of Honor.

Governor and Vice President:

Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1898. True to form, he worked to eliminate corruption and nepotism during his term. He also helped end segregation in the state schools during his office. He made such a strong impression that he was forced upon McKinley as a vice presidential candidate in 1900. He was a strong asset for the president, who won by a landslide. While giving a speech at the Minnesota State Fair in 1901, he first used his soon-to-be-trademark saying, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

Carrying On While Making Changes:

When McKinley was shot and killed by a crazed anarchist, Roosevelt became the youngest president in U.S. history at only 42.While he was known for being incredibly progressive, he did promise to continue McKinley’s policies and he also kept his cabinet in place. One of his first notable presidential acts was to deliver a 20,000 word speech to congress asking for control of monopolies and trusts. Roosevelt stayed dedicated to labor rights and curbing the power of big business throughout his presidency. McKinley was known for effectively rallying the press and Roosevelt took advantage of this by providing regular interviews and photo opportunities to keep the White House in the news.

He also helped establish the first presidential press briefing when he noticed the reporters huddled in the cold one day and opted to give them their own dedicated room inside the White House. Roosevelt was an incredibly active and effective president, maintaining his exercise throughout his presidency while still reading multiple books every day and fighting for progressive legislation. In fact, he was said to be able to dictate letters to one secretary while giving memoranda to another, all while reading. During a hunting trip in 1902, Roosevelt ordered the mercy killing of a wounded black bear and when a cartoonist illustrated the president with a bear, a toymaker asked him if he could use the name on a stuffed toy…thus the teddy bear was born.

Some of Roosevelt's most important contributions to our society though were his passing of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act, which helped curbed the sickening state of the meat packing industry detailed in Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and prevented drugs and food from being falsely labeled or impure. The president also helped negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War and was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize as a result. This made Roosevelt the only person in history to win a country’s highest military honor along with a Nobel Peace Prize.

Roosevelt is also largely remembered for his role in establishing the National Park System. During his presidency, he established 150 national forests, 5 national parks and 18 national monuments. All in all, he helped conserve 230 million acres of land. While he was a wildly successful president, he opted to give his support to William Taft for the election in 1908, rather than running for a third time.

Safari Time:

After Taft was inaugurated, Roosevelt went on safari in Africa on an expedition in an attempt to collect specimens for the Smithsonian Institution and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. He and his companions killed and trapped over 11,000 animals ranging from insects to elephants. The number of animals shipped back to Washington was so massive that after years of mounting, the Smithsonian opted to send a number of duplicate specimens to other museums.

Dividing The Party:

Upon returning home, he soon became disillusioned with Taft and his policies and in 1911, he announced his intention of running for president in the next election. Unfortunately, Taft had already been campaigning and had garnered the support of many of the party leaders. Because most states still used caucuses instead of primaries to select candidates, Taft was given the Republican nomination despite the fact that Roosevelt had more pull with the public. So Roosevelt and his followers had to start out with a new party, The Progressive Party, that was commonly referred to as the “Bull Moose” party. Roosevelt’s platform was based on the politics of his presidency, namely fighting greedy corporations in the name of the little man.

During one speech, he explained, "'This country belongs to the people. Its resources, its business, its laws, its institutions, should be utilized, maintained, or altered in whatever manner will best promote the general interest.” During a Milwaukee stop in his campaign, a saloon keeper shot Roosevelt in the chest, but his steel eyeglass case and 50 page speech slowed the bullet enough that it did not penetrate his lungs. Roosevelt still gave his speech, which took a full 90 minutes, before agreeing to go to the hospital. He even laughed off the assassination attempt by starting his speech saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”

At the hospital, doctors decided that it would be more dangerous to remove the bullet than to leave it there, so Roosevelt carried it with him for the rest of his life. Roosevelt’s split with the republican party is often cited as one of the critical reasons America remains dedicated to a two party system. Given that he won 27% of the popular vote and Taft won 23%, the Republicans would have undoubtedly beat Wilson, who received 42% of the vote, if they had just unified under one candidate.

