Entrepreneur Colin Robertson is at TED 2012 trying to give a talk about crowd sourcing solar energy, when he is interrupted by loading error messages that turn out to be from the group Improv Everywhere. Waiting for something to load should always be this fun! Oh yes, Robertson is also an IE agent. Link -via The Daily What
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Browsing through the Library of Congress' photostream on Flickr, looking for something else, I came across this fascinating cat picture from 100 years ago. Mrs. A.McAllister poses with her beloved cat in a photograph by George Grantham Bain dated somewhere between 1910 and 1915. Alcyone is the name of the Smoke Persian cat in the picture. He was a prize show cat, but also the loyal companion to John McAllister as he was confined to his deathbed in 1912, according to a newspaper article saved in pdf form provided by commenter artolog.
Nestling upon the lap of his atrophied patient, amusing the ill man with his antics at play, or running to call the mistress of the household when her presence is needed, Alcyone, John. McAllister's pet, companion, friend and attendant, illustrates the fact that a cat is some good in the world in other ways than as a mouse catcher or a prize winner.
Alcyone is a beautiful smoke Persian, winner of two prizes in the recent cat show in Grand Central Palace and a highly intelligent animal, but he is more highly prized for his faithfulness and loyalty to his owner, condemned by slowly increasing paralysis to pass the greater part of his time for five years in bed.
If it were not for Alcyone, as well as for the devotion of Mrs. McAllister, Mr. McAllister might long ago have become desperate."
You can read the rest of the story by downloading the clipping from the Flickr comment. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user The Library of Congress)
The following is an article from Uncle John's Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader.
How Mohawk "skywalkers" came to build New York's skyscrapers.
THE FEARLESS WONDERS
St. Lawrence Bridge 1886
In 1886 the Dominion Bridge Company (DBC) of Canada was hired to build a cantilever railroad bridge across the St. Lawrence River near Montreal. The north end of the bridge lay in the village of Lachine; the south end fell on the preserve of a Mohawk band called the Kahnawake. In order to get permission to build the bridge on Indian land, DBC agreed to employ as many Mohawks as possible as laborers. As work progressed, the bridge builders noticed something unusual about the Mohawks: They were fascinated by the bridge. In fact, the company couldn't keep them off it. They walked all over it, scrambling along the narrow spans hundreds of feet above the river with a grace and agility that wowed DBC's seasoned riveters, most of whom were former sailors, used to working high above the ground on flimsy ropes. Word quickly spread that the Mohawks had something special -no fear.
DO THE "SHUFFLE UP"
As an experiment, one of the foremen decided to train some of the local boys as riveters. Riveting was the most dangerous job in high steel construction, and good riveters were hard to find. He hired 12 Mohawks, all teenagers, and began teaching them the job. As the foreman recounted later, "Putting riveting tools in their hands was like putting ham with eggs." The Mohawk teens were naturals -so good, in fact, that they became known as "The Fearless Wonders." When the bridge was completed, the Fearless Wonders were split into three teams, or "gangs," and hired to work on another bridge, the Soo, spanning Lake Superior between Ontario and Michigan.
Soo Bridge under construction, 1911
Each Mohawk gang arrived with a young apprentice. As soon as the gang trained the new recruit, another new one would be summoned from the reservation. When there were enough men to create a new gang, the Mohawks had what they called a "shuffle up": Old hands were pulled from existing gangs to buddy up with the new guy, creating a new gang. The demand for Mohawk gangs grew, and by 1907 there were more than 70 skilled Mohawk bridgemen working all across Canada, or, as they called it, "booming out."
DISASTER
Continue reading
How Mohawk "skywalkers" came to build New York's skyscrapers.
THE FEARLESS WONDERS
St. Lawrence Bridge 1886
In 1886 the Dominion Bridge Company (DBC) of Canada was hired to build a cantilever railroad bridge across the St. Lawrence River near Montreal. The north end of the bridge lay in the village of Lachine; the south end fell on the preserve of a Mohawk band called the Kahnawake. In order to get permission to build the bridge on Indian land, DBC agreed to employ as many Mohawks as possible as laborers. As work progressed, the bridge builders noticed something unusual about the Mohawks: They were fascinated by the bridge. In fact, the company couldn't keep them off it. They walked all over it, scrambling along the narrow spans hundreds of feet above the river with a grace and agility that wowed DBC's seasoned riveters, most of whom were former sailors, used to working high above the ground on flimsy ropes. Word quickly spread that the Mohawks had something special -no fear.
