Neatorama

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• People Pwned By The Internet
• World War II In Color
• 16 Sequels No One Should See
• The Worst Landlord In The World
• James Hance's Delightfully Geeky Art
• Butt / Face Towel
• Pokéball Firework
• Happy Birthday, Betty Boop!
• Patton Oswalt in a Five-Second Film
• An Infographic about Every Killing that Jason Voorhees Made in the Friday the 13th Movies
• Nirvana on Two Cellos
• Typewriter Penguin
• Building Blocks of DNA Found in Meteorites from Space
• The Old Man of the Lake
• Stories Behind Brand Mascots of Yore
• R2D2 Lamp
• Sliced Steel Images
• What A Helpful Kitten
• Sad Etsy Dogs
• This Dog Really Doesn't Want A Bath
• Angry Birds As Superheroes
• The Black Swallower Is Like A Black Hole
• Sesame Street's Grover Gives Isaiah Mustafa a Run for His Money
• Celestial Buddies
• Pirate Women
• Fake Logos From The Movies
• Former Prime Minister Now Cubicle Dweller in Buffalo
• Man Has World’s Largest Smurf Collection
• Lying on Train Tracks is a Folk Remedy
• New Dwarf Planets Found

People Pwned By The Internet Posted: 10 Aug 2011 01:37 AM PDT Remember Mary Bale, a.k.a. the woman who was tracked down and harassed after someone uploaded a video of her throwing a cat into a trashcan? She’s one of the many people who were taught a lesson by the throngs of angry internet users. You can read more about her and 11 others in similar situations over at Ugo. Fair warning, not all of the people actually deserved what they got. Link

World War II In Color Posted: 10 Aug 2011 01:31 AM PDT I don’t know about all of you, but I’m a sucker for vintage photos shot in color and these gorgeous WWII images from the Library of Congress are both fascinating and stunning. You can find more of them over at The Atlantic. Link

16 Sequels No One Should See Posted: 10 Aug 2011 01:25 AM PDT Did you know they made a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2? Or that there was a sequel to American Psycho that didn’t have anything to do with the film Christian Bale starred in? If not, then you’d probably enjoy this great list of terrible sequels found over at Mental Floss. Link

The Worst Landlord In The World Posted: 10 Aug 2011 01:19 AM PDT For those of you who think you have a terrible landlord, it’s always good to remind yourself things could be worse. After all, you could have a landlord who is willing to load your home up with scorpions in order to push you to move out. That’s what one Chinese landlord did to his tenants when they refused to sign a deal that would require them to move out and allow him to demolish the building. Link Via Consumerist

James Hance's Delightfully Geeky Art Posted: 10 Aug 2011 01:13 AM PDT I recently came across artist James Hance’s website and I have to say, I’m impressed with what he calls his “Relentlessly Cheery Art.” Just look at this piece titled “Chester Copperpot’s Gonnie Clubhouse Band” and you’ll see how fun his work really is. See more over at his website and if you like his paintings, go ahead and indulge -the prints are only $10 each. Link

Butt / Face Towel Posted: 09 Aug 2011 07:36 PM PDT Butt / Face Towel -  $13.95 Are you searching for the perfect gift for your college bound friend? Get them the Butt/ Face Towel from the NeatoShop. After a hard night of partying studying this 44″L x 25″W Towel will help remind them which end they dried what with. Butt / Face Soap also available. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more hilarious Back to School items. Link

Pokéball Firework Posted: 09 Aug 2011 06:26 PM PDT A Pokéball from Pokémon appeared in the night sky over Niigata, Japan. This brawl is going to be awesome. Link -via Geekosystem

