You know we get maple syrup from the sap of maple trees. Other trees have sugary sap that runs in the spring as well. Minnesotastan, who I believe lives in Minnesota, noticed his birch tree was dripping sap after being trimmed. So he did what you would expect: he collected it in a bag, researched it, gave it a taste test, and blogged about it.
There is an outstanding amount of information at that link on the science of birch sap and the techniques for its harvest and for protecting the trees, and the subtleties of rendering it down to a syrupy consistency.
I haven't decided yet whether to undertake that aspect of the adventure. Everything I've read suggests the process is time-consuming and needs to be undertaken with some degree of care to avoid scorching the concentrate. I have about a half-liter of fluid now, because the trees are still dripping into this third day (memo to self: in the future don't prune when the sap is running).
I never bought a wheelie bar, but this ad from 1966 brings back memories of doing stunts on my old spider bike, like standing on the seat... Then my mother instincts kicked in. Hey! These kids aren't just riding without helmets, they aren't even wearing shoes! And who encourages their kids to do wheelies, anyway? Things sure have changed in 45 years! -via Nag on the Lake
Nicholas Maxim was born without hands or forearms, but the fifth grader can write -and well, too. Nicholas has won a special award in Zaner-Bloser's 20th annual National Handwriting Contest.
"We submitted his entry because we felt his penmanship was amazing considering he completes most of his work without using his prostheses," said Cheryl Hasenfus, Readfield Elementary School principal.
At those times, Nicholas writes by holding a pen or pencil between his upper arms.
On behalf of Zaner-Bloser, a publisher of educational materials, Hasenfus presented a trophy to Nicholas during a school assembly for his excellent penmanship. The school is in Readfield, Maine.
Inspired by his ability, Zaner-Bloser decided to create a new award category in his honor: Nicholas Maxim Special Award for Excellent Penmanship
Other winners of the competition will be announced in May. Link -via Arbroath
"This guy is crazy!" ...crazy like a fox. This is apparently a vending machine at a petting zoo from which people can buy treats to feed the animals. But Billy here has figured out how to "tap" into it himself! -via Buzzfeed
Update: purple_phoenix, who works there, tells us this is not a billy goat, but a female sheep! That'll teach me to go by YouTube titles.
The following is an article from the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research.
Note how the bottom of the Grand Canyon (in this rare view) is darker than at the top, giving an idea of how solar radiation attenuates the deeper one goes into the canyon. (Image credit: Wikipedia user chensiyuan)
By Earle E. Spamer American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
For a long time now, people visiting the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River have been told it is about 12 to 18 miles wide and “more than” a mile deep, convinced that its majestic views are due to the incessant powers of erosion. New analyses now indicate that the canyon is far larger than imagined. It can never be accurately measured and may unexpectedly hold the answers to long-held geological and environmental mysteries.
Fooling Some of the People
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt was the first to recognize generally that there was a problem with the Grand Canyon. Speaking near the canyon rim, he urged Americans to “keep it as it is.” He foresaw an endangered canyon, one that without our intervention would deliver a dwindled heritage to the “children’s children” of his audience. His plea, though widely repeated, went unheeded for decades.
Twenty years ago I devised a plan to place the Grand Canyon in stasis, until such time that the problem of erosion can be remedied. The Final Report1 called for filling the canyon with styrofoam packing material, or “piffles”—some 291 quadrillion of them, to be precise. This plan was also promoted by Grand Canyon National Park.2 I was interviewed a number of times for newspapers and radio to explain myself, and Internet features have taken up the cause.3 A few years later, my Further Final Report4 revealed that the plan had failed because, by mistake, biodegradable piffles had been used—at least, that was the conclusion. This was not correct.
The follow-up report went on to recommend that to safeguard an unprotected canyon, we should ensure that it not be visited at all, nor written about, nor photographed. I argued that all available superlatives have been overextended, and that the number of photons removed from the national park in tourist’s cameras have reached alarming numbers, greatly reducing the amount available for appreciation by our own children’s children. It would be pointless for most of us to visit the canyon anyway. It has been pre-appreciated for us, professionally, by celebrated writers, poets, singers, painters, photographers and filmmakers; our amateur efforts would be lacklustrously insufficient, depreciating further the superlatives and photons.
