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2012/03/30

Neatorama

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Neatorama

4 Winning Moments in Gym Class History

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 05:03 AM PDT

There’s more to gym class than towel snapping and poorly played games of volleyball. Not much more, but certainly enough for 4 really great stories!

Pass ball relay, Pelham Bay Park (LOC)

(Image credit: Flickr user The Library of Congress)

1. STRETCHING TO THE (VERY) OLDIES

While Harriet Beecher Stowe was busy writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin, her sister Catherine Beecher was busy blazing a different sort of trail -one that the Richard Simmonses of the world would be dance-walking down in the years to come. After learning about aerobic exercise at seminary, Beecher developed her own brand of calisthenics that included arm stretches, lunges, and squats. Then she got fancy and added live piano music to the mix. The result was an early version of Sweatin’ to the Oldies. But it wasn’t just fitness freaks who were moved by Beecher’s music -several schools around the country embraced her program and added it to their curricula.

2. ALL JACKED UP

Jack LaLanne

The jumping jack goes by many names -the star jump, the side-straddle hop. But whatever you call it, there’s only one man to blame: U.S. Army General John “Jack” Pershing. The general came up with the eponymous exercise early in his career as a no-nonsense cadet captain at West Point. But it took a whole different Jack to take the exercise public. That honor goes to the late fitness guru and TV personality Jack LaLanne, who famously bounced around, both onscreen and off, in a trademark jumpsuit. Over the years, LaLanne became so synonymous with the jumping jack that many credit him as the inventor -an indiscretion that would have earned a punishment of 100 jumping jacks from the exercise’s originator.

3. KICKING IT OLD SCHOOL

If you like kickball but hate the baseball-style rules, why not play it like they did in the 1920? To start, as many as 30 players could play at one time. Batters would place the ball on home plate and kick it without a pitcher. As for the fielders, they had to be at least 20 feet away from the kicker, and if the ball failed to reach them, the batter was ruled out.

But perhaps the strangest part of the game was the base running. When the ball was kicked, the runner ran to the base. Yes, the base: there was only one! A runner on base would either try to score when his teammate kicked the ball or stay put, meaning 14 players were allowed to stay on base at one time. If they didn’t return home by the time the last batter on a team kicked, they were out. Room for improvement, yes, but also great heart.

4. YOU MEDALING KIDS…

In the 1940s and ’50s, New York University’s Dr. Hans Kraus conducted a series of fitness tests on American and European school children. In one study, he asked the kids to perform simple exercises such as leg lifts, sit-ups, and toe touches. The results were unnerving: 56 percent of American children failed at least one part of the test, compared to just 8 percent of Europeans.

When President Eisenhower heard the news, he responded by launching the President’s Council on Youth Fitness. A decade later, President Johnson furthered the cause with the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, recognizing the country’s fittest 15 percent. These days, the award is still a staple in phys ed classes, although you no longer have to be at the top of your gym class to get recognized. Those below average win the Participant Physical Fitness Award for showing “room for improvement” but also “great heart.”

_______________________

The article above, written by Adam K. Raymond, is reprinted with permission from the Scatterbrained section of the January-February 2012 issue of mental_floss magazine. Get a subscription to mental_floss and never miss an issue!

Be sure to visit mental_floss‘ website and blog for more fun stuff!

A Gallery Of Obese Animals

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 04:45 AM PDT

Apparently there’s an animal obesity epidemic in the U.S. that coincides with people being heavier than ever before, at least according to the almighty media.

Personally, I prefer my kitties on the heavy side, so they don’t taunt me about my weight with their condescending looks and incredible feats of agility.

Michelle Collins from Best Week Ever wants to raise awareness about this issue with a gallery she has put together of overweight animals and the humans that get a hernia trying to lift them off the ground.

Or maybe she just wants to point and laugh at the poor little critters, which will probably lead to kibble binging and catnip addiction.

Link

Adorable Legend Of Zelda GIF

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 03:45 AM PDT

This cute animated GIF comes to you courtesy of Daniel Bressette, who clearly has love for The Legend Of Zelda and glowing pieces of meat. Entitled Let’s Eat, it’s a celebration of the fact that winter is over, except for those who have made Hyrule their home.

