Sponsor

2012/07/27

Neatorama

Neatorama

How Chuck Yeager Reached Supersonic Speed

Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:07 AM PDT

"When we weren't flying, we zipped on our leather flight jackets, crowded around the blackjack tables of the Tonopah Club, drank ourselves blind on rotgut, then staggered over to the local cathouse."

That's how America's most famous fighter pilot, Chuck Yeager, describes himself and his 18-year-old pals in 1941, as they completed Army Air Corps training before taking part in World War II. By the time the war was over, Yeager had flown 64 missions, logged 13 "kills," and had been shot down over enemy territory in German-occupied France (only to escape). His extraordinary aviation talents were evident, and he soon enrolled in the newly constituted U.S. Air Force. But his was no ordinary stint in the service. In 1947, Yeager volunteered to be the test pilot for a top-secret, rocket-powered plane dubbed X-S-1. The 'X' stood for experimental. The 'S' meant it would fly at supersonic speed. And the '1' indicated that it was to be the first aircraft to break the sound barrier—if Yeager didn't die trying.

The Flight Plan

Why would the swaggering stud from Hamlin, W. Va., risk his neck to achieve supersonic speed? Simply stated, America had to do so if it was going to compete with the Germans and the Japanese, and Yeager knew it. During the war, American fighter pilots such as Yeager would often shake enemies off their tails by diving during dogfights, sending planes plummeting at close to supersonic speeds. Military engineers feared that if the machines hit the so-called sound barrier while doing this, it would cause them to break apart. On the other hand, they also knew that if they could harness new jet engines to propel fighters faster than the speed of sound, the planes would be impossibly difficult to shoot down.

In order to create a supersonic plane, engineers faced a few problems. First, they had to build an aircraft tough enough to withstand a "sonic boom." When a plane flies, it pushes the air in front of it, creating waves of compressed air molecules, similar to the way water waves build up at the bow of a boat and fan out on each side. But as an airplane reaches the speed of sound, it pushes these waves so hard that they actually collide, creating earsplitting shock waves, or those famous sonic booms.

While engineers reached the point at which they could build an aircraft tough enough to withstand the shock wave punch, their bigger concern was that the waves could leave a dead wake behind them. With no air for the plane's control flaps to press against, the craft could suddenly nosedive. Facing this risk, the logical thing would be to test the experimental plane in a wind tunnel, but laboratory tunnels maxed out at 85 percent of the speed of sound, (or Mach 1, which at sea level is 760 mph.) In the end, the only way to test the X-1 was to strap Yeager into the jet and light a candle.

This is Only a Test

This was the game plan: Yeager would be piloting the carefully crafted X-1. Shaped like a bullet with two stubby wings and a high tail, the 31-foot-long plane would be loaded with 600 gallons of liquid oxygen and alcohol fuel stored (precariously) right behind the pilot's seat. Even more risky, the X-1 wouldn't take off on its own. It would actually be hung from the bomb-release hook inside a B-29 bomber, which another pilot would fly up to 25,000 feet. At that point, Yeager would climb down a spindly ladder to the X-1, dangling in the dark bomb bay, and crawl into its tiny cockpit. The B-29 pilot would then open the bomb door and drop Yeager into the sky. Plummeting like a rock, Yeager would fire the X-1's four rocket engines in succession, blasting him up to nearly 40,000 feet and straight through the sound barrier. But this wasn't a one-off attempt. Over the course of several months, Yeager was to make a series of flights, each designed to push the X-1 incrementally closer to Mach 1.

Finally, the first test day arrived. In his 1985 autobiography, Yeager admits that as the B-29 climbed into the air that day, he crawled into the X-1 cockpit "and waited to be dropped like a [expletive] bomb." Suddenly, the bay door opened, the cable released, and Yeager fell into blinding sunlight while being chilled to the bone from the liquid oxygen tanks behind him. Now Yeager had to ignite the first rocket. "If you are gonna be blown up," he notes, "this is likely to be when." He threw the switch and—wham!—he was thrown back into his seat as the rocket blasted the plane skyward. Yeager ignited the other rockets and, per plan, reached Mach 0.85 at 35,000 feet.

