Make sure the sound is on for this one. The common perception of cats is that they all like seafood. Cat food producers will tell you that the fishier the smell, the more that cats like it. They have to draw a fine line between appealing to a cat and making the human who serves that cat food sick from the smell. But common perception doesn't tell you that all cats are different, just like humans. I have a white cat like the first one in this video. She is deaf, and I enjoy waking her up with something she thinks smells good. But as you can see here, cats preferences can vary greatly. -via Fark
Governments used to build underground bunkers to protect people from aerial bombardment in wartime, but after World War II, they backed off because the danger is just too widespread, unpredictable, and devastating to even think they could protect everyone who might someday might need it. The private sector stepped in, because there was money to be made.
Ever since the dawn of nuclear weapons, there have been companies that specialize in building underground bunkers in which one could survive a nuclear war. They thrived during the Cold War era, and after the fall of the Soviet Union, turned to doomsday preppers for business. But in the five weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, business has been booming. You can get a concrete bunker built underground for around $45,000 and up (way up). You can purchase a space in a converted missile silo so you can hunker down with others. But if you are just starting to think about it, you may have to wait in line. Read about the booming business of bunkers at CBC. -via Damn Interesting
The internet is a wonderful place, full of documentation on things you never knew existed. You've probably never considered the testing procedures for manhole covers, grates, and other objects made to be embedded in roads. After all, they have to be tough, or anyone driving over them could meet disaster. The testing process is largely automated and is conducted by a robot that drives over them. This industrial video from the company PAM has no narration and French text, but what information they give is pretty easy to decipher even if you don't read French. The robot drives over the test object ten times a minute, at 50 kilometers per hour, for a total of 5,000 passes, to ensure the manhole covers will last 20 years. At least that's what I think it says. -via Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
Inspired by the Lego Star Wars trench run diorama, which won't even be available until later this month, Evie Rees made a birthday cake. It's quite elaborate, to say the least! The entire artwork is edible, with the exception of the spaceships and their stands. Using real LEGO bricks as molds, she made the LEGOS out of fondant. The blue pieces were picked out of assorted candy sprinkles. It took two days to get it all done- the fondant decorations came first, and the cake was baked on the second day. One side of the trench is Victoria sponge cake, and the other side is carrot cake. Rees could have made it chocolate and vanilla to represent the light side and the dark side, but bowed to what her family prefers to eat. Yes, they ate it. But the photographs are forever. You can see a gallery of ten larger images of the cake in this reddit post.
When you think about a cat in ancient Egypt, you probably think of the god called Bast. A god pictured as a cat must mean that cats were worshiped, right? That's the popular notion, but it's a lot more complicated than that. Yes, we've found millions of cat mummies, but my first thought on learning that was that they used cats as practice for mummification. However, that's not part of the story, either. SideQuest gives us the longer, more involved story of how cats were regarded in ancient Egypt. Now, just imagine when archaeologists a few thousand years from now dig up and decipher our internet archives of lolcats and catios and crazy cat lady stories and, quite understandably, assume that we worshiped cats. No, we just treat them like they are our masters and we are their servants. And when they eventually discover toxoplasmosis and its effects, they'll understand why. -via Digg
Ukraine is so proud of their wheat fields that they designed their national flag around them. You may have recently read that Ukraine is the world's breadbasket, which might come as a shock to Americans. Yes, America produces a huge amount of the world's wheat grain, too, but Ukraine is the reason we grow that productive wheat to make bread. Before 1880, most American bread was made with rye, corn, or low-gluten soft wheat varieties. The vagaries of history and waves of immigration brought the staple known as Turkey wheat to the Great Plains of the US.
This variety of wheat has roots in Crimea, a peninsula that is recognized as part of Ukraine, which was once under Turkish control—hence the grain’s name. It earned German Mennonite stewards in 1770, after Catherine the Great promoted settlement, promising the group they could keep their pacifist values and language. When regime change and conscription came knocking again, these people needed to find a new home.
Of course, wheat continued to be produced in Ukraine long after it spread to America. Read the history of how Ukrainian wheat came to the US at Modern Farmer.
Real actors doing The Simpsons' opening? And it's good? This was created by British Sky Broadcasting as a promotion for the series, which went viral and then was used for the opening of The Simpsons season 17 episode 15 entitled "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife," co-written by Ricky Gervais, who also guest-starred. You might be surprised at Bart and Lisa portrayed as redheads, and Marge's hair is not quite so outrageous, but you can't argue that those involved didn't do an excellent job of channeling the animated yelllow-skinned family. -via reddit
Science demonstrates once again what we suspected all along. People who had a rural upbringing have better navigation skills than their counterparts raised in cities. This is most likely due to the lack of standardization of rural roads as they are routed around mountains, rivers, and much older roads -and because country folk often have to travel further for a variety of reasons. Rural travelers exercise their sense of direction out of necessity, while those who live on logically-designed city grids can find their way around much more easily.
To check out this hypothesis, a team of scientists used the video game Sea Hero Quest, which was developed in 2016 specifically to study the effects of Alzheimer's disease. In the game, participants have to navigate around the ocean, and remember where they've been. The results showed not only that people who grow up in the countryside had better navigation skills, but those raised in older, more complex cities like Paris and Prague showed a better sense of direction than those who grew up in cities with a planned grid, such as Chicago. Still, you have to wonder whether it's the grid itself, or the ability to rely on mass transit that makes navigation easier for city dwellers. Read more about this research at The Guardian. -via Damn Interesting
Automotive engineer Norman Garrett wrote an essay to any would-be thieves who think they've hit the jackpot just because they found an unlocked Porsche. I started reading it and felt right at home, because I have two very old Camrys that I never lock because no one would want them anyway for some of the same reasons. But his story is more involved, better written, and quite hilarious.