Happy Birthday, Betty Boop! Posted: 09 Aug 2011 06:14 PM PDT Don't let her fool you: she may look pretty good (OK, amazing) for her age, but Betty Boop is actually 81 years old today. She's gone through a lot of changes over the years – as in, she's completely changed species. Photo credit Back in the early days, Ms. Boop was conceived of as a girlfriend for Bimbo, a cartoon dog created by Fleischer Studios, a big player in the era of silent cartoons. Yep – back in 1930, Betty was less person and more poodle (and not nearly as cute). Her first recognizable appearance as Betty (Bimbo had a female companion in earlier cartoons but in no way did she resemble Betty Boop) was in 1930's "Dizzy Dishes." Though she looks pretty familiar, the long dog ears are a dead giveaway that she hadn't reached her final form yet. If you have a spare six minutes, check it out. If not, fast forward to the 2:40 mark. It didn't take long for Betty to become more popular than her boyfriend (gee… wonder why?), and suddenly, Bimbo was out of the picture and Betty was front-and-center. As Betty became more popular, some people began to notice a striking resemblance between the cartoon and a couple of famous actresses, most notably Helen Kane (pictured) and Clara Bow. And you can be sure that the actresses themselves noticed – Helen Kane sued Max Fleischer and Paramount for $250,000 for blatantly using her likeness without her permission. Not only did they look similar, Helen was famous in the '20s as "The Boop-Oop-A-Doop Girl," which you almost certainly recognize today as Betty's tagline, not Helen Kane's. Helen even sang in the same manner. In the cartoon "The Bum Bandit," the studio Betty Boop portrayed Dangerous Nan McGrew, a role Helen originated the previous year. Though the evidence was certainly stacked against Fleischer and his company, the court ruled in their favor. It was determined that Helen didn't have exclusivity to the baby-styled singing voice or the "Boop-Oop-A-Doop" line – Fleischer's lawyers were able to insinuate that Helen actually took both of these elements from a singer she saw at the Cotton Club who went by the name Baby Esther. Furthermore, they said, many people also believed the design of Betty Boop was inspired by Hollywood It Girl Clara Bow. Since so many entertainers of the day were adopting the flapper style, it was impossible to prove that Fleischer had stolen Kane's look specifically. Kane lost the lawsuit. Betty fell victim to the Hays Code in 1934 and had to clean up her act. The garter, cleavage and short skirts were replaced with a more respectable knee-length black dress, complete with long sleeves and a ruffle on the neckline to avoid exposing too much skin. Bimbo had to be replaced with a human boyfriend because people were worried that a female human with a male dog suggested bestiality (hey, it worked for Jessica Rabbit). Sadly, the censorship was the beginning of the end for Betty cartoons. Though Fleischer kept making cartoons featuring Betty, the cartoons got tamer and tamer. Betty's human boyfriend was even replaced with an elderly inventor named Grampy with whom Betty had a strictly platonic relationship (as far as we know). When these didn't do much to boost her popularity, Betty was teamed with a cavalcade of other cartoon superstars of the era. Nothing doing – interest continued to plummet, and the last official Betty Boop cartoon aired in 1939. She wasn't even in it. The reason you continue to see so much of the animated Boop-Oop-A-Doop girl these days is that Fleischer Studios, no longer taking money in with work, has largely concentrated their efforts on marketing and merchandising. A couple of more fun Betty Boop facts: One of the many talented ladies to voice Betty included Mae Questel. Before I knew Mae was Betty Boop, I was most familiar with her as Aunt Bethany from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and maybe you are too. Mae gave Betty vocals from 1931 to 1939, then again late in life: her last "appearance" as Betty was in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? in 1988. Mae was also the voice of another Fleischer favorite for about 20 years – Popeye’s girlfriend Olive Oyl. During her strange development from poodle to human, Betty went through quite a few changes. She's been a dog, of course, but she's also been a cat and a redhead. In addition, there are a couple of cartoons where Fleischer Studios decided to give her an adult voice instead of a baby voice. A good example of that is "The Bum Bandit." For an older gal, she’s still got it: Betty was declared the official fantasy cheerleader for the United Football League last year. I’m going to go on record and say that it may be a great idea on shirts and merchandise, but that real-life mascot wearing a Betty mask is creeping me out. Photo credit

