The annual Quebec City Comic Con brought out thousands of French Canadian geeks this weekend. Some were there to show off their fandoms and amazing cosplay creations. Our friends from Geeks Are Sexy were there each day, too, to document most interesting costumes. Many of them, like the Gundam at the top, obviously took a lot of work and dedication to bring to life. Others, like the guy below, cleverly took advantage of a natural resemblance.
There were plenty of characters from movies, TV, manga, and comic books, plus some Halloween characters, too. You'll find part one of a three-part gallery of pictures here. Part two and part three will be coming soon!
WhiteWalkerWaterboy noticed his retired neighbor found a novel way to say, "Get off my lawn!" Think this will cause dog walkers to avoid it? Redditors discussed the use of dihydrogen oxide. Alternate names include dihydrogen monoxide, hydrogen hydroxide, hydrogen oxide, and oxidane. It turns out that all are correct, depending on what chemical nomenclature rules you follow. It's all water, even if it's not under the bridge. None of this would be necessary if people picked up after their dogs.
In a collaboration between Les Chevaliers du Ciel (The Knights Of Heaven), the European Space Agency (ESA), and noveSpace (a company that operates a vomit comet), a group of disabled kids got to experience weightlessness, accompanied by ESA astronauts. Ten people with mobility issues were freed from the limits of gravity. It was an experience to remember.
The kids came from five ESA member states – UK, France, Germany, Belgium, and Italy – and boarded the converted Airbus A310 Zero G in Bordeaux, France on 24 August as part of this “Kid’s Weightless Dreams” flight. True weightlessness is produced in the large cabin area of this aircraft during repetitive parabolic maneuvers, as in the Air Zero G flights operated by Novespace.
The children also took part in education experiments including lighting a candle, mixing liquids of different densities, playing ping-pong with bubbles of water and working a fidget spinner to demonstrate the effects of weightlessness.
Joining the children were ESA astronauts from their corresponding member states: Tim Peake (UK), Frank De Winne (Belgium), Maurizio Cheli (Italy), Thomas Reiter (Germany), Claudie Haigneré and Jean-Francois Clervoy (France) mentored the children on board and answered their questions.
Two disabled adults, former athlete and German television personality Samuel Koch, a strong advocate for disabled causes, and Philippe Carette, a very active Rêve de Gosse volunteer and pilot, also took part in the flight.
Did you catch the girl who used the few minutes of zero-G to walk? That's at 2:35. The event was organized by Rêves de Gosse (Kids’ Dreams), which provides children with educational opportunities and adventures involving space flight. -via Geekologie
Last week you got to read 50 ghost stories, one from each of the US states. Now we have another round of stories, all different as far as I can tell. These are urban legends (even though some are rural). They are stories passed down to scare folks, sometimes based on a true story that's been twisted in the telling, sometimes embellished tales about real people, and sometimes just pure fiction. The trouble is, we often don't know what category a story fits into. The details are either fuzzy or else happened so long ago that records are gone. But mostly, they survive because people like to tell a good story, and those who hear it won't bother to look up the truth. In Minnesota, you might hear the story of The Hairy Man of Vergas Trail.
Why it's creepy: What’s not to be creeped out about? An 8-foot, musty-smelling, barefoot man with a reputation for being unnaturally aggressive is a hell of a thing to consider encountering in the woods. Some reported sightings were just that: sightings. However, reports like Ken Zitzow’s made the Hairy Man more than an apparition, but something to fear. Zitzow returned from driving in the woods with dents all over his car hood and said the Hairy Man jumped onto the road and began pounding the hood. Where it came from: Nobody really knows. Sightings trace back to the '60s, had a significant increase in the '70s, and still happen from time to time. Some say it’s a legend. Some say there was an old hermit living in the woods who wasn’t too keen on your rascally kids wandering his land. Others say the Hairy Man is real and point to a mysterious skull discovered in the Vergas Trail area that is human-like, but not hominid. It was discovered by a private citizen who didn’t turn it over, so no one knows if it’s human, Bigfoot, animal, or hoax. -- Dustin Nelson
Charlie Chaplin had been in show business for decades when he was swept up in Senator Joe McCarthy's campaign to rid the U.S. of communists and communist sympathizers. Chaplin was one of many Hollywood luminaries targeted by the McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee. The matter came to a head when Chaplin visited Englan in 1952. The actor received a telegram saying he would not be re-admitted to the U.S. unless he appeared before the committee to answer questions about his politics and morals. Chaplin was so angry he vowed never to return to America.
