Neatorama

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• The Commercial that Killed a Fast Food Chain
• How Do We Go For Chic Maximalism Without Hoarding?
• Fungi, Folklore, and Fairyland
• Video Game Proposal
• Why Do We See Ghosts?
• Don’t Wear These Clothes When Riding An Airplane!
• Co-op Mode Will Soon Be Available In “Ghost of Tsushima”
• Mother And Son Sue Nintendo For Joy Con Drift
• This Mouse Has Swappable Button Plates
• Scary Stories
• Why Are Adults Reading Their Favorite Children’s Book ?
• How "The Right Stuff" has Changed
• Children's Board Games Reimagined as Horror Movies
• Centuries Ago, They were Facetuning, Filtering and Catfishing Too
• The Island That Humans Can’t Conquer

The Commercial that Killed a Fast Food Chain Posted: 09 Oct 2020 02:01 AM PDT Do you recall Rax Roast Beef? The fast food chain had 504 outlets in 38 states in the 1980s, but took a nosedive in the '90s. It now has five remaining locations. Although it wasn't the only reason Rax went under, a disastrous advertising campaign help drive the nails into its coffin, as the Vlogbrothers explain. In case you are interested, the documentary mentioned in this video can be seen here.  -via reddit

How Do We Go For Chic Maximalism Without Hoarding? Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:23 AM PDT Maximalism is about making the most out of your space by designing it with many items that showcase your personality. While that's a great way to decorate your space, sometimes we unavoidably turn our space into a cluttered chaos instead of achieving the chic maximalist look we want. Hunker shares some tips and tricks on how to avoid the clutter and go straight for the trendy approach. Check the full piece here. Image via Hunker

Fungi, Folklore, and Fairyland Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:11 PM PDT When ingested, mushrooms can be delicious, deadly, or downright hallucinogenic, depending on the species. Mushrooms are also decorative, and are often associated with fairies and other magical forest creatures. There may be a connection there. While the first documented case of a mushroom trip in Britain was recorded in 1799, when a father picked liberty caps to feed his family, the hallucinogenic chemicals in these mushrooms weren't isolated until the mid-20th century. In between, they became a Victorian motif for magic realms.     While the liberty cap's "magic" properties seemed to go largely unacknowledged, the idea that fungi could provoke hallucinations did begin to percolate more widely in Europe during the nineteenth century — though it became attached to a quite different species of mushroom. In parallel to a growing scientific interest in toxic and hallucinogenic fungi, a vast body of Victorian fairy lore connected mushrooms and toadstools with elves, pixies, hollow hills, and the unwitting transport of subjects to fairyland, a world of shifting perspectives seething with elemental spirits. The similarity of this otherworld to those engendered by plant psychedelics in New World cultures, where psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been used for millennia, is suggestive. Is it possible that the Victorian fairy tradition, beneath its innocent exterior, operated as a conduit for a hidden tradition of psychedelic knowledge? Were the authors of these fantastical narratives — Alice in Wonderland, for example — aware of the powers of certain mushrooms to lead unsuspecting visitors to enchanted lands? Were they, perhaps, even writing from personal experience? An article at Public Domain Review takes us through a brief history of magic mushrooms in the British consciousness, and then settles on Lewis Carroll. Modern readers are quite aware of what kind of mushroom Alice ate while in Wonderland, but there are still questions as to what Carroll knew about them. Read about the Victorian view of magic mushrooms here. -via Damn Interesting (Image credit: John Anster Fitzgerald)

Video Game Proposal Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:11 PM PDT Than More designed a video game called NENA. He spent two years on it, with the aim of using it to propose to his girlfriend Emily. Here we see the very end, with the proposal. We don't get to see a lot of gameplay in this video, but you can see more of NENA at Twitch. The game is available for sale, through links on the YouTube page. -via reddit

Why Do We See Ghosts? Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:11 PM PDT Science can't prove the existence of ghosts, but people in the media will try their best proving that yes, ghosts are real and they're here to give us a fright (or a message, who knows?). But have you ever wondered why people still see ghosts, in this day and age? Popular Science cites few mental and physical factors that could contribute to people seeing these ghouls. Check the full piece here.  Image via Popular Science

Don’t Wear These Clothes When Riding An Airplane! Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:11 PM PDT The next opportunity you get to travel via plane, make sure to plan the right travel outfits! Planning the clothes you'll wear on your next trip brings a sense of happiness and excitement, but it also helps you prepare well. While showing off your style isn't wrong, take note of these dos and don'ts when it comes to flying fashion. Check the List's full guide here.  Image via the List

Co-op Mode Will Soon Be Available In “Ghost of Tsushima” Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:11 PM PDT If you've ever played or watched some gameplay of Ghost of Tsushima, then you know what I'm talking about when I say that the game is beautiful and immersive. Players, however, are looking for some features that are not in the initial release: the ability to start the game over, and the ability to play it with your friends. (Just imagine you and your friends as Japanese warriors killing a horde of Mongolian soldiers). If you're one of those people who are either waiting for a New Game+ feature, or a co-op feature, then there's this good news for you: the wait is almost over. Sucker Punch has confirmed that the game's co-op Legends mode will arrive October 16th as part of a free version 1.1 update that also includes a New Game+ single-player mode. As promised, you can play either two-player story missions (with twists that require teamwork), four-player survival missions and even an MMO-style raid. More details about this over at Engadget. Sweet! (Image Credit: Sucker Punch Productions/ Engadget)