Link  –via Rampaged Reality

Sand Flea Jumping Robot Is The Coolest RC Car Ever

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 02:45 AM PDT

(YouTube Link)

Boston Dynamics is showing off their newest innovation with this video of their Sand Flea Jumping Robot in action. It looks like a flask with wheels, or one of those RC cars that can flip end over end and keep wheeling, but the Sand Flea is so much more:

Sand Flea is an 11-lb robot with one trick up its sleeve: Normally it drives like an RC car, but when it needs to it can jump 30 feet into the air. An onboard stabilization system keeps it oriented during flight to improve the view from the video uplink and to control landings.

While the Sand Flea is currently in development for use in military applications, I’ll be surprised if RC cars don’t integrate the awesome jumping feature into their own models in the near future.

Link

That’s Not A Caterpillar

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 02:01 AM PDT

Admit it, you read that headline in the voice of Crocodile Dundee, everyone does, except for those 20 year-olds who all just said “who?”…Back to the matter at hand, this isn’t a caterpillar, it’s actually a bunch of birds who apparently have no sense of personal space. The European Bee Eaters here resemble a crawly little butterfly larvae so much that the photographer, José Luis Rodríguez, decided to name the image Oruga de Plumas, or “caterpillar of feathers.”

Link Via io9

This Isn’t The Bento Box You’re Looking For

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 01:53 AM PDT

Just kidding, there isn’t any droid activity going on with this bento box, just the most delicious Jawa you’ve ever seen. It’s hard to tell, but the guy is made from Philly-style tofurky, forbidden rice and nori, while the background is a chickpea spread on pita over a sky of red cabbage.

Link Via Geeks Are Sexy

Dark Knight Rises Trailer In LEGO

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 01:45 AM PDT

(YouTube Link)

The Dark Knight Rises is almost upon us, and I’m excited by all that I see about this movie-awesome action figures, the confirmed return of Liam Neeson as R’as Al Ghul, and now the trailer gets a LEGO makeover, thanks to Paranick Filmz.

You gotta love how far stop motion LEGO films have come over the last few years, and with the inclusion of visual effects the bar has been set even higher.

–via Comics Alliance

Volkswagen Beetle Stegosaurus Sculpture

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 12:29 AM PDT

When you’re looking for a vehicle that epitomizes the Jurassic era, look no further than the Volkswagen beetle!

Created by the Mutoid Waste Co. for the Beautiful Days festival in Devon, this guy would be scary if he could walk faster than my grandma.

Thankfully, this guy isn’t going anywhere except straight into my dinosaur scrapbook.

Link

9 Strangely Wonderful Instruments

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 12:14 AM PDT

If you really need a 12 neck guitar, you probably won’t ever get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but on the upside, you’re probably an awesome human/octopus hybrid so I’m sure you have plenty of other awesome opportunities available to you.

While it might be the weirdest looking of the bizarre instruments on this Oddee article, it’s certainly not the only one worth mentioning after all, the armonica has the distinction of being invented by Mr. Ben Franklin and the Badgermin has the distinction of, well, being contained inside a taxidermied badger.

Link

Loving The Lizard

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:08 PM PDT

(Video Link)

Somehow this almost seems like a Sobe ad, but this kitten with his lizard friend are way too sweet to be shilling anything but love.

Via Cute Overload

Bubble Roll Message Maker

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 10:08 PM PDT

Bubble Roll Message Maker - $3.45

Shhh. Come closer. We have a secret to tell you.  You need to check out the Bubble Roll Message Maker from the NeatoShop. This fantastic little confectionery do0-dad allows you to write your own secret message on a bubble gum roll. We are pretty sure Bond didn’t have one of these, but he should have.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fun Mints & Candies.

Link

Sit Back, But Don’t Relax

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 10:07 PM PDT

Photographer and artist Philippe Remette knows how to make an impression with his pictures, of course, usually that impression is OFG! That’s because he uses an amazing array of tricks to capture himself looking strangely comfortable and composed in totally impossible ways and no, the images aren’t Photoshopped. Despite his calm demeanor, you can tell he is actually working hard to hold these outrageous poses, "You see a tension in my hands, my red face is far from serene as the blood rushes to it, my suit is ruffled,” he says. Find out how he makes these images a reality over at the link.