Chaplin was returning by ship to his native England for the first time in more than 20 years, bringing with him his wife and four children for the worldwide premiere of his latest film. Like many in Hollywood, he had been growing increasingly frustrated with being the target of communist allegations hurled by Sen. Joseph McCarthy and others in Washington. And so Chaplin made a bold decision after receiving the telegram: He would not go back to the U.S. The hitch? Chaplin’s vast Hollywood empire, a fortune amassed over decades of successful motion pictures, lay in his adopted homeland. More than a million dollars also lay buried in his Beverly Hills backyard. How was he to extricate his fortune without returning? To solve his problem, Chaplin turned to the person he trusted more than any other — his fourth wife, and an American citizen — Oona O’Neill Chaplin.
Oona O’Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, was 36 years younger than Chaplin, and married him right after she turned 18. Less than ten years later, with four young children (they eventually had eight), she was charged with arranging all of Chaplin's affairs in America, including digging up the million dollars in the their backyard. Read how she accomplished all that at Ozy.
First, David Sluder saw an enormous cat just off the road in Hernando, Mississippi. It appears to be a wild cat, maybe a cougar. He didn't get too close to it.
Well, that is a large cat, but not any larger than Garfield or your everyday big tom cat. The video and the resulting screen shot, seen at the top, went viral yesterday, and everyone got a bit of a laugh. Yes, Madaus did his tease when the house cat appeared on purpose.
"You have a very serious job being journalist, but at the same time when things like this happen you can't take yourself too seriously," he said.
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.
In 1930, Universal Studios lost $2.2 million in revenue. The studio, reeling and on the verge of potential bankruptcy, had thrown the dice and produced Dracula, starring a Hungarian actor named Bela Lugosi, in 1931. Dracula proved to be the studio's salvation, earning a $700,000 profit (Universal's biggest money-maker in '31). Buoyed by the studio'sDracula success, Carl Laemmle Jr., the head of of production, immediately ordered more horror films. This was to be a turning point in Hollywood history.
During Hollywood's Golden Age, MGM was to be "the" studio for musicals, Paramount "the" studio for comedies, Warner Brothers "the" studio for dramas, and now, Universal would take its rightful place as "the" studio for horror films. Although no one at Universal knew it at the time, they were about to produce what would reputedly go down in history as the most iconic and beloved horror film in the history of motion pictures.
The original (and logical) choice to play the title role was, of course, the now red hot Bela Lugosi. But while Bela did want to be in Frankenstein, he had his eye set not on the monster role, but instead on the role of his creator, the doctor, Henry Frankenstein. Colin Clive, however, was already a given to be cast as the doctor, which left the monster for Bela to portray.
The popular Hollywood legend is that Bela was, indeed, offered the Frankenstein monster role, but he turned it down because the role carried with it no dialogue. And this did play a part in Bela's decision, but there is more to the story.
The following is an article from The Annals of Improbable Research, now in all-pdf form. Get a subscription now for only $25 a year!
Research About Fear compiled by Alice Shirrell Kaswell, Improbable Research staff
Here are three studies about particular causes of fear, and one study about a mechanical method of treating fear.
