Neatorama

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• The Sad Tale of Centralia
• One-of-a-Kind Triple-Barreled Shotgun
• Store Clerk Spanks Robber
• My Little Pony Kirk and Spock
• Felted Jellyfish
• Skeleton Key Necklace
• Circuit Board Business Card
• Giant Tortoises End Marriage After 115 Years
• Newspaper Prints Front Page in Binary
• The Gastric Subway
• Minesweeper Post Card
• How the Mantis Shrimp Can Revolutionize Body Armor
• Swumanoid: Robot That Swims Like a Human
• Kinsight: Kinect-Based System of Keeping Track of Household Items
• P’Zolo by Pizza Hut
• How to Car Camp in a Toyota Prius
• The Incredible Hulk Cookie Jar
• Lightning Over Greece
• The Cannonball Run
• Alligator Guitar

The Sad Tale of Centralia Posted: 11 Jun 2012 05:05 AM PDT The following is an article from the book Uncle John’s Fast-Acting Long-Lasting Bathroom Reader. On Valentine’s Day, 1981, eleven-year-old Todd Domboski was walking through a field in Centralia, Pannsylvania, when a 150-foot-deep hole suddenly opened beneath his feet. Noxious fumes crept out as the boy fell in. He only survived by clinging to some newly exposed tree roots until his cousin ran over and pulled him to safety. What was happening here …and why? (Image credit: Flickr user Scott Drzyzga) COAL COUNTRY Eastern Pennsylvania in anthracite coal country. Back at the turn of the 20th century, miners were digging nearly 300 millions tons of coal per year from the region, leaving behind a vast subterranean network of abandoned mine shafts. In May 1962, while incinerating garbage in an old strip mine pit outside of Centralia, one of the many exposed coal seams ignited. The fire followed the seam down into the maze of abandoned mines and began to spread. And it kept spreading -and burning- for years. Mine fires in coal country are actually not all that uncommon. There are currently as many as 45 of them burning in Pennsylvania alone. Unfortunately, there’s no good way to put them out. But that doesn’t stop people from trying. (Image credit:  Flicker user Cole Young) * The most effective method to extinguish such a fire s to strip mine around the entire perimeter of the blaze. That’s an expensive -and in populated areas, impractical- proposition. Essentially, it means digging an enormous trench, deep enough to get underneath the fires, which are often more than 500 feet below the ground. * An easier (but not much easier) method is to bore holes down into the old mine shafts, and then pour in tons of wet concrete to make plugs. Then more holes are drilled and flame-supressing foam is pumped into the areas between the plugs. It, too, is a very expensive project, and it doesn’t always succeed. The cheapest way to deal with a mine fire by far is to keep an eye on it and hope it burns itself out. (One fire near Lehigh, Pennsylvania, burned from 1850 until the 1930s.) After a 1969 effort to dig out the Centralia fire proved both costly and unsuccessful, they admitted defeat and let the fire take its course. By 1980, the size of the underground blaze was estimated at 350 acres, and large clouds of noxious smoke were billowing out of the ground all over town. The ground temperature under a local gas station was recorded at nearly 1,000ºF. Residents of the once-thriving mountain town began to wonder if Centralia was a safe place to live. (Image credit: Flicker user Cole Young) When the boy fell in the hole and almost died, the fire beneath Centralia became a national news story. The sinkhole -cause by an effect known as subsidence, which occurs when mine shafts collapse, possibly because the support beams are on fire- put the town’s 1,600 residents in a fix. Their homes were suddenly worthless. They couldn’t sell them and move someplace safer -no one in their right mind would buy them. The townsfolk were given a choice: a $660-million digging project that might not work, or let the government buy their homes. They voted 345 to 200 in favor of the buyout, and an exodus soon began. By 1991, $42 million had been spent buying out more than 540 Centralia homes and businesses. GHOST TOWN (Image credit: Flicker user Proper Pictures) If you were to visit Centralia today, the first thing you’d notice is that there are more streets than buildings. At first glance, it would seem that someone decided to build a town, but only got as far as paving the roads. If you looked a bit closer, however, you’d notice the remnants of house foundations. Looking still closer, you’d see smoke still seeping out of the ground. As of 2005, twelve die-hard Centralians reportedly continue to live in the smoldering ghost town. The number has dwindled since a decade ago, when nearly fifty holdouts still called it home. Experts estimate that it will take 250 years for the fire to burn itself out. _________________________ The article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John’s Fast-Acting Long-Lasting Bathroom Reader. Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. If you like Neatorama, you’ll love the Bathroom Reader Institute’s books – go ahead and check ‘em out!