Link

Red vs. Blue Accents: How Dialects and Politics Go Hand in Hand

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 10:06 PM PDT

Politicians always say that they listen to the voters, but if you want to find out how a certain population will vote, it's better to have a linguistics expert listen instead.

American linguist William Labov of the University of Pennsylvania, noted that voting patterns and political ideology are often demarcated by the "red versus blue" accents:

Labov points out that the residents of the Inland North [near the Great Lakes - ed.] have long-standing differences with their neighbors to the south, who speak what’s known as the Midland dialect. The two groups originated from distinct groups of settlers; the Inland Northerners migrated west from New England, while the Midlanders originated in Pennsylvania via the Appalachian region. Historically, the two settlement streams typically found themselves with sharply diverging political views and voting habits, with the northerners aligning much more closely with agenerally being more liberal ideology.

Labov suggests that it’s these deep-seated political disagreements that create an invisible borderline barring the encroachment of Northern Cities Vowels. When he looked at the relationship between voting patterns by county over the last three Presidential elections and the degree to which speakers in these counties shifted their vowels, he found a tight correlation between the two. And the states that have participated in the vowel shift have also tended to resist implementing the death penalty.

Do vowel-shifters sound more liberal to modern ears? Yes, at least to some extent. Labov had students in Bloomington, Indiana, listen to a vowel-shifting speaker from Detroit and a non-vowel-shifter from Indianapolis. The students rated both speakers as equal in probable intelligence, education and trustworthiness. They also didn’t think they would have different attitudes about abortion (both speakers were female). But they did think the vowel-shifting speaker was more likely to be in favor of gun control and affirmative action.

Link

Tooth Tattoo Will Tell You Why You’re Sick

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 09:05 PM PDT

Usually, your tooth will ache to tell you that something's wrong but that's before the days of the tooth tattoos.

If Mike McAlpine of Princeton University has his ways, we all will be sportin' a special sensor made of graphene tattooed to our teeth to tell us what's making us sick from the bacteria on our breath:

Graphene, a layer of carbon that’s one-atom thick, is a super-sticky, super-sensitive surface. By planting carefully constructed peptides (a short sequence of amino acids) onto the surface of graphene, McAlpine and his group have shown that the sensors can detect bacteria individually, picking them up like velcro.

Link

Previously on Neatorama: Tooth Tattooing (for cosmetic reasons)

Soccer Team Hadn’t Scored a Goal in Five Matches, So Fans Helpfully Pointed Arrows toward the Goal

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:30 PM PDT

The soccer team of Magdeburg, Germany wasn’t doing well. Fans suspected that the players didn’t know where the opposing goal was and were just too embarrassed to ask. So at a recent match against a Berlin team, they held up arrows that discreetly pointed it out. The effort was successful, and Magdeburg scored a single goal. It did, however, still lose the match.

Link -via Nan Koenig | Photo: SportFotos

Surprising Insights From Big Data

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:04 PM PDT

If you talk to a Silicon Valley-type, chances are the words "Big Data" will pop into the conversation. It's basically a really, really big dataset of things and facts - and the hot new thing is to figure out how to make lots of money from it.

For example, with the right data, a restaurant chain can figure out whether a new location has the right demographic or level of competition, a gas station can find the busiest highway off-ramps, and so on.

Big Data can also yield insights that are quite surprising. Quentin Hardy of The New York Times' Bits Blog gave us a few examples:

... if you buy a used car, your best bet is an orange one. Data scientists at Kaggle, a pattern recognition start-up in which Mr. Elbaz has invested, have matched previously separate data sets on buyers, colors and after-purchase problems. They figured out that if a car’s original owner chose an odd color, the car was most likely a means of self-expression. That self-identification raises the odds that the owner cared more than usual for the vehicle.

... I was speaking with the founder of an African mobile phone company, called CellTel. He told me that his company realized that they could predict the location of impending massacres in the Congo, because there were spikes in the sale of prepaid phone cards.

