Images by Zeon Santos

Sleeping Beauty Castle may not be a ride, or even much of an attraction, but it has become an icon –not just of the Disneyland Park, but of Disney as a whole. In fact, the design has been used as the logo for Disney products for years, which sets it apart from all other rides and attractions in the park. To better understand what makes this castle so magical, let’s take a deeper look at the park attraction in today’s Neatorama Facts.

Inspiration For The Creation

It is widely known that the castle is largely based on the Neuscheanstein Castle in Germany, but it is not an exact replica. In fact, the castle is actually flipped in orientation and also takes inspiration from various French architectures, including Notre Dame and the Hospices de Beaune. Few people also realize that the design incorporates forced perspective, making it appear to be much more tall and impressive than its actual height of 77 feet (about four stories) would ordinarily appear. This technique is also used on the businesses in Main Street. The castle is also a lot less permanent that it appears, being constructed mostly from cement, plaster and fiberglass. The attraction was included in the original plans for the park and it was one of a handful of attractions seen on opening day that still remains completely the same.

A Mysterious Family Emblem

At the front of the castle is a coat of arms, which many fans mistakenly believe are the Disney family crest. Interestingly, this is not actually the Disney crest and no one seems to know the true origins of the crest on display, but it is known that it was added to the castle at some point in summer of 1965.

Utilizing the Fortress

In front of the attraction is a draw bridge that connects the castle to the end of Main Street. The draw bridge actually works, but it has only been raised twice, once on opening day and once at the 1983 rededication ceremony for the new and improved Fantasyland. The gears can be seen below.

The top story of the castle was originally empty, but it bothered Walt to have such a great space left unused, so he challenged his Imagineers to design something for the area. The result was a diorama of Sleeping Beauty that allowed guests to walk through the castle and follow the story of the princess. In October of 2001, the walkthrough was closed and while Disney never gave an official reason, the two most widely accepted stories state that the building violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and that the terrorist attacks of September 11 led park officials to worry that the tight enclosed spaces in the castle could be a target for terrorist attacks. While the timing would indicate that the closure was at least partially due to fear of attacks, the fact that there was a wheelchair accessible Sleeping Beauty experience added on the ground floor of the castle added when the attraction reopened indicates that the ADA compliance was also an issue.

On my last trip to Disneyland, I was able to visit the attraction, and I have to say, the slight revamping of the classic diorama was quite good. They went with the original style of the walkthrough, but added a few extra technologies that were not available when it opened the first time. The handicap accessible area is also pretty cool, as it recreates the experience using a closed-captioned high-def screen that shows the entire diorama.

Sparking Up Some Fireworks

Most visitors recognize that the castle serves as the focal point for the Disneyland fireworks shows that seem to operate throughout the entire year. Each fireworks show costs around $41,000 to put on per night –that’s big money for some lights and explosions! Traditionally, Tinkerbell will fly down to the castle from the top of the Matterhorn to set the celebration in motion, although sometimes another character will do it depending on the season or theme of the show. The first Tinkerbell was Tiny Kline, a circus performer and aerialist who was only four foot ten. What’s most interesting about Tiny though was her age: she was 71 when she first performed the role.

Incompletion Or A Simple Error

All of the spires on the castle are plated in real gold, except one. There is a delightful story that it was left unplated in order to celebrate Walt’s statement that “Disneyland will never be completed as long as there is imagination left in the world.” While it’s quite a romantic notion, the truth isn’t nearly as cool. As it turns out, the spire was actually messed up in the 1990’s during the castles refurbishment. The staff believed that gold-colored patina would look better and be easier to work with than the gold leafing previously used, unfortunately, it didn’t work and the spire now looks dark and forgotten compared to its counterparts.

The Motivation For Selected Vegetation

The moat around the front of the castle is largely adorned with junipers, which may not be as stunning as many of the other landscaping used in the park, but there is good reason for their selection. Disneyland leases swans to swim in the moat on occasion and junipers are in a select group of plants that swans won’t try to eat. It’s interesting to note that Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland are the only two parks to have a Sleeping Beauty Castle. The parks in Florida and Japan have a Cinderella castle, which is much bigger in scope and size. Those of you who have been to both parks, which do you like better?

Sources: Little-Known Facts About Well-Known Places, Wikipedia

Disneyland fans! See more Neatorama Facts: Neatorama Facts: Haunted Mansion Neatorama Facts: Pirates of the Caribbean Neatorama Facts: The Jungle Cruise Neatorama Facts: Space Mountain Neatorama Facts: The Enchanted Tiki Room

Callie Mae is a survivor kitty. She has no more than nubs after her legs were amputated in an accident, but she still plays and even can catch mice. While the shelter has received dozens of adoption requests, they're holding out to ensure she can get a home that will be able to handle her special needs.

YouTube Link - via I Can Has Cheezburger

I always loved Steve Martin, but doing this article about him gave me even more respect for him as I learned just how broad his talents really are. If you thought he was just a funny guy, think again, he’s also a playwright, novelist, musician and more. Let’s celebrate his birthday with a look back at his massive resume.

