Neatorama

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• Happy New Year, Neatoramanauts!
• A Robot That Moves Like A Snake
• Dark Knight Plot Hole Rap
• 2009: The Volcanic Year in Review
• Evolution Without Genes
• Carl Sagan's Apple Pie Recipe
• The Year in Odd News
• 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling
• The Oldest Naval Vessel in Active Service
• The Great Escape Attempt
• Thai Orphanage Library
• Snow Globe on Four Wheels
• Anatidaephobia
• Russia's Reindeer Herdsmen
• The Simpsons, if Set in Estonia
• Water Lowered for Farting Turtles
• Stained Glass Simpsons

Happy New Year, Neatoramanauts! Posted: 31 Dec 2009 09:51 PM PST From all of us at Neatorama, we hope 2010 will bring good luck, good health, and happiness to all of you (or simply a better year if 2009 wasn’t that nice to you). We’ve got a lot of neat things planned for 2010, so stay tuned. Have a safe and happy New Year!

A Robot That Moves Like A Snake Posted: 31 Dec 2009 07:10 PM PST (YouTube Link) The OmniTread robot was built by engineering students at the University of Michigan. Its body consists of seven segments connected by pneumatic bellows. Treads on all four sides of the segments give it traction against surfaces, and the connecting bellows can inflate or deflate to provide stiffness or flexibility as needed. The robot can squeeze through a four-inch hole or ascend a vertical tube. Link via CrunchGear

Dark Knight Plot Hole Rap Posted: 31 Dec 2009 02:23 PM PST (YouTube Link) As one of millions of people who like the new Batman franchise, and can’t wait for Christopher Nolan to make part III, I must admit this song makes some valid criticisms regarding The Dark Knight.  (via io9).

2009: The Volcanic Year in Review Posted: 31 Dec 2009 12:55 PM PST Who knew there were so many volcanoes in the news? If you were a volcano blogger like Dr. Erik Klemetti, you’d keep up with these kinds of things. Now he’s posted the volcanic activity from each month of 2009. Shown is the eruption of Mayon in the Philippines in December. Link

Evolution Without Genes Posted: 31 Dec 2009 12:51 PM PST Most explanations of Darwinian evolution refer to genetic material as the manner in which changes are passed down to one’s descendants. Now, a study by Jiali Li of the Scripps Institute in Florida finds that prions, the proteins that cause diseases like mad cow disease evolve in response to their environment. Prions have no genes, no chromosomes, and no DNA or RNA at all! Prions are rogue version of a protein called PrP. Like all proteins, they are made up of chains of amino acids that fold into a complex three-dimensional structure. Prions are versions of PrP that have folded incorrectly and this misfolded form, called PrPSc, is social, evangelical and murderous. It converts normal prion proteins into a likeness of its abnormal self, and it rapidly gathers together in large clumps that damage and kill surrounding tissues. Li has found that variation can creep into populations of initially identical prions. Their amino acid sequence stays the same but their already abnormal structures become increasingly twisted. These “mutant” forms have varying degrees of success in different environments. Some do well in brain tissue; others thrive in other types of cell. In each case, natural selection culls the least successful ones. The survivors pass on their structure to the “next generation”, by altering the folds of normal prion proteins. Scientists are not ready to classify prions as living things, even though this discovery may lead to some refinements in the definition of life. Link

Carl Sagan's Apple Pie Recipe Posted: 31 Dec 2009 11:45 AM PST Preparation time:  12-20 billion years. Link.

The Year in Odd News Posted: 31 Dec 2009 10:56 AM PST 2009 ends tonight, and looking back at the weird stories of the year is always fun.  Oddee has the twelve most memorable events that had us all doing double takes.  Remember these? 6 year-old drives mom’s car. 68-year-old woman tries to get driver’s license for the 772nd time. 86 year-old woman catches thief with her crutch. Calling 911 because McDonald’s was out of McNuggets. Car accident leaves man without penis. Girl get 56 stars tattooed on her face, says she was sleeping. Drowning diver saved by beluga whale. This: Door County authorities are trying to figure out how a motorist ended up near the top of the east arm of the Maple-Oregon Bridge across Sturgeon Bay after the arms of the drawbridge were lifted to a 45-degree angle. The car precariously perched in a downward position was photographed and the photos hit the internet pretty fast. Apparently the bridge tender noticed, lowered the bridge and after a short conversation she goes on her way. The incident happened about 6 p.m., but police didn’t learn about it until after news reporters began calling to confirm the authenticity of the photos. At first police thought someone was just playing around with Photoshop, until they realize it was for real. Passed out teen survives being run over by train. The Gaza Zoo donkey zebras. Widow killed by husband’s coffin. Aussie blogger stung by jellyfish. Link.

