Neatorama

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• Waffle House Worker has Wild Ride
• Help! We Need Your Ideas For More NeatoFriends
• Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Scavenger Hunt
• The Surprising Sophistication of a Caterpillar Tent
• I Wanna Bento All Night
• This Cemetery Will Really Make Your Skin Crawl
• Another New Neatoramanaut!
• Computer Simulation Shows that Giraffes Can Swim
• Meet the Last Generation of Typewriter Repairmen
• The Newest Neatoramanaut!
• Cancer Vaccine Research Shows Progress in Lab Mice
• If Movies Followed Their Original Casting
• Upside-down Starfish
• The 16 Most Bizarrely Banned Books
• TV University Faculty Roster
• Early 1900s in Colour
• Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man
• What Is It? Game 141

Waffle House Worker has Wild Ride Posted: 04 Jun 2010 01:50 AM PDT Andrew Brian McKnight was standing outside the Murfreesboro, Tennessee Waffle House where he worked when three teenagers walked outside, followed by a waitress who said they hadn’t paid for their order. McKnight approached the group. The three jumped in a car, and the driver started forward, bumping McKnight. He fell on the hood of the vehicle, which took off. The coffee he was holding spilled on the car hood and made it slippery. While the car sped down the road, McKnight managed to call 911. “Yeah, I need you to send a cop car to Highway 99 at Cason Lane immediately,” McKnight tells police after dialing 911. “I’m stuck on the hood of somebody’s car and they refuse to stop.” “Now, do what now?” the dispatcher responds. Eighteen-year-old Christopher Allen Miller drove for about five minutes at up to 60 mph with McKnight on the hood. When he stopped, McKnight demanded the car keys and gave the teenager a piece of his mind. Police arrested Miller, and turned his two juvenile passengers over to their parents. McKnight was not injured. Link -via Fark (image credit: Aaron Thompson/DNJ)

Help! We Need Your Ideas For More NeatoFriends Posted: 03 Jun 2010 10:57 PM PDT Hello Neatoramanauts! We need your help. Adam "Ape Lad" Koford and I are putting together a new cast of NeatoFriends and we need some ideas. We’ve got the Neatoramanaut, the Neatoramabot, NeatoTurtle, and the Neatokraken … who or what else are we missing? What would you like to see? NeatoViking? NeatoPirate? NeatoBear? Let’s hear your ideas! (if yours get picked and we make a T-shirt out of it, you’ll get a freebie)

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Scavenger Hunt Posted: 03 Jun 2010 10:11 PM PDT Did you know that June is National Bathroom Reading Month? Naturally, our pals at the Bathroom Reader Institute are overjoyed. To thank their loyal readers, Uncle John is rolling out two neat things: 1) Uncle John’s Father Day Sale: 30% off everything in their online store, plus free shipping on orders above $35. 2) A very cool National Scavenger Hunt, where you can win a shiny new Apple iPad and 10 Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader books of your choice (autographed, too!). Watch out every day for clues and tasks on their blog, Facebook page, and Twitter stream, and email the answers by July 5. Details here. And yes, if you notice, the first question has something to do with Neatorama So get going and check ‘em out! (And be sure to follow the rules closely) – Thanks Mana!

The Surprising Sophistication of a Caterpillar Tent Posted: 03 Jun 2010 08:38 PM PDT This is the time of year when tent caterpillars make their presence known; emerging from eggs that have overwintered on tree branches, the caterpillars’ first task in the spring is to create a tent.  Most people don’t realize that these tents are quite elaborate solar energy stuctures that allow the caterpillars to optimize their body temperatures. The tent of the eastern tent caterpillar is among the largest built by any tent caterpillar. The tents are constructed in the crotch of the host tree and are typically oriented so that the broadest face of the structure faces the southeast, taking advantage of the morning sun… The silk is laid down under slight tension and it eventually contracts, causing the newly spun layer of silk to separate from the previously spun layer… Light has a great effect on the caterpillars while they are spinning and they always spin the majority of their silk on the most illuminated face of the tent. Indeed, if under experimental conditions the dominant light source is directed at the tent from below, the caterpillars will build their tent upside down… Eastern tent caterpillars are among the earliest of caterpillars to appear in the spring. Because the early spring weather is often cold, the caterpillars rely on the heat of the sun to elevate their body temperatures to levels that allow them to digest their food… The tents act as miniature glass houses, trapping the heat of the morning sun and allowing the caterpillars to warm more quickly than they would if they remained outside the tent. Studies have shown that basking, aggregated caterpillars can achieve temperature excesses of as much as 44°C. For a less sanguine view of tent caterpillars, see this rant at the Seattle Times. Link.