At first the company researchers thought that this was because there were more calls around the planning or fleeing of the massacre. In fact, the reason was that the prepaid cards were denominated in dollars, not the local currency. People, sensing impending chaos, wanted to have something valuable they could carry with them that was protected against local inflation.

... If you watch a movie that ends in a number, you will probably think less of it than if it had a different title. Numbers usually indicate sequels, and most sequels are bad.

Link

Emergency Lockpicks

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 07:03 PM PDT

Afraid of being locked out of the house? Most of us just carry a spare key in our wallets, but not the members of TOOOL (The Open Organization of Lockpickers). No sir, they've got this: The Emergency Lock-Pick Card, a laser cut steel card in the size of a credit card.

Make Magazine has the details: Link

Functional Star Trek Tricorder

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 06:41 PM PDT

The glorious march to making Star Trek real continues! We already have PADDs. Now, thanks to Peter Jansen, a researcher at the University of Arizona, we have a Next Generation-style science tricorder. Its sensors can measure temperature, humidity, magnetic fields, color, atmospheric pressure and more.

Okay, that’s done. Dr. Jansen, please get to work on a holodeck next.

Link -via DVICE | Previously: A Real Medical Tricorder

The Little Heroes

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 06:21 PM PDT

Yale Stewart’s outstanding webcomic Little League remembers the Justice League before it became famous. It’s hard to be a kid, especially when Mr. Darkseid is school’s gym teacher and a cootie plague sweeps through the city.

Link -via The Uniblog

Man Attacked by Cougar, Saved by Bear

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 06:02 PM PDT

Nature hikes are often adventures, but the one that Robert Biggs, 69, took in Whisky Flats, California, is a bit of a doozy: he was attacked by a cougar ... and rescued by a bear!

Robert Biggs, 69, often hikes in the Bean Soup Flat area, which is about a mile and a half above Whisky Flats. He came across a mother bear, a yearling and a newborn, which were about 40 feet from where he was standing.

After watching the bear family for a few minutes he decided to leave them be and turned to walk back up the trail. As he turned, a mountain lion pounced on him grabbing hold of his backpack with all four paws.

"They usually grab hold of your head with all four paws, but my backpack was up above my head and (the mountain lion) grabbed it instead," Biggs said. "It must have been stalking the little bear, but it was on me in seconds."

He wrestled with the cat, striking it in the head with a rock pick. The cat screamed when it was hit with the pick, but didn't let go, Biggs said. Before he knew it, the mother bear came from behind and pounced on the cat, tearing its grip from the backpack.

The bear and the cat battled for about 15 seconds, Biggs said, until the cat finally ran away. The bear went on its way as well. Biggs ended up with bite marks, scratches and bruises to his arm, but was otherwise uninjured.

So, long story short. He bearly escaped and he ain't lion.

Real or not, you decide, but it does make for a fascinating story. Trevor Warner of Paradise Post has the scoop: Link - via USA Today

Floating Movie Theater

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 05:57 PM PDT

I assume that the projection stand and the screen are anchored into the ground, but otherwise Ole Scheeren’s temporary movie theater off the coast of Thailand rocked with the waves. A recent film festival used it for private viewings. What would you want to watch at this theater? Titanic? Spongebob Squarepants? Waterworld?

Link | Architect’s Website | Photo: Piyatat Hemmatat

Trailer For Rise Of The Guardians

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 05:50 PM PDT

(YouTube Link)

Santa Claus has never been more badass, with his tattoo sleeves and militaristic garb, it’s no wonder he was chosen to lead the guardians of humanity.

Check out this slick trailer for the upcoming release of Dreamworks’ Rise Of The Guardians, it will make you believe in magic all over again, even if it’s only the magic of CG animation and visual effects.

–via Nerd Bastards

How Gourmet Country Ham Is Made

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 05:27 PM PDT


(Video Link)

I think that it’s been at least a year since I’ve had country ham for breakfast, but I can almost taste it through my monitor while watching this video.

