Neatorama

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• The World’s 10 Messiest Food Festivals
• Correcting The Myths In Your History Lessons
• A Massive Isengard Model Made From LEGOs
• Coconut Wampa Cupcakes
• Would You Drink Google Beer?
• 15 Funny Staged Splash Mountain Pics
• King of Legoland 80s Toys Flashback
• PlayStation 3 Ad Makes Your Life Somehow Seem Meaningful
• Philipp Igumnov's Surreal Collages
• Blind Diver Gets Scuba Certification
• Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force Cosplay
• Man Gets Plastic Surgery to Look Like Superman
• RIP Steve Jobs
• Hand Signals Used by Waiters
• Human Heart Wine Carafe
• The Most Popular Infographics
• Flower Girl Cleans Up
• Anger and Anarchy on Wall Street
• Holy Bat Nuts, Batman!
• Alice in Wonderland Test Footage
• Those Sneaky Slime Molds
• Why Do Some People Learn Faster?
• 7 Awesome Skateboarding Animals

The World’s 10 Messiest Food Festivals Posted: 06 Oct 2011 05:11 AM PDT If your mother told you never to play with your food, she probably didn't grow up in any of these towns. Whether the food is being worshipped, chased, sculpted, or thrown, we've found 10 spots around the world where picking at your plate isn't just acceptable, it's encouraged. 1. Italy's Orange Battle (Image credit: Flickr user tristam sparks) Every year, townspeople in Ivrea, Italy, celebrate the three days before Lent by pelting one another with oranges. According to legend, the feudal lord of medieval Ivrea was so stingy that he gave his peasants only one pot of beans every six months. In protest, the villagers would throw the beans into the streets. Over the years, the beans were replaced by oranges, which grow plentifully throughout Southern Italy. The custom now known as the Orange Battle involves revelers standing on parade floats and launching the fruit at fellow participants. And it's not uncommon to see a little blood mixed in with all that orange juice. Visitors can join in, but you'll probably want to bring some goggles and a helmet. 2. Cheese Rolling at Cooper's Hill (Image credit: Flickr user Will De Freitas) Each spring, a large wheel of cheese is rolled down a steep hill in England, and dozens of British men go tumbling after it. They risk sprained ankles, broken bones, and massive bruising. The big prize? The winner gets to keep the cheese. While no one knows exactly how or why the first cheese race took place, local legend pegs the tradition on the ancient Romans. The event hasn't always been smooth rolling, though. It hit a rough patch during World War II, when rations made dairy difficult to come by. Instead of sprinting after a full hunk of Double Gloucester, contestants raced after a tiny slice placed inside a wooden wheel. A far greater threat to the competition came in 1997, when so many competitors were injured that authorities implemented some major changes. The following year, the cheese was allowed to roll down the hill, but no one could run after it. Thankfully, the toned-down version of the sport lasted just one year. In 1999, authorities introduced a few more safety measures and then let the cheese chasing resume. The games at Cooper's Hill have been going strong ever since. 3. The Lopburi Monkey Festival (Image credit: Flickr user Adam Baker) Like many places in Thailand, the city of Lopburi is overrun with macaque monkeys. They swing freely through the streets, hitch rides on top of cars, and snatch food from the hands of unsuspecting tourists. But even though the animals are annoying, the Thais worship them. According to Hindu legend, a god named Hanuman (the Monkey King) once ruled this region. In his honor, the city celebrates once a year by feeding its 2,000-plus monkeys a huge buffet overflowing with tropical fruits, flavored rice dishes, and modern treats such as Coca-Cola. 4. Night of the Radishes (Image credit: Flickr user Laura Ramos) When Spanish explorers brought radishes to Mexico in the 16th century, farmers near the modern-day city of Oaxaca quickly started farming the veggies. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to buy them. Not knowing what to do with all the extra produce, venders began carving the radishes into ornate shapes and using the vegetable sculptures to lure customers to their produce stands. Amazingly, it worked. The novelty items became so popular that farmers began leaving their radishes in the ground long after harvest season, letting them grow into bizarrely shaped behemoths. Now, December 23 is known as Noche de Rabanos (Night of the Radishes). Oaxacans celebrate it each year by gathering in the town square to display and admire elaborately detailed radishes modeled into saints, nativity scenes, and even the town itself. 