In March of 1876 in Bath County, Kentucky, pieces of meat started falling from the sky. Not just a little bit, but enough to have all the neighbors gathering to figure out what happened. The meat was dropped over an area 100 yards long and 50 yards wide.
The shower drew plenty of attention, and curious neighbors and newspaper reporters flocked to the Crouchs’ farm to see the mystery meat and offer their opinions on it. Many locals said it looked like beef, but one neighbor who was a hunter, “on being shown a piece of the flesh, declared it to be bear meat, and stated that it had ‘that uncommonly greasy feel’ peculiar to the flesh of that animal.”
Others took it upon themselves to taste it, and two men said it was “either mutton or venison.” A local butcher who tried a piece “declared that it tasted neither like flesh, fish or fowl. It looked to him like mutton, but the smell was a new one.”
With no one able to identify the meat by sight or taste, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported, “a great deal of the flesh was sent to chemists and others in various parts of the country, and analyses were made by several well-known scientists.”
The scientists came up with several possibilities, but the most likely explanation is one you won’t want to read while eating. The rest of the story is at mental_floss.
This game works a bit like Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero, in that you have to play an instrument at the right time in the music in order to score. That said, the score is the least of your concerns because you are playing the cymbal and the cannon for the 1812 Overture! There are certain points during which you can fire the cannon and cause a massive explosion whether or not the song calls for it. That’s the fun! I scored 45 or something, but also managed to wreck the opera hall quite a few times. Play it yourself and see what I mean. -via b3ta
A group of seminarians are entertaining the crowd at a fundraiser at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. We have a musical number going when things go all Jimmy Cagney. The Rev. David Rider (of Hyde Park, New York) starts tap dancing. He is challenged by the Rev. John Gibson of Milwaukee, who shows off his Irish dance. The two try to one-up each other until they come to a moratorium and stage a duet. It was a real crowd-pleaser! -via Buzzfeed
Even if you couldn’t see their faces, it should be obvious which of these Tolkien fans is the older one. Sigh. This comic from CommitStrip is labeled “a true story.” Share this with someone young and let us know if you have to explain it. -via Geeks Are Sexy
Remember the stranger who ran into a burning house to save a man? He left the scene without talking to the media, and managed to lay low for a couple of days. But Jimmy Kimmel found out his name is Tom Artiaga and invited him to a taping of Jimmy Jimmel Live! That’s when Artiaga’s cover was blown, so he could receive some recognition -and appropriate rewards for an avid baseball fan. -via Viral Viral Videos
Ebola jokes can be tasteless or scary, and could cause offense among those who are truly frightened of the virus. But no one takes public health more seriously than ZDoggMD, the musical alter ego of Dr. Zubin Damania.
Too soon, you say?
Actually, not soon enough. The US media hysteria around this illness is ripe for ridicule and it’s time we stepped up before someone else does it even more tastelessly.
Yeah, it’s a clever song parody, but the purpose of it is to warn against misinformation and panic regarding the disease. The duet features Devin Moore from the band Rabbit! (Incidentally, a Z-pack will do nothing against a virus.) Read more at ZDoggMD.
As I grew up in the 1970s, I recognized that the Disney princesses I’d enjoyed at the movies were not good role models for my own future daughters. But by the time I had daughters, there was a whole new generation of princesses, and they were each progressively a bit more relevant to real life. Of course, each was criticized, but then the protagonist was usually improved upon in the next princess movie. Caroline Siede looks at the different ways the princesses are role models for young girls.
Belle is defined by her intelligence and love of reading. Princess Jasmine—the only supporting character in the entire princess line—openly declares she’s not a prize to be won. Mulan disguises herself as a man and saves China from invasion. Tiana goes from waitress to business owner thanks to her own determination. Merida and Rapunzel reject the limiting lifestyles their parents try to force on them. Like Snow White, these female-driven films found massive success at the box office, and like Frozen they actively subvert expectations of Disney princess storytelling.