10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling Posted: 31 Dec 2009 10:30 AM PST A couple of these are on my pet peeve list; I bet you find a couple that are on yours as well. Enjoy The Oatmeal’s humorous look at some of the most common (and annoying) spelling mistakes! Link

The Oldest Naval Vessel in Active Service Posted: 31 Dec 2009 09:27 AM PST The US Navy has the frigate Constitution, launched in 1797. The British Royal Navy has the Victory, which dates even further back — to 1765. But both of these vessels are museum ships, rather than truly active vessels. The oldest naval vessel in active service is the VMF Kommuna, a Russian Navy salvage ship built in 1915. James Dunnigan writes for Strategy Page: This 2,500 ton catamaran was built in the Netherlands and entered service in 1915. Kommuna began service in the Czar’s navy, spent most of its career in the Soviet (communist) Navy, and now serves in the fleet of a democratic Russia. Originally designed to recover submarines that had sunk in shallow coastal waters, Kommuna remains in service to handle smaller submersibles, does it well and has been maintained over the decades to the point where it cheaper to keep the old girl operational, than to try and design and build a replacement. Link via Hell in a Handbasket | More Pictures | Image: Warfare.ru

The Great Escape Attempt Posted: 31 Dec 2009 08:27 AM PST Could anything be cuter than a baby panda climbing out of a crib? I don’t think so. Wen Li the cub tried her great escape at the Chengdu Giant Panda Research Institute in China. Unfortunately, her sense of balance is still a bit wobbly and she toppled over the side, ending up with little more than an upside-down view of the inside of her pen. The failed attempt did not appear to deter Wen Li, however. She was later spotted in what seems to be her favourite position once more – dangling from the edge of her playpen again. Go see the whole series of pictures. Link -via Unique Daily (image credit: Rex Features)

Thai Orphanage Library Posted: 31 Dec 2009 07:33 AM PST The task for the architecture students from Trondheim, Norway was this: build a library for an orphanage in a village in Thailand using natural materials to fit in with the surrounding environment,  with room for books, a computer, and 42 students of different ages. Sami Rintala of Rintala Eggertsson Architects led the project, which resulted in a structure that is simple, elegant, practical and versatile. The library was constructed with natural lava stone from the site, plus concrete bricks, wood and bamboo, with natural ventilation and sunshades incorporated into the design. Link: DesignBoom; all images courtesy of Rintala Eggertsson Architects

Snow Globe on Four Wheels Posted: 31 Dec 2009 06:55 AM PST (YouTube Link) Rachelle Brown of Houston, Texas, decorates the interior of her car with Christmas lights and fake snow. It looks so much like a snow globe that one might be inclined to pick up her car and shake vigorously. The video is from the NBC affiliate in Houston. via Urlesque

Anatidaephobia Posted: 31 Dec 2009 06:25 AM PST Anatidaephobia is the fear that a duck is watching you. The term was coined by Gary Larson, author of the comic The Far Side, who profited from ducks watching people. In these days of contextual advertising, the fear may be well-founded. Link to larger screenshot. Link to text article. -via Bits and Pieces

Russia's Reindeer Herdsmen Posted: 31 Dec 2009 05:44 AM PST In the Yamal penninsula of Siberia, resources are few, but the nomadic Nenets tribes survive by using the one resource as tough as they are: reindeer. Their main occupation is reindeer breeding and all they have are reindeer, because they build houses of reindeer skin and make their clothes of it. There are a few thousand of herdsmen on the peninsula who have more than 500,000 reindeer. But presently their traditional occupation is at stake owing to global warming and climate change. See a collection of pictures of the Nenets people at English Russia. Link -via Mothertrip

The Simpsons, if Set in Estonia Posted: 31 Dec 2009 05:43 AM PST (YouTube Link) The Estonian station TV3 recreated the introduction to The Simpsons as though the show took place in an Estonian village. via The Presurfer | Company Website

Water Lowered for Farting Turtles Posted: 31 Dec 2009 05:39 AM PST The staff at the Great Yarmouth Sea Life Centre in Norfolk, England learned their lesson last year, when farting turtles set off overflow alarms at another aquarium. The turtles get a Christmas treat of Brussels sprouts, which cause gas in turtles as they do in humans. When feeding sprouts to the turtles this year, the Norfolk aquarium lowered the water level to keep the expected bubbles from splashing water and setting off sensors. Now the Yarmouth turtle tank -12 feet in depth and width holding 250,000 litres of water along with George the 3ft long green turtle – has been partially emptied for the festive season. Thousands of litres have been removed to lower the water by a six inches and keep the sensitive alarms clear. Displays Supervisor Christine Pitcher said: ”Last time an aquariist had to dash to the centre in the middle of the night, so we’re not going to take any chances. ”Sprouts are really healthy for green turtles. ”The high levels of calcium in them are great for their shells, the fibre is good for their digestion and they also contain lots of beneficial Vitamin C, sulphur and potassium.” Link -via the Presurfer (image credit: Flickr user pkingDesign)

Stained Glass Simpsons Posted: 31 Dec 2009 05:34 AM PST Stained glass artist Joseph Cavalieri created panels based on The Simpsons. The series is called “Missing Episode” and mixes that TV show with the work of 17th Century French poet Jean de La Fontaine. Pictured above is “The Death in the Playground”. Link via Popped Culture

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