This is kinda cute! Click the zombies in the Zombie Tabernacle Choir to make them sing their little heads off, sweetly, yet a little bit creepily. Link -Thanks, John Schnall!
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
This is kinda cute! Click the zombies in the Zombie Tabernacle Choir to make them sing their little heads off, sweetly, yet a little bit creepily. Link -Thanks, John Schnall!
When you come across text you can't read, can you at least identify the language? Maybe sometimes? In today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss, you'll be given characters from languages not easily typed on your keyboard, and you match it to the language. It's not easy -I only got three right. Surely you can beat that! Link
We once featured an Euler diagram that explained the British Isles, the United Kingdom, and Great Britain. This video explains all that clearly but quickly, then goes on to explain the British Empire, the Crown Colonies, Crown Dependencies, and other terms that confuse Americans and others who don't deal with such geographical concepts every day. If this goes too fast for you, the script is available from C. G. P. Grey. http://blog.cgpgrey.com/the-difference-between-the-united-kingdom-great-britain-england-and-a-whole-lot-more/ -via reddit
Can you believe it? The game Oregon Trail will turn forty years old in 2011! The first version was a little different from what you may remember:
The game was first played in a history class on December 3rd, 1971. Students had to wait up to a half hour just to take a turn! But they wanted to play again and again. Strangely, the code was deleted from the school computer at the end of the year, but the teacher, co-creator Don Rawitsch, printed out the code -hundreds of lines- on a roll of computer paper. It may have never been used again if Rawitsch hadn't looked for a community service job in order to avoid the Vietnam draft. What happened was that Oregon Trail became "the most widely distributed educational game of all time." The story of how three Minnesota student teachers invented the game but never saw any profits is a fascinating tale. Link -via Rue the Day
With no monitor, the original version of Oregon Trail was played by answering prompts that printed out on a roll of paper. At 10 characters per second, the teletype spat out, "How much do you want to spend on your oxen team?" or, "Do you want to eat (1) poorly (2) moderately or (3) well?" Students typed in the numerical responses, then the program chugged through a few basic formulas and spat out the next prompt along with a status update.
"Bad illness—medicine used," it might say. "Do you want to (1) hunt or (2) continue?"
Hunting required the greatest stretch of the user's imagination. Instead of a point-and-shoot game, the teletype wrote back, "Type BANG."
If the user typed it in accurately and quickly enough, the hunter bagged his quarry.
The game was first played in a history class on December 3rd, 1971. Students had to wait up to a half hour just to take a turn! But they wanted to play again and again. Strangely, the code was deleted from the school computer at the end of the year, but the teacher, co-creator Don Rawitsch, printed out the code -hundreds of lines- on a roll of computer paper. It may have never been used again if Rawitsch hadn't looked for a community service job in order to avoid the Vietnam draft. What happened was that Oregon Trail became "the most widely distributed educational game of all time." The story of how three Minnesota student teachers invented the game but never saw any profits is a fascinating tale. Link -via Rue the Day
A new glowing neon sign appeared in Nampa, Idaho around Christmas. It wasn't a holiday decoration. Large red letters spell out the word CRAP.
The slogan came about when Joseph got a deal on an old sign from a defunct floor covering store. The sign spelled CARPET, which gave Joseph some letters he could use for a different business. http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13900042 (with video) -Thanks, Funny Laughs!
Ryan Gravette remembers the day the sign came to town.
"We actually had some friends over," Gravette said. "They went out and said: ‘Do you realize that there's a sign that says crap out there?'"
Gravette said: No. No, I didn't. But, yes, there is a "CRAP" sign lighting up our sky.
That sign belongs to Andy Joseph.
"My crap sign on the roof," Joseph said. "It stands for: 'Can't Resist Andy's Place.'"
No, he's not using the neon to attract the ladies. Andy's Place is a second-hand appliance store. For Joseph, "CRAP" is a business decision.
The slogan came about when Joseph got a deal on an old sign from a defunct floor covering store. The sign spelled CARPET, which gave Joseph some letters he could use for a different business. http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13900042 (with video) -Thanks, Funny Laughs!
Have you ever seen a saguaro cactus like this? This is a cristate ("crested") cactus, a result of fasciation, which is explained at TYWKIWDBI. The cactus somehow leads to an explanation of the Stevie Nicks song "Edge of Seventeen". Link
(YouTube link)
The Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned the Brothers MacLeod to produce six short animations about William Shakespeare and his pet pig Francis searching for inspiration. The project is part of the celebration of the reopening of the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres after a three-and-a-half year renovation project. Three videos of the series titled "Billy", are available at YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/brothermcleod#g/c/DC7B26E940B3B3A6 -Thanks, Myles!
Shannon Keith and Gary Smith started the Beagle Freedom Project to find new homes for beagles that have been used for research. They named their first rescue dogs Freedom and Bigsby, and videotaped the beagles' first brush with the great outdoors. Be warned that the video, while not graphic, may be disturbing and you'll want to have a hanky handy.
