Last year, the folks at Big Cat Rescue showed us how big cats react to catnip. Here they investigate another burning question: will big cats chase a laser dot the way house cats do? Let's hide and watch. -via The Daily What
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, people in countries all over the world showed sympathy, solidarity, and support for the US as we mourned those we lost. Mental_floss has a roundup of the international reactions to the events. Here's a small sample:
Read the rest in a post by Haley Sweetland Edwards. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Thomas Ormston)
In London, the Star Spangled Banner played during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, while traffic came to a standstill in The Mall nearby.
In Beijing, tens of thousands of people visited the U.S. Embassy, leaving flowers, cards, funeral wreaths and hand-written notes of condolence on the sidewalk out front.
In Moscow, women who spoke no English and had never been to the U.S. were captured on film sobbing in front of a makeshift tribute on a sidewalk, and every single church and monastery in Romania held a memorial prayer.
In France, a well-known newspaper, Le Monde, ran a headline reading, “We Are All Americans.”
In the Middle East, both the Israeli president and the Palestinian leader condemned the attacks, and made a show of donating blood.
Read the rest in a post by Haley Sweetland Edwards. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Thomas Ormston)
It would have never occurred to me to take a ride in an aqueduct, but now I want to! Before railroads, before highways, Britain built many elevated waterways to transport cargo from place to place. Many are still there, and they are fascinating. Shown is the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is open for tourist traffic. See ten such UK aqueducts at WebUrbanist. Link
Why The Nose is a site full of images and videos of people wearing red clown noses. In answer to the obvious (and titular) question:
You can enjoy the images, send it to someone who needs a smile, or submit your own pictures. Link -via Metafiilter
Whythenose.com is dedicated to the act of wearing a clown nose, in order to make people smile.
It’s really that simple. In a world filled with distractions and distrust, you’d be amazed at how many people (of all ages) have lost a sense of innocence. Or maybe you wouldn’t…
Wearing a clown nose is fun, it’s childlike, it’s easy and it’s free (if you already have the nose)
You can enjoy the images, send it to someone who needs a smile, or submit your own pictures. Link -via Metafiilter
This image of Manhattan was taken by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) aboard the Landsat 7 satellite, about 27 hours after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. It was uploaded to Flickr only a couple of hours ago. Link -via Gizmodo
(Image credit: Flickr user NASA Goddard Photo and Video)
The Inca civilization grew a variety of crops in the Andes Mountains, despite the rough terrain and scant rainfall, using sophisticated agricultural methods developed over centuries. Those methods faded away when the conquistadors took over, partly because so many Incas died of war and disease, and also because the invaders insisted on doing things their own way. But the hillside terraces and irrigation systems used by ancient Incas were the most efficient way to grow crops in the Andes.
The rainfall is still scant and the hills are still steep, and there is renewed interest in employing the ancient and diversified crops and the traditional ways of farming in the Andes. Read all about it at Smithsonian. Link
(Image credit: Cynthia Graber)
The terraces leveled the planting area, but they also had several unexpected advantages, Kendall discovered. The stone retaining walls heat up during the day and slowly release that heat to the soil as temperatures plunge at night, keeping sensitive plant roots warm during the sometimes frosty nights and expanding the growing season. And the terraces are extremely efficient at conserving scarce water from rain or irrigation canals, says Kendall. “We’ve excavated terraces, for example, six months after they’ve been irrigated, and they’re still damp inside. So if you have drought, they’re the best possible mechanism.” If the soil weren’t mixed with gravel, points out Kendall, “when it rained the water would log inside, and the soil would expand and it would push out the wall.” Kendall says that the Incan terraces are even today probably the most sophisticated in the world, as they build on knowledge developed over about 11,000 years of farming in the region.
The rainfall is still scant and the hills are still steep, and there is renewed interest in employing the ancient and diversified crops and the traditional ways of farming in the Andes. Read all about it at Smithsonian. Link
(Image credit: Cynthia Graber)
(YouTube link)
Michel and Sven show you the ultimate trick. Methinks there be shenanigans involved. But they practiced a lot to get it right! -via reddit
An unauthorized theme park based on the mobile game Angry Birds has opened at Window of the World Park in Changsha, China. Participants can use a real giant slingshot to knock pigs off a structure, as seen in a video clip.
Rovio, the company that produces the game, may license the rights to an Angry Birds themed park in the future, but no deal was made with the people who opened the Chinese attraction. Link
Fortunately, the birds and the pigs are not as real as the intellectual property case that the game’s owners have against the park, which CNNGo reports opened on September 1 in Hunan province as part of a month-long stress reduction festival.
“This [Angry Birds park] serves as a method for people to purge themselves and to gain happiness,” a park official told Chinese gaming website Gamersky.com.
