Neatorama

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• The Odd History of the Word "OK"
• Literary Legos
• Fruit Roll-Ups as Camera Filters
• Mama Sloth Cuddles Newborn Baby Sloth
• Cupcake Bath Bomb
• When You Write Your Essays in Programming Languages
• This Week at Neatorama
• Earliest Surviving Monopoly Game Sells For £90,000
• In This Video Game, Say Outloud "Pew Pew Pew" to Fire Your Weapon
• Andrew Myers' Screw Portraits
• Bauhaus-Style Doghouse

The Odd History of the Word "OK" Posted: 26 Feb 2011 05:44 PM PST Allan Metcalf has recently written a book about the history of the word “okay” (in its various spellings). He has summarized his findings in an article for the BBC. This word, Metcalf argues, is phonetically structured in such a way that gave it the ability to easily transcend linguistic boundaries: So both in speech and in writing OK stands out clearly, easily distinguished from other words, and yet it uses simple sounds that are familiar to a multitude of languages. Almost every language has an O vowel, a K consonant, and an A vowel. So OK is a very distinctive combination of very familiar elements. And that’s one reason it’s so successful. OK stands apart. Ordinarily a word so odd, so distinctive from others, wouldn’t be allowed in a language to begin with. As a general rule, a language allows new words only when they resemble familiar ones. Metcalf’s article briefly traces the development of the word, but also states his claim of its true origin: On 23 March 1839, OK was introduced to the world on the second page of the Boston Morning Post, in the midst of a long paragraph, as “o.k. (all correct)”. Link via First Things | Photo by Flickr user A National Acrobat used under Creative Commons license

Literary Legos Posted: 26 Feb 2011 05:12 PM PST Is there anything that hasn’t been created from Lego bricks? Fine Clonier ran a contest  that invited people to create historical figures out of Legos. Mark Twain  above was the overall contest winner. Bookalicious recently posted some of the literary figures featured in the contest. Link - Via Bookalicious

Fruit Roll-Ups as Camera Filters Posted: 26 Feb 2011 12:21 PM PST Photographer John Crane went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park and captured pictures of ice formations. At one point, he realized that he needed a green filter to get a certain shot just right. But Crane didn’t have one. He did, however, have a Fruit Roll-Up (a kind of sugary snack) in his pocket: Behind the flow there was a nice little cave carved out, full of tiny wonders. Between climbing we were in there geeking out shooting pics and I was trying to get the right mood on the ceiling of the cave. I’d brought my SB-600, SB-800 and SU-800 and was running wireless off the D3S. Crazy white balance adjustment wasn’t getting it done, and in my effort to (for once) minimize the kit brought to keep the pack light, flash accessories were limited. The ceiling of the cave was full of a beautiful, green, soft moss and “Lord of the Rings” style blades of pure, crystal-clear, perfectly smooth ice. “Wish I had a green gel…” I said. And that’s when it happened; the flash of synergistic genius fired. “What about one of your fruit roll-ups?” Ben said. I looked at him for a moment and thought hey-great idea. Link via CrunchGear

Mama Sloth Cuddles Newborn Baby Sloth Posted: 26 Feb 2011 10:32 AM PST (Video Link) A two-toed sloth was recently born at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Baby loves Mama and Mama clearly loves Baby very much. via Super Punch

Cupcake Bath Bomb Posted: 26 Feb 2011 07:41 AM PST Cupcake Bath Bomb – $9.95 The Cupcake Bath Bomb from the NeatoShop, because you are cupcake crazy! Do you love cupcakes so much that you secretly wish you could bathe in their sweet smelling goodness?  No, we don’t think you are weird. In fact, the Cupcake Bath Bomb from the NeatoShop was made for someone just like you. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more bath and body products.

