Helpful Figures by Karl Pichotta has plenty of those every-popular infographics you see all around the blogosphere -but these are entertaining! Shown is a small portion of the infographic about food. Look through the archives to find an infographic on a subject that suits your interest. All have interesting "facts", possibly related artwork, and unclickable sources printed at the bottom, just like all those other infographics. Link -via Metafilter
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
Helpful Figures by Karl Pichotta has plenty of those every-popular infographics you see all around the blogosphere -but these are entertaining! Shown is a small portion of the infographic about food. Look through the archives to find an infographic on a subject that suits your interest. All have interesting "facts", possibly related artwork, and unclickable sources printed at the bottom, just like all those other infographics. Link -via Metafilter
(Image credit: Flickr user Karen Mae Farro)
Evidence of Convergence in Hominid Evolution
by Edward C. Theriot, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Arthur E. Bogan, Freshwater Molluscan Research, Sewell, New Jersey Earle E. Spamer, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
[This is an abbreviated version of the original article. The full text appears in AIR 1:1, January/February 1995, and in the book Best of Annals of Improbable Research.]
[School groups can hear and see a presentation based on this lecture. To arrange one, please telephone Edward Theriot or Earle Sapamer at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The number is 215-299-1000.]
According to National Geographic, hominids evolved first on the African continent, radiating to occupy the other continents during the past tens to hundreds of thousands of years. Current opinions put forth by anthropologists indicate that several genera and species evolved, of which only Homo exists today. The only evidence on which these suppositions are based are skeletal remains, preserved mostly as fragments. Cladistic studies of the characteristics of the bone fragments have led scientists to derive the evolutionary relationships between these different hominid animals.
However, from field evidence and empirical observations, we have discovered a previously unrecognized form of hominid, alive today, which is presumably globally distributed. It is certainly found in North America, where we first observed it. Its external morphology is completely unlike hominid morphology, for which reason it has been until now overlooked. Its discovery has immediate and far-reaching implications on understanding hominid evolution.
The following is an article from The Best of the Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
If you think the radio talk shows get a lot of strange calls, take a look at some of the questions that the folks at the Butterball Turkey Talk-line have fielded over the years.
DIAL "T" FOR TURKEY
If you bought a Butterball turkey in the 1970s, it would have included a sheet of cooking instructions, just like they still do today. But people still called the company to complain when their birds didn't come out right, which made Butterball wonder if people even bothered to read and follow the instructions. Disappointing dinners make for poor repeat business, so in 1981 Butterball started printing a toll-free number on the packaging and inviting customers to call in with any cooking questions they might have.
In those days 800 numbers were fairly rare, and the idea of calling one to get free cooking advice was a novelty. The company wasn't sure that callers would get the concept or even understand that the long-distance number was free. But they hired six home economists, set them up with phones in the company's test kitchen, and waited to see if the phone would ring. They were flabbergasted when more than 11,000 people jammed the line during the holiday season, especially on Thanksgiving, when the company figured hardly anyone would bother to call. An American institution was born.
CLUELESS ON LINE 4
Today Butterball has an automated phone system and a website to handle the most frequently asked questions. Still, more than 100,000 people call in each year to talk to the 50 turkey experts who staff the phones from November 1 through December 25. The advent of cordless and cell phones has put the Talk-line in even greater demand: People now call right from the dinner table to have someone talk them through the carving of the bird!
What's your favorite way to cook a turkey? Over the years, Butterball has tried to come up with cooking tips for every weird turkey fad that has come down the pike. In the early 1980s, they perfected a technique for cooking turkey in the microwave- which, believe it or not, was the third-most popular question in those days. (By 1987, it had dropped all the way down to #20.) Do you cook your turkey in a big brown paper bag? In a deep fryer? In a pillowcase smeared with butter? On a countertop rotisserie? The Butterball people won't always approve, but they will try to help.
DO TURKEYS HAVE BELLY BUTTONS?
Butterball has fielded some pretty bizarre questions over the past 25 years. Here are some favorites, along with the answers.
* Should I remove the plastic wrap before I cook my turkey? Yes.
* I don't want to touch the giblets. Can I fish them out with a coat hanger? Yes.