And while Moana deserves ample praise for centering on a woman of color, Disney has actually done a fairly good—if delayed—job diversifying its princess line. So far the company has turned a Middle Eastern princess, a Native American chief’s daughter, a Chinese warrior, and a black business-owner into four of the most recognizable characters in pop culture with remarkably little fanfare. Meanwhile, we’ve yet to have a single superhero movie centered on a character of color.
Even looking back at the three classic era princess movies: Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, they were breakthrough films when considered in the social context of their time. As the progressive arc from Snow White through Frozen continues, we are looking forward to Disney’s next princess movie, Moana, in 2016. Read Siede’s full article at Boing Boing.
When Rosecrans Baldwin, the author of Paris, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down, took a copywriting job at a French advertising agency and relocated from Brooklyn to the 3rd arrondissement, he imagined a life of baguettes, croissants, and other fine carbohydrates. The reality of expat living in Paris, he soon learned, was a little bit more complicated.
1. There’s an actual psychological disorder called Paris syndrome. It occurs when a tourist arrives in Paris and is so distressed to find the city does not meet his or her romantic expectations that it causes a breakdown. It strikes about a dozen people each year. Japanese visitors are particularly susceptible, possibly due to the über-romantic image that Paris holds in Japan. The Japanese embassy once repatriated several sufferers with a doctor or nurse aboard the plane.
2. Parisian doctors work from home. Not all of them, of course, but the physician I saw did. It’s unsettling to walk through a doctor’s living room, past her children’s things, to reach an examination room full of medical equipment. She also answered her own phone and could always see me within a few hours. At the time, I wondered if she was really a doctor.
3. McDonalds is perceived by lots of people to be a wholesome restaurant. But the French still eat their takeout in classic French style: over several courses. Lots of my French co-workers would get takeout from there nearly every day. A few chicken nuggets to start. Then a burger, possibly two burgers -un Big Tasty or un Royal Deluxe- plus fries and perhaps a beer. This was followed up by a small house salad, then dessert (no French meal is complete without dessert). All of this was consumed over the course of 45 minutes, with plenty of time for casual conversation.
4. The French are very polite, especially to one another.
Have you ever heard the saying, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander"? Well, take a gander at these guys who are willing to try on sexy Halloween costumes designed for women. Sure, the costumes are overly revealing, poorly-constructed, and mostly just dumb. But at a few points, the fellows start to enjoy it. -via Geeks Are Sexy
There are certain aspects of horror films that tend to get used over and over because they just work. If you want to craft a good story, you need to know how to harness the power of darkness, the long tracking shot, the juxtaposition because ordinary life and the nightmare, the suspenseful reveal, and other aspects of storytelling on film. But honestly, you don’t have to care about filmmaking at all to enjoy this article, because it’s got video clips of classic scenes narrated to illustrate each concept, so you don’t even have to read anything. -via Metafilter
Air New Zealand is the official airline of Middle-Earth. And they take full advantage of the title, with a new flight safety video thst has an overwhelming Hobbit theme. This was directed by Taika Waititi, with appearances by Peter Jackson and Elijah Wood and cameos by Sylvester McCoy (Radagast the Brown), Dean O’Gorman (Fili), and Weta Workshop co-founder Sir Richard Taylor. -via Hilary Gilbert
Deric Peace said he’d replaced the ice in his refrigerator door dispenser with candy. He even posted this picture to reddit. It sounds like a great idea, but some were a bit skeptical as to whether it worked, so he had to show us a video.
Imagine getting a cup of Reece’s minis, peppermint patties, M&Ms, and Skittles anytime you want! He says,
Literally just came to me the other night, and I said, I don't really use the ice maker for ice, and I wonder...the next morning I spent about 40 dollars at Rite-Aid, and the woman who checked me out thought I was an idiot. Probably still am, but when I poured in the first batch of reese's cups, and they just poured out like I hit the candy jackpot, I was beside myself. I love candy, I love making things easier, and making non-useful things (to me) more so. That's really it.
