Clowns were once associated with the circus, then with children's parties, but now they exist in horror movies more than in real life. You might blame John Wayne Gacy, or the Joker, but clowns are just plain scary, and always have been. And now we have another scary clown to look forward to in the new season of American Horror Story and in the a feature film of Stephen King's It coming up. Those clowns are in competition with quite a few past movies that scared the bejesus out of us. Which is your favorite scary clown movie? See the the list of 13 at Gizmodo.
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Book burning has been used as a terroristic threat, a symbol of power, and a cultural cleansing since ancient times. In ancient times, when many books were the only copy in existence, book burning was often a sign of conquest. The conquering nation would destroy the accumulated knowledge of a conquered land in order to install their own culture. Destroying cultural knowledge became more difficult after the invention of the printing press, but book burning continued, as a symbol of preferred thought if nothing else. It was often a demonstration of crushing a dissention.
The unifying factor between all types of purposeful book-burners in the 20th century, Knuth says, is that the perpetrators feel like victims, even if they’re the ones in power. Perhaps the most infamous book burnings were those staged by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, who regularly employed language framing themselves as the victims of Jews. Similarly, when Mao Zedong took power in China and implemented the Cultural Revolution, any book that didn’t conform to party propaganda, like those promoting capitalism or other dangerous ideas, were destroyed. More recently, the Jaffna Public Library of Sri Lanka—home to nearly 100,000 rare books of Tamil history and literature—was burned by Sinhalese Buddhists. The Sinhalese felt their Buddhist beliefs were under threat by the Hinduism of Tamils, even though they outnumbered the Tamils.Even when the knowledge itself isn’t prevented from reaching the public, the symbolic weight of burning books is heavy. “Books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them as to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are,” wrote John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, in his 1644 book Areopagitica. “Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature… but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself—” an idea that continues to be espoused in modern culture, like in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
Read accounts of book burning and its evolving purpose at Smithsonian.
Have you ever wondered what your cat does all day while you're at work? Aaron of AaronsAnimals hung a camera around his cat's neck to find out.
Well, that's just what you'd expect from a cat. He climbs on the furniture, knocks things off tables, watches TV, pranks the dog, takes selfies, flirts with the neighbors, menaces wildlife, and then welcomes you home, acting as if he's been a good boy all day. -via Everlasting Blort
Here we have an alternative history in which mankind decided that the idea of turning to agriculture was no fun at all. Imagine what kind of civilization we'd have today if that had been true! But when you think outside the androcentric box, it makes more sense that agriculture was invented by women, especially women who were geographically limited by caring for and protecting young children. This comic is from Zach Weinersmith at Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.
Bruce Lee was only 32 when he died in 1973, but he was already an icon of both Hollywood and Hong Kong film. Lee is credited with changing the image of Asian-Americans in Hollywood, and with kickstarting the popularity of martial arts in the U.S. His death at such a young age only cemented his legendary status. He was also a dedicated family man who didn't get to spend enough time at home because of his career. Bruce Lee fans will want to see a collection of images of him during happy times with his wife Robin and his children Brandon and Shannon.
When you're taking part in a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), you are joining in a community of people who don't know each other, yet you are playing a game together. What you see are the characters these people create for the game. If there's character who doesn't speak, there may be a reason.
The scenario here is actually pretty tame compared to some I've heard about. This video from Epic NPC Man focuses on that moment when you learn who is behind that character. And why so many women gamers play offline. Yeah, women gamers aren't as rare as guys think, they just don't want to deal with this. -via Geeks Are Sexy
An orchestrion is a machine that plays many different musical instruments, most often including a piano with other instruments added. The music is programmed on rolls of paper like a player piano. The Philipps Paganini orchestrion was built by Philipps & Son’s in 1921, and is now at the Speelklok Museum in Utrecht, Netherlands. This orchestrion pays 17 instruments!
In this video, Martin Molin of the band Wintergatan (previously at Neatorama) visits the museum to show us the Philipps Paganini and how it works. If you've seen his musical gadgets, you know this is right up his alley. -via Laughing Squid
Tony Mink's friends, family, and business associates spent Christmas of 1983 searching through the mountains of New Mexico for his plane, using planes, helicopters, snowmobiles, and skis. Mink, a professional pilot, had flown his family in a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza from Florida en route to Utah on December 23, but only made it as far as Canjilon Mountain, where the plane crashed and was soon buried under 11 feet of snow. They survived the crash, but would they survive the freezing temperatures until someone could find them? Mink's skydiving buddy Keven Peterson and his business partner Adam Glover were waiting for Mink's arrival at a Christmas party in Salt Lake.
