When Philippe Kahn rushed his wife to the hospital to give birth in 1997, he had his camera, his laptop, his phone, and his soldering iron (which just happened to be in the car with his other tools). He wanted to share pictures of the new baby with family and friends immediately, but there was no internet connection in the delivery room. So he spent the labor time figuring out how to send a picture through his phone.
The result was the world's first camera phone. Because 2,000 people got to see Sophie the day she was born, we now have selfies, Instagram, and citizen journalism.
In 2016 Time Magazine included Kahn's first camera phone photo in their list of the 100 most influential photos of all time.
Both those names would be great for a cat. The obvious solution would be to get two cats. But even so, is that worth arguing over? They'd just end up calling the cats Jude and/or Dave anyway. And then they'd start arguing over what sweaters to buy for those poor, hairless kitties. This the latest from Steve Dengler and Ash Vickers at Megacynics.
The next time you visit the past, follow these rules to avoid a dinner party faux pas.
ANCIENT GREECE
Napkins haven’t been invented yet, so wipe your greasy hands with a piece of bread called apomagdalia. When you’re finished, throw it—along with any other scraps—on the floor for the dogs.
Don’t butter that roll! The Greeks considered consuming butter and milk barbaric. The poet Anaxandrides dissed the Thracians up north by calling them “butter-eaters.”
BEDOUIN CAMPS
Before and after a meal, rub your hands in the sand outside your tent.
Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey is a temple that has been dated to more than 11,000 years ago, making it the oldest known temple in the world. Recent findings there include human skull fragments from three individuals that were intentionally carved, painted, and even had holes drilled into them. What was the purpose? Could this be evidence of a skull cult? Paleopathologist Julia Gresky gives us some insight.
Microscopic analysis of the bone revealed that the markings were created by stone tools, probably a short time after the skulls' owners died. Gresky and her colleagues suggest two possible explanations for the modifications: Ancestor veneration, or "branding" of perceived enemies for display. The grooves may have acted as "a track for a cord" to mount the skull, she said, and the drilled hole on the top of the cranium may have been used to suspend the skull like a mobile.
"Maybe they put feathers on the skull to make it more impressive and then presented it somewhere in the structures," Gresky said. "It's all speculation at the moment, but hopefully we'll find some more fragments or maybe also primary burials, so it will be more clear what happened in these monumental buildings."
Though this is the first evidence for skull cults at Göbekli Tepe etched in bone, the structure is filled with artistic representations of headless people, so it's not too much of a stretch to imagine these folks may have been cranially obsessed.
Since Disney is doing standalone movies in years between episodes of the main Star Wars saga, fans are itching for one about Obi-Wan Kenobi. After all, he spent almost twenty years on Tatooine waiting for young Luke to grow up enough to take up arms against the Sith. Tom Lathom-Sharp (SirJediPanda) pictures it as a spaghetti Western in a poster he designed for Kenobi, directed by George Miller and starring Ewan McGregor.
It makes plenty of sense. Obi-Wan would have started out his exile on the inhospitable desert planet in a fury of frustration over the destruction of the Jedi order. We can picture him drinking his sorrows away in a wretched hive of scum and villainy until some injustice causes him to lash out in anger with his lightsaber and Jedi training. Since George Miller directs, there would be a manic chase scene across the desert or two. There could even be a romance somewhere. Obi-Wan could have had all manner of adventures before settling down to become the strange old hermit Ben Kenobi. If you want to see who else stars in this film, you can see the poster full-size at imgur.
I want to watch this movie now. Alas, we don't yet know what standalone movie will come after the Han Solo prequel in 2018. -via Boing Boing
Sara Carson does some amazing things with her dog Hero, as we saw a few months ago. On their televised audition for America's Got Talent last night, they performed a pirate-themed routine that had Hero wielding a sword!
The crowd loved it, but the judges didn't. Except for Simon Cowell, who threw his weight around and got Carson and Hero into the next round. You can see the extended scene here. -via Tastefully Offensive
Someone leaked images from Google's self-driving vehicle division Waymo to Jalopnik, and they show Peterbilt tractor-trailers. Google announced earlier this month that it's working on long-haul autonomous carriers. It really might not be long before driverless vehicles are delivering goods across the country.
Long-haul trucking is a likely and obvious place for autonomous vehicles to take hold before they become common as passenger vehicles. The fact that the vehicles tend to be fleet owned, centrally monitored, and used for long highway stretches makes them ideal early adopters.
While many speculate this will cause a lot of job loss for truckers, I suspect there will remain a need to have a human ‘minder’ in the truck to act as a backup and to handle communications, security, refueling, and other duties, at least initially.
It would be nice for truck drivers to be able to sleep on the way, but most professional drivers I know would have a problem not being in control, so it will probably be a new generation of 'minders' assigned to these trucks. Initially. Eventually, the trucks be able to fuel themselves. Read what information can be gleaned from the pictures at Jalopnik.
