Neatorama

What is it? Game 75 Posted: 04 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Today’s collaboration with What is it? blog brings us this strange-looking object. Can you guess what it is for? Place your guess in the comment section - no prize this week, you’re playing for fame and glory only. Please post no URL to let others play. Don’t forget to check out What is it? blog for more clues! Good luck!

Huge Spider of La Machine Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:42 AM CDT Overnight, a huge mechanical spider appeared on the side of an office building set to be demolished in Liverpool, England: The 37-tonne beast heralds the start of a five-day piece of street theatre as part of the Capital of Culture year. It has been built by French company La Machine, which in 2006 brought the streets of London to a standstill with the Sultan’s Elephant. The spider is believed to be "waking up" on Friday. It will descend from its current position on the side of Concourse House on Thursday to be moved to the city’s new arena, before coming to life on Friday. The creature will then begin exploring the city later that evening. Link - via Ectoplasmosis

Forget the Large Hadron Collider, Here Comes the Heliotron! Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:41 AM CDT Photo: National Institute for Fusion Science, background-worthy large pic here Large Hadron Collider who? Forget CERN’s little science gizmo - the supersexy science machine title belongs to Japan’s Large Helical Device, the world’s largest superconducting stellarator* that employs a heliotron magnetic field. Via The Long Now Foundation Plus, there is a large pic that looks good for your monitor’s background! (For some neat photos of the Joint European Torus nuclear fusion reactor and more, check out Kernfusie) *A thingamajig used to contain hot plasma with magnetic field to sustain a controlled nuclear fusion reaction.

Mathematical Butterflies Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:40 AM CDT This is how a mathematician draws a butterfly: where r is the radius and is the angle. From Clifford Pickover’s Computers and the Imagination. Link - via Reality Carnival

A Free Thinker is Satan’s Slave Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:40 AM CDT LiveJournal user scarlett_1975 snapped this photo a few days ago: Link - via Accordion Guy. Now, can someone explain to me what Pastor Ricky Shedd is talkin’ about?

Los Angeles Bans Fast Food Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:40 AM CDT Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry has just launched a new attack in the war against obesity: a ban on new fast-food restaurants in poor L.A. neighborhoods! The move is trend-setting California’s latest salvo in an expanding war on the fast-food industry, which is bracing for copycat maneuvers around the United States that could threaten growth. But residents are skeptical that such laws will have much impact in Los Angeles’ low-income and minority neighborhoods, which are already blanketed with cheap and easy-to-find meals at chains such as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and Domino’s Pizza. "It’s stupid. It’s our body, we choose what we put in it," Tonya Owens, a 45-year-old nurse assistant told Reuters. Edwin Tsai, interviewed at a cluster of fast-food chains in the affected district, which includes the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, West Adams, Baldwin Hills and Leimert Park, said there were reasons people eat at places like McDonald’s. "It’s fast and easy. I think people will still come here no matter what," Tsai, 23, said. Lisa Baertlein and Dan Whitcomb of Reuters has the story: Link - via Blue’s News (Photo: Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry poses in front of fast food restaurants’ signs in South Los Angeles. By Phil McCarten/Reuters)

Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburger Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:39 AM CDT Photo: ccaviness [Flickr] All that talk about obesity really makes me hungry, and what did I just find on the ‘Net? This bright idea by Googlers in NYC to celebrate the head of the cafe staff. Behold the Krispy Kreme bacon cheddar cheeseburger! Link - via Hopeless Geek

World’s Strangest Anti-Theft Devices Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:38 AM CDT Banned in Hollywood blog has a really entertaining post about the 15 strangest anti-theft devices ever employed in the history of transportation: Link - via Gorilla Mask

Emotional Pain Hurts More Than Physical Ones Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:30 AM CDT That old saying "stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" turned out not to be true after all. Psychologists found that memories of painful emotional experiences may actually linger much longer than physical pain: Researcher Zhansheng Chen, from Purdue University in Indiana, said that it was much harder to "re-live" physical pain than to recall social pain. He said the evolution of a part of the brain called the cerebral cortex, which processes complex thinking, perception and language, might be responsible. He said: "It certainly improved the ability of human beings to create and adapt, to function in and with groups, communities and cultures, and to respond to pain associated with social interactions. "However, the cerebral cortex may also have had an unintended effect of allowing humans to relive, re-experience and suffer from social pain." Link - via AQFL

Filipino Costumes of the Mid 1800s Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:29 AM CDT (L) Un Yndio Natural (R) Manila Man BibliOdyssey has a really neat post about a 1841 watercolor album depicting the dresses of Filipinos: Link | Original book scans at NYPL Digital Gallery

Seriously Cheaper Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:29 AM CDT Weeeeellll, technically, it is cheaper. Found at Daily Haha - via Slavenka & Obi

The Hidden Homeless of Los Angeles Posted: 04 Sep 2008 01:28 AM CDT Photo: Benjamin Reed / LA Times Los Angeles has more homeless people - about 73,000 on any given night - than any other cities in the United States. But where are they exactly? In this interesting LA Times article by Jessica Garrison, you’ll find that some homeless encampments can be particularly creative: Rudy Salinas, who is in charge of outreach for PATH, recalled an encampment he encountered a few years ago under a bridge in the San Gabriel River watershed that featured a working whirlpool bath. It was powered by electricity spliced illegally from a nearby power line. The men living there had obtained the spa after it fell off a truck on the 10 Freeway; they carried in water to fill it. Link - via growabrain Previously on Neatorama: Police Busted a Hidden Homeless Refuge Under an Overpass

Star Trek: The Love Boat Posted: 03 Sep 2008 07:07 PM CDT {YouTube Link} What would Star Trek: The Next Generation be like if the Enterprise was an interstellar cruise ship? RT: 1 min, 35 sec.