Patton Oswalt in a Five-Second Film Posted: 09 Aug 2011 06:07 PM PDT (Video Link) The people of 5-Second Films try to tell fairly complete stories in only five seconds. The results are usually hilarious. Their most recent project stars none other than Patton Oswalt. Link -via reddit

An Infographic about Every Killing that Jason Voorhees Made in the Friday the 13th Movies Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:45 PM PDT Jason Voorhees was a busy boy during the Friday the 13th movies, so it can be easy to get confused about who died in which manner. Thankfully, Andrew Barr and Mike Faille of the National Post put together an infographic summarizing each murder in each movie. Pictured above is a small selection from it. Link | National Post

Nirvana on Two Cellos Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:26 PM PDT (Video Link) Cellists Luka Šulic and Stjepan Hauser do some marvelous renditions of modern works, such as “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Smooth Criminal.” Here they are performing Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” -via Blame It on the Voices

Typewriter Penguin Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:16 PM PDT Jeremy Mayer makes ingenious and often funny sculptures out of typewriter parts. Here’s one of his recent creations: a penguin. Link -via Boing Boing

Building Blocks of DNA Found in Meteorites from Space Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:15 PM PDT Could the building blocks of life been first delivered to Earth from outer space? That is what some research may be suggesting. “People have been finding nucleobases in meteorites for about 50 years now, and have been trying to figure out if they are of biological origin or not,” study co-author Jim Cleaves, a chemist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, told SPACE.com. To help confirm if any nucleobases seen in meteorites were of extraterrestrial origin, scientists used the latest scientific analysis techniques on samples from a dozen meteorites — 11 organic-rich meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites and one ureilite, a very rare type of meteorite with a different chemical composition. This was the first time all but two of these meteorites had been analyzed for nucleobases. The analytical techniques probed the mass and other features of the molecules to identify the presence of extraterrestrial nucleobases and see that they apparently did not come from the surrounding area. Two of the carbonaceous chondrites contained a diverse array of nucleobases and structurally similar compounds known as nucleobase analogs. Intriguingly, three of these nucleobase analogs are very rare in Earth biology, and were not found in soil and ice samples from the areas near where the meteorites were collected at the parts-per-billion limits of their detection techniques. “Finding nucleobase compounds not typically found in Earth’s biochemistry strongly supports an extraterrestrial origin,” Cleaves said Link

The Old Man of the Lake Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:11 PM PDT Crater Lake is a pristine body of water set inside a caldera in Oregon. One noteworthy feature of it is a thirty-foot long log that has been drifting around in the water for more than one hundred years. It’s called the “Old Man of the Lake”: It was first discovered in 1896 by a man named Joseph Diller, who, six years later, would later publish the first geology of the park. He noted the presence of a large piece of wood which was completely untethered, able to move throughout the lake as dictated by the wind and waves. The Old Man’s movements can be erratic and extensive. In 1938, researchers tracked the Old Man’s movement over three months, beginning in July, and by the end of the observation period in September, the Old Man traveled over sixty miles. In order to keep boats safe, those who sail on Crater Lake, as a matter of course, advise their fellow boat pilots of the Old Man’s position. Link | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Stories Behind Brand Mascots of Yore Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:07 PM PDT Remember the Domino Pizza bringing back the Noid story we covered on Neatorama yesterday? Well, Caroline Stanley of Flavorwire got nostalgic about other popular brand mascots from her childhood and decided to rediscover fun facts from the likes of Count Chocula, the Snuggle bear, and so on. Take, for instance, the California Raisins: According to legend, these ’80s icons were born when frustrated adman Seth Werner of Foote, Cone & Belding, who had been hired by the California Raisin Advisory Board, said the following magical words: “We have tried everything but dancing raisins singing ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine.’” Bingo. The popularity of the ensuing TV commercials (which featured cameos by Ray Charles and Michael Jackson) led to four studio albums, a single on the Billboard Hot 100, an Emmy Award-winning Christmas special, and a Saturday morning cartoon series. Take a look at The Bizarre Stories Behind Your Favorite Brand Mascots - Thanks Russ!