Still later I postulated that the Grand Canyon may be a fake.5 Had we been all along deceived about the identity or location of the canyon? Hundreds of other places around the world— and on other worlds—claim to be a (or the) Grand Canyon.6 I charged readers to campaign, vigorously, to have the “one true Grand Canyon” designated as the Official Grand Canyon. Apparently, our representatives in Congress and the editors of the world’s great newspapers have thought otherwise, ignoring the pleas of constituents and readers.
Straight Down to China
Now there is conclusive evidence to show that the Grand Canyon is not a fake. Rather, we have deluded ourselves into believing that it is disappearing due to erosion, when in fact it is far more immense than supposed. We have accumulated the evidence for a century and more, but have failed to recognize its significance.
In the back of the cave, Og groans in misery. Ogga is smug -she told him to leave that two-day-old meat alone. But it looked fine to Og, and as usual, he thought with his stomach instead of his head. Og swears to the gods of food that if only they will let him get through this, he will never touch meat again.
Food, by virtue of once being alive, has a tendency to do what all dead things do: decompose. Food decomposes when its molecules break down into simpler molecules and elements. To do this, it needs the assistance of several helpful organisms and chemicals within its own body.
INVASION OF THE MICROSCOPIC KILLER SPONGES!
Bacteria are little more than live microscopic sponges. The cellular wall of a bacterium (that's what they call one bacteria) is porous -just like a sponge. To eat, it simply soaks up whatever it happens to be lying in. (What a life!)
Salmonella bacteria
NATURAL FOOD
In its natural state, food is wet, warm, and out in the open. Take away any one of these conditions, and you take away a bacterium's ability to thrive. Therefore, in order to preserve our food we wrap it (to take away its air) and/or chill it (to slow down its rate of reproduction). Alternately, we can dry it (a bacterium can't eat what it can't soak up).
BACTERIA ARE OUR BUDDIES
All bacteria aren't deadly, of course -in fact, most are harmless. We have bacteria all through us, both inside and out. We couldn't live without them. The deadly bacteria are the ones that produce toxins as they eat and reproduce. Some familiar examples are salmonella, e. coli, anthrax, and the bacteria that cause botulism.
John Varty founded Tiger Canyons reserve in South Africa. His goal is to start a population of wild, free-range tigers outside their natural habitat. He began with two zoo-born tigers, and now has 15 cats running loose in the reserve. This clip is from Tiger Manof Africa: The Mating Game, which aired last night as part of Expedition Week on the National Geographic channel. Link -via Buzzfeed
While on general patrol on Highway 527, 45 kilometers south of Armstrong, Ontario, my partner and I came across what we thought was only one lynx. Once we pulled over to the side of the road, three others came out of the bush. I was able to get out and take photos from the road without the family being spooked. I took 62 pictures in total.
If you aren't checking out the "Your Shot" section of National Geographic, you are missing some awesome images. Many are available as wall papers. Link -via reddit
I hope you've had a great week! Here's a reminder: when you enter a contest at Neatorama, be sure to use a valid email address for your entry, and check your email. What if you win? We can't send a prize if we can't get hold of you! And to keep you up-to-date, here's what happened this week at Neatorama:
Neatorama collaborated with National Geographic to bring you up close and personal with the active volcano Mt. Nyiragongo in the post Man vs. Volcano over at the Spotlight Blog.
At NeatoBambino, we saw the return of the Decipher The Doodle Contest. Congratulations to smurfie, who had the closest-to-correct answer, and Bt, who had the funniest answer, which you can read in the winner's post. Don't miss out on all the other funny and/or informative posts at NeatoBambino!
