Neatorama |
- 10 Photos Politicians Regret
- Pics Of Puppy Food Coma Victims
- Midnight At Every Age
- This Wireframe Desk Is A Pen’s Worst Nightmare
- Stormtrooper Deck Chair
- Amazing Figures By Skeleton Heart
- Shooter Game from the Perspective of the Bad Guys
- LED Guitar Helps Beginners Learn To Play Like A Pro
- Death Star Carved out of a Ping Pong Ball
- American Colonists, Form Blazing Sword!
- The Dark Knight In Real Life
- Drum Set in a Suitcase
- The Joy Of Purchasing New Beds For Your Pets
- Dora The Explorer Gets The Hollywood Treatment
- Fun 8-Bit Cross Stitch Video Game Art
- The Buurbecue Brings Neighbors Together
- Animated Ride Through The Evil Dead Movies
- Weird But Beautiful Old Soviet Rifle
- Floating Island Homes For The Financial Elite
- Origin of Species Litograph Poster
- Frank Frazetta’s My Little Pony
- Awesome Embroidered Artwork By Izziyana Suhaimi
- Lawyerbot is Here!
- Newest Trailer For Frankenweenie
- Bad Posture Belt Yells at You for Slouching
- Trick Eye Museum
- Swimsuit Girls of Old Japan
- World’s Oldest Pearl
- The World’s Hardest Sudoku
- Man Places 10 Years of Newspaper Ads to Pay Loving Tribute to Late Wife
- Hello Kitty Neon Pink Tote Bag
- Harry Potter Hedwig Cake
- Reddi-Bacon
- Answer This And Win £1,000: Why Does Hot Water Freeze Faster Than Cold Water?
- Know Your Monsters
- Play With Your iPhone While It’s Still In Your Jeans Pocket
- Invade All of the Humans!
- Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare
- Behind the Mask: Costumers and their Alter Egos
- Burglar Foiled by Burglar-trapping Door
- The Worst Haircut Ever
- How Do Pain Relievers Work?
- Eyeball Bandages
- Samurai Yoda by Clinton Felker
- What Is It? game 231
- Why You Should Spiral-Cut Your Wiener
- Psycho: Alfred Hitchcock’s Scariest Film
| Posted: 29 Jun 2012 05:04 AM PDT While we eagerly await embarrassing shots of this year’s candidates, let’s dust off our scrapbook of past political bloopers. 1. BEWARE OF THE SWAMP RABBIT On a 1979 fishing trip, Jimmy Cater’s photographers caught him trying to scare away a bunny that was torpedoing toward his boat. Then, his publicity team accidentally leaked the photos to the press. Carter’s electoral prospects against Ronald Reagan were already grim given the puttering economy, the Iran hostage crisis, and Billy Beer’s terrible flavor, but the hilarious shots of teh president fending off a fluffy swamp rabbit didn’t help. 2. BEFORE THEY WERE ENEMIES Only a few early 1980s fads have aged gracefully, and photo ops of American leaders shaking hands with Saddam Hussein isn’t one of them. Donald Rumsfeld no doubt wishes this photo didn’t exist, but probably not as much as Detroit regrets giving Hussein a key to the city in 1980. 3.THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS 9-YEAR-OLD During the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton recalled dodging sniper fire upon landing at the airport on a 1996 visit to Bosnia -at least until photos and video surfaced showing Clinton calmly exiting the plane, accepting gifts, and hugging children. Clinton quickly admitted that she “misspoke.” Comedian Sinbad, also a member of the elite team assembled for this dangerous mission, quipped: “I think the only ‘red-phone’ moment was: ‘Do we eat here, or at the next place?’” 4. DROPPING THE BALL Robert Stanfield’s 1974 campaign for Canadian rime minister was already collapsing when this hot-potato photo emerged, but the symbolism was so delicious that the country’s major papers ran his fumble into the end zone. The Toronto Sun eventually published shots of Stanfield catching the ball, too, but by then it was roo late -the butterfingered photo had already sacked the campaign. 5. THE ROCKEFINGER After Vice President Nelson Rockefeller enthusiastically flipped off some jeering hippies during a 1976 Ford/Dole campaign rally, the photo of his “satanic, sneering derision” fronted papers across the country. Despite the bad press, Rockefeller declined to apologize, saying that he was”responding in kind.” And just like his father, for whom Rockefeller Center was named, Nelson became a namesake in his own right: the term “Rockefeller Salute” was coined in his honor. 6. HE SEEMS NICE The truly embarrassing thing about First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s friendly photo op with John Wayne Gacy isn’t that he turned out to be a serial killer. It’s that the Secret Service completely missed a red flag -Gacy had a previous felony conviction for sodomy- when they gave him the security clearance pin seen in the photo. 7. SMOKE ONE FOR THE GIPPER As president, Ronald Reagan said, “Just Say No to Drugs.” But as a movie star, he was happy to say yes to Chesterfields. Reagan later claimed that he was never much of a smoker aside from the occasional puff on a pipe to impress girls, so while he was happy to hawk the smokes, it’s unlikely Reagan appreciated the gift of Chesterfield mildness himself. 