The Foundation For Humor

Born in Waco, Texas, on August 14, 1945, Steve Glenn Martin was the son of a homemaker and a Realtor with aspirations to become an actor. Steve’s father had temper and was not emotionally supportive, although he was proud of his son, Glenn Martin was also very critical. The two had a strained relationship almost until the end of Glenn’s life. It was likely this cold relationship that drove Steve into his later career, as he sought approval from others where he could not get it at home. When he was five years old, Steve’s family moved to Inglewood, California and at ten years old, the family moved to Garden Grove, the same year Disneyland opened. Steve ended up getting his first job at the park selling guidebooks, but his fascination with magic tricks eventually earned him a place in the Main Street Magic Shop where he was able to perfect his tricks, which would later come in handy in his routine. Years later, he paired with Donald Duck to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of Disneyland for a video played inside the park called Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years. Around this same time, he heard an Earl Scruggs record and fell in love with the banjo. He started playing the record at half speed and taught himself to play along with the music. Again, this would come in handy in his later career. By the time Steve graduated high school, he was already honing his act by performing magic tricks, jokes and playing banjo music at Knott’s Berry Farm and a few small local venues.

The Philosophy of Anti-Humor

It wasn’t long before he put his performance career on hold for a while and enrolled in CSU Long Beach, where he studied philosophy. As he studied philosophy and logic, he came to the conclusion that there was no such thing as logic, which led to the non-sequitur comedy routine he became known for later on. He later explained in a magazine article he wrote for Smithsonian Magazine: “In a college psychology class, I had read a treatise on comedy explaining that a laugh was formed when the storyteller created tension, then, with the punch line, released it. What bothered me about this formula was the nature of the laugh it inspired, a vocal acknowledgment that a joke had been told, like automatic applause at the end of a song. These notions formed an idea that revolutionized my comic direction: What if there were no punch lines? What if I created tension and never released it? What would the audience do with all that tension? Theoretically, it would have to come out sometime. The audience would eventually pick their own place to laugh, essentially out of desperation.” Image via Jim Summaria [Wikipedia]

On And Off The Small Screen

In 1967, Steve transferred to UCLA and switched his major to theater, but this didn’t last long and he dropped out of school at the age of 21 after he appeared in an episode of The Dating Game and started performing at local clubs regularly. That same year, an ex-girlfriend of his helped him land a writing job on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Although the show only lasted one season, it did rather well and he and the other writers won an Emmy Award for their work in 1969. He also appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, while he got off on a good start, he didn’t have much material and eventually was demoted to only appearing on the show when there was a guest host. Rather than stick around Hollywood, Steve decided he would be better off touring around this time, which allowed him to hone his craft without fear of destroying his non-existent reputation. “In this netherworld,” he explained, “I was free to experiment. Everything was learned in practice, and the lonely road, with no critical eyes watching, was the place to dig up my boldest, or dumbest, ideas and put them onstage.” Although he had a hard time at first, all of this intense practicing and experimenting eventually allowed him to perfect his career. He started off with audiences that didn’t get it and eventually got to the point where they would follow him out the theater. At one point, a college audience continued following him until he arrived at an empty swimming pool. He instructed them to get inside so he could “swim” across them all. He started bringing an increasing level of physicality to his act, which gave it exactly the right amount of humor that the non-sequitur jokes needed to resonate. “My goal was to make the audience laugh but leave them unable to describe what it was that had made them laugh,” he said. During this time, he went from being a hippy-looking kid with a weird act to being a straight-laced freak. With strange gags such as sing-a-longs that the audience couldn’t actually sing along to and his “happy feet” routine, which resulted in his dancing uncontrollably around the stage without being able to stop himself, he developed a unique style that his friend Rick Moranis aptly characterized as “anti-comedy.” Image via Towpilot [Wikipedia]

The Golden Days

Eventually he got to a level where Carson was proud to have him back on the regular show and he started regularly appearing on Saturday Night Live. His regular tv appearances led to him being able to release a comedy album that was a smash hit and led to the popularity of the expression “well excuse me.” His appearances on SNL also led to the trend of people using finger movements to indicate quotation marks. Contrary to popular belief though, he was never actually a cast member on SNL, he has guest-hosted 15 times though. His Festrunk Brothers character with Dan Aykroyd led to a popular catch phrase and recurring sketch though, “Two Wild and Crazy Guys.” This phrase was also used on his second hit comedy album, titled “Wild and Crazy Guy.” The album also resulted in a disco single that reached #17 on the US charts called “King Tut.” These albums won him Grammys for Best Comedy Recording two years in a row. His popularity became similar to that of a rockstar and he was soon filling up whole rock arenas.

The End of An Era…And A New Beginning

As his TV performances and positive reviews started allowing him to perform to much bigger audiences, he simultaneously stopped wanting to tour. These huge audiences prevented him from being able to walk out of the theater with the crowd and he loathed it when audience members started showing up with balloon animals and rabbit ears. He also started to suffer from physical exhaustion, collapsing onstage on multiple occasions. So Steve retired…from stage that is. And he started acting in movies. His first role was in a short film called the Absent-Minded Waiter. Next he played small roles in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Ban , The Muppet Movie, and The Who documentary, The Kids Are Alright. That’s when he stepped up as the lead in a movie he co-wrote, The Jerk. The piece included a number of bits from his stand up act including my favorite part where he leaves his mansion saying “I don’t need anything at all, well, except for this ashtray.” Steve got $500,000 as star of the movie, $100,000 as writer and he made 50% of the profits, which was well over $100 million. Needless to say, it made him a movie star in no time flat. He soon tried his hand at his first serious film, Pennies From Heaven, but the movie bombed, mostly because people didn’t want to see Steve in a serious role. After that, Steve went ahead and acted in a few more movies with the director from the Jerk, including Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, The Man With Two Brains and All of Me. Because he’s been in so many successful films, I’m just going to add a few interesting tidbits about some of his more famous performances:

• The Three Amigos! was originally slated to be called “The Three Caballeros” and instead of Martin Short and Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi were supposed to be the stars.