I Heart Math T-Shirt Posted: 03 Sep 2008 12:56 PM CDT With many thanks to Jürgen Köller of mathematische-basteleien, we now have an excellent I Love Math shirt on Neatorama’s online store. (The equation is from Gabriel Taubin). I Heart (Curve) Math t-shirt, currently on sale for just $9.95: Link More I Love Science shirts: I Heart Biology - $9.95 I Heart Chemistry - $9.95 I Heart Physics - $9.95

The Jules Verne: Triplane Made from Drinking Straws and Sandwich Wrap Posted: 03 Sep 2008 12:56 PM CDT Photo: Bob Halvorsen Behold the triplane Jules Verne, a fantastic flying machine made from drinking straws, Reynolds sandwich wrap, and a home-made motor by Carl Rankin of Flying Puppets. Link | Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing TV interviews Carl Rankin (see the Jules Verne in action!) - Thanks Cynthia!

Austin Humane Society’s Reading-to-Cats Program Posted: 03 Sep 2008 12:55 PM CDT We read to kids, so why not let the kids read to to … cats?! Here’s the story of the Austin Humane Society’s reading-to-cats program: "It’s just a fun, positive experience for the kids and great socialization for the cats," said Lisa Starr, the Austin Humane Society’s director of marketing. She says Austin has the only reading-to-cats program there is (where else could be goofy enough?). So how do the cats like being read to by kids? "Some of them just look at ‘em," Lisa said. "Some of them run away. Certainly each cat is going to have a different reaction. But the goal for the cat is that they’ll have increased exposure to children. It’s to help them to be more social and for them to be more adoptable." When I was out there, Matt Leighty, 9, was reading a book called "So What’s It Like to Be a Cat?" to a group of cats. So how’d that go, son? "They started fighting each other," Matt said. "Big tails and hissing. They don’t appear to be doing it right now. I think they like this book better: ‘Monkey for Sale.’ " Link - Thanks Madalina Hinojosa! (Photo: Lisa Starr/Austin Human Society)

French Sports Minister Lost Bet, Wore Pink Crocs to Cabinet Meeting Posted: 03 Sep 2008 12:54 PM CDT The French Health, Youth, and Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot made a bet with the French Olympic athletes: if they came home with 40 medals from the Beijing Olympic Games, she’ll wear pinc Crocs to work. The French athletes did just that (they got 7 gold, 16 silver, and 17 bronze medals), so the Minister made good on her words! Link - Thanks Jee! (Image and original article: Xinhuanet) Minister Bachelot wasn’t the only politician ever to wear crocs - here’s President Bush in black Crocs (with socks!)

DIY Jar Jar Binks Salad Posted: 03 Sep 2008 12:53 PM CDT Ken of Onlyknives blog has just posted a how-to guide on making your own Jar Jar Binks out of jicama: Jar Jar Binks was easily the worst thing about The Phantom Menace. If I could create a scrumptious salad out of him and serve him up with a tasty crostini, perhaps I might have my revenge. Jicama proved to be just the right medium for my sculpture — it’s a tuberous root vegetable that is perfect for food carvings. It’s crisp, cuts easily and doesn’t dry out quickly. Jicama doesn’t taste like much but readily absorbs the juices and flavors of a marinade or sauce. Link - Thanks Ken A.!

Caption Monkey 41: Strawberry Headed Cat Posted: 03 Sep 2008 11:18 AM CDT Photo: lisascenic [Flickr] For today’s Neatorama and Hobotopia’s Caption Monkey game, you get to caption this cute photo of Lisa and Robb’s cat Linguine: Lisa and I have been having a chuckle over the thought that this picture of our dear little Linguine is, unbeknown to us, an internet meme – a fad, which becomes almost inexplicably popular on the web. This picture was taken about two years ago. I remember at the time, it was a major achievement for me to stand and balance well enough to take a picture while holding a camera in one hand and a bamboo-skewered strawberry in another and convince a cat we like to call "Fidget" to cooperate. Funniest caption wins an original Laugh-Out-Loud Cats cartoon by Adam "Ape Lad" Koford. Contest rules are simple: place your caption in the comment section. One caption per comment, please, but you can enter as many as you can think of. For inspiration, don’t forget to check out Adam’s blog! Good luck!

Look at Me! Posted: 03 Sep 2008 10:45 AM CDT The word "Me" appears in the titles of dozens of Hollywood feature films. In today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss, try to match 12 film titles with the 12 actors who portrayed the "Me" in each one. I scored 83% because I switched two movies I hadn’t seen. Link

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