Neatorama

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• You Don’t Know Jack
• Going for the Mattress Dominoes Record
• 15 War Machines by Leonardo Da Vinci
• Don’t Judge My Hair
• A Camel-Back Medical Clinic
• The OMG-WTF Spectrum
• The Massive Ordnance Penetrator Will Be the Largest Non-Nuclear Bomb Ever
• TV Sharks You Won’t See on Shark Week
• The Ten Plagues of Passover Finger Puppets
• Who’s Getting Roasted?
• Tattooed Librarians
• Blip
• The Anacreontic Song
• Brain Teaser Toilet Roll

You Don’t Know Jack Posted: 03 Aug 2009 09:41 PM PDT Being born a Jill, I always have had an involuntary relationship with the name "Jack." For a few months in high school, I even dated a Jack. I was thrilled when we broke up because I no longer had to hear the nursery rhyme every day. But what is it about the name that has made it so dominant in our society? Why is it such a popular name? All this and more can be revealed when you just admit that "you don't know Jack." Image Via Computationally.Irrational [Flickr] About the Name: The name Jack came from a Middle English word, "jakke," used to refer to any male, particularly those of the lower classes. Many people mistakenly believe the name comes from "Jacques," which came from the names Jacob and James. English speakers associated the name Jack with John much more often than these other names, so the similar sounds are purely coincidental. In the UK, the name is the most popular name for male babies between 2003 and 2007. In England, it has been the top name since 1994. The name is much less common in America, ranking in the top 30-40 names of male babies, but it is still much more popular than it was around 20 years ago, when it was closer to the 175th ranking. Source Phrases: “Jack of all trades” has been used for centuries and refers to a person who could do a variety of tasks. The use of the word "Jack" was only included because it was still being used as a generic term for 'man' at the time. It was not originally a negative expression, but at some point, people started adding on the phrase "master of none," which made for a whole new meaning. It can now refer to either phrase and, as a result, can be bad or good depending on the context. Source Image Via Joel Mark Witt [Flickr] Because Jack was so often used to refer to social underlings, it was eventually used to refer to useless objects. Eventually, it began being used as a term for very little. The phrase "you don't know jack" (with or without the expletive) has been used for decades to say someone knows very little. Yes, it seems to be a bit of a double negative, but expressions are commonly created and spread without any consideration for proper grammar. Source A Few Facts About A Few Famous Jacks: Jack Black is the son of two rocket scientists and a college friend of Tim Robbins. He often jokingly refers to Philip Seymour Hoffman as his "nemesis" because the two frequently audition for the same roles. Source Jack Nicholson worked as a gopher at Hannah Barbara animation studios when he was young; when they offered him an animation job, he turned them down, saying he wanted to be an actor. Aside from being a good artist, he is also a great singer, as documented by his performance in Tommy. Fortunately, he stuck with acting and is tied with Walter Brennan for the title of male actor with the most Oscar wins. Source Image ViaMharrsch [Flickr] Jack Lemmon was not only a great actor, but also a great, self-taught pianist; he wrote the theme for the 1980 movie Tribute. When he first started acting, studio head Jack Warner wanted him to change his name to "Jack Lennon" so critics wouldn't have the chance to say that his performance in a given film was a lemon. Jack convinced him the name would be compared to Lenin, which was even worse. Source Jack Kerouac was born to French-Canadian parents and did not learn English until he was six. He originally started writing On the Road in French and actually has two unpublished novels in the language as well. He was enrolled in the US Merchant Marines during WWII, but was honorably discharged on the grounds of psychiatric issues. At one point, he was arrested for helping a friend, Lucien Carr, hide the evidence after murdering a stalker. Source Image Via Tompalumbo [Flickr] Jack products: The Jack in card decks was originally a knave card. The name wasn't changed until the mid-nineteenth century, when card manufacturing became a big business and the companies realized having "Kn, Q, K, A" abbreviations were too confusing. They opted for the use of "J" instead. In the UK, they still commonly refer to the "Jack" card as a "Knave." Source Image Via Tadson [Flickr] Jack Daniels opened his distillery in Moore County, Tennessee in 1866. When the state enacted prohibition in 1910, the factory reopened in St. Louis, Missouri and Birmingham, Alabama, but none of the alcohol made in these factories was ever sold due to quality control issues. The Tennessee ban on alcohol wasn't repealed until 1938, but even today, the county the alcohol is produced is still a dry county. Source Jack In The Box started out as a burger joint in San Diego named Topsy's. The locations all had a circus theme, which is where the Jack In The Box name came from. When the company started losing major market shares in the early 80's they killed off "Jack" and moved to create more upscale fast food for yuppies. After their e coli scare in the early 90's though, the company almost went bankrupt, but was saved, largely due to the resurrection of their famed Jack character. Source Image Via Thomas Hawk [Flickr] A Few Famous Fictional Jacks: Jack Skellington is a reoccurring character in Tim Burton films, appearing in Sleepy Hollow, James and the Giant Peach and Beetlejuice. Although his talking voice is done by Susan Sarandon's husband, Chris, his singing voice is done by Danny Elfman. Source Image Via Veronica Bautista [Flickr] Captain Jack Sparrow was originally supposed to be a much more minor character, who was merely intended to guide Will Turner through the movie. Johnny Depp's performance was so well received though that the character's entire role was reprised and he became one of the most adored characters of the movie. In fact, a back story was later created for him and turned into a children's book series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow. Source Storybook Jacks: Jack and The Beanstalk is based on an old oral story of Jack the Giant Killer. While many of the tales try to moralize Jack's behavior, the most popular version leaves Jack as kind of a jerk who robs someone, manipulates his wife and then kills him…all on the grounds that the man is a giant. Source Jack Be Nimble was a nursery rhyme that never made sense to me as a child. Interestingly, it seems to be one of the few with a very clear meaning, as jumping over candlesticks was a game and fortune telling method in the mid-nineteenth century. If one could clear the candlestick without putting out the flame, they were said to have good luck coming their way. Source Image Via ABakedCreation [Flickr] The famed Jack and Jill rhyme originally was Jack and Gill and there are a variety of stories involving the origins of the song. Also, although we normally only hear the first verse of the song, there are actually four commonly accepted verses. The full rhyme goes: Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after. Up Jack got and home did trot As fast as he could caper; And went to bed to mend his head With vinegar and brown paper. Jill came in and she did grin To see his paper plaster; Mother vexed did whip her next For causing Jack’s disaster. Now Jack did laugh and Jill did cry But her tears did soon abate; Then Jill did say that they should play At see-saw across the gate. Source Image Via gfpeck [Flickr]

