Neatorama

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• Cocker’s Arithmetick
• Campire Made of Bratwurst
• The View From Inside A Hula Hoop
• Doggelgänger
• Going for a Drive
• The Cost of Being on 'American Idol'
• Erupting Volcano Surrounded by Lightning
• She Texted in a Movie Theater
• Companion Cube in the Back of a Jurassic Park Jeep Has Me Confused
• Pipe Organ ATM
• In a Single Line: Stormtroopers at Breakfast
• Lawn Mower Beer Train
• Mergatroid
• Shady UK Oil Director Dresses in Drag to Avoid Media
• High-End Caravan Hotel
• Prague Zoo's Stinky Souvenirs
• Mars Camping Tent
• 4D Art Show
• Crazy Headphone Designs
• Parachute Wedding Dress
• New Spacesuits Could Have In-Helmet Display
• “Space Station” Found on Mars
• Human Hyper Evolution
• A New Hope Cross-stitch
• Guess the Substance
• DIY TV-B-Gone Jacket
• Awkward Family Photos (White House Edition)
• All of Lovecraft's Creatures
• Would You Qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee?
• Narcoleptic Bee

Cocker’s Arithmetick Posted: 07 Jun 2011 05:08 AM PDT A schoolbook that both postdated and outlived its time. by Stephen Drew, Improbable Research staff Mathematics teaching has been cocked up — well and properly and officially  — for a good long while, thanks to Edward Cocker and his amply-titled textbook Cocker's Arithmetick: Being a Plain and Familiar Method Suitable to the Meanest Capacity for the Full Understanding of  That Incomparable Art, As It Is Now Taught by the Ablest School Masters in City and Country. Published in 1667, and later reprinted in more than 100 editions, the book was a standard in British grammar schools for several generations. Foreign schoolteachers also took Cocker to their bosom. A Man of Words, Word, and More Words, Plus More Words The 34-word title exemplifies the book's approach to explaining things clearly. One could (although the author would probably not) sum it up in three words: don't be terse. Here, for example, is how the book takes the student in  hand — nearly in handcuffs, really — to explain the so- called "Rule of Three." This passage appears on page 88 of the book's 47th edition, published in the year 1736: Observe, that of the three given numbers, those two that are of the same kind, one of them must be the first, and the other the third, and that which is of the same kind with the number sought, must be the second number in the rule of three; and that you may know which of the said numbers to make your first, and which your third, know this, that to one of those two numbers there is always affixed a demand, and that number upon which the demand lieth must always be reckoned the third number. The book's very first page accustoms the student to what lies ahead. You might enjoy reading this aloud: Unit is number; for the part is of the same matter that is his whole, the unit is part of the multitude of units, therefore the unit is of the same matter, that is the multitude of units; but the matter of the multitude of units is number; therefore the matter of units is number; or else, if from a number given no number but subtracted, the number given remaineth; as suppose 3 the given number, if as some suppose, 1 be no number, then if you subtract 1 from 3, there must remain 3 still; which is very absurd. Words After Death Scholars now debate whether Edward Cocker actually wrote the book (the first edition    was published nine years after his death). Some suggest the whole thing is just a pastiche of other people's writings, issued by a greedy publisher. No matter. Like many of today's textbooks, authorities deemed it authoritative, and it came to enjoy widespread use. In that respect, as perhaps in others, this antique textbook is a very 21st-century piece of work. References Cocker's Arithmetick: Being a Plain and Familiar Method Suitable to the Meanest Capacity for the Full Understanding of That Incomparable Art, As It Is Now Taught by the Ablest School-Masters in City and Country, Edward Cocker, 1677, John Hawkins [publisher], London. Bonus Cocker's Life and productive death are the subject of an essay called "Who Was Cocker," in the July 1884 issue of The Bibiliographer. You can read it online. _____________________ This article is republished with permission from the July-August 2010 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. You can download or purchase back issues of the magazine, or subscribe to receive future issues. Or get a subscription for someone as a gift! Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.