Welcome to my Porsche 914. I imagine that at this point (having found the door unlocked) your intention is to steal my car. Don’t be encouraged by this; the tumblers sheared-off in 1978. I would have locked it up if I could, so don’t think you’re too clever or that I’m too lazy. However, now that you’re in the car, there are a few things you’re going to need to know. First, the battery is disconnected, so slide-hammering my ignition switch is not your first step. I leave the battery disconnected, not to foil hoodlums such as yourself, but because there is a mysterious current drain from the 40-year-old German wiring harness that I can’t locate and/or fix. So, connect the battery first. Good luck finding the engine cover release. Or the engine, for that matter.
Oh yeah, that's just the beginning. You'll get to know this particular car quite well as you decide whether or not to steal it -or try to. The connection with my own cars was suddenly severed at the end when he recommended that the thief find "a nice, reliable Camry to heist" instead. You'll enjoy this description of automotive adventure at Hagerty. -via Metafilter
The city of Pompeii is an archaeological treasure, as it is gradually dug out from underneath the ashes of Mt. Vesuvius' 79AD eruption. That means looters, people who steal and trade in historical relics, want to get into the city. To guard the site, authorities are using Boston Dynamics' Spot robots. They can patrol all night without rest, watching and recording any activity, aided by drones that can watch from above. Not only are the robots acting as security guards, they are also monitoring the ruins for signs of change or damage so that preservationists can catch problems with the fragile structures before they completely fall apart. It sounds like a good use for these dog-like robots. They could sure scare a thief away! Read more about the project at Gizmodo.
But what if... Mt. Vesuvius were to erupt again? The city is mostly restored to its condition from 2,000 years ago. Imagine if it were buried under lava, ash, and rubble again, only to be excavated again in another 2,000 years. These scientists of the future would find Roman roads, ancient homes and businesses, and robots. And that's the kind of thing that causes us to misunderstand history. -via Nag on the Lake
Neatorama has an extensive archive of stories about dead bodies that were not allowed a peaceful rest. However, there are always more stories about earthly remains exploited for obsession, profit, or entertainment. For example, I had no idea that Charlie Chaplin's corpse was dug up and held for ransom, and that happened in my lifetime! It was only a couple of months after Chaplin's death in December of 1977 that Chaplin's body was disinterred from Corsier-sur-Vevey cemetery in Switzerland. Numerous phone calls to the actor's widow, Oona Chaplin, demanded money that would be equivalent to almost $2 million today. Oona refused to pay the ransom, police investigated, and Chaplin's body was dumped in a field to be found three months later. Read how that story turned out, as well as the cases of the restless corpses of Abraham Lincoln, Alistair Cooke, Eva Peron, and those of quite a few other famous people at DiggingUp1800. -via Strange Company
Remember that unique ad that introduced us to the Squatty Potty? It's a stool that brings your feet up to a squatting position on the toilet in order to help you poop more naturally. Now the company brings us the Squatty Potty Pillow in order to sooth you, reassure you, and help you release your pent-up emotions in a more natural way, as in "relieving your emotional constipation." Believe it or not, it's a pillow shaped like the Squatty Potty. Only at the end of the ad do we find out why they made this ad, but people are already asking when it will be available to purchase. That seems to happen every April first, no matter how stupid the product is. -via Geeks Are Sexy
In 1929, rumors went around about a diet in which Hollywood stars lost a pound a day for 18 days. Women who wanted to look like a movie star were avid to get the details for months before the actual diet was published by entertainment columnist Louella Parsons. Every meal for the 18 days was spelled out, but they contained little food, even less nutrition, and almost every meal required grapefruit. Every day started with a breakfast of grapefruit, melba toast, and coffee. It worked for Ethel Barrymore, who was desperate to lose the weight her studio demanded for a movie role. Be that as it may, the diet's 500-600 calories a day was neither healthy nor sustainable for the many women and a some men who followed it. Actress Marietta Milner was on the diet when she contracted tuberculosis and died. Lesser-known women were passing out and even dying from the restrictive regimen. Read about the rise and fall of the 18-day diet at Mel magazine.
Gav and Dan are looking further afield to find weird things they can present to us in super slow-motion. Since they have a gun that will accurately shoot three-quarter-inch steel ball bearings, why not shoot it at a Newton's cradle, which has ball bearings that are only slightly larger?
The first slow-motion shooting begins at 2:53, but the result is so interesting that they try it in different ways to further explore the phenomenon, like using a hand gun. That's much more difficult for accuracy, but the mishaps are still worth watching. By the time the video is over, you'll have a newfound appreciation for ball bearings. And for Dan's marksmanship.
Larry Lawton had quite a career in jewelry heists that netted millions dollars in the 1980s and '90s. But he was finally caught, and served ten years in prison. Now he explains the importance of the getaway car. Lawton knows a lot about getaway cars, which are crucial to his former occupation, and not at all like what you see in movies. In the movies, the car stands out so we can follow it. In real life, that's the opposite of what you want. Lawton explains how he would select a getaway car and made it as untraceable as possible. No high-speed chase necessary, if everything goes as planned.
Those tips didn't help a bit when Lawton was arrested in 1996, when nothing went as planned. He ended up driving as fast as he could in a rental car with blood on the seats and a bullet hole in the window. It's an exciting story that you can read at The Drive. -via Damn Interesting