Going for the Mattress Dominoes Record Posted: 03 Aug 2009 05:39 PM PDT (YouTube Link) Forty-one people gathered at a Bensons for Beds furniture warehouse in Tewkesbury, UK to break the mattress dominoes record. That means leaning on an upright mattress and then falling over backwards, causing someone behind you on a mattress to fall over backwards, and so on. Link via The Corner

15 War Machines by Leonardo Da Vinci Posted: 03 Aug 2009 05:04 PM PDT The Toy Zone has pictures and descriptions of fifteen weapons or defensive systems that historians have found sketched in the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci. These include a tank, cluster munitions, and mobile walls. The picture above is of a pivoting radial barrage canon found in the Codex Atlanticus. Link via Ace

Don’t Judge My Hair Posted: 03 Aug 2009 04:33 PM PDT From the people who brought you There, I Fixed It, Don’t Judge My Hair is a photoblog of disasterous hairstyles, cuts, and colors. Link via Double Plus Undead

A Camel-Back Medical Clinic Posted: 03 Aug 2009 03:00 PM PDT For years, medical supplies have been sent into remote areas of Kenya on the backs of camels for the needs of the rural population. But seeing this system as inefficient, the Nomadic Communities Trust of Kenya is partnering with an American university and an art school to develop a modern medical laboratory and dispensary that can be mounted on a camel: A multifunctional system was developed made from bamboo to provide a lightweight, durable ergonomic saddle along with a saddleback structure that holds a compartmented refrigerated unit and solar power generator. The saddles improve the efficiency of the loads carried over rugged terrain. The crystalline solar panels can also be deployed by the mobile clinics for lighting and refrigeration in the field. Link