Campire Made of Bratwurst Posted: 07 Jun 2011 04:27 AM PDT El Spottos made this sculpture of fried sausage, mustard, and ketchup for an international bratwurst festival in Nuremberg. Although Google Translate is garbling the text a bit, it appears to be his entry into a competition. El Spottos encourages festival attendees: [...] to vote and prove to the world so what has long been clear to me: that I am the legitimate heir to the throne sausage! Probably I wear somewhere on my body, a previously undiscovered birthmark in the form of a sausage that my identity confirmed. Link (Google Translate) via Nerdcore

The View From Inside A Hula Hoop Posted: 07 Jun 2011 02:54 AM PDT (YouTube link) Where is the strangest place you can affix a tiny GoPro camera to get a radical “point of view” video? I would have never come up with the inside of a hula hoop, but someone did, and that’s awesome. -via I Am Bored

Doggelgänger Posted: 07 Jun 2011 02:51 AM PDT Pedigree in New Zealand has launched an online toy that analyzes your face and matches you with a dog that is up for adoption. I was matched with Shadow, a 7-month-old male Huntaway {wiki} mix, which is a breed of New Zealand sheep dog. He’s a cute dog; too bad he’s in Auckland. Link -via Pawesome

Going for a Drive Posted: 06 Jun 2011 08:15 PM PDT (YouTube link) I hear there’s an extra joke in the music if you understand Portuguese. -via The Daily What

The Cost of Being on 'American Idol' Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:38 PM PDT For eleven years now, American Idol has been feeding the dreams of talented and not-so-talented singers and audience members alike. For many contestants, being on the show is a year-long commitment -and more. BankRate looks at the financial costs and rewards of such a venture. What expenses are involved in being a contestant? How much does it pay? How are the winners doing? And is it worth it even if you don’t win? Of course, some former Idols have done better than others, and it doesn’t always hinge on how successful they were on the show. Once chosen for the top 12, Idol contestants are provided room and board, although the accommodations have varied widely from season to season. “There have been years where they want to show it on the air so they put them up in mansions in the Hollywood hills; other years, they’ve put them up in this apartment complex that’s not seen on the air,” says Rushfield. “It’s nothing fancy, but it’s not squalor. They have roommates all the way through, and when their roommates get cut, they consolidate them to save on the rooms.” Link -via TMZ

Erupting Volcano Surrounded by Lightning Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:32 PM PDT I’d expect to see the image above if I were watching, say, Transformers 4, and I would remark on its unrealistic quality. Red skies with burning lightening and a massive volcanic plume? Please. But the scene near Puyehue volcano in southern Chile played out exactly like this Monday afternoon; 3500 residents were evacuated following earthquakes and falling ash earlier in the week. Link | Image credit: AP Photo/Francisco Negroni, AgenciaUno

She Texted in a Movie Theater Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:21 PM PDT (YouTube link) The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema enforces old-fashioned theater etiquette. They have two rules: no talking during a movie, and no phone usage. After a woman was ejected from the theater for texting during a film, she left an angry voice mail. The theater promptly turned her message into a public service announcement. In discussions at the Drafthouse site, Roger Ebert’s blog, SlashFilm, reddit, Fark, and Metafilter, most commenters applaud the theater for enforcing silence during films. Link (video at the site contains unedited NSFW language)

Companion Cube in the Back of a Jurassic Park Jeep Has Me Confused Posted: 06 Jun 2011 05:57 PM PDT Of course, that’s the normal state of affairs anyway, so one shouldn’t be alarmed. Dan Ryckert spotted this apparition and quite properly tweeted: Dear dude in the Jurassic Park jeep that’s transporting a massive companion cube: Can we be best friends? Link via Geekologie | Photo: Dan Ryckert