One-of-a-Kind Triple-Barreled Shotgun Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT This unique 16-gauge shotgun deserved its name as the “Holy Grail.” John Hope, the first Marquess of Linlithgow and the first Governor-General of Australia, hired Edinburgh-based gunsmiths John Dickson & Son to build it. The Holy Grail is the only one of its kind and recently sold at Holt’s Auctioneers in London. Link

Store Clerk Spanks Robber Posted: 10 Jun 2012 11:00 PM PDT (Video Link) Two would-be robbers in Gatineau, Quebec experienced a major victim selection failure last Tuesday. They walked into Zhen Yang’s convenience store, pointed knives at him and demanded money. Yang fought back. First, he sprayed them with bear repellent. One took off running while he grappled with the other. Yang spanked the intruder’s bare bottom while his wife kicked the thief in the head: Soon after his wife, Bi Liang, and a customer came in and helped him subdue the suspect until police arrived. [...] Interrogating the first suspect led to the arrest of the second, and both men are being charged with robbery, wearing a disguise and possession of a concealed weapon. Link -via Glenn Reynolds

My Little Pony Kirk and Spock Posted: 10 Jun 2012 10:00 PM PDT Master ponysmith Sara Bean made these excellent Star Trek ponies. Notice her attention to detail on the Spock figure, which features the IDIC symbol, pointed ears and, of course, a horn protruding from his forehead. Link

Felted Jellyfish Posted: 10 Jun 2012 09:00 PM PDT Thanks to airbrushing and light-up tentacles, Christine Prusha’s felted jellyfish looks startlingly realistic. The other works in her Flickr stream are equally impressive. Daylight Photo and Dark Photo -via Make

Skeleton Key Necklace Posted: 10 Jun 2012 08:10 PM PDT Skeleton Key Necklace – $9.95 Are skeletons and pirates the key to your beloved’s heart? Get them the amazing Skeleton Key Necklace from the NeatoShop. This fantastic accessory is handcrafted to look like a key composed of a tooth, bone, and skull. It makes a wicked fun gift for any pirate lover. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Pirate items! Link

Circuit Board Business Card Posted: 10 Jun 2012 08:00 PM PDT Engineer Cody Shaw wanted a business card that stands out, so he built one out of a tiny circuit board. Cody explains: I saw everyone had nice, professional looking business cards, and I needed something to springboard myself into PCB design and manufacture. One and one came together, and this idea came about. There were quite a few idea revisions in my mind before I actually got around to spinning the PCB. Microcontroller? Basic LED’s? No circuitry at all? Finally I got the idea of using a 555 timer (after seeing something about worldwide 555 timer competitions on the EEVBlog) that would be outputting a clock to LED’s, which would flash depending on some external interaction to the timer. Link - via Mashable

Giant Tortoises End Marriage After 115 Years Posted: 10 Jun 2012 07:00 PM PDT They've been together since ... well, since before any of us are alive, actually - but 115 years apparently is long enough. The century-old marriage between giant tortoises Bibi and Poldi in the Happ Reptile Zoo in Klagenfurt, Austria, is on the rocks: The world's oldest animal marriage looks set to have turtley ended after an incredible 115 years when the two Giant Turtles at an Austrian zoo refused to share their cage anymore. Zoo management have called in animal experts to try and give the pair counselling - feeding them romantic good mood food and trying to get them to join in joint games - but so far without effect. Zoo boss Helga Happ said: "We get the feeling they can't stand the sight of each other anymore." Link - via MSN Now