* Can I poke holes all over the turkey and pour a can of beer over it to keep it moist? You'll do more harm than good- the skin keeps the moisture in. Poking holes in it will dry it out.
* Can you thaw a frozen turkey using an electric hair dryer? Or by wrapping it in an electric blanket? In the aquarium with my tropical fish? In the tub while the kids are having their bath? No, no, no, and no. If you're in a hurry, thaw the turkey in the kitchen sink by immersing it in cold water. Allow half an hour per pound, and change the water every half hour.
* How can I thaw 12 turkeys all at once? The caller was cooking for a firehouse, so Butterball advised them to put them all in a clean trash can and hose them down with a firehose.
* The family dog bit off a big piece of the turkey. Can the rest of it be saved? Maybe. If the damage is localized, cut away the dog-eaten part of the bird and serve the rest. Disguise the maimed bird with garnishes, or carve it up out of view of your guests and serve the slices. The less your guests know, the better.
* The family dog is inside the turkey and can't get out. A few years back, Butterball really did get a call from the owner of a chihuahua that climbed inside the raw bird while the owner's back was turned. The opening was big enough for the dog to get in, but not big enough for it to get back out. The turkey expert instructed the owner on how to enlarge the opening without injuring the dog. (No word on whether the bird was eaten.) Butterball has also fielded calls from owners of gerbils and housecats. "I was told not to talk about that," one Talk-line staffer told a reporter in 1997.
* I need to drive two hours with my frozen turkey before I cook it. Will it stay frozen if I tie it to the luggage rack on the roof of my car? The caller was from Minnesota, so the answer was yes. If you live in Florida, Arizona, or Hawaii, the answer is no.
* I'm a truck driver. Can I cook the turkey on the engine block of my semi while I'm driving? If I drive faster, will it cook faster? There've been cases in wartime where soldiers cooked turkeys using the heat of Jeep engines, but Butterball gives no advice on the subject.
* I scrubbed my raw turkey with a toothbrush dipped in bleach for three hours. Is that enough to kill the harmful bacteria? The heat of the oven is what kills the bacteria; scrubbing the turkey with bleach makes it inedible. (In extreme cases like these, or anytime the Talk-line staffers fear the bird has become unsafe to eat, they advise the cook to discard the bird, eat out, and try again next year. If the caller can't imagine Thanksgiving without turkey, they can get some turkey hot dogs.)
* I don't want to cook the whole turkey, so I cut it in half with a chainsaw. How do I get the chainsaw oil out of the turkey? Toss the turkey and go get some hot dogs.
* The turkey in my freezer is 23 years old. Is it safe to eat? Butterball advised the caller that the bird was safe to eat, but that it probably wouldn't taste very good. "That's what we thought," the caller told the Talk-line. "We'll give it to the church."
MORE QUESTIONS FOR THE TALK-LINE
* How long does it take to thaw a fresh turkey?
* How long does it take to cook a turkey if I leave the oven door open the whole time? That's how my mom always did it.
* Does the turkey go in the oven feet first or head first?
* Can I baste my turkey with suntan lotion?
* When does turkey hunting season start?
* How do I prepare a turkey for vegetarians?
(All images from the Butterball website)
Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.
If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out!
If you think the radio talk shows get a lot of strange calls, take a look at some of the questions that the folks at the Butterball Turkey Talk-line have fielded over the years.
DIAL "T" FOR TURKEY
If you bought a Butterball turkey in the 1970s, it would have included a sheet of cooking instructions, just like they still do today. But people still called the company to complain when their birds didn't come out right, which made Butterball wonder if people even bothered to read and follow the instructions. Disappointing dinners make for poor repeat business, so in 1981 Butterball started printing a toll-free number on the packaging and inviting customers to call in with any cooking questions they might have.
In those days 800 numbers were fairly rare, and the idea of calling one to get free cooking advice was a novelty. The company wasn't sure that callers would get the concept or even understand that the long-distance number was free. But they hired six home economists, set them up with phones in the company's test kitchen, and waited to see if the phone would ring. They were flabbergasted when more than 11,000 people jammed the line during the holiday season, especially on Thanksgiving, when the company figured hardly anyone would bother to call. An American institution was born.
