Paul Loong was born in Malaysia, and served with the British Royal Air Force during World War II. He spent three years in Japanese prison camps. Then Loong worked for years to become a U.S. citizen, which included joining the U.S. Army during the Korean War. But even then, he had to fight for citizenship. Afterward, Loong became a doctor for the Veterans Administration. And that's just the barest details of his incredible life. Now 88 years old, Loong only recently began to share his wartime stories when he revealed a diary he kept as a POW. Loong's daughter, Theresa Loong, produced a documentary on her father's life that will air this weekend on PBS. Check your local listings for Every Day is a Holiday. Link to story. Link to film site. -via Fark
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
People have been looking for a formula for romantic love for a long time -whether it's a fantasy love potion, or a scientific equation that will gauge the feasibility of a match between two people. In 1924, the magazine Science and Invention published a scientific test to determine the probability of marital happiness for couples. There were four tests, including the Nervous Disorder Test:
According to Gernsback it’s important that at least one partner can be calm under pressure. The nervous disorder test is perhaps the most amusing in that it imagines a man (let’s call him Professor Sixshooter) delivering a surprise gunshot in the air. The “nervous reaction” of both people is recorded on tape and if they both are too startled “marriage should not take place.” I don’t know about you, but I’d be a little uneasy if my partner wasn’t startled at the sound of a gunshot.
Read the rest at Paleofuture. Link
Oh boy, what does it say about me that I am a member of reddit, Digg, del.icio.us, and G+, but not Pinterest? I don't know if you can actually say that "chicks rule" just because there are more of them on social networking sites. I don't even know if there actually ARE more females on social networking sites, since Livejournal, Tumblr, myYearbook, Catster, and other sites are not represented at all, and since what is defined as a "social networking site" varies depending on who is defining. But here's the data for these sites! If you need a larger version to read, see the full size chart at Information is Beautiful. Link -via Geeks Are Sexy
Eli Cirino wrote this love ballad and made this video for extra credit in his 10th grade chemistry class. Totally earned it! -via reddit
(Image credit: Flickr user Patrick Emerson)
1. Department of Geography, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
2. Department of Geography, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
In this report, we apply basic scientific techniques to answer the question “Is Kansas as flat as a pancake?”
While driving across the American Midwest, it is common to hear travelers remark, “This state is as flat as a pancake.” To the authors, this adage seems to qualitatively capture some characteristic of a topographic geodetic survey 2. This obvious question “how flat is a pancake” spurned our analytical interest, and we set out to find the ‘flatness’ of both a pancake and one particular state: Kansas.
A Technical Approach to Pancakes and Kansas
Figure 1. (a) A well-cooked pancake; and (b) Kansas.
Barring the acquisition of either a Kansas-sized pancake or a pancake-sized Kansas, mathematical techniques are needed to do a proper comparison. Some readers may find the comparing of a pancake and Kansas to be analogous to the comparing of apples and oranges; we refer those readers to a 1995 publication by NASA’s Scott Sandford 3, who used spectrographic techniques to do a comparison of apples and oranges.
One common method of quantifying ‘flatness’ in geodesy is the ‘flattening’ ratio. The length of an ellipse’s (or arc’s) semi-major axis a is compared with its measured semi-minor axis b using the formula for flattening, f = (a – b) / a. A perfectly flat surface will have a flattening f of one, whereas an ellipsoid with equal axis lengths will have no flattening, and f will equal zero.
You think you have long working hours? Shooting a movie or TV show can mean you spend the majority of your time -and the vast majority of your waking hours- at work. Gavin Polone has first-hand experience.
Stars get paid well for those hours, but the many others on the crew are just making a living, and they rarely complain. Polone talked with different workers about how they view their work schedules in an article at Vulture. Link -via Buzzfeed
A week and a half ago we had an unusually long shooting day on the show I’m currently producing, Jane by Design. The crew call time was at 7 a.m. and we wrapped at 10:46 p.m. — fourteen hours and 45 minutes after subtracting our one-hour lunch break. And some had an even longer day: Our actors, including guest star Teri Hatcher, showed up for hair and makeup at 5 am, which meant that hairstylists and makeup artists, as well as someone from the transportation department and the set production assistant, also showed up to meet them and were there until wrap, giving them a total of sixteen hours and 45 minutes. Many of you who are less familiar with the culture of filmmaking may find these hours to be pretty crazy, but those of us who regularly work on sets know there was nothing out of the ordinary about this day — and it wasn't even that extreme compared to other movies and TV series, which often go beyond the standard schedule of a twelve-hour day.
Stars get paid well for those hours, but the many others on the crew are just making a living, and they rarely complain. Polone talked with different workers about how they view their work schedules in an article at Vulture. Link -via Buzzfeed
A pink katydid is rare, but not so rare that we don't have photographs to enjoy! It's not a separate species, but a condition somewhat similar to albinism. Read more about pink katydids and see stunning pictures at The Ark in Space. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Richard Whitby)
The following is an article from the book Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Salutes the Armed Forces.
