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2011/04/29

Neatorama

Neatorama

The 11 Coolest and Weirdest Tumblr Blogs

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 05:23 AM PDT

While there are plenty of bizarre Blogger and Word Press pages, the number of off-the-wall Tumblr accounts is a little astonishing. I don't know what it is about Tumblr, as opposed to all the other blog programs out there, but something about it just seems to inspire people to create some of the weirdest sites around the net. Here are a few of my favorite strange, niche and just plain silly Tumblr blogs.

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich:

Perhaps one of the strangest Tumblr blogs around, Selleck Waterfall Sandwich is exclusively dedicated to three things: Tom Selleck, waterfalls and sandwiches.  You'll be amazed just how many ways these three things can come together in an image.

Citation Needed:

Have you ever seen a citation needed tag on Wikipedia and thought, "really, they need a citation for that?" Well, that’s the whole point of Citation Needed. One of my personal favorites on the site is this gem, “The band March Hare is named after the March Hare. [citation needed]" Unfortunately, many of the funny bits on this site are removed from Wikipedia, making Citation Needed the only archive of such comments.

Hungover Owls:

There's a reason owls are nocturnal creatures –they're too hung over to be awake during the day. But while hungover humans tend to look downright disgusting, Hungover Owls look absolutely adorable –in a slobbish, grumpy and tired kind of way.

Captcha Art:

Have you ever read a captcha and laughed at how humorously the words seemed to go together? Captcha Art asks you to take a screenshot of the captcha and then submit your artistic interpretation of the message.

Kid Casting:

Whenever a television show or movie needs to do a flashback that involves the main character as a child, they have to cast a child that looks like the main actor. Sometimes they do such a spot on job that you really do believe the two are related. Other times, you can't help but giggle. Kid Casting makes it easy to compare the kids casted as the flashback versions and the adults who played the main characters. I think my favorite has to be this one of Tina Fey and Alex Baldwin's flashback kids from 30 Rock.

Caught Dead In That:

If you think there is nothing funny about death, then you're not going to be a fan of Caught Dead In That. While it may sound like a fashion blog, the site is decidedly more morbid, dedicated exclusively to  humorous tombstones.

Godzilla Haiku:

As the name implies, Godzilla Haiku combines two great Japanese classics –Gozilla (and other budget monster movies) and haikus.

Awkward Stock Photos:

Most people only see stock images that have actually been purchased to illustrate some kind of idea or feeling, but the people who make stock images work to ensure there is an image out there for just about any conceivable notion. As a result, there are a lot of seriously strange stock photos with no apparent use other than humoring the people who read Awkward Stock Photos. Personally, I like to make up completely logical captions for these images in my head.

Garfield Minus Garfield:

Without Garfield, these comic strips seem to depict a sad, lonely man who has taken to talking to himself rather than trying to meet people in the real world. Almost every post on Garfield Minus Garfield is surprisingly depressing, and that’s what makes it so funny.

Panda Loves To Party:

Panda Loves to Party is one of my favorite Tumblr blogs as it is loaded with adorable images of pandas celebrating. Before seeing this blog, I had no idea that pandas were such party animals or that zoos made so many darn ice cakes just for cute black and white bears.

Hotties From History:

Whatever physical traits get you going, Hotties From History is sure to have someone from an era long gone that you would have fancied. Aside from the obvious physical characteristics, the author also makes sure to include any extra tidbit that could help add to your crush.

What do you guys think? Is it just a coincidence these are all on Tumblr or is their something about the site that caters to strange sites? Also, feel free to share any of your favorite strange blogs in the comments (even if they aren't Tumblr specific).

Twitter Fail Whale Wall Graphic

Posted: 29 Apr 2011 03:00 AM PDT

Twitter Fail Whale Wall Graphic

Fans of Twitter can now get the (in)famous Fail Whale error message image as a 3-foot wall graphic. The print has been authorized by the original artist, Yiying Lu.

And here he is in full color, high resolution glory. His pudgy cuteness is printed on space-age, self-adhesive, repositionable fabric paper printed with eco-solvent digital inks.

That’s right, you don’t need any nails, tacks, glue, or professionals to hang him up; just peel and stick.

Link (and here’s Neatorama at Twitter)

TomTom GPS Sends Your Speed to The Cops

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 07:08 PM PDT

 

It's bad enough worrying about the police pulling you over while you're doing your Vin Diesel  in The Fast and Furious impression on the interstate.   Now however you have real reason to be paranoid. The makers of the TomTom GPS have admitted that they divulge  speed and route information to law enforcement.