Mother And Son Sue Nintendo For Joy Con Drift Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:10 PM PDT Some Nintendo Switch players have experienced the 'Joy-Con drift' issue- where the Switch Joy-Con controllers make in-game characters "drift" even when no one is moving them. While some would just get new controllers, some players' Joy-Con drift was too ingrained to the point that buying new controllers won't make the issue go away permanently. This was what happened to Luz Sanchez' son. She filed a class action lawsuit against the company for not  doing enough to fix a hardware problem common among Nintendo Switch controllers, as Wired detailed:  Joy-Con drift is pervasive among Switch devices. (Anecdotally, I've experienced it on two sets of my own controllers). Characters inch left or right as if a ghost was operating the console. Nintendo didn't acknowledge the problem much until July 2019. That month, a thread on the Nintendo Switch subreddit calling out Joy-Con drift received over 25,000 upvotes. More than a dozen Switch owners filed a potential class action lawsuit at the time calling Joy-Cons "defective." Lawyers said Nintendo had heard users' complaints for long enough; why didn't the company disclose the issue? The 2019 lawsuit has been moved into arbitration, and the plaintiffs' lawyers recently asked Switch users to submit videos describing their experiences with Joy-Con drift to help bolster their case. Last month, a French consumer group filed a complaint, too, alleging planned obsolescence. Nintendo began fixing Joy-Cons for free, post-warranty, in July 2019, and Nintendo's president apologized for the problem in a financial meeting this summer. But Sanchez's lawyers argue that Nintendo hasn't done enough to fix the issue or warn customers about it up front. "Defendant continues to market and sell the Products with full knowledge of the defect and without disclosing the Joy-Con Drift defect to consumers in its marketing, promotion, or packaging," the complaint reads. "Defendant has had a financial motive to conceal the defect, as it did not want to stop selling the Products, and/or would need to expend a significant amount of money to cure the defect." Image via Wired

This Mouse Has Swappable Button Plates Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:10 PM PDT This pro gaming mouse just took things to a whole new level. Meet the Razer Naga Pro gaming mouse, a computer mouse that works for a lot of types of games thanks to its easily-customizable design.  There's a 12-button side plate for MMO, a six-button side plate for battle royale, and a two-button side plate for FPS, as the Gadget Flow details:   Altogether, by switching between any of the three side plates, you'll get up to 20 customizable buttons. Not only are the side plates super cool, but this mouse also has a slew of other sweet features. It'll deliver Razer Hyperspeed technology along with 150 hours of battery life so you can play without stopping. With an ergonomic design, the Razer Naga Pro ensures all of the button plates fit naturally beneath your thumb so they're in reach when you need them. Image via the Gadget Flow

Scary Stories Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:36 PM PDT For Halloween 2020, Simon Tofield has a hedgehog regaling Simon's Cat with spooky campfire stories. However, the cat is not nearly as scared as he's supposed to be. The hedgehog will have to amp it up a bit.

Why Are Adults Reading Their Favorite Children’s Book ? Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:57 PM PDT When the pandemic hit us, most of us treated the quarantine as a summer camp or a productivity workshop for the first few months. Some set new goals, some baked a lot, and some learned new languages. However, the longer the pandemic stays, people realize that they're not in control of how their future plays out anymore. We're all trapped in the situation, stuck at our homes, unsure when the pandemic will end. With those thoughts on our minds, we tend to reach out for objects that can give us comfort, that's why some play Animal Crossing, and some reach out for their old books, as Salon details:  When prompted, everyone I asked said that the main appeal of revisiting these books was found in knowing how the story was going to end, even when everything around us still feels so uncertain.  "Trauma takes away our gray areas. It divides our timeline into a before and an after," Dr. Valentina Stoycheva, an author and clinical psychologist specializing in traumatic stress, told the New York Times. "And while it has the danger of creating this longing for the before, when things were maybe safer, and when we were unaware of all of this and protected by our naïveté, there's also something about nostalgic behaviors — fashion, clothes, movies, music — that serve as a transitional object." Those transitional objects — much like a baby's blanket or favorite stuffed animal — can help people through life changes and in navigating specific stressors by providing more outlets for self-soothing, Stoycheva told the Times.  Bradley gave me the example of how she used to carry a battered, coffee-stained copy of "Where the Wild Things Are" in her purse when she would travel via airplane. She was afraid of flying, and a quote from the book — "there should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen" — always calms her.  "The feeling of nostalgia is kind of hard to put into words," Bradley said. "But I know when I pull out that book, I'm immediately transported back to a time when I felt safe and it felt like there was so much still left to discover. It keeps me from becoming jaded."  Image via Salon