Pipe Organ ATM Posted: 06 Jun 2011 05:29 PM PDT Artists Allora and Calzadilla made this unusual ATM in Venice. It’s built into a pipe organ that plays a unique tune for each customer: But this is no run-of-the-mill A.T.M. The brainchild of the artist duo Allora & Calzadilla, it is a pipe organ with an A.T.M. embedded in its belly that is computer-programmed to play a tune when a person puts in their pin number. Even when returning customers use it, no two tunes are alike. Link via Colossal | Photo by Flickr user thefuturistics used under Creative Commons license

In a Single Line: Stormtroopers at Breakfast Posted: 06 Jun 2011 05:19 PM PDT This drawing by Napoleón Vuelaenpartes is composed of a just one line, from the helmet of one Stormtrooper to the next. Imperial Breakfast sets just the right mood. “How’s the new baby, Sam?” “Not bad, Ralph, almost sleeping through the night now.” Link via Walyou

Lawn Mower Beer Train Posted: 06 Jun 2011 05:02 PM PDT (Video Link) I weep for loss of the long-cherished liberties of our republic. It’s like you can’t avoid getting harassed by the police whenever you go driving a lawn mower down the road towing a train of ten shopping carts, each of which is filled with beer, held together by a hundred-foot extension cord. While drinking a beer. What is this country coming to? via Ace of Spades HQ

Mergatroid Posted: 06 Jun 2011 04:42 PM PDT Mergatroid - $14.95 Heavens to mergatroid! How do you make a sock monkey even cuter?  You give him a nerdy spin. If you love all things nerdy and geeky you need to check out the Mergatroid from the NeatoShop.  This little guy looks a whole lot smarter than your average teddy bear. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fabulous Plush Toys! Link

Shady UK Oil Director Dresses in Drag to Avoid Media Posted: 06 Jun 2011 03:59 PM PDT That dashing lady above is Martyn Crute, a UK Oil and Gas Ltd. director who was charged with trading for 15 months without being registered to gas safety body Corgi. In a massive fail at attempting to leave court unnoticed by photographers, Crute dressed as a woman, disguised in a long, curly wig and heels. The effect was less than impressive–within seconds of leaving Lincoln Crown Court, waiting cameramen spotted him. Link | Image: Caters

High-End Caravan Hotel Posted: 06 Jun 2011 03:48 PM PDT If you’re not really into camping but would like the experience of staying in a caravan for a few days, you might consider a stay at the Hütten Palast in Berlin. The Huts at the Palace is a luxury hotel, the first to replace suites with indoor caravans. Based in a converted vacuum cleaner factory, the hotel is the brainchild of Silke Lorenzen and Sarah Vollmer. Ms Lorenzen said: 'We wanted to preserve the integrity of the building but at the same time create a  communal atmosphere for guests. 'Where people actually meet each other and not only get a key at  reception and disappear in their rooms forever. 'We thought about a room-in-room concept and decided to build  little wooden cabins in the hall. 'But we wanted more flexibility  inside the place so it could be used for events of all kind as well so decided to put wheels under the cabins. 'It was then we realised there are already cabins with wheels – caravans.' Link | Image: Caters

Prague Zoo's Stinky Souvenirs Posted: 06 Jun 2011 11:55 AM PDT No trip to the zoo is complete without a souvenir, but Prague Zoo is giving its patrons a bit more variety than most. The gift shop now features 1-kilo tubs of elephant dung; initially, the product was only available on weekends, but because of its brisk sales, is now for purchase all week long. It’s the latest fad among Czech gardeners who are buying out the manure pails to use as fertilizer. The brain behind the project is zoo director Miroslav Bobek, whose surname literally means dung. The one-kilo tub of elephant poop goes for about $3.90. The zoo sells 200 or more each week. Link | Image: Tomáš Adamec

Mars Camping Tent Posted: 06 Jun 2011 11:26 AM PDT I once went camping in Death Valley and the conditions were so hot I longed for the air conditioned comfort of a Motel 8, or at least a Motel 6.  So I can't imagine camping in the deserts of Mars. That's just what some students at North Carolina State University have proposed by creating a radiation shielded camping tent for future astronauts. The students created a 1,900-square-foot inflatable tent which is radiation-proof by layering radiation-shield materials like Demron. Demron is currently used in protective safety suits. In fact, the workers cleaning up Japan's nuclear  Fukishima  plant are currently using them. The tent, which can house four to six astronauts, also uses a gold-metalicized film to reflect the UV rays. According to the university, it's airtight material is made from a "polyurethane substrate" which keeps the air in, allowing for an atmosphere that the astronauts can breathe. Link