5. Turkey's Greasy Wrestling Competition (Image credit: Flickr user Charles Roffey) The Turkish sure do love their olive oil. In fact, they're so obsessed with the stuff that it plays a leading role in one of their treasured national pastimes—the Kirkpinar wrestling contest. At nearly 650 years old, the tournament is one of the world's longest continuously-running sporting events. It's also one of the most popular. Each June, more than 1,000 competitors cover themselves in a slick coat of olive oil before entering the ring. All that grease makes for some comically slippery bouts, but that doesn't stop the Turks from taking this event seriously. Millions of spectators turn out for the three-day tournament, and the champion (crowned the "Big Hero") is honored as the country's preeminent sports star. 6. La Festival Gastronomico del Gato In the small Peruvian farming town of La Quebrada, people have a strange way of honoring their ancestors; every September, they gorge themselves on cats. The locals host the epic feline feast to pay homage to the town's settlers—impoverished slaves who once survived on nothing but cat meat. Despite outrage from animal-rights activists and feline lovers around the world, the festival only grows more popular each year. Recent feasts have even offered more creative options for foodies, such as cat Milanese and grilled cat with Peruvian black mint. Devotees say it tastes like (what else?) chicken. 7. The West Virginia Roadkill Cook-Off (Image credit: Pocahontas County, WV) Never let it be said that West Virginians can't poke fun at themselves. The annual Roadkill Cook-Off embraces the state's hillbilly image by celebrating a 1998 law that allows people to cook any meat found on the side of the highway. The festival's motto—"You kill it, we grill it!"—sums up the menu perfectly; it's a smorgasbord of scavenger's delights, including deer fajitas, BBQ buzzard, and squirrel gravy over biscuits. 8. Greece's Clean Monday Flour War (Image credit: Flickr user SleEEpinGBeaUty) Many parts of the world go crazy during Carnival, but in the Greek seaside town of Galaxidi, it's all about the day-after festival, known as Clean Monday. That's when locals pummel each other with bags of multicolored flour, powdering the entire town like a doughnut. The food coloring in the flour is strong enough to stain old buildings, so before they unleash more than 3,000 lbs. of the stuff in the streets, the people of Galaxidi cover much of the city in plastic. 9. The Mame-Maki Ritual For centuries, the Japanese have marked the beginning of spring as a time to drive evil spirits out of their homes. The most common method for achieving this is the mame-maki ritual, during which families toss roasted soybeans around their houses and chant "bad luck out, good luck in!" At the end of the ritual, participants pick up and eat a bean for each year of their lives, assuring good fortune for the year ahead. Nowadays, children can be seen madly tossing beans onto the street, while celebrities and monks alike host parties in large temples and shower the crowds with soy. 10. Shepherd's Shemozzle (Image credit: Hunterville Huntaway Festival) Leave it to the Kiwis to out-weird us all. Hunterville, New Zealand, is home to the Shepherd's Shemozzle, a 2-mile race in which shepherds and their dogs trek through an obstacle course that offers a different eating challenge each year. Past trails have included sheep's eyes and oil-marinated bugs, but the 2008 contest may have been the strangest of them all. Contestants had to run 50 meters while clenching raw bull testicles in their teeth. Then, before the taste was out of their mouths, they had to eat a brick of dry Weetabix cereal, followed by a raw egg and a warm can of beer. __________________________ The above article was written by Brendan Spiegel. It is reprinted with permission from the May/June 2009 issue of mental_floss magazine. Don’t forget to feed your brain by subscribing to the magazine and visiting mental_floss‘ extremely entertaining website and blog today for more!

