Andy Lewis is a highliner and a trickliner, and a master slack liner. Don't know what those things mean? Then watch what he did in 2012. -via Breakfast Links
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
The poem published as "A Visit from St. Nicholas" is usually credited to Clement Clarke Moore, but it's very possible that we will never know for sure who wrote it.
When it was first appeared in the newspaper on December 23, 1823, there was no name attached to it. It wasn’t until 13 years later that Clement Clarke Moore, a professor and poet, stepped forward to claim authorship and said that his housekeeper had, without his knowledge, sent the piece he wrote for his kids to the newspaper. In 1844, the poem was officially included in an anthology of Moore’s work. The problem? The family of Henry Livingston, Jr., claimed their father had been reciting “A Visit From St. Nicholas” to them for 15 years before it was published. Here’s the view from both sides.
The evidence in an article at mental_floss seems to point to Livingston, with even more in the comments. Link
There is no greater sign of the end times than the biggest cat meme of 2012 mashed up with the biggest cat meme of 2011. Simon Johnson animated this video of Tardar Sauce and his plans for bringing the eventual apocalypse. -via Buzzfeed
National Geographic posted a gallery of six animal self-portraits from all over the world. Pictured here is a common genet captured by camera trap in Yemen. They are all beautiful, but I don't understand why this one didn't make the cut. Link
(Image credit: Sebastian Kennerknecht, Pumapix.com/BBC Wildlife Magazine)
The Atlantic has a collection of 39 photographs of Christmas celebrations from Vancouver to Ivory Coast, and many points in between. Shown here are workers in Tokyo dressed as Santa while they wash office windows. Link -via Laughing Squid
(Image credit: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon)
Henri the Existential Cat is having a Christmas filled with ennui, introspection, and despondence. Are you surprised? -via Tastefully Offensive
National Geographic has opened a new science blog section of their extensive website called Phenomena, with four blogs by science writers you probably already know.
Not Exactly Rocket Science by Ed Yong, formerly of Discover magazine. Here's his welcome post.
Laelaps by Brian Switek, formerly of ScienceBlogs. Here's his first Phenomena post.
The Loom by Carl Zimmer, formerly at Discover. Here's his introductory post.
Only Human by Virginia Hughes, formerly of The Last Word On Nothing. Here's her first post.
The archives for each blog are all at NatGeo, too, including Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoo Emporium. Link
(Image credit: Mateusz Włodarczyk)
Tuesday evening, after you've had Christmas dinner with the family, go outside set up the telescope if you have one. Jupiter and the moon are having a Christmas conjunction.
For anyone who gets a telescope for Christmas, the timing is perfect. Jupiter and the Moon are among the most satisfying targets for backyard optics. A quick sweep of the telescope from Jupiter to the Moon and back again will reveal Jupiter's storms and cloud belts, the Moon's mountains and impact craters, and of course the four Galilean satellites circling the giant planet like a miniature solar system.
Jupiter's trademark Great Red Spot will also be on display--and it is worth a look. Astronomers recently announced that the enormous swirling storm, twice as wide as the planet Earth, is "spinning up."
Actually, explains planetary scientist Glenn Orton of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "the Red Spot is shrinking." He likens it to "the iconic picture of a figure skater pulling her arms in to spin faster. As the size contracts, the spin rate increases."
Even if you don't have a telescope, you'll still be able to see Jupiter, although not the red spot. Link
(Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)
Solve Media made a Rube Goldberg contraption to convey their holiday greetings. This one has some really odd components! -via Laughing Squid
Aung Zaw Oo is the closest thing you're going to see to a real live ninja. However, he makes his living as an animator. -via Daily of the Day
The Duane Brown family in Stafford, Virginia, is renowned for their annual holiday light show. Their 2012 decorations feature 22,000 lights dancing to a variety of synchronized music. You're welcome to go by, up through New Year's Day, but please bring something for the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank. Link -via Laughing Squid
Anna and Richard Wagner married in 1900. From that year until 1942, the German couple had their picture taken in front of their Christmas tree every Christmas Eve. Retronaut has eight of those pictures, with commentary about how the photos show the effect of history on the couple. Link -via Everlasting Blort
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.
I love Christmas, my favorite day of the year. In fact, the whole Christmas season is my favorite time of the year. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" is one of the most universally popular and beloved Christmas songs in the vast repertoire of Yuletide tunes. The Rudolph character first appeared in a 1939 booklet written by Robert L. May and published by Montgomery Ward. Johnny Marks adapted the story of Rudolph into a song. Gene Autry's recording of the tune became "the" Christmas song of 1949, selling 2.5 million copies that year and eventually 25 million. It remains one of the best-selling Christmas melodies of all time.
The Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer character is universally beloved. Rudolph is widely recognized as Santa's 9th reindeer. I'm not one to destroy or ruin myths or step on sacred beliefs. But I am telling you, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was a girl, a woman, a female reindeer. A doe.