• Martin’s writing in Roxanne won him a Writers Guild of America, East award.


• In 2003, Steve was the 4^th highest-ranked star in America, after staring in Bringing Down the House and Cheaper By the Dozen.


• In 2005, he starred in Shopgirl, a movie based on his novella of the same name. The film was surrounded in scandal before it came out as Wynonna Ryder’s excuse when she got caught shoplifting was that she was researching for the  lead female role in the film. Claire Danes got the part.


• In 2009, he was included in the Guardian’s list of the best actors to have never received an Oscar nomination. He has, however hosted the awards three times, twice alone and once with Alec Baldwin.

Image via David Shankbone [Wikipedia]

Writing For the Sake of Writing

Throughout the 1990’s Steve started writing various pieces for the New Yorker. He also wrote an autobiography called Born Standing Up, the aforementioned novella, Shopgirl, and another novella called The Pleasure of My Company. In 1993, he wrote a play called Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and when a school board refused to let their students perform the piece in 2009, he offered to pay out of his own pocket to allow them to do the performance off site.

His Music is No Joke

While the banjo has played a minor role in Steve’s comedy routines, he is very good at playing the instrument and actually a well-respected musician. In fact, in 2001, he won a Grammy award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for his remake of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” and this year, he won the Grammy award for Best Blue Grass Album for his work on The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo. These days, Steve is largely focused on playing with his band, the Steep Canyon Rangers. Even so, he has still found time to keep his comedy relevant in our digital world by releasing some of the funniest blog posts on the net, the best of which involve mocking himself. While many comedians fade out of the limelight, it seems likely that we will be laughing with Steve all the way to the end. Image via Kata Rokkar [Flickr] Sources: Wikipedia, Smithsonian Magazine, NY Mag and Talk Talk.

The internet's been loaded with video of Justin Beiber being hit in the head with a water bottle at one of his concerts, but like most internet fads, it wasn't truly funny until it was remixed with autotune. Now you can truly appreciate the mishap.

Link

If you thought KFC's Double Down was bad, just wait until you get your hands on the new Fried Cheese Melt from Denny's. The heart-stopping monstrosity combines 4 fried mozzarella sticks and a grilled cheese sandwich. At only $4 with a  an included side of fries, it's a lot more filling for the price tag than the Double Down. I have to admit, while I found the Double Down to be seriously nasty looking, I am a sucker for cheese, so this actually looks pretty good to me.

Would you eat it?

Link Via Consumerist

A few months ago, I brought you a post detailing the stupidest pet products on the market and Alex suggested that I look into products that may have not been released, but were still patented. Researching these made me laugh even harder than the first article, which is why I’m happy to share these absurd animal inventions with you. You might not be able to wear your heart on your sleeve, but you can sure wear your gerbil around your chest with this great pet display clothing. Be sure to jump around a lot while wearing this so your small animal knows you’re excited to have their company. If you have a bigger pet like a small dog or a cat though, don’t worry, you can still carry them on your chest with this remarkably comfortable and uninhibiting design for a wearable pet enclosure. This multi-function pet carrier seems a little more convenient although even more humiliating for your pet. Nothing like a gorgeous poodle purse to get the attention of those socialites you’ve been looking to impress. Some pet owners don’t want to show their babies off to the world though and would rather throw them in a backpack. For these “animal lovers,” this specialty back pack pet carrier is a godsend, as it allows the animal just enough air to breathe and limits their ability to harm the user through the fabric.

Comic Con is one of my favorite things to cover on all the blogs I write for because I love going any way and everyone is incredibly nice. Some of the best things to cover are the outrageous and amazing costumes worn by all the fans. This year was no exception, and I am thrilled to bring you 30 great cosplay pics from Comic Con 2010. If you like these, be sure to scroll to the bottom for links to all sorts of other great Comic Con coverage from this year and previous years. Now, on to the costumes! All images by Jill Harness (Hey, that's me!), and Zeon Santos.

Heroes:

Now this is Sparta! This Xena has incredible leather-working skills. She made the whole costume herself. Normally I try to leave myself out of these things, but I could resist a photo opp with White Gold. Mad Max costumes are always pretty cool.

Literally one day after I wrote a post about the Haunted Mansion, Disney  announced at Comic Con that they are going to make a second movie based on the famed ride. I know I'm not the only one who remembers that they already tried this and didn't do very well with it. Maybe Guillermo Del Toro will do better though.

Image via Zeon Santos.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Zeon Santos.

Since I was a kid, I loved ghosts and haunted houses and Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion has always been one of my favorites and I’m sure many of you agree. But what do you really know about the mansion and the stories behind its layout and design? The history behind the ride is almost as cool as the experience itself, so for today’s Neatorama Facts, I give you an inside look at the Haunted Mansion.

From Humble Beginnings Rose A Legend

Image via Passport to Dreams.

The Haunted Mansion wasn’t open until 1969, but the idea was kicked around since the beginning. In the one of the original park designs created by artist Harper Goff showed a crooked street coming off of Main Street and winding past a church and a graveyard and leading to a run-down mansion on a hill. The idea wasn’t incorporated at first, but Disney liked the idea and assigned imaginer Ken Anderson to build a story around the drawing and create a full experience around it.

Because plans for New Orleans square were currently in progress, it was decided that the ride would be built in the style of an antebellum manor. The original souvenir map that showed New Orleans Square promised that the area would include a thieves market, a pirate wax museum and a haunted house when it was open.