CLUELESS ON LINE 4
Today Butterball has an automated phone system and a website to handle the most frequently asked questions. Still, more than 100,000 people call in each year to talk to the 50 turkey experts who staff the phones from November 1 through December 25. The advent of cordless and cell phones has put the Talk-line in even greater demand: People now call right from the dinner table to have someone talk them through the carving of the bird!
What's your favorite way to cook a turkey? Over the years, Butterball has tried to come up with cooking tips for every weird turkey fad that has come down the pike. In the early 1980s, they perfected a technique for cooking turkey in the microwave- which, believe it or not, was the third-most popular question in those days. (By 1987, it had dropped all the way down to #20.) Do you cook your turkey in a big brown paper bag? In a deep fryer? In a pillowcase smeared with butter? On a countertop rotisserie? The Butterball people won't always approve, but they will try to help.
DO TURKEYS HAVE BELLY BUTTONS?
Butterball has fielded some pretty bizarre questions over the past 25 years. Here are some favorites, along with the answers.
* Should I remove the plastic wrap before I cook my turkey? Yes.
* I don't want to touch the giblets. Can I fish them out with a coat hanger? Yes.
* Can I poke holes all over the turkey and pour a can of beer over it to keep it moist? You'll do more harm than good- the skin keeps the moisture in. Poking holes in it will dry it out.
* Can you thaw a frozen turkey using an electric hair dryer? Or by wrapping it in an electric blanket? In the aquarium with my tropical fish? In the tub while the kids are having their bath? No, no, no, and no. If you're in a hurry, thaw the turkey in the kitchen sink by immersing it in cold water. Allow half an hour per pound, and change the water every half hour.
* How can I thaw 12 turkeys all at once? The caller was cooking for a firehouse, so Butterball advised them to put them all in a clean trash can and hose them down with a firehose.
* The family dog bit off a big piece of the turkey. Can the rest of it be saved? Maybe. If the damage is localized, cut away the dog-eaten part of the bird and serve the rest. Disguise the maimed bird with garnishes, or carve it up out of view of your guests and serve the slices. The less your guests know, the better.
* The family dog is inside the turkey and can't get out. A few years back, Butterball really did get a call from the owner of a chihuahua that climbed inside the raw bird while the owner's back was turned. The opening was big enough for the dog to get in, but not big enough for it to get back out. The turkey expert instructed the owner on how to enlarge the opening without injuring the dog. (No word on whether the bird was eaten.) Butterball has also fielded calls from owners of gerbils and housecats. "I was told not to talk about that," one Talk-line staffer told a reporter in 1997.
* I need to drive two hours with my frozen turkey before I cook it. Will it stay frozen if I tie it to the luggage rack on the roof of my car? The caller was from Minnesota, so the answer was yes. If you live in Florida, Arizona, or Hawaii, the answer is no.
* I'm a truck driver. Can I cook the turkey on the engine block of my semi while I'm driving? If I drive faster, will it cook faster? There've been cases in wartime where soldiers cooked turkeys using the heat of Jeep engines, but Butterball gives no advice on the subject.
* I scrubbed my raw turkey with a toothbrush dipped in bleach for three hours. Is that enough to kill the harmful bacteria? The heat of the oven is what kills the bacteria; scrubbing the turkey with bleach makes it inedible. (In extreme cases like these, or anytime the Talk-line staffers fear the bird has become unsafe to eat, they advise the cook to discard the bird, eat out, and try again next year. If the caller can't imagine Thanksgiving without turkey, they can get some turkey hot dogs.)
* I don't want to cook the whole turkey, so I cut it in half with a chainsaw. How do I get the chainsaw oil out of the turkey? Toss the turkey and go get some hot dogs.
* The turkey in my freezer is 23 years old. Is it safe to eat? Butterball advised the caller that the bird was safe to eat, but that it probably wouldn't taste very good. "That's what we thought," the caller told the Talk-line. "We'll give it to the church."
MORE QUESTIONS FOR THE TALK-LINE
* How long does it take to thaw a fresh turkey?
* How long does it take to cook a turkey if I leave the oven door open the whole time? That's how my mom always did it.
* Does the turkey go in the oven feet first or head first?
* Can I baste my turkey with suntan lotion?
* When does turkey hunting season start?
* How do I prepare a turkey for vegetarians?
