YouTube user ThisIsVegas says that a few years ago, he and his mother visited the Samphram Crocodile Farm in Bangkok. He recorded a shocking accident at one of the public shows when one performer stuck his hand down the throat of a crocodile.
That boy is lucky that he wasn't killed . . . by his co-workers!
-via Gifsboom
We've got to keep up appearances in high society, so let's class up the joint. You know how to do that? With gold and champagne. Yes, we've already got those. But now let's use them in a high-powered water gun that will liven up any party. It's called the Champagne Gun.
Jeremy Touitou, the owner of a nightlife party supply company, is offering them for $459 each. The Miami New Times reports:
Touitou hopes local clubs will want to use them in their VIP sections or perhaps just as decoration behind the bar. The gun is simple enough to use: Attach a magnum bottle (it shoots only magnum-sized bottles at the moment, as those are the most difficult for clubs to sell) to the gun, give it a couple of shakes, and then you get to feel like P. Diddy for 45 seconds as your gun (available in gold, rose gold, and chrome finishes) sprays a stream of champagne at a distance of up to 23 feet.
With a special attachment, you can also pour champagne from the bottle into a glass--if you're the sort of boor who would do such a thing.
(Photo: zz80zz)
They're copperheads, so they're deadly. Just one is enough to kill you.
You have 4 seconds. Go.
-via TYWKIWDBI
(Image: Karafes)
Japan is not limited by Western sensibilities of what is an appropriate ice cream flavor. Let us be glad, else we might never get the chance to try beef tongue ice cream or foie gras ice cream.
Now we can try one more meat-based ice cream. Rocket News 24 reports that the city of Fukuoka is hosting the Karaage Festival--a celebration of a type of fried chicken dish. Visitors will be able to eat karaage-flavored ice cream. Let's go!
-via First We Feast
The horror fiction writer Eric Carle created a tale that will terrify generations of adults and children--if it's told the right way. Altering traditional literature for optimal character development is one of the essential roles of the father. That's why, when I read The Rainbow Fish to my kids, I have Rainbow Fish sell his scales at a steep markup price and become the richest fish in the sea.
(Images: CBS)
Most of the female Starfleet crewmen on the original Star Trek wore very short minidresses. This was not Gene Roddenberry's original plan. But the network axed the professional, non-titillating uniforms that the female crewmen on the first pilot episode wore, along with the female first officer.
As a generation grew up watching Star Trek and its depicted gender roles, some critics called for greater equity when the franchise was developing The Next Generation in the mid-80s. One of the results was that, for a few episodes, a couple male background characters wore minidresses. Nigel Mitchell, About.com's Star Trek expert*, traces the lengthy history of the Star Trek miniskirt:
When people began to complain, the Trek community's response was, "Nuh-uh! The mini-skirts weren't sexist! Because, uh, men wore them, too! It was unisex!" This seems to have been most clearly stated in 1995's The Art of Star Trek. In it, the book says "the skirt design for men 'skant' [a combination of "skirt and pant"] was a logical development, given the total equality of the sexes presumed to exist in the 24th century."
Of course, this is easier said than done. The next question would always be, "So where were all the men in mini-skirts on the original series?" The answer would be that there were some, but you just didn't see them, which left uncomfortable stares and raised eyebrows. That gap is what Star Trek: The Next Generation tried to fill.
When the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" aired in 1987, the "skant" is worn by both Deanna Troi and Tasha Yar (briefly). But we also get our first glimpse of the male skant in the background in this episode. Overall, the men wearing skants appeared in five episodes of the first season ("Encounter at Farpoint", "Haven", "Conspiracy", "Where No One Has Gone Before" and "11001001"). They also appeared in second season episodes "The Child", "The Outrageous Okona", "The Schizoid Man", and "Samaritan Snare." Their final appearance came during flashbacks in the series finale "All Good Things..."
*And Nigel really does know his stuff. I saw that clearly a while back when he and I were brainstorming ideas for a Worf sitcom.
Roboticist Simone Giertz leads us into a bright future. She is constantly revealing startling new creations from her workshop that automate our daily tasks, like correcting errors on the internet.
Many comments on websites are left by bots--computer programs that write short blurbs for scams. But Giertz's internet argumenting bot is different. It writes comments with grammar, spelling, and reasoning superior to the norm. Although Giertz doesn't provide evidence for it, I'm confident that this robot could pass the Turing Test.
Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly the sort of building that every city needs to convey its splendor. A cobra tower could house a hospital, a school, charitable non-profits, or, you know Cobra.
Vasily Klyukin is a Russian architect who designs unconventional buildings, such as a hospital that looks like a ship. He now proposes building an Asian Cobra Tower because . . . well, it's awesome, that's why.
-via Lustik
There's a lot more than basketball going on at the basketball game. Some people avoid the famous Kiss Cam. Others enjoy the attention and smooch on demand to the cheers of the crowds. It's cute.