The OMG-WTF Spectrum Posted: 03 Aug 2009 02:51 PM PDT This spectrum (I take it) is supposed to classify Internet memes by whether they provoke OMG or WTF reactions by netizens — and all gradations in between. Bacon vodka, for example would be OMG, whereas human-eating robots would be WTF. Link via Urlesque

The Massive Ordnance Penetrator Will Be the Largest Non-Nuclear Bomb Ever Posted: 03 Aug 2009 02:42 PM PDT Weighing in at 30,000 pounds, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator of the US Air Force will become the largest air-dropped non-nuclear bomb ever built: The MOP is 20 feet long and can penetrate bunkers up to 200 feet before exploding. At 15 tons, the MOP is a third heavier than the previous “mother of all bombs”, the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, which was only 10.5 tons. The MOP also packs a whopping 5,300 lbs of explosives, which is 10 times the amount its predecessor bunker-buster, the BLU-109, carried. Basically, it’s massive. The push for accelerated deployment is due to the increased perceived nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea. It’s believed that many of their nuclear programs could be in development underground, below levels of current bunker-busting bombs’ range. The Pentagon intends the rapid deployment to send a message that the United States is tweaking strategies to address new threats. And nothing is more American than advertising the sheer size and tonnage of the bombs hanging below our jets. Link

TV Sharks You Won’t See on Shark Week Posted: 03 Aug 2009 12:16 PM PDT The Discovery Channel is full of shark attacks this week, but who knew there were so many other sharks on TV? From loan sharks to land shark, they’re in this chart from TV Tango. Does this mean they’ve jumped the shark? Link -via Interesting Pile

The Ten Plagues of Passover Finger Puppets Posted: 03 Aug 2009 11:26 AM PDT Having trouble keeping the Ten Plagues of Passover straight? These finger puppets for Blood, Frogs, Gnats, Wild Animals, Pestilence, Boils, Hail, Locusts, Darkness, and the Angel of Death are a fun way of remembering divine wrath in its many colorful and felt-like manifestations. Link via Ironic Catholic

Who’s Getting Roasted? Posted: 03 Aug 2009 09:09 AM PDT Celebrity roasts have been a comedy staple for decades. In today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss, you are challenged to identify who is being skewered by the quips from various roasts. I scored 60%, which is better than I expected. Link

Tattooed Librarians Posted: 03 Aug 2009 07:30 AM PDT The Texas Library Association is selling a 2010 calendar called “The Tattooed Ladies of TLA.” Twenty-one librarians show off their tats over 18 months. The calendar is a fundraiser to assist libraries that are still recovering from damage caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “It was just a fun thing to do,” said Gretchen Hoffmann, 42, who turned up the heat as Miss August 2010 by posing on a row boat, a purple boa strategically draped to highlight the starfish tattoo on her upper back. “I like the idea that the calendars are stereotype-busters. You don’t usually see [librarians] as tattooed and sexy. We’re not the little old ladies who walk around with buns.” Link to story. Link to website. -via Metafilter

Blip Posted: 03 Aug 2009 07:27 AM PDT (Vimeo link) See what happens when two aliens try to take over the same world in Blip, a short animation by Sean Mullen and Ben Harper of the Irish School of Animation. -via the Presurfer

The Anacreontic Song Posted: 03 Aug 2009 07:25 AM PDT A group of amateur musicians formed a club in London in the mid-1700s called the Anacreontic Society. They had day jobs as the pillars of society, but at night they would get together and present concerts. Member John Stafford Smith wrote a song that became known as the Anacreontic Song with six stanzas that became the official anthem of the group. In all probability some drinking did occur at Society meetings, but the primary purpose of the Society (and its song) was to promote an interest in music. [The song] was commonly used as a sobriety test: If you could sing a stanza of the notoriously difficult melody and stay on key, you were sober enough for another round. You can listen to a version of the Anacreontic Song on YouTube and hear why why this song is so remarkable. Learn more at Scribal terror. Link

Brain Teaser Toilet Roll Posted: 03 Aug 2009 05:52 AM PDT The Mind Trainer Loo Roll is packed with puzzles, brain teasers, and Sudoku on every sheet. Create a game for yourself: you don’t get to use a sheet until you’ve solved the puzzle on it. Link via The Presurfer Previously on Neatorama: The Puzzle Game Toilet Dispenser

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