The first drawings for the mansion showed it overgrown with weeds, filled with swarms of bats and having boarded up doors and windows. While this certainly would have set the mood for a scary adventure, Disney hated the idea of a run-down building in his park and insisted, “we'll take care of the outside and let the ghosts take care of the inside."

Delays on Top of Delays

Video link

When working on the original plans for the mansion, Anderson developed a number of wonderfully chilling tales, the main of which revolved around a ghost of a sea captain who killed his nosy bride and then hung himself. He was even hoping to incorporate some of the monsters used in Universal films. Most of this ended up not materializing because Disney wanted to take things in another direction.

For the special effects, Rolly Crump and Yale Grace were hired to create creepy effects that would be far from obvious. The pair researched real haunting stories, Greek myths and monster movies and then started building elaborate effects in their private studio. The effects got to be so good that they scared some of the cleaning crew. Thinking that was funny, they hooked up all the effects to a motion sensor so it would all go off when the cleaning crew entered the room. After that, the crew refused to enter the area and they had to clean up their own studio.

July is National Ice Cream Month and it is indeed a great month to enjoy a cool scoop of your favorite flavors. If  you’re looking to expand your tasting horizons to some of the stranger flavors in the ice cream rainbow, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve collected the weirdest and wackiest ice cream flavors from around the world for your enjoyment. You’ll notice some of the flavors seen on other lists, like lychee, red bean and sesame, are not included here, as they are everyday dessert flavors in their country, and therefore, not all that strange as an ice cream flavoring. Instead, this article focuses on those flavors that make even the most native-son of a given region ask “what the heck were you thinking?”

Something’s Fishy

Agutuk

It could be debated whether or not this North American frozen treat is technically an ice cream, being as how it’s made without any cream or even vegan-friendly cream substitutes, but its nickname, “Eskimo Ice Cream” and its shocking ingredients certainly qualify it to be on this list. So what’s in agutuk? Snow, berries, seal oil and reindeer fat. If cute animals make delicious food, then this has got to be the best ice cream around. Image via Andrea Pokrzywinski [Flickr]

Crab

As for more traditional ice creams with non-traditional flavors, this savory crab ice cream is described as more of a frozen crab bisque than what you would normally think of as ice cream.

Lobster

The lobster ice cream seems a lot more along the lines of a traditional American dessert product, as it has a sugary butter base with chunks of sweet lobster blended in. A Massachusetts dessert parlor started making the treat just to prove that they actually do concoct their own flavors. Surprisingly, the flavor took off and is now one of the most popular items served.

Caviar

For an equally luxurious treat, consider the caviar ice cream by Philippe Faur. If that’s not your style, he also makes mustard, Roquefort, black truffles, pepper and foie gras flavor as well. Unlike the lobster ice creams, these aren’t meant for dessert though, they are actually intended as a side dish or appetizer to tantalize the senses and prepare you for accompanying flavors to come.

Oyster

Apparently luxurious savory ice creams aren’t actually a modern trend, but an old time classic that has been long forgotten about. Lorraine Eaton discovered and posted a recipe for oyster ice cream that dates back to 1824 and was supposedly a popular treat amongst the upper classes in the time of the Revolutionary War. The dish itself is essentially just an oyster stew with the oysters strained out. Reviews from Eaton’s recreation of the dish seem fairly mixed and one tester nearly vomited after tasting it, but it would certainly be a brave appetizer for those who want to feel a gourmet connection with the founding fathers.

Shrimp

If you’re looking for a customizable fish-based ice cream, better head to Cold Stone Creamery in Florida’s Fernandina Beach during the local shrimp fest to try their shrimp ice cream with your choice of mix-ins. Apparently, the light flavor of shrimp makes this base a perfect compliment to tropical fruits like pineapple and coconut.

Octopus, Squid Ink and Eel

The Japanese are known for being very open to new flavors. In fact, ice cream itself is even a fairly recent addition to the national palate, which is why they are so open to experimenting with flavor combinations most Americans could never even imagine. Some fun flavors you might be afraid to try include octopus, squid ink and eel. Supposedly the octopus flavor isn’t too bad and it doesn’t have any chunks in it unless you buy it garnished with tentacles. Squid ink has a rather mild flavor, so the pitch black sweet also gets fairly high ratings, even from non-natives. On the other hand, eel seems to be limited to those with more “acquired tastes” for the fish and is said to taste incredibly fishy, or as one reviewer put it, “imagine a section of the ocean where about eight thousand very large sea creatures have died and started to decompose.” I’m all for exotic tastes, but this is one I think I’d have to pass on. Images via wilhelmja [Flickr], Katherine Donaldson [Flickr] and Associated Content

Where’s The Meat?

Beef Tongue, Pit Viper and Horse

Last year I announced the Threadcakes competition after it had already rolled to a close, but now's your chance to actually participate in the contest. Simply choose your favorite Threadless shirt, then turn it into a cake and submit the image to the Threadcakes gallery. The prizes aren't listed yet, but I'm sure they will include some awesome shirts.

The inspiration from the cake above can be seen here.

Photos by Zeon Santos. Last week, my boyfriend and I went to the San Diego County Fair, previously known as the Del Mar Fair. We came with hopes of gorging ourselves on fried food and petting the myriads of livestock that are there to be judged. We left with sore bellies, hands that were surprisingly (and disappointingly) clean of animal germs and a full photo story of our day at the fair. This year's theme, "Taste The Fun," left me eager to visit. After all, the best part of these events is a chance to try all the fried goods your belly can handle. Even better, because we went on a Tuesday, most vendors were offering a "Taste of the Fair" deal where one select item would only be $2.