The Beginning of The End:

After losing the election, Roosevelt embarked on a trip to South America with his son and a Brazilian explorer. The team decided to find the headwaters of the River of Doubt and then trace it to the Madeira and the Amazon. No one had ever taken on such an ambitious expedition and it ended up an exceptionally dangerous trip, particularly to Theodore, who contracted malaria and a major infection in a minor leg wound. At one point, he had to be attended to day and night by the team’s physician and he could no longer walk. He eventually told the rest of the party to leave him and complete the expedition so he would not exhaust their already low supplies. Only his son was able to convince him to continue.

Upon returning home, critics questioned the expedition’s ability to navigate the entire 625 miles of uncharted river that made up the River of Doubt. However Roosevelt was able to satisfactorily convince the National Geographic Society and others of his claims. Later on, the river was renamed after him, the Rio Roosevelt. Roosevelt noted the trip cut his life short by ten years. And as it turns out, he may have been right. He was plagued by malaria flare-ups and later had to get surgery in his leg to treat the infection. To add to matters, his youngest son, Quentin was later shot down behind enemy lines in WWI a few years later. This devastated him and many claim he never recovered from the loss.

Goodbye Mr. President:

Roosevelt died from a heart attack during his sleep on January 6, 1919. At the time, Vice President Thomas R. Marshall proclaimed, "Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight."

A Series of Notable Firsts:

If you can’t already figure out why Roosevelt was such an important figure in American history, then perhaps you should take these important firsts into account:

• Roosevelt was the first president to invite an African American to dinner. On October 16, 1901, he and Booker T. Washington discussed politics and racism over dinner.


• He was also the first president to appoint a Jewish person, Oscar, S. Strauss, to his cabinet.


• In 1902, Roosevelt was the first president to be seen in an automobile in public. He rode in a Columbia Electric Victoria Phaeton surrounded by a squad of bicycle cops.


• After his return from South America, Roosevelt was a major proponent of the Scouting movement and he was named the first (and only) Chief Scout Citizen by the Boy Scouts of America.

Obviously, I have a mini crush on Roosevelt, but I’m curious to know what you all think about him? In your opinion, is he good, bad, overrated? Let’s talk about it!

Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2, PBS, American Chronicle

This Halloween, Neatorama’s already given you costume ideas and spooky food inspirations, so now it’s time to think about your home decoration. Whether you’re planning to decorate for a killer Halloween party or just want to impress the local trick and treaters, these cool geektastic decoration ideas are sure to impress.

Because pumpkins are one of the most critical elements of Halloween decorations and because there are about a billion pumpkin galleries online, the first half of our decoration ideas focus exclusively on Jack-O-lanterns. If you’ve already got your carving planned or are sick of looking at orange sculptures, then feel free to skip further down.

LED Lights:

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When you want to do something more techy, try making your own LED pumpkin with an artificial pumpkin wired with lights and controlled externally so you can change the expression at will.

Dark detecting:

To take LED lights to a new level, you can always try installing circuitry that will tell your pumpkin to turn on when it is dark. While I haven’t seen this done, I think a motion detecting light would also be pretty awesome. Any readers want to give it a shot?

Snap-o-lantern:

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When you want to go a step beyond LED lights, try buying a mini-pumpkin and engineering it to snap its mouth at passers by. This is also a good decoration for your cubicle since it doesn’t take up much space but is sure to get a lot of attention.

Robo:

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While there are plenty of pumpkins that look like robots, this is the only one I have seen so far that actually is a robot.

Steampunk:

I know you Neatonauts are torn on the whole steampunk thing, but those who do like the art form are sure to appreciate this awesome steampunk pumpkin.

Still looking for the perfect Halloween costume that really expresses your interests? Well, if you’re looking for something nerdy, geeky or dorky, we’ve got you covered with this ultimate guide to geeky Halloween costumes.

