Paul Marshallsea of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, was barbecuing at Bulcock Beach in Australia when he heard bathers yell "Shark!" The 62-year-old tourist saw a shark approaching children and ran into the water, grabbed the shark, and pulled it away from the youngsters.
"My instincts took over and I just grabbed the shark by the tail.
"I know it was dangerous but it almost looked beautiful - you have got to have respect for a beautiful animal."
Helicopters and lifesavers on water bikes later lured the shark out to sea with the tide.
An Australian coastguard spokesman said: "We don't recommend manhandling sharks but this gentleman did a great job."
The six-foot dusky shark snapped at Marshallsea's leg, but missed by a fraction of an inch. A nearby TV crew caught the action on video. Link -via Time Newsfeed
John DeLancie (Star Trek's Q) explains the rise of the Bronies, and other aspects of My Little Pony fandom in a catchy little song. This is fan-made, not produced by Hasbro, but it is every bit as good as what you'll see on TV -or maybe even better! -via Metafilter
This photo from the Library and Archives of Canada is currently captioned "Mary Greyeyes being blessed by her native Chief prior to leaving for service in the CWAC, 1942. Source: Library and Archives Canada/Department of National Defence fonds/PA-129070." But Mary Greyeyes Reid's daughter-in-law tells a very different story of what happened when it was taken. Mary, a Cree, was the first full-blooded native to join the Canadian Women's Army Corp.
One day her sergeant and two Mounties showed up and said, "We'll give you a good new uniform and a good lunch. We want you to take a picture."
And this is the picture.
They drove over out to the Piapot reserve. The man standing there is a man named Harry Ball. He's a World War One veteran. He wasn't the chief of the Piapot reserve [at the time he was a councilor, and later became chief], but he was a vet. And he happened to be hanging around.
The regalia that he's wearing was cobbled together by the Mounties. They went into people's houses and pulled out a blanket here, an old headdress from a powwow there. And they found a pipe. The stem on it was pieced together with some tape and a bit of twine one of the Mounties had.
And they told them to pose. And this picture is apparently an Indian princess getting a blessing from the chief of her tribe.
That's only a small piece of Mary's story. Read the rest at The Tyee. Link -via Nag on the Lake
Having long been genuine admirers of the United States Postal Service (USPS), which gives amazingly reliable service especially compared with many other countries, our team of investigators decided to test the delivery limits of this immense system. We knew that an item, say, a saucepan, normally would be in a package because of USPS concerns of entanglement in their automated machinery. But what if the item were not wrapped? How patient are postal employees? How honest? How sentimental? In short, how eccentric a behavior on the part of the sender would still result in successful mail delivery?
Testing the Limits
We sent a variety of unpackaged items to U.S. destinations, appropriately stamped for weight and size, as well as a few items packaged as noted. We sent items that loosely fit into the following general categories: valuable, sentimental, unwieldy, pointless, potentially suspicious, and disgusting. We discovered that although some items were never delivered, most of the objects of even highly unusual form did get delivered, as long as the items had a definitely ample value of stamps attached. The Postal Service appears to be amazingly tolerant of the foibles of its public and seems occasionally willing to relax specific postal regulations.
Procedures
Our research staff began the project by obtaining and reviewing relevant information on USPS regulations and discussing, in a limited and very hypothetical manner, the planned project with USPS 800 number personnel. A group of mailable objects was then assembled, stamped with abundant postage by weight and size, and mailed at public postal collection boxes (when possible to cram the object through the aperture) or at postal stations (if possible). A card was strapped to the object with duct tape or stranded strapping tape, and postage was affixed to the card, except as otherwise noted below.
Senders and receivers were interchangeable; the mailings were double-masked to conceal the identity of our mailing specialists, and gloves were used to prepare the mailings (to avoid fingerprints). In no case was a return address given -each object either went forward to its destination or was lost to follow-up. An object was considered lost if it was not received within the 180-day study parameter. All objects were sent first class using five-digit ZIP codes to actual domestic addresses, and the number of days to delivery were recorded (excluding postal holidays). The condition of the object upon receipt was also recorded, if it had changed, as was any unusual communication, verbal or written, from the postal carrier or counter clerk.
Materials and Findings
The items we mailed fall into several broad classifications, which are described here.