I was eager to see what $2 deals most of the booths offered, but as we discovered, most of the deals were pretty bogus. You could buy half of a cinnamon roll that would ordinarily cost $4 for $2. Or you could get cotton candy, which was normally $2.50. I have to admit, Mr. Tomato here had me disappointed by the time we walked halfway up the main drag.

Some of the places were even worse, offering $2 "tastes" that were literally a single bite of one of their dishes. I guess they thought it was a fair buy when they were already charging $14 for a basket of fried clams.

Regardless of the price though, the food is still one of the main attractions and these places were raking in the dough, particularly those places that offer more non-traditional fare, such as fried Snickers, Twinkies, etc. This place had a massive line all day. I think the light-up sign helped.

Surprisingly, the Heart Attack Cafe wasn't that busy, but I suppose that was more due to its bad location than its lack of trendy foods. After all, it was the only place in the fairgrounds serving both deep fried butter and chocolate-covered bacon. The place sounded like a Neatorama post.

This was one of the two booths I finally chose to eat from. I've been dying to try deep-fried avacados for years and they were the only place selling them. While I was there, I also took a chance on the deep-fried s'mores. I do not regret telling you that I declined to try the Krispy Kreme custard donut chicken sandwich, which seems beyond revolting to me, despite its journalistic appeal. Have any of you tried it?

These are the fried avocados that were served with pesto sauce, lemon and ranch dressing. They were really good with lemon and pesto and the flavors melded together really well. The ranch was a little too creamy for the avocados, which are already so rich and creamy on their own.

This was the fried s'more. The first bite or two was great, but it reminded me of the fried Snickers I tried once...a few bites in and you're pretty much over it.

Of all the $2 "Taste of the Fair" treats, this was the only one that actually seemed worth it. This is a hash dog, a hot dog surrounded by hash browns and then deep fried. The flavor was good, but it was just too greasy as you might imagine. Still, it was a good deal, it is normally $4 for this thing and at least it's remotely filling as oppa "taste" of fish.

Moving on from food that you actually eat, there was an amazing sculpture of a couple with a stroller made completely from butter inside the main livestock area. Because it's always incredibly hot here, the sculpture had to be contained in an air conditioned chamber. There were two people inside working on it while we were there and I have to say, they were amazing. They worked in tons of details into the sculptures. The guy's shirt even had palm trees carved into it.

One of my favorite parts of the fair are the livestock barns, but I have to say, this year was actually a bit disappointing. They had one huge mud area with a few cows, some pigs and some goats, but you couldn't even get close to them.

In the other livestock areas, they had most of the cows roped off.

My favorite animals are the goats, and the only way you could get to them was to go through the madness that is the petting corral. They didn't even have any goats entered into livestock competitions this year.

Actually, there was one species of goats in the livestock corrals. These are angora goats. Unfortunately, they just aren't as friendly as regular or pygmy goats.

On the other hand, there were plenty of sheep, about three barns full. And as a result, there was tons of shearing as well.

A lot of the sheep wear these robes, but I have no idea what the point is, do any of you readers know what they are for?

Not all of the fair animals are livestock though. This little piggy is the star swimmer of the Swifty Swine Racing Pigs show. She loves jumping in  couldn't wait for the guy to do his build up, so she just went for it.

These are the racing pigs from the show and they have become quite a crowd favorite. In fact, their hourly shows seem to always have full seats.

There's also an adorable Doggies of The Wild West Show. While we missed it this year, we did catch a magician doing tricks in front of the cutest stage around.

The fairgrounds are also home to one of San Diego's biggest haunted houses in October. This was their promotion to remind people to come back later in the year. While the booth looked pretty cool, it seemed very out of place amongst the rest of the happy fair attractions.

The plant and garden area is another big attraction of the fair. Clipped flowers sit inside while whole gardens wait outdoors.

This guy seemed to be the mascot for the garden section, which had a fruit and veggie theme to go along with the fair's overall "Taste the Fun" theme.

While there were plenty of veggies and fruits planted in the gardens, I noticed not too many of them won these "noteworthy plant" awards. I guess zucchini, beans and tomatoes just aren't that impressive.

Bromeliads sure are impressive though and they were scattered about the gardens.

Another cool attraction at the fair are all the handmade items. We had a friend who entered something in the woodworking show and we went to have a look. Along the way we found some really cool things like this gun and holster made from just wood and metal.

And this incredible lion that was almost life-size.

This is the piece our friend entered. It's not as artistic as a fully wooden lion, but it's certainly more functional.

This was in the next door gem show. I had no idea tortoise shells and shark's teeth counted as jewels, but they sure make nice jewelery.

Then of course, there are the rides. This was probably the most popular ride this year and the line was out of control.

The farris wheel was massively large. Too bad it costs something like $5 for one ride.

I avoided the rides this year, but I did ride on this one once and if you see it somewhere and are tempted to try it, don't. They hold you at the top of the loop upside down and then hold you there so all the blood rushes to your head...that's why they call it Evolution. Instead of fun dizziness upon exiting you instead get a terrible headache as the blood returns to the rest of your body.

It's been forever since I saw a place that offered elephant rides, but these guys are great because they operate an elephant breeding program to help endangered Asian elephants. The animals all looked really happy, and you could look for areas around their necks to see they weren't abused like many trained elephants.

Then of course they had all the carnival games filled with hucksters calling you to try your luck to win lovely knock-off toys. For some reason bananas seemed to be a popular stuffed animal this year.