8. PHOTO OPS AND ROBBERS Bank robber John Dillinger was only briefly behind bars during his criminal career. While doing a 1934 stint in an Indiana jail, he struck this pose with Lake County prosecutor Robert Estill. The shot became a nightmare for Estill just two months into Dillinger’s sentence, when the public enemy staged a Hollywood-style escape using a piece of wood carved into the shape of a gun. The photo went viral, ultimately leading to Estill’s walking papers. 9. SOLITAIRE CONFINEMENT In 2009, Connecticut State Reps. Barbara Lambert and Jack F. Hennessy learned that no matter how boring state budget debates get, one must fight the urge to play solitaire. Just shameful -true leaders only play Minesweeper. 10. LET THEM WEAR FLIP-FLOPS What do you do when your dictator husband’s regime tumbles and photos of your 2,700-pair shoe collection become the crowning symbol of your family’s corruption? If you’re former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos, you open a shoe museum in Manila. Bonus points for telling the press, “Thank God when they raided Imelda’s closet they found no skeletons, only shoes.” __________________________
Don’t forget to feed your brain by subscribing to the magazine and visiting mental_floss‘ extremely entertaining website and blog today for more!  |
| Pics Of Puppy Food Coma Victims Posted: 29 Jun 2012 04:18 AM PDT These photos reveal just how hard a puppy’s life can be, so hard and so so tiring that eating is enough to tucker these little cuties out! Watch as they dream about chasing cats, destroying the vacuum monster and all the kibble they can eat, as they embrace their food comas and look adorable without even trying. |
| Posted: 29 Jun 2012 04:00 AM PDT
From the fertile mind of Caldwell Tanner, here's what midnight looks like at every age. Via College Humor and CubicleBot |
| This Wireframe Desk Is A Pen’s Worst Nightmare Posted: 29 Jun 2012 03:18 AM PDT A pen sure could get lost in this strange wireframe desk. A paperclip could plummet to its death, and don’t even try to write anything down unless you’re drawing squares. Created by South Korean designer Bomi Park, it was meticulously crafted out of metal rods, it looks like The Matrix for office products, a giant dimensional metal grid that will swallow important memos and make the office packrats feel right at home. |
| Posted: 29 Jun 2012 03:00 AM PDT We could look for those droids. But instead, let’s just knock off early and go sit on the porch. It’s doesn’t sound like it’s anything important. I think the Sarge was just trying to keep us busy. Take it easy in this chair made by the Got Wood Workshop. Link -via Nerd Bastards |
| Amazing Figures By Skeleton Heart Posted: 29 Jun 2012 02:12 AM PDT The husband and wife team of awesomeness known as Skeleton Heart, aka Anthony and Lisa Parker, have created a bunch of new works for circus sideshow themed art show The Emporium at the Strychnin gallery. These incredibly realistic, and highly detailed, figures are cast in silicone and meticulously hand crafted, from the hair on their freakish little heads to the shoes on their feet. They are truly amazing works of figural art! Check out their blog if you want to see some amazing process shots, I found them both enlightening and inspiring! Link –via Super Punch |
| Shooter Game from the Perspective of the Bad Guys Posted: 29 Jun 2012 02:00 AM PDT (Video Link) He’s almost indestructible. I mean, you’ve got to pour dozens of rounds into him before he dies. Then he comes back to life, over and over again. What is this monster? In this funny short film by Fatawesome, the villains try to cope with a video game in which they are expendable, but the hero is not. Content warning: violence. -via Geekosystem |
| LED Guitar Helps Beginners Learn To Play Like A Pro Posted: 29 Jun 2012 01:22 AM PDT Learning to play guitar usually means watching someone else place their fingers in the right spots and attempting to copy, then trying to remember where the heck you’re supposed to put them all when it comes time to play that chord again. That’s why this Fretlight LED guitar from Optek Music Systems seems like a fun and easy way to learn how to play. LED lights show you the proper finger placement for whichever song you’re playing, so you just have to follow the little red lights and you’ll be playing in no time. It’s like your own private tutor and light show all rolled into one! Link –via DesignTAXI |