The video of Freedom and Bigsby is at the home page of the organization. http://beaglefreedomproject.org/ -via Nag on the Lake
Anyone interested in fostering or adopting a lab beagle should be aware of the challenges these dogs have. They will not be accustomed to life in a home and will not have experience with children, cats, or other dogs. They will not be house-trained and accidents will happen, although they learn quickly. Many have gone directly from a commercial breeder to the lab, and have never felt grass under their feet or even seen the sun. They will have been fed a special diet formulated for lab animals and may be difficult to adjust to new foods. They will be unfamiliar with treats, toys, bedding and may never have walked on a leash. They will have lived in cages with steel wire floors and may have inflamed or infected paws from the pressure. They may be fearful of people initially and may have phobias from a lifetime in confinement or from being restrained. They are likely to have been surgically de-barked by the breeder and have an ID number tattooed in their ear. Please also be aware that although these beagles are considered healthy, you will be given very little information about the beagle’s medical history, and you will not be told its origins or what kind of testing they may have been used for.
The video of Freedom and Bigsby is at the home page of the organization. http://beaglefreedomproject.org/ -via Nag on the Lake
(video link)
Bubble Wrap {wiki} was invented in 1957. Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day is observed on the last Monday in January. There are many ways to celebrate, from enjoying LOLcats with bubble wrap to playing with virtual bubble wrap to reading all about the holiday. Link
The following article is from the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research.
Chemistry’s colorful past
by Neil Gussman
Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Paintings of alchemists show them holding up flasks. The contents of those flasks are almost always golden in color. That’s because alchemists were obsessed with urine.
Trouble comes to the Alchemist, 17-18th century,17th century Netherlandish. (FA 2000.001.269. Oil on canvas Fisher Collection Chemical Heritage Foundation Collections.) Photo by Will Brown.
And no wonder. The limits of science all through history are set by the limits of instruments. So despite having just five senses for test instruments, the alchemist could use urine to diagnose patients and make scientific discoveries. (He was often the local healer, dentist and bleeder.) At the time when alchemy was the leading edge of chemistry, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the alchemist could observe, sniff, touch and taste this vital fluid to look for clues to the ills his patient suffered.
The Alchemist, 17th century, by Mattheus van Helmont. (Oil on canvas. Fisher Collection, Chemical Heritage Foundation Collections. FA 2000.001.277. Another alchemist working in a messy back room. This one holds the specimen at arm’s length, maybe because he is farsighted, or maybe because he decided against the sniff test. Photo by Will Brown.
The Medical Chemist, 18th century, by Franz Christoph Janneck. (Oil on copper. Fisher Collection, Chemical Heritage Foundation Collections. FA 2000.001.275.) A shabby and dirty alchemist looking for cues of the maladies of the patient through urinoscopy. Photo by Will Brown.
The Iatrochemist, 17-18th century, by Balthasar van den Bossche. (FA 2000.001.279.Oil on canvas. Fisher Collection, CHF Collections.) Many alchemy paintings hung in the homes of prosperous merchants as a warning to their children: Don’t Be an Alchemist! This painting shows the alchemist as a poor man, working in the back room of a Publick House, using his five senses to analyze an anxious lady’s urine while a dentist works in the background. This scene was almost 200 years before ether, so the alchemist worked in loud and foul conditions. Photo by Will Brown.
Arguably the greatest discovery made by an alchemist was from urine. Sometime around 1669, German alchemist Hennig Brandt distilled buckets of urine and then heated the paste that remained. In addition to creating a horrible smell, he isolated phosphorus. When the secret got out—Brandt’s neighbors certainly knew a lot about his research—alchemists across Europe began collecting urine from public loos in hopes of replicating his results. Alchemy hung on till the 19th century partly because Brandt found the route from piss to phosphorus.
Science, 17-18th century, after Gerard Thomas. (Oil on canvas. Fisher Collection, Chemical Heritage Foundation Collections. FA 2000.001.265.) This atypical alchemist works in clean clothes in neat surroundings with servants and a dog at his side, but he is still staring at a beaker of urine. Photo by Will Brown.
Acknowledgement
Thanks to Amanda Antonucci, assistant image archivist at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, for help in preparing the historical images displayed here.
Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.
Chemistry’s colorful past
by Neil Gussman
Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Paintings of alchemists show them holding up flasks. The contents of those flasks are almost always golden in color. That’s because alchemists were obsessed with urine.
Trouble comes to the Alchemist, 17-18th century,17th century Netherlandish. (FA 2000.001.269. Oil on canvas Fisher Collection Chemical Heritage Foundation Collections.) Photo by Will Brown.
And no wonder. The limits of science all through history are set by the limits of instruments. So despite having just five senses for test instruments, the alchemist could use urine to diagnose patients and make scientific discoveries. (He was often the local healer, dentist and bleeder.) At the time when alchemy was the leading edge of chemistry, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the alchemist could observe, sniff, touch and taste this vital fluid to look for clues to the ills his patient suffered.
