Neatorama

---

• Earth Rotating Against the Stars
• What Is This Tool Used For?
• The $100,000 Room
• Sharp Act Knife Sharpener
• TRON: Legacy Aerosol Mural and Light Graffiti
• Would You Adopt The Most Evil Dog Ever?
• Budgie Balancing on a Ball
• Brochure for a University Criminology Course
• Can the DIY Community Save RadioShack?
• Slow Motion Video of Hummingbird Feeding
• The Skull Tower
• Bath Tub Buggy
• High-Tech Beauty Don't: LED Eyeshadow
• Tea with Stephen Fry and Lady Gaga
• Moose Head Mobile Phone Stand
• The Milkable Male Goat of Brazil
• The Chemistry of Building Burgers
• Seriously Freaky Caterpillars
• This Week at Neatorama

Earth Rotating Against the Stars Posted: 29 May 2011 05:16 AM PDT (YouTube link) One thing we should always remember is that the the earth is spinning around while the stars stay relatively constant in the sky. YouTube member bulletpeople took a beautiful existing time-lapse video of the stars and edited it to show the stars as static in the sky, which highlights the rotation of the earth. -via reddit

What Is This Tool Used For? Posted: 28 May 2011 12:28 PM PDT If you take a look at a catalog of tools for a specialized craft, you might be amazed at the vast number of specialized pieces of equipment available that you’ve never heard of. This tool, for example, is a perforation gauge. It’s used by stamp collectors to measure the gaps left by tear marks in postage stamps. Link via Swiss Miss | Photo: Harris Co.

The $100,000 Room Posted: 28 May 2011 11:40 AM PDT When German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann won $100,000 from the Biennial Hugo Boss Prize, which awards achievement in contemporary art, he decided to give back in this peculiarly fascinating art: Feldmann decided to give back to the museum in a unique way. He used the money to create an installation that involved tacking one-hundred thousand dollar bills to the large gallery off the Frank Lloyd Wright ramp! “I’m 70 years old, and I began making art in the ’50s,” Mr. Feldmann shares. “At that time there was no money in the art world. Money and art didn’t exist. So for me, $100,000 is very special. It’s incredible really. And I would like to show the quantity of it.” It took about thirteen days to complete the installation with out-of-circulation bills. More at My Modern Met: Link

Sharp Act Knife Sharpener Posted: 28 May 2011 11:39 AM PDT Sharp Act Knife Sharpener – $11.95 Do you know a magician in the kitchen?  Get them the Sharp Act Knife Sharpener from the NeatoShop.  Everyone will be in awe of this fabulous knife sharpener shaped like the sawing a woman in half magic illusion. It’s such a great gift you might even get a standing ovation. Link | Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more amazing Cooking Gadgets!

TRON: Legacy Aerosol Mural and Light Graffiti Posted: 28 May 2011 11:38 AM PDT To promote TRON: Legacy, Walt Disney Studio commissioned Jim Vision of End of the Line (in association with Distillery Productions and Toby Summerskill) to paint a truly epic mural. Here’s the epic making of video clip (be sure to see the end for the "light graffiti" by rezine): Link – via Albotas

Would You Adopt The Most Evil Dog Ever? Posted: 28 May 2011 11:37 AM PDT Pig farmer Tem Sosa of Norfolk, UK, is giving away her pet border collie, "Evil Bob." Problem is, Bob has little redeeming quality, as this hilariously frank advertisement in the website Preloved clearly states: Evil Bob would love to find the perfect home as i have put up with him for nearly 10 years and cant take much more! He is probably the worst dog you will ever meet! He started life as a failed mountain rescue dog, probably peed on the climber and stole their kendal mint cake! He has caused nothing but trouble here as doesn’t fit well with large group of dogs.He looks older than his years,has wonky teeth,bad breath and bad attitude.He would love one on one attention. He is terrified of cats,snaps at horses heels and nips pigs.He should not be left unsupervised indoors as he steals food off the side,licks the cooker and pees at terrier hight so as not to get the blame! His few good qualities are that he travels quietly in the car, will lay under your desk at work all day,sits quite tidy.Is good with children (as long as he has nt got his lipstick out)! I am open to any suggestions! he would be perfect for a retired person to fuss all day.Even offers a walks appriciated! Would you adopt such an evil dog? Link – via Arbroath

Budgie Balancing on a Ball Posted: 28 May 2011 11:36 AM PDT Yes, the budgerigar is probably trying to mount the tennis ball, but I still find the cuteness factor to be very high and the floor extremely clean. Click play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Metafilter

Brochure for a University Criminology Course Posted: 28 May 2011 11:06 AM PDT Junior, an agency in Australia, made a brochure for a criminology course at Griffith University that goes way beyond a trifold flyer. It’s like an ad for CSI! Link via Super Punch