It's also big money. The LCD screens are huge advertising draws, so the arena operators do their best to get attention up there. That's why the Kiss Cam exists.
How does it work? How do the camera operators choose which people to focus on? It looks like a smooth and easy task, but that's only because the best professionals in the arena staging industry are running the show. Vox takes you behind the scenes to describe how they do their jobs, including how they operate the Kiss Cam.
Would you travel back in time to kill Hitler as a baby? It's a classic ethical dilemma. A better question is: could you kill Hitler as a baby? Granted, he's not a super-soldier. But I'm pretty sure that he could face off against an infant under any combat conditions.
It's a surreal horror movie that will leave you wondering what world you're living in. Alan Resnick's short film This House Has People in It begins with a couple arguing about their vacation plans. Then you notice that they're casually stepping over a body on the floor as they talk.
The events are captured by security cameras throughout the house. Appropriately, the film's companion website is a sales page for a home security system. Well, not really home security--just home surveillance. Nothing is safe inside this home.
Content warning: foul language.
-via Super Punch
(Photo: National Cancer Institute)
Medical researchers in the UK gave this treatment to 257 women who had a particular type of breast cancer, affecting about a tenth of breast cancer patients. These women took two drugs: lapatinib and trastuzumab. The results surprised doctors. The BBC reports:
But by the time surgeons came to operate, there was no sign of cancer in some patients.
Prof Judith Bliss, from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said the impact was "dramatic".
She told the BBC News website: "We were particularly surprised by these findings as this was a short-term trial.
"It became apparent some had a complete response. It's absolutely intriguing, it is so fast."
The tumors completely disappeared for 11% of the patients and shrank considerably for another 17% of participants in the study.
-via Ace of Spades HQ
This is perfect for gaming night with your friends! Planet Licker is a game that you play with a special USB-connected controller. It doesn't have buttons, but popsicles. To activate them, lick them. The goal is to maneuver around mines to lick every planet in the region. Gamasutra interviewed the creators at a recent convention:
Why popsicles? Did you test out any other edible items?
FRANK: Our first test used ice cubes. We considered gelatin because of its moldable properties, but the idea of licking gelatin seemed too weird because that’s not a gesture you normally perform with that food when you eat it. Ice pops work because they are something people lick anyway, and they’re able to take on the form of most any shape we design on the computer as a 3D model. We’re still considering making the controller in candy, but it would require a bit of extra engineering as sugar isn’t conductive enough for our game.
-via Daily of the Day
(Photo: Viaggio Routard)
The story goes that in 1807, Giuseppe Bertoleoni, a man from Genoa, was facing bigamy charges. He fled the city with the pair of sisters that he had married and made his way to Tavolara, an uninhabited island off the coast of Sardinia. It's about 2 square miles of rocks and goats.
In 1836, King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia came to the island to hunt the goats. He met Paolo Bertoleoni, the son of the original settler, who introduced himself as the King of Tavolara. King Tonino, the current monarch, shared the story with BBC Travel:
“When he landed, Carlo Alberto introduced himself by saying, ‘I’m Carlo Alberto, the King of Sardinia,’” Tonino said. “And so my great-grandfather replied, ‘Well, I’m Paolo, the King of Tavolara.’”
After killing several goats and feasting for three days at Paolo’s home, Carlo Alberto was so delighted that he said, “Paolo, you really are the King of Tavolara!” before sailing off, according to Tonino. Joking or not, Carlo Alberto later confirmed that the far-flung island had never officially been part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and he sent Paolo a scroll from Carlo Alberto’s royal family, the House of Savoy, that certified the monarchy’s status.
Perhaps King Carlo Alberto was joking. But the Bertoleoni family took this proclamation very seriously and claimed the tiny island as their own independent kingdom.
King Tonino, 83, has ruled the island and its 11 inhabitants for 22 years. He also owns and operates the only restaurant on the island. It's a humble royalty:
These days, when he’s not fishing for squid or gardening outside his squat bungalow, his majesty lords over Tavolara's 11 part-time residents, 100 nimble mountain goats and a few species of endangered falcons that live atop the island’s 565m limestone peak. For the past 40 years, Tonino has been personally escorting visitors to his family’s island palace – first by rowboat, and now via a 25-minute ferry that he operates from Porto San Paolo.
“My family may have had a beautiful past,” Tonino said in a soft voice, “but we work hard and live simply, just like everybody else.”
In fact, running the kingdom is very much a family business. While the king and his nephew, Nicola, captain the summer ferry, the prince and princess in waiting, Giuseppe and Loredana, now run the beachside restaurant. Giuseppe’s nephew, Antonio, wakes up early to go fishing every morning and supplies most of the clams, lobster and fish that fly out of the kitchen each afternoon and evening.
-via Amusing Planet
You might think this is a digital rendering of Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, but it's actually lip makeup. Andrea Reed is a true master of her craft. She uses lips for both high fashion and as individual works of art. The results of her precise, detailed work are breathtaking.
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