Just in case you were busy with work or something this week, check out these links to catch up on what's been happening here at Neatorama! Tiffany (Mrs. Neatorama) was gone for several days, but came back with a report on the New York Toy Fair, where she scouted out new products that you'll eventually see at the NeatoShop.

Jill Harness continued her in-depth research into Disney theme parks with Neatorama Facts: The Enchanted Tiki Room.

Phil Haney rounded up some stories of people whose shoes you don't want to be in, with Things Could Always Be Worse.

On Valentines Day, we stoked your appetite for that heart-shaped box with The Rich History of Chocolate from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.

The Annals of Improbably Research brought us The Pliocene Pussy Cat Theory.

We learned about Tycho Brahe: The Drinking Man's Thinking Man courtesy of mental_floss magazine.

In the Name That Weird Invention! contest, the first-place name selected was Yawn-mower, from kfd90. Second place went to chaise-lawn from Norris. Neither winner selected a t-shirt, which hints that maybe you guys enjoy playing these games with or without a prize!

The What Is It? game came around on Thursday. dj2kenne was the first with the correct answer: the object is a TV antenna rotator. A lot of people knew the answer, and a lot of people made up great meanings for the letters N-E-S-W-N -you really should go read them all! The prize for the funniest answer goes to amanderpanderer, who said:

Back when the internet was a more clearly defined series of non-searchable tubes for conveying information, people were bombarded with information shooting out of the pneumatic delivery devices and into their offices, living rooms and school dorms. Being less savvy at identifying the sorts of information being sent to them, internet users often relied on external devices like this one to help them distinguish between the relevant and irrelevant materials being delivered. This is the 1953 InternetIdentificationIdentifyer, or III, in stunning bakelite brown. This device sat near the pnuematic exit and served to classify and catagorize the material presented.

The catagories are:
News, Entertainment, Sex, Wikipedia, and (of course) Neatorama.

Now we have RSS feeds, so I never miss a Neatorama posting. Ah, progress!

T-shirts will go out to both winners.

You saw Mal and Chad's Fill in the Bubble Frenzy on Wednesday. A t-shirt goes to Darrel, who gave us this line: "Get higher, Chad! That's the porcupine balloon!"

We also had an extra giveaway this week: Win A Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set! Congratulations to winner Holly Davis!

Looking for more once you've caught up on this week's Neatorama posts? Check out the links at the NeatoHub or the articles at The Best of Neatorama!

Shaun Usher at Letters of Note posted a collection of letters from Muppets. Actually, the letters are from Caroll Spinney (who does Big Bird), Jim Henson, and the Swedish Chef (penned by Henson).

Ho Komissionooster Sjolund!

Sveern hund der meenskroo skort herg dah smorgasbord bord bord.

Gloo das click click ein mein filmikin den Washington fom des Fancy Food, goôde des griting zoo des Kükenmenenstoof.

Yay boo thanken svenson eet des goo goo Per Nilsson und des Eilest Nassell fer yoom yoom.

Bork Bork!

Also included is a series of complaint letters about Sesame Street's character The Count. Link

Sgt. John Terrel, a sheriff's deputy in Moro, Oregon pulled over a pickup truck with California plates. As he approached the vehicle, a sock flew out the window. The sock was stuffed with marijuana. The driver, 32-year-old Joel Dobrin of San Diego, was busted by his own dog!

After the stop, the driver explained to Sgt. Terrel that as he was being pulled over, he tried to stash the sock. His pit bull mix dog grabbed the sock and wouldn't let go, enjoying the tug-of-war game. The dog won, tossing the sock out the window.

Sherman County Sheriff Brad Lohrey had high praise for the canine.

“I wish everyone traveled with their own personal drug dog. It sure would make our job easier."

Dobrin was charged with possession of marihuana and hashish. Link

(Image credit: Flickr user flutterfly2002)

Bouvet Island is 1,700 kilometers from Antarctica, and further away from anywhere else. The island is a volcano covered with a glacier. The few expeditions to explore it were many years apart, and some of those explorers never set foot on Bouvet Island, since there is no safe place to land. But in 1964, a South African expedition spent less than an hour on the island and found ...an abandoned boat.

It was a mystery worthy of a Sherlock Holmes adventure. The boat, which Crawford described as “a whaler or ship’s lifeboat,” must have come from some larger ship. But no trade route ran within a thousand miles of Bouvet. If it really was a lifeboat, then, what ship had it come from? What spectacular feat of navigation had brought it across many miles of sea? How could it have survived a crossing of the Southern Ocean? There was no sign it had ever borne a mast and sail, or engine, but the solitary pair of oars that Crawford found would barely have been adequate to steer a heavy, 20-foot boat. Most unnervingly of all, what had become of the crew?