DO THE "SHUFFLE UP"
As an experiment, one of the foremen decided to train some of the local boys as riveters. Riveting was the most dangerous job in high steel construction, and good riveters were hard to find. He hired 12 Mohawks, all teenagers, and began teaching them the job. As the foreman recounted later, "Putting riveting tools in their hands was like putting ham with eggs." The Mohawk teens were naturals -so good, in fact, that they became known as "The Fearless Wonders." When the bridge was completed, the Fearless Wonders were split into three teams, or "gangs," and hired to work on another bridge, the Soo, spanning Lake Superior between Ontario and Michigan.
Soo Bridge under construction, 1911
Each Mohawk gang arrived with a young apprentice. As soon as the gang trained the new recruit, another new one would be summoned from the reservation. When there were enough men to create a new gang, the Mohawks had what they called a "shuffle up": Old hands were pulled from existing gangs to buddy up with the new guy, creating a new gang. The demand for Mohawk gangs grew, and by 1907 there were more than 70 skilled Mohawk bridgemen working all across Canada, or, as they called it, "booming out."
DISASTER
Spring forward! It seems to happen earlier and earlier every year -or is that just me? Daylight Saving Time begins tomorrow in most of the United States, so set your clocks forward one hour before you retire for the night (or at 2AM if you are up). We'll have daylight much later in the evening from now through the summer, but the kids will have to wait for the school bus in the dark -at least for a while. Sure, we lose an hour, but we'll get it back in the autumn. Some overnight hourly workers whose employers aren't paying attention may get paid for an hour of no work, but they'll have to work an extra one in the fall to make up for it. If you have the weekend off, you might want to start going to bed earlier to get used to the time change. But you'll still have time to catch up on the good stuff you may have missed this week at Neatorama.
Today is Chuck Norris' birthday, so Jill asked if we are Ready for Some Real Chuck Norris Facts?
Eddie Deezen wrote about classic TV in the article Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners.
The Annals of Improbable Research brought us research that speculated that Brain Damage May Be an Advantage for Gamblers.
Behind the Magic 8-Ball told the story behind the toy, courtesy of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
Mental_floss magazine gave us 7 Entourages That Changed the World.
In the What Is It? game this week, the mystery device is a billiard cue trimmer and tip fastener. The first one to know the answer was Doug D, but unfortunately he did not select a shirt. The funniest answer came from The Professor, who called it a Genie Shovebackinner, you know, for getting the genie back into the bottle. That’s worth a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! You can find out the answers to all the mystery items of the week at the What Is It? blog. Thanks to everyone who played, and we’ll do it again soon!
The most commented-on post of the week posed the question Is a ShopVac Mouse Trap Ethical? Coming in second was The Opportunity Cost of a Free Concert Ticket. Both ethics and economics are complicated subjects, but Neatoramanauts are not afraid to tackle them!
You are also invited to check out past articles on all kinds of subjects at The Best of Neatorama. Join in the discussions at our Facebook page. And be sure to follow Neatorama on Twitter!
Oh yeah, St. Patricks Day comes up next weekend. Check out the NeatoShop for a great selection of St. Patricks Day t-shirts, accessories, and other fun stuff for the holiday!
Today is Chuck Norris' birthday, so Jill asked if we are Ready for Some Real Chuck Norris Facts?
Eddie Deezen wrote about classic TV in the article Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners.
The Annals of Improbable Research brought us research that speculated that Brain Damage May Be an Advantage for Gamblers.
Behind the Magic 8-Ball told the story behind the toy, courtesy of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
Mental_floss magazine gave us 7 Entourages That Changed the World.
In the What Is It? game this week, the mystery device is a billiard cue trimmer and tip fastener. The first one to know the answer was Doug D, but unfortunately he did not select a shirt. The funniest answer came from The Professor, who called it a Genie Shovebackinner, you know, for getting the genie back into the bottle. That’s worth a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! You can find out the answers to all the mystery items of the week at the What Is It? blog. Thanks to everyone who played, and we’ll do it again soon!
The most commented-on post of the week posed the question Is a ShopVac Mouse Trap Ethical? Coming in second was The Opportunity Cost of a Free Concert Ticket. Both ethics and economics are complicated subjects, but Neatoramanauts are not afraid to tackle them!