At this point, Yeager's instructions were to cut off the engines, jettison the remaining fuel, and sweep toward the desert floor, landing gingerly like a glider. But Yeager wasn't one to play by the rules. Instead, he dove straight down to 300 feet, leveled off over the air base, and re-lit all four rockets. The unexpected maneuver blew a 30-foot flame out the back of the X-1 as it screamed straight back up to Mach 0.82. The next day, the highest-ranking colonel at the air base told Yeager to obey orders, or he'd be gone.

Breaking Waves

Plenty went wrong during subsequent runs. On Flight 7, as Yeager reached Mach 0.94, he lost all control of the plane's tail due to the compression waves. Design changes were made, and on Flight 8, Yeager hit Mach 0.955. The plane shook violently, but the new tail controls held up. Yeager, however, was sweating so profusely as he fought the buffeting that his evaporating body moisture frosted the inside of his windshield—meaning he essentially had to land the X-1 blind.

Exhausted and tense, Yeager knew he was getting closer to the goal, and that his next flight might be "the one." To let off some steam, he took his wife, Glennis, out to Pancho's, the lone establishment at the edge of the air base where test pilots raised hell. Florence "Pancho" Barnes, the female proprietor and self-described desert rat, kept some horses out back, and after dinner, Chuck and Glennis raced after one another on horseback under the pitch-black sky. Unfortunately, Yeager didn't see the oncoming fence until his horse suddenly veered off. He was thrown to the dirt, and cracked two ribs in the fall. Knowing he'd be grounded if he reported to the base doctor, Yeager had his wife sneak him out of town where a local doc taped him up.

 

Yeager knew he could still fly, but there was one thing those cracked ribs wouldn't allow him to do: close and latch the cockpit door after climbing into the plane. So the night before he was scheduled to fly, Yeager called his project engineer, Jack Ridley (pictured with Yeager), and the duo slipped into the X-1 hanger. The ingenious Ridley sawed off a broomstick that Yeager could jam into the door as a lever, and they hid the stick beside the seat.

The next morning, on October 14, 1947, Yeager climbed aboard the mothership, and its pilot took them up to 25,000 feet. Yeager struggled down the ladder, crumpled into the X-1 seat, felt for the broomstick, and locked the door. After the B-29 dropped him, Yeager fired two rockets and raced upward. At Mach 0.96, the plane buffeted strongly, and he fired the third and fourth rockets. The speed gauge fluttered, then tipped right off the scale. Suddenly, Yeager's ride was smooth as silk. Shock waves were forming behind the plane, and Air Force personnel on the ground were pounded with sonic booms. Yeager maxed out at Mach 1.07, then glided the X-1 in. "After all the anticipation," Yeager would write later, "it really was a letdown. It took a damned instrument to tell me what I'd done. There should have been a bump on the road. Something to let you know you had just punched a nice clean hole through that sonic barrier."

All Quiet on the PR Front

Despite his achievement, Yeager couldn't really celebrate. The feat had to be kept secret because spies were always lurking around. It wasn't until months later that the military announced the record-breaking flight, managing to obscure the technical details from the public. The secrecy worked. Several years later, when the newest American fighter planes, the F-86s, engaged Soviet MiGs over Korea, the superior speed advantage resulted in a kill rate of 10-to-1.

Yeager's career, however, was far from over. The gutsy pilot had plenty of white-knuckle sessions after the historic flight, including his very next trip on the X-1. Just after being released from the bomb bay, the plane lost all electrical power, and Yeager dropped like a boulder toward the Earth. Fortunately, he managed to dump the 5,000 pounds of explosive fuel he had onboard and manually level the barreling bullet—just seconds before it would have plowed into the ground.