Can the DIY Community Save RadioShack? Posted: 28 May 2011 10:42 AM PDT Image: Calsidyrose [Flickr] RadioShack was founded by two brothers who wanted to provide equipment for the then-new field of ham radio. Over the next few decades, the company grew to become a large behemoth by appealing to the DIY community. Then came rounds of scandals, getting their clocks cleaned by cheaper competitors, and The Shack rebranding (I mean, I understand, "radio" is something today's youth associate with their grandmothers). Now, the company is trying to return to its DIY roots, as it explains in this blog post and video clip. Mike Nathan of Hackaday blog wrote: What used to be a haven for amateur radio operators, tinkerers, and builders alike has devolved into a stripmall mainstay full of cell phones and overpriced junk. RadioShack knows that they have fallen out of your good graces, and since you are the demographic that put them on the map, they are appealing to the DIY community for input. They want to know what is important to you – what you would like to see at your local RadioShack, and what would bring you back through their doors. Obviously price is a huge concern, especially with online outlets like Digikey and Mouser just a few clicks away. At the end of the day however, if you require a component RIGHT NOW, it would be nice to have the ability to grab some parts locally. We’re well aware of the fact that this is all part of a marketing scheme, but if it helps stock your local store with a few odds and ends that are actually helpful, it won’t hurt to let your voice be heard. This satirical The Onion article summarizes the predicament of RadioShack quite well: Despite having been on the job for nine months, RadioShack CEO Julian Day said Monday that he still has "no idea" how the home electronics store manages to stay open. "There must be some sort of business model that enables this company to make money, but I'll be damned if I know what it is," Day said. "You wouldn't think that people still buy enough strobe lights and extension cords to support an entire nationwide chain, but I guess they must, or I wouldn't have this desk to sit behind all day." The retail outlet boasts more than 6,000 locations in the United States, and is known best for its wall-sized displays of obscure-looking analog electronics components and its notoriously desperate, high-pressure sales staff. Nevertheless, it ranks as a Fortune 500 company, with gross revenues of over $4.5 billion and fiscal quarter earnings averaging tens of millions of dollars. "Have you even been inside of a RadioShack recently?" Day asked. "Just walking into the place makes you feel vaguely depressed and alienated. Maybe our customers are at the mall anyway and don't feel like driving to Best Buy? I suppose that's possible, but still, it's just...weird." What do you think? Can RadioShack survive and recapture its glory days? Heck, when was the last time you were in one? (via cool-o-rama)

Slow Motion Video of Hummingbird Feeding Posted: 28 May 2011 10:41 AM PDT This one is pretty cool: a slow-motion video clip of a female Allen’s hummingbird feeding, captured at 300 FPS by JCMDI. Take a look over at Anything and Everything blog: Link [embedded YouTube clip]

The Skull Tower Posted: 28 May 2011 10:40 AM PDT In 1809, the Ottoman Empire wanted to warn the Serbian people not to attempt any more foolish rebellion*, so it created this macabre monument: Serbian forces dug new trenches under the local command of the Duke, Stevan Sindjelic. Since there was such a great defensive strategy between the Serbian leaders, Sinjelic found himself unprepared. He realized the situation was hopeless, so he blew up the ammunition store with his own pistol. Afterwards, Turkish commander, Hurshid Pasha, ordered the decapitation of all the Serbian bodies, even erecting a monument using the heads as building material. The tower itself was 10 feet high, contained 952 skulls, and was topped with the head of Sindjalic himself. During the later part of the 19th century, the skulls were removed, both as macabre souvenirs of battle and proper burials. In 1892, there were only 50 left on the tower and a chapel was built over top to preserve what little remained. Link | More at Atlas Obscura and Wikipedia (Photo: Wikimedia/Freerspska.org) *note: the warning didn’t exactly work. A few years later in 1815, Serbia rebelled again and that time, achieved semi- and then full-independence.

Bath Tub Buggy Posted: 28 May 2011 10:21 AM PDT The American philosopher Homer Simpson once praised the concept of the motorhome as “a car I can go to the bathroom in.” The custom-built (no, sadly, this was not a production vehicle) Bath Tub Buggy made by George Barris during the 60s and 70s is the fulfillment of this dream: The design features a bathroom. In front of the grille is an actual handsink. The rear displays a french bathtub. Hardware and facets for each bathroom fixture is included in brass. There is a tile flooring with long hair mats. Front headlights are spot beam or flood and the rear lights are ornamental styled bathroom fixtures. The listing doesn’t say firmly that the fixtures aren’t also functional. There’s really one one way to know for sure. Link via Jalopnik | Photo: eBay

High-Tech Beauty Don't: LED Eyeshadow Posted: 28 May 2011 09:41 AM PDT Designer Lulin Ding has interesting ideas about makeup. She dreamt up this LED Eyeshadow contraption because she was “interested in the way women wear eyeshadow and how most of the time you can only see the details when their eyes are closed.” The effect is admittedly kind of cool, but the apparatus looks painful, irritating and unsafe. Ding has a video of the LED Eyeshadow in action; click through to cringe as you watch her blink. Link via Gizmodo | Image: Lulin Ding

