Neatorama

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• The Art of Passing Gas
• Buffalo Sets World Record for Largest Ice Maze
• A Rare Stair
• Huge, Overloaded Transport Jet Uses Every Inch of Runway for Takeoff
• Bionic Feet in the Near Future
• Did Saddam Hussein Model Himself on Darth Vader?
• Tree Branch vs Power Lines
• 5 Banned Toys and Games
• Big Bang Theory Contest
• Kidnapping of UK Prime Minister Foiled by Beer
• Tilt-Shift Video about a Day in New York City
• Cardini's Sleight of Hand
• Cat Lift
• Olympic Pictograms

The Art of Passing Gas Posted: 28 Feb 2010 09:38 PM PST The Papal Belvedere by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1545), showing German peasants farting at the pope. It used to be that on one talked about farts … now, it's no big deal. You can't get away from it. Which is fine by us. Here we honor people who have made an art out of passing gas. (By the way - if this is your favorite part of the book, we recommend a tome called Who Cut the Cheese, by Jim Dawson.) Honorees: Simon Brassell, Karen Chin, and Robert Harman Notable Achievement: Finding a way to discuss dinosaur farts without making people laugh True Story: In 1991, the three scientists published a paper proposing that millions of year's worth of dinosaur farts may have helped make the Earth more hospitable for humans and other mammals. How? The methane gas passed by dinosaurs during the Cretaceous period, they suggested, "may have been a contributor to global warming." Honoree: King Louis XIV of France Notable Achievement: Turning a fart into a compliment True Story: "It is said," Frank O'Neil writes in The Mammoth Book of Oddities, "that Louis XIV expressed his admiration for the Duchess of Orleans, by doing her the honor of breaking wind in her presence." Honoree: Randy Maresh, an employee at an Albertson's supermarket in Gresham, Oregon Notable Achievement: Making someone so mad at his farting that they sued him True Story: In the mis-1990s, Tom Morgan sued co-worker Randy Maresh for $100,000, claiming in court papers that Maresh "would continually and repeatedly seek out the plaintiff on the premises of Albertson's [supermarket] while plaintiff was engaged in his employee duties. That defendant, after locating plaintiff, would position himself in the proximity of plaintiff so as to direct his 'gas' toward plaintiff." (In his written response to the suit, Maresh's lawyer argued that farts are "expressive behavior," and as such, are protected by the First Amendment.) No word on the outcome. [Note by editor: Case was dismissed] Honoree: Dr. Michael Levitt of Minneapolis, Minnesota Notable Achievement: Inventing a Breathalyzer-type test that can detect propensity for excessive farting True Story: Dr. Levitt's test checks for elevated levels of hydrogen in a patient's breath. If it's there, the patient is likely to be gassy. (Not everyone is impressed with Dr. Levitt's scientific breakthrough: "If Levitt is checking his patients' breath for flatulence," Jeffrey Kluger writes in Discover magazine, "I wouldn't even ask how he's propose to conduct dental work.") Honoree: Canelos Indians of Ecuador Notable Achievement: Turning a fart into a supernatural experience … and a free meal True Story: "The Canelos Indians," Eric Rabkin writes in It's a Gas, "are particularly scared by their farts because they believe the soul escapes the body along with the smell. They have developed a ritual to counter this escape. When in a group someone breaks wind, one of the rest, the quickest, will clap him on the back three times and say, "Uianza, uianza!' The meaning of this word is unknown but it does signify a feast by that name which the person who farted is obliged to prepare ... Alternatively, he can discharge his obligation by rewarding the clapper's kindness with three big clay vessels of manioc beer." Honoree: Ned Lowenbach, assistant district attorney in Tuolumne County, California Notable Achievement: Using farts as a legal strategy True Story: In 1988 a defense attorney appealed his client's conviction, protesting that Lowenbach had disrupted trial proceedings by passing gas. "He farted about one hundred times," the attorney said. "He even lifted his leg a few times." __________ Reprinted with permission from The Best of the Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. The Bathroom Reader Institute handpicked the most eye-opening, rib-tickling, and mind-boggling articles from everything they have written over the last ten years and carefully crammed them into 576 pages of the book. Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute has published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. Check out their website here: Bathroom Reader Institute.

Buffalo Sets World Record for Largest Ice Maze Posted: 28 Feb 2010 08:49 PM PST All it took was fifty volunteers in Buffalo, NY to construct the world’s largest ice maze for the 2010 Buffalo Powder Keg Winter Festival. Measuring 12,855.68 square feet, the new Guinness World Record maze features glowing blue lights and a giant Buffalo (the animal) at its center.  It breaks the old world record for an ice maze set in 2005 when the Pontiac Ice Maze was constructed during a Toronto festival using 1,940 blocks of ice and measuring 8,280 square feet. It also was done at a fraction of the cost. When organizers of the Buffalo festival decided to go for the record, they found out the Toronto maze cost more than $300,000. But Buffalo was able to pull of the feat thanks to donations and volunteers. Link – via slyoyster From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Furbu.