Correcting The Myths In Your History Lessons Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:21 PM PDT Little known fact, it was not actually an iceberg, but Godzilla that caused the Titanic to sink. Link

A Massive Isengard Model Made From LEGOs Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:17 PM PDT I know we’ve posted a few cool Lord of the Rings LEGO creations before, but this 8′ wide model of Isengard might just be the most impressive one yet. Built by LEGO masters OneLUG, this monstrosity weighs over 145 pounds and uses 22,000 bricks. Link via Geekosystem

Coconut Wampa Cupcakes Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:12 PM PDT I don’t know about you guys, but I’d love to have a batch of these wampa cupcakes. There are also cool wookie ones if you prefer. They look pretty easy to make, so even though there are no instructions, I think you could make your own just using the pics as a guide. Link

Would You Drink Google Beer? Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:07 PM PDT Don’t think for a second that Google’s business is limited to internet services. Indeed, they have their hands in a variety of industries, most recently, they’ve been testing out the beer-making business. That’s right, Google has paired with Dogfish Head beer to make their own Belgian Dubbel beer called Urkontinent. The final brew included some impressive ingredients sourced around the world: Wattleseed from Australia, toasted amaranth from South America, green rooibos from Africa, myrica gale from Europe, and Hive Plex Honey from Google's own California beehives. Taken all together, the beer is described by Dogfish as being hearty, with notes of coffee and chocolate covered cherries. Also, it packs more than double the average alcohol content of average beer. To be fair, Google’s not making any money from the venture, they just want to see how the process works and to use the beer’s creation as a marketing tool. If you saw some Google beer, would you try it? Link Via Geekosystem

15 Funny Staged Splash Mountain Pics Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:56 PM PDT I know I post a lot of Disneyland stories, but that’s because the park is just so darn fun. BuzzFeed’s collection of staged Splash Mountain pics are definitely worth a look for those of you who also dig Disneyland -and those of you who just like silly pictures. Link

King of Legoland 80s Toys Flashback Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:40 PM PDT Watch on Vimeo. Watch some of the most memorable toys from the 1980s turn into each other, including the beloved Transformers and Nintendo cartridges. Today’s Bratz dolls have nothing on marbles. -via Colossal

PlayStation 3 Ad Makes Your Life Somehow Seem Meaningful Posted: 05 Oct 2011 06:54 PM PDT (Video Link) This commercial reminds us that a hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of car you drove, what kind of house you lived in, how much money was in your bank account nor what your clothes looked like. But the world may be a better place because you kicked butt in a video game. -via Geekologie

Philipp Igumnov's Surreal Collages Posted: 05 Oct 2011 06:26 PM PDT Philipp Igumnov, an artist in Moscow, makes deliciously surreal photographic collages that take place in worlds where the weird is ordinary. My favorite is this one of a boy about to make the ultimate cannonball. Link -via Colossal | Artist’s Blog

Blind Diver Gets Scuba Certification Posted: 05 Oct 2011 06:18 PM PDT Robert Ainsley-Raffel of Hexham, UK, has been blind since birth. But he’s determined to achieve the goals that he’s set for his life, including becoming a qualified plumber and a certified diver: Robert passed his dive theory test with a flying 100% mark and is now looking forward to his first open water dives en route to a full Ocean Diver qualification. Robert – who takes a white stick under water with him, saying that "it stops me banging my head" – is undaunted by his disability. He says: "I haven't got a problem being blind – it's other people that aren't prepared to step outside the box and find a way around problems that I have the biggest trouble working with." Link -via Blame It on the Voices | Photo: Journal Live

Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force Cosplay Posted: 05 Oct 2011 05:53 PM PDT On the TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Carl Brutananadilewski is the main characters’ next-door neighbor. redditor magasjaru made this nearly-perfect costume of him for Halloween last year. A true fan, he even shaved his head. And, I see, added fake body hair. That was a nice touch. Link | Previously: Remember the Boston Bomb Scare

