Neatorama

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• Newly Discovered: Spider with Gruesome Claws
• College Grads vs. High School Grads in The Great Recession
• Kitchen Strainer Clock
• Educational Video: How to Eat a Watermelon Correctly
• Menagerie of Mirrors
• Minnie Mouse Kigurumi
• Here's Your Kitty
• Fruity Pebbles Donuts
• An Unexpected Palindrome
• Practical Tattoo Provides a Shopping or To-Do List
• The Covert History of the American Condom
• Gun Sconces
• Fight Club: A Love Story
• Mansion with a Water Park in the Backyard
• Donuts and Literature
• American Pi: US Population Hit 314 Million People
• Goblin Dog Rider
• Black Cat Appreciation Day
• Criminal Charges Dropped Because Defendant is TOO Guilty
• The Alphabet of Untranslatable Words
• 10 Greatest Movies of All Time, as Picked by Geeks
• Saving Whooping Cranes While Disguised as One
• Cat Controller
• Now You Can Take The Air From New York City With You
• "Cats" by Ballet Zoom
• Harry Potter Themed Couture Dress Designs
• 8 Famous People With Purple Hearts
• Zombie Survival Kit Messenger Bag
• Never Fear Human -I'll Protect You From This Monster!
• Vintage Photographs Of Female Sword Swallowers

Newly Discovered: Spider with Gruesome Claws Posted: Arachnophobics, skip this post. For the rest of you, may I introduce you to a new and rare species of spider (so rare that it has its own taxonomic genus and even family to itself) found in the caves of southern Oregon. Meet the Trogloraptor marchingtoni: Image: Griswold CE, Audisio T, Ledford JM The species is named after Neil Marchington, a member of the Western Cave Conservancy, who first discovered the spider. The genus name, Trogloraptor, means "cave robber." Raptor-like claws of the Trogloraptor. Image: Griswold CE, Audisio T, Ledford JM It's an apt name for a spider with unique hooks, or claws, on its legs, which the researchers believe are used to snatch flying insects, like midges, out of the air. With its legs outstretched, the spider measures up to 3 inches (8 centimeters) long. "They're biggish," Griswold said. "But when you're in a cave and it's dark and there's only the beam of your head lamp, they look much bigger. It's quite astonishing to see them hanging from a few threads." [...] Griswold said this discovery could help explain why there are legends about giant spiders living in caves in this region. And perhaps there are other similar species yet to be found; many caves, especially in the western United States, remain little studied. Read more over at Our Amazing Planet: Link

College Grads vs. High School Grads in The Great Recession Posted: Is college worth the cost? Earlier this week, Georgetown University released a report about how education levels impact employment prospects: Since job growth resumed in early 2010 with the end of the recession, employment by those with a Bachelor’s degree or better has increased by 2 million, while employment by those with an Associate’s degree or some college experience has increased by 1.6 million. Those with some college education or an Associate’s degree have recovered nearly 91 percent of jobs lost during the recession, but are still short of their prerecession employment levels (See Table 1). In contrast, people with a Bachelor’s degree or better have experienced a net increase of 2.2 million jobs over their prerecession levels. Those with only a high school diploma or less continue to experience job losses, though in much smaller numbers [...]. In part this is due to the financial bubble that created a corresponding bubble in housing and construction jobs. When the housing market recovers, the construction industry will create some demand for workers with a high school diploma or less. Yet, it is hard to expect any substantial job gains in the near future for job seekers with no postsecondary schooling. Read the report here: The College Advantage: Weathering The Economic Storm [pdf] - via The Atlantic

Kitchen Strainer Clock Posted: It's perfect for a country kitchen! Someone at Donde Reciclo made this clock from a kitchen strainer and a clock that s/he found in the trash. The number arrangement is unusual, but I could work with it. Link -via Recyclart

Educational Video: How to Eat a Watermelon Correctly Posted: (Video Link)  Tom Willett is a renowned expert on the proper consumption of watermelons. He's spent a lifetime studying the subject and would now like to pass on the results of his painstaking research. First off, put away that fork. You need a spoon. Willett warns us: The Fork Cartel many years ago sort of brainwashed people into thinking they're supposed to eat a watermelon with a fork just in an attempt to sell forks. It's true. And there's more. Willett lays out the complex but optimal process for eating a watermelon, including the use of two secret ingredients and an engineering principle discovered by Archimedes. Watch, learn and be thankful. -via American Digest

Menagerie of Mirrors Posted: Arran Gregory, an artist in London, made mirrored sculptures that resemble taxidermied animals. His exhibition is on display at the Print House Gallery in London through September 6. Artist's Website -via Colossal

