This piece of Fluorite crystal looks like it might contain the universe. Maybe it does. The blurb at the sales page makes it sound quite special:
The Fluorite crystals are superbly developed as an intergrown group, with stepped form habit to 3.2cm over all the main crystal edges. The lustrous crystal are a rich deep purple to neon purple colour. Thinner areas of the specimen display a translucency with internal colour zoning of purple shades. Tiny micro-crystals of Chalcopyrite are lightly sprinkled over the Fluorite crystals, adding more interest to an already interesting specimen.
I was once married to a musician who always wanted to name a band Free Beer because it would look good on a marquee. I'm pretty sure that was the thinking behind Barenaked Ladies. But of course, Lost Cat will get attention, too! This Twaggie was rendered from a Tweet by @OhDuarte. Illustration by Gemma Correll. See a new illustrated every day at Twaggies. Link
What you see here is a TAKRAF RB293 bucket wheel excavator. It's a big machine alright -notice the tiny little people in the lower right corner! But there are other machines even bigger, made to move mountains, dig tunnels, build bridges and tall buildings, and accelerate particles. See and read about them in a roundup at Dark Roasted Blend. Link
We've brought you a lot of spectacular and imaginative marriage proposals, but someone will always come up with a new idea. The log ride photo here is pretty self-explanatory, but the story is included at the link. There are eleven adorable proposal stories posted at Buzzfeed. DO NOT skip the one from the Canadian air traffic controller. Link
A young woman begins a regimen of cancer treatment and reaches out to the internet to share her experience with others who are going through the same thing. She builds a circle of friends for support, but while going through her own struggle, finds out gradually two of them are faking their illness for attention. Playing the patient online is a lot easier and more common than faking illness in real life.
Think of it: You're anonymous—you can manifest any symptoms you want, like puking pints of blood, without having to actually puke pints of blood. And instead of being examined by the trained eyes of a doctor, you're welcomed unconditionally by flocks of people who stand on-call, ready to shower you with attention and emotional support 24 hours a day. For weeks or months or years, you can live out your deception without the fear of having your lies challenged in person. And if someone does eventually doubt your story, you can simply log out. Change your name or your illness. Find a fresh group of sympathizers.
This accessibility makes Munchausen by internet "way, way more common than Munchausen ever was or could have been," Dr. Feldman says. "Unfortunately, a lot of therapists have no clue what Munchausen is, let alone Munchausen by internet."
After she becomes a crusader to expose fake internet personas with tragic medical stories, she is victimized once again by an even more convincing troll who went to great lengths to prove her nonexistent illnesses. You may recognize some aspects of her story at The Stranger. Or you may learn to be even more diligent when befriending people online. Link -via Fark
John Storms hasn't lived in Cedar Park, Texas, very long, but he and his family arrived with a splash, synching a huge Christmas light display to PSY's "Gangnam Style." The LED lights should only cost about $15 a month in electricity. "Gangnam Style" is not the only song the lights dance to. -via Stuff I Stole from the Internet
Prince Nikolai Stroganov III lives the life of luxury in this ad from New Zealand. You won't know what they are advertising until the very end. -via Tastefully Offensive
Russia brings their spacecraft home a bit differently from what NASA astronauts are accustomed to. Instead of splashing down in the ocean, or landing like a plane on a runway, Soyuz craft parachute onto land. On November 19th, NASA Commander Sunita Williams and JAXA engineer Akihiko Hoshide found out what that was like as they returned from the International Space Station on a Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft with Russian Yuri Malenchenko. This photograph shows the craft glowing brightly as it hits the atmosphere.
Since the spacecraft was moving significantly faster than you can pump a pump, the air got compressed savagely and heated up so much that it glowed. A lot of that heat was transferred to the spacecraft, which had a special surface to withstand it. The material ablated off, trailing bits and blobs of glowing matter as the spacecraft slowed from orbital speeds of several thousand kilometers per hour down to just a few hundred. At that point, parachutes were deployed, and the craft fell the rest of the way to ground, where it impacted more-or-less gently.
And you thought a roller coaster was an exciting ride. Read more about the trip at Bad Astronomy. Link
The Brookfield Zoo near Chicago welcomed a new addition on November 12th. After a 14-month gestation, 5-year-old Arnieta gave birth to a 6-foot-2-inch, 140 pound baby! The calf, as yet unnamed, is the 58th reticulated giraffe born at the zoo. Read more about the giraffe breeding program and see plenty of baby pictures at Zooborns. Link
Disney is developing a robot that can interact with visitors at its theme parks. Throw a ball, he catches it. If he doesn't catch it, he uses body language to acknowledge the fact. Throw more balls, and you can juggle with it. The unnamed robot is only in development now, and looks unnervingly like the Terminator. Those who think that Disney = Skynet have a little more ammunition for their theory. Link -via Daily of the Day
Etsy seller SceeneShoes has hand-painted shoes and bras, including the Starfleet Bra. Yes, want! These are individually crafted with your choice of color and insignia, so don't expect to get one shipped before Christmas. But if you ever hope to get yours, you may as well get your order in the queue. Link -via Geeks Are Sexy
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.
TV fans the world over mourned the passing of Larry Hagman, who succumbed after a long, hard-fought battle against cancer on Friday, November 23rd. Rarely does an actor get to create an iconic role in his or her career, whether in television or film, but Larry created two. From 1965 to 1970, he played the nice guy, easygoing Major Tony Nelson on the beloved sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. Then from 1978 to 1991, he did a complete about-face and gained TV immortality as the nasty oil baron John Ross (J.R.) Ewing on the soap opera Dallas. Both of these diverse roles made Larry popular with millions of TV fans around the globe.
Although he garnered his greatest fame from television, Larry also had a distinguished career in movies. His film resume includes Fail Safe (1964), Harry and Tonto (1974), Superman (1978), JFK (1991), Nixon (1995), and Primary Colors (1998). Here are a few facts you may not have known about one of TV's all-time greats, Larry Hagman.
* He was the original anti-smoking crusader. Long before it became fashionable to campaign against cigarettes, Larry was a staunch crusader against the evils of smoking. As a teenager, a girl offered Larry a feel of her breast if he's smoke a cigarette. Being a guy, Larry couldn't resist her offer, but he hated the experience of smoking and never smoked another cigarette for the rest of his life. He was to become a virulent anti-smoking advocate and was the chairman of the American Cancer Society's "Great American Smoke-Out."
* He had eclectic tastes. Larry lived life to the fullest. His many hobbies included collecting canes, hats, and flags. He was a devout art collector and also loved motorcycles, especially his beloved Harley. He also enjoyed skiing, fishing, sailing, backpacking, and touring around in his custom-designed motor home. In one of Hollywood's longest-ever marriages, Larry and his wife of 58 years, Maj, lived in a home in Ojai, California, which they called "Heaven."
* He was in the Air Force before he became Major Nelson. Yes, everyone knew him as Major Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie, but Larry had actually served four years in the U.S. Air Force (1952-1956). He spent most of his time in the service stationed in England, staging, performing in, and directing shows for his fellow servicemen.
MechBass is a robotic bass guitar that could put bass players out of business. James McVay built for his engineering honors project at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Witness it playing the Muse song "Hysteria." There's lots more about the machine at Hack A Day. Link -via Flavorwire
The redneck rapper Krispy Kreme put his Christmas wish list into song. Ya think he's a little obsessed with pro wrestler John Cena? -via The Daily What