By 3 a.m. they still hadn’t heard from him. “If he crashed my plane and lived through it,” said Adam—the Bonanza’s registered owner—“I’ll kill the son of a bitch myself.” Solid priorities, Keven thought. But they were all worried. Most of the lightweights had gone home already, but Tony’s core group of friends—Keven, Adam Glover, and a few of the other skydivers—had stuck around trying to figure out what could have happened. Keven hoped Tony had just gotten a hotel, but feared the worst. At 4 a.m., he called the FAA. “My friend’s plane is overdue,” he said.
Meanwhile, Adam was growing more agitated by the minute. He knew something Keven didn’t: There was a quarter million dollars aboard that Bonanza.
Tony and Adam weren’t salvagers. They were smugglers.
Mink had not filed a flight plan because of the cash he was carrying. And the plane was buried in the snow. Despite poor weather conditions, several crews spent the next few days trying to find the plane. Some were on the scene to find and rescue the family, while others wanted the money they knew was on the plane. Read the full story of Tony Mink and the plane crash at The Daily Beast. -via Digg
(Image credit: Cgettings)
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.
Superman would probably be the most famous and popular superhero of all-time. I guess because we are all so familiar with him, Superman's powers don't seem very strange at all. He could fly (interestingly though, in the original Superman comics, he could not fly. He was a leaper. He would make giant leaps around Metropolis). In the Superman radio serial, he could walk through walls and even split himself into two Supermen.
In the 1980 movie Superman II, Superman had a power he never used before or since. He wiped out Lois Lane's memory of his secret identity- with a kiss.
Also, in one comic only (1947's Superman #45), Superman could merge himself with the wall (to escape from an alien prison). In this same unique comic, he molded his face to look like one of the aliens and convinced them to go home. He actually could manipulate the muscles in his face and entire body to assume a new form, in this case a yellow-skinned alien- with pointy ears and no hair, no less.
In another unusual and unique Superman (Action Comics #454) the Man of Steel had an unquenchable appetite. Superman usually is said to not need food because he gets his energy from the sun, but in this issue he scarfs down a mountainous plate of hamburgers.
Superman also once had the power of ventriloquism. In several 50's and '60's comics, the man of steel throws his voice around like Edgar Bergen. As far as having versatility in his super powers, I think we have to agree that Superman wins first prize, but let's move on.
Shine on, shine on Harvest Moon, up in the sky… The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs the closest to the autumnal equinox. In 2017, the equinox falls almost exactly halfway between two full moons. The full moon on October 5 is officially the Harvest Moon, because it is slightly closer to the equinox on September 22 than the full moon of September 5-6.
However, in most respects, the September 2017 and October 2017 full moons can be regarded as Harvest Moon co-stars. By that we mean that both have the characteristics of a Harvest Moon. The primary Harvest Moon characteristic has to do with the moonrise. On the average, the moon rises some 50 minutes later with each passing day. Around the time of the full Harvest Moon, the lag time between successive moonrises is reduced to a yearly low.
In 2017, there’s no appreciable difference between the lag in moonrise times associated with September and October full moons. In both of these months, the moon rises a shorter-than-usual time after sunset for several evenings in a row, following the date of full moon.
There's a detailed explanation of why there's a difference in the lag in moonrise times, and how it makes the Harvest Moon seem bigger and brighter. I read it and thought, "But that's only in the Northern Hemisphere!" Well, duh. In the Southern Hemisphere, autumn, and the Harvest Moon, comes in March or April. Read more about what makes a Harvest Moon special, and why you should enjoy it in both September and October this year. -Thanks, Walter!
(Image credit: Roadcrusher)
A new set of postage stamps is coming, featuring eight non-human characters from Star Wars! However, these aren't going to be issued by the USPS -they're from the Royal Mail. So if you live in the UK, you can use them to send letters, but for Americans, they are collectible only. The stamps, designed by UK digital artist Malcom Tween, have images of Maz Kanata, Chewbacca, Snoke, a porg, BB-8, R2D2, C-2PO, and K-2SO. You can can pre-order the stamps online before they become available on October 12. -via Mashable
Jordan Watson, the "How To Dad," shows us his foolproof method for getting kids to eat vegetables. Have the kids grow them in the garden! Above you see the idyllic gardening scene just before the baby falls in the hole they dug. Yep, gardening is a lot of fun. Eating vegetables? Not so much.