They weren't really lost, but a series of command failures and tactical errors kept them trapped for days while the whole world wondered what would happen to them.
THE CAMPAIGN TO END ALL WARS
The final campaign of World War I was set for H-hour, 5:30AM on October 4, 1918. General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, commanding the U.S. Expeditionary Force in Europe, had ordered the left wing of the U.S. 1st Army to push forward into the Argonne Forest on September 29. German artillery hidden in the forest had been clobbering American and French forces, and Pershing wanted the guns silenced before the massive Allied advance. Major General Robert Alexander's 77th Infantry Division drew the assignment; his orders were to push forward "without regard to losses."
The Argonne was different from other battlefields. A few trails meandered through the woods, but the enormous size of the forest and the density of the trees made it difficult to organize cooperative action among units, some of which quickly became separated. Brigadier General Evan Johnson, commanding the 154th Brigade, made it clear to the battalions under his command that "Any ground gained must be held... If I find anybody ordering a withdrawal from ground once held, I will see he leaves the service," meaning dishonorably. Major Charles W. Whittlesey's 1st Battalion of the 308th Infantry Regiment was part of Johnson's brigade and received the same message.
INTO THE FOREST
Whittlesey's composite battalion consisted of Companies A, B, C, E, G, and H from the 308th Infantry, Companies C and D from the 306th Machine Gun Battalion, and Company K from the 307th Infantry, which accidentally joined them later. All the companies were depleted from earlier losses when they entered the Argonne Forest. Whittlesey had been told not to worry about safeguarding his flanks because an American battalion with the French infantry would be on his left and two American battalions would be on his right. On October 2, he and his roughly 670 men plunged into the foggy, rain-drenched Argonne Forest, lost contact with the units on his flanks, but kept pressing forward.
By accident, Whittlesey's battalion found a gap in the German line, but lost about 90 men before resistance subsided. With nightfall approaching, Whittlesey moved the battalion in to a ravine that ran along the side of a steep and rocky slope about 300 yards long and 60 yards wide with good defensive ground and protection from mortar fire. Whittlesey then waited through the night for the other units to make contact.
Continue reading
They weren't really lost, but a series of command failures and tactical errors kept them trapped for days while the whole world wondered what would happen to them.
THE CAMPAIGN TO END ALL WARS
The final campaign of World War I was set for H-hour, 5:30AM on October 4, 1918. General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, commanding the U.S. Expeditionary Force in Europe, had ordered the left wing of the U.S. 1st Army to push forward into the Argonne Forest on September 29. German artillery hidden in the forest had been clobbering American and French forces, and Pershing wanted the guns silenced before the massive Allied advance. Major General Robert Alexander's 77th Infantry Division drew the assignment; his orders were to push forward "without regard to losses."
The Argonne was different from other battlefields. A few trails meandered through the woods, but the enormous size of the forest and the density of the trees made it difficult to organize cooperative action among units, some of which quickly became separated. Brigadier General Evan Johnson, commanding the 154th Brigade, made it clear to the battalions under his command that "Any ground gained must be held... If I find anybody ordering a withdrawal from ground once held, I will see he leaves the service," meaning dishonorably. Major Charles W. Whittlesey's 1st Battalion of the 308th Infantry Regiment was part of Johnson's brigade and received the same message.
INTO THE FOREST
Whittlesey's composite battalion consisted of Companies A, B, C, E, G, and H from the 308th Infantry, Companies C and D from the 306th Machine Gun Battalion, and Company K from the 307th Infantry, which accidentally joined them later. All the companies were depleted from earlier losses when they entered the Argonne Forest. Whittlesey had been told not to worry about safeguarding his flanks because an American battalion with the French infantry would be on his left and two American battalions would be on his right. On October 2, he and his roughly 670 men plunged into the foggy, rain-drenched Argonne Forest, lost contact with the units on his flanks, but kept pressing forward.
By accident, Whittlesey's battalion found a gap in the German line, but lost about 90 men before resistance subsided. With nightfall approaching, Whittlesey moved the battalion in to a ravine that ran along the side of a steep and rocky slope about 300 yards long and 60 yards wide with good defensive ground and protection from mortar fire. Whittlesey then waited through the night for the other units to make contact.
What did we ever do before plastic? After all, the synthetic material is not all that ancient.
Wired posted interesting excerpts from a talk by Susan Freinkel about the history of manufacturing objects of plastic. Link -via Boing Boing
(Image credit: Flickr user Tinker*Tailor loves Lalka)
“Plastic is so new, Freinkel began, that among all the objects preserved in the sunken Titanic, none are synthetic plastic, because there was hardly any available in 1912. Natural plastic, however, was a familiar material. Amber was popular. Rubber was essential (all plant cellulose is made of long-chain polymers). Ivory for everything from billiard balls to piano keys was in such high demand that an 1867 paper warned about the looming extinction of elephants. The first synthetic plastic—celluoid—was developed as a substitute for ivory, and the elephants survived.