(All images from the Butterball website)
___________________
The article above was reprinted with permission from The Best of the Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.
If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out!
Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts, but something's missing from his strange gadgets: names. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name will win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop!
Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you'd like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don't select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!
Update: Congratulations to first prize winner Jacob Holcomb, who named it Right Side Up, and second place winner Guldaur, who named it Awrygarb. Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop! We also have some entries deserving of honorable mention: Amanderpanderer parallelopants, Scarab Tilt-A-World Officewear by Management Vision, Scarab Sidewinder Suit, BrianD Slantaloons, BrianD The right pants!, reba buhr the elongoutfit, Trevor The Turncoat, and Trevor again for Whirrdrobe
Mass hysteria is when delusions or other symptoms of mental illness seem to spread through a whole population of people. Listverse has ten strange cases of the phenomena from the not-so-distant past. One affected those who followed the Portuguese soap opera Morangos com Açúcar.
Link -via the Presurfer
In May, 2006, an outbreak of the “Morangos com Açúcar Virus” was reported in Portuguese schools. 300 or more students at 14 schools reported similar symptoms to those experienced by the characters in a recent episode. These included rashes, difficulty breathing, and dizziness, forcing some schools to close. The Portuguese National Institute for Medical Emergency dismissed the illness as mass hysteria. This story concerned some parents because of the major influence this series has on the kids and teens that watch, it was in newspaper and magazines articles and elsewhere.
Link -via the Presurfer
Yep, our servers had a bit of a migraine this morning, but Neatorama is back online. Next, we are working to figure out how to keep that from happening again. You can help us out by letting your friends know we are back online. Thanks!
Meanwhile, while I've got you all here, the winner of Mal and Chad's Fill in the Bubble frenzy was selected.
Congratulations to lordunger, who wins a t-shirt from the NeatoShop for his efforts! Stick around for another chance to win with Mal and Chad next week!
The winners to the Name That Weird Invention! contest were selected as well. We couldn't decide between two great entries, so a first place tie was declared. Mike Struthers suggested Parkaderm, and scarab suggested Pachytherms. Both are awesome!
We'll announce the winners of the Tokyo Flash Treasure Hunt as soon as I hear who they are.
Meanwhile, while we scramble to get back on track, you can check out any of our features you might have missed from this past week:
Matt Busch Interview: Star Wars Zombie Posters and More
Quarks and Leptons and Bosons, Oh My!
Evidence of Continental Drift, in Highway Road Signs
Marooned: The Art of Being Shipwrecked
The Red Dawn of the Wolverines
Building in a Flood-prone Region
Meanwhile, while I've got you all here, the winner of Mal and Chad's Fill in the Bubble frenzy was selected.
How long do you think you can keep this ufo hidden? People are going to notice I don’t have a tv.
Congratulations to lordunger, who wins a t-shirt from the NeatoShop for his efforts! Stick around for another chance to win with Mal and Chad next week!
The winners to the Name That Weird Invention! contest were selected as well. We couldn't decide between two great entries, so a first place tie was declared. Mike Struthers suggested Parkaderm, and scarab suggested Pachytherms. Both are awesome!
We'll announce the winners of the Tokyo Flash Treasure Hunt as soon as I hear who they are.
Meanwhile, while we scramble to get back on track, you can check out any of our features you might have missed from this past week:
Matt Busch Interview: Star Wars Zombie Posters and More
Quarks and Leptons and Bosons, Oh My!
Evidence of Continental Drift, in Highway Road Signs
Marooned: The Art of Being Shipwrecked
The Red Dawn of the Wolverines
Building in a Flood-prone Region
Formula Rossa, the new roller coaster in Abu Dhabi travels 1.2 miles in only a minute and a half, reaching speeds of up to 150mph! But what else would you expect for a theme park called Ferrari World?
See a "point of view" video (which may cause dizziness) and a look behind the scenes at World's Biggest. Link
Harnessing the same technology that powers fighter planes off aircraft carriers, the rollercoaster's carriage travels the ride's 2.07 km (1.2 miles) distance in just a minute and half.
Oh, and did we mention it was built above Abu Dhabi's Formula 1 track? Well, it is. It's the star piece for the "Ferrari World" theme park that's opened just in time for the UAE's grand prix on November 12th.