Best Costume Based Around A Wheelchair: Darth Vader Tie Fighter

If you thought wheelchair-bound people couldn’t have any fun on Halloween, think again. This tie fighter costume takes advantage of the chair and incorporates it into an undeniably cool Star Wars costume.

Best Geeky Pregnancy Costume: Darth Vader With Death Star

The Darth Vader with his Death Star costume might not be the most elaborate Star Wars costume, but it makes up for lack of complexity with comfort and the use of the baby bump to fill in the Death Star is just brilliant.

Best Utterly Insane Star Wars Costume: Luke Skywalker on A Tauntaun

We’ve all seen our share of hokey, horse-riding costumes, but using expansion foam to construct an incredibly realistic looking tauntaun with Luke Skywalker on top is a whole different story.

Best Transformers Costume: Transforming Transformer

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There are tons of Transformers costumes out there and while most of them are pretty cool, few of them look so convincing when transformed into a car.

Best Pet Costume Made From Trash: Cardboard U.S.S. Enterprise

If you’re looking to ramp up for Halloween by watching some horror flicks, you could go the typical route of Friday the 13^th and Nightmare on Elm Street marathons, but if you’re really looking for a spooky movie fest, why not go the extra mile?

The films on this list are all so violent and so offensive that they have been subject to protests, boycotts or censorship and many have even been banned in a few countries. While many of these are lesser known and hard to find, some of the big name controversial movies may surprise you. Because offensiveness and scariness are so subjective,  these are presented in order of release date.  

Warning: this post contains video clips that may be disturbing to some viewers, as they are from intentionally disturbing films.

The Last House on the Left (1972)

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This movie was the directorial debut of Wes Craven and depicted two teenage girls who are kidnapped by escaped convicts on their way to a rock concert. They are then sadistically tortured, raped and eventually murdered. By using a grainy, hand-held 16 mm camera, Craven’s picture seemed all too real to many movie viewers. He tried to defend the violence by saying it was "a reaction on my part to the violence around us, specifically to the Vietnam War." Craven’s excuses didn’t do much to quell the controversy and the movie was censored in many countries, particularly the U.K., where it was banned for seventeen years and remained subject to censorship until 2008.

The Exorcist (1973)

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You probably already know this is a darn creepy movie, but you may not know that it was so shocking to movie goers that many viewers were subject to nausea, convulsions, fainting and shocking displays of anger –one viewer in San Francisco attacked the movie screen, attempting to kill the demon. Paramedics began to be called to the screenings and it wasn’t long before picketers started showing up at the theaters. The film was even banned on video for 14 years in the U.K.

After the film was released, there was a major increase in requests for priests to perform exorcisms and a drastic rise in alleged spiritual possessions and psychoses by people claiming to be possessed. Taking advantage of the hysteria, Reverend Billy Graham  claimed he "felt the power of evil buried within the celluloid of the film itself."

If you’re throwing a Halloween party this month, don’t let it be a regular old costume party. Instead, spice things up by adding some of these Halloween-themed recipes into the mix. Whether you opt to have a full dinner party or just have a few spooky beverages and snacks, these creepy cocktails and frightful foods are sure to set the perfect mood.

Drinks

Every party has to have drinks and here are a few perfect brews for O Hallows’ Eve, including one virgin punch that is perfect for kid’s parties.



Perhaps the most beautiful Halloween cocktail is this Morphing Martini that changes colors from blue to fuchsia and has an impressive layer of fog over the top thanks to the addition of dry ice.



Alcoholic brain Jell-O is one of my own concoctions that involved the wonderful brain mold from the Neatorama shop. It’s delightfully sweet, looks creepy and the addition of Knox made it sturdy enough that guests were able to take slices from the brain a mess on their hands. If you replace the alcohol with water, this could also be a great kid-friendly dessert.



Swamp Juice is a fun, kid-friendly cocktail made with gummies, tapioca pearls, seltzer water, lemonade and some food coloring. Aside from the spooky look, the strange texture is sure to be a hit with kids too.

Appetizers

If you’re throwing a full dinner party, many of these can be repurposed as side dishes to round out your main course, but these snack-sized treats are also perfect creepy canapés.