Man Gets Plastic Surgery to Look Like Superman Posted: 05 Oct 2011 05:31 PM PDT Herbert Chavez of the Philippines loves Superman so much that he’s had numerous cosmetic surgeries to make himself look like the Man of Steel (or some popular versions of him). Specifically, he’s had chin implants, rhinoplasty, lip injections, and hip implants. Aquaman, for unknown and probably unknowable reasons, never gets this kind of adoration. Video -via blastr

RIP Steve Jobs Posted: 05 Oct 2011 05:16 PM PDT Founder and former CEO of Apple Steve Jobs has died after a seven-year battle with cancer. He was 56. The hard-driving executive pioneered the concept of the personal computer and of navigating them by clicking onscreen images with a mouse. In more recent years, he introduced the iPod portable music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet — all of which changed how we consume content in the digital age. More than one pundit, praising Jobs’ ability to transform entire industries with his inventions, called him a modern-day Leonardo Da Vinci. “Steve Jobs is one of the great innovators in the history of modern capitalism,” New York Times columnist Joe Nocera said in August. “His intuition has been phenomenal over the years.” Jobs’ death, while dreaded by Apple’s legions of fans, was not unexpected. He had battled cancer for years, took a medical leave from Apple in January and stepped down as chief executive in August because he could “no longer meet (his) duties and expectations.” CNN has the highlights of Jobs’ eventful life in the obituary. Link (Image credit: Apple)

Hand Signals Used by Waiters Posted: 05 Oct 2011 05:07 PM PDT The staff of the Stork Club, an elegant New York City nightclub that was in business between 1929 and 1965, operated like a well-oiled machine. The owner, Sherman Billingsley, even used hand signals to silently orchestrate their activities. Life magazine did a shoot in 1944 illustrating these motions including my favorite, “Call me to the phone, I want to get away from this table.” Billingsley summoned staff to do so by pulling on his ear. What signals do you think modern wait staff should use? Link -via Super Punch

Human Heart Wine Carafe Posted: 05 Oct 2011 04:55 PM PDT A bit of wine may be good for your health. Liviana Osti made this cute pair of carafes with that in mind. When the joined together, they form the shape of a heart. Link -via NotCot

The Most Popular Infographics Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:08 AM PDT A couple of years ago, someone discovered that websites hungry for content are willing to post infographics. Spammers latched onto the idea, because infographics are easy to create, and an easy way to get links on all kinds of websites. They don’t have to be particularly artful or accurate to get posted, and therefore became less so over time. Alberto Antoniazzi made this infographic that explains the current state of infography in very clear terms. See the full-size version at Flickr. Link -via Laughing Squid (Image credit: Flickr user albyantoniazzi)

Flower Girl Cleans Up Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:04 AM PDT (YouTube link) Two cute flower girls at a wedding do their thing. One sister strews flower petals in the pathway. The little sister then has to pick them up because her littering, mess-making sister dropped them on the ground! -via SayOMG

Anger and Anarchy on Wall Street Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:02 AM PDT This post is not about the Wall Street protesters, well, yes it is, but not about the Occupy Wall Street protest of 2011. A century ago, people were not any happier about what went on in New York City’s financial district. On September 16, 1920, an explosion at the corner of Wall and Broad Streets in downtown Manhattan killed 39 people and wounded hundreds more. It would be the deadliest terror attack on American soil until the Oklahoma City bombing 75 years later. Despite its proximity to the attacks on New York on September 11, 2001, the Wall Street bombing of 1920 has more in common with the public sentiment at the Occupy Wall Street protests in lower Manhattan today—with one notable exception. Today's protesters are committed to nonviolence. The anarchists of yesteryear were not. They largely failed in their attacks on capitalism and Wall Street—and their tactics turned public sentiment against their cause. That bombing was the culmination of decades of violence on Wall Street, which involved suicide bombs, union-busting mercenaries, and gunfire. After the 1920 bombing, cooler heads prevailed, and everything was hunky-dory on Wall Street …for about nine years.  Link