There's no resting in peace when a loved one cannot bear to let go. A recent case in Detroit of a man arrested for sneaking his father's body home before the funeral inspired a list of other cases of body snatching. Some perpetrators hoped the dead would return to life. Others just wanted to keep the body around.
Jean Stevens and her twin sister June were so inseparable, they even married brothers. When June was diagnosed with cancer, Jean shared a bed with her and rubbed her back. And when June died in October of 2009, she was buried in her sister’s backyard--but only for a few days. Lonely and claustrophobic at the thought of her sister trapped underground, Jean had June dug up and brought inside to live with her, just like she had done 10 years earlier with James, her husband of 60 years, who had been buried at a nearby cemetery.
Police eventually uncovered Jean's unconventional living arrangement. Read that and other stories at The Daily Beast. Link
Redditor lingziluo is an automotive engineer in China. He built this car as a gift for his young son -a pint size working roadster! The car has an electric motor, carbon fiber body, working lights, disc brakes, a shock absorbing suspensions, and gears. See pictures of the build process at imgur and get more details in the reddit thread. Link
by Andrew J. Gerrard,* Christina M. Gerrard,* Mark A. London,* Keith A. Soldavin,* Timothy J. Kane,* and Alan Freed**
*The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, **Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Figure 2. Phil (Image Credit: Flickr user pennstatelive)
There is a fierce debate about whether the earth's climate is changing. In this paper we describe an overlooked -- but reliable -- remote sensing instrument that can provide crucially pertient information. We also describe an extensive long-term data set that was obtained by using the instrument.
A Shadowy Observer
Every year on Groundhog Day (February 2), Phil the groundhog emerges from his burrow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, after a long winter's sleep. Legend has it that if Phil sees his shadow (that is, if Groundhog Day is sunny), he dives back into his burrow, because he knows that there will be six more weeks of winter. If Phil doesn't see his shadow (that is, if the Groundhog Day is cloudy), he (and his adoring public) expect spring to arrive early.
By analyzing the more-than-century-long record of Phil's observations of his shadow, we discovered that there has been a dramatic change in the data pattern over the past two decades. We speculate that this new pattern, which we call the "Groundhog Oscillation," is evidence that the global climate is indeed changing.
This new pattern also suggests that mankind should pay closer attention to what our furry friends are telling us.
The United States is observing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today. Dr. King is best known for his work to in the Civil Rights Movement and his assassination in 1968. When asked for a King quote, most Americans will respond with the most famous line from his "I Have a Dream" speech about his children living "...in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." But Dr. King had a lot to say, about poverty, religion, education, and war as well as civil rights. Take some time to read a selection of Dr. King's concise sentences that convey big ideas, along with photographs that illustrate his career from receiving the Nobel Peace Prize to being arrested, at Buzzfeed. Link
A hit man meets Death, with the aim to kill him. But what would that mean in the long run? This short film by Edson Oda is neither live action nor animation, but it tells the story quite well in its own inventive way. With English subtitles. -via Metafilter
Mariska is an all-access horse. The Friesian mare doesn't just open her door -she opens ALL the doors! Read more about Mariska at her blog. Link -via Tastefully Offensive
Chase has a GoPro camera strapped to his neck as he swims in the pool, fetches his ball, shakes the water off, runs around, and does those important dog things. He's certainly busy having fun! The guy, however, seems to be busy on the phone. Turns out he's watching a live stream from his dog! -via reddit
Self-inflicted torture? Dennis Storm and Valerio Zeno are the hosts of the Dutch TV show Guinea Pigs. Last week they explored what women experience (sort of) by submitting to simulated labor pains via electrodes, to the delight of the audience and women who administered them. The difference is that they only did it for ten minutes, and they did not simulate the actual birth. See the video (in Dutch) at Time. Link
President Obama took the oath of office for his second presidential term this afternoon, even though Inauguration Day with all its festivities is tomorrow. Why? The 20th Amendment to the Constitution says that a president's term ends on January 20th. This date falls on a Sunday every once in a while. Obama will be sworn in again tomorrow for the public, which will be his fourth swearing-in.
