Neatorama |
- This Lamp Plays With Shadows On Your Wall
- Pit Bull Saves Woman Dying of Aneurysm
- The House With A Halloween Light Show
- How Were You Born?
- Care Bears In Real Life
- Pumpkins Inspired By Classic Books & Writers
- Big Cats Love Pizza
- The World's Largest Pumpkin Carving
- Daylight Saving Time Explained
- The One Question Americans Always Ask Strangers
- Linguists Crack Mysterious 300-Year Old Coded Manuscript
- Japan's Ear-Cleaning Parlors
- Williams Syndrome: The Super-Social Genetic Disorder
- Quentin Tarantino's ThunderCats
- Lincoln Town Car Convertible Limo Is Ready for Off-Roading
- The $130 Check That Sold the Rights to Superman
- Papercraft Babushka
- Removing Technology from Schools to Improve Education
- Study Proved that Gen X Aren't Slackers
- A Culture, Not a Costume
- Selling Fake Vermont Maple Syrup Will Land You in Prison
- Kraven Hunts For A Date To The Prom
- An Office Worker Goes Kong
- Gone in 6 Minutes
- Mr. Potato Head Captain Kirk and Klingon Kor
- Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, or There’s Something About Mary?
- Traffic Interference
- Photobombs!
- Legend
- Confused Grasshopper
- Modern-day 'Robinson Crusoe' Saved in White Sea
- The Physics Book by Clifford A. Pickover
| This Lamp Plays With Shadows On Your Wall Posted: 26 Oct 2011 12:21 AM PDT This cool little lamp casts some sweet shadows! What’s really cool about this shadow art lamp is the fact that the shadow plates are interchangeable, and you can even make your own! Personally, I think this is one of those items that DIY fans can really sink their teeth into. |
| Pit Bull Saves Woman Dying of Aneurysm Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:35 PM PDT Pit bulls have a bad reputation, but many of them are actually wonderful, loving family dogs. In fact, this particular dog actually saved his owner who was having a brain aneurysm by alerting her husband to her problem in time for her to be rescued. Via BuzzFeed |
| The House With A Halloween Light Show Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:29 PM PDT This house better stock up on Halloween candy, because they’re guaranteed to have a flood of trick or treaters this year! The brilliant light show changes with the music, and animated pumpkin faces sing along. I wonder what these people are going to do to their house for Christmas? –via Ology
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| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:25 PM PDT There are plenty of musicians who claim they were born to do something, if you have a hard time remembering who was born to do what, then this street flyer by Natalie Hayter might help. Of course, it can also be used to show your pride in what you were born to do. Link Via Laughing Squid |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:07 PM PDT There’s something about these Care Bears that’s not quite right. Maybe it’s the massive fangs, or sharp claws, or the fact that the symbol on the bear’s stomach seems to be running. Something tells me these bears don’t want to hug and sing songs! |
| Pumpkins Inspired By Classic Books & Writers Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:06 PM PDT We’ve featured a bunch of pumpkin carvings for Halloween so far, but Flavorwire’s literary collection definitely has some of the most highbrow jack-o-lantern designs we’ve seen so far. |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 10:53 PM PDT Who knew big cats were so into pizza?…Or at least the residual smell of it left on the boxes. |
| The World's Largest Pumpkin Carving Posted: 25 Oct 2011 10:48 PM PDT If you’re going to let someone make the world’s largest pumpkin carving, you might as well make sure he’s an amazing artist. That’s why it’s so great that Artist Ray Villafane was given the honor of carving the record breaking pumpkin this year. Enjoy more pics at the link. Link Via The Daily What |
| Daylight Saving Time Explained Posted: 25 Oct 2011 08:37 PM PDT C.G.P. Grey explains how Daylight Saving Time works -and doesn’t. It seems like an awful lot of hassle twice a year for a tiny payoff. In the U.S, DST ends on November 6th. Link -via I Am Bored |
| The One Question Americans Always Ask Strangers Posted: 25 Oct 2011 08:08 PM PDT
Columnist LZ Granderson writes about the one question that only Americans ask first when they meet someone new (and it's true, whenever I travel abroad, no one ever asks me this question - not at first, anyhow):
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| Linguists Crack Mysterious 300-Year Old Coded Manuscript Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:25 PM PDT
The translated text reveals details for a ritual by a secret society. Link -via Nerdcore | Photo: New York Times Previously: The Code the CIA Can’t Crack |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:13 PM PDT
Link -via Oddity Central | Photo: Beatific Previously: Scrape Those Ears Clean! |
| Williams Syndrome: The Super-Social Genetic Disorder Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:07 PM PDT
Scientists think that this may be the key to understanding autism:
Read more from Today Health: Link |
