Objects in mirrors aren’t flipped on the X-axis (horizontal) or the Y-axis (vertical) but the Z-axis (depth). Objects only appear to be flipped horizontally because our minds are doing that. Our bodies are symmetrical along the Y-axis. So when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we don’t perceive that we are being flipped along the Z-axis.
Because people are incapable of shutting up, it has become necessary to move to more quiet environs. Where is that possible? Simply moving to sparsely-inhabited places may not be enough. We must consult this map of the 48 contiguous states created by the National Park Service. It measures, by decibels, the ambient noise levels across the country. It looks like Nevada is the right place to get peace and quiet. I’ll go there. No, you may not come with me.
This is Standard Reference Material No. 2387. It’s the finest peanut butter in the world—from a purely scientific point of view. The National Institute of Standards of Technology, an office of the US Department of Commerce, uses it as a baseline when analyzing the chemical properties of peanut butters. In 2003, New York Times food critic William Grimes got to the chance to sample this government-manufactured delicacy. He writes:
The government's peanut butter tastes a lot better than it looks, which is like dark-brown industrial paste. I wasn't sure whether to eat it or lay down some new bathroom tile. As a food product, it seemed to aim for dead average. The peanut flavor was muted, and it lacked the creamy, unctuous quality of storebought brands. If you like peanut butter to stick to the roof of your mouth, this is one for you.
At that price, I would hope so. For as Nicole Wakelin of That’s Nerdalicious writes, “choosy Moms choose Standard Reference Material No. 2387.”
For some people, Ninja Day comes only once a year. But I say: live every day like it’s Ninja Day.
Brian Ashcraft of Kotaku explains that February 22 is Ninja Day because of a pun in the Japanese language. The cities of Iga and Koka are historically associated with ninjas, so people there are celebrating enthusiastically. Government workers are dressing as ninjas and interacting with residents appropriately.
On this most cherished of holidays, wish the ninjas in your life, such as the one on the ceiling directly above you, a merry Ninja Day!
"What?! Oh my God! Yeah! Are you serious right now?! Is this for real?!" The look on this woman's face starting at the 0:17 mark is just perfect. Her boyfriend pretended to take a selfie with her, but actually began recording a video. As a result, we can all share in this amazing moment of surprise and joy.
First, you'll need a custom dental appliance called a grille. This particular one looks like your teeth are secured by a padlock. Then, pull a stocking over your head. Finally, place a look of resigned horror upon your face as you realize where your life choices have led you.
Got it? Then you have look of fashion designer Shayne Oliver's "Daddy" line. Michael Schneier of the New York Times saw it at this year's New York Fashion Week. He describes it:
They commissioned custom grilles to look like orthodontic braces; threaded them through with padlocks and piercing-parlor barbells; and covered the models’ heads, faces and hair with shimmering stockings. (In some cases, facial hair or tufted eyebrows were drawn or glued on top.)
Karl-Johan Ekeroth and Christian Strömqvist of PinPin Studio are designers in Gothenberg, Sweden. They explain that they "take play seriously." In cooperation with the Icehotel, a hotel built of snow and ice every year, they built a play area using just those materials. It consists of 2 slides, a maze, and a structure that they call a "snow lantern." The result is a winter wonderland that inspires play from both children and children at heart. You can see more photos of it at Design Taxi.
Coming soon to the Neatorama headquarters executive restroom: it's the Hello Kitty collectible electronic toilet seat! Sanrio, the company that owns the Hello Kitty brand, showed this new toilet seat design at a show of new Hello Kitty products in Tokyo two weeks ago.
It has built-in heating and a variety of warm water jets to cleanse various parts of your body which we all insist remain vague and nameless.
Here lies, er, stands Renato Garcia. He passed away at the age of 50 in San Jose, Puerto Rico. He once found a uniform for the Green Lantern Corps in a bag of donated clothes. Though he lacked an Oan power ring, Garcia felt inspired to wear the uniform for several weeks. When he died, his family thought it appropriate to bury him in it.
Posing bodies for viewings is becoming a popular funeral custom in Puerto Rico. The New York Daily News reports:
Posing embalmed bodies at wakes and funerals is nothing new in Puerto Rico, where the practice has taken off. Georgina Lloren, 80, was posed in her favorite rocking chair after her death in San Jose last year.
The last wish of another man, Angel Pantoja Medina, was to stand at his own wake so in 2008, family members abided.
Christopher Rivera, a professional boxer, was stood up in the corner of a boxing ring and dressed up in his pugilists gear after his murder in 2014. Another murder victim, David Morales Colon, was propped up on his motorcycle after he 2010 death.
Would you jump through a ring of fire? If you’re a frontier soldier in the Chinese army, that’s a requirement. This Reuters photo from last year shows one soldier in the Heilongjiang province in the northeastern corner of China doing precisely that.
It’s one of 24 photos of elite soldiers around the world doing extraordinary things as part of their training. You can see more from Business Insider/Rocket News 24. They include US Marines drinking cobra blood, bare-chested South Korean soldiers covering themselves with snow, Filipino marines holding bananas on their heads, and German soldiers assembling guns underwater.
How many Pokémon are there? Um, a lot. Maybe 721, more or less? I can’t keep count.
That’s a lot of Pokémon. If you’re a Pokémon manufacturer, then you need a constant supply of names, which is why the Swedish language and Mexican restaurant menus exist (I checked: they were invented for this purpose).
Parker Schoberl is 5 years old, so it’s time that he get married. He went to Disney World to find a wife. He’s not that particular. He just wants a Disney princess—and any Disney princess will do. He proposed to Snow White, Jasmine, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Ariel, Elsa, Belle, and Tinkerbelle.
Parker is, to say the least, bold. He actually proposed to Jasmine right in front of Aladdin.
It’s 9⁰F. There’s snow everywhere. Your job, as tourism director for the Ithaca, New York and Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau in the Finger Lakes is to convince people to visit that place of their own free will.
Good luck.
Yesterday, the website for Visit Ithaca briefly gave up, pulled out a bottle of whiskey from a drawer, and crawled under the desk for a rest. The site admitted that there was no good recreational reason to visit Ithaca and suggested that people instead travel to the warm and sunny Florida Keys.
This was a marketing scheme dreamed up by Bruce Stoff, the director of the Visitors Bureau of Ithaca in cooperation with the Florida Keys Tourism Council, which was glad to cooperate. CNN reports:
A spokesperson for the Florida Keys Tourism Council called the initiative "the wackiest thing I've ever seen in my life from a tourism marketing standpoint."
Andy Newman got a call from Stoff last week pitching the idea and asking for permission to use pictures of the Florida Keys homepage.
This wasn't an advertising campaign, Newman said, and no money was exchanged.
"I didn't believe he'd actually go through with it," Newman said.
But considering the weather conditions in the Keys right now, he understands.
"It's in the 70s, there's no snow and no frost on the ground," Newman said.
Some luxurious resorts have pool areas where bathers can swim directly to poolside bars. The Villa Seminyak in Bali, Indonesia goes even further. Its Lagoon Villa has a pool accessible directly from the room. The room description says that it comes with free shuttle service, which I hope means a gondola.
I found this item through Messy Nessy Chic, which quips, “Now imagine the maid service swimming around with a cart and vacuum cleaner.”