We saw Mal and Chad's Fill in the Bubble Frenzy on Wednesday. This week's winner is Todd McCoy, who gave us, "WHO LET THE DOG DRUM?! Who..who..who..who!" Todd wins a t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
In this week's What Is It? game this week, Stephen was the first to peg the item as a show business prop but also a real weight from a old-fashioned strongman show. It belonged to Warren Lincoln Travis, who indeed lifted this with his hips by a chain running through the hole in the middle. It weighed between 1650 and 3750 pounds, depending on how much sand he filled it with. There’s even more information about it at the What Is It? blog.
The funniest answer was from samuel, who gave us a Super Mario answer:
Conjoined Bomb-omb twins. They’re waiting anxiously out outside of Dr. Goomba’s office to see if a surgery is possible. It’s been over a year now since the castle guards pulled them out of that koopley’s famous freak show on a case of child abuse. They look so happy in this picture, even though they’re nervous.
Good luck Bomb-ombs, I hope the answer will come soon!
The Name That Weird Invention! contest featured a strangely versatile automobile. First prize for naming it and a t-shirt goes to Scott-O, who calls it Asscender. Second prize is awarded to ed4linda for calling it the SUC: Sport Utility Compact-o-van. However, ed4linda did not select a t-shirt.
During April and May, Steven Johnson of the Museum of Possibilities will be off writing a book describing his techniques for thinking up whimsical product concepts, and will not be submitting images to Neatorama. The Name That Weird Invention contest will resume on Monday, May 30.
Neatorama teams up with mental_floss to bring you the How Did You Know? contest that runs at mental_floss. Congratulation to the latest round of winners: Shawn Doyle, Justin Salisbury, Maxim Lowe, and Mark Dziak!
There are more ways to get your Neatorama fix: If you aren't checking our Facebook page every day, you're missing out on extra content, contests, discussions, and links you won't find here. Also, our Twitter feed will keep you updated on what's going around the web in real time.
Everyone has dreams. This cat dreams of being a cosmonaut. If he'd read yesterday's post on that same subject, he might not have been so ambitious. This is an ad for a Russian lottery. -via The Daily What
In 1973, architect Ricardo Bofill bought an abandoned cement factory in Barcelona and converted it to use as his business offices, creative studio, and home. He spent two years remodeling: tearing down some buildings, converting others, and leaving some of the original equipment in place for its charm. The result is an inspiring and overwhelmingly spacious headquarters. See more pictures at yatzer. Link -via b3ta
Around 80 guests attended a lavish wedding in Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex, England. Louise Harris hired a wedding planner who oversaw the flowers, decorations, food, and security for the £20,000 ($32,000US) affair. The wedding was for Louise's six-year-old Yorkshire terrier, Lola. Lola wore a £1000 specially-designed wedding dress, decorated with Swarovski crystals. Harris has thrown lavish birthday parties for her dogs, but this bash outdid them all.
Louise who runs dog boutique and grooming parlour Diva Dogs, in Essex - ran an online competition on her DivaDogs website and Facebook page to find the perfect husband for her princess Lola.
She received hundreds of entries of would-be suitors for Lol but whittled it down to a final six potential partners.
But much to her surprise, Lolas obvious favourite was Mugly, previously voted Britains ugliest dog, owned by mum-of-four Bev Nicholson, 47.
See another picture of Mugly here. After the ceremony, guests enjoyed a sumptuous buffet and a six-foot tall chocolate fountain. The dog guests had their own specially-made treats. The bride and groom will not live together, but will visit once a month. Link -via Arbroath
EP Industries manufactures pumps, dry-cleaning equipment, firefighting equipment, military equipment, and other types of metal fabrication. But they have a fun side, too. Inventor and company founder Eddie Paul designs and builds mechanical sharks. And he creates custom vehicles to appear in and to promote movies, like the real-world versions of the cars from the Pixar movie Cars. Link
Artist John Martz (previously at Neatorama) brings us Trexels, a print featuring 235 characters from the Star Trek universe in pixel form, all in one place. How many can you name? The two people who can correctly name the most characters will each win a limited edition print, but you only have until Tuesday to enter at the Trexel site. After that, you can buy one. Link -via Boing Boing