Tea with Stephen Fry and Lady Gaga Posted: 28 May 2011 09:10 AM PDT In what seems a bit like a modernist reenactment of the Mad Hatter’s tea party, the venerable Stephen Fry sat down with Lady Gaga for tea and an interview for FT Magazine. It’s a weird pairing, no doubt, but how can anyone sitting next to a woman in a horned headdress not seem weird? Fry acknowledges this fact straightforwardly. "Ho, ho," I thought to myself. "Someone has had the idea that it would be amusing for the 'quintessentially English' Mr Fry to be seen 'taking afternoon tea' with a broad from the Bowery. Oh well, one plays these games and the scones did look rather delicious. I readied my iPhone for recording, sat on the sofa and consulted the notebook in which I had jotted down my questions. Read the rest of the piece, which is just fascinating, on FT.com. Link | Image: Shamil Tanna

Moose Head Mobile Phone Stand Posted: 28 May 2011 09:00 AM PDT Moose Head Mobile Phone Stand – $7.95 Have you been searching endlessly for the perfect phone stand?  Well, look no further! You need the Moose Head Mobile Phone Stand from the NeatoShop.  This fabulous little stand screams I am one with the wilderness. Now prop up that phone, get comfy, and start watching your favorite moose calling videos.  Being outdoorsy is so much fun! Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fun-tastic Mobile Phone Accessories! Link

The Milkable Male Goat of Brazil Posted: 28 May 2011 08:55 AM PDT Nature is always throwing weirdness at us, and today’s helping comes in the form of a hermaphroditic goat–a breedable male that can be milked. A visitor to a goat show in Brazil did not hesitate to buy a hermaphrodite goat – a male goat that can be milked – when he first came across it. The goat is a clearly a Billy goat. And, translating the colloquial phrase “pai de chiqueiro”, implies that it can be mated with a female goat. But, as seen in the video, the scrotum region apparently serves a dual purpose of being a set of udders that can be squeezed to get milk. The interview is in Portuguese, but is subtitled for the non-Brazilian. Click through for more information than you’ll ever need. Link | Image: TV Tambaú, Brasil

The Chemistry of Building Burgers Posted: 28 May 2011 08:32 AM PDT It’s Memorial Day weekend and just about everyone will be out grilling some burgers. But have you ever thought about the science behind the food you’re eating (too much of)? Scientific American and NBC Learn have teamed up to bring you answers to the burning questions behind your holiday grillathon. As you sear the meat and toast the buns, have you ever wondered why grilling beats boiling? Or why ketchup and mustard tend to separate, but mayonnaise does not? Or why a pickle lasts so long? The videos include a series on the hamburger and its symbiotic accompaniments—all part of the celebration of the International Year of Chemistry 2011. Click through to watch! Link | Image: Berkeley.edu

Seriously Freaky Caterpillars Posted: 28 May 2011 08:17 AM PDT Sure, it looks like a wayward ball of fluff. Maybe a even baby tribble. But that little guy in the pic above is the White Flannel Moth caterpillar, and the photographer who picked it up? Not happy. Those tiny little hairs are urticating setae, poisoned barbs that break off in the skin, causing pain and itchiness and general freaked-outness. The Ark In Space has a whole collection of crazy-looking caterpillars (including one that looks like a toupee for Chewbacca, should he ever need one). Click through for the gallery! Link | Image: Flickr User Urtica

This Week at Neatorama Posted: 28 May 2011 06:00 AM PDT Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer, since many schools are out, pools are opening, employers are juggling everyone’s vacations, and the weather is nice enough for a cookout. I hear there’s a big car race this weekend as well. But let’s not forget the original meaning of Memorial Day -to remember those who gave the last full measure in service to their country. If you’re not familiar with the poppy symbol here, check out the story from the Veterans of Foreign Wars. And since you have some extra time, why not catch up on everything that’s been happening this week at Neatorama! On Wednesday, John Farrier gave us 14 Facts You Might Not Know about The Addams Family, complete with a singing, dancing Lurch! Jill Harness had an awesome roundup of 18 Seriously Cool Bookshelves & Bookcases. Monday, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader filled us in on the story of Maneki Neko,  Japan’s “beckoning cat.” "The Fruit Fly (Genotype: nevermore)" was a rare but entertaining poetry break from our friends at the Annals of Improbable Research Mental_floss magazine brought us a guide to How to Get Your Face on a Postage Stamp. In the What Is It? game this week, Berhard was the first of many with the correct answer; this is a trowel bayonet. Fafa had the funniest answer: a combination pizza server and zombie defense knife! Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop. Congratulation to the Chad Huskey and Maxx, winners of the Decipher the Doodle contest at NeatoBambino! You can see the winning answers in the update post. No one came anywhere near the correct explanation for the doodle (this frowning figure is Alex), so the two funniest entries won t-shirts! Want more? Be sure to check our Facebook page every day for extra content, contests, discussions, videos, 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.

You are subscribed to email updates from Neatorama To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610