| Quentin Tarantino's ThunderCats Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:45 PM PDT Andy Hunter hints at it in his poster inspired by one for Reservoir Dogs, but let me say it plainly: Panthro is Mr. Orange. He can’t be trusted. Link -via The Uniblog | Artist’s Website |
| Lincoln Town Car Convertible Limo Is Ready for Off-Roading Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:31 PM PDT |
| The $130 Check That Sold the Rights to Superman Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:20 PM PDT In 1938, writers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster sold the rights to one of their characters — some guy by the name of Superman. DC wrote them a check for various services, $130 of which was for Superman. Siegel and Shuster split the profits between them. Not bad for a day’s work, eh? That check, pictured above, be auctioned in November. And hopefully for more than its original value. Link | Photo: Gerry Duggan |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:10 PM PDT Three years ago, we featured some of the amazing papercraft works of Yulia Brodskaya. Since that time, she’s honed her craft to an astonishing degree. This image is, believe it or not, just strips of paper attached to a base. |
| Removing Technology from Schools to Improve Education Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:00 PM PDT
Students at Waldorf schools learn the same way almost anyone born before the last few decades: pen, paper, chalk, books, hands-on activity, simple experimentation. While most schools agree that technology is a necessary tool for learning (even my daughter had computer hour once a week in Pre-K), those who would most logically turn to technology to aid their own childrens’ education (namely, the inventors of said tech) are eschewing gadgets and PCs wholesale. Is eliminating all new technology a better tactic than using computers in classrooms, or simply a different one? Which would you prefer for your kids? Read the Times piece in full – Link |
| Study Proved that Gen X Aren't Slackers Posted: 25 Oct 2011 04:06 PM PDT
Generation X, the much maligned "slackers" born of the baby boomers, turned out not to be angst-ridden lazy bums after all. In fact, according to the Longitudinal Study of American Youth at the University of Michigan, they're actually hard working, active, balanced and - gasp - happy people:
Link - via USA Today | The Report [PDF] |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 02:53 PM PDT A group of Ohio University students urges you to be sensitive in your costuming decisions this Halloween. Don’t generate cheap laughs at the expense of other cultures, including vampires, My Little Ponies, mimes, and the cast of Jersey Shore. You’re better than that. Link -via Boing Boing |
| Selling Fake Vermont Maple Syrup Will Land You in Prison Posted: 25 Oct 2011 02:04 PM PDT
That's Democratic Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy's promise to protect the state's iconic yummy food product. Along with Maine Senator Susan Collins, a Republican - who says the bipartisan spirit is dead in Washington? They've come together to protect breakfast!) - Leahy has introduced a bill to make selling fake Vermont maple syrup a felony with a 5-year maximum penalty:
The best part about the bill? Its name: Maple Agriculture Protection and Law Enforcement, AKA MAPLE Act: Link (Photo: Shutterstock) |
| Kraven Hunts For A Date To The Prom Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:02 PM PDT
Link –via ComicsAlliance |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:01 PM PDT If Donkey Kong wasn’t a giant gorilla, but rather a lowly office worker whose promotion was given to a moustachioed employee named Mario, then the situation would probably play out just as it does in this spoof movie trailer for “Mr. Kong”. It’s a good thing nobody took his stapler! –via Ology |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 12:02 PM PDT
So what's an enterprising car thief to do if he couldn't do it in 60 seconds with hand tools? He did it in 6 minutes with a crane:
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| Mr. Potato Head Captain Kirk and Klingon Kor Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:30 AM PDT Mr. Potato Head Captain Kirk and Klingon Kor - $34.95 Did you know that Mr. Potato Head is a Trekkie? Well he is! Check out the Mr. Potato Head Captain Kirk and Klingon Kor set from the NeatoShop. This amazing set includes two 5″ Tall figures. Captain Kirk has a cool spud smirk while Kor is the perfect potato warrior. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Star Trek items! |
| Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, or There’s Something About Mary? Posted: 25 Oct 2011 09:59 AM PDT It’s time for another movie quote quiz from mental_floss! In today’s Lunchtime Quiz, you are challenged to sort your Farrelly Brothers films. You’ll be given quotes, and you try to recall if each is from Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, or There's Something About Mary. I’ve seen two of the three, but I kept mixing them up and scored only 36%. You will do better! Link |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 09:14 AM PDT What’s black and white and red all over? Somewhere in Russia, there is a traffic light that comes with a bonus. -via The Daily What |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 09:00 AM PDT Our friends at Oddee are putting together a book of photobombs -pictures in which someone or something intrudes to make the photo much funnier than intended. Do you have a great photobomb? They’re looking for submissions to include in the book. Get all the details and see some funny examples at Oddee. Link |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 08:58 AM PDT The conundrum is: you you want to look cool, or avoid being haunted by your dead friend for the rest of your life? This anti-drunk driving ad is from New Zealand. -via reddit |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2011 08:19 AM PDT What is this grasshopper confused about? Buzzfeed asked its readers for captions. What words would you put in his mouth? Link |
| Modern-day 'Robinson Crusoe' Saved in White Sea Posted: 25 Oct 2011 08:16 AM PDT Sergei Ganyushev, a 25-year-old from Arkhangelsk, Russia, was stranded on an island in the White Sea only 150 kilometers from the Arctic Circle for 16 days. He set out along on October first to gather seaweed, but his boat sprang a leak.
The monk was found dead, but the search continues for his companion. Ganyushev was treated for hypothermia and malnutrition. Link -via Arbroath |
| The Physics Book by Clifford A. Pickover Posted: 25 Oct 2011 05:13 AM PDT
The Physics Book is a large, substantial book, but don’t let that fool you! It’s a treat to read, whether you have a background in physics or not. I don’t, so I was delighted to see how interesting and accessible The Physic Book is. The 500 pages are broken down into 250 subjects, with a one-page explanation plus a gorgeous, full-page illustration for each. This means that each of those 250 physics topics can be consumed in bite-size pieces at your leisure. They are laid out in somewhat chronological order -”somewhat” meaning that the order is either when something happened, when it was discovered, or when it was particularly meaningful. So you can start at the beginning if you like and get a good overview of the timeline of physics or you can browse topics that interest you anywhere in the book. Of course, there’s an alphabetical index so you can easily find any of them. The topics range from simple everyday subjects to higher concepts you’ve heard of, but don’t (yet) understand. In the simpler subjects, Pickover gives us a short explanation of scientific milestones and basic concepts that make the mundane into something fascinating. For example, for the hourglass, a mundane yet ingenious device, you get both history and science in one page.
Read the rest on page 68. My younger children didn’t realize that gears had anything to do with physics until they saw page 57.
And then Pickover goes on to explain exactly how gears do these things. Other basic concepts covered include the invention of the telescope, the discovery of planets (which is, of course, related), and how things like boomerangs and pulleys and atomic bombs work. But it’s not only simple physics concepts. Interested readers can select puzzlers like the Schrödinger’s Cat thought experiment, proposed by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935 and explained on page 376.
Which just goes to show that all those who say it’s silly to think a cat can be both dead and alive at the same time until observed were actually agreeing with Schrödinger himself! The Physics Book lays out some of the more difficult concepts in relatively simple terms, like chaos theory, the Fermi paradox, time travel by wormhole, the universe as a computer simulation, and antimatter (page 364). Antimatter is real and has been observed since 1932. It even has practical applications. And it also leads us to further speculation on the nature of the universe.
Oh my. I’ll make a note not to do that. The Bose-Einstein condensate sounds like a difficult concept, but that’s mainly because I was unfamiliar with it -until I read Pickover’s explanation on page 496.
Which, like all these excerpts, is only a partial explanation. Each page takes only a few minutes to read, but you’ll come away with a better understanding of the overall idea of physics as well as the particular topic on each page. And there are some lighthearted yet still interesting entries, like “Stephen Hawking on Star Trek” on page 494.
If Hawking and Einstein did it, what is to stop other physicists from becoming pop culture icons? Physics is cool, and The Physics Book is a great way to get yourself up to speed. It will make a great Christmas gift for a student, a family, or anyone with a bit of curiosity -and if you give it to someone who doesn’t think physics is cool, this will likely change their opinion! The Physics Book by Clifford A. Pickover is available now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Visit the author at his website Clifford Pickover’s Reality Carnival. |
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