The following is a Whodunit by Hy Conrad featuring Sherman Oliver Holmes, a mysterious crime solver and great-great-grandson of Sherlock Holmes. Can you solve the crime?

(Image credit: Flickr user Judy van der Velden)

Luther brought a new pot of coffee into the dining room and began refreshing everyone's cup. "Agatha, is that the crystal ball you were telling us about?"

"Isn't it gorgeous!" The young woman in the flowing robe held it up for all to see, a round piece of cut crystal, not much larger than a baseball. "The salesman guaranteed me that it once belonged to Morgan LeFay.  And this wasn't her everyday crystal either. It was her special one." Agatha passed the ball to Sherman Holmes.

"It's blooming lovely," Sherman said, managing to keep a straight face. He enjoyed his weekly dinners with Luther, Agatha, and Grimelda. The warlock and two witches might seem a little extreme to Sherman's other friends, but they were full of life and always interesting. And they accepted without question Sherman's own idiosyncrasies.

All three examined the ball, then watched as Agatha returned it to the red velvet box. "They say it has a mind of its own. If the crystal doesn't like its current owner, it will find a new one. We get along swimmingly, I'm glad to say."

The evening was almost over. Agatha helped Luther, the host, clear the dining room table, while Grimelda went to the bathroom and Sherman browsed through Luther's library. When he returned to the living room, Grimelda was adjusting her shawl and checking her makeup in the mirror over the mantle. She had always been the most attractive witch in the coven. Sherman had heard from Luther that there was some tension between her and the younger, newer arrival, Agatha.

"Next week at my abode," Sherman reminded her.

Grimelda seemed startled. "Oh, that's right. We're going to help you contact Dr. Watson. We never had much luck contacting your great-great-grandfather, did we?"

"We'll have to keep trying. Luther!" he shouted to the next room. "A scrumptious dinner." Then he saw the velvet box on the sideboard beside the full pot of coffee. "Agatha, don't forget your crystal." Sherman picked up the box and could instantly tell it was too light.

"It's gone," Agatha cried when she discovered the empty box. "Morgan's crystal has left me. I feel so rejected!"

The following is a Whodunit by Hy Conrad featuring Sherman Oliver Holmes, a mysterious crime solver and great-great-grandson of Sherlock Holmes. Can you solve the crime?

For all the help Sherman Holmes provided the police, he received little if any recognition. In fact, the officers he helped the most were often the first to make fun of his quirky personality. "They don't want people thinking some amateur is solving their eases," Sherman would say with a generous shrug. "I just wish I didn't have to sneak around eavesdropping all the time."

One of Sherman's most extreme eavesdropping cases involved hiding behind a coatrack for over an hour. On that day, his instincts for crime led him beyond a yellow-tape barricade and into the front hall of a police safe house, a normal looking home in a modest, pleasant-looking row house in which a mob witness had just been murdered.

From behind the safety of the coats, Sherman watched as a nervous rookie stood over the body of the strangled man. A minute later, Captain Loeb strode in, his baggy suit flapping in the breeze.

"I was here protecting the witness," stammered the rookie. "Then I got a call from your office, ordering me back to the station. I left him alone. By the time I figured out the call was a fake and rushed back here, Frankie was dead."

The captain remained calm. "Who all has keys to the front door?"

"Just me," answered the rookie. "The door locked automatically behind me. I told Frankie not to open up to anyone."

Captain Loeb examined the body. "Strangled from behind, meaning he probably trusted his assailant. Who would Frankie open the door for? Let's get them in here."

The first suspect to be brought in was Lou, the victim's brother-in-law. "Frankie sneaked a telephone call to me last night at work," Lou said, staring down at the corpse. "I'm a phone company operator. Frankie didn't tell me where he was. My wife is going to go nuts when she hears."

The second suspect was Barry Aiello, the secret mob informant who had talked Frankie into testifying. "I feel like I'm responsible," he sighed. "The mob was using all their contacts to find him." Barry bent down and examined the welts around the victim's neck. "Looks like a belt was used. Poor Frankie shouldn't have turned his back."

(YouTube link)

Coco, the doting mother cat, takes a breakfast of cranberries. I guess she knows she's not allowed on the counter, but as longs as she stays up there, she may be within the rules. Or something like that. -via Tastefully Offensive

(YouTube link)

Rhythmic gymnast Shin Soo-ji threw out the first pitch at the game between Doosan and Jamsil on Friday. I think she made an impression with the crowd! If you don't believe what you see, wait for the slow-motion replay from a couple of different angles. -via Gorilla Mask

I was a little surprised to find that with the Fourth of July falling on a Thursday, many Americans got a long holiday weekend. And since the public fireworks display in my town was canceled due to rain, they were moved to Saturday night. So hey! There's nothing like turning a one-day holiday into a four-day celebration! With the kids out of school and a holiday schedule online, I've lost track of time completely in the past few days. But who am I kidding -the real reason is because I've been watching The Walking Dead marathon, and this time around, my kids are interested. Three years ago, they were too young for it. Come October, Sunday nights will be "family TV night." There are plenty of TV marathons on this weekend, but when you get a chance, you need to take a little time to catch up on what's been happening at Neatorama.  