R2D2 Lamp Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:56 PM PDT Instructables member Nylanan is currently building a full-size replica of R2D2. As a result, he’s been seeing visions of the droid in everyday objects, such as this lamp. He cut vinyl panels to size and stuck them on the lamp. Link -via Geek Crafts

Sliced Steel Images Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:10 PM PDT A Korean artist named Chan Girl Park creates sculptures out of steel cross-sections of his subject matter. Each assembly is held together with perpendicular rods. He also welds steel nuts together to form smooth surfaces for figure studies. You can view a Korean-language description of his work at the link, or a gallery of some of his finer works at Colossal. Link (Google Translate) -via Colossal | Photo: Monthly Art World

What A Helpful Kitten Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:15 PM PDT (Video Link) There’s a reason cats don’t generally offer roadside assistance. It’s not that they don’t want to help, they’re just not very good at it. Via Huffington Post

Sad Etsy Dogs Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:11 PM PDT If you’ve read Neatorama long enough, you’ve undoubtedly seen plenty of dogs modeling for Etsy listings. Now there’s a blog chronicling the saddest of these poor puppies and it is hilarious. My only complaint, it doesn’t provide links to the actual Etsy pages. What if I want to make my dog this sad? Link Via BoingBoing

This Dog Really Doesn't Want A Bath Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:05 PM PDT (Video Link) Looks like someone’s been watching too many cartoons lately. After all, I think the only other place I’ve seen this behavior is in Looney Toons episodes. Via BuzzFeed

Angry Birds As Superheroes Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:01 PM PDT All That Is Apple recently posted these delightful images of Angry Birds as superheroes and the writer is asking for help trying to identify the artist responsible for these funny pictures. If you have any idea, give him a hand by leaving a comment. If not, enjoy the silly images anyway. Link

The Black Swallower Is Like A Black Hole Posted: 09 Aug 2011 01:55 PM PDT We’ve all heard about snakes eating food bigger than them, but this is just ridiculous. The black swallower eats fish that are 3 times larger than it by grabbing it by the tail and swallowing as the fish coils up inside the swallower’s stomach. The Proceedings of the Ever So Strange have more about this bizarre fish that has never been seen alive. Link

Sesame Street's Grover Gives Isaiah Mustafa a Run for His Money Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:08 PM PDT Fabio couldn’t hold a candle to the Old Old Spice Guy, but Grover… well, Grover might be a worthy competitor. Link

Celestial Buddies Posted: 09 Aug 2011 11:51 AM PDT Celestial Buddies Do you dream of snuggling up at night with a heavenly body? Well, now you can with the Celestial Buddies from the NeatoShop.  These fantastic plush toys are designed to look like the sun, earth, moon, and mars. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more loveable Plush Toys. Link

Pirate Women Posted: 09 Aug 2011 11:31 AM PDT The colorful story of pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read prove that not every woman in the 18th century knew her place. For them, crossdressing meant adventure, freedom, and power. They met as part of the crew sailing under John "Calico Jack" Rackam. During battles Anne and Mary fought side by side, wearing billowing jackets and long trousers and handkerchiefs wrapped around their heads, wielding a machete and pistol in either hand. "They were very active on board," another victim later testified, "and wiling to do any Thing." The summer and early fall of 1720 proved especially lucrative for Rackam's crew. In September they took seven fishing boats and two sloops near Harbor Island. A few weeks later, Anne and Mary led a raid against a schooner, shooting at the crew as they climbed aboard, cursing as they gathered their plunder: tackle, fifty rolls of tobacco and nine bags of pimento. They held their captives for two days before releasing them. Even when Rackam surrendered, Anne and Mary held out against the governor’s forces. Read how they came to be pirates and friends, and what happened to these famous seafaring women at Smithsonian’s Past Imperfect blog. Link