Minnie Mouse Kigurumi Posted: Minnie Mouse Kigurumi - $79.95 Halloween not coming fast enough for you? Dress up like your favorite character everynight with the Minnie Mouse Kigurumi from the NeatoShop. This adorable one-piece adult pajama is comfy and stylish. This outfit just screams romance. Mickey Mouse and Pluto Kigurumi also available.   Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Minnie Mouse items! Link

Here's Your Kitty Posted: Detainees at Guantanamo Bay can earn rewards by cooperating with authorities: normally extra food or cigarettes. But there is word that at least one received a cat. And a lawyer representing another detainee is upset about it. Carlos Warner, a lawyer representing Muhammed Rahim, an Afghan who was a translator for Osama bin Laden, gave the Loop a brief letter from his client. That note, which was just declassified, consisted of one line: “Dear Mr. Warner — Majid Khan has a cat.” Khan, an alleged member of Al Qaeda who has agreed to testify against one of the chief planners of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is considered a “high-value”detainee and was held by the CIA in a secret prison for several years before his transfer to Guantanamo. Warner says the cat-as-reward is just an example of problems plaguing the system used to prosecute detainees, complaining that the military has shut down talks with detainees’ representatives. “I promise that the solution is not providing kittens to those who cooperate,” he told us. “The solution requires an open dialogue with those of us who have close relationships with the detained.” A spokeman from the Defense Department would neither confirm nor deny the cat-as-reward. Link -via Fark (Image source: I Can Has Cheezburger)

Fruity Pebbles Donuts Posted: In a delicious rebellion against adulthood, the bloggers at We Are Not Martha bought a box of Fruity Pebbles--the Flintstones-themed sugary cereal--and put it to good use. They baked pebbles into the donut batter and sprinkled them generously on the icing. Link -via That's Nerdalicious!

An Unexpected Palindrome Posted: There you are, reading the political news stories of the day, and the reactions of your friends on Twitter, when suddenly you see this: "Wonder if Sununu's fired now" is both a legitimate question and a palindrome. — trifecta (@3fecta) August 16, 2012 Alex Moore was properly floored, because, well, you just don't expect a palindrome to be so clever and topical at the same time. He has the backstory at Death and Taxes. Link-Thanks, Brian!

Practical Tattoo Provides a Shopping or To-Do List Posted: Do you remember Floyd Davis, the man who turned a toolbox into a boombox? Being a successful crafter means being organized. So Davis had Jason Hoodrich ink this tattoo on his arm. Except for the lines, the notepad is blank. Davis fills it in before he heads to the hardware store for supplies. Link | Davis's Website | Tattoo Artist's Twittter Feed

The Covert History of the American Condom Posted: The condom industry in America, which had been quite robust to that point, was pushed underground after the country went full prude and the Comstock Act of 1873 outlawed the sale of contraceptives by mail. People still bought them, but advertising had to be very creative to get around the law. Carol Queen says, “What’s interesting about that moment historically, as far as ads for any product that had a sexual purpose, is that there’s a cryptic language being used that made people think about the real function without ever actually saying it.” Still, venereal diseases (VD, now called STDs) were a big problem. What turned the condom industry around was the U.S. military, which in World War II was determined to avoid the VD problems of the first World War. By the time the U.S. entered World War II, American soldiers were much better prepared for VD. The military stopped focusing only on prevention through abstinence and post-infection treatment, incorporating condoms on its approved list of prophylactics. Troops could purchase sets of three condoms for ten cents at “pro stations” placed for easy access, day or night. The military also created an aggressive advertising campaign promoting safe sex through prevention, combining images of sexy women with the not-so-sexy effects of VD. Read the rest of the story at Collector's Weekly, along with many photographs of clever historical condom packaging. Link

Gun Sconces Posted: Do you want your house to have a homey ambiance? How about a romantic one? Whatever your interior design goal, ceramic artist Ryan Weigner has a firearm-shaped light fixture for you. Link

Fight Club: A Love Story Posted: (YouTube link) The right music and some clever editing can make a movie something else completely. In this case, Fight Club becomes a tale of a dysfunctional relationship. Or rather, a different kind of dysfunctional relationship than the 1999 film intended. Link -via mental_floss

Mansion with a Water Park in the Backyard Posted: For sale, one large house near Boulder City, Nevada. It's got 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms, and large living areas. Oh, and did we mention it has its own water park in the backyard? Yours for $3 million: Link - via AOL

Donuts and Literature Posted: As I Lay Frying is a simple but brilliant Tumblr blog. It combines two great achievements of humanity: donuts and literature. The juxtapositions of literary quotations and deep fried batter are never explained, but always make sense. Link -via School Library Journal

