NASA introduced the idea of female astronauts much earlier than you might realize. After all, the Soviets had launched a female cosmonaut!

In the late 1950s, the United States government contemplated training women as astronauts, and newly released medical test results show that they were just as cool and tough as the men who went to the moon.

“They were all extraordinary women and outstanding pilots and great candidates for what was proposed,” said Donald Kilgore, a doctor who evaluated both male and female space flight candidates at the Lovelace Clinic, a mid-century center of aeromedical research. “They came out better than the men in many categories.”

The times being what they were, the program was scrapped, and US women did not make it into space until 1983. Link

Make your own scary character that pops up out of trash can to scare trick-or-treaters! Instructables user Back Roads shows you how to create this prop that uses compressed air. Link -via Lifehacker

(YouTube link)

This surprised me. What happens when you connect two balloons, one blown up much bigger than the other? I thought for sure they would equalize. Doesn’t air rush out harder from a fully-inflated balloon than from a partially-inflated balloon? Even the explanation puzzles me. Are there any scientists around who could explain more thoroughly? -via Dark Roasted Blend

Halo Animal Rescue in Phoenix, Arizona confronted a tiny problem. A chihuahua puppy was left an orphan when its mother died in childbirth. Rescue worker Heather Allen called Animal Control and asked if they had any nursing mothers. All they had was a black cat with four kittens.

Knowing that without a mom the baby Chihuahua did not have long to live, Heather introduced the two. She says, "I just kind of just stuck the puppy in with the rest and hoped the mom wouldn't notice much and she thought that was fine."

Seven days later the baby Chihuahua, now named Liam, is still alive. Heather says, "She's doing great, I don't know if she'll be litter-trained when she's done, but she's doing really well, she's nursing and seems to be growing and doing great."

Link (with video) -via Fark

(image credit: AZ Family)

The largest shopping mall in the world is no longer the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The South China Mall near Guangzhou, China is twice as big! This is not a success story; there are only about a dozen stores open in the giant facility. However, because the mall is considered “too big to fail”, it is kept open with a staff working every day. The series POV tells the story in a 13 minute video. Link -via Dark Roasted Blend

Sportswriter Wright Thompson tried out the "Legends" section at the new Yankee Stadium. The seats originally went for $2,500. Now they are mostly empty, even though the price has dropped to $1,250. In telling the story of how such an exclusive luxury section came to be, Thompson relates the changes in baseball with the state of the economy.

A recent poll discovered an unsettling trend emerging for the first time. American families whose household income is $75,000 or less now have zero dollars of discretionary income. According to Luker, that means about 75 percent of the country can never responsibly afford to go to a live professional sporting event. Franchises want them to be fans, to buy the gear and pull for their teams and watch the telecasts the leagues are paid billions for. But they don't need them to come to their stadiums. There are, right now, plenty of rich people who love games. The prices reflect that. The reason sporting events cost so much now, Luker's research shows, is because they are designed to be affordable only to those making $150,000 or more a year.

This wasn't always true. Ten years ago, it was cheaper to go to a baseball game than to a movie in half of the big league markets (take away parking at the game, and it was cheaper in every market). Today, there isn't a single city in America where it costs less to go to a major league game than to a movie. Everywhere we turn, we see examples of the collapsing middle class. This is where that issue lives in the world of sports, and it has predictable consequences.

You don’t have to be a baseball fan to relate to this story of a business choosing short-term profits over long-term growth. Link -via Metafilter

(image credit: Julie Jacobson)

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This ad for the Thai Insurance Company features children from the Srisangwan School for the disabled, a project of the Princess Mother’s Volunteer Foundation. http://www.thailand-travelonline.com/thailand-reviews-recommendations/best-of-thailand/best-commercial-ever-que-sera-sera-whatever-will-be-will-be/1483/ -via b3ta

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Anyone who reads The Weird Week in Review at mental floss knows that news stories can be hard to believe. Anyone who reads The Onion knows that fake news can highlight real issues. In today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss, you are challenged to distinguish actual news stories from the stuff that The Onion makes up. It’s not so easy! Luckily, I have posted just about all these stories on one site or another, so I scored 100%. Link

Here’s a list sure to spark debate. Which is better, the movie or the book? Usually one is much better than the other. With the ten books and movies listed here, it’s all a matter of opinion because both the book and the movie are classics. Still, I will always recommend reading the book before seeing the movie. Link [possible malware alert @ link - go there at your own risk]

A recent poll asked Americans what the most annoying phrase they’ve heard is, and 47% of respondents answered “whatever”. It is believed that this is the actual phrase they found annoying, and not just a dismissive response to the question.

Other candidates for most irritating phrases: "you know" netted 25 percent of the vote; "it is what it is" got 11 percent; "anyway" got 7 percent; and "at the end of the day" ended the day with 2 percent.

Some geographic tendencies also emerged. "Whatever," for example, is more loathed in the Midwest - where it annoys 55 percent of respondents - than it is in the Northeast, where it bothers 35 percent.

Link -via Simply Left Behind

(image credit: Flickr user Shiny Things)

Engineeer and cartoonist Tim Hunkin created an arcade game that at first appears to be an ATM or banking kiosk. When coins are inserted, the banking poster drops and reveals Wack-A-Banker, giving you an opportunity to take your aggressions out on a group of financially oppressive stereotypes. See more pictures and read how this project came about at Tim's site. Link -via Everlasting Blort

I don’t know who created these little comics using dead flies, as the source site is not in English. Some are very funny! http://www.houseandgadgets.com/humor-with-dead-flies/ -via Unique Daily

Update: Some of the comics have dialog in Swedish. Lexi has provided a translation in the comments here at Neatorama. -Thanks, Lexi!

Screenwriter John Cox posted a guest blog at Frankensteinia about his search for the site of the only location shot in the 1931 movie Frankenstein.

Where did Universal shoot the famous Maria meets the Monster scene in the classic 1931 Frankenstein? For years I could never get a straight answer. Some claimed it was shot on the Universal backlot along with the rest of the movie. But it’s clear from the size of the lake and the rugged mountains in the distance that this can’t be true.

Cox found that the scene was filmed at Malibou Lake and set off to find the exact location of the scene, despite the knowledge that it was now in private hands, and that after almost 80 years, it might not look the same. But he was surprised at what he found! Link -via Metafilter

A tiny breed of pig is born the size of a teacup and is the hot new pet among British celebrities. The micro pig is about nine ounces and the size of a teacup when born, but can sell for up to £700. Breeder Jane Croft has given up her former career to breed the tiny pigs full-time.

At two years old they are fully grown and weigh in around 40-65lb and are about knee height at 12-16in tall.

They can live for up to 18 years, but make popular pets as they are low maintenance, quiet and surprisingly clean.

‘Micro pigs make fantastic pets as they are very low maintenance. You don't have to take them for walks and they have very few health issues,’ said Miss Croft.

‘They don't make much noise, they are easy to toilet train and once they have bonded with you they are very loving

The pigs are also good pets for people who are allergic to dogs or cats. Link -via the Presurfer

(image credit: Geoff Robinson Photography)

Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Brett Bennethum was ordered to Iraq in July. His four-year-old daughter Paige had a hard time letting go, so much that she held onto his hand in formation. No one, including the commanding officer, had the heart to pull her away. The picture of the incident, taken by Paige’s mother, has gone viral and touched people all over the country. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Little-Soldier-Girl-Didnt-Want-to-Let-Go-63629627.html -via Buzzfeed

(image credit: Abby Bennethum)