Yeager spent seven more years as a test pilot, and in 1953, he reached Mach 2.44. He also trained military pilots to become some of the first astronauts, but was never chosen himself—an irony dramatized in the 1983 movie, The Right Stuff. Yeager retired in 1975 as a brigadier general.

The next year, the Concorde SST became the first commercial airliner to fly passengers at Mach speeds. A decade later, inspired by the posh plane and space shuttle flights, President Ronald Reagan proposed a hypersonic "space plane" that would fly from Washington to Tokyo in two hours. The notion evolved into an embattled NASA program, the X-43A. On March 27, 2004, the needle-nosed bullet was dropped from a B-52B bomber and its novel "scramjet" engines fired it to Mach 7 at the incredible altitude of 95,000 feet. But there was no Yeager-esque cowboy at the controls; the test flight went unmanned.

________________________________

This article by Mark Fischetti is from the July-August 2004 issue of mental_floss magazine. It is reprinted here with permission.

Don’t forget to feed your brain by subscribing to the magazine and visiting mental_floss‘ extremely entertaining website and blog today for more!

The Soup Nazi Is Here to Serve

Posted: 27 Jul 2012 04:08 AM PDT

Fans of Seinfeld certainly remember The Soup Nazi and while he was always just an imaginary character, the actor who played The Soup Nazi is now going on tour with his own “No Soup for You” food truck. Wondering what he might actually offer hungry diners? Well, the menu includes show favorites such as "mulligatawny soup, Junior Mints, muffin tops, black and white cookies, Twix and Snapple."

Link Via Laughing Squid

Claymation Short – How To Lose Weight In 60 Seconds

Posted: 27 Jul 2012 03:00 AM PDT

(YouTube Link)

Want to know how Gumby’s clay friend Slumby sheds those unwanted pounds?

Watch this adorable claymation short by Dave Carter and he’ll show you How To Lose Weight In 60 Seconds in many unhealthy ways.

Slumby is a bit of a sicko so I can’t condone his methods, it seems like he’s been spending a little too much time with Mr. Bill!

–via JazJaz

The Stones Know How to 404

Posted: 27 Jul 2012 02:08 AM PDT

When you get a 404 error on The Rolling Stones website, they remind you that “you can’t always get what you want.” Get it?

Link Via Geekosystem

Superhero Manatees

Posted: 27 Jul 2012 01:37 AM PDT

They might not be the world’s fastest superheroes, but they’re certainly some of the most ill-proportioned and adorable. Don’t miss the rest of this great series by artist Joel Harris available at the link.

Link Via Geekologie

Humorous Street Art Installations By Leon Reid IV

Posted: 27 Jul 2012 01:03 AM PDT

Brooklyn’s own Leon Reid IV brings the funny to the city streets with his tongue in cheek public artworks.

This is the kind of street art guaranteed to brighten your day.

A melting newspaper box, George Washington dressed up like a tourist, and walking street signs that look like they’re ready to follow you around town are just a few examples of Leon’s works featured in this gallery at Beautiful/Decay.

Link  –via Beautiful/Decay

 

Written By A Kid – Goth Boy

Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:00 AM PDT

(YouTube Link)

This fun, funky little video is called Goth Boy, written by a kid named Cici and starring Rhett & Link.

Goth Boy is hilariously goofy, as you would expect considering it came from the mind of an 8-year-old, and Link looks absolutely ridiculous as a little kid.

So waste some time on the interwebs the fun way- watch a silly comedy video today!

–via Tastefully Offensive

Robot Snake

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 11:00 PM PDT


(YouTube link)

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute have developed a robot snake that can climb through fences and even up your leg! How long will it be before this is a SyFy movie? -via Laughing Squid

Man Welcomes Son, Grandson, and Great-grandson

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:00 PM PDT

Patrick Sloan of Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, saw three new babies born into the family within a three-month period: his son, grandson, and great-grandson, too!

First, Patrick, 60, became a dad for the fourth time – 28 years after the birth of his third child.