American Pi: US Population Hit 314 Million People Posted: Americans celebrate Pi Day on March 14 (3/14), but earlier this week on August 14, we celebrate something kind of related: Just after 2:29 p.m. EDT today, the American population reached 314,159,265, or pi (3.14159265) times 100 million, according to the Census Bureau's population clock. "This is a once in many generations event ... so go out and celebrate this American pi," demographer Howard Hogan said in a statement from the Census Bureau. Megan Gannon of LifeScience has the story: Link Photo: Mmm ... Pi T-Shirt from the NeatoShop | More Pi items

Goblin Dog Rider Posted:   Goblin Dog Rider - $25.95 Halloween is just around the corner. Are you looking for a fun way for your pooch to embrace the spirit of the holiday?  Dress up your good natured pet in the Goblin Dog Rider from the NeatoShop. This fantastic latex goblin easily attaches to your dog's midsection.   The Goblin Dog Rider fits medium to large size dogs.   Cowboy Dog Rider and Monkey Dog Rider also available.  Be sure to check out the Neatoshop more great Halloween Costumes for Pets! Link

Black Cat Appreciation Day Posted: Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day. Why? Because, as organizer Wayne Morris says, Black Cats are frequently the last to be adopted and are often put to sleep. I came up with this idea in the hope that opinions could be changed and the Black Cat would be a welcome addition in everyone's home! Black cats are playful, loving, and sometimes even remind you of miniature panthers with their shiny black coats! Save a life and get a wonderful friend...adopt a black cat!!! Celebrate this online holiday by posting pictures of your black cat at the Facebook event page, or better yet, by making the decision to adopt a cat. I have a black cat; why doesn't everyone? Link -via Buzzfeed, where you can see more black cat pictures.

Criminal Charges Dropped Because Defendant is TOO Guilty Posted: How do you get criminal charges against you dropped? Here's the unusual story of how one fugitive got the Feds to drop the charges against him: he's TOO guilty! The federal government has more than 400,000 pages of evidence against fugitive Miami doctor Armando Angulo, taking up some two terabytes of digital space. On the surface, it sounds like a pretty solid case. But at the urging of prosecutors, charges were dropped against the doctor because the evidence is simply taking up too much space on government servers. "Continued storage of these materials is difficult and expensive," wrote Stephanie Rose, the U.S. attorney for northern Iowa, describing the ongoing evidence storage as "an economic and political hardship" for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). As the Associated Press notes, the collection of evidence against Angulo, who is charged with illegally selling prescription medicines online, is enough to print the classic novel "War and Peace" 625,000 times. Link Two terabytes is 5% of the DEA's entire server capacity? Man, they can get 2 terabytes worth of storage with Google Drive for $99 a month!

The Alphabet of Untranslatable Words Posted: How do you translate the untranslateable? "Age-tori" in Japanese ("To look worse after a haircut") has no equivalent word in English, but it should, because it's useful (I'm sure you've all had this happened to you at one point in time or another). Irish illustrator Fuchsia Macaree (previously on Neatorama) did it with aplomb with artful alphabets. Here's how she translated the untranslateable using illustrations: Link - via Notcot

10 Greatest Movies of All Time, as Picked by Geeks Posted: Once a decade, Sight & Sound asks film critics to select a list of 10 greatest movies of all time. These wonks came up with a list of 10 films that I bet most of you haven't seen before. The earliest one dated from 1927 (Sunrise: A Song for Two Humans by F.W. Murnau) and latest one made is all the way from 1968 (2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubric). So, our pal Stefan Blitz from Forces of Geek asked the same question to his colleagues, and came up with a very different list. Compare the two: Sight & Sound Critic's Poll 2012 Stefan Blitz, Forces of Geek 1. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) 1. Jaws 2. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) 2. Diner 3. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953) 3. Superman: The Movie 4. La Regle du jeu (Jean Renoir, 1939) 4. Raiders of the Lost Ark 5. Sunrise: A Song for Two Humans (F.W. Murnau, 1927) 5. The Godfather 6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) 6. Animal House 7. The Searcher (John Ford, 1956) 7. Flash Gordon 8. Man With a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929) 8. The Empire Strikes Back 9. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1927) 9. North by Northwest 10. 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963) 10. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein Check out Forces of Geek's list: Link (Thanks Stefan!) ... and let us know: What's your list of 10 Greatest Movies of All Time?