When You Write Your Essays in Programming Languages Posted: 26 Feb 2011 07:10 AM PST Those who spend most of their time programming in a certain language may find that it’s hard to shift gears to write a paper in English (or some other language non-geeks understand) for a class. “When you write your essays in programming languages, you really can’t have any typos.” See the rest of eight programming languages at Something of That Ilk.  Link -via Geeks Are Sexy

This Week at Neatorama Posted: 26 Feb 2011 06:26 AM PST As we welcome March this week, aren’t you glad spring is in sight? This is the first time the Neatobot has not been dressed up for a holiday in over two months! Of course, we have Mardi Gras, St. Patricks Day, and Easter to look forward to. And while you’re enjoying one of the last winter weekends, catch up on what you might have missed at Neatorama. John Farrier looked up 18 Facts You Might Not Know about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Phil Haney took a look at the Wildest Secession Movements in The United States. For Presidents Day, we brought you A Sitting President’s Memorial, courtesy of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. The folks at the Annals of Improbable Research wondered why everything Tastes Like Chicken? Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five came to us from mental_floss magazine. Over at NeatoBambino, you can see all kinds of cute and amazing kids on video, such as the very talented Maria Aragon doing her lovely version of Lady Gaga’s new song. In the What Is It? game this week, grape_ape knew the right answer: the object in question is a brass paper folder, used by pharmacists to wrap powdered medicines before tablets became common. You’ll find a more detailed explanation and more examples of such devices at the What Is It? blog answer page. The funniest answer came from Swami, who said, “It’s a “First Step” made by Duzee,Inc. Plainfield, MA, circa 1892. Yep, that first step is a Duzee.” Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop! You got a chance to Name That Weird Invention! on Monday. There were a lot of very clever names submitted this week. First prize goes to pismonque for Geri-Go-Round. Second prize goes to Haring Wati, who was the first to submit the name Car-ousel. Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop! Other names that deserve a second look include: Geriatric lazy susan, Senior roulette seat, Mobile oldies dispenser, Spinster, Seat-or-rama, Roadtisserie, Geriatric Gyro, Geri-sel, and THE OLDS-MOBILE! There are more ways to get your Neatorama fix: If you aren’t checking our Facebook page every day, you’re missing out on extra content, contests, discussions, and links you won’t find here. Also, our Twitter feed will keep you updated on what’s going around the web in real time.

Earliest Surviving Monopoly Game Sells For £90,000 Posted: 26 Feb 2011 06:24 AM PST This round board made from oilcloth is one of 5000 made by Charles Darrow in 1933. This is the only circular Darrow Monopoly game known to still exist. It is hand coloured in pen and ink and the pieces are made of wood moulding. Darrow based his game on  political activist Lizzie Magie’s Landlord’s Game which she created to point out social injustice at the turn of the last century. Darrow produced his game, set in Atlantic City, during the Great Depression when he was out of work and had a family to support. He sold the rights to Monopoly to Parker Brothers Games in 1934, putting an end to his financial worries. Link

In This Video Game, Say Outloud "Pew Pew Pew" to Fire Your Weapon Posted: 26 Feb 2011 06:12 AM PST (Video Link) Incredible Ape, a company consisting of Josh Schonstal and Ian Brock, developed a computer game called Pew Pew Pew. It’s a simple shooting game. When you need to fire your weapon, just say into the microphone “pew pew pew”. The above video is from a demonstration at Global Game Jam 2011. Link via DVICE

Andrew Myers' Screw Portraits Posted: 26 Feb 2011 05:58 AM PST Artist Andrew Myers drives screws at varying depths into plywood and paints them, creating unique 3D images: “For me, I consider this a traditional sculpture and all my screws are at different depths,” he said. “There’s nothing planned out. I draw out a figure on the board and figure out the depths. “The real challenge comes when the sculpture is done and I have to get rid of the flat drawing. It’s hard because of the screws — you can’t get a brush behind them. I did figure out a way to do it, but I’m keeping it a secret.” Link via Flavorwire | Artist’s Website | Photo: Baldemar Fierro Photography

Bauhaus-Style Doghouse Posted: 26 Feb 2011 05:47 AM PST Surely you don’t want your dog to live in some bourgeois Cape Cod style house, do you? That’s so old fashioned. Try the CUBIX Modern Dog House instead: The Cubix Dog Mansion by German company Best Friend's was designed to pay homage to the Bauhaus style. The raised roof and rectangular windows are nice architectural details, that will make any modern furniture lover's pet feel right at home. Clear lines, puristic colors, glass cladding: Following the connotative Bauhaus architecture spacious Cubix offers lots of light and room for small and big dogs. Link via The Presurfer | Photo: AnimalsLook

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