Although it doesn’t produce a vast quantity, Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Madisonville, Tennessee is famous for its quality. This video by Joe York tours the facility and talks to owner Allan Benton about his craft. It’s part of a project by the University of Mississippi to document traditional Southern cuisine.

-via American Digest | Company Website

Soccer Fans Create Enormous Pac-Man Mosaic

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 05:10 PM PDT

During a match against Barcelona, fans of Milan’s soccer team erected a placard mosaic of a vengeful Pac-Man bearing down on Inky. The text below reads “Let’s eat them!” That’s a good idea, because they’re no hiding spot in soccer.

Link -via Kotaku | Photo: @ParkLaneSpud

A Groovy Kind of Earworm

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 05:01 PM PDT

Urban artist id-iom noticed a temporary blue wall around an empty lot in London, and decided to do this little stencil job.

Now did a certain earworm pop up when you read that text? You'd probably be humming it the rest of the day, but be thankful that the song doesn't rattle around your brain for five years!

Link - Thanks Sholto!

Disgusting Virgin Boy Eggs Are A Chinese Delicacy

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 04:48 PM PDT

Just when you thought the food eaten by the mainland Chinese couldn’t get any stranger, here comes this disgusting delicacy-eggs soaked in the urine of boys under 10 years old.

Called Virgin Boy Eggs, they’re a big hit in the city of Dongyang, and the urine is collected from primary schools around town, making this a decidedly local flavor.

Vendors claim the eggs have good health properties, but don’t they say that about every gross food item they try to peddle in China?

Link

Strawberry Margarita Jello Shooters

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 04:44 PM PDT

You’ll need large strawberries and a steady hand with a knife, but if you’re careful, you can create shooters like these. Naomi’s recipe, which you can find at the link, calls for tequila and Cointreau. I think that the salted rims are a nice touch.

Link -via Carrie Viehman Campagna | Photo: Bakers Royale

Perfect Bookends for Your Collection of Anger Management Self-Help Books

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 04:24 PM PDT

This set of chainsaw attack bookends will discourage anyone from criticizing your taste in literature. Etsy seller Knob Creek Metal Arts made them and many other cute metal pieces of home decor.

Link -via NotCot

The Decipher the Doodle Contest is Back!

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 04:13 PM PDT

The Decipher the Doodle Contest returns to NeatoBambino and it’s another chance for you to win a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! The doodle in question (which you only see a small portion of here) was drawn by a five-year-old girl. What is it supposed to illustrate? Both the commenter closest to the correct answer and the commenter with the funniest wrong answer at the contest site will win a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! Be sure to read all the rules before you leave an entry. Good luck! Link

Student Loans for Kindergarten

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 03:01 PM PDT

Student loan for college? Puh-leeze - that's pedestrian. The new hot trend in education loans is kindergarten student loans.

You read that right. Kindergarten.

Annamaria Andriotis of Smart Money explains:

It used to be that families first signed up for education loans when their child enrolled in college, but a growing number of parents are seeking tuition assistance as soon as kindergarten. Though data is scarce, private school experts and the small number of lenders who provide loans for kindergarten through 12th grade say pre-college loans are becoming more popular. Your Tuition Solution, one of the largest lenders in this space, says demand for the upcoming year is already up: This month, the total dollar amount of loans families requested rose 10% compared to a year ago; at that pace, the company expects its total funding to rise to $20 million for 2012-13.

Link

Salt Staircase

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 02:00 PM PDT

John Farrier posted about Motoi Yamamoto's amazing salt labyrinth before, but that's just one of many cool salt artwork that the artist has made. Check out this crumbling salt staircase called Utsusemi: Link - via My Modern Met | More at Slash.fr

Keyboard Keys Stationary Set

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 01:12 PM PDT

Keyboard Keys Stationary Set – $12.95

Spring is here. It’s time to clean up that mess you call a desk. Get organized with the fashionably geeky Keyboard Keys Stationary Set from the NeatoShop. This fun set includes:

  • Paperclip holder
  • Keyboard brush
  • Hole Punch
  • and Stapler

They all fit neatly on a nice little tray. The Keyboard Keys Stationery Set is also available in white.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more entertaining Office Supplies.