While the potential messiness of roast tentacle au jus makes it a little intimidating for a party setting, the pure awesomeness of an alien tentacle complete with bones makes it worth buying a few party plates and forks.

If you thought bloodletting, maggots and leeches were all outdated in our modern world, you were wrong. In fact, they are only a handful of the many bizarro medical treatments that will leave you both disgusted and fascinated with their effectiveness when you read about strange medical treatments that are actually quite useful.

Bloodletting

To be fair, bloodletting is far from a cure-all like medieval doctors believed, but it is still a useful practice in some cases. When someone suffers from excess iron, known as hemochromatosis, bloodletting is an effective means of releasing the built up iron. The treatment is also used to help people who have too many red blood cells in their blood stream, a condition known as polycythemia.

Maggot Therapy

I know most people think the last thing they should ever see at a hospital is a maggot, but they can actually be a quite effective and sanitary way to treat wounds that do not respond to conventional medicinal treatments. The bowfly larvae eat away dead tissue and bacteria, allowing the healthy, living tissue to thrive. "I call them microsurgeons," said Edgar Maeyens, Jr., a doctor in Coos Bay, Oregon, who employs maggot treatment. "They can do what we can't do with scalpels and lasers."

In many cases, the maggots can help treat festering wounds that have been open for weeks, even years, within only a day or two. While the treatment is pretty gross looking, patients rarely feel anything and when they do, it’s generally an itching or tickling sensation and nothing more.

Leech Therapy

Image via OakleyOriginals [Flickr]

What happens when you cross bloodletting and maggot therapy, you get bloodsucking leech therapy. Of course, the leeches aren’t used for everything, including headaches and ear infections, like they were in medieval times; instead they are used to help drain blood from swollen parts of the body after reconstructive surgery. Doctors find they are particularly helpful when the areas contain many blood vessels that can easily clot up, like the ear.

New studies are underway to find the effectiveness of leeches in other treatments, such as the reduction of pain and inflammation of osteoarthritis.

Worm Therapy

Apparently there have been thousands of micro-surgeons swarming the earth before mankind began, we just never had the science to back them up until now. Worm therapy is yet another insect treatment that is quite promising, and incredibly disgusting. The treatment involves the use of a parasitic worm (the type depends on the specific condition) being intentionally released within the patient’s body.

While scientists have still not drawn any firm conclusions as to the effectiveness of this treatment and the reason it seems to work, preliminary studies have been largely favorable in showing the parasites do have a positive effect. The worms have been used in a variety of treatments including celiac disease, Chron’s disease, allergies, asthma, multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis.

Image via AJC1 [Flickr]

Malaria As A Treatment

How did they treat syphilis before antibiotics were discovered? With a little dose of malaria, that’s how. While it sounds crazy, this treatment is relatively effective. The high fever from the malaria kills the syphilis bacteria and malaria can then be treated with quinine.

If you ever find yourself suffering from syphilis and happen to have malaria treatments on hand, but no antibiotics, you can always try this treatment. Otherwise, it has fallen out of favor since we now have safer methods to treat the STD. Even so, it is still used in some parts of the world.

Fecal Bacteroetherapy

Image via psd [Flickr]

If you were grossed out by any of the other treatments so far, then you may want to skip past this probiotic treatment. Fecal bacteroetherapy is exactly what it sounds like, the treatment of certain diseases with fecal mater. It works by transplanting healthy fecal material from a donor and then inserting it anally via enema into the patient. The healthy bacteria from the sample are believed to help restore normality to the patient.

The treatment is considered quite effective for treating severe inflammatory bowel disorder and may be a good alternative treatment for Chron’s disease and a few other conditions.

Smoking Therapy

Image via locator [Flickr]

Smoking is a bad habit in most cases, but people at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s or Parkinson disease may find the benefits to be worth the risks as studies have shown a 50% reduction in these diseases in smokers.

What’s the weirdest treatment you’ve ever undergone?

