Hayes Johnson made a Storm Trooper hood ornament for his Buick Park Avenue. Geeks Are Sexy asked and found out how he did it. These might become really popular! Link

(Image credit: Flickr user Agent RayBans)

Erica Goldson gave a very different speech at Coxsackie-Athens High School Coxsackie, New York. The class valedictorian gave the commencement address many students over the years claimed they would make if they ever got the chance. She began by stating that her goal in school was to get out as soon as she could.

I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer - not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition - a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave.  I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I'm scared.

You can read the entire speech and some reactions at Swift Kick Central. Link -via Holy Kaw!

(Image credit: Flickr user Clever Cupcakes)

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Lions, tigers, and leopards are kitty cats, too! Big Cat Rescue shows us how they react to catnip. -via The Daily What

We are in the midst of the Discovery Channel's annual celebration known as Shark Week. In honor of the occasion, here's a look at the strangest species of sharks, both living and extinct.

1. Sawshark

(Image credit: Flickr user Gore Fiendus/Jerry Frausto)

There are seven known species of sawsharks (Pristiophoriformes) that have long snouts with teeth, but they are not related to sawfish (although sawsharks are fish). They swim along the floor of the ocean and use their snouts exactly as you would imagine: they smack their prey sideways to disable them. Sawsharks eat squid, crustaceans, and small fish. They look much more dangerous than they are.

2. Basking Shark

The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest of all living shark species, with only the whale shark growing larger. They normally grow to 20-26 feet long, with the biggest confirmed specimen measuring over 40 feet long! They have mouths up to three feet wide, which they hold open while swimming. That's because they are filter feeders that scoop up plankton, crustaceans, and small fish as they swim.

3. Hammerheads

(Image credit: Flickr user David Biesack)

There are eight or nine different species of hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna), named for their unusual shape. The reason behind the peculiar shape of the shark's head was debated for many years. Scientists speculated that the distance between the shark's eye gave it some kind of advantage. Recent research confirms this. Hammerhead sharks can see a range of 360 degrees vertically. They can easy see behind them with a slight turn of the head, and most importantly, their two eyes have a huge overlap of field compared to other sharks, indicating they have excellent binocular vision. Hammerhead sharks are able to judge distances well by sight alone. They also differ from other sharks in that they tend to swim in schools and they can develop a tan when exposed to sunlight.

Once again, a Neatorama t-shirt is up for grabs in the NeatoGeek Caption Contest! Pick out a shirt from the NeatoShop, and leave it along with the best caption for this week's picture in a comment at the post. Even if you don't have a funny caption, you'll get a laugh out of the captions others have left! Link

This skirt, designed by Meredith Scheff, is called the StarBoard North Skirt. When you are facing north, little LEDs in the skirt light up! Actually, the part of the skirt that is facing north is always lit, so different panels light up as you move around. She doesn't sell the skirts, but she will sell you a kit that includes LEDS and soft circuit boards so you can make your own. Link to project (with video). Link to the kit. -via Bad Astronomy

It's been 25 years since the John Hughes movie Weird Science premiered. It is the subject of today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss, which tests your memory of the film that catered precisely to the fantasies of teenage boys everywhere. Since I've never been a teenage boy and haven't seen the movie since it was new, I flunked the test miserably. You have to do better (you can't do any worse)! Link

Deliver Me To Hell is an interactive zombie movie that contains the things you love: zombies, violence, mild gore, scantily-clad women, iphones, and pizza. You decide which directions the plot takes, and if you don't like how the story turns out, just start over again. I wish life were like that. Produced by Hell Pizza of New Zealand. Link (embedded YouTube clip)

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It seems that Zach Anner's life is taking some momentous turns. Too bad we don't know what they are. Fans will be glad to see he now has his own website. Link

Previously at Neatorama: Zach, Zach, Zach, Zach, and Zach.

Minnesotastan found a strange photograph on a Japanese site with no information. Commenters looked around and suggested this is "sausage jelly", which is the egg case of the snail Polinices sordidus, commonly called the sordid sand snail or moon snail. Other photographs of sausage jelly do not show the eggs as hatched. Have you ever seen anything like this? Link

This looks like a lot of fun, but watching the video is a lot less messy than doing it yourself. Some of the bubbles this guy made are at least 15 feet across! Note the video is in slow-motion, on second look I don't think it's in slow motion, but you still get a good look at how giant bubbles collapse when they burst. I also have to wonder, at what point does a bubble become so big that it is no longer round? Link (embedded vimeo clip)

Do you have some nice vacation pictures? Can you take some? National Geographic Traveler is sponsoring the World in Focus Photo Contest with both amateur and professional divisions. Get this- the grand prize in the amateur division is a 10-day expedition to the Galapagos islands! There are lesser prizes as well, like a trip to Hawaii and cameras and stuff. Even if you don't enter, you can see the entries and vote for the "people's choice" award (which is separate from the contest judging). The deadline for entries is August 23rd. Link -Thanks, Marilyn Terrell!

(Image source: National Geographic Expeditions)

This is the The Aerogenerator X Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, a design concept that will generate more wind power than current vertical designs. It is 885 feet wide and will rotate three times a minute over the ocean. Besides generating more power, the advantages of such a design will be the ease of repair compared to vertical turbines and the fact that it will pose less of a threat to birds. See it in action at Gizmodo. Link -via The Litter Box

If you enjoyed Jill's post 30+ Excellent Comic Con Costumes From 2010, you can see more of the many photographs she took during the convention. Find them in the posts Comic-Con Costumes from 2010, 25 More Pics of Sexy Comic Con Cosplay Girls, and at mental_floss, Independent Comic Con Artists.

This adorable purple octopus, possibly a younger relative of our own Octowriter in the sidebar, could be a new species. An expedition off the coast of Newfoundland identified 11 new species of marine creatures. The project, involving Spanish and Canadian scientists, uses a ROV (remotely operated vehicle) to explore the ocean as far down as 9,800 feet, or 3,000 meters. See pictures of the other new species at National Geographic. Link

(Image credit: Bedford Institute of Oceanography)