If you're wondering why a person who doesn't go on the rides still bothers to walk through the ride section, this is why.

I love the artwork on these rides. Even the not-so-good, copyright-infringing artwork is fun to look at.

I was a little sad to see that they finally painted over the totally dated pictures of Tom Selleck on the Magnum ride. I guess they felt like they needed to modernize it...of course, no one felt like they should modernize the dancing Coke can.

For some reason, the fun houses always have the coolest artwork.

The kid's area rides also have really detailed paintings on them.

And there is nothing quite like having a smiling spider wave you goodbye as you head out of the park grounds.

Here's your turn Neatonauts, do you have a local fair? Is it any good? Is it too commercial? What are your favorite attractions? This isn't just to stimulate conversation, it's also to help us find a better fair that's more classic and way less expensive, so let's hear it.

In nature, most animals have little or no contact with their biological fathers, but humans do and we certainly aren’t alone. In celebration of all the great dads of our readers and the great dad readers, here’s a collection of some of the best animal fathers around in no particular order. Image via Sukanto Debnath [Flickr]

1) Seahorses

Perhaps the most famous of all animal fathers are seahorses, which are known for being one of the only male animals in the world to get pregnant. The female deposits her eggs into his brood, then he fertilizes the eggs and carries them to term. As you can see in the image, they can get quite large during the pregnancy period. The number of babies may vary greatly by species, as seahorses can deliver as few as 5 babies or as many as 1,500. On average though, the numbers are around 100-200. Source Image via Jaro Nemcok

2) Hardhead Catfishes

The hardheaded catfish doesn’t have such a thick skull when it comes to fatherhood. While he doesn’t get pregnant like a seahorse, he does put up to 48 of his fertilized eggs in his mouth and carries them with him for 60 days. If that wasn’t uncomfortable enough, he doesn’t eat for this entire period, making him one dedicated daddy. Source Image via Eustatic [Flickr]

3) Marsupial Frogs

As the name suggests, the marsupial frog also carries his babies around in his brood pouch. While there are a few different species of marsupial frogs, perhaps the most impressive fathers are those that guard the eggs laid on the ground. When the eggs hatch, the ground will not provide enough moisture for the tadpoles, so he puts them in his brood pouch until they hop out as baby frogs. Source Image via Brian.gratwicke [Flickr]

4) Darwin Frogs

Similarly, the Darwin frog also guards its eggs until they hatch, but he takes them into his vocal sac (up to 30 at a time), where they will stay until they grow into young frogs and hop out of his mouth. Source Image via huenchecal [Flickr]

5) Mimic Poison Frog

The mimic poison frog has a notable reputation for not only being a great father, but also being a great husband. As a matter of fact, it is the only amphibian to be certifiably monogamous. The female frog lays her eggs on leaves and those that hatch are then moved by the father into a tiny pool of water inside a bromeliad. Because there are not enough nutrients for the tadpoles to survive in these conditions, the male not only guards them, but watches for signs that the baby needs food. When he croaks, the mother comes by and lays an unfertilized egg in the pool of water as a source of nourishment for the baby. Source Image via phrakt [Flickr]

6) Emperor Penguins

Perhaps the next best known fathers in the animal kingdom, emperor penguins not only watch the fertilized eggs, they go for months at a time in the freezing arctic without a meal. The fathers keep the eggs on their feet and covered with their bellies because contact with the sub-freezing ground can result in immediate death of the embryo inside.  He stays like this for two months and by this time, he has already gone over 100 days without a meal. The female penguins generally return shortly after the eggs hatch, but until they arrive, the daddy manages to feed the youngsters with a substance produced in his esophagus. Only after the females return and the couple exchanges shifts does the male get to head to sea for a well-deserved meal. Source Image via ASOC Pictures [Flickr]

7) Namaqua Sandgrouse

When it comes to care after the chick is born, the Namaqua sandgrouse is one heck of a dad. During the incubation period, he sits on the nest at night and then the mother incubates the eggs during the day. The father really shines after the chicks hatch though and the mother leaves the family to fend for themselves. The birds live in arid desert areas and while the nests are always located around watering holes, the young chicks cannot make it to water, so the dad has to bring it to them. He dips his belly in water every morning and his feathers absorb the water like a sponge, each feather can hold up to eight times its weight in water. He then returns to the nest where the chicks can drink the water straight from his feathers. Source Image via Arno & Louise [Flickr]

8) Greater Hornbills

Ever wonder why a hornbill has such a massive beak? It’s partly so they can break out of their nesting area when they grow up. Greater hornbills build their nests inside hollowed out parts of trees, which are then sealed off with mud and feces so nothing can get in or out without quite a struggle. The mother stays in the inside of this nest and a small slit is left in the plug so the male can pass food to her. For the entire incubation period, he will make up to five trips a day to feed his mate and the chicks once they hatch. When the chicks become large enough to crowd the nest, the mother will break her way out of the nest with her casque and then reseal the barrier, leaving the chicks inside. The mother and father then continue to take turns feeding the chicks for another four or five months until their beaks are developed enough that they can break the seal and fly out. Source Image via Lip Kee [Flickr]

9) Rheas

Rhea may not be the most loyal mates, with each male courting anywhere between 2 and 12 females, but they are certainly great dads. Each male can incubate 10 and 60 eggs for around 40 days (an average nest contains around 26 eggs from 7 females). When the chicks are born, he is very protective, charging anyone, including female rheas, who approach the babies. He raises the chicks completely on his own and teaches them how to fend for themselves. Source Image via LadyofHats [Wikimedia]