Source: National Geographic, Live Science, Wikipedia, Neatorama, Health Mad

I think everyone should be generous and help one another as much as possible. To that extent, I’ve always been a big supporter of blood donation. Unfortunately, I’ve found out the hard way that I am one of the handful of people that has adverse reactions to donations and I almost pass out afterward and I find myself weakened for the next few days. Since I can’t donate, I figure I can help motivate the rest of you to help out your fellow man by giving you all the information you’ve ever wanted to know about blood donation.

Basics About Blood

Image via cbmd [Flickr] Human blood is made of four main components, plasma, platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells. The 55% of blood is just plasma, which is mostly water, but also contains proteins, immunoglobulins, vitamins and other substances. Blood makes up 7% of your body weight. All animals have varying numbers of blood types. Cows have a whopping 800 types of blood. Humans have four blood types, A, B, AB, and O and these can be further identified by their RH positive or negative status. Over 70% of Americans are either type O+ or A+. While you probably already know that type O is the universal donor for red blood cells, most people are unaware that plasma transfusions are the exact opposite and people with type AB blood are universal plasma donors.

Types of Donations

Image via Spike55151 [Flickr] When you donate blood, you generally give around one pint of whole blood per donation, which makes up anywhere from a tenth to a twelfth of your body’s total blood. This is why some people (myself included) feel weak after donation, but most people are fine after blood withdrawal. Most people feel fine within a few hours, but it still takes your body up to three days to replace the donated plasma and up to 59 days for you to recover your red blood cells. That’s why you can only donate every few months. While most people donate whole blood, there is another option called Apheresis. When you donate just plasma and platelets, this method is used for withdrawal. Basically, your blood is removed from your arm and then passed through a machine that separates out the contents of your blood. The parts of your blood that are being donated are kept separate and the rest of your blood is returned into your body. In most cases, the red blood cells are returned since these take the longest to regenerate. That’s why platelet and plasma donors can donate every three days. While it takes up to ten units of whole blood to make up one whole dose of platelets for a patient, this method can collect at least one whole dose of platelets with each donation. While blood can be directly transfused from the donor into the patient, this method was largely phased out after WWII and blood donations are usually stored these days. Red blood cells can be stored for up to 42 days and plasma can be stored for a full year. Unfortunately, platelets can only be kept for about a week.

Why Are Blood Banks Always Working?

Image via Nemo's Great Uncle [Flickr] Blood banks are always looking to get more supply, and there are a number of reasons for this. First, a lot of people need blood. In fact, it is estimated that someone in the U.S. needs a transfusion every two seconds and that one in four Americans will need a transfusion at some point in their life. Secondly, because the majority of blood components have short shelf lives, even if there are enough donations to cover immediate needs, banks ideally want to have enough around in case of a national or local emergency. Lastly, restrictions on blood donors mean that only 38% of all Americans can donate blood at any given time, but only 10% of the population donates blood every year.

What Makes Someone Ineligible to Donate?

Image via ec-jpr [Flickr] There are a lot of factors to determine someone’s eligibility to donate blood, including age, health, weight, visits to foreign countries, drug use, sexual history and recent body modifications. Donors may pass the pr-escreening tests and still be found ineligible when their blood is tested prior to transfusion. Some people who are deferred are only asked to wait a while before they attempt to donate, while others are told they can never donate. Most people who are deferred can return after a while and the number one reason for deferments is anemia. The fact that men who have ever had sex with another man are banned from donating for life is a touchy subject in the blood donation world and there are valid arguments on each side of the discussion. Critics of the ban say the decision is based on outdated science and homophobia. They say that because each sample is tested for HIV, the risk is minimal. In 2006, the AABB, the Red Cross and America’s Blood Centers all pushed for a change in the policy, citing a study that suggested that allowing men who have had sex with another man to donate would only result in an additional case of HIV transmission once ever 33 years. They argue that because blood banks are in such desperate need of donations, this risk is worth it. The FDA rejected their proposal, saying the risk was not justified. Those in favor of the ban point out that a study performed in the UK showed that allowing these men to donate would increase the risk of HIV entering the blood stockpiles by 500% and they argue that even if the ban is modeled to only prevent men who have engaged in homosexual activities in the last twelve months, the number would still increase 60%. Critics argue that a gay man in a monogamous relationship carries a much lower risk of HIV than an intravenous drug user who has been clean for a year or a promiscuous straight man, both of who would be eligible to donate. The debate seems likely to continue for years, even if the ban is changed.