Dilemmas in Treating Fear in Self-Identifying Vampires “Do We Always Practice What We Preach? Real Vampires’ Fears of Coming out of the Coffin to Social Workers and Helping Professionals,” D.J. Williams and Emily E. Prior, Critical Social Work, vol. 16, no. 1, 2015, pp. 79-92. (Thanks to Ivan Oransky for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at Idaho State University, the College of the Canyons, and the Center for Positive Sexuality, explain:
Nobody knows an exact number, but there are many people worldwide who self-identify as vampires. Despite the use of the word “vampire,” people with such alternative identities do not seem to be psychologically and socially unstable. Even still, it is not surprising that vampires prefer to keep these alternative identities private (i.e., stay “in the coffin”) due to fears of being misunderstood and discriminated against....
The following is an article from The Annals of Improbable Research, now in all-pdf form. Get a subscription now for only $25 a year!
Research About Fear of Spiders compiled by Alice Shirrell Kaswell, Improbable Research staff
While some scientists study spiders, other scientists study the fear of spiders. Other scientists study still other scientists’ fear of spiders.
Do Many Scientists Who Study Bugs Have a Fear of Spiders? Richard S. Vetter is a leader in studying scientists’ fear of spiders. He published studies in 2012 and 2013.
“Calling All Arachnophobic Entomologists: A Request for Information,” Richard S. Vetter, American Entomologist, vol. 58, no. 4, Winter 2012, pp. 199-201. Vetter, at the University of California, Riverside, writes:
[Over] the decades of research involving spiders, I have encountered a number of entomological colleagues who are arachnophobic, ranging from mild dislike to extreme repellent reactions. Considering the great variety of morphologies that insects display, it seems paradoxical that an entomologist would have a different reaction to spiders than to other arthropods....
[F]ear of spiders is not an isolated occurrence in our profession... [I present here] a questionnaire regarding arachnophobia. I am asking for your participation if
1) you consider yourself to be an entomologist, 2) you work with whole-bodied insects that are alive at some point..., and 3) [you] have negative reactions (from mild disgust to severe arachnophobia) to spiders....
You may have never heard about the 1939 Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden. It's not mentioned in textbooks or classrooms because it's a "scary and embarrassing" part of U.S. history. Filmmaker Marshall Curry hadn't heard about it either, either, until last year. He hunted down footage of the event from various archives and assembled a documentary. Warning: this film is disturbing.
The first thing that struck me was that an event like this could happen in the heart of New York City, a city that was diverse, modern, and progressive even in 1939. The second thing that struck me was the way these American Nazis used the symbols of America to sell an ideology that a few years later hundreds of thousands of Americans would die fighting against.
It really illustrated that the tactics of demagogues have been the same throughout the ages. They attack the press, using sarcasm and humor. They tell their followers that they are the true Americans (or Germans or Spartans or...). And they encourage their followers to “take their country back” from whatever minority group has ruined it.
It had to happen sooner or later. It is now easier to find a Link costume than it is to find a Peter Pan costume. So redditor jay_roo modified a Link costume, because that's what you do when your daughter wants you to play Peter Pan to her Tinkerbell. The picture was taken last night at the Goblin Gathering in Bradenton, Florida. They make an adorable family. And when jay_roo admitted he is a single father, commenters piled on to volunteer to be his Wendy.
These bathroom poltergeists remind us of Moaning Myrtle, the ghost who haunts the girls’ bathroom at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter book series. Are bathroom ghosts for real? Who knows— but they make for some great bathroom reading.
1. Haunted Bathroom: A first-floor restroom in the Galvez, a century-old historic beachfront hotel on Galveston Island in Texas.
Haunted By: A ghost wearing heavy boots.
Boo! The many ghosts that are said to haunt the Galvez are one of the hotel’s selling points. Guests book rooms in the hopes of seeing the “Ghost Bride” who hanged herself in one of the turrets on the roof; the little girl bouncing a ball in the lobby; and Sister Katherine, a nun who is said to have drowned in the 1900 hurricane and who may have been buried on the land where the hotel was later built. The ghost that haunts the restroom on the first floor near the music hall is one of the hotel’s creepier spirits, and he apparently likes to have the bathroom to himself. Once, when a guest popped into the restroom late at night after using the hot tubs, the lights suddenly went out and the woman could hear boot steps approaching her. Then the sound of loud breathing, and a man’s voice that ordered, “Get out!”