| Death Star Carved out of a Ping Pong Ball Posted: 29 Jun 2012 01:00 AM PDT Now witness the bounciness of this fully celluloid and operational ping pong ball. A forum user named tatumaru5963 made this amazing model of the Death Star. If you can read Japanese, please tell us anything else noteworthy about its creation because Google Translate isn’t helping much. Link (Google Translate) -via Geekologie |
| American Colonists, Form Blazing Sword! Posted: 29 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT
Olly Moss’s brilliantly funny cartoon references Benjamin Franklin’s 1754 drawing calling for American unity. The Voltron force would have been pretty useful about 21 years later. Link -via Super Punch |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 11:19 PM PDT From the makers of Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, Die Hard and The Shining in real life comes the tale of a sad looking Dark Knight hauling an even sadder looking Batcycle around the streets of Cambridge, spouting bits of wisdom and running around like a bat out of hell. It’s stupid funny, and should be expanded into an entire series as soon as possible. Just don’t try jumping off of any buildings while holding on to a cardboard Batwing guys! –via Stuff I Stole From The Internet |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 11:00 PM PDT
Ken Preece’s iCoustic Suitcase unpacks into a full drum set. And as you can see from the video posted on his Facebook wall, it plays well, too. Link -via Dude Craft |
| The Joy Of Purchasing New Beds For Your Pets Posted: 28 Jun 2012 10:19 PM PDT I’m sure anyone that lives in a household with multiple pets can relate to this cartoon! You think you’re doing right by buying a new bed, or toy or treat, for each of them, only to find that all they really want to do is to fight over the same spot! Which is why my cats ended up sleeping in cardboard boxes with a sheet inside, so I didn’t have to spend money on new beds they would ultimately reject. Oh you crazy critters! *shakes fist while smiling* Link –via Tastefully Offensive |
| Dora The Explorer Gets The Hollywood Treatment Posted: 28 Jun 2012 09:12 PM PDT This is exactly what I’d expect a Hollywood version of Dora the Explorer to look like, complete with ridiculous casting, lots of suspense, and some over the top action sequences thrown in for good measure. Watch as Dora, Map and her friend Diego hunt for the infamous Swiper, while remaining educational for the audience! –via College Humor |
| Fun 8-Bit Cross Stitch Video Game Art Posted: 28 Jun 2012 08:25 PM PDT These pixelated works of hand stitched video game art were created by Etsy seller 8 Bit Stitches, and they bring a bit of old world craftsmanship to the modern gamer’s home. It’s a cute and simple idea that may inspire the sewers out there, myself included, to start thinking in terms of, and working with, pixels whenever we pick up a needle and some embroidery floss. So stitch like it’s 1984 via 1894 sewaholics, and let’s see what we can come up with! Link –via Nerd Approved |
| The Buurbecue Brings Neighbors Together Posted: 28 Jun 2012 07:50 PM PDT You stay on your side of the fence; I’ll stay on mine. Maybe we can get along. And maybe–just maybe–through the magical power of grilled meat, we can bridge the divide between us. The Dutch design firm Natwerk designed the Burrbecue to help. Link -via Tasteologie |
| Animated Ride Through The Evil Dead Movies Posted: 28 Jun 2012 07:14 PM PDT This devilishly good cartoon version of the Evil Dead saga is brought to you by Daniel Kanemoto, whose videos play out like a digitally animated tour of the movies, as if you’re watching from the seat of some nightmarish roller coaster. So strap in and enjoy the ride, but when Ash starts waving his boom stick around you’d better watch out! –via i09 |
| Weird But Beautiful Old Soviet Rifle Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:50 PM PDT While browsing through the archives of Ian McCollum’s marvelous Forgotten Weapons blog, I came across this unusual and curvaceous rifle design. It’s Nikolai Afanasiev’s TKB-011 2M automatic rifle from the mid 1960s. The bullpup design–meaning that the action is behind the trigger–permits a short overall length, thus making it useful for confined spaces. As far as I can tell, it was never put into production. Sometimes beauty is not accompanied by practicality. Link | Photo: Maxim Popenker |
| Floating Island Homes For The Financial Elite Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:20 PM PDT These floating island homes are known as the Orsos luxury island yacht estates, and they’re the ultimate in decadent housing on the high seas. There’s room for twelve on board, and the whole thing is powered by solar panels and a wind energy system, although if you can afford one of these monstrosities then energy costs are probably the least of your concerns. If you’re thinking about getting one you’d better pack some serious firepower on board, because I guarantee that these will become prime pickings for all the pirates floating around out there! –via Gizmodo |