Donations and Transfusions in Other Countries

Image via acroamatic [Flickr] If you’ve ever donated blood, you’ll notice that one of the inquiries involves lengthy stays in certain third world countries and the UK. If you ever wondered why the UK would be included in the list, it has to do with an untreatable degenerative brain disease known as Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. It can be passed by blood and the UK has had such a problem with it that they ban recipients of their own country’s blood donations from donating blood. Unfortunately, while verbal tests are performed prior to blood donations in all countries, many third-world countries can’t afford to actually test the blood for diseases such as HIV, syphilis and other dangerous illnesses after it is donated. That is why anyone who has received transplants in these countries cannot donate in the U.S. and many other countries.

Benefits to blood Donors

Image via Christiana Care [Flickr] If you’re one of those people that always wants to know how something will benefit them, there are a few reasons you should donate blood other than the fact that each donation can save up to three lives. First off, some businesses, including all companies in Italy, give you a paid day off for blood donation. Next, the blood centers will often guarantee you transfusion priorities if you are ever in need of blood. If you need something physical to motivate you though, keep in mind that many blood drives include prize drawings for really cool stuff (the Comic Con blood draw contest is awesome) and blood centers often give away free goodies and food. If you know you can pass the screening test and that you have clean blood, please donate blood and help save lives. Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2, WHO, New York Times, Web MD, Rue the Day

With today’s obesity epidemic, scientists are working non-stop to better understand weight gain and how to lose the excess pounds. While losing a lot of weight can be a challenge, recent studies have come up with a number of simple tips and tricks that can help you slim down without putting too much of a cramp in your daily routine.

Drink Tons of Water

Image via gfrphoto [Flickr]

You probably already know that you’re supposed to drink a lot of water if you’re trying to lose weight, but you might not know just how important water intake is to the cause. Simply drinking two glasses of water (around half a liter) prior to meals can make you think you are fuller and reduce your meal portions. Water can also help you digest. In fact, the average woman eats around 2,000 calories a day, but when she consumes water first, that number drops to around 1,200 calories. Similar decreased calorie consumption was seen in men as well.

Drink More Tea

Image via Arun Katiyar [Flickr]

Water’s not the only thing you should be drinking. A Tufts University study has shown that drinking three cups of green tea a day can help you lose twice as much weight as you would otherwise. White tea is also beneficial and a German study found that it can help decrease the number of new fat cells you develop while helping you burn off the existing fat cells in your body.

Cut Out The Corn Syrup

Image via Gezellig-girl.com [Flickr]

Speaking of beverages, if you just have to drink soda, put down your regular Pepsi products and grab some Throwback, which is made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. While both add on calories, a Princeton University study has shown that corn syrup prompts far more weight gain than sugar does. Of course, soda isn’t the only source of high fructose corn syrup. It seems to be in everything these days and it can even be hard to avoid. On a personal note, I can tell you that I cut almost all sources of corn syrup out of my diet and I’ve felt a lot healthier afterwards. Most noticeably, the shaking I get between meals if I wait to long to eat is mostly gone when I don’t have corn syrup for a whole week.

Enjoy a Fattening Breakfast

Image via hurleygurley [Flickr] (BTW, if you want to make your own brain Jell-O, get the mold at the Neatoshop.) Our brains are incredibly complex organs that allow us to comprehend both our surroundings and abstract concepts. Unfortunately, because our minds have to process so much information at once in order to help us understand things, they can also be easily tricked. Here are a number of ways your brain not be as reliable as you like to think.