It appears every gadget in your possession is tracking your location. First it was the iPhone, then Android phones and now it’s your bleedin’ sat-nav. TomTom, perhaps in a pre-emptive strike against its own user-tracking scandal, has admitted its sat-navs can track users and inform third parties about how fast they’re going.

Link

Star Trek's White and Nerdy

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 06:48 PM PDT


(YouTube link)

The video edit set to Weird Al Yankovic’s “White and Nerdy” makes it clear that the song is really about Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. -via mental_floss

Anatomical Dress

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 06:43 PM PDT

Rachel Wright made a few dresses from vintage slips and nightgowns that depict the anatomy of the wearer. She’s doing so to express an intersection of public and private lives:

The Dream Anatomy series explore these imagined realms inside the body. Because these garments are meant to be worn, the boundary between the internal and the external is blurred. The invisible is made visible: wear your inside on the outside. By using women's slips and nighties, articles that were not originally intended for public life, I am playiing with the line between the public and the private arenas.

Link via Craft | Artist’s Website

A Visual History of The Computer Mouse

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 05:29 PM PDT

With touch screen technology taking over much of the way we interact with computers it's fun to remember how we used our clunky old trackballs to scroll through AOL message boards. The Visual History of The Computer Mouse illustrates this evolution. Link

United States of the Environment

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 04:45 PM PDT

See link for full graphic.

As if we need more things to fight over in America these info graphics will be sure to help in the age old argument "my state is better than your state."  These two maps of the USA have interesting environmental facts on "How does your state excel?" such as California has the most acres of organic farmland and "How does your state not excel?" revealing California also has the most smog.  I'm sure all that smog will make for some delicious organic California oranges.  Link

Baby Duck vs. Dog

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 04:19 PM PDT


(Video Link)

The baby duck is definitely winning. In fact, he’s toying with the dog, as though pushing him around takes no real effort. Com’on dog, your ancestors were wolves. Man up.

via Ace of Spades HQ

Chewbacca 9" Talking Plush

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 04:14 PM PDT

Chewbacca 9″ Talking Plush – $25.95

Do you wish you could cuddle up with Chewbacca? Well now you can with the Chewbacca 9″ Talking Plush from the NeatoShop.  This little guy is extra cute, because when you push his belly he roars.

Be sure to check out all the amazing Star Wars items available at the NeatoShop!

Heart Plunging Machine

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 02:16 PM PDT

After one man went into cardiac arrest and his family successfully performed CPR on him with a toilet plunger, Advanced Circulator Systems developed the ResQPump. It’s a machine that regulates chest compressions and airflow during the resuscitation process:

According to a study published in The Lancet this winter, the ResQPump, which is used for chest compressions, and the ResQPOD, which prevents too much air from entering the lungs during CPR, could increase certain cardiac-arrest victims' chances of survival by 50 percent.

The ResQPump works like a toilet plunger, but while decompressing it can draw air back into the lungs. The ResQPOD, cleared by the FDA in 2003, regulates airflow by creating suction in the chest, which draws blood up into the brain.

Link | Photo: Advanced Circulatory Systems

Previously: CPR Certification at Home with the Nintendo Wii

Dino Planters

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 02:07 PM PDT

This is really cute! Etsy seller PlaidPigeon modified plastic dinosaur toys so that they’d serve as planters. This one is Rick the Dilophosaurus with a Zebra Haworthia Succulent growing in his back.

Link via Dude Craft

New Beard Style: The Monkeytail

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 02:02 PM PDT

Is this brilliant or stupid? Or is the brilliance such that it is indistinguishable from stupidity? Should we force Alex to grow one? Let us ponder these issues.

Link via Geekologie | Photo: The Monkey Tail

Wookiee the Chew in Burned Wood

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 01:53 PM PDT

The marvelous artist James Hance loves to mash up pop culture themes, particularly Star Wars and Winnie the Pooh. Here’s one of his recent projects showing Wookiee the Chew walking into the sunset, followed by Piglet D2. At the link, you can view another piece of burned wood showing Eeyore as an AT-AT.

Link | Artist’s Website

Awful Taxidermy

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 01:45 PM PDT

Crappy Taxidermy is a photo blog devoted to highlighting the worst works of taxidermy, such as this Santa Fe diesel locomotive. Someone bagged a 16-point buck. That’s pretty good!

Link via Doobybrain

Can You Convince A Birther That He's Wrong?

