People aren't the only ones who build things. In fact, some animals are better at it than we are! Beavers, moles, birds, many insects, and spiders are natural builders with amazing structures you'll see at WebEcoist. The homes pictured were all built by termites, who erect the largest structures relative to their size of any animal. Link -via Unique Daily

Some people sabotage themselves by setting up an excuse for failure before even trying something.

Psychologists have studied this sort of behavior since at least 1978, when Steven Berglas and Edward E. Jones used the phrase “self-handicapping” to describe students in a study who chose to take a drug that they were told would inhibit their performance on an exam (the drug was actually inert).

The urge goes well beyond a mere lowering of expectations, and it has more to do with protecting self-image than with psychological conflicts rooted in early development, in the Freudian sense. Recent research has helped clarify not just who is prone to self-handicapping but also its consequences — and its possible benefits.

Link -via Lifehacker

Have you ever wondered what television news anchors do during commercial breaks?

Which local TV news anchors make the best team? Well, judging from a behind-the-scenes video clip that has popped up, it’s WGN’s Robert Jordan and Jackie Bange, hands down. The two are shown going through an elaborate routine—complete with coordinated paper-shuffling, precision gestures and various grunts and giggles—that they perform during the first commercial break of their weekend newscasts. They are awesome.

Head Candy has the video, and an interview with Robert Jordan about how the routine came about. Link -via I Am Bored

Every year since 1927, the editors of Time have named a Person (or Machine or Planet) of the Year. The honor is bestowed upon “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill.”

Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss will find out how familiar you are with Time's person of the year over the years. I scored 7 out of 12, or 58%. I'm surprised I did that well. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/21403

Those born in the New World may not realize how many monarchies still exist. This list has 28 kings, queens, sultans, and princes across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and their official residences. Pictured is Tashichoedzong Palace, the residence of Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, the king of Bhutan, who is the youngest monarch in the world at age 28 (and he's single). http://www.hottnez.com/kings-of-the-world-rich-living-monarchs-and-their-royal-residences/ -Thanks, Grzegorz Paslawski!

Psychology professor Stephen Greenspan recently published a book about gullibility. He also lost a lot of money to Bernard Madoff's financial shenanigans.

...I was a participant — and victim — of the Madoff scam, and have a pretty good understanding of the factors that caused me to behave foolishly. So I shall use myself as a case study to illustrate how even a well-educated (I’m a college professor) and relatively intelligent person, and an expert on gullibility and financial scams to boot, could fall prey to a hustler such as Madoff.

Greenspan (no relation to Alan Greenspan) explores the social situations and emotions that lead people to invest their money in scams like Ponzi schemes, and how the Madoff situation got out of hand.

The real mystery in the Madoff story is not how naïve individual investors such as myself would think the investment safe, but how the risks and warning signs could have been ignored by so many financially knowledgeable people, ranging from the adviser who sold me and my sister (and himself) on the investment, to the highly compensated executives who ran the various feeder funds that kept the Madoff ship afloat. The partial answer is that Madoff’s investment algorithm (along with other aspects of his organization) was a closely guarded secret difficult to penetrate, and partly (as in all cases of gullibility) that strong affective and self-deception processes were at work. In other words, they had too good a thing going, for themselves and their clients, to entertain the idea that it might all be about to crumble.

http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/08-12-23.html#feature -Thanks, Eli Schwimme!

(image credit: Dan DeVore)

Do you have a calendar for 2009 yet? There are as many calendar designs as there are days in a year, and DVICE has selected ten of the strangest. I really like this bubble wrap calendar that invites to you pop off each day! Link -via the Presurfer

Norwegian skiier Fred Syversen unintentionally dropped 107 meters (351 feet) off a cliff while attempting a different cliff jump -and survived with hardly a scratch! The jump was nearly a year ago, but video evidence has recently led to measurements that confirm how high the jump really was.

Fred Syversen realized that he missed the correct line. Instead of braking he decided to drop as well as possible. He knew that braking could lead to uncontrolled flying, which could actually kill him. Just before jumping he made a little turn in order to avoid crashing into the rocks on his left side. His position looks well controlled, although (for a moment) he was sure he was going to die.

Syversen's landing buried him in two meters of snow. He was dug out by the helicopter crew and taken to a hospital, where he was found to have suffered only minor liver damage. Link (with video) -via Arbroath

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How would like to be awakened by this long-crowing rooster? There are several breeds that crow for longer than usual. Link -via Boing Boing

Here's an end-of-the-year list you haven't seen a dozen versions of -ten discoveries of money and treasure in 2008. Gold and silver coins, jewelry, antiquities, things that make you say. "I wish I'd found that!" Shown are gold coins bearing the image of Carausius, who declared himself the emperor of of Northern Gaul and Britain (AD 286-93). They were found by Derrick Fretwell in a field in Ashbourne. England. Link -Thanks, Brand!

It's very cold tonight, so we played with bubbles If you blow them upwards enough they have time to freeze on the way down.

Skipweasel took photographs of the experiments in blowing soap bubbles in freezing weather. The pictures are wild -especially when you see a frozen bubble bursting! Link

The hamster runs on his exercise wheel, powering the shredder, which shreds a document and provides the hamster with a bed of clean litter to sleep on. Design consultant Tom Ballhatchet is in the process of getting a manufacturer for this prototype. Link -Thanks, Stu Roberts!

Shoe collector Mark Kurath commissioned a professional orthopedic shoemaker to construct these one-of-a-kind Back to The Future sneakers! The process took six months and cost him $4,000. Sneaker Freaker magazine interviews Kurath about his "McFlys" and the rest of his collection of 500 pairs of sneakers. http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/feature/diy-mcfly-sneakers/1/ -Thanks, Clare Xu!

Dean Durrant and Alison Spooner of Fleet, Hants, England had twins seven years ago, two girls, Hayleigh appearing black, Lauren appearing white. The odds of such a combination are quite high -but now they've done it again! Alison gave birth to twin girls November 13th. Miya has dark skin and Leah appears white.

Alison said: "I was shocked when I first found out I was pregnant with twins again — but I never thought for one second they would turn out the same as last time.

After the babies were born they weren’t breathing properly, so they were taken to a special care unit.

It wasn’t until about five days after they were born that we saw them side by side for the first time.

And when they were together it was clear that one was darker than the other. It was unbelievable."

The babies are now home and reported healthy. Link -Thanks, Sharyn Bramscher!

(image credit: Solent News & Photo Agency)

"Neatorama isn’t a political blog," so here's a t-shirt depicting president-elect Obama riding a unicorn, signifying a wonderful fantasy. $19 from Chris Bishop. Link -Thanks, Andrew Crocker!