Memories

We like to think that our memories work as photographs that preserve our pasts, but the reality is that memories change all the time and can be manipulated to change even faster. Image via wallyg [Flickr] Do you recall seeing the video of the first plane hit the World Trade Center on September 11? 73% of people remember seeing the video on that fateful day, but the truth is that the footage of the first plane wasn’t released until the next day. The problem is, according to neuroscientist Karim Nader, that every time you remember something, you change it just a little in your mind. Thus, the more we recall a memory, the more we forget the actual details of the event. In fact, if you make up a lie about something and tell it to yourself often enough, your brain will actually start to remember the fib as the cold hard truth. If that wasn’t bad enough, other people can manipulate your memories just as easily. Remember when the concept of repressed memories came out a few decades ago and everyone started to believe it as absolute truth? As it turns out, repressed memories can be easily implanted in your mind through the power of suggestion. Researcher Elizabeth Loftus told study participants that she was conducting research on childhood memories. She gave them four accounts of stories from their childhood that were written by the relatives. One of the four accounts was a fictional story about being lost in the mall. Loftus then asked them questions about this incident and over a quarter of the volunteers recalled this imaginary event, citing incredible details about the incident. After learning about these two facts, it’s not entirely surprising that repetition of something can lead to our acceptance of the statement as a truth. It’s called the Illusion-of-Truth effect and it means that we start to believe things are true, despite evidence to the contrary, if we just hear about it enough. It’s sort of our brain’s way of saying, “well if everyone else believes this, then I should too.” What’s worse though is that when someone has firmly accepted something this way, it’s nearly impossible to prove the truth to them. Think about a cult that says the world will end on a certain date. When the time comes and goes, the cult members don’t realize they’ve been had and move on with their lives, they start rationalizing it, saying that they changed god’s mind somehow. In many cases, being confronted with the truth will only make the mislead person believe his or her convictions even more strongly. It doesn’t even take manipulation from another person to alter your memories. Your brain can be tricked with a Photoshopped image just as easily. Ms. Loftus, from the repressed memories study, also experimented with falsified images including the famed picture from the Tiananmen Square protest. People who saw the manipulated images were far more likely to remember the events in a different manner than those who didn’t see the altered pictures. By the way, if you realized the crowd in the image above was added after the photo was taken, you're in the minority.

Concentration

Our brain’s concentration can also lead to some strange problems with cognition. For example, watch the video below and count how many times the white team passes the ball.

Video link. Did you notice the gorilla? Over 50% of people watching the white team don’t notice the fact that a man in a gorilla suit walks through the court. This phenomenon is known as selective inattentiveness and it makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. When you are hunting or being hunted, you don’t want to be distracted by every little thing going on around you. Sometimes though, this inattentiveness can be a problem. If the players in white were prey and the gorilla was a predator, half of all viewers would be an easy target for the hungry beast. Interestingly, if we are told not to focus on something after it is brought to our attention, we usually can’t get the image out of our minds. Watch the video again and try to ignore the gorilla. Your eye and your mind will almost certainly keep going back to it. Image via Marcus Vegas [Flickr] Similarly, if you try not to think of a white bear, your mind will keep veering back to the white bear. If you’ve ever had a crush that just wouldn’t get out of your head even after you made a conscious effort to stop thinking about him or her, it’s the same problem; the conscious effort makes you focus on the one thing you aren’t supposed to think about. This can even lead to an obsession, which is why so many stalkers know very well that they shouldn’t be so focused on the person at hand.