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:08 PM PDT

Okay. So President Obama recently released his long-form birth certificate to quell the Birthers’ speculation that he’s not a natural-born citizen of the United States. But that’s not the topic of this post (indeed, I’m sure you’ve seen it elsewhere around the Web ad nauseam).

The topic of this post is this: even after the release of the very document they demanded, the most hardcore Birthers are still unconvinced. In fact, proving them wrong only served to strengthen their initial belief (what social psychologists call "cognitive dissonance.")

So, can you make a skeptic believe? Yes, according to Dan Kahan of Yale Cognition Project: all you need is a little justification to save the skeptic’s ego.

Gregory Ferenstein of Fast Company explains:

The techniques boil down to allowing partisans to maintain their political philosophy in the midst of accepting new facts. For instance, for "small government" conservatives, or what the YCC calls "individualists," it’s strategically important to highlight the power of competition and the ineptitude of government. Namely, "Obama’s rightful fear of losing in the 2012 election forced him to come clean with his birth certificate, though this is just another illustration that government can’t do things in the timely manner."

Regardless of your political beliefs, it’s a fascinating read. And please mention bananas in the comment: Link

The $24 Million Book on Amazon

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:07 PM PDT

Sellers usually try to price their wares cheaper than their competitors, to make them more attractive to buyers. That’s how you get price wars.

But the strategy can be very different for rare goods, where price is usually not the limiting factor. Here’s the strange tale of how The Making of a Fly, a scientific textbook by Peter Lawrence, came to fetch almost $24 million.

Michael Eisen of it is NOT junk blog discovered this strange phenomenon, which was caused by Amazon’s algorithmic pricing:

A few weeks ago a postdoc in my lab logged on to Amazon to buy the lab an extra copy of Peter Lawrence’s The Making of a Fly – a classic work in developmental biology that we – and most other Drosophila developmental biologists – consult regularly. The book, published in 1992, is out of print. But Amazon listed 17 copies for sale: 15 used from $35.54, and 2 new from $1,730,045.91 (+$3.99 shipping). [...]

On the day we discovered the million dollar prices, the copy offered by bordeebook was1.270589 times the price of the copy offered by profnath. And now the bordeebook copy was 1.270589 times profnath again. So clearly at least one of the sellers was setting their price algorithmically in response to changes in the other’s price. I continued to watch carefully and the full pattern emerged.

Once a day profnath set their price to be 0.9983 times bordeebook’s price. The prices would remain close for several hours, until bordeebook “noticed” profnath’s change and elevated their price to 1.270589 times profnath’s higher price. The pattern continued perfectly for the next week.

Link (The price issue has been fixed) – via Wired

Nyan Violin

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:05 PM PDT

Remember Nyan Cat, the awesomeness we unleashed on all you unsuspecting web users? Well, Neatoramanaut Sarah Hubbard took it to the next level with her violin. Presenting … Nyan Violin! Thanks Sarah!


[YouTube Clip]

Angry Bird Cupcakes

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:05 PM PDT

Sub-standard gaming-inspired confectionery got you angry? Don’t get mad – get these cute Angry Bird cupcakes instead! From the Brazilian baker Cupcake.Ito: Link – Thanks özi!

The Kraken Faucet

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:04 PM PDT

Italian sink and plumbing fixture company Ritmonio called this the Dumbo Steel kitchen faucet, but I prefer its nickname, the Kraken Faucet! Check out this gallery of 36 funky faucets over at Di Vapor: Link – Thanks Jennifer Laithwaite!

Catwoman Mimobot

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 11:52 AM PDT

Catwoman Mimobot (2G) – $22.95

Are you still looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift? Well, search no more! You need the Catwoman Mimobot (2G) from the NeatoShop.  This little flash drive is fierce just like Mom!

Be sure to check out all the fabulous Computer Gadgets available at the NeatoShop!

Super Mario Propaganda

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 11:28 AM PDT

If you are a fan of the classic Super Mario Bros franchise, you might have always wondered how the evil Bowser recruited and maintained such a strong army of Koopas, Goombas and those annoying Mario eating plants. It turns out he uses some slick World War II style propaganda posters! Link

Other Single Princes

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 11:10 AM PDT

Now that Prince William is getting hitched, who will young girls dream about? Buzzfeed rounded up eleven young princes from all over who have yet to sweep a princess off her feet and take her to live happily ever after. If I were thirty years younger… Pictured is Prince Carl Philip of Sweden. Sweden is a nice country. Link

A Fast Car Birthday

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 10:57 AM PDT

Rachel Gilbert recently celebrated her 100th birthday -by indulging in her need for speed. Gilbert, of Laconia, New Hampshire, took a spin around the track in a pace car at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in honor of her birthday.