10) Jacanas

Like the rheas, jacanas are very active fathers who not only incubate their nests but teach their babies about the basics of life. Known as lily trotters or Jesus birds for their ability to walk on water using plants like the lily pads, these little birds lay their nests on submerged plants and the male protects and incubates the eggs while the female finds more mates. If the eggs start to sink or otherwise become endangered, he will carry them to a new nesting site under his wing. Once they are born, he helps feed and care for the chicks until they can survive on their own. The female will only return if the something happens to the eggs and the male is therefore open to breed again. Source Image via emilybean [Flickr]

11) Giant Water Bugs

Insects aren’t generally considered to be the most active parents in the world, but the male giant water bug is certainly an exception. He totes the entire brood of eggs --often up to 150 at a time-- on his back until they hatch. The female simply lays the eggs and then glues them to daddy before she takes off, leaving him to rear the youngsters. During the three weeks he carries the eggs, he protects them and takes time to dry them out of the water so they don’t get moldy. Source Image via NoiseCollusion [Flickr]

12) Marmosets

Primates can be good dads too (as evidenced by our celebration of Father’s Day in general), and humans aren’t the only good fathers in our animal order. Enter marmosets. Not only are these little tiny monkeys simply adorable, they are also great parents. Male marmosets start caring for their young from day one when they groom and lick newborns as the mother recuperates from her ordeal (the babies are generally born as twins and usually make up around 25 percent of her body weight, the equivalent of a human woman giving birth to a baby between 30 and 40 pounds). After thate feeds, carries and grooms the infants. Meanwhile, the mother will often get pregnant again within the next two weeks, leaving daddy to take care of the babies. Source Image via Joachim S. Muller [Flickr] I hope you all have a great day with your families, and to all you fathers out there, Happy Father’s day!

There are tons of cat photos around the net, but Petfinder.com has recognized that almost all of these feline fatales are happily-owned pets. To bring attention to Adopt-A-Cat Month and to celebrate homeless kitties in need everywhere, the site launched a new contest where you can vote for the cutest photos of homeless cats at a variety of shelters. The shelters with the most votes win kitty bed/scratching post combos and hopefully the kittens pictured will be adopted lickity split.

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June is the Humane Society’s Adopt-A-Cat Month and what better way to celebrate than to take a look at some of the world’s most famous felines. Actually, there is one much better way to celebrate: if you have room in your home, why not open your heart up to a new kitty this year? Ok, enough with the preaching, on to the internet’s favorite pastime (outside of “adult” things) –kitties!

Kittens In the News:

You’ve Gotta Have Faith

Throughout the centuries, famous animals have gotten headlines and attracted attention for heroic deeds and fascinating behaviors. Perhaps one of the earliest cats to garner this sort of worldwide attention was Faith, The Church Cat. Faith was adopted by the parishioners of a London church in 1936. In 1940, she gave birth to a single kitten. In early September of that year, she started insisting on being let into the church basement and then she carried her kitten downstairs. The kitten was retrieved twice by Father Ross, but each time she brought him back downstairs. The next day, German air raids began to fall on London and the entire church was destroyed. When Father Ross discovered the church in ruins, he heard a faint meowing and discovered Faith and her kitten were safe under the rubble in the basement. He managed to grab the two cats and get out of the building just before the roof collapsed.

Faith was nominated for a Dinkin Medal but was determined ineligible because she was a civilian, but she instead received a special medal for bravery. The Archbishop of Canterbury even made a guest appearance at the medal ceremony.

Simon Says Keep Your Chin Up

Speaking of cats with military honors, let’s not forget Simon, a ship cat on the HMS Amethyst, who was in the business of catching rats. When the ship was attacked in 1947, Simon was wounded and wasn’t discovered for four days. The ship’s doctor nursed his wounds and soon the kitty was back to catching rats and he now had a new duty of keeping injured sailors company. He was presented with a campaign ribbon when they reached port and it was announced that he would receive a Dicken Medal for animal gallantry, but he passed away in quarantine in England before the medal ceremony took place. Even in his death though, Simon was honored. He was buried in a special casket and given full naval honors.

Classroom Kitties Need Love Too

Of course, a cat need not be in the military or involved with a war to be worshiped by the masses. Room 8 was a cat who showed up at Elysian Heights Elementary School in Los Angeles in 1952 and decided to spend the rest of his life there. Not surprisingly, given his name, his favorite classroom was Room 8. Over the summers he would disappear, but he always managed to reappear when class began again. Eventually the television news crews took notice and Room 8 became the most famous kitty in L.A. Throughout his life he received more than 100,000 fan letters, up to 100 in one day.

Sock It To Me Mr. Socks

Anyone who remembers the Clinton administration is sure to remember Socks, the First Cat. While not the wildest pet to be owned by a president, there was something about Socks that drove the media crazy. They stalked him, even to the point where Clinton eventually had to tell them to leave the kitty alone. He went on his own publicity tours to nursing homes and schools. Later, he became the star of a Murphy Brown plot and the inspiration for a children’s book. Nintendo made a video game about him, but it was never released. After Buddy was adopted though, Sock’s position seemed to falter in the Clinton household. The two pets never got along and eventually Socks was instead adopted by one of the president’s secretaries.

