The Pantone Color Institute has announced the Color of the Year for 2013: Emerald 17-5641. The color on anything besides a gem doesn't really remind me of the gem, however. How about you?

Most often associated with brilliant, precious gemstones, the perception of Emerald is sophisticated and luxurious. Since antiquity, this luminous, magnificent hue has been the color of beauty and new life in many cultures and religions. Also the color of growth, renewal and prosperity, no other color conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity.

"The most abundant hue in nature, the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "As it has throughout history, multifaceted Emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate. Symbolically, Emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today's complex world. This powerful and universally-appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors."

I don't know, this shade doesn't appear to match anything I already have, which may be a clue to why it was selected. Fashion-conscious consumers will have to start all over and buy whole new sets of clothing, accessories, and household items. Link -via Gizmodo

(YouTube link)

He's a street performer, a juggler, an acrobat, and a stripper! Actually, it's French freestyle footballer Iya Traore practicing his skills, and yes, showing off for the crowd. -via Cynical-C

(YouTube link)

Hilah shows you how to make Red and Green Jigglers with Vodka and non-alcoholic Blue and White Winter Wonderland Jigglers. The written recipes are found at the YouTube page. -Thanks, Kelly!  

Army Air Corps pilot Emmett "Cyclone" Davis flew a mission on the day the U.S. was attacked at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. He also flew a mission the day after the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. Davis, by then a lieutenant colonel, saw World War II in and out. Davis will be 94 years old next week.  

Tucker Davis is writing a biography of his father, and his research has revealed some interesting facts: His father flew 220 combat missions during World War II, engaging the enemy in three dogfights. In his military career, he flew 122 different kinds of airplanes.

And, significantly, he was in on the two bookends of World War II in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor and the bombing that led to Japan’s surrender in August 1945.

"I was one of the fortunate guys who got to go all the way through it," says the former pilot.

Read more about "Cyclone" Davis at the Salt Lake Tribune. Link -via Fark

Read even more about Cyclone Davis here and here.

(YouTube link)

Edis Productions edited together footage of places all over the world to make this inspiring and soothing video, sure to make you fall in love with Mother Earth. And then you'll want to go visit these lovely places. -via Uproxx

James Tyrwhitt-Drake runs the mind-blowing blog Infinity Imagined, where you'll find visualizations of things great and small, patterns in nature and math, and the beauty of discovery. Tyrwhitt-Drake created a gif image with a scanning electron microscope of a zoom into a tiny crustacean that had a diatom on it. More zoom reveals a single bacterium on the diatom. Cosmic. Link -via Smithsonian/the Presurfer

(YouTube link)

He's pretty handy to have around! But eventually, you'll have to share one with him. -via Buzzfeed

(YouTube link)

You can almost see the hamster wheels turning in this little guy's mind: "I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!" And he does! -via Arbroath

Scientists in Australia have developed a pineapple that has a coconut flavor -by accident! They were trying to create a hybrid pineapple with a sweeter flavor, which they did, but it coincidentally tastes like a coconut. Perfect or pina coladas!

"It's sweet, low acid, very juicy," said Garth Sanewski, a senior horticulturalist at Queensland's department of agriculture.

"It has this lovely coconut flavour, which you won't find in any other pineapple in Australia."

The pineapple hybrid is called AusFestival, and should be commercially available in a couple of years. Link -via Laughing Squid

(Image credit: Flickr user giniger)

(YouTube link)

What a pampered parrot! His owner built a vehicle he can control with a joystick, and motor around by himself. If you're impressed with that, wait until you see the computerized autonomous docking ability. See, parrots have a tendency to leave their Birdbuggies just anywhere, so this contraption takes itself home! -via Viral Viral Videos

Fins out all about the Birdbuggy at the project page. Link -Thanks, Andrew!

Hidden out of the public's sight, tucked away in the deepest of archives, lie stacks of correspondence that changed the world (or at least tried). Here are a few of our favorites.

The Last Days of Charlotte Braun

In November 1954, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz debuted Charlotte Braun, a pushy air-raid-siren version of Charlie Brown who shouts EVERYTHING SHE SAYS.

The character arrived in the fourth year of the strip's 50-year run, just as Peanuts was becoming a hit. Schulz was experimenting with his medium, even depicting adults in one strip -an oddity in its knee-high view of the world, and "something I never should have done," he admitted.

Braun was another failed experiment, making just 10 appearances over two months. After receiving a letter from fan Elizabeth Swaim complaining about the obnoxious character, Schulz got the hint. His playful response:

I am taking your suggestion regarding Charlotte Braun and will eventually discard her. If she appears anymore it will be in strips that were already completed before I got your letter or because someone writes in saying that they like her. Remember, however, that you and your friends will have the death of an innocent child on your conscience. Are you prepared to accept such responsibility?

Schulz, who once called Peanuts "the cruelest strip going," ended his letter with a hand-drawn flourish: an ax in the head of Charlotte Braun!

Annie Oakley Tried to Enlist

As we reflect on the significance of Pearl Harbor Day, we can learn more about one of the iconic artistic relics of World War II: the decorated leather bomber jacket. The Army Air Corps was filled with new pilots, some just teenagers, who dressed up those jackets with mission counts, cartoon characters, caricatures, and sometimes nudes.

“I’ve talked to people who, when they got back from the war, hung their jacket up in the closet because they wouldn’t dare ever wear it in public again,” says John Conway, co-author of Schiffer Books’ American Flight Jackets and Art of the Flight Jacket. “When you’re a teenager and you’re 3,000 miles from home, having a naked lady painted on the back of your jacket is not that big a deal. But you wouldn’t want your mom to see it.”

You might think the concept of personalization would be frowned on in the U.S. military. After all, aren’t soldiers stripped of their identities in boot camp, where they dress in uniform, fall in line, follow orders, and work as a cohesive unit? Conway’s co-author Jon Maguire says American soldiers have always held on to their individuality in some way.

Read how the jacket art came about, how it evolved, what the brass thought of it, and read some individual stories of America's flying warriors -plus see lots of jacket art at Collector's Weekly. Link

(YouTube link)

Yeah, we've laughed at how New Zealand is going nuts to promote the movie The Hobbit, but there's something special about the locations selected for the film. In this video from Air New Zealand, filmmakers, crew, and actors talk about the wonderful place that became Middle Earth. -Thanks, Cole Stryker!

On average, a baby is born somewhere in the U.S. every ten seconds, and someone dies every 13 seconds. You can watch that happen in real time with the simulation map on Google Drive. These are not actual births and deaths, but enough US Census statistical and geographical data are entered to give you a general idea of how often it happens. Watching the actual simulation at the link is mesmerizing. Nowhere Near Ithaca tells a bit about the project and how the data was compiled. Link -via Metafilter