His second wife Joanne, 39, had little Ethan on March 14.

Then, in June, Patrick's grand-daughter Fern, 18, presented him with his first great-grandchild, Mason.

And 12 days after Fern gave birth, it was her mum Odette's turn to head for the delivery room. She too produced a healthy baby boy, Leonard.

So Ethan is Mason's great- uncle, Fern has a new uncle as well as a new son, and Odette is celebrating the arrival of a son, a grandson and a half-brother who is 35 years younger than she is.

The article goes on to describe other relations, as there are more sons in the family. Sloan is happy, if a little overwhelmed, with the babies. He had a vasectomy reversed in order to have children with his second wife. Link -via Arbroath

Opossum Eats Strawberry

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:00 PM PDT


(YouTube link)

Does this pet opossum look cute to you? I think so, but I had to clear my mind of the more familiar image of one baring its teeth at me from a tree branch or lying dead in the road. His name is JJ. -via The Daily What

Five Memorable Movie Moments Fueled by Genuine Alcohol Consumption

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 08:00 PM PDT

Sometimes actors inject reality into a scene in which they are drunk by ingesting a bit of alcohol. Or a lot. Acting while drunk is risky, because there’s a chance an actor may forget his lines, but the best actors will either remember their lines or improve upon them as they go. And on rare occasions, shooting an actor while drunk leads to new footage that wasn’t in the original vision for the film, as in Fight Club.

The rumor was that Brad Pitt and Edward Norton were firing golf balls at the catering truck after they had been doing some late-night drinking on the set. Fincher th0ught it was so cool and anarchistic of them, he turned the camera on them and had them do the dialogue for the scene while hitting said golf balls at said truck while under the influence of alcohol.

There is such an authentic feel to everything about Fight Club, and that is because everything, right down to the drunken alpha-male chemistry between its stars, WAS authentic.

Read about more such scenes, with video evidence, at Unreality. Link

The C+ Chemistry Grade Lawsuit

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 07:00 PM PDT

Got a C+ in chemistry? Most people would tell you to try and study harder nex time, but not in this case: a high school student and his mom are suing the school district over a C+ grade he got last year.

And before you condemn them for being lawsuit-happy, read the story. They may have actually got a case:

According to the formal complaint—acquired by Albany Patch after a reader's tip—the suit is centered on a C+ that [the chemistry teacher] Carlock gave [the student] Bethards when he was a sophomore in her chemistry class in 2010-11.

“Here’s the bottom line: This kid earned an A, by anybody’s standards,” said Bethards’s attorney, Daniel Horowitz.

Bethards, now a rising senior at Berkeley High, has dreamed for years of attending a prestigious pre-med program after high school and, according to the complaint, Carlock knew this.

In the complaint, Bethards says “Carlock was aware, at all relevant times, that a ‘C+’ in chemistry would effectively destroy plaintiff Bowen Bethards’ chances of being accepted to either of his two colleges of choice, as well as his chances of getting a scholarship to attend to the programs of his choice.”

Steven Lau of the AlbanyPatch has the story: Link (Photo: The Cougar Online)

Previously on Neatorama: The Valedictorian Lawsuit

Mayor Only Parking

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 06:00 PM PDT


Photo: Caitlin Huston/Pharos-Tribune

Problem: Mayor Ted Franklin of Logansport, Indiana, got a parking ticket for parking in an area reserved for police cars.

Solution: Turn that Police Parking Only spot into a Mayor Parking Only. Ta-da! Problem solved!

The Pharos-Tribune has the details: Link - via Fark 

Drive-By Wedding: The Las Vegas Wedding Wagon

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 05:00 PM PDT

If the drive-thru wedding is just too inconvenient for you (after all, you'd need a car), then the drive-by wedding wagon by Andy Gonzalez and James Cass is the answer you've been looking for! Where else but in Las Vegas?