It was another two years before anyone else went to the island, and the boat was never recorded to have been seen again. Mike Dash set out to research what the boat was doing on such an isolated island, and came up with some interesting theories. However, a definitive answer has yet to be found. Read the whole story at A Blast from the Past. Link -via Dark Roasted Blend

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Cooper the Cat is a videographer in Seattle. He started out as a still photographer, carrying around a cat cam, but after being famous, he switched to a video camera. Link -via Laughing Squid

Previously: Cat Has Photography Exhibit

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In this Japanese theater production, a sword fight breaks out between our hero, portrayed by Taichi Saotome {wiki}, and the shadows that lurk around us. Creativity, special effects, and precision choreography come together to make something special. -via The Daily What

A photo gallery in the Lexington Herald-Leader documents how a lucky squirrel retrieved an entire fast-food meal in a trash can at a city park.

The squirrel climbed inside the can and came out with a french fry. After eating the fry, it went back in the can and came out with the remains of a fish sandwich. Local parks were crowded this afternoon as temperatures neared 70.

The story was featured on the front page of the paper, prompting debate on its newsworthiness. It may be filler for a newspaper, but it's just right for Neatorama. Link -via Fark

(Image credit: Charles Bertram/Lexington Herald-Leader)

Dan Meth came up with the definitive map of fantasy places you know and love -all in one big continent! It's "the very first accurate map of the entire fantasy world." Let the arguments begin. Link -via Buzzfeed

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Dan Bull remixed video of the movie The King's Speech with his own song about how rap is good therapy for stammering -and a few samples you'll recognize. -via mental_floss

You'll be forgiven if you first read that as "The Eye of Sauron." Astronauts were the first to notice this 50-kilometer wide geological formation in Mauritania, in the middle of the Sahara Desert. Read about it and other wonders of nature in the post 13 Most Incredible Geological Wonders on Earth at Environmental Graffiti. Link

After mayor Dave Bing nixed the idea of a Robocop statue in Detroit, interest in the potential project grew immediately. A website was launched. A Facebook group sprang up, and a Kickstarter project welcomed donations. The Imagination Station in Detroit offered a place on its property at Roosevelt Park to put the statue. And now, the project has exceeded its goal of $50,000!

Bing's office is still not convinced, but a spokeswoman said the city is studying how it could accept and display a gift RoboCop statue.

"We know there are a lot of people that care deeply about the issue, and we respect that," said Karen Dumas of Bing's office. "But I'm still not sure that RoboCop is the best message for the city of Detroit."

Paffendorf said the RoboCop statue could go somewhere downtown if the city approves, perhaps near the landmark fist statue honoring legendary boxer Joe Louis.

Jeff Paffendorf is one of the leaders of the statue project. Link

The Westminster Dog Show was held this week at Madison Square Garden. The event drew over 2,500 dogs representing 179 breeds. The judges were impressed with outstanding breeding and grooming, while I am impressed with these dogs' patience and behavior! The Big Picture blog has lots more photographs for your enjoyment. Link -via The Daily What

(Image credit: Mike Segar/Reuters)

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I knew I had seen this in The Museum of Possibilities. It's a combination jacket, sleeping bag, and tent. All in one. Yes, you can buy this. http://jakpak.com/home.aspx -via the Presurfer

A computer from the mid-20th century would fill an entire room -a big room, at that! IBM introduced the 305 RAMAC system in 1956, the first computer to use a hard drive. What you see here is that hard drive, which weighed a ton and held a whopping 5 megabytes of memory storage. It was named the 350 Disk Storage Unit. At the time, you could lease the entire computer setup for a mere $3,200 a month! Link -via Bits and Pieces

Like most trust-fund party boys, astronomer Tycho Brahe came fully outfitted with a less-than-endearing arrogant side. Of course, that's not to say his hubris was totally misplaced. As a child, it didn't take Tycho very long to realize that he possessed not only a lot more mental power than most of his peers, but also a lot more money. His genius came naturally, of course, but his privileged upbringing was a bit more contrived ... to say the least.

While the Danish astronomer may be remembered as one of science's biggest celebrities, Tycho's parents were a few stars short of a Big Dipper. In a grand act of misplaced kindness, Mom and Pop Brahe, Beate and Otte, took pity on Otte's childless brother, Jorgen, by promising him their first-born son. And though they changed their minds when baby Tycho came along on December 14, 1546, Jorgen kept his end of the bargain. He bided his time until Beate gave birth to a second son, then kidnapped young Tycho. Naturally, the youngster's parents were outraged -that is, until they remembered that Jorgen was filthy rich and their erstwhile son would inherit his fortune. So, in yet another display of questionable decision-making, Tycho's parents let Jorgen keep the boy.

This strange transaction gave Tycho an enormous edge. Not only did he grow up in a setting of great wealth, but he also had access to fantastic educational opportunities. At the urging of his uncle (er, father), Tycho studied law at the University of Copenhagen beginning at the age of 13, but his interest quickly waned. Instead of pursuing a legal career, Brahe became convinced he could predict planetary motions better than anyone had during the previous two millennia. He was, of course, correct.