Jill Harness went to a Transformers convention and showed us what she found in All About The BotCon. 

Alex showed us an amazing Life-Size Dexter Cake.

Eddie Deezen pondered the question Was the Declaration of Independence Written on Hemp?

We got an exclusive look at the latest sculpture from Joel Haas called St. Sweeper.

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader gave us Born on the 2nd of July.

How to Write a Crank Letter was the contribution from the Annals of Improbable Research.

10 Shocking Secrets of Flight Attendants came from mental_floss magazine.

Hy Conrad brought us another Whodunit: Foul Ball Burglary.

We had one featured pet on The Lifestyles of the Cute and Cuddly. His name is Blue, and I couldn't resist making a cat macro out of his picture. Thanks, Nathan, for sending his picture! We want to feature your pet, too, so send those pictures in to tips@neatorama.com. I would love to have a new featured pet every day!

In the What Is It? game this week, believe it or not, the odd thingamabob is a device for singeing the last remaining feathers off a plucked chicken. DrWhat was the first person who knew that answer, and wins a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! The funniest answer came from Ian Goldstein, who said, "It's an old victorian codpiece. Notice how it can open for either your night out with the town's ha'penny trollop, or to check yourself for the Clap afterwards." That story wins a shirt, too! See the answers to all this week's mystery items at the What Is It? blog.
 
The most commented-on post this week (besides the giveaway) was The American Way of Birth, Costliest in the World, trailed by What's Your State Burger? and Veterinarian Sits in a Parked Car for 30 Minutes to Show How Hot It Gets.

The most popular post was 10 Shocking Secrets of Flight Attendants. In second place was Life-Size Dexter Cake, and Born on the 2nd of July was third.

The most emailed post was Baking Cookies Inside a Car. Coming in second was Beards: What You Need to Know, and Dwarf Miniature Horse Walks with a Wheelchair for the First Time was third.

The post with the most ♥s was Veterinarian Sits in a Parked Car for 30 Minutes to Show How Hot It Gets, followed by This Hedgehog Travels More Than I Do and A Short Epic.

Clicking those little ♥s is an easy way for you to show us which posts you like best, and for us to see what kind of neat stuff to bring you more of! Now, if we could just get the kind of response that we get on our Facebook page. This picture of a bathtub was posted and got over 300 likes! You should checkout the Neatoramanauts Facebook page every day to see extra stuff you don't see here.
 
Twaggies is a part of the Neatorama family now. There are plenty of Twaggies besides those on the main page, so check them out often. And if you find one that particularly strikes your fancy, you can have it made into a t-shirt!

And if you liked any of this, just wait until next week, when we'll have a whole new batch of neat things on Neatorama!

Thirty-four years after the filming of Caddyshack, the AV Club went to see the country club where it was shot. Although the story was set in the midwest, the location was the Rolling Hills Golf Course near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Its now named Grande Oaks Golf Club, and the current staff embraces its fame.

Perhaps fittingly, not much looks the same at Grande Oaks as it did when Caddyshack shot there more than three decades ago. The hotel that hosted some of the most raucous partying in Hollywood history is now a dorm for Nova Southeastern University, which owns Grande Oaks. The clubhouse was leveled when the club was renovated in 2000, and the golf course has been redesigned. The titular caddyshack is long gone, save for some of its foundation.

But Grande Oaks proudly touts its place in cinematic history: Its homepage proclaims it the “Home of Caddyshack,” it named its snack bar after the film, and it naturally has a variety of Caddyshack merchandise in its pro shop. “You hear a quote about every 20 minutes here,” says Joseph Semmler, the club’s membership director. He does it without even realizing he’s doing it. When we were chatting, a plane flew overhead—Grande Oaks lies in the flight path of Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which caused headaches for the production—so we had to pause and wait for it to pass. “No big deal,” Semmler said.

Kyle Ryan talked to Cindy Morgan, who played Lacey Underall in the movie, about the filming. She said the press reports of the partying that went on during the movie were no exaggeration -in fact they were understated. WARNING: article contains auto-start video. Link -via mental_floss

If you didn't get your fill of pyrotechics last night (it rained all night here), Wired has stories on 11 famous explosions in history for you. Some are tongue-in-cheek, but others cover events like the boom that extinguished the dinosaurs and the time the U.S. government threw 20,000 pounds of metallic sodium into a lake for safety purposes. Link -via Digg

(YouTube link)

This is not a new trick; you may have even played this parlor game yourself. But now we can watch how weird it looks in slow motion! Besides that, we get an expert telling us about real-life human reaction lag. -via Laughing Squid

Once again, Shedblog has announced the winner of the Shed of the Year contest. This year's winner belongs to Alex Holland from Machynlleth in mid Wales. It's a shed with a boat for a roof!