| Origin of Species Litograph Poster Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:06 PM PDT Origin of Species Litograph – $38.95 Are you an evolved individual who finds great pleasure in reading Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species? You have been naturally selected to love the Origin of Species Lithograph from the NeatoShop. This fantastic poster arose from actual texts from the book. The Origin of Species Litograph is perfect for both modern and classic environments. This controversial poster will adapt skillfully to all your favorite and ever changing habitats. It also makes a wonderful gift for book lovers and scientists. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Wall Art! Link | More Litograph Posters | Postertext Posters |
| Frank Frazetta’s My Little Pony Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:00 PM PDT Fantasy artist Frank Frazetta died five months before the premier of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. DeviantART member zedew imagined an alternate world in which Frazetta lived long enough to shape the show in the image of his iconic painting The Death Dealer. Since we’re on the topic, let me pose this question to our readers: in a fight between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who would win? Link -via Boing Boing |
| Awesome Embroidered Artwork By Izziyana Suhaimi Posted: 28 Jun 2012 05:18 PM PDT Singapore-based artist Izziyana Suhaimi has come up with an interesting and unique take on embroidery art-she embellishes her drawings with colorful stitches, creating a threaded splash of color on an otherwise flat illustration. She describes her subjects as “strange and awkward but attractive girls”, and her drawings of these girls are quite compelling in their own right. But add a splash of embroidered color and texture and you’ve got a piece worthy of becoming your latest crush. Link –via Flavorwire –image credit: Izziyana Suhaimi |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 05:00 PM PDT
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| Newest Trailer For Frankenweenie Posted: 28 Jun 2012 04:15 PM PDT Tim Burton is finally going to be able to see one of his very first projects come to life on the big screen in the animated treatment of Frankenweenie! This feature length animated film has the morbid stop motion style you’ve come to expect from Burton, and looks like it will be a ghoulishly good time. And just for kicks here’s the LINK to the original live action short of the same name! It’s a two-for-one here folks, so get your popcorn a-poppin’ and enjoy! (please note that I have no way of knowing whether either of these YouTube videos will play outside the U.S., so I apologize in advance if you are unable to watch them…) –via Geek Tyrant |
| Bad Posture Belt Yells at You for Slouching Posted: 28 Jun 2012 04:00 PM PDT
Your mom can't be with you all day, so Ellen Sundh has created a belt that yells at you when you slouch:
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| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 03:00 PM PDT
If you love to stick your head into those funny photo boards to take silly pictures, you'd love this: Our pals Jürgen and Mike visited a museum in Busan, South Korea, dedicated to trompe l'oeil: Looks like fun! Check out their photos over at For 91 Days: Link - Thanks Jürgen! |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 02:30 PM PDT Okinawa Soba has a Flickr set of lovely 100-year-old photographs of Japanese women, believed to be Geisha or Maiko, posing in swimsuits. Some have been hand-tinted, but very few have any information about the photographers or the subjects. Link -via Everlasting Blort (Image credit: Flickr user Okinawa Soba) |
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| Man Places 10 Years of Newspaper Ads to Pay Loving Tribute to Late Wife Posted: 28 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT
But what is truly remarkable is the story of why Joe is placing the ad: Read the rest over at The Los Angeles Times: Link |
| Hello Kitty Neon Pink Tote Bag Posted: 28 Jun 2012 12:45 PM PDT Hello Kitty Neon Pink Tote Bag – $54.95 Attention all you workaholic Hello Kitty fans! Summer is here! All work and no play makes Hello Kitty sad. It is time to brighten up your day with the Hello Kitty Neon Pink Tote Bag from the NeatoShop. This super adorable pink patent faux leather purse is purr-fect for getting out of the office and enjoying some well deserved sunshine. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Hello Kitty items!