Holy Bat Nuts, Batman! Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:38 AM PDT Yes, these are Bat Nuts, but they are also called Water Caltrops, Buffalo Nuts, and Devil Pods. The starchy inner nut is eaten raw, boiled, or powdered and added to other foods. It’s just one of a list of The World's 10 Most Unusual Nuts. Would you rather try some candle nuts or tiger nuts? Read about these and more at WebEcoist. Link (Image credit: Flickr user FotoosVanRobin)

Alice in Wonderland Test Footage Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:36 AM PDT (YouTube link) Here is a Disney Studios reference test film synched with the finished scene from the 1951 film Alice in Wonderland. You also see the animators at work, capturing the mood and the movements of the actors. -via The Daily What

Those Sneaky Slime Molds Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:34 AM PDT How much do you know about slime molds? These one-celled creatures live in our forests, but are so different from species we normally encounter that they seem almost extraterrestrial. Slime molds are a remarkable lineage of amoebas that live in soil. While they spend part of their life as ordinary single-celled creatures, they sometimes grow into truly alien forms. Some species gather by the thousands to form multicellular bodies that can crawl. Others develop into gigantic, pulsating networks of protoplasm. While naturalists have known of slime molds for centuries, only now are scientists really starting to understand them. Lab experiments are revealing the complex choreography of signals in some species that allows 20,000 individuals to form a single sluglike body. Not only do they clump together, but they exhibit what might pass for a single-cell-type of intelligence. In order to act as one body, the individuals will connect, move, and even sacrifice their lives for the benefit of the colony. Carl Zimmer gives us some fascinating insight into what slime molds can do at the New York Times. Link -via The Loom (Image credit: Flickr user myriorama)

Why Do Some People Learn Faster? Posted: 05 Oct 2011 06:04 AM PDT An article at Wired covers several experiments in brain function and learning. First, we find that there are two distinct reactions in the brain when we make a mistake, and their relative performance determines how well we learn from a mistake. Then we find that people with open minds are more likely to change their behavior after a mistake. And then there’s a real world application, tested by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. Her most famous study, conducted in twelve different New York City schools along with Claudia Mueller, involved giving more than 400 fifth graders a relatively easy test consisting of nonverbal puzzles. After the children finished the test, the researchers told the students their score, and provided them with a single line of praise. Half of the kids were praised for their intelligence. "You must be smart at this," the researcher said. The other students were praised for their effort: "You must have worked really hard." The students were then allowed to choose between two different subsequent tests. The first choice was described as a more difficult set of puzzles, but the kids were told that they'd learn a lot from attempting it. The other option was an easy test, similar to the test they'd just taken. When Dweck was designing the experiment, she expected the different forms of praise to have a rather modest effect. After all, it was just one sentence. But it soon became clear that the type of compliment given to the fifth graders dramatically affected their choice of tests. When kids were praised for their effort, nearly 90 percent chose the harder set of puzzles. However, when kids were praised for their intelligence, most of them went for the easier test. What explains this difference? According to Dweck, praising kids for intelligence encourages them to "look" smart, which means that they shouldn't risk making a mistake. A further experiment showed how fear of failure can inhibit learning. Read about all of them at The Frontal Cortex. Link (Image credit: Flickr user mujalifah)

7 Awesome Skateboarding Animals Posted: 05 Oct 2011 06:01 AM PDT You are probably familiar with Tillman, the famous skateboarding bulldog, but there are plenty of other animals who have taken to the activity as well. In this gallery from Environmental Graffiti, you’ll meet guinea pigs, cats, turtles, birds, rabbits, and even a rat on a skateboard! Some are shown in action on video, too. Link (Image credit: Flickr user kthypryn)

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