The unique and beautifully crafted shed is no ordinary design. It has a recycled upturned boat for a roof and a 20w solar panel to power LED lights. Located at an altitude of 750ft above sea level in the Cambrian Mountain range, mid Wales, the rustically charming shack is made entirely from recycled materials and contains a wood burner, 12v sound system and gas cooker – as well as a refrigerator to store chilled drinks.

Alex Holland comments: “I am absolutely delighted to have won the 2013 Shed of the Year competition sponsored by Cuprinol. The standard and creativity shown by the other entrants has been incredible so I am genuinely surprised to have reached the top spot! With the £1,000 prize from the sponsors Cuprinol I intend to buy a second hand 400w 12v wind turbine to augment the solar panel to give me enough electricity to make ice in the fridge for gin and tonics, and to ensure the cider and beers are always chilled. I’ll then be able to have a proper party to celebrate with those who have supported me in getting so far.”  

See more pictures of the shed at Shedblog. Link  -via b3ta


Previously: The 2012 and the 2011 Sheds of the Year.

Civil War soldiers endured a lot of horrors: fighting fellow Americans, long waits for medical care, primitive living conditions, and the food. The food was awful, being limited to what a soldier could carry, and rations relied heavily on dry, insect-laden hardtack.

The boys in Union blue also got dried navy beans and, occasionally, a "treat" of sorts: dehydrated potatoes, fruit and other items the soldiers jokingly called "desecrated" vegetables (perhaps because their flavor violated the laws of nature?). At least the North had coffee — though it was a brew "you probably wouldn't recognize in New York," as 16-year-old Union soldier Charles Nott wrote home. "Boiled in an open kettle, and about the color of a brownstone front, it was nevertheless ... the only warm thing we had."

Confederate soldiers weren't so lucky: Union blockades kept coffee, flour and other goods from reaching the South. Those jonesing for a cup of joe had to make do with substitutes brewed from peanuts, chicory, rye, peas, dried apples — pretty much anything they could get their hands on.

In fact, the lengths Confederate soldiers had to go for food contributed to their defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg. Read more about Civil War rations at NPR. Link -via Holy Kaw!

(YouTube link)

The short answer: yes. But as Tommy Edison, the Blind Film Critic, explains, there are a few problems. First off, a blind person sees everything in 3D by touch. Second, he has never touched a giraffe. And third, once the pen has been lifted, it's hard to know exactly where it has already been. As far as the finished product goes: I've seen worse. -via Viral Viral Videos

Previously: More from Tommy Edison.

Dogs are employed as sniffers for all sorts of jobs. One specialty is a dog trained to detect disease in honeybees, particularly a nasty-sounding ailment called American foulbrood. Australian beekeeper Josh Kennett trained his Labrador Bazz to detect the disease, but he ran into a problem -bees tend to chase dogs off.

The beekeeper, from Tintinara in South Australia's south-east, says that while there are dogs doing similar work in the United States, the cold temperatures there negate the need for protection.

"Their winters are far colder than ours, with snow over the top of beehives. We don't have that situation here in South Australia.

"So I've tried to develop a suit the dog can wear and hopefully avoid being stung."

Mr Kennett says after a long process of trial and error, he's finally got a working prototype.  

The next step is to get Bazz used to working in the suit. Link  -via Arbroath

(Image credit: Josh Kennett)

(YouTube link)

She may not use a cue, but she certainly understands the point of the game. And she looks good doing it! -via Tastefully Offensive

If you're in East London anytime before August 4, 2013, you can climb these walls without fear of falling. It's an optical illusion created by Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich called Dalston House. Here's how it's done.

The "house" is on the ground, with a giant mirror looming over it at an angle. The work was commissioned by the Barbican in London.   

(YouTube link)

See more pictures at Colossal. Link -via Geeks Are Sexy

Previously: More of Erlich's illusion art.

An article in the Indianapolis Star about interstate bridge heights and semitrailers has an unusual graphic. The "Average housecat shown for scale" appears to be 14' 9" tall! Readers -and the internet- had a good time with that one. However, there is an explanation.

But it's all about the baseline, said the artist, Stephen J. Beard. The bottom line of the bar chart is not zero — it begins at 13’6” — so the cat is only pictured at a normal 1’3’’ in height, not 14’’9’. (Though I’m going to break out a ruler when I get home and confirm this data point with my own feline roommate.)

So the "scale" is actually a housecat sitting on top of a tall 18-wheeler. Glad they've cleared that up. He'd better move before they get to a bridge! Link  -via Buzzfeed