Wired posted interesting excerpts from a talk by Susan Freinkel about the history of manufacturing objects of plastic. Link -via Boing Boing
(Image credit: Flickr user Tinker*Tailor loves Lalka)
A confluence is a place where two (or more) bodies of water meet. When two rivers meet and mix, especially rivers with water of different colors, the confluence is quite dramatic. See pictures of the most interesting meetings of contrasting waters from around the world at Twisted Sifter. Shown here is the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers in China. Link -via The World Geography
Dr. Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, has worked in TV and film quite a bit, often as a science consultant, and sometimes as a "personality." But even before that he was a blogger -and a critic.
Phil wrote a guest post for The Science and Entertainment Exchange about how he eventually reconciled the differences in the world of science and the business of entertainment. But he still wants to bring better science to your science fiction! Link -via Bad Astronomy
Not long after creating my first website (back in the Dark Internet Ages of 1997) I decided it would be fun to critique the science of movies, and I dove in with both glee and fervor. No movie was safe, from Armageddon to Austin Powers.
I was right; it was fun. It was surprisingly easy to deconstruct Hollywood accuracy, or lack thereof. Any mistake was fair game; a flubbed line with bad math was just as likely for me to mock as a plot device upon which the entire movie rested. Blowing up a giant asteroid? Pshaw. Saying “million” instead of “billion”? Please. Shadows moving the wrong way at sunset? Let me sharpen my poison keyboard.
Phil wrote a guest post for The Science and Entertainment Exchange about how he eventually reconciled the differences in the world of science and the business of entertainment. But he still wants to bring better science to your science fiction! Link -via Bad Astronomy
Yes, Hungry Hungry Hippos was a good idea for the next game-to-movie idea. But this one... well, together they beat everything! Link -via Pajiba
A love song to the most disrespected font ever, by gunnarolla featuring Songs To Wear Pants To. -via Buzzfeed
Welcome to another long holiday weekend! Monday is Memorial Day in the U.S. which is often thought of as the beginning of summer, culturally if not astronomically. That idea only came about because it's a holiday close to the time school's close for vacation. The holiday is a time set aside to remember and honor those who died serving their nation in wartime. At the end of this post, you'll find a selected reading list appropriate for Memorial Day. Meanwhile, here's what happened this past week:
John Farrier wrote 10 Facts You Might Not Know about Star Trek: Voyager.
Eddie Deezen gave us 12 Baseball Feats That Only Happened Once.
Why Disco Died, from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, was the followup to the previous article Why Disco Happened.
The Annals of Improbable Research brought us Integrated Pest Management of Manifestations as Infestations. In other words, pest control for angels.
10 Latin Phrases You Pretend to Understand came from mental_floss magazine.
In the What Is It? game this week, the pictured object is a ramp for loading barrels or kegs onto a beer truck. The first correct answer came from Anker, who wins a t-shirt! The funniest answer came from Steve Bennett, who labeled it “a snake winder, used for coiling your snake up on long sea voyages so that it doesn’t get tangled up and annoyed.” That was nonsensical enough to win a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! Find the answers to all the mystery objects of the week at the What Is It? blog.
The post with the most comments by far was Man Beat Noisy 10-Year Old Moviegoer. That was followed by Eddie Deezen's 12 Baseball Feats That Only Happened Once, and in third place was Why Americans Hate Taxes. It's not too late to join in the conversation!
Suggested Reading for Memorial Day Weekend
Five for Fighting
Doolittle’s Raid
Five Medical Innovations of the Civil War
Saving Sergeant Niland
Building the Wall
Day is Done
The Curse of the Demon Core
The Past, Present, and Future of Being Called to Duty
Five Other Remembrance Days Across the World
The above Memorial Day suggestions came from The Best of Neatorama, where we have feature articles going back six years! You'll also find more content, discussions, and treats on our social network pages at Facebook, G+, and Twitter.
If you had to guess what German city has a big rodent problem, you might think of Hamelin -and you'd be right.
This time around, city officials say they'll just decommission the fountain, which was due to be permanently closed anyway. Oh, why were they planning to close the fountain? High maintenance costs. Seven hundred years later, the city is still stingy about paying for municipal services. Link -via Fark
City officials say a popular fountain has been put out of service after the rodents gnawed through a power cable, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
The Lower Saxony city is where, legend has it, the Pied Piper led all the rats out in 1284 with his magic pipe into the Weser River, where they drowned.
This time around, city officials say they'll just decommission the fountain, which was due to be permanently closed anyway. Oh, why were they planning to close the fountain? High maintenance costs. Seven hundred years later, the city is still stingy about paying for municipal services. Link -via Fark
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