The underlying reasoning also points to the fact that all of Santa's eight tiny reindeer are girls, too. This is doubly strange, because the last radio spot I recorded was in October and I played "Donner," one of Santa's reindeer. Therefore, I played a chick myself!
Okay, let's get to the proof of the pudding. Ever see a picture of Rudolph? Or of the other eight reindeer? Well, every picture I've ever seen of Rudolph or Dasher, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Vixen, and Prancer is similar. They all have one thing in common. They always have antlers.
Both male and female reindeer grow their antlers in the summer. But unlike the females, the buck will lose his antlers, usually by mid-November. Sometimes they maintain them until early December. The females, however, keep their antlers until the following spring when they give birth.
Reindeer in Norway (Image credit: Flickr user Frans (3Djavu.nl))
Therefore, Rudolph should be named Roberta or Roxanne or Ramona or Rachael or whatever. Not to mention feminizing all the other names of the other eight reindeer.
Reindeer (or caribou, as they are known in North America) are the only female deer to grow antlers. They are shed and regrown every year. The doe antlers are shorter and simpler than the buck antlers, but they still grow at a rate of over an inch a day! This is the fastest-growing tissue of any mammal.
Uh, there is one other possibility …Rudolph was castrated.
Reindeer in Russia. (Image source: Library of Congress)
If Rudolph and the other eight were all eunuchs, it is possible they are male. The Sami sometimes castrate their male reindeer, thus enabling them to keep their antlers. The purpose of the castration is to allow them to carry much heavier loads.
If the above has disabused anyone out there of any cherished, long-held beliefs, please accept my sincere apologies. I still want everyone out there to have a merry Christmas!
A reindeer in Finland (Image credit: Flickr uses Timo Newton-Sym)
As we go into the long Christmas weekend (for most people), first we want to wish all of you a wonderful holiday, however you celebrate: by eating delicious food, spending time with family, helping the kids wait for Santa, touring your hometown's decorations, singing carols, delivering gifts, and/or gathering with fellow believers to celebrate the birth of Christ. When you get a little downtime during the festivities, you can turn to Neatorama for your dose of distraction, entertainment, and edification. Yes, we have lots of fun stuff planned, even over the holiday while other sites are taking it easy. And you can also catch up on some of our exclusive features you may have missed during last week's rush.
As Hanukkah drew to a close, Adrienne Crezo posted the story of How a Beautiful Widow Defeated a General and Inspired a Hanukkah Tradition.
Jill Harness told A Few Tolkien-rific Facts About the Book Version of The Hobbit.
Eddie Deezen let us in on the details behind A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The Life and Times of Jar Jar Binks came from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
The Annals of Improbable Research brought us Military Experiments on Fruitcake.
Breaking into Mecca, the adventures of Sir Richard Burton came from mental_floss magazine.
And Adrienne gave us our latest book excerpt in 5 Life-Saving Techniques for Surviving a Garden Gnome Attack During the Holidays. You can still leave a comment under that post for your chance to win a copy of the book! And speaking of giveaways...
In the What Is It? game, the previously-unknown object is a tie press. This week, H.Walter was the first person who knew the answer, and wins a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! The award for the funniest answer goes to Kevin George, who said,
It's a prehistoric typewriter. Before language was developed, there was only one letter in the alphabet. You would type that letter by pressing the button on top. The knob on the side advanced the paper. You could type out your story: Oo oo ooooo!
He wins a t-shirt, too! Thanks to everyone who played along this week. You find the answers to all the mystery items of the week at the What Is It? blog.
Congratulations to the winners of Neatorama's 'Pin To Win' Contest - Holiday Edition. The pinboards that won are:
ERMAGHERD NERTERRURRMURR CHRERSTMERS by Alejandra Narváez. She won this prize.
Neato musical holiday gifts we would like to give to our members by Seattle Musicians. They won this.
Ralphie, forever and always by Selina Garcia. Here's her prize.
That's a contest we'll have to do again!
The Mayan apocalypse did not happen yesterday as scheduled, but it gave us plenty to talk about. We posted several updates on the non-event and introduced the I Survived the Mayan Apocalypse T-shirt from the NeatoShop.
If you're wondering where all the cute kittens and puppies wearing Christmas hats are, check out the sub-blog Lifestyles of the Cute and Cuddly, where you'll find plenty. And if you need some holiday recipes to impress your family, you'll find them all together at the sub-blog Neatolicious. Check out the Halloween blog, NeatoBambino, and Mad Skills for even more to read and enjoy! And we also have extra fun stuff at our Facebook page, where lots of Neatoramanauts jump in and discuss what's going on at Neatorama.
Merry Christmas from Neatorama!
Email This Post to a Friend