How "The Right Stuff" has Changed Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:57 PM PDT To be considered for the NASA's astronaut program today, you need to have an advanced degree in science, engineering, medicine, or some other discipline that would be useful for the research done in space. That wasn't the case at all when Russia and the United States first stepped into space. The story of how the qualifications have changed over time is the story of how far we've come in space exploration. At first, the main requirement was bravery and public relations potential. In the 1950s, when the U.S. and Russian space programs vetted candidates, they just needed individuals who could endure the flights. Little was known then about how the human body would respond to space. NASA's initial call for astronaut applications included virtually any man shorter than 5'11" who had engaged in dangerous and physically strenuous activities, such as scuba diving or mountaineering. But President Dwight Eisenhower intervened, deciding that only military test pilots would be eligible. "As a military man, Eisenhower had a great understanding and respect for the process of evaluation and promotion in the military," says Margaret Weitekamp, chair of the space history department at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Military officers were presumed to be disciplined, loyal to the country, and willing to sacrifice their lives if necessary. And a test pilot already had proven the unique ability "to go up in a hurtling piece of machinery and put his hide on the line and then have the moxie, the reflexes, the experience, the coolness, to pull it back in the last yawning moment," as Tom Wolfe wrote in his 1979 book The Right Stuff. The Russians had somewhat different requirements for cosmonauts, yet they had to be brave to be flung into the unknown -and also have public relations potential. Now space is a workplace, but as we venture beyond the bounds of earth, the requirements for space travelers is liable to combine all the qualifications of the early days and the present. Read the evolution of "the right stuff" required for space explorations at National Geographic. -via Digg (Image credit: NASA)

Children's Board Games Reimagined as Horror Movies Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:57 PM PDT Graphic designer Justin Bryant has a delightfully morbid imagination. In a series of six posters, he suggests that popular children's board games could easily be turned into horror films. Candy Land looks sweet, but hides a dark secret. Hungry Hungry Hippos are ready for lunch. And you definitely don't want to catch--or be caught-- by the Cooties. You can see all of these posters at Born in Space.

Centuries Ago, They were Facetuning, Filtering and Catfishing Too Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:57 PM PDT Photoshop and image filters are modern methods of manipulating photographs to improve one's appearance. But even before photography, image manipulation was a tool for those who could afford to have their portraits painted. Artists knew that if their work was not acceptable, they might not receive their commission. But that could backfire, too. When Henry VIII met his bride-to-be Anne of Cleves, he was very upset that she did not look as good as her portrait had led him to believe. The example above shows two different portraits of a monarch we've recently read about. Take the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V of the Habsburg Dynasty, a powerful lineage of intermarrying monarchs, many of whom shared a distinctive family feature, known amongst art historians as "The Habsburg Jaw". Despite appearances, the two side by side portraits above are indeed of the same monarch, Charles V, painted just 17 years apart. It would appear that as the monarch matured, he became more familiar with the artful tricks of portraiture, which he could use to draw the attention away from his chin (and redirect it towards his nether regions). Powerful people understood the importance of portraits, but their approaches varied. Oliver Cromwell wanted his portrait to be realistic, warts and all, while Napoleon didn't care if paintings looked like him at all as long as they conveyed his message. Read about painted portraits that didn't quite tell the truth at Messy Nessy Chic.

The Island That Humans Can’t Conquer Posted: 08 Oct 2020 03:15 PM PDT The most remote place in Alaska is St. Matthew Island, halfway between the North American mainland and Siberia. The nearest town is a 24-hour boat ride away. The island was "discovered" several times, and there is evidence of a prehistoric home, but no one ever stays there long. Once a home for polar bears, it still teems with wildlife, both on land and in the water. But no humans call it home. Even after the bears were gone, the archipelago remained a difficult place for people. The fog was endless; the weather, a banshee; the isolation, extreme. In 1916, the Arctic power schooner Great Bear ran afoul of the mists and wrecked on Pinnacle. The crew used whaleboats to move about 20 tonnes of supplies to St. Matthew to set up a camp and wait for help. A man named N. H. Bokum managed to build a sort of transmitter from odds and ends, and climbed each night to a clifftop to tap out SOS calls. But he gave up after concluding that the soggy air interfered with its operation. Growing restless as the weeks passed, men brandished knives over the ham when the cook tried to ration it. Had they not been rescued after 18 days, Great Bear owner John Borden later said, this desperation would have been "the first taste of what the winter would have brought." U.S. servicemen stationed on St. Matthew during the Second World War got a more thorough sampling of the island's winter extremes. In 1943, the U.S. Coast Guard established a long-range navigation (Loran) site on the southwestern coast of the island, part of a network that helped fighter planes and warships orient on the Pacific with the help of regular pulses of radio waves. Snow at the Loran station drifted up to around eight meters deep, and "blizzards of hurricane velocity" lasted an average of 10 days. Sea ice surrounded the island for about seven months of the year. When a plane dropped the mail several kilometers away during the coldest time of year, the men had to form three crews and rotate in shifts just to retrieve it, dragging a toboggan of survival supplies as they went. Sarah Gilman visited this inhospitable island, and gives us an almost poetic tour along with the history of the Alaskan outpost of St. Matthew Island. -via Smithsonian

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