This animation was made by people opening and shutting window shutters on the 11-story HESAV (Health High School Vaud) in Switzerland. It was produced by Guillaume Reymond for NOTsoNOISY. The second half of the video shows what making this was like from the other side. -via The Dailiy What
Previously: More animations by Guillaume Reymond.
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
Dutch artist Diddo created a work called The Cure For Greed, consisting of a gold-plated syringe containing ink collected from U.S. currency. Read the artist's statement and see photographs at his site. Link
Previously: Designer Gas Mask by Diddo Velema
The following is an article from Uncle John's Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader.
One of Uncle John's favorite movies is the 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. So imagine his horror (and delight) when he found this article by Alan J. Stein about an incident that occurred in Washington in 1954. Stein's account, which appeared in Seattle's History Ink, is remarkably similar to the movie plot. The only difference: this one really happened.
IT BEGINS
The strange phenomena started in late March, 1954, when tiny pits in automobile windshields were first reported to the police in the northwestern Washington community of Bellingham. The small size of the pits led police to believe that the damage had been the work of vandals using buckshot or BBs. Then, within a week, a few residents in Sedro Wooley and Mount Vernon, 25 miles south of Bellingham, also began noticing damage to their windshields. By the second week of April, the "vandals" had attacked further south in the town of Anacortes on Fidalgo Island. Losing no time, all available law enforcement officers in the area sped to town in the hope of apprehending the culprits. Road blocks were set up south of town, and all cars leaving or entering the city were given a detailed once-over, as were their drivers and passengers.
To no avail.
THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER!
Farther south, cars at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Oak Harbor were discovered to have the same mysterious dings. Nearly 75 Marines made an intensive five-hour search of the station looking for evidence -anything that might lead to the source of the mystery. They came up empty, yet by the end of the day, more than 2,000 cars from Bellingham to Oak Harbor were reported as having been damaged.
Two thing became abundantly clear: This could not be the work of roving hooligans; and whatever was causing windshield pits and dings was rapidly approaching Seattle.
SEATTLE UNDER SIEGE
On the morning of April 14, Seattle newspapers ran front-page reports of the events that had transpired to the north. The afternoon papers carried similar stories. At 6 PM a report cam in to the Seattle police that three cars had been damaged in a lot at 6th Avenue and John Street. At 9 PM a motorist reported that his windshield had been hit at North 82nd Street. Then the floodgates opened.
Skeletons made of light cavort like you and I do -sort of. They do seem to have a lot of fun! The 65 photographs called "Afterlife" are the creations of light sculptor Darius Twin. The rest are posted at Flickr. Link
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.
"Green figs, plain yogurt, and coffee -very black." James Bond orders breakfast in To Russia With Love (1963).
1. The First Academy Awards Banquet (May 1929)
Terrapin Soup
Jumbo Squab Perigeaux
Lobster Eugenia
L.A. Salad
Fruit Supreme
2. Elvis Presley Meets The Beatles (August 27, 1965).
In rock music's greatest summit meeting, the Fab Four met The King at Elvis's home, Graceland. Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager was present, as well as members of both entourages. Elvis' then-girlfriend, Priscilla, also made a brief appearance. Elvis and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, served the Beatles:
Broiled chicken liver wrapped in bacon
Sweet and sour meatballs
Deviled eggs
Cracked crab
Cold Cuts
Fruit and cheese
3. The Apollo 11 Moon Mission (July 1969)
Among the various dehydrated food and beverages Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Jr. and Michael Collins dined on during the Apollo mission were:
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Ham Salad Sandwiches
Scalloped Potatoes
Peas
Bacon squares
Sausage Patties
Chicken Steak
Fruitcake Cubes
Bite-size Brownies
Pineapple Cake
Fruit Punch
Coffee (for the first time, astronauts were allowed to consume coffee)
Orange Drink (not Tang)
So, you got stuck in a 1970s-built bunker with no air conditioning and a smelly roommate? Some college dorms are like that, even to the point of splitting rooms into more rooms to make room for all those incoming freshman. Then there are places like Willow Street Residence Hall at Tulane University, which you see here. See more of the nicest dorms in the world at Flavorwire. Link
(Image credit: Mack Scogin/Merrill Elam Architects)
So that's what they call candy corn these days! Makes it less appetizing, and that means more for me! Link -via WTFPinterest
Even in modern-day Suburbia, a human male's instinct to assert dominance can pop up when you least expect it. Rhett and Link demonstrate an episode of one-upmanship in rap form. -via Irene's Internet
This is a McDonalds outlet in New Hyde Park, Long Island, New York. McDonalds didn't set out to make one of their restaurants this beautiful. The Georgian mansion called The Denton House is over 200 years old -or at least parts of it are. It's been passed around and used as everything from a restaurant to a funeral home.
By 1986, it was abandoned and on the verge of falling down.
McDonalds purchased the property with the intention of tearing it down and replacing it with a standard McDonald’s restaurant. Thank God for the citizens of the New Hyde Park, who worked to secure landmark status for the building in 1987.
McDonald’s had no choice but to restore the property and work within the parameters of the landmarks commission, which ultimately resulted in their most beautiful restaurant in America (if you know of a better example, please let me know).