Wash out the bin, and then fill with candy that is not wrapped. This is my next step, and I have a lot of candy to eat quickly. Good thing I have friends to share the burden with. I am not going back to ice, this usage is permanent.
He even posted another video to apologize for shooting the video in portrait mode -and to answer some more questions. In case you are wondering, Peace has no children. But I’m sure he will have lots of visitors!
Dawson’s Creek was a 1990s TV show about “life, love, and growing up.” And so is the remake Dachshund’s Creek, except this time around, the roles are played by weiner dogs named Gandalf, Winnie, Mocha, and Aurora. You don’t have to be a fan of the show, or even have seen it at all, to enjoy this version directed by Michael Immerman. -via Time
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.
What are your chances of surviving a plane crash? Contrary to popular belief, they're actually very good indeed: especially if you're in the cheap seats.
In the United States, between 1983 and 2000, there were 568 plane crashes. In 90% of them there were survivors, and out of the 53,487 people onboard, 51,207 survived. (Of course, the 9/11 tragedies changed all of our considerations about crashes. nonetheless, "deliberate" crashes are, of course, an infinitesimal possibility.)
According to Popular Mechanics magazine, the safest place to be in the event of a crash is at the back, well behind the wings, where there is a 69% survival rate. Sitting over (or just in front of) the wings reduces your chances of getting out alive to 56%. The worst place to be is right up in front in first class, where the survival rate falls to 49%. (A bit of dark irony there, as the VIPs and most affluent people are actually in the least safe, highest risk seats.)
According to the world's leading fire safety engineer, professor Ed Galea of the University of Greenwich, the biggest danger is actually seat belts. In an emergency, passengers panic and revert to what they are familiar with: they struggle to open them like a seat belt in a car, resulting in (sometimes fatal) delay.
Fire is, of course, a major problem, largely because of smoke inhalation. Your safest bet is to sit on the aisle close to an exit. Before takeoff, make a note of how many rows there are between you and the nearest exit. That way, even if the cabin is filled with smoke, you'll still be able to crawl your way out by feel.
Until recently, it was thought impossible for a passenger airliner to make a successful emergency landing on water. To prevent the plane from breaking up on impact, the pilot must slow down as much as possible -but without losing lift- so that the tail of the plane hits the water first.
The wings must be perfectly level: if one wing hits the water before the other, the plane will cartwheel and break up. The fuel must be used up or dumped: it's weight would cause the plane to sink, even if it did land successfully. Then there's the weather, and sea conditions, either of which could wreck the plane, no matter how calmly the pilot behaves.
Despite such unnerving obstacles and such a low margin for error, there have been at least a half a dozen successful emergency landings by airliners on water. The most recent and spectacular example occurred in January 2009, when an Airbus A320, US Airways Flight 1549, ditched in the Hudson River in New York.
Shortly after takeoff, the plane hit a flock of geese and had to make a forced landing on the water. The pilot did this perfectly, saving the lives of all 155 people on board.
Airline statisticians like to say that you are ten times more likely to be hit by a comet than to die in a plane crash. This is because, once every million years or so, an extraterrestrial body collides with earth. The next time this happens, it will probably wipe out half the earth's population. But as far as they know, the last time anyone was hit by a comet was 12,900 years ago.
It is definitely the case, however, that you are many times more likely to die in the taxi cab on the way to and from the airport than you are on the flight itself.
I’m not sure why facts are “dumb,” especially about dessert, because that’s a very serious subject. Find out about the most expensive sundae, the biggest gingerbread house, who invented the popsicle, where to find a pickle-flavored snow cone, and so on, in this week’s mental_floss List Show video. Am I seeing something that’s not there, or does John Green look a bit under the weather? That’s what I look like when I have a bad cold.