Las Vegas brides and grooms who, for whatever reason, can’t be bothered to stumble down to the nearest Elvis Chapel, now have a new option for getting hitched: a minister-equipped van that comes to them and weds them curbside (weather permitting) in 10 minutes. Cost: $99.

The Las Vegas Wedding Wagon is the brainchild of Andy Gonzalez and James Cass (“Reverend Andy” and “Reverend James”), two refugees from the corporate world who say they got the idea last year. They performed their first Wedding Wagon wedding just last week and have so far married four couples.

Alan Farnham of ABC News has the story: Link 

Neatorama Caption Contest: Snoozin’ Cat Winners

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 04:25 PM PDT
     
View more Bags & Backpacks View more Storage & Organization View more Lunch Boxes

Two weeks ago, we ran a Neatorama Caption Contest featuring a cute snoozin' cat. It took me a bit longer than expected to announce the winners because I got sick and took some time off from the NeatoHQ.

Well, here are the winners:

50 Shades of Stegosaurus really wasn't as exciting as everybody has made out - Lauren

“See Spot run” said Jane.
“Look, Spot is having fun!” Said Dick.
See Tyrannosaurus behind Spot.
“Run, idiots, run!” said Spot.
Running from Tyrannosaurus, not so fun. - ladybugs

And the mightiest creature of the period was the Catasaurus Rex… - alistar

Congratulations to the winners! We'll run another Caption Contest again soon! In the meantime, don't forget to visit the NeatoShop for your Back to School necessities! 

Steamship Telegraph Watch

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 04:04 PM PDT

Steamship Telegraph Watch – $35.95

Stop being late. Plot a course and proceed full steam ahead with the fantastic Steamship Telegraph Watch from the Neatoshop. This wonderful time piece is perfect for setting sail on your next adventure.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Watches.

Link

All Pop Music Too Loud, Sound the Same

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 03:00 PM PDT

If you're over 35 years old, then you've probably thought to yourself how all pop music sound the same and that they're all very loud.

Well, science has proven you right, old timers:

Researchers in Spain used a huge archive known as the Million Song Dataset, which breaks down audio and lyrical content into data that can be crunched, to study pop songs from 1955 to 2010.

A team led by artificial intelligence specialist Joan Serra at the Spanish National Research Council ran music from the last 50 years through some complex algorithms and found that pop songs have become intrinsically louder and more bland in terms of the chords, melodies and types of sound used.

"We found evidence of a progressive homogenization of the musical discourse," Serra told Reuters. "In particular, we obtained numerical indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations - roughly speaking chords plus melodies - has consistently diminished in the last 50 years."

Now excuse me while I put up my "Get off my lawn" sign: Link

Happy Little Clouds

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 02:30 PM PDT


(YouTube link)

You might have a happy little motivational earworm stuck in your head after listening to this. PBS Digital made this awesome auto-tune featuring painter Bob Ross. -via Buzzfeed

Copco Lake Five Year Photos

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT


Photos: John Wardlaw

Thirty years ago, five high school friends sat together and took a photo at Copco Lake, California. Though they didn't plan it at first, posing together became a tradition for them:

Every five years for the past three decades, John Wardlaw, John Dickson, Mark Rumer, Dallas Burney and John Molony have been meeting at the California lake and taking the same photo.

The first photograph of the high school friends was just happenstance. Wardlaw, known as Wedge in the group, had a family cabin at the lake where the friends gathered in July 1982.

While hanging out on the deck of the cabin, Dickson, or J.D., set his 35-millimeter camera on self-timer to take a group photo.

"For some reason, we all chose to have dark and mysterious expressions on our faces," said Wardlaw. "I'm sure we all thought we were being really cool."

And what exactly was in that jar?

Molony, known in the group as Belves, is pictured holding a Folgers Instant Coffee jar, which contained a cockroach the guys had decided to keep as a pet. They fed their new friend with a piece of butterscotch candy and kept it company with a photograph of Robert Young.