I Wanna Bento All Night Posted: 03 Jun 2010 08:25 PM PDT Open your lunchbox and look who’s looking back at you! Susan Yuen of Hawai`i’s Bento Box Cookbook made this Gene Simmons box lunch of rice, chicken, and seaweed. The tongue is made of boloney! Link -Thanks, Brennan!

This Cemetery Will Really Make Your Skin Crawl Posted: 03 Jun 2010 06:33 PM PDT If cemeteries in general give you the chills this place is really going to freak you out. Web spinning caterpillars have taken over a cemetery in the United Kingdom. They are believed to be bird cherry tree ermine moths.  These types of caterpillars form communal webs.  They later turn into white moths with black dots. Nova Bickmore, 69, could not believe the sight when she visited her father’s grave. She said: 'There were thousand upon thousand of caterpillars and a silk web all over the trees, which had no leaves left. 'Some of the caterpillars were hanging down from the trees and others were all over the floor. 'It was a really ghostly scene.'  In their caterpillar stage, the bugs, known as web worms, weave leaves of trees together and eat them from their nests. Link (photo: Peter Lawson/ Eastnews Press Agency Ltd)

Another New Neatoramanaut! Posted: 03 Jun 2010 06:26 PM PDT I just found out about another blessed event that occurred on Monday of this week. Neatorama author John Farrier (who runs NeatoGeek) and his wife welcomed baby Sophia! Then for some reason, he got busy and didn’t tell us. John referred to her as “my newest little Ferengi” (although she is much prettier than any Ferengi could hope to be). Congratulations to mom, dad, and the whole family!

Computer Simulation Shows that Giraffes Can Swim Posted: 03 Jun 2010 05:49 PM PDT No one has ever seen a giraffe swim. But a computer simulation run by two researchers suggests that they probably can: Creating a digital giraffe involved numerous calculations on weight, mass, size, shape, lung capacity and centre of gravity. Calculations were made to discover rotation dynamics, flotation dynamics and the external surface area of both a giraffe and – for control purposes – a horse. The authors found that a full-sized adult giraffe would become buoyant in 2.8metres of water. Giraffes can wade across bodies of water that are shallower. Link via Geekosystem | Photo: NASA

Meet the Last Generation of Typewriter Repairmen Posted: 03 Jun 2010 05:41 PM PDT If there’s a profession that is almost certainly on its way out, it’s that of the typewriter repairman. John Snyder of Wired, writing for Gizmodo, visited three San Francisco area typewriter repair shops to examine the end of a machine and a trade: California Typewriter Company is the quintessential family business, employing proprietor Herb Permillion (above), his daughter Carmen, and his mother Nita. Although Carmen works in the business, her father believes that the craft of typewriter repair will not survive into the next generation. “Once we go,” he says, “we’re taking it with us.”[...] California Typewriter Company works on both vintage and modern office equipment, but surprisingly, over the last 10 years, the sale and repair of manual typewriters has constituted an increasing share of their business. Most of the people buying the older machines are under 35, the company reports, and are mostly people looking for an interesting gift or a decorative conversation piece. In addition, girls under 12 have become a significant market, following the example of the titular character of the recent movie Kit Kittredge: American Girl, who frequently uses a typewriter. California Typewriter Company also worked on machines for celebrity clients including Danielle Steele and Tom Hanks, and sold a replacement ribbon to Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. Link | Photo: NIH

The Newest Neatoramanaut! Posted: 03 Jun 2010 04:55 PM PDT Congratulations to Neatorama author Stacy Conradt (Stacy Bee) and her husband, who welcomed their first child Lydia Louise into the world yesterday! Lydia weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. Mother and baby are fine, and Lydia’s parents and grandparents are as proud as punch! You can see a couple more pictures at NeatoBambino.