Rovio, the company that produces the game, may license the rights to an Angry Birds themed park in the future, but no deal was made with the people who opened the Chinese attraction. Link
This French telecom ad features lots of kittens! I don't know what they are saying, but I love the fish vending machine. -via Everlasting Blort
Fans of abandoned places and urban exploration are in for a treat, with a look at an aircraft graveyard at Vozdvizhenka air base in the Primorsky Krai region of eastern Russia, just 40 miles from the Chinese border. There is no security to stop urban explorers, just the aircraft sitting unused, with grass growing under them and nature doing its best to reclaim the base. See more pictures at UrbanGhosts. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Maks Maydachenco)
How a coffee shortage killed the Confederacy.
Even in the midst of the Civil war, there was still one thing that the North and the South shared -a serious addiction to caffeine. In that respect, the Union clearly had an advantage. Not only did the North have more than two-thirds of the population and control most of the heavy industry, railroads, and financial reserves in the country, it hoarded supplies of the highly-addictive little bean, leaving the Confederacy to wage its own war against java deprivation.
COFFEE: IT'S WHATS FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER
Throughout the Civiil War, coffee was a as prevalent in battlefields as it is in offices today. In fact, the Union army was fueled by the stuff to the point that, if there was no time to boil water, the Boys in Blue would chew on whole beans as they marched. And at night, Union campsites were dotted with tiny fires, each boiling a pot of coffee like a million miniature Starbucks.
Beyond caffeine cravings, Union troops loved their coffee because it was, literally, the best thing on the menu. Before the advent of helpful (and tasty!) artificial preservatives, a marching soldier's rations were neither varied nor particularly appetizing. Typically, they consisted of salted meat, unleavened bread (accurately christened "hardtack"), and a little sugar and salt. It didn't help that Union supply chains were riddled with corrupt food contractors who charged the government top dollar for rotten, stale, and insect-ridden foodstuffs. Coffee, however, was almost always fresh because it was delivered in whole-bean form -making it difficult for even the most dishonest supplier to skimp on quality. Not that they didn't try, of course. In fact, officials began requesting coffee as whole beans after some crooked contractors tried to up their per pound profits by slipping sand and dirt into packages of ground coffee.
In 1861, hoping to cut down on the time soldiers spent roasting and grinding beans, the army switched to a concentrated proto-instant coffee. The new concoction, called "essence of coffee," was made by boiling prepared coffee, milk, and sugar into a thick gloop, which soldiers then reconstituted by mixing it with water. The product reportedly tasted every bit as bad as you'd imagine, and thanks to the corrupt dairymen who sold the army spoiled milk, it also tended to cause diarrhea. Needless to say, the Union army was soon back on the bean.
SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT
Noxious as essence of coffee was, Confederate soldiers would have gladly downed a cup or two. But, because of a Union naval blockade, coffee (along with weapons, machinery, medicine, and other vital materials) was in short supply in the South. Before the war, a pound of beans would have set you back 20 cents in Yankee dough. Once prewar stockpiles ran out, however, the same amount was running as high as $60 in Confederate money. (Despite the undervalued currency, that was still a lot.)
There was some coffee that made it into the Confederacy -usually carried by steam-powered blockade-runner ships. But, for the most part, Southerners had to rely on coffee substitutes, including various forms of roasted corn, rye, okra seeds, sweet potatoes, acorns, and peanuts. Unfortunately, all these imitations lacked potency, tasted awful, and upset the bowels. The only slightly better alternative was tea made from the leaves of the native yaupon shrub. The good news was that it contained caffeine; the bad news was that it was incredibly difficult to digest. Luckily, there was one surefire way for Southern folk to get their coffee -by making peace with the Union. Soldiers on the front lines often called informal truces so Rebels could swap tobacco for Yankee coffee then dash back to the camps before they were reported missing.
DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH
In the latter stages of the war, coffee beans that actually did make it to the South proved too valuable to be used by civilians or soldiers. In 1863, Samuel Moore, the surgeon general of the Confederacy, prohibited coffee use for anyone other than patients for whom its stimulant effect would prove beneficial. Lacking some of the basic necessities, however, hospital administrators often traded any java they received for medicines that would do more than just give a wounded man a caffeine buzz.
Be sure to visit mental_floss' entertaining website and blog for more fun stuff!
Even in the midst of the Civil war, there was still one thing that the North and the South shared -a serious addiction to caffeine. In that respect, the Union clearly had an advantage. Not only did the North have more than two-thirds of the population and control most of the heavy industry, railroads, and financial reserves in the country, it hoarded supplies of the highly-addictive little bean, leaving the Confederacy to wage its own war against java deprivation.
COFFEE: IT'S WHATS FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER
Throughout the Civiil War, coffee was a as prevalent in battlefields as it is in offices today. In fact, the Union army was fueled by the stuff to the point that, if there was no time to boil water, the Boys in Blue would chew on whole beans as they marched. And at night, Union campsites were dotted with tiny fires, each boiling a pot of coffee like a million miniature Starbucks.