You are also invited to check out past articles on all kinds of subjects at The Best of Neatorama. Join in the discussions at our Facebook page. And be sure to follow Neatorama on Twitter!
Oh yeah, St. Patricks Day comes up next weekend. Check out the NeatoShop for a great selection of St. Patricks Day t-shirts, accessories, and other fun stuff for the holiday!
Personal morality varies from person to person, and even within a person over time. Some justify stealing other people's things in their minds one way or another, but still have a an ethical line they don't want to cross. Oddee collected stories of thieves who had a change of plan due to unforeseen circumstances, like the laptop thief who made off with data representing ten years of work for a professor in Sweden.
Link -via Buzzfeed
The professor had left his bag containing the laptop hidden behind a door in his apartment stairwell while he went into the building's laundry room. When he emerged a short time later, the bag had gone. It was returned shortly after, without the laptop. However, a week after the theft, the professor received a USB stick containing all the documents - which would have taken several hours to download again.
Link -via Buzzfeed
A nice gift of a cake can make someone feel better when they've had a bad day, but there's no good to come of reminding them of what made it so bad! Unless you count the entertainment value of posting the cake to Cake Wrecks. See more bad day cakes in this collection. Link
A group of six elderly women known as Buranovskiye Babushki (the Buranovo Grannies) won the competition to represent Russia in the Eurovision 2012 competition. The group sings a song they composed called “Party for Everyone.” The group sings in a mixture of English and Udmurt. They say if they win, they will use the prize money to build a church in their hometown of Buranovo in the Udmurt Republic. Link
You know that Rasputin's killers took all day and several different methods to do in the Mad Monk. A list from Cracked has five men who put Rasputin to shame in their ability to survive attempts on their lives. Consider King Zog of Albania (who was a real person; I checked):
And he wasn't even number one! Link
In one instance, the assassin managed to shoot him twice from close range as he was entering the Assembly Hall. Zog let his guard subdue the dude and, unflinching, walked on into the hall and took a seat at his desk, blood spurting from his wounds.
After a while, he noticed that everyone else was understandably freaking the hell out. So he stood up, covered in blood and riddled with bullet holes, and delivered them a little shruggy speech that basically said "Yeah, this happens quite a lot. You get used to it."
And he wasn't even number one! Link
When you get a good look at them up close, praying mantises seem like the closest thing we have to little green bug-eyed aliens from outer space. See amazing photographs of different mantises doing mantis things, and read about their strange lives at Environmental Graffiti. Link
(Image credit: Tibor Duliskovich at en.wikipedia)
SOLIPSIST is an experimental film by Andrew Thomas Huang that won the the Special Jury Prize for Experimental Short at the Slamdance 2012 film festival. It's a colorful special effects mix of live action, animation, computer effects, and imagination. No doubt, many, many hours of work went into it. -Thanks, Andrew!
This Sesame Street quiz at PBS has 48 questions, which should be easy for those who grew up watching Sesame Street. I, however, was lucky to score 40%. When the results come up, you'll be able to watch clips that explain answers to many of the questions. And that's the best part! Link -via Metafilter
When people suffer from delusions, they can take off in remarkable directions. For example, imagine not being able to trust that the people you know are really the people you know, as in Fregoli Delusion.
Modern technology and communications have only added to the repertoire of strange delusions. Read about 15 of them in the linked post. Link -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: Flickr user Johnson Cameraface)
Fregoli delusion, which is named after the Italian actor Leopoldo Fregoli, is a condition that leads one to believe a specific person is using disguises to impersonate others you cross paths with. The first recorded case involved a female theatre-goer who believed two of the actors were secretly pursuing her by disguising themselves as other people she knew or met.
Modern technology and communications have only added to the repertoire of strange delusions. Read about 15 of them in the linked post. Link -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: Flickr user Johnson Cameraface)
Retronaut has a collection of World War II-era Navy posters dedicated to making sure sailors didn't waste food. There's a whole lot of strangeness about this one. Was there really a problem of sailors being finicky eaters? The overall message is the same one I give my kids -always eat what you need, or even eat as much as you want, but wasting food out of gluttony makes me angry. Link
Michele Howarth makes and sells rings and other colorful jewelry made of duct tape through her Etsy store Quiet Mischief and Company. She also has a tutorial for sale in case you want to make your own! Link -via Laughing Squid
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