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| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 12:30 PM PDT
What's that spell again? Oh yeah, fantasticus cakus getinmybellius. Check out this wedding cake featuring Hedwig the owl from Harry Potter by Rosebud Cakes in Beverly Hills, California. The glasses, wand, and polyjuice potion are all edible. Link - via When Geeks Wed and That's Nerdalicious |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT
Take THAT, microwavable bacon! Back in 1964, the maker of Reddi-Wip tried to branch out and create insta-bacon that you can cook in a toaster. Bacon fat dripping next to the heating element of the toaster? Hm.. I wonder why the product didn't take off ... Link | See also: Bacon Store over at the NeatoShop |
| Answer This And Win £1,000: Why Does Hot Water Freeze Faster Than Cold Water? Posted: 28 Jun 2012 11:30 AM PDT
The Royal Society of Chemistry is backing the prize:
Link - via metafilter Think that's the only weird thing about water? Check this out: 5 Really Weird Things About Water | Image: Defrosty the Snowman Ice Cubes |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT Know the names of the various types of monsters you may encounter. This guide from Poorly Drawn Lines may help. Link -via Blame It On The Voices |
| Play With Your iPhone While It’s Still In Your Jeans Pocket Posted: 28 Jun 2012 10:36 AM PDT
Well, problem solved with the Delta415 Wearcom jeans that let you play with your phone while it's in your pocket! CoolThings has more: Link |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT The world has been conquered by an army of giant robots! Well, two giant robots. Um, actually they’re kinda small. But they’ve taken over the world! Or, maybe just the park. Actually, the area near the park bench. But they’ve taken over! This video by Tom and Mark features “two malfunctioning robotic educational toys” from the 1980s. -Thanks, Tom! |
| Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Posted: 28 Jun 2012 09:15 AM PDT
It was a close ruling, but a 5 to 4 decision by the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate, the key part of the Affordable Care Act, or more popularly known as Obamacare. Tom Curry of NBC Politics wrote: What do you think? Does Obamacare spell doom for the country or will it become just another Women's Suffrage/Medicare/Social Security/Desegregation - all of which were controversial way back when. |
| Behind the Mask: Costumers and their Alter Egos Posted: 28 Jun 2012 09:13 AM PDT You see pictures of cosplayers and their awesome costumes on the internet all the time. Have you ever wondered about the person behind all that makeup and spandex? Geeks Are Sexy found pictures of 34 accomplished cosplayers in and out of their fantasy regalia. Link (Image credit: Candy Keane) |
| Burglar Foiled by Burglar-trapping Door Posted: 28 Jun 2012 08:32 AM PDT John Rodriguez arrived at the Rent-a-Center he managed in Brockton, Massachusetts, Tuesday and found 53-year-old Manuel Fernandes pinned to the floor under the metal door at the rear of the building. His first instinct was, of course, to whip out his phone and start recording.