You can read more about the history of the Denton House, and see lots of pictures, both historical and the gorgeous interior of the present McDonalds at Scouting New York. Link -via Cynical-C
The Beards is an Australian band that produces songs about facial hair. Really. Here's their latest music video, "Got Me a Beard," which tells the story of a man who left a girlfriend because she wanted him to shave. -via the Presurfer
The great thing about new gadgets and their popularity is that it makes replacement components for my dinosaur desktop all that much cheaper. Comic from The Doghouse Diaries. Link -via Geeks Are Sexy
One of the things we're trying to do with the new Neatorama is get your feedback on the kind of posts you like to see, so we can bring more of those type to you. There are several ways you can let us know your preferences. Of course, you can leave comments below any post. An even easier way to lodge your opinion is the little ♥ that appears at the top of each item. Click that, and we'll know that someone likes that post. We also keep track of how many Pins, Tweets, or Facebook likes each post gets -and you can find buttons for those things at the bottom of each post, as well as a way to email that item to your friends. And if you don't let us know which posts you like, other people will! Thanks to everyone who comments, Tweets, ♥, etc -because that's information we need to know to keep Neatorama on the ball!
This week we introduced feature-length exclusive articles to our new Halloween blog. This week we had The Stories Behind Three Classic Halloween Movies and its sequel The Stories Behind Three More Horror Classics. As we get closer to the holiday, there will be more exclusive articles on Halloween lore, costumes, decorations, and fun stuff you'll want to read. Make sure you check out the Neatorama Halloween blog every day!
Here at the main site, Jill Harness introduced us to 8 Animals Who Have Tried Their Paws & Hooves At Politics.
Eddie Deezen told us all about Toto, The Wizard of Oz Dog (1932-1945) and The Beatles' Troublesome Butcher Album Cover.
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity Suggest a Better Way to Choose Politicians came from The Annals of Improbable Research.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader contributed The History of Glass.
And How the French Revolution Gave Birth to the Restaurant Business was reprinted from mental_floss magazine.
In the What Is It? game this week, the little thing you were asked to identify is a device to hold golf tees and ball markers. Berhard was first with the correct answer, and wins a t-shirt! As for the funniest answer, pismonque said,
Well, it used to be a robot centipede, before some cruel little fiend pulled all its legs off and made it into a keychain. Some people shouldn't be allowed to have nice things.
Yep, that's worth a t-shirt as well! Thanks to everyone who played this week. You'll find the answers to all this week's mystery items at the What Is It? blog.
The Neatorama Caption Contest: Beon Sleeps is still open for your entries. There are t-shirts from the NeatoShop up for grabs!
The post with the most comments this week was We Should Ban Life Jackets & Other Flotation Devices, followed by Is It Unprofessional for a College Professor to Breastfeed During Class? If you haven't put your two cents worth in yet, go see what all the fuss is about.
And if that isn't enough Neatorama for you, we have extra content and fun at our Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest. And mobile users: Flipboard makes it easy to keep up with Neatorama!
In 2005, Kalamazoo, Michigan, went from a somewhat below-average place to live to a powerful magnet of a city in just one day. Seven years later, the New York Times magazine looks at how the hope of higher education has transformed the town.
Back in November 2005, when this year’s graduates were in sixth grade, the superintendent of Kalamazoo’s public schools, Janice M. Brown, shocked the community by announcing that unnamed donors were pledging to pay the tuition at Michigan’s public colleges, universities and community colleges for every student who graduated from the district’s high schools. All of a sudden, students who had little hope of higher education saw college in their future. Called the Kalamazoo Promise, the program — blind to family income levels, to pupils’ grades and even to disciplinary and criminal records — would be the most inclusive, most generous scholarship program in America.
It would also mark the start of an important social experiment. From the very beginning, Brown, the only person in town who communicates directly with the Promise donors, has suggested that the program is supposed to do more than just pay college bills. It’s primarily meant to boost Kalamazoo’s economy. The few restrictions — among them, children must reside in the Kalamazoo public-school district and graduate from one of its high schools — seem designed to encourage families to stay and work in the region for a long time. The program tests how place-based development might work when education is the first investment.
Since The Promise was made, student test scores have gone up, the school district's enrollment increased by 2,000 students, $35 million has been granted in tuition money, and Kalamazoo is now a place to which families want to move. The program has also inspired other towns and school districts to compete by helping more students pay for college. Link -via Kottke
Ethel Maze of Circleville, Ohio, took a group of 18 disabled veterans and volunteers to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. She hadn't planned to take her cat Bob-bob, but there he was, stowed away in her suitcase when she arrived at her Disney Resort hotel.
Mike Groleau, the group's designated "baggage handler," said he thought he saw the bag move — but after a long night of packing, he slapped some tags on the front and back of the green suitcase and loaded it with the rest.
"This was the last bag I grabbed," Groleau said. "... [S]omehow it got zipped up."
Ten hours later, as the group settled into its Disney-area hotel, Maze unzipped the bag, and there was Bob-bob, a little shaken but still purring.
Despite a TSA security check (which did not set off any alarms) and several hours in the cargo hold, Bob-bob appeared to be just fine. Link -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Jacob Langston, Orlando Sentinel)
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