See a "point of view" video (which may cause dizziness) and a look behind the scenes at World's Biggest. Link
(YouTube link)
Gliding through the Bath train station on a Saturday morning with a high-speed camera pointed out the window, capturing everything in detail. No plot, little action, and sadly, no music, but this video is oddly fascinating. -via b3ta
Lorie and Ryan Davenport are camped out in front of Best Buy in St. Petersburg, Florida, so they will be first in line for the Black Friday sale a full week from today. They switch off heir duties with another couple, and say they are saving places for ten people altogether, but this might tend to put a crimp in their Thanksgiving holiday.
Shopping is very important to some people. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/nov/18/190004/st-pete-couple-in-line-a-week-early-for-black-frid/news-money/ -via J-Walk Blog
"We've been doing this for six years now and we got beat out by the same guy for the last six years," said Lorie Davenport. "So this year, we said, this might be our last year, it might be our last hurrah, so we're coming extra early if we have to because we are gonna be first if it kills us."
After getting an OK from Best Buy management, the Davenports are now in it for the long haul.
Although the couple say they're not sure what they'll buy when the doors open at 5 a.m. next Friday, they are hoping for a good deal on a large-screen TV or perhaps something from the Apple Mac line.
Shopping is very important to some people. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/nov/18/190004/st-pete-couple-in-line-a-week-early-for-black-frid/news-money/ -via J-Walk Blog
Foolproof advertising is when your entire building brags about your product -and it's visible from far away. Still, it may tend to limit your customers when you sell the location. Mental_floss takes a look at ten such attention-grabbing buildings from this milk bottle ice cream stand to an 85-foot chest of drawers! Link
How well do you use apostrophes? Test yourself with this simple 10 sentence quiz. You can check each answer as you go, which may improve your performance on the later sentences. Yes, I guessed all of them correctly, even if I do make mistakes when I'm writing in a hurry. Link -via b3ta
(Image credit: Flickr user marymactavish)
(Image credit: Flickr user marymactavish)
(vimeo link)
Emily Gobeille and Theo Watson hacked an Xbox Kinect and created a puppet show made of light! Get this -it was one day's work. Engadget has a little more about the tech involved. Link -via The Daily What
Think having a wizard for a friend will make all your troubles go away? Think again -possessing the power of magic doesn't always mean one possesses competence! Take Orko, for example:
See all ten not-so-wonderful wizards at Geekosystem. Link
One of He-Man's running gags is Orko poor magical skills, in that nearly every time Orko attempts to use magic, it backfires. He also has a seemingly magically-imbued hat that can contain many more items than the hat's outside appearance and size would suggest.
It's never made clear why Orko is so inept, from Orko supposedly losing an amulet that allowed him to properly use his magic, to it being suggested in an episode that Trolla's natural laws are opposite of Eternia's.
See all ten not-so-wonderful wizards at Geekosystem. Link
Sacha Goldberger took a fanciful series of photographs of his grandmother Frederika in a super hero costume. The 91-year-old was delighted with the project. You see her here stopping traffic; other photos show Super Mamika campaigning for office, flying into buildings, and even one where she's in bed with Superman! Mrs. Goldberger's real life story is a fascinating read as well. After the photo shoot, "Mamika" attracted thousands of fans on MySpace and elsewhere. Link -Thanks, Alice!
University of Central Florida business professor Richard Quinn delivered a lecture he hoped he would never have to. He had uncovered indications that many of the class of 600 seniors had cheated on an exam. Quinn said the entire class had to retake the test, and challenged the cheaters to confess, in which case they would not be kicked out of school.
A video of the 15-minute lecture is included with the story. Link -via reddit
He said: “I don’t want to have to explain to your parents why you didn’t graduate, so I went to the Dean and I made a deal. The deal is you can either wait it out and hope that we don’t identify you, or you can identify yourself to your lab instructor and you can complete the rest of the course and the grade you get in the course is the grade you earned in the course.”
Prof Quinn also added a requirement for those who came forward complete a four hour course in ethics. In return there would be no permanent record of the cheating.
So far more than 200 students have admitted to cheating.
A video of the 15-minute lecture is included with the story. Link -via reddit
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