Parents want their children to eat healthy foods, but learn early that forcing a child to eat right is a losing battle. Strict rules and arguments are liable to do more harm than good. So you offer a variety of nutritious foods and hope for the best …and they hold out all day for chicken nuggets. So how do you get children to like vegetables? I tried gushing over how much I loved to eat vegetables. I tried hiding them in other foods. I tried having the kids grow their own garden. You know what worked for me?
One night at dinner, when we had three tween girls and an always-hungry older teenage boy who ate everything in sight, one of the girls made a remark about our son's eating habits. I mentioned that a person's tastes changed when they matured. Real adults have different tastes, and when and if you girls ever mature, you need to try the foods you don't like all over again to see if they are good. If you like them, that's a sign of becoming an adult. I said that, but I didn't give orders. I knew it was useless by then. But they wanted to be adults so badly that they actually tried the "test." It turned out each kid found different vegetables they now liked, so I served an entire salad bar at dinner every evening. Whatever works.
Science tells us that children are more sensitive to bitter tastes than adults, and they are also programmed to prefer high-energy foods. But repeated exposure to different foods helps a child become more comfortable with vegetables. Here are some tips to make vegetables more palatable to children. You might like those recipes, too!
Modern ships can haul some extremely large cargo, such as oil rigs and ships (yes, ships on ships), but even ancient seafarers took challenges in what they could carry from one part of the world to the next. A post at Ship It looks at some of those challenges of the past and present. One story is about how a ship was built around an artifact called Cleopatra's Needle in order to ship it.
In 1819, Mohammad Ali, leader of Egypt and Sudan, presented the UK with a gift. In honour of Britan's success in the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Alexandria, Ali kindly gave away a huge, carved Egyptian Obelisk. The UK was grateful, but couldn't cover the cost of shipping the ancient, 21 metre high, 224 tonne structure. In 1877, pioneering doctor Sir William James Erasmus Wilson agreed to pay for the obelisk to be brought to the UK. It was encased in iron, which was fitted with a rudder, a stern and masts. Cleopatra, as the vessel was dubbed, was essentially a bespoke ship made especially for the needle. On her way to the UK, Cleopatra, her crew and precious cargo almost perished in a storm in the Bay of Biscay. Thankfully, everyone made it home in one piece and Cleopatra's Needle remains a true London landmark.
Read more oversized shipping stories in the list here. -via Dark Roasted Blend
In September of 1666, the city of London burned to the ground, leaving 80,000 people homeless. This became known as the Great Fire of London. Maybe that title was given to distinguish it from all the other great fires that leveled the city in its history. In fact, London has been destroyed by fire about a dozen times, beginning when the city was only about twenty years old.
1. BOUDICEA GETS HER REVENGE // CIRCA 60 CE
After the death of her husband Prasutagus in the mid-1st century CE, lands that should rightfully have passed to the ancient British queen Boudicea and her daughters were instead claimed by the invading Roman Empire. Before then, Boadicea’s tribe, the Iceni, had been allied with the Romans, but the entire affair soured that relationship.
Enraged, Boudicea sacked the Roman city at modern Colchester and marched her army on towards London—or rather, to the newly founded Roman settlement of Londinium—and burned it to the ground. So total was Boadicea’s destruction of the city that archaeologists working the capital today can still identify a noticeable thin layer of red-brown oxidized ash on the site occupying the original settlement, and Roman coins melted together by the extreme heat have even been found along the muddy banks of the Thames.
The city was rebuilt, only to be leveled again and again by fire. Read about the destruction of six more London fires at Mental Floss. The last conflagration listed was in 1794, so we can assume that building codes and firefighting techniques are protecting the city from such widespread fire now. Knock wood.
We've seen how annoying cats can be when they're hungry, especially if they have a dinner bell. It's not so bad if you're just watching one in a video, but you have to put yourself in the place of someone who owns such a cat. Is it really worth the aggravation for a viral video? Watch the Russian cat Pusic (previously at Neatorama) order his dinner from a menu.
Pusic has to be the luckiest cat in Russia. Yeah, what you thought was going to be his dinner choice was just the appetizer! Pusic has to have everything. -via Metafilter
Bonus: Read the story of how Pusic came to live with his cat-loving family.
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