The Grim Reaper Cat

Perhaps the biggest cat-related news story in the last decade though was Oscar, the cat who could predict patient’s deaths. He lived in a nursing home and had an uncanny ability to recognize who was going to die next. When Oscar curled up with someone in the home, they almost always died in the next four hours. He correctly identified over 50 deaths before they occurred. While the media and public seemed to be disturbed by the idea, the staff of the hospice feel that he actually helps calm those who are passing on and provides a remarkable connection between patients, their families, and the staff.

Working Hard For The Money:

One of the Most Powerful Females in Japan

Tama is perhaps my favorite cat on this list, you may recall seeing this lovely station master before, but you may not know that she is credited with saving the Wakayama Electric Railway from bankruptcy and she is now the only female manager in the entire company. She’s even an honorary knight in Japan. Of course, all Tama really did was hang out at the station and look cute, which got her the position of station master, which brought in 1.1 billion Yen to the local economy thanks to tourist visits. But hey, it still takes talent to bring in that kind of money just based on your looks.

Wendy the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Service Cat

Sure plenty of people have service dogs, but when was the last time you saw a service cat? Wendy is a service cat who helps Jeff Ward cope with his post-traumatic stress disorder. The kitty acts as a social buffer to help soothe his anxiety in social disorders. While a lot of our readers seemed to have an issue with a man needing a cat to get through the day, I think Wendy’s fascinating if for no other reason than getting a cat to walk around with you on a leash is pretty impressive. On a sad note, a few months after Wendy made national news, she was attacked by an unknown assailant who broke her pelvic bones. Luckily, she survived the attack and donors covered the cost of the surgery.

Morris The Cat Was Mighty Lucky

Morris is one of the best animals for a feature in Adopt-A-Cat month, as he was one of only a few actually picked up from an animal shelter. He was discovered by Bob Martwick in a Chicago animal shelter and was on the list for euthanasia because he had a torn eyelid from a fight before he came into the pound. Martwick adopted him and named him “Lucky.” A while later, he found Nine Lives was looking for a cat representative and he sent Lucky into the boardroom alone. The cat jumped onto the table, head-butted the art director and then sat back and watched him. He was immediately hired and started spending his remaining years in first-class flights and five-star hotels. YouTube link

Internet Celebrities:

Inspirational Tails

There are probably thousands of cat internet stars these days, but Chase may be the most inspirational of all of them. After a tragic accident left chase without a nose, cheek skin or eyelids, she required a lot of daily maintenance including daily eye drops. The cat is not in pain, but her face is quite a shock to many people. Rather than keep her away from the public though, her  owner has opted to use her as an inspirational icon to accident victims everywhere through the wonderful blog, Daily Tails of Chase. She also works as a therapy cat for Paws For Friendship, where she visits hospitals and schools to educate and inspire about disabilities. Chase teaches people that it's ok to look a little different and that you can go through something horrible and still live a wonderful life. The picture used above was by artist Namowal, who is a fan of Chase. Be warned if you click the link to Chase’s site, her appearance is rather disturbing for many sensitive viewers.

Keyboard Cat Strikes a Chord

In 1984, Charlie Schmidt shot a video of his cat, “Fatso,” playing piano with the help of someone grabbing him under the belly, their arm was covered up by a shirt. In more recent years, he uploaded the video with some music added, with the title, “Cool Cat.” Then someone put up a video entitled “Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat,” (I can't track down the original video) where the cat played vaudeville style after someone goofed up bad on another video. That’s when Keyboard Cat quickly became one of the biggest memes on YouTube, as seen above.

Soon enough, the video garnered national attention and was seen on G4’s “Attack of the Show” and “The Colbert Report.” More recently Charlie Schmidt made a video with his new cat, titled, “Keyboard Cat Reincarnated.” While the video wasn’t as successful as the original keyboard cat videos, it still made its rounds on the blogosphere, including Neatorama.

Making Music With Nora

Keyboard cat might be a little better known, but he can’t actually play the piano. Nora can. Nora was a shelter cat who was adopted by a couple who taught piano lessons. She was always interested in the piano, but one day her owners came in the room, shocked to see the cat hitting the keys one at a time. When the cat started playing in front of students, the kids started photographing her and when someone took a YouTube video and posted it online, Nora became a star overnight. She now has a series of YouTube videos and her own website.

R.I.P. Commuter Cat

Casper, better known as Commuter Cat, was famous for lining up to ride a bus, boarding the vehicle and then riding a few stops down and exiting near a local fish and chips shop. Unfortunately, he recently passed away at the beginning of this year when he was struck by a hit and run driver. Before that though, he spent a four year stint riding the Number 3. His owner said that she didn’t believe tales of his adventures at first, but when she saw the proof, she guessed he must have just followed all the people who board the bus at a stop just outside their home.

The Box-Loving Sensation Sweeping the Nation

Maru became famous for loving to climb in boxes, but his video channel on YouTube has expanded to show him playing with a variety of objects. While it seems strange that a playful kitty would be enough to develop a fan following, it is very true in his case, as he has received over 50 million times and his YouTube channel is now the ninth most popular in all of Japan. He even had a book published in his home country in 2009. Video link

Kitty YouTube Videos:

While these cat video stars may not be famous enough to be known by name, let’s never forget these fabulous felines and their 15 minutes of fame.

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You’ve probably noticed that I didn’t include any fat cats, but that’s purely because Alex covered the issue so well in his Top 15 Amazingly Fat Cats post. If you’ve never read this one, you’ve gotta give it a view. Now I know there’s probably hundreds more cats that are arguably just as famous and thousands more who deserve to be (I even had to cut out a few or this post would have taken up the whole front page), so share! Who is your favorite cat online or off?