Fake Logos From The Movies Posted: 09 Aug 2011 10:39 AM PDT Fauxgo.com collects fictional logos or designs that only exist to represent a fake company in a film. One my favorite logo from film is the "Clamp" corporation from Gremlins 2: The New Batch, which was clearly a parody of Trump. What is your favorite fake logo from the movies? Link

Former Prime Minister Now Cubicle Dweller in Buffalo Posted: 09 Aug 2011 10:39 AM PDT Mohamed A. Mohamed was a native of Somalia living in Buffalo, New York for the past twenty years. When the president of Somalia asked him to become the prime minister of the war torn country he took the job to try and do some good for his countrymen. Now nine months later he is back at his office cubicle job for the Department of Transportation. A few photos of him as premier were tacked to his wall by colleagues, the only visible reminder that these last nine months weren’t a dream. “It’s a different feeling when you’re heading a whole nation and you come back to your normal life,” Mohamed said. “It’s a little awkward, to tell you the truth.” Mohamed, 49, a Somali native who resettled in Buffalo more than 20 years ago, was forced out as Somalia’s prime minister in June, ending his remarkable months-long odyssey as abruptly as it began. He returned to his job at the DOT on Thursday, as he tries to settle into his old life as civil servant, husband and father living on Grand Island. Link

Man Has World’s Largest Smurf Collection Posted: 09 Aug 2011 10:38 AM PDT While the new Smurfs movie coming out doesn't look so smurfing good, one man Stephen Parkers won't mind getting his blue covered hands on all the new promotional merchandise that's coming out.  What's the strangest collection you have ever seen? World record holder Stephen, from Nottingham, has paid hundreds of pounds for some of his pieces. And the valuable collection is being kept under lock and key at two different properties. Link

Lying on Train Tracks is a Folk Remedy Posted: 09 Aug 2011 10:36 AM PDT Sure your grandmother may have had some weird remedies to cure your cough, but I bet she didn't tell you go lay on train tracks. In Indonesia some people are turning to laying on the train tracks to cure all types of illness. I guess it will cure all their ailments by killing them. The “therapy” involves placing one’s hands and feet on the steel rail tracks. By touching both sides of the tracks at once in this manner, one receives a low-voltage electric shock, which locals believe is a potent cure for many diseases. The locals said the method became popular around a year ago when a taxi driver allegedly recovered after suffering a stroke, by frequently lying on the tracks. Today, the therapy is attracting more and more people, from locals to people who travel from far away to experience the reportedly soothing effects of the therapy [...] Their growing fondness for the treatment soon saw them adopt the “therapy” into their daily routines. Every afternoon from around 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. there are typically 10-15 people lying on the tracks. Link

New Dwarf Planets Found Posted: 09 Aug 2011 10:35 AM PDT It's amazing that we are still finding objects in the solar system that are circling the sun. While not a full blown planet, these new objects fall under what is considered a "Dwarf Planet" the status that was bestowed upon Pluto a few years ago. Using the Warsaw Telescope at Chile's Las Campanas Observatory, researchers found 14 possible objects in space that could be interesting for further study. Of those objects, 11 turned out to just be oversized chunks of debris, but three of them are big enough to meet the definition of a dwarf planet. According to the International Astronomical Union, two criteria must be met in order to be a dwarf planet. It must have enough mass that its gravity forces it into a spherical shape, and it must orbit the sun. This second criteria is what eliminates several large moons that, while bigger than a dwarf planet, do not orbit the sun. The new discoveries are barely big enough to be classified as dwarf planets. They are most likely only around 250 miles wide, which is much smaller than Pluto. The fact that these planets are made of ice is likely what helps them pull themselves into a spherical shape. Link

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