Police freed Fernandes and took him to a hospital to be checked out. They plan to charge him with breaking and entering. Link -via Arbroath |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT
Link -via Metafilter
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| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 07:30 AM PDT In this TEDeducation video, George Zaidan explains how different classes of pain relievers work. Animation by Augenblick Studios. It’s a chemistry lesson, but the image of a brain driving a car makes it all worthwhile. -via The Daily What Geek |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 07:19 AM PDT Eyeball Bandages – $4.95 Oh no, did you get a boo-boo? You don’t want that wound to become a festering mess. You better keep an eye on it with the Eyeball Bandages from the NeatoShop. Inside this little tin box are 12 large eye-poppingly fabulous sterile bandages. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more awesome Health & Wellness items! |
| Samurai Yoda by Clinton Felker Posted: 28 Jun 2012 07:00 AM PDT
Many artists have reinterpreted Star Wars characters as samurais from feudal Japan, but artist Clinton Felker has a unique take on Yoda as a Japanese mystic: Link - via My Modern Met |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT Once again, it’s time for our collaboration with the always amusing What Is It? Blog! Do you know what the object in this picture is? You can win even if you don’t know! 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 each win a 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? Check out the What Is It? Blog for another picture of the backside of this mystery thing. Good luck! |
| Why You Should Spiral-Cut Your Wiener Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT First, there’s the how. And then there are several good reasons why. Get the charcoal out -I think I’ll try this tonight! But just the hot dogs. Bratwurst has a casing and should not be spiral-cut. -via reddit |
| Psycho: Alfred Hitchcock’s Scariest Film Posted: 28 Jun 2012 05:10 AM PDT
Psycho is, without a doubt, Alfred Hitchcock’s scariest film, although perhaps not his greatest film. That honor may belong to Strangers on a Train or Vertigo, Rear Window or The Birds. Whatever your personal taste in Hitchcock movies, Psycho remains not only Hitch’s most famous and influential film, but also his biggest moneymaker at the box office. Filmed in just 30 days with a rock-bottom budget of $800,000, Psycho has, to date, taken in over $50 million at the world’s box office. This figure doesn’t include TV showings or video and DVD sales. Hitch himself decided to forgo his usual quarter-of-a-million-dollar salary, instead accepting a deal for 60% of the profits on Psycho. He would pocket $15 million from this shrewd move. Perhaps no film in the history of cinema has set so many precedents and broken so much new ground. The film’s star, Janet Leigh, plays Marion Crane, an average workaday office employee. (The female lead’s name in the original Psycho novel by Robert Bloch was actually Mary Crane, but when it was discovered that two real-life women named Mary Crane were currently living in Phoenix, Arizona, the name Marion was chosen as a replacement.) Hitch bought the rights to Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho, surreptitiously, for a paltry sum of $9,000.
Leigh took on the starring role and is the film’s central character until midway through, where, to the audience’s shock and astonishment, she is killed off. Never before in any film had the lead character died in the middle of the movie. In the Bloch novel, the Mary Crane character is rather minor, only appearing in two chapters. The film’s plot is based around Marion being madly in love and embezzling $40,000 for her and her boyfriend to live on. (As a sidebar, John Gavin plays Janet’s lover, Sam Loomis, in the film and was the only actor whose performance the Psycho director Hitchcock disliked. Hitch was known to refer to Gavin as “the stiff.”) Marion is seen in the opening scene wearing a white bra. According to Leigh, this was to show her as “angelic.” Later in the film, after Marion embezzles the money, she is seen in a black bra, as she has now done an evil act. Similarly, Marion has a white purse in the early scenes, then a black purse after the crime is committed. Perkins was paid $40,000 for his indelible performance, ironically the same amount that Marion embezzles in the film. In the Bloch novel, the Norman Bates character is fat, bald, short, and very unlikeable. It was Hitch’s idea to switch Norman and make him slim, young, and good-looking. Without question the most discussed and legendary scene in Psycho is the shower scene. Never, before or since, has a single scene from a motion picture changed the bathing habits of people in several nations, but the terrifying 45-second scene made countless women (and men) stop taking showers. Janet Leigh herself was unaffected while filming the shower scene, but after viewing it on film she realized how vulnerable a woman was in the shower. She was to switch to baths instead, not taking another shower for the rest of her life. Cut from over 90 splices of different shots and angles, the knife is actually seen touching Marion’s body only twice for almost imperceptible split-second shots. Interestingly, Tony