Link

Knucklecase: The Toughest iPhone Case Around

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Tired of being called an Apple fanboy? Your detractors will think twice before calling you names if you sport this iPhone case! Behold, the Knucklecase, crafted out of a solid aluminum.

Your iPhone will be the toughest cell phone on the block! Link - via Digital Trends

See also: Fisticup and Stress Beater from the NeatoShop

Brother-Captain Colin: Grey Knight Terminator

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 12:04 PM PDT

DeviantART member Colin~Midwest made this suit of armor out of foam and fiberglass. It was a three-year project! The resulting look makes that effort worth the while. Read more about how he did it, and see lots more pictures, at Obscurus Crusade. Link -via reddit

Man-Heel: High Heels for Men

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:59 AM PDT

Short men have been wearing discreet "lifts" for a long time, but this is something else. Behold, the "meel" or man-heel, the newest fashion trend to hit the streets.

Hairy legs and stilettos? Now that's a shoe-in for a blog post on Neatorama:

Mr. Wagner was otherwise dressed in men’s clothing: a loose-fitting black tank top with a pair of tapered black pants. He had a neatly trimmed beard, and a pair of black-framed glasses sat perched on his nose.

“I never leave the house with less than eight inches on my feet,” he said cheerfully. “It helps you see over the cattle.”

Mr. Wagner was not the only man wearing high heels (but no other women’s clothing) that night. At Mr. Black, Luke Nero, a promoter, estimated that 10 or more men were traversing the dance floor in a pair of pumps. “I went to a loft party yesterday, and there was a guy in normal shorts, normal tank and really hot red pumps. That’s it!” he said. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, I love those shoes!’ ”

Tricia Romano of the New York Times struts the stuff: Link (Photo: Amy Dickerson for the NY Times) - via Oddity Central

A Better Hangman Strategy

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:30 AM PDT

Rocket scientist and data geek Nick Berry of DataGenetics has calculated the best strategy for winning the game Hangman. You might think you know which letters to pick first to maximize your chance of guessing right, but there’s a lot more involved than you ever considered! The chart shown here is only one step on your way to judging the optimal guess. Master all the steps, and you’ll be sending your kids off hanging their heads in shame the next time you play. Link

Pikachu Pinafore

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:00 AM PDT

A formal apron? A Pikachu pinafore? With all this tulle, you wouldn’t be making a mess in the kitchen with it, but put it over dress and it’s perfect for prom or any other cosplay event! Custom made for you by Amanda Marin, it’s available from Etsy shop Darling Amy. Link -via Geeks Are Sexy

Abandoned Pianos

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 10:15 AM PDT

Fielding House 09

If you have ever been fortunate enough to come across an abandoned piano, you probably recall how fascinated you were. Knowing how intricate, entertaining, and expensive they are, it’s sad to think of someone just giving up on a piano -even if it’s in terrible shape. The next best thing would be to see a photo collection of such pianos, which you’ll find at Urban Ghosts. Link

(Image credit: Flickr user Dan Tantrum)

Bacon Coffin

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 09:33 AM PDT

When you want to go whole hog for a funeral, you can have a genuine bacon coffin for just $2,999.99!

This genuine bacon casket is made of 18 Gauge Gasketed Steel with Premium Bacon Exterior/Interior, and includes a Memorial and Record Tube, Adjustable Bed and Mattress and Stationary and Swingbar handles. It also includes a bacon air freshener for when you get that buried-underground, not-so-fresh feeling.

Link -via Boing Boing

Thief Steals Clothing, Wears Clothing

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:02 AM PDT

A man in East London, South Africa, knocked on the door of a home and asked if the resident had any work he could do. The couple who lived there were astonished to see what the man was wearing -their clothes!

He was decked out in the resident’s shoes, socks, belt, a pair of trousers and one of his fiance’s blouses.

“When I opened the door I was surprised because he was wearing our clothing,” said the resident, who asked not to be named.

The man said he immediately went to the back garden and noticed their storeroom had been looted.

“My fiance and I were busy packing to move into a new house and most of our clothing and new linen were being kept there,” he said.