Senses

Image via Sean Dreilinger [Flickr] Did you know today is National French fry day? I don’t know about you, but where I live, everyone is frying them up. I can smell French fries all over the place, even in my house. Do you smell them? If so, then I have some bad news; it’s not National French fry day and unless someone’s in your kitchen making fries right this second, your mind is probably playing tricks on you. Over 100 years ago, Professor Edwin Slosson proved that suggestion is a major part of our sense of smell. He poured distilled water on a cotton ball and told his class that he just poured a sample of a highly aromatic chemical. He then asked them to raise their hands when they could smell it. Within 15 seconds, the majority of the front row had their hands in the air and within 45 seconds, three-quarters of the class was raising their hands. If you read the rest of this article saying “fine, my memories and my concentration can be manipulated, but my basic observations are more reliable,” then you’re wrong.  Sensory manipulation is so easy that even professionals can be duped. Image via digimist [Flickr] A 1998 study by Frederic Brochet asked 54 professional wine tasters to try some wines and write down their opinions. He asked the specialists to taste two white wines and two red wines. The first set of red and white wines were different, but the second set was the same white wine with some red food coloring added, presented as “red wine.” The tasters used completely different adjectives to describe the colored wine as its uncolored equivalent. Their notes on the white wine included things like “dry, apricot, lemon, honey, and straw,” while the red wine notes included words like “deep, cherry, raspberry, spice and black currant.” He later tried serving the specialists another wine, telling them it was a common table wine for the first sampling and for the second sampling, he told them it was an expensive vintage. The tasters loathed the first sample, calling it “simple, unbalanced and volatile.” When it was presented as a premium wine, they called it “complex, balanced, flavorsome and excellent. While it would be easy to say that this was a good way to prove that wine tasters are full of it, the study actually goes a lot deeper into how we give foods a perception prior to trying them and how this can affect our sense of taste. The human mind is a complex and wondrous place, but the more you accept its ability to make mistakes, the fewer manipulations you will be subject to. And next time you’re arguing with someone about politics, just remember, whoever is wrong will never allow their mind to accept the truth, even when it is presented conclusively, so there’s really no point to the discussion. Sources: Elephants on Acid, Smithsonian Mag, Boston Globe, Wiley InterScience, Wikipedia, Cracked

I don’t know about you guys, but I love The Simpsons and I must say that getting to watch The Simpsons while writing about the show was a dream come true for me. Getting to learn about the stories behind many of my favorite characters made this one of the most fun articles I’ve written for Neatorama so far. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Barney Gumble

Barney was based on a drunkard character named “Crazy” Guggenheim that was in the “Joe the Bartender” sketches of The Jackie Gleason Show. Matt Groening wanted him to be the most pathetic sitcom sidekick ever and he always wanted to break the unspoken rules of television that made it taboo to have alcohol serve as the source of comedy. As for his name, it was based on another popular comedy character, Barney Rubble of The Flintstones.

Video link.

Bart Simpson

While Bart’s name is just an anagram of "brat", the character was largely based on Matt Groening’s older brother. On top of that, the character is an extreme version of a bratty child, and Groening incorporated all of the bad traits from Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and Dennis the Menace.

Bleeding Gums Murphy

Image via Hans Reitzema [Wikipedia]

Bleeding Gums’ character design is loosely based on the now deceased saxophone player LeRoi Moore, who played for the Dave Matthews band. His character is believed to be a homage to saxophone player Sonny Rollins, who quit his jazz career to play by himself on a bridge.

Bumblebee Man

Bumblebee Man is the Simpson’s version of a popular Mexican television character known as El Chapulin Colorado (The Red Grasshopper). The show’s producers said that whenever they watched Telemundo, the character seemed to always be on the screen, which served as inspiration for Bumblebee Man to always be on TV as well.

Video link.

If you love funnel cake, but hate its effects on your waistline, then this adorable, bendable funnel cake plush might just be the perfect substitution.

Link Via Craftzine

Finally all of you Neatonauts can return to the science of baking with these delightful chemistry cookie cutters. There are four designs in a set and the pack is only $14.95. What a perfect way to geek up your next party!

Link Via BoingBoing

Rie Hosokai, aka Daisy Balloon, is a couture fashion designer that makes stylish outfits from balloons. The pictures on her site are wonderful.

Link Via TokyoMango

When Nikki of WhiMSy Love had a friend staying over for a short bit, she wanted to make her living area more inviting than just the standard airbed. As you can see, the solution was not only cute and clever, but darn right cheery.

Link via Craftzine