Newspaper Prints Front Page in Binary Posted: 10 Jun 2012 06:00 PM PDT The Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) is going digital-only, so to commemorate its first online edition, it printed a frontpage in binary code. Link - via Engadget

The Gastric Subway Posted: 10 Jun 2012 05:00 PM PDT Steven McGaughey is a medical student by day and "design nerd" by night. He created this clever map, The Gastric Subway, a tongue-in-cheek subway map version of the human digestive system. We all know what the final destination of the Gastric Subway ... ;) Link - via  Medical State of Mind

Minesweeper Post Card Posted: 10 Jun 2012 04:00 PM PDT Remember the classic computer game Minesweeper? Korean design studio Connect design has ported that over into meatspace. Behold, the scratch Minesweeper post card that you "play" by scratching off squares with a coin. Link - via The Verge

How the Mantis Shrimp Can Revolutionize Body Armor Posted: 10 Jun 2012 03:00 PM PDT Mantis shrimp, which ironically is neither mantis nor shrimp, sure knows how to pack a punch. The bright orange fist-like club of the mantis-shrimp, which it uses to crack open clam shells, accelerates faster than a 22-caliber bullet underwater. But how does the Mantis shrimp club survive repeated high-velocity strikes without cracking? [University of California, Riverside professor David Kisailus] found that the club is a highly complex structure, comprised of three specialized regions that work together to create a structure tougher than many engineered ceramics. The first region, located at the impacting surface of the club, contains a high concentration of mineral, similar to that found in human bone, which supports the impact when the mantis shrimp strikes prey. Further inside, highly organized and rotated layers of chitin (a complex sugar) fibers dispersed in mineral act as a shock absorber, absorbing energy as stress waves pass through the club. Finally, the club is encapsulated on its sides by oriented chitin fibers, which wrap around the club, keeping it intact during these high velocity impacts. “This club is stiff, yet it’s light-weight and tough, making it incredibly impact tolerant and interestingly, shock resistant,” Kisailus said. “That’s the holy grail for materials engineers.” Link Previously on Neatorama: Check out the pistol shrimp's shooting claw in 6 Seriously Strange Animal Adaptations

Swumanoid: Robot That Swims Like a Human Posted: 10 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT [YouTube Clip] Think you'd be safe on the water when the Robocalypse happens, humans? Think again:  ... researchers Chung Changhyun and Motomu Nakashima at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a robot that can faithfully reproduce a swimmer’s whole-body motion while measuring water resistance. [...] To create the robot, the researchers first performed a 3D body scan of a real person. A 1/2 scale model was built using 3D printed parts. The robot was then outfitted with 20 water-proof motors, and programmed the necessary motions to reproduce realistic crawl, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, and even dog paddling and treading water. Plastic Pals has the post: Link

Kinsight: Kinect-Based System of Keeping Track of Household Items Posted: 10 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT The days of losing your wallet, keys, and TV remote may be numbered, thanks to research by computer scientist Shahriar Nirjon and John Stankovic at the University of Virginia in Charlotsville. They've developed "Kinsight [PDF]," a Kinect-based system that can keep track of the location of household items in the room: It works by tracking people and detecting the size and shape of any objects they interact with. Each object is compared to Kinsight's database for the house and either recognised or added to the list. By following the location of objects over time, Kinsight can even distinguish between two identical-looking things - if it records a mug that seems to have jumped from the living room to the kitchen without passing through the space between, for example, it knows it is likely to be two mugs. The system can locate fist-sized objects with an accuracy of 13 centimetres. Link