As part of this ultimate birthday celebration Gilbert and her family will receive suite passes overlooking "The Magic Mile," where they will enjoy every lap of the LENOX Industrial Tools 301.

Gilbert will also have the opportunity to rub elbows with the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during the Sunday morning drivers' meeting.

The longtime race fan was surprised with this once in a lifetime opportunity from her family and Gappens. When told she would be riding around the speedway in the pace car, she was ready to leave for Loudon immediately.

Included in her birthday package was a race car cake, an official LENOX Industrial Tools 301 hat, NHMS jacket and birthday card. Her favorite driver Carl Edwards even signed and sent an official crew shirt and birthday wishes.

"My mom has always been a major race fan. She doesn't miss a race on TV," says daughter Marie Anne Mills.

Gilbert has been a fan of auto racing for over 50 years, and the folks at the track appreciate her. Link -via Fark

Did You Read the Article?

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 10:40 AM PDT

Ars technica published a post about a hot button issue entitled “Guns at home more likely to be used stupidly than in self-defense.” After a couple of dozen comments came in, the fifth-to-the-last paragraph was edited to say:

That’s the bad news. In the limited scope of the review, the primary positive effect assigned to guns is deterrence, and, more specifically, deterrence against violence. Although, “Results suggest that self-defense gun use may be the best method for preventing property loss,” this doesn’t count from a public health perspective. And that’s only the start of the problems; as the National Academies of Science noted in a report quoted by the author, “self-defense is an ambiguous term.” As Hemenway himself puts it, “Unlike deaths or woundings, where the definitions are clear and one needs to only count the bodies, what constitutes a self-defense gun use and whether it was successful may depend on who is telling the story.” If you have read this far, please mention Bananas in your comment below. We’re pretty sure 90% of the respondants to this story won’t even read it first.

Finally, on the third page of comments, someone mentioned bananas. Redditor metageeek took a screenshot of the comments. Things got even sillier after that, with some readers mentioning bananas used as weapons, and other commenters totally confused. How about you? Do you ever comment without reading an entire post? Link -via reddit

Boat Abandoned at Intersection

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 10:36 AM PDT

A motorist in Bülach, Switzerland, was towing a boat behind his vehicle and came to a stop at a stop light. When the car continued, the boat became unhitched and was left sitting at the intersection!

One witness said: “As the car drove off, the boat just stayed there and the driver didn’t seem to even notice. The other drivers were pretty shocked, but police caught the guy who’d been towing it and escorted him back so he could tow it away.”

Link -via Arbroath

How to Build Escher's Impossible Waterfall

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 09:39 AM PDT

Remember the video of the impossible waterfall? Even after you saw how it was done, you were still impressed. Now Instructables has step-by-step instructions for you to make your own 3D version of the famous illusion! It’s not exactly simple, but it can be done. And if you can pull it off, you’ll flummox everyone who sees it. Link -via Boing Boing

Music Painting

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 07:57 AM PDT


(YouTube link)

Music by Matteo Negrin is illustrated on a music staff, becoming more and more creative as it goes along. -Thanks, Muzition!

What Is It? game 175

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 06:44 AM PDT

It’s time for our collaboration with the always amusing What Is It? Blog. Can you guess what the pictured item is? Great guesses win prizes!

Place your guess in the comment section below. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Post no URLs or weblinks, as doing so will forfeit your entry. Two winners: the first correct guess and the funniest (albeit ultimately wrong) guess will win T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your guess. If you don’t include a selection, you forfeit the prize, okay? May we suggest the Science T-Shirt, Funny T-Shirt and Artist-Designed T-Shirts?

For more photos of this object, check out the What Is It? Blog. Good luck!

Kate Middleton for the Win

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 06:31 AM PDT

I’m not particularly enamored of the Royal Wedding, but with the press reaching a fever pitch this week, it’s hard not to get caught up in it a little bit. “Kate Middleton for the Win” is a tongue-in-cheek Tumblr about Kate’s poshness and how she’s maybe just a little bit smug about the fact that she’s getting married to a prince tomorrow.

Link via Love at First Shop

Computer Love

Posted: 28 Apr 2011 05:31 AM PDT


(Video link)

Sean Ohlenkamp, an associate creative director from Toronto, Canada, placed a folder on the desktop of his wife’s computer to celebrate their third anniversary.

via Nerdcore
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