The Batcave is a central location in the Batman franchise. Its existence is purely accidental. Back in the days of the 1940s Batman film short serial, the producers wanted to have a hangar. They couldn't afford one, but they did have a cave set lying around the studio. So in the second chapter of the series, the show unveiled the Batcave. A few months later, comic book artist Bob Kane worked it into the comic book series.

At the link, you can read about other plot elements of Batman that date back to the serials.

Link via Super Punch | Photo: Warner Bros.

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The Lockheed P-3C Orion is an anti-submarine warfare aircraft in the inventory of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (among other navies). This video shows a demonstration of its capabilities by using scooters as mock-ups for the P-3C and an enemy submarine. Apparently the Orion's electronics suite broadcasts Star Wars theme music while it drops a torpedo.

via The Presurfer

C. Coville of Cracked has a list of six romantic scenes in movies that, if people actually carried them out, would probably lead to a few years in the pokey. Such as running through an airport, bypassing security, in order to profess your love to someone before s/he gets on a plane and leaves forever. This occurs at the end of Liar, Liar, and is an exceedingly bad idea:

The exact same scenario actually happened late last year, in real life. A young man at Newark Liberty International Airport briefly crossed a security barrier to give his girlfriend a final goodbye kiss. Hell, it even happened at Christmas.

Of course, guards and fellow travelers, overwhelmed with such a display of true love and the Christmas spirit, surrounded the couple and clapped... Oh, wait, no. What really happened was that the breach was discovered, the terminal went into lockdown, and around 200 flights were delayed or canceled worldwide.

Once tracked down, the lovestruck man was given a fine and community service. A fair price to pay for romance, you say? Well, after this breach, everyone in New Jersey was so annoyed at this light punishment that moves to toughen laws are now advancing in the state legislature, which if passed could lead to up to 18 months imprisonment for similar acts in the future.

Link | Image: Universal Pictures

McIntosh County, Georgia is spending $17,000 a year replacing about 550 street signs that are repeatedly stolen. So County Commissioner Mark Douglas proposes that the county government give streets boring names to discourage this activity:

He says signs marking Green Acres, Boone's Farm and Mary Jane Lane are frequently stolen.

He suspects the thieves are targeting those signs because they share names with a popular TV series, a low-cost wine or, in the third case, a slang term for marijuana.

Link | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user Team Traveler used under Creative Commons license

This questionable self-defense product is called "The Stunning Ring". It contains a stinging powder that can be ejected using a latch on the side:

The spray causes inflammation of the eye capillaries and all other mucous membranes, resulting in immediate temporary visual impairment, difficult breathing, coughing, choking, sneezing, severe burning sensations to the eyes, nose, throat and skin, and nausea, with acute symptoms and discomfort lasting for 45 minutes. There is no permanent damage.

Link via Say Uncle | Photo: J&L Self Defense Products

School children at the West Exe Learning Centre in Exeter, UK, discovered a deactivated Dalek in their school. Manager Sue Willey did not restore it, but prudently called the police:

The value of the Dalek is not known but Ms Willey estimates that the replica could be worth hundreds of pounds.

"He's a little bit damaged here and there, but he's still got to be worth hundreds," she said.

"Someone out there must know where this Dalek has come from. And if the owner doesn't come forward, maybe we could give it to some charity or organisation that can do something with him."

The school contacted police but officers say they have received no reports of a missing or stolen Dalek.

Detective Constable Caroline Prince, of Exeter's burglary team, said she would be keen to hear from anyone who might know who the Dalek belongs to.

Link via Geekosystem | Photo: This Is Devon

Cartoonist Caldwell Tanner imagined historical events and figures as though they had been illustrated by comic book artist Frank Miller. The above scene is from October 31, 1517, and Protestant reformer Martin Luther is driving his point home about Papal abuses.

http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1809356 via Super Punch

Previously: If Frank Miller Drew Peanuts

LEGO artist Keith Goldman crafted an enormous diorama of scenes from the City of 1976 movie Logan's Run. Above, a Sandman kills a Runner who's unwilling to accept Lastday. You can view 15 more pictures at the link.

Link via io9

James R. Rummel of Hell in a Handbasket has a post about early handgun bayonets. The Elgin Pistol Cutlass (above) was a single-shot pistol available in the U.S. in various calibers starting in the 1830s. It's basically a built-in machete that served to clear away brush while tramping out in the wilderness:

Instead the guns were designed to be used as brush cutters in dangerous territory. The heavy knife would clear away the jungle, while the pistol would be ready if enraged animals or hostile natives suddenly sprang from the bracken.

At the link, you can view pictures of a bayonet that could be fitted onto World War I-era British revolvers.

http://hellinahandbasket.net/?p=4828 | Photo: American Firearms

Why do lions have a loud, deep growl and house cats a high meow? It's not because of the relative size of the animals, but the relative size of their territories:

Dr Gustav Peters and Dr Marcell Peters at the Alexander Koenig Zoological Research Museum in Bonn, Germany analysed the average frequencies of long-distance calls made by 27 different species of cat.

These included the great or "roaring" cats, such as lions, tigers and jaguars, which are able to roar due to the specialised structure of their throats.

They then looked for any relationships between the cats' calls and their size, and the habitats in which they live.

Cat species that live in more open types of habitat, such as lions, servals and cheetahs, have deeper calls.

Cats living in dense habitats, such as wildcats, clouded leopards and the little known marbled cat, communicate at a higher pitch, the researchers found.

Link via reddit | Photo by Flickr user Tambako the Jaguar used under Creative Commons license

Igor Barbashin and Daria Volokhova designed the "Shattered Clock." Numbers break apart and form together. The hour number that is the least broken represents the closest hour to the current time. The minute hand tells you, well, the current minute. So it's 3:55. The designers write:

The "Order in Chaos" clocks - is a vivid illustration of the self paradigm to overcome the anarchy in you and connect with the universe. This clock is an example of a strange relationship between order and chaos.

Link via Gizmodo

Gimme is a robot/sculpture designed by Chris Eckert that follows people around, asking for money:

My newest art machine, Gimme is an automated panhandler that follows a viewer (or multiple viewers) around the room while relentlessly requesting donations.

Link via Make

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The Imponderables, a comedy troupe, made this parody of The Bourne Ultimatum casting Waldo of the Where's Waldo? books as the central character. His identity was erased. His past was stolen. His whereabouts are unknown. Can they find Waldo?

via Geekosystem | Official Website

Previously:
Where's Waldo? On Google Street View
Werner Herzog Reads Where's Waldo
9 Surprising Things Found in Where's Waldo? Books

Yes, there's a musical version of the science fiction movie Jurassic Park. It was written by Phillip Malcom and Aaron Holmes. The play has been occasionally performed since 2009 by college students in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's about an hour long, and you can watch it in the links below.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

via Nerd Bastards | Official Website

Jon Cohen of the science fiction blog blastr gathered yearbook photos of 26 movie stars from that genre, such as Mark Hamil (left). Others include Chris Pine, Harrison Ford, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Zachary Quinto.

Link