4D Art Show Posted: 06 Jun 2011 11:19 AM PDT If you’ve always wanted to step inside a painting–or better yet, have on leap out at you–then you’ll enjoy the highlighted pieces in a recent 4D art show held in China. Visitors to the exhibit had lots of fun taking pictures of themselves interacting with the artwork. The collection of paintings, on display at a contemporary art exhibition in the Jilin province, uses techniques similar to the ’stand-up’ advertising hoardings that are sometimes painted on the edges of sports pitches. With cunning use of shadow they trick the eye into believing that the images are leaping off the canvas, that arrows are firing towards the viewers gaze from the bows of cherubs, or that Pinocchio’s nose is protruding wildly from the frame. The pieces are a huge hit with spectators who have already shown a talent for interacting with the works to become part of the art themselves. See more of the cool 4D artwork in the Daily Mail gallery. Link Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Crazy Headphone Designs Posted: 06 Jun 2011 11:10 AM PDT When regular old earbuds won’t do, there are options. Headphones with antlers, for instance, or maybe a crazy steampunked earpiece. There’s a zippered pair that have me impressed with their simplicity and the obvious benefit of a clean, untangled set of cords. Check out the rest of these designs on Crescent Electronics. Link Image

Parachute Wedding Dress Posted: 06 Jun 2011 10:41 AM PDT Yes, it’s fetching, and there’s a real story behind this dress, as well. The parachute saved the life of pilot Maj. Claude Hensinger when he bailed out of his disabled B-29 over Japan in 1944. It was his blanket and pillow as he waited for rescue. In 1947, he gave it to his girlfriend when he proposed to her, and she made it into the skirt portion of her wedding dress. The dress was also worn by their daughter and then by their son’s bride in later weddings. Now it belongs to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Link -via Boing Boing

New Spacesuits Could Have In-Helmet Display Posted: 06 Jun 2011 10:41 AM PDT It's hard to believe that NASA is using the same space helmets they pretty much used for the Apollo missions. However now it seems they could be close to an upgrade and space walkers could be reading text off of the inside of their helmet. Vancouver-based Recon Instruments, maker of GPS-enabled ski goggles with in-goggle displays tucked in the peripheral, is sending its technology to NASA for potential inclusion in the next generation of spacesuit helmets in which mission critical information and checklists could appear right before astronauts eyes. NASA's spacesuit designers have been toying with the idea of an in-helmet displays for a while now, and considering that spacewalking astronauts currently rely on paper checklists taped to their arms, such a display represents a pretty big technological leap forward. Link

“Space Station” Found on Mars Posted: 06 Jun 2011 10:39 AM PDT Using Google Mars a viewer thinks he has uncovered a space station or power plant on the surface of the Red Planet. Watching the video at the link a blurred white object comes into view. What do you think the image is? American armchair astronaut David Martines posted a clip of his trip to the surface of the planet on YouTube. He used the search giant’s maps of the astral body and his video has already clocked up a staggering 58,000 views. David explains how he found the ’space station’ or possibly ‘power station’ quite by accident at coordinates 71 49′19.73″N 29 33′06.53″W. Link

Human Hyper Evolution Posted: 06 Jun 2011 10:38 AM PDT The super powers of the X-Men may still may take awhile in the evolutionary process. However scientists have discovered that due to rapid population growth human evolution may be speeding up. In a fascinating discovery that counters a common theory that human evolution has slowed to a crawl or even stopped in modern humans, a study examining data from an international genomics project describes the past 40,000 years as a time of supercharged evolutionary change, driven by exponential population growth and cultural shifts. Thanks to stunning advances in sequencing and deciphering DNA in recent years, scientists had begun uncovering, one by one, genes that boost evolutionary fitness. These variants, which emerged after the Stone Age, seemed to help populations better combat infectious organisms, survive frigid temperatures, or otherwise adapt to local conditions. Link