A Rare Stair Posted: 28 Feb 2010 08:35 PM PST When the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York had a broken step in their glass spiral staircase replaced, Mark Burstiner asked for, and received the old step from the repair crew. Over a year later, he put it up for sale on eBay. Then he was contacted by a VP from Seele, the staircase manufacturer. The VP told him Apple was very unhappy and asked him to pull the auction. Burstiner stopped the auction, but then the Seele representative called him again and demanded that he return the step! What this sounds like to me is Seele trying to save face because Apple is furious that they were irresponsible enough to relinquish ownership of the tread. Though it may be embarrassing for both corporations, it may simply be a lesson learned at a high price. Let me put it this way: If you caught a foul ball at a World Series game, got it signed by a player, received a high five from the security guard on the way out of the stadium, and went home, that ball is now yours, right? It started as one entity?s property, and through a series of consensual transactions, it ended up in your hands. Now, let?s say a year and a half later, the player who signed it is huge, and you decide to put it up for auction. If the MLB reached out to you and said, “Hey! No way, buddy. That was OURS. Hand it over!” Guess what? That wouldn’t fly. Burstiner put the step back up on eBay. No doubt publicity about the case brought more bids to the auction, which is at $6,300 at the time of this post. Link to story. Link to auction.

Huge, Overloaded Transport Jet Uses Every Inch of Runway for Takeoff Posted: 28 Feb 2010 07:41 PM PST (YouTube Link) This video shows a huge Russian transport plane taking off from Canberra International Airport in Australia. It barely makes the takeoff, using every inch of runway available. Warning: NSFW language from the air traffic controllers. via Ace of Spades HQ | About the Plane

Bionic Feet in the Near Future Posted: 28 Feb 2010 05:18 PM PST Every year, prosthetic options for amputees get better. One recent improvement is a flexible foot, currently in development at the University of Michigan. It recycles the energy of motion, making it less tiring for users to walk longer distances: For amputees, what they experience when they’re trying to walk normally is what I would experience if I were carrying an extra 30 pounds,” said Art Kuo, professor in the Univ. of Michigan departments of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Compared with conventional prosthetic feet, the new prototype device significantly cuts the energy spent per step.[...] Based on metabolic rate measurements, the test subjects spent 14 percent more energy walking in energy-recycling artificial foot than they did walking naturally. That’s a significant decrease from the 23 percent more energy they used in the conventional prosthetic foot, Kuo says. “We know there’s an energy penalty in using an artificial foot,” Kuo said. “We’re almost cutting that penalty in half.” Link via Make (which has information about other advanced prosthetic feet) | Image: Steve Collins, University of Michigan

Did Saddam Hussein Model Himself on Darth Vader? Posted: 28 Feb 2010 05:06 PM PST Anthropologist Michael Rakowitz has an upcoming exhibit at the Tate Museum in London. In it, he proposes that Saddam Hussein may have consciously or unconsciously been influenced by Western science fiction, particularly Star Wars. In New Scientist, Jessica Griggs writes: You may have heard that when US troops stormed one of Saddam’s palaces they stumbled across lurid posters by fantasy artist Rowena Morrill. But did you know that she’s a close friend of Boris Vallejo, the artist who drew the iconic poster for The Empire Strikes Back depicting Darth Vader with two lightsabres crossed over his head? Does the poster’s image sound familiar? It is remarkably similar to Saddam’s Hands of Victory monument commemorating Iraq’s victory over Iran. The arch in central Baghdad consists of two bronze casts of Saddam’s forearms holding two 43-metre-long crossed steel swords melted down from the weapons of slain Iraqis; the helmets of vanquished Iranians litter the base of the hands. On inauguration day in 1989, Saddam rode through the arches on a white horse, declaring “The worst condition is to pass under a sword which is not one’s own or to be forced down a path which is not willed by him”. Could this all be coincidence? Perhaps, but you’ll be convinced otherwise once you’ve read about Saddam’s private militia’s uniform. Before his son, Uday, handed over control of the Fedayeen Sadaam (translation: “Saddam’s Men of Sacrifice”) to his younger brother he wanted to give his father something to remember his work by. So he presented Saddam with their new uniform: black shirt, black trousers and a ski-mask over which a strikingly Darth Vader-esque helmet was placed. Link via Technabob | Exhibition Information | Images: New Scientist