P’Zolo by Pizza Hut Posted: 10 Jun 2012 12:30 PM PDT What do you get when you combine pizza with sub sandwich? Neatoramanauts, meet the P'zolos, the newest creation from Pizza Hut (who also brought you the hot dog stuffed crust pizza, pigs in a blanket pizza, and cheeseburger pizza). It's aimed at rival Subway: The chain’s new product, officially launched this week, comes in Meat Trio, Italian Steak and Buffalo Chicken and looks like a cross between a sub, a roll and a Costco-style chicken bake. Each comes with either ranch or marinara dipping sauce and sell for $3 ($5 for two). Pizza Hut’s bid for sandwich domination involves transforming a pair of Chicago Red Line subway trains into giant P’Zolos and handing out freebies to passengers on Thursday. They’re calling it — natch — a “Subway Takeover.” Subtle, they’re not. Then again, the P’Zolos’ creators also say they’re “rescuing sandwich-lovers from the doldrums of cold cuts.” “It's more than a sandwich,” crows Kurt Kane, Pizza Hut’s chief marketing officer. “It's a new flavor creation that is leaving the sub category behind." Tiffany Hsu of The Los Angeles Times has the story: Link What do you think, Neatoranauts? Yummy or yuck? Previously on Neatorama: Fast Food Flavors You Won't Find in the US

How to Car Camp in a Toyota Prius Posted: 10 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT Earlier this year, we posted a report of a camper conversion kit for the Prius, but it was a permanent alteration that cost USD $40,000.  Now a removable tent extension has been developed by Habitents. Habitents doesn’t use any poles and is able to roll up small enough to store in your glove compartment – also something you don’t get with a regular tent. It basically hangs off your hatchback with a couple of simple tie-downs, so it sets up easily. A photo at the Gizmag source shows a view of the interior; the price of USD$90 could be recouped by avoiding one night in a hotel or motel.  The manufacturers have a patent pending that would apply to other hatchback vehicles. Link.

The Incredible Hulk Cookie Jar Posted: 10 Jun 2012 10:52 AM PDT The Incredible Hulk Cookie Jar – $54.95 Do you get really angry when somebody snags the last of your favorite cookies? Protect your precious sweets with the Incredible Hulk Cookie Jar from the NeatoShop. This fantastic cookie jar is all the rage among brilliant scientists. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Hulk items and amazing Kitchen Stuff. Link

Lightning Over Greece Posted: 10 Jun 2012 10:20 AM PDT Zeus must've been really angry! Photographer Chris Kotsiopoulos (previously on Neatorama) took this photo sequence of 70 lightning over Ikaria Island, Greece: Fire in the sky! This is a photo sequence containing 70 lightning, taken at Ikaria island during a severe thunderstorm that took place the night of the total lunar eclipse at June 15, 2011. In order to make the sequence, I set the camera to a tripod taking 20 second shots continuously. After 83 minutes I ended up with approximately 90 lightning shots. I had to exclude around 20 because the photo condensed so much that didn't look nice. Also, in many shots I have captured more than one lightning. I believe that the number of actual lightning captured that night is more than 100. I do landscape photography since 2006 and this is my lightning personal record! The previous is this one with 42 lightning captured. Link

The Cannonball Run Posted: 10 Jun 2012 08:57 AM PDT The Kessel Run is normally 18 parsecs. Who will finish it first in this new movie starring Dom DeLuise as as Chewbacca and Sammy Davis Jr. as Boba Fett? Link -via Super Punch | Image: Old Red Jalopy

Alligator Guitar Posted: 10 Jun 2012 07:41 AM PDT Rhinehart of Athens, Ohio sculpts and paints beautifully eccentric but fully functional guitars. Many are shaped like fish, the rear ends of horses, birds and dragons. This alligator is a lap steel guitar: Modeled on the Fender 8-string Stringmaster and Deluxe steels featuring 2 pickups with volume, tone, and blend for dialing in the perfect tone for any mix. The pickups are handwound with reverse polarity to create a humbucking effect when both are balanced. These are very sweet sounding instruments and great looking as well. Gotoh tuners for smooth and accurate tuning. #3 is an 8 string model with Gotoh tuners, 2 reverse-wound-reverse polarity pickups from United Luthierie. Stanless steel nut and aluminum bridge/tailpiece. Volume, tone, and blend controls. Carved from 3 pieces of Douglas fur for light weight and rich tone. Hand-painted fingerboard. Link -via Nag on the Lake

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