Kelly Andersen has the story over at CNN: Link | Their official webpage: Copco Lake Five Year Photo

Toilet Plunger Monster

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 01:30 PM PDT

Jason Freeny of Moist Production hand sculpted this clever evolution of the toilet plunger. I mean, if you only knew the toxic stuff a toilet plunger is exposed to in the course of doing its job, you'd understand why it turns into a monster.

Justin Page of Laughing Squid has the pics: Link | More at Jason's Facebook gallery

Totoro Cream Puffs

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Ermahgerd! Be still my grumbling belly! These totoro cream puffs by Shiro-Hige Cream Puff Factory are just too good to eat: Link - via Kotaku

See also: Totoro items from the NeatoShop

Egg in a Bacon Cup

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 12:30 PM PDT


Photo: negativezero/Flickr

Neatoramanaut spam-me-harder saw my post on the Cookie Coffee Cup and raised me this: Egg in a bacon cup by Flickr user negativezero.

Needless to say, I fold. Or should I say, crumbled like bacon? (No "that's a terrible pun" emails, please. It's just a harmless yolk, folks!)

See also: The Bacon Store over at the NeatoShop.

Coin Art

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 12:00 PM PDT


Top: Sagmeister group
Bottom (L to R): LordArnebus, Kay Stone, Stacey Lee Webber

Got change? Sometimes all you need to create amazing works of art is a few pennies in your pocket. Okay, a LOT of pennies, and an even larger amount of patience.

Here's a neat compilation of 11 works of arts made from coins (some of which have been featured here on Neatorama, but some are new): Link - Thanks David!

 

Pixar’s Story Rules in Lego

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 11:30 AM PDT

Alex Eylar is known at reddit as ICanLegoThat, because he illustrates ideas with Lego bricks and minifigs. He recently illustrated 12 of Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling, which Pixar’s Emma Coats had revealed on Twitter. See the rest at Slackstory. Link -via The Daily What Geek

The Story of the Three Bears

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 11:00 AM PDT


(YouTube link)

This is why dumpsters should have a lid that stays closed when not in use. Mama Bear stayed by the dumpster all night. Rescue came in the morning in the form of a truck of brave rescuers and a ladder. This happened in Ruidoso, New Mexico. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Unprotected

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:30 AM PDT

The short story “Unprotected” is told from the point of view of a condom. It’s not at all prurient, but follows the adventures of one condom over its time in the wallet, which is parallel to the life of “Jordi,” the wallet owner.

The first friend I meet in wallet is Student I.D. Jordi Hirschfeld. He is card. He has been around longest, he says. He introduces me to other cards. I meet Learner Permit Jordi Hirschfeld, Blockbuster Video Jordi Hirschfeld, Jamba Juice Value Card, GameStop PowerUp Card Jordi Hirschfeld, Business Card Albert Hirschfeld, D.D.S., Scarsdale Comic Book Explosion Discount Card.

In middle of wallet, there live dollars. I am less close to them, because they are always coming and going. But they are mostly nice. I meet many Ones and Fives, some Tens, a few Twenties. One time, I meet Hundred. He stay for long time. Came from birthday card, he said. Birthday card from an old person.

The story, by Simon Rich, will pull at your heartstrings. Link  -via Metafilter

How Long Would It Take A Guinea Pig To Mow Your Lawn?

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Have you ever wondered how long it would take your pet guinea pig to mow the lawn?

Me neither, but now that I think about it having an army of guinea pigs mow my lawn every day would be pretty freakin’ cute, that is until the hawks and crows move in for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

For my lawn it would take 8 guinea pigs all day to mow that sucker down, choose your animal and find out how long it will take them to clean up your yard for you at the link below.

Link  –via Gizmodo

 

Nightwing Fan Film Brings The Goods Without The Bat

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:30 AM PDT

(YouTube Link)

Batman sidekick turned badass with a bad attitude Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, is the star of this fan made short film by Jeremy Le & Danny Shepherd.

Overall I enjoyed watching this short, it had good directing, nice visual effects and excellent costuming, but the bad acting did make some scenes feel a bit cheesy.

Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of these shorts, and I’ve always wanted to see DC use Nightwing more in their screen adaptations.

–via Nerd Approved

The Necronombox Custom Sculpted Boombox

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT

This Necronomicon inspired boom box was made by Josh Marlar, and it may make your party guests a bit squeamish when you bust it out for an impromptu late night karaoke session in the kitchen.

It uses a Lil’G Mini Boombox as the basic structure, then Josh sculpted the horrifying features out of Sculpey.

The eyes are made out of marble, and the rest of the magic comes from the shiny paint job.

Personally, I don’t like they way those weird little eyes are looking at me, it’s like they’re hungry for the other white meat…..human!

Link  –via Obvious Winner

Denmark’s Beautiful College Dormitory

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 08:30 AM PDT

This building, called Tietgen Student Hall (Tietgenkollegiet) is where the students of a dozen different colleges in Copenhagen can live -if they are lucky enough to get one of the 360 coveted rooms! There’s an awesome kitchen for every twelve rooms, private bathrooms, and even heated floor tiles. See lots more pictures of this award-winning dormitory at Twisted Sifter. Link -via Buzzfeed

(Image credit: Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter)

Patricia Waller’s Broken Heroes

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT

It’s been some time since we posted any of Patricia Waller’s subversive, somewhat frightening crochet art. She currently has an exhibition at Gallery Deschler in Berlin called Broken Heroes. Pop icons from Spider-Man to Spongebob Squarepants are shown in horrid situations, all rendered in crochet. Warning: some images may be disturbing. Link -via Flavorwire

Previously: More works by Patricia Waller.

75 Years of Manic Pixie Dream Girls

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 07:30 AM PDT


(vimeo link)

The movie trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl has been around almost as long as movies themselves, although we've only named it recently. In this video collage, you'll see how ubiquitous she is in Hollywood. There was plenty of material to select from, without even featuring Goldie Hawn, who played the part in dozens of films. Link

This Floor Is Flat

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT

This tripped out floor illusion was discovered in a Paris video game store, and is probably used as a deterrent against drunken shoppers!

I would have to repeat the mantra “this floor is flat” when walking around this store, or else my vertigo might kick in and send me to the ground reeling with dizziness…

Link  –via Super Punch

What Is It? game 235

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 06:30 AM PDT

It’s time for our collaboration with the always amusing What Is It? Blog. Put on your thinking cap and figure out what the pictured items are -or just make up something ridiculous!

Place your guess in the comment section below. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many guesses as you’d like in separate comments. 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 more clues, check out the What Is It? Blog. Good luck!

Celebrities Once Again Read Mean Tweets About Themselves

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 06:00 AM PDT

(YouTube Link)

This star studded celebrity comedy video is the second in the Jimmy Kimmel Live series, in which celebrities muster up their nerves and read some just plain awful tweets about themselves.

It’s funny in an uncomfortable kind of way, and I must say these celebs handle the scathing remarks much better than I would!

–via Stuff I Stole From The Internet
@

1 comment:

Keep a civil tongue.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Label Cloud

Technology (1464) News (793) Military (646) Microsoft (542) Business (487) Software (394) Developer (382) Music (360) Books (357) Audio (316) Government (308) Security (300) Love (262) Apple (242) Storage (236) Dungeons and Dragons (228) Funny (209) Google (194) Cooking (187) Yahoo (186) Mobile (179) Adobe (177) Wishlist (159) AMD (155) Education (151) Drugs (145) Astrology (139) Local (137) Art (134) Investing (127) Shopping (124) Hardware (120) Movies (119) Sports (109) Neatorama (94) Blogger (93) Christian (67) Mozilla (61) Dictionary (59) Science (59) Entertainment (50) Jewelry (50) Pharmacy (50) Weather (48) Video Games (44) Television (36) VoIP (25) meta (23) Holidays (14)

Popular Posts (Last 7 Days)