ToyOtter recalls some Star Wars products that he and his partners pitched to manufacturers a decade ago.

All told, we cranked out well over 100 concepts that were taken to final art, and easily 300 that didn’t make it that far. No part of Star Wars was too small to think about, no character too minor. I’ve never had a situation before or since where someone said to take your favorite subject and do whatever you want with it. Nothing was too crazy or expensive to try.

Some of their ideas were accepted, adapted, and manufactured. But the ones that weren’t are even more interesting! I suspect Alex would go for this grill. Link -via Everlasting Blort

Tiago da Fonseca designed a blanket that’s also a bedtime story!

Once upon a time there was a blanket. This blanket had several sheets containing a traditional bedtime story. Each "page" adds a layer of linen making you warmer (or cooler) and comfier hopefully guiding you and your partner into a pleasant night’s sleep.

http://www.platform10.co.uk/sleepless/projects/pictures/tiago.htm -via J-Walk Blog

You may recognize them when you see them, but do you know the proper names for the shapes of well-known symbols? Take the Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss to see how you stack up! I scored 100%, but I had to do some heavy thinking. Link

An unnamed 10-year-old boy in Kandahar, Afghanistan got involved in a fight at his father’s shop and was stabbed in the head. The knife went behind his eye and penetrated the front of his brain. He was able to walk into a British field hospital, where this x-ray was taken. Surgeons at the 212 Field Hospital removed the 3-inch blade and sent him to the 208 Field Hospital for care.

Major Stephen Gallacher, 49, senior A&E nurse of 208 Field Hospital, said: "It was a horrendous sight. I just didn't think he would survive. But he was soon off the life-support machine and was up and about within days. It was just amazing."

Maj Gallacher added that simply pulling the knife out “would have been a disaster”. Link -via Arbroath

Mythbusters wants to settle the question once and for all -did the Apollo astronauts really go to the moon? The cast and crew of Mythbusters visited several NASA locations to conduct experiments to see if the moon footage could have possibly been faked. Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy Blog served as an informal advisor for the episode, which is scheduled to air April 25th. If he has any inside knowledge of how the experiments went, he’s not telling. Link -via Digg

If you are an American, you know that when you see the name John Doe, it means someone whose name is not known. You also know that John Q. Public is a generic name for anyone and everyone. What about other countries? In Belgium, you might read about Jean Dupont, which won’t be his real name. In Finland, Matti Meikäläinen is not a real person; it means “generic male”. NationMaster has a list of generic names informally used for unnamed persons in many countries. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/lan_joh_doe_inf_nam_for_unk_or_uns_per_in_var_cou-unspecified-persons-various-countries-regions -via Dump Trumpet

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This walrus has his moves down, and he doesn’t even use a bucket! -via Arbroath

This list of the best zombies includes popular zombies from movies and video games, plus one from a music video (you can guess that one), and one from real life! Warning: some images may be disturbing. http://www.omghorror.com/article/66153/feature-the-26-best-zombies-of-all-time/ -via Digg

Some animals use a bad smell for defense; others find it attractive in each other. Environmental Graffiti has seven of the most vile. Believe it or not, the skunk came in at only #3!

There are 11 species of skunk, two in Asia and nine in the Americas. All of them have the ability to spray a foul smelling chemical when threatened. The famous skunk spray is a mix of sulphuric chemicals, and skunks can spray accurately up to 15 feet. The stench is so powerful the skunk almost every animal leaves it alone, the sole exception being the Great Horned Owl which has almost no sense of smell.

Link -via J-Walk Blog

(image credit: Qmnonic)

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The Leningrad Cowboys (from Finland) and the Red Army Choir perform Sweet Home Alabama. It’s a small world after all. -via Cynical-C

Instructables has a photo essay on the process of shipping a tiger to Canada. According to the author, guppie, the hard part is getting the tiger into the box. He had a little trouble actually finding a tiger, due to their camouflaging stripes, but he got the job done. Link

It’s just what you might think from the name -pickle juice in a popsicle! John Howard, a roller rink owner in Seguin, Texas, found that his frozen pickle juice treats were very popular with kids, so he started his own company to sell them nationwide. Have you ever tried one? Link -via Slashfood

We’ve been thinking about a new project for Neatorama, a possibile way to bring you enhanced content. It’s still in the planning stage, so we want your input. What kind of things do you look for when you click on Neatorama? What posts would you like more information on? What would you like to see more of, or less of? What suggestions do you have for us, to make your surfing experience more pleasurable, or more informative? Do you have any questions we could work on answering? To get you thinking, Alex tells me that the best comment or suggestion could win you a Neatorama t-shirt (old style). Thanks!

The lunchtime quiz today at mental_floss is on veteran news correspondent Andy Rooney. His quotes are all over the internet, but many that have been attributed to him never actually came from his mouth. How well can you seperate the real quotes from the fakes? http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/13051

Well back in 1876 an ol' boy named Bell
Invented a contraption that we know so well
By the 1950's they're in everybodys home
It's a crazy little thing they call a telephone
Now there's one in every corner, in the back of every bar
You can get one in your briefcase, on a plane, or in your car

-Why Haven’t I Heard from You (Reba McEntire)

It was on March 10, 1876 that Alexander Graham Bell called his assistant in the next room by speaking into his new invention. From Bell’s journal:

I then shouted into M [the mouthpiece] the following sentence: "Mr. Watson, come here -- I want to see you." To my delight he came and declared that he had heard and understood what I said.

I asked him to repeat the words. He answered, "You said 'Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you.'" We then changed places and I listened at S [the speaker] while Mr. Watson read a few passages from a book into the mouthpiece M. It was certainly the case that articulate sounds proceeded from S. The effect was loud but indistinct and muffled.

The new “telephone” wasn’t free of controversy. There has long been talk of Bell stealing the idea and the technology from Elisha Gray. Bell won the patent, and is therefore known as the inventor of the telephone. Link