Perkins was not present during the filming of the shower scene. According to Perkins, this was Hitch’s idea, believing that Perkins slim figure would be easily identifiable and would spoil the mystery. The “blood” in the scene was actually Bosco chocolate syrup. The sound of the knife penetrating Marion’s flesh was actually the sound of a knife being speared into a casaba melon. A six-foot-in-diameter shower head was also used in part of the scene to ensure that the water sprayed past the camera lens. Initially, both Hitchcock and Janet Leigh insisted that it was, indeed, Janet, in every second of the scene. But both later admitted that a stand-in was used for the more intimate shots. Contrary to urban legend, the water in the shower was not ice-cold (Hitch reportedly used the freezing water to shock Leigh). Janet Leigh assures us that the water was kept warm and comfortable. Hitch, however, did play one very cruel trick on Janet. He wanted to see if the mother’s corpse used in the film’s climax was scary, so he planted it in her dressing room and listened, using the loudness of her scream as a barometer of its scariness. One last bit of movie trivia: besides the historic shower scene, Psycho is also the first-ever film to feature a toilet being flushed. Secrecy was of the essence for the release of Psycho. Before the film’s release, Hitch sent out his personal assistant, Peggy Robertson, to buy up as many copies of the Psycho book off stands as she could. On the first day of filming, Hitch made all the crew raise their right hands and swear an oath of secrecy. As a red herring for the film’s plot, Hitch also said he was trying to cast legendary actress Helen Hayes as Norman’s mother (not wanting to give away the fact that Tony Perkins was, indeed, his own mom). When Psycho was released in the summer of 1960, Hitch made a strict rule that no one was to be admitted inside the theater after the film had started. Movie lobbies all over America featured cutouts of Hitchcock pointing to his watch with the warning. In many theaters, a soundtrack was played before the movie’s start, saying “Psycho will begin in ten minutes,” “Psycho will begin in five minutes,” etc.
In 2007, the American Film Institute named Psycho the 14th greatest movie of all time. Tony Perkins as Norman Bates was voted the second-greatest villain in movie history (trailing only Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter) and Psycho was voted #1 on AFI’s list of “100 Years… 100 Thrills.” Psycho remains, to this day, the gold standard of suspense/horror movies. Previously at Neatorama: Five Things You Didn't Know About Alfred Hitchcock and Psycho Shower Murder Scene Fun Facts. |
The above article by Stacy Conradt is reprinted with permission from the 
That's it. It's official. The Robocalypse has begun, and as you may have suspected, lawyers are involved. Meet your new lawyerbot overlord: 
The unassuming object to the left is actually the world's oldest pearl, unearthed by French researchers at a Neolithic site in the Arabian Peninsula:
Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez ran into a man named Joe Ingber in the lobby of the newspaper building who was looking to place a small ad in the paper. That, in itself is not remarkable. After all, people place ads on the newspaper all the time. 
Psst! Want £1,000? All you have to do is explain this curious property of water: why does hot water freeze faster than cold water.
Guys, have you ever been sitting at a table in a restaurant and all you ever wanted to do is check your iPhone but your girlfriend or wife has threatened you upon pain of swift and certain death that you are not to take the phone out of your pants pocket?
Jeff Cohen’s five-year-old daughter decided her three-year-old sister needed a haircut, so she got the scissors. Weeks later, after everyone had calmed down and learned their lessons, he interviewed the girls about the experience. What resulted was the most adorable account of childhood adventure you’ve heard outside your own family.
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist 
Psycho was to be Hitchcock’s last black and white film. The reasons for this were 1) he thought the film would be “too gory” if filmed in color, 2) he wanted it to be as inexpensive as possible, and 3) he knew so many low budget films were lousy and made a lot of money, and wanted to see how a very good black and white film would do at the box office.
Anthony Perkins is unforgettable as Norman Bates, the mother-obsessed young man who runs the Bates Motel. More than one biographer has pointed out Alfred Hitchcock’s real life relationship with his own mother as being influential in Psycho. Hitch apparently had a very troubled relationship with his mom, who would force him to sit at the foot of her bed and tell her everything that had happened to him.
The haunting Psycho soundtrack was the work of composer Bernard Hermann. Hitch had originally wanted a jazz-type theme and wanted the shower scene to be without any music at all. After he heard the music, Hitch was so delighted with Hermann’s score he doubled his salary. Generously, Hitch was to say “33% of the success of Psycho was due to the music.”| You are subscribed to email updates from Neatorama To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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