Cancer Vaccine Research Shows Progress in Lab Mice Posted: 03 Jun 2010 03:40 PM PDT Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have developed a protein that makes laboratory mice highly resistant to breast cancer: Cancer vaccines, unlike traditional vaccines, are generally designed to arm the immune system with the tools to fight a certain existing disease or cancer-causing virus, rather than directly prevent cancer from developing. But researchers have found a protein manufactured in cancerous breast cells that primes the immune system to attack tumor cells themselves and prevent the growth of tumors altogether. In mice that had been pre-engineered to develop breast cancer, an injection of the protein stopped the cancer from ever forming. Healthy lactating cells produce the protein as well, and as such it could one day provide a vaccine that prevents breast cancer in non-lactating women. Link | Photo: USDA | Previously: DNA Vaccine Tattoo

If Movies Followed Their Original Casting Posted: 03 Jun 2010 11:22 AM PDT Wild Ammo photoshopped seventeen movie posters to reflect original casting preferences. O.J. Simpson as the Terminator? Yes: “The head of Orion, who were going to release the film, called me up and said, ‘Are you sitting down? I’ve cast this movie. … It’s O.J. Simpson for The Terminator,’” Cameron said. Luckily for Schwarzenegger — and perhaps the public — this sounded like a recipe for titanic failure to the director. “I said, ‘This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,’” Cameron said. “I didn’t know O.J. Simpson, I had nothing against him personally. I didn’t know he was going to go murder his wife later and become a real Terminator.” Yup, Simpson was almost the Terminator. Who knows how the course of human history would have been affected if this had become a reality. Link via Sci Fi Wire – Original WildAmmo post here.

Upside-down Starfish Posted: 03 Jun 2010 11:04 AM PDT (YouTube link) What happens when you turn a starfish upside down? This nine-legged starfish couldn’t have been too happy about the experiment, but he had a good recovery plan. -via Bits and Pieces

The 16 Most Bizarrely Banned Books Posted: 03 Jun 2010 10:43 AM PDT Many famous books (especially those critical of government or people in power) have been banned in various countries and at various times, but here are 16 cases of books banned for bizarre reasons, often in head scratching locales. Take Candide, banned in 1929 in Boston: So why was the book seized in America in 1929? Surely, at that point, we were okay with making snide remarks about the jesuits? Apparently customs in Boston disagreed, stopping the book from reaching a Harvard french class on the grounds of it being "obscene". The official who made the decision to capture the novel said "… But about 'Candide,' I'll tell you. For years we've been letting that book get by. There were so many different editions, all sizes and kinds, some illustrated and some plain, that we figured the book must be all right. Then one of us happened to read it. It's a filthy book …" Link From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by redsfaithful.

TV University Faculty Roster Posted: 03 Jun 2010 09:58 AM PDT If pop culture had its own university, we’d have many experts on the faculty -and quite a few that will give you a laugh. Pictured here are just a few of the science department staff. Wait until you see who’s in law! Click to enlarge the picture at the link and you’ll get the full roster. I heard that the original chart was developed at 4chan’s /tv/ board, so it may have many creators. Link -via reddit

Early 1900s in Colour Posted: 03 Jun 2010 09:57 AM PDT Color photographs from up to 100 years ago! See pictures from the archives of Albert Kahn, who had collected 180,000 black and white photos and 72,000 autochrome plates by 1929. Autochrome was an early method of putting color into photos, involving potato starch in primary colors. It was first used by the Lumière brothers  in 1907. Link -via Metafilter (Image credit: Musée Albert-Kahn)

Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man Posted: 03 Jun 2010 09:09 AM PDT (Video Link) Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man is the best short film I’ve ever seen. It’s simply outstanding storytelling. Brandon McCormick took L. Frank Baum’s backstory for the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz and told it in twenty-three minutes of film. The Tin Man was once a young man of flesh and blood, in love with a young maiden, until he lost both his humanity and his love. via Nerdcore | Previously: A Filmmaker’s Reflections

What Is It? Game 141 Posted: 03 Jun 2010 07:56 AM PDT W00t! It’s time for this week’s collaboration with the always amazing What is it? Blog. Can you guess what this strange device above is used for? Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many guesses as you’d like. Post no web links or URLs – doing so will invalidate your entry. You have until the answer is revealed on the What Is It? Blog tomorrow. As usual, we have two prizes: the first correct guess and the funniest yet ultimately wrong guess will win a neat item from the NeatoShop. You can select from the Newly Listed category – anything $20 or under. IMPORTANT: Please write your prize selection alongside your guess, so visit the NeatoShop and take a look around, mmkay? If you don’t write your prize selection, then you don’t get the prize. For more clues, check out the What Is It? Blog. Good luck!

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