Beyond caffeine cravings, Union troops loved their coffee because it was, literally, the best thing on the menu. Before the advent of helpful (and tasty!) artificial preservatives, a marching soldier's rations were neither varied nor particularly appetizing. Typically, they consisted of salted meat, unleavened bread (accurately christened "hardtack"), and a little sugar and salt. It didn't help that Union supply chains were riddled with corrupt food contractors who charged the government top dollar for rotten, stale, and insect-ridden foodstuffs. Coffee, however, was almost always fresh because it was delivered in whole-bean form -making it difficult for even the most dishonest supplier to skimp on quality. Not that they didn't try, of course. In fact, officials began requesting coffee as whole beans after some crooked contractors tried to up their per pound profits by slipping sand and dirt into packages of ground coffee.
In 1861, hoping to cut down on the time soldiers spent roasting and grinding beans, the army switched to a concentrated proto-instant coffee. The new concoction, called "essence of coffee," was made by boiling prepared coffee, milk, and sugar into a thick gloop, which soldiers then reconstituted by mixing it with water. The product reportedly tasted every bit as bad as you'd imagine, and thanks to the corrupt dairymen who sold the army spoiled milk, it also tended to cause diarrhea. Needless to say, the Union army was soon back on the bean.
SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT
Noxious as essence of coffee was, Confederate soldiers would have gladly downed a cup or two. But, because of a Union naval blockade, coffee (along with weapons, machinery, medicine, and other vital materials) was in short supply in the South. Before the war, a pound of beans would have set you back 20 cents in Yankee dough. Once prewar stockpiles ran out, however, the same amount was running as high as $60 in Confederate money. (Despite the undervalued currency, that was still a lot.)
There was some coffee that made it into the Confederacy -usually carried by steam-powered blockade-runner ships. But, for the most part, Southerners had to rely on coffee substitutes, including various forms of roasted corn, rye, okra seeds, sweet potatoes, acorns, and peanuts. Unfortunately, all these imitations lacked potency, tasted awful, and upset the bowels. The only slightly better alternative was tea made from the leaves of the native yaupon shrub. The good news was that it contained caffeine; the bad news was that it was incredibly difficult to digest. Luckily, there was one surefire way for Southern folk to get their coffee -by making peace with the Union. Soldiers on the front lines often called informal truces so Rebels could swap tobacco for Yankee coffee then dash back to the camps before they were reported missing.
DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH
In the latter stages of the war, coffee beans that actually did make it to the South proved too valuable to be used by civilians or soldiers. In 1863, Samuel Moore, the surgeon general of the Confederacy, prohibited coffee use for anyone other than patients for whom its stimulant effect would prove beneficial. Lacking some of the basic necessities, however, hospital administrators often traded any java they received for medicines that would do more than just give a wounded man a caffeine buzz.
__________________________
The above article by David A. Norris is reprinted with permission from the March-April 2006 issue of mental_floss magazine. Get a subscription to mental_floss and never miss an issue!Be sure to visit mental_floss' entertaining website and blog for more fun stuff!
Aren't these cookies adorable? Too pretty to eat! Darla at Bakingdom made these in honor of the 45th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek: The Original Series on September 8, 1966. Along with her tribute to the show, she also posted the process of designing each cookie to look like a crew member, pictures of the baking process, and close-up views of each character's cookie. Link -via Boing Boing
Sunday is the ten-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. Since then, children have grown up, wars have been fought, and new buildings are rising in New York City. But we will never forget the victims. In 2005, the folks at StoryCorps began recording the stories of people affected by the events of September 11, 2001 for a project called the September 11th Initiative.
We’ve recorded over 1,100 September 11th Initiative interviews to-date. Inviting family members, friends, and coworkers to share and record memories of their loved ones offers a meaningful way to memorialize and celebrate the lives that were lost or impacted by the events of September 11th. In September 2008, we were invited to the Pentagon to collect over 30 stories in two days from office staff and family members of the victims of the Pentagon attack.
Three of these stories have been illustrated in video. Continue reading to see all of them.
This image was selected as the Astronomy Picture of the Day last weekend. It was taken by the Cassini probe in 2006 from the shadow of Saturn.
First, the night side of Saturn is seen to be partly lit by light reflected from its own majestic ring system. Next, the rings themselves appear dark when silhouetted against Saturn, but quite bright when viewed away from Saturn, slightly scattering sunlight, in this exaggerated color image. Saturn's rings light up so much that new rings were discovered, although they are hard to see in the image. Seen in spectacular detail, however, is Saturn's E ring, the ring created by the newly discovered ice-fountains of the moon Enceladus and the outermost ring visible above. Far in the distance, at the left, just above the bright main rings, is the almost ignorable pale blue dot of Earth.
You should take a look at the larger version at NASA. Link -via Laughing Squid
(Image credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA)
(YouTube link)
The new Guinness World Record Book is coming out next week. One of the new record holders is Harbor, a Black and Tan Coonhound, who has the longest ears of any living dog. His left ear measures 12.25 inches (31.1 cm) and his right ear is 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) long! -via the Presurfer
Email This Post to a Friend