2. Haunted Bathroom: The women’s restroom in the White Lion pub, in the town of Yateley, in southern England.
Haunted By: A ghostly female figure wearing a white hood.
Do you believe in ghosts? Paris is loaded with them. Here are a few famous spots in the City of Light where believers claim you’re likely to encounter some spirited residents.
THE LOUVRE
Every year, millions of people visit this museum to see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and other masterpieces. The building dates to the 12th century, when it served as a fortress for Philip II. Since then, the grounds have borne witness to wars, plagues, and other calamities, which is one reason why the Louvre is considered by ghost hunters to be the most haunted place in France. Since it was converted into a museum in 1793, visitors and staff have reported spectral orbs, mysterious shadows, and human-looking figures lingering among the artworks.
French legend also tells of a gnomelike ghoul dressed in red that often appears near the Louvre as a harbinger of national tragedy. Often referred to as “the Little Red Man,” the spirit is supposedly capable of offsetting impending doom… for the right price. If the tales are true, he’s bargained with French rulers including Henry IV, Marie Antoinette, and Napoleon, who failed to heed the Little Red Man’s advice and suffered the consequences at the Battle of Waterloo. The museum’s other ghosts are said to include the spirits of French soldiers and prisoners who were once held captive in its dungeon.
Imagine this: You are working on a horror film, and need a skeleton. You borrow one from a guy you know. It doesn't look authentic enough, so you dress it up a little. The 1978 George Romero film Dawn of the Dead turns out to be a success, and you are proud of your work. Then a few years later, you find out that the skeleton you used was not a plastic prop, but a real human skeleton! See, the skeleton had been sold to a costume shop, which offered it for rent.
In a strange twist of fate, a police officer visited the shop one day looking for a costume and spotted the skeleton, convinced that it was the real deal. Oddly enough, it was the mummified ‘skin’ hanging off of the bones that tipped the officer off, though the faux flesh was actually applied by Savini on the Dawn set, made from a mixture of rubber, cotton and Rice Krispies cereal. A testament to Savini’s talents, to say the very least!
Authorities arrived at the shop and confiscated the skeleton, which the coroner identified as being the remains of a woman in her mid-30s, who had died of unknown causes. Apparently, the woman had passed away 100 years prior, and nobody is quite sure how her body ended up being passed around from person to person, thought to be either a prop decoration or a teaching tool.
In the DC comics universe, Batman has recently become engaged to Selena Kyle (Catwoman). We don't know if they will actually go through with it, but if something prevents the nuptials, there's bound to be some evil mad scientist or super villain involved. Of course, a wedding is always good for ratings, or comic book sales in this case. Batman has taken a walk down the aisle, or come close to it, many times over his almost-80-year history. He's been spotted marrying Kathy Kane, Vicki Vale, Julie Madison, Selina Kyle, Lois Lane, and Wonder Woman.
The Batman and Wonder Woman of the Brave and the Bold animated universe nearly got married in All-New Batman Brave and the Bold #4, having been hit with a spell from Eros, the Greek god of attraction, that makes them fall for each other. The two break out of the spell thanks to Diana’s lasso of truth, but decide to plan a lavish wedding anyway... and use it as a trap to draw out a bunch of supervillains—who couldn’t resist attacking the wedding of Wonder Woman and Batman!—that they then proceed to beat the snot out of.
Batman went to the altar with many of those famous brides more than once, plus a few other less memorable characters. So far, they've all been stopped at the last minute, annulled, or occurred in a dream or an in alternate universe. Read the short versions of each of Batman's marriages at io9.