Of course, what would happen if the President, perhaps due to religious convictions, refused to take the oath on a Sunday. Well it happened before, perhaps. Outgoing President James Polk’s term ended on Sunday, March 4, 1849. His successor, Zachary Taylor, refused to be sworn in on a Sunday. Same for incoming VP Millard Filmore.
So who was the President on Sunday, March 4, 1849?
Under the Presidential Succession statute at the time (the Presidential Succession Act of 1792), after the Vice President, the Senatore Pro Tempore was in line. Under this theory, Senator David Atchison of Missouri would have been the President for the Day. However, Atchinson, was the President Pro Temp during the Thirtieth Congress. This position expired when that Congress adjourned on March 4.
Athcinson was in fact sworn in as President Pro Tempore on Monday before either Taylor or Dallas took the oath, so in theory, he was President for a few minutes.
Find out how Atchison spent his day as president at Josh Blackman's Blog. And that wasn't the only time such an anomaly has happened. Blackman has some other odd details of presidential succession and some discussion on the Sunday exception in the Constitution. Link -via Digg
Since 1986 there have been 11 helicopter-assisted jailbreaks from French prisons. Three of them involved the same man.
BACKGROUND: Pascal Payet, aka ""Kalashnikov Pat," is one of France's most notorious criminals. In 1997 he was arrested for armed robbery and murder after an attack on an armored truck, during which he shot a guard 14 times. Payet was sent to Luynes Prison in southwest France to await trial.
ESCAPE! On October 12, 2001, a helicopter appeared above the prison exercise yard. A rope ladder was lowered, Pascal and one other inmate climbed it, and the chopper flew off. The daring escape shocked French authorities and made headlines worldwide.
ESCAPE II! In May 2003, Pyet was still on the loose when he and some associates decided to go back to Luynes Prison (in a hijacked helicopter) to pick up a few friends. Two of the men belayed commando-style down to the steel net that had been put over the exercise yard after Payet's previous escape, sawed a hole in it and dropped a ladder through, and three inmates, all cohorts of Payet, climbed up. The helicopter landed in a nearby sports stadium, and the men left in a waiting car. The three friends were recaptured a week later; Payet, some months later. In 2005 he was sentenced to 30 years in Grasse Prison in southeast France.
ESCAPE III! On July 14, 2007, Payet escaped again -and again it was by helicopter. This one was hijacked in the nearby seaside resort town of Cannes; it landed on the roof of a building at Grasse Prison half an hour later. THree armed men jumped out and overtook the guards, went straight for Payet's cell, took him back to the chopper, and flew away. The chopper eventually landed at a local hospital's heliport, and the men all disappeared. Payet was arrested in Spain two months later and is currently serving a lengthy sentence in a French prison. Where is the prison? Cautious French authorities refuse to disclose its location.
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!
Recent studies have found that professional musicians often suffer from some very real -but very odd- ailments. Here are a few.
FIDDLER'S NECK
The name might sound silly, but according to a study of regular violin and viola players by Dr. Thilo Gambichler of Oldchurch Hospital in London, the friction of the instrument's base against the left side of the neck (for right-handed players) can cause lesions, severe inflammation, and cysts. What's worse, said the study, published in the British medical journal BMC dermatology, it causes lichenification -the development of a patch of thick, leathery skin on the neck, giving it a "bark-like" appearance.
GUITAR NIPPLE
A similar report in the United States cited three female classical guitarists who suffered from traumatic mastitis -swelling of the breast and nipple area- due to prolonged friction from the instrument's body. The condition can strike male players, woo.
BAGPIPER'S FUNGUS
Recent medical reports have detailed the dangers of playing Scotland's national instrument. Bagpipes are traditionally made of sheepskin coated with a molasses-like substance called treacle. That, the report said, is the perfect breeding ground for various fungi, such as aspergillus and cryptococcus. Bagpipers can inadvertently inhale fungal spores, which, according to Dr. Robert Sataloff of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, can lead to deadly lung -and even brain- diseases.
TUBA LIPS
Many long-term tuba players develop an allergic reaction to nickel, and ingredient in brass. The allergy can result in dermatitis of the lips and can sometimes develop into chronic eczema. Strictly speaking, the condition can also affect the chin and hands, and can be contracted from any number of brass instruments (but "tuba lips" is more fun to say).
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!