The Alchemist, 17th century, by Mattheus van Helmont. (Oil on canvas. Fisher Collection, Chemical Heritage Foundation Collections. FA 2000.001.277. Another alchemist working in a messy back room. This one holds the specimen at arm’s length, maybe because he is farsighted, or maybe because he decided against the sniff test. Photo by Will Brown.
The Medical Chemist, 18th century, by Franz Christoph Janneck. (Oil on copper. Fisher Collection, Chemical Heritage Foundation Collections. FA 2000.001.275.) A shabby and dirty alchemist looking for cues of the maladies of the patient through urinoscopy. Photo by Will Brown.
The Iatrochemist, 17-18th century, by Balthasar van den Bossche. (FA 2000.001.279.Oil on canvas. Fisher Collection, CHF Collections.) Many alchemy paintings hung in the homes of prosperous merchants as a warning to their children: Don’t Be an Alchemist! This painting shows the alchemist as a poor man, working in the back room of a Publick House, using his five senses to analyze an anxious lady’s urine while a dentist works in the background. This scene was almost 200 years before ether, so the alchemist worked in loud and foul conditions. Photo by Will Brown.
Arguably the greatest discovery made by an alchemist was from urine. Sometime around 1669, German alchemist Hennig Brandt distilled buckets of urine and then heated the paste that remained. In addition to creating a horrible smell, he isolated phosphorus. When the secret got out—Brandt’s neighbors certainly knew a lot about his research—alchemists across Europe began collecting urine from public loos in hopes of replicating his results. Alchemy hung on till the 19th century partly because Brandt found the route from piss to phosphorus.
Science, 17-18th century, after Gerard Thomas. (Oil on canvas. Fisher Collection, Chemical Heritage Foundation Collections. FA 2000.001.265.) This atypical alchemist works in clean clothes in neat surroundings with servants and a dog at his side, but he is still staring at a beaker of urine. Photo by Will Brown.
Acknowledgement
Thanks to Amanda Antonucci, assistant image archivist at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, for help in preparing the historical images displayed here.
_____________________
This article is republished with permission from the July-August 2008 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. You can download or purchase back issues of the magazine, or subscribe to receive future issues. Or get a subscription for someone as a gift!Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.
Osmar Persisco of Garibaldi, Brazil, took his dog out for exercise in a field and was approached by two robbers who demanded his car keys. When Persisco declined, they shot him, grazing the man's head. That's when Max the dog went into action.
Max was treated by a veterinarian and is expected to make a full recovery. Link -via Breakfast Links
(Image credit: Porthus Junior)
“He saw the blood and was furious,” Persisco told Brazilian newspaper Globo. “He left like a rocket to attack the thieves. One of them ran away, but Max dominated the other one. To defend himself, the thief ended up shooting the dog. Max thwarted the assault and saved my life.”
Max was hit twice in his chest and once in his leg, but by then he had scared off the potential thieves.
Max was treated by a veterinarian and is expected to make a full recovery. Link -via Breakfast Links
(Image credit: Porthus Junior)
We don't often post about "what happened on TV last night," but this is pretty neat. The host on Saturday Night Live was the actor who played Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the movie The Social Network. His name is Jesse Eisenberg, and he's up for an Oscar for the role. He is in the middle of this picture. Eisenberg was joined by SNL cast member Andy Samberg, who looks like Eisenberg, but is doing his Zuckerberg impression on the right in this picture. Then, Mark Zuckerberg himself crashed the monologue on the left. There had been speculation that if the three were ever in the same room, the universe would collapse. See the video clip at the Saturday Night Live website. Link -via The Daily What
(vimeo link)
Brad Goodspeed watched the recent lunar eclipse and wondered how an exact copy of the earth would look if it were as close to us as the moon. Then he thought about the other planets. In this animation, he has several planets revolving around the earth at the same distance as our moon. Beware: Jupiter can be scary, especially if you watch this in full-screen mode. Link -via Metafilter
It's time once again for the Fill in the Bubble Frenzy with boy genius Mal and his talking dog Chad! What goes in this empty speech bubble? Tell us and you might win any T-shirt available in the NeatoShop -take a look around, pick one out and tell us what shirt you’d like with your submission in the comments. If you don't specify a t-shirt with your entry, you forfeit the prize. Enter as many times as you like (text only, please), but leave only one entry per comment. For inspiration, check out Mal and Chad’s comic strip adventures by Stephen McCranie at malandchad.com. Have fun and good luck!
Update: A t-shirt goes to Darrel, who gave us this line: "Get higher, Chad! That's the porcupine balloon!"
It's time once again for the Fill in the Bubble Frenzy with boy genius Mal and his talking dog Chad! What should he be saying in this empty speech bubble? Tell us and you might win any t-shirt available in the NeatoShop -take a look around, pick one out and leave your t-shirt choice with your submission in the comments. If you don't specify a t-shirt with your entry, you forfeit the prize. Enter as many times as you like (text only, please), but leave only one entry per comment. For inspiration, check out Mal and Chad’s comic strip adventures by Stephen McCranie at malandchad.com. Have fun and good luck!
Update: Darrel came up with the winning line this week: "Boy somebody needs a Tic Tac." That wins him a t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
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