A New Hope Cross-stitch Posted: 06 Jun 2011 10:12 AM PDT Flickr user WhateverJames (who calls himself a “manbroiderer” has created this cross-stitch masterpiece that mashes up Luke Skywalker with the iconic Barack Obama political poster designed by Shepard Fairey. James’ “I’m a person and my name is Anakin” piece is another must-see. Not being a huge fan of Star Wars, my favorite piece is “In Case of Emergency, Break Dance.” Photo Link Via Geek Crafts

Guess the Substance Posted: 06 Jun 2011 09:50 AM PDT Frontier Airlines called in a report that sparked a response from the Milwaukee Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Unit. A suspicious white powder was found on board a flight from Phoenix to Milwaukee -on a diaper changing table. You can see where this is going. The white powdery substance was found on a diaper changing counter in one of the aircraft’s lavatories by a flight attendant making her final check before landing Friday afternoon, Frontier spokesman Peter Kowalchuk said. The powder appeared to be in a dotted pattern, there was as diaper in a waste bin and there were two infants onboard the flight, Kowalchuk said. Yes, it was determined to be, in fact, baby powder. Kowalchuk said the TSA was called “out of an abundance of caution.” Link -via Arbroath (Image credit: Flickr user Enokson)

DIY TV-B-Gone Jacket Posted: 06 Jun 2011 09:23 AM PDT (YouTube Link) Have you ever tried to have a discussion with a friend at a restaurant but couldn’t hear a thing over the din of the TV? TV-B-Gone is a remote control device that allows you to turn the darn thing off. Concealing it in a jacket allows you to execute your move discretely to avoid incurring the wrath of patrons who were watching that fishing show, hockey game or Van Halen video. Just pull down the zipper to shut the offending TV off and no one will be any the wiser. This project is beyond my crafting capabilities so I would have to buy a jacket with the TV-B-Gone already installed. Whenever I bring my TV-B-Gone out to restaurants, I look suspicious pointing it around. So I embedded the device into a jacket and turned it into a wearable TV silencer. For the switch, I sewed paths of conductive thread that become bridged by the metal zipper pull when it passes by. At the restaurant or bar, all I have to do is unzip my jacket to turn off the TV(s). Link – Via Fashionably Geek

Awkward Family Photos (White House Edition) Posted: 06 Jun 2011 09:15 AM PDT Could you recognize the United States presidents from their baby pictures? Then you should do well in today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss! Yeah, the more recent presidents are easier, but I still managed to score 70%. Can you beat that? Link

All of Lovecraft's Creatures Posted: 06 Jun 2011 09:14 AM PDT Very busy artist Mike Bukowski has a project going in which he is illustrating each and every creature found in the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. In many cases, he has only a short description (or sometimes none at all) to work with, but they all seem to be at home in the nightmares those stories can induce. Picture is Deep One, from The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Some images are NSFW. Link -via Laughing Squid

Would You Qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee? Posted: 06 Jun 2011 08:28 AM PDT Last week, eighth grader Sukanya Roy took the title of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bees ever by rattling off the correct letters of "Cymotrichous" with the same ease as if the judges had asked her to spell "cat." See if your spelling skills are up to par with hers by taking the Scripps spelling test to see if you would make it to the semifinals. If you’re so inclined, you can also check out the 10 final words of the spelling bee over at mental_floss to see if you know what they mean, let alone spell them correctly (I was 0 for 10 in the vocab department). Link via mental_floss Photo link

Narcoleptic Bee Posted: 06 Jun 2011 07:13 AM PDT Twaggies welcomes the talents of artist Sam Spratt, known for his illustrations at Gizmodo. He rendered this Tweet from @sween. Like all Twaggies, this can be purchased as a print or on a t-shirt. Link

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