The couple held the man for police for 45 minutes, but he escaped before they arrived. The thief was later caught by security guards. Link -via Arbroath

(Image credit: Wikipedia user NordNordWest)

Downton Arby’s

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 07:30 AM PDT


(Yahoo Video link)

From the producers of “Sonic and Sensibility” and “Pizza Hut and Prejudice” (which I hope become real things) it’s the mashup for American fast food fans! Actually it’s a video from Josh Weiner. And possibly the perfect sponsor for the TV show Downton Abbey. -via Metafilter

Previously: More Downton Abbey mashups.

What People Think Peeps Are

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 07:03 AM PDT

The Washington Post recently announced the winners of its sixth annual Peeps Show diorama contest. This year’s finalists were heavy on political scenes, but this entry from Megan Hustings and Rachel Hamilton particularly caught my eye. It’s based on the meme What People Think I Do (previously on Neatorama). The captions are small to read on the complete picture, but if you go to the WaPo link, you can advance the slideshow and see each panel individually. The best is what Just Born (the company that makes Peeps) thinks Peeps are! Link

 

Sumo Wrestlers Salt & Pepper Shakers

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 06:51 AM PDT

Sumo Wrestlers Salt & Pepper Shakers – $9.95

Is cooking a full contact sport in your house? Make sure your table reflects your style with the Sumo Wrestlers Salt & Pepper Shakers from the NeatoShop. This fantastic salt and pepper shaker set is perfect for those who love sitting down to a traditional sumo meal of chankonabe.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Salt & Pepper Shakers.

Link

What Is It? game 220

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 06:30 AM PDT

It’s once again time for our collaboration with the fantastic What Is It? Blog! Can you guess what the thing in this picture is? Can you make up something interesting?

Place your guess in the comment section below. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Post no URLs or weblinks, as doing so will forfeit your entry. Two winners: the first correct guess and the funniest (albeit ultimately wrong) guess will win T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your guess. If you don’t include a selection, you forfeit the prize, okay? May we suggest the Science T-Shirt, Funny T-Shirt and Artist-Designed T-Shirts?

For another picture, check out the What Is It? Blog. Good luck!

Ig® Nobel Limericks: Slime, Nation, Beer

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 05:32 AM PDT

Ig Nobel Achievements distilled into limerick form
by Martin Eiger, Improbable Research Limerick Laureate

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, then make them think. For details of all the Ig Nobel Prize–winning achievements, see each year's special Ig Nobel issue of the magazine, and also see the winners’ page.

2008 Ig Nobel Cognitive Science Prize
Toshiyuki Nakagaki of Hokkaido University, Japan, Hiroyasu Yamada of Nagoya, Japan, Ryo Kobayashi of Hiroshima University, Atsushi Tero of Presto JST, Akio Ishiguro of Tohoku University, and Agota Tsth of the University of Szeged, Hungary, for discovering that slime molds can solve puzzles.

REFERENCE: "Intelligence: Maze-Solving by an Amoeboid Organism," Toshiyuki Nakagaki, Hiroyasu Yamada, and Ágota Tóth, Nature, vol. 407, September 2000, p. 470.

The crossword has left me at sea.
The sudoku's as hard as can be.
Though it won't be as fun,
I will get them done.
A slime mold will solve them for me.

2003 Ig Nobel Economics Prize
The prize was awarded to Karl Schwarzler and the nation of Liechtenstein, for making it possible to rent the entire country for corporate conventions, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other gatherings.

In Liechtenstein, one shouldn't miss
A chance of a lifetime like this.
You can rent the whole nation
For your celebration,
A wedding, bar mitzvah, or bris.

Lichtenstein
(Image credit: Flickr user matthiashn)

2002 Ig Nobel Physics Prize
Arnd Leike of the University of Munich, for demonstrating that beer froth obeys the mathematical law of exponential decay.

REFERENCE: "Demonstration of the Exponential Decay Law Using Beer Froth," Arnd Leike, European Journal of Physics, vol. 23, January 2002, pp. 21–6.

There's a beer on the table near me.
As I stare at it, clearly, I see
A continuous drop
In the foam on the top
As e to the negative t.

_____________________

This article is republished with permission from the September-October 2009 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!

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