It's quite an honor to have a movie made about you while you're still alive to enjoy it (it certainly helps if you wrote the book). But how intimidating it must be for the actor who must portray you! Quite a few films not only tell the story of someone who lived it, but that subject is sometimes on the set, and even in the film itself. It's usually a small part, or even a cameo just walking through the background, but if you pay close attention, you'll get a kick out of spotting them. Check out a list of these movie appearances by a biopic's subject at TVOM.
Lions roar, cougars scream, and cheetahs …meow? We know that cheetahs don't roar, and can purr like house cats, but did you know that a cheetah will sometimes meow? I didn't, either.
As toxic as some internet sites and forums can be these days, there's one thing you can learn from them: how not to argue your point. If you can look at what's happening in a particular argument, you can see what might be working and what's not helping at all. But since it's so difficult for us to remain calm and non-opinionated long enough to study such things, Jacob Andrews did it for us. One example of "you're not helping" is when someone tells another to calm down. Sure, it makes sense when you say it, but to the person hearing it, you've just invalidated their emotions and the importance of the subject. The result is they become less calm. Read the rest of the "don'ts" for arguing at College Humor.
You may think you know a lot about bananas because you've eaten them all your life. Even if you do, you'll learn more in a list chock-full of banana facts, all with links for further reading. Did you know…
8. The so-called "banana tree" is not a tree at all. In fact, it is the world's largest herb.
9. Walmart sells more bananas than any other item.
10. Banana fibers can be used to purify water.
That's just a small taste of the bananas …I mean, banana facts. Check out all 29 banana facts in a list that's just plain bananas at Buzzfeed.
The song "みんながみんな英雄" ("Everyone is a Hero"), from the Japanese group AI, became a big hit in 2016. The video is gorgeous, and full of wacky scenes depicting heroes from different folktales coming together.
You might recognize the tune as "Turkey in the Straw." That tune has a peculiar history in Japan, where it is known as "The Oklahoma Mixer."
In 1946, an American education officer named Winfeld Niblo was stationed in Nagasaki, working to help Japan integrate Western educational values such as equality of the sexes through co-ed programs and activities. One such activity that he came up with was to teach country line dancing in Japan. Traditional Japanese dances rarely involve partners or physical contact between dancers, and his new dance soon became wildly popular, so much so that supposedly some began referring to square dancing simply as Niblo Dancing.
As the trend continued spreading throughout Japan, the founder of the Japan Association of Teachers of Dancing, Takami Shinkichi(玉置真吉), helped integrate square dancing into the national curriculum. Apparently he was teaching a version of Schottische line dance called the Oklahoma Mixer but found that the tempo and some of the footsteps were difficult, so he replaced the music with the slower Turkey in the Straw and simplified the steps (at least according to blogs and comments).
Before long, the song and dance became a staple in school sports days, and now most people know the song by the name of the dance.
Once upon a time, when people smoked everywhere, you could smoke on airline flights. The back of the plane was designated as a smoking section, but then so was the First Class section in the front. And everyone breathed the same recirculated air anyway. Smoking on planes was phased out by the end of the 20th century, but planes still have ashtrays. Yes, they do. They're found in the bathroom doors. And it's not just because the planes are old -ashtrays are required in planes.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) list of “minimum equipment” for aircraft, an ashtray in the plane toilet is still a legal requirement.
Yes, despite nobody smoking on a plane, bar a few belligerent celebrities and louts, the FAA says that lavatory doors must still be fitted with ashtrays because if someone were to have, illegally, a cheeky fag, they still need to stub it out, and it's best they have somewhere to do that rather than cause a fire by dropping it in the bin.
The staff of the New York Times taste-tested ten hot dogs, most of which are available at your local grocery store. The ten were all-beef franks, so they will cost a little more than average, but you should get some idea of what you're looking for from their descriptions, in case you're hosting a picnic for the Fourth of July.
First, the hot dogs would be cooked on a gas grill until well browned.
Next, each would be tasted plain to evaluate the intrinsic qualities of the hot dog: seasoning, beefiness, snap, texture.
Last, each would be eaten in a bun with the judge’s preordained condiments — the same for each dog, to keep the flavor profile consistent.
This important final step would allow us to assess the melding of meat and bread, sweetness and spice, salt and juice that makes up a perfect hot dog. The bun should hug the hot dog closely; there should be enough juice in the hot dog to keep the whole package together; condiments should complement the hot dog, not overwhelm it.
If you ask my opinion, any hot dog is great when it's cooked on a grill outdoors in summertime, served with mustard and some potato salad (or even just chips) while you eat outside. I guess that's why they didn't ask me to be a judge. Read the results of the taste-test here. -via Digg
The YouTuber who goes by the name "walter santi" (Walter is his/her dog, and Santi is a cat) tells the story of an injured stray cat who came to their house and asked for help. The video shows his wounds and may be disturbing for sensitive souls.
You'll be glad to know the cat is fine now. Here's an update video taken 40 days later, showing him chasing around like he was never hurt. -via Laughing Squid