Tree Branch vs Power Lines Posted: 28 Feb 2010 04:08 PM PST (YouTube Link) Wait for it… via Cynical-C via Arbroath

5 Banned Toys and Games Posted: 28 Feb 2010 02:05 PM PST Popular Mechanics has assembled a list of five popular toys that were eventually banned in the US. Among the toys on the list is the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab, marketed between 1950-51, which contained actual radioactive materials: Called “the most elaborate Atomic Energy educational set ever produced” by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, this sophisticated science kit contained four types of uranium ore, its very own Geiger counter and a comic book called Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom. A form on the back of the instruction manual allowed a burgeoning Ernest Rutherford to send a note to New Haven, Conn., bearing the message, “Gentlemen: I need replacements for the following radioactive sources, (check which): ALPHA____, BETA _____, GAMMA ______ or CLOUD CHAMBER SOURCE____.” Mechanical engineer and inveterate tinkerer Bill Gurstelle fondly recalls the Atomic Energy Lab, saying, “everybody wanted that kit.” Nowadays, he adds, “science kits are just sugar and salt.” This kit appeared 21 years too soon—the as-yet-nonexistent CPSC never got a chance to ban it. In the meantime, here are the results of our recent experiments with eight new, and decidedly less radioactive, science kits. Link via Glenn Reynolds | Photo: Oak Ridge Associated Universities

Big Bang Theory Contest Posted: 28 Feb 2010 01:15 PM PST I’m going to be microblogging from the set of Big Bang Theory this coming Tuesday night. The taping starts around 6:00pm PT, so tune in to our Facebook and Twitter pages starting a little before then. So long as my iPhone isn’t confiscated and there’s reception in the soundstage, we’ll be holding at least one contest, perhaps two. Details as they unfold, but I already know what the prizes are going to be: 1. A 2-Disc Collector’s Edition of Disney’s Atlantis – The Lost Empire 2. Matt Groening's The Simpson Futurama Crossover Crisis, a deluxe slip-cased hardcover 3. Any t-shirt from our the Science T-shirt section of our store. If you want a chance to win, make sure you’ve Fanned us over on our Facebook page and are following us on Twitter.

Kidnapping of UK Prime Minister Foiled by Beer Posted: 28 Feb 2010 10:41 AM PST In 1964, British PM Alec Douglas-Home was staying overnight at the home of Lord Hailsham in Scotland. In an astonishing security lapse, his bodyguards did not guard the door to the house. Left-wing college students, on a whim, decided to kidnap him and met the PM, alone, at the door. That’s when our hero, beer, stepped in to save the day: Faced with a determined group of militants, the resourceful prime minister decided that there was only one option. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the liquid refreshment did the trick and defused any of the group’s lingering desire to kidnap their genial host, along with assurances they would guarantee his party a landslide victory if they went through with their plan. This otherwise unverified incident was discovered in the recently-discovered diaries of the late Lord Hailsham, which included this passage: “He asked and received permission to pack a few things and was given 10 minutes’ grace. “After that they were offered and accepted beer. John and Priscilla returned and the kidnap project abandoned. Link via Hell in a Handbasket | Photo: The Daily Mail

Tilt-Shift Video about a Day in New York City Posted: 28 Feb 2010 10:29 AM PST (Video Link) The Sandpit is a video composed of 35,000 tilt-shift photographs taken in New York City. Director Sam O’Hare wrote about this project: I have always loved time-lapse footage, and films like Koyaanisqatsi especially, which allow you to look at human spaces in different ways, and draw comparisons between patterns at differing scales. I also really liked the tilt-shift look of making large scenes feel small, and wanted to make a film using this technique with New York as its subject. via Bits & Pieces | About the Film

Cardini's Sleight of Hand Posted: 28 Feb 2010 09:13 AM PST YouTube link. After an introduction by Ernie Kovacs, Richard Valentine Pitchford (“Cardini”) performs the “intoxicated English gentleman” routine that made him famous.  This recording from the “Festival of Magic” television program in 1957 is the only known footage of Cardini in action.  He reportedly developed his ability to manipulate cards with gloved hands by practicing while in the trenches during WWI. Via Professor Hex.

Cat Lift Posted: 28 Feb 2010 05:20 AM PST You know how people help their cats to reach upper floors by installing cat ladders? Those can’t hold a candle to this cat-operated automatic feline elevator! Link (embedded video)

Olympic Pictograms Posted: 28 Feb 2010 05:16 AM PST (YouTube link) Designer Steven Heller gives an overview and critique of Olympic pictograms used over the past 74 years for the New York Times. When you only see these every few years, you don’t realize how different they are for each Olympiad. -via the Presurfer

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