Saving Whooping Cranes While Disguised as One Posted: By the 1940s, the wild whooping crane population in North America had dropped to about 15. Thanks to the work of dedicated conservationists since then, it has risen to about 500. It's a tough job and the project has demanded innovative thinking, including leading whooping cranes on migratory journeys with whilte ultralight aircraft: A Canadian ultralight aircraft enthusiast named Bill Lishman — who would later become Duff’s co-founder — theorized that certain waterfowl could be trained to follow such a plane to a different migratory destination. In 1993, Lishman successfully led a group sixteen of Canada geese from Ontario to Virginia. Thirteen of the sixteen returned to Ontario the next year — without needing a human guide. Lishman’s innovation centered on the fact that waterfowl, soon after their birth, imprint upon the first creature they see. Typically, this is their birth mother, but in a controlled environment, it could be basically any animal — including a person, if conditions are right. Duff, in an interview with NPR’s Talk of the Nation, explained: “Whooping cranes are hatched in the nest, in a marsh on the ground, basically, and they leave the nest almost immediately and follow their parents out to forage for food. And if they don’t follow their parents, they’re lost. So that natural instinct to imprint is there, and we just substitute parent for pilot and make sure they imprint on us.” The pilots wear white costumes while leading the cranes because they don't want the cranes to think that humans will take care of them. Link | Official Website | Photo: Operation Migration

Cat Controller Posted: (YouTube link) Max X is not catering to his cat properly. That all changes when the cat gives him a taste of his own medicine! -via b3ta Previously: More in the Max X series.

Now You Can Take The Air From New York City With You Posted: Now transplanted New Yorkers can take the smell of their beloved NYC with them wherever they go, thanks to this Canned Air novelty product. It's part of a series of canned air from cities across the globe being sold on Etsy, and claims to contain air that is "20% Empire State Building, 10% Grand Central Terminal, 10% Chrysler Building, 20% Statue of Liberty, 10% Little Italy and Chinatown, 10% Brooklyn Bridge, 10% Times Square, 10% Central Park." Link  --via AnimalNY

"Cats" by Ballet Zoom Posted: (YouTube link) In a psychedelic world where modern dance meets special effects, this was way cool in its time. Ballet Zoom was a popular Spanish TV dance troupe of the mid-1970s. Read more about them and see more video at a tribute blog. Link | English translation -via Boing Boing

Harry Potter Themed Couture Dress Designs Posted: These couture fashion design sketches were created by DeviantARTist DistantDreamer, and they're based on the four houses from Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter series. They look surprisingly wearable, and less witchy than I'd expect from anything Harry Potter themed, although the Gryffindor dress does look something a shaman might wear out on the town. Link  --via GeekTyrant

8 Famous People With Purple Hearts Posted: Purple Hearts are awarded to service members who are wounded in war. There are quite a few folks you know from the worlds of TV, movies, or literature that you may never have suspected are recipients of the Purple Heart. For example, James Arness, who played Marshal Dillon for years on TV's Gunsmoke. Arness (or Aurness before he started acting) enrolled in the US Army in 1943. He wanted to be a fighter pilot, but with a height of 6’7”, there was no way that was going to happen – the maximum height of pilots at the time was 6’2”. So instead he served as a rifleman. Unfortunately, his height singled him out to be the first off the boat to test the water depth for the other men, leaving him to be the first target for the enemy. As a result, Arness was injured less than a year into his service during an invasion on Anzio, Italy, when he was shot in the right leg. On the upside, his time in the hospital led to his work in television… eventually. Read the rest of Arness' story, and those of other notable veterans with Purple Hearts at mental_floss. You might be able to guess a couple of them, but you won't guess all of them -and there are more in the comments, too. Link

Zombie Survival Kit Messenger Bag Posted: Zombie Survival Kit Messenger Bag - $39.95 The zombie apocalypse is right around corner. Make sure you are prepared to survive the transition in power with the Zombie Survival Kit Messenger Bag from the NeatoShop. This Neatorama exclusive design features a canvas bag with raw edges and plenty of storage capacity. It is perfect for toting all your favorite zombie items. The Zombie Survival Kit Messenger bag is available in Canvas and Military Green.  Be sure to check out Neatorama's Zombie Shop for more great zombie stuff and fantastic Back To School items.  Link

Never Fear Human -I'll Protect You From This Monster! Posted: (Video Link) To a tiny little dachshund, I'm sure this iddy biddy little crab seems like a terrifying foe. Of course, to us humans, it just looks like a precious video opportunity that can't be missed. Via I Can Has Cheezburger

Vintage Photographs Of Female Sword Swallowers Posted: Everybody likes watching a good sideshow act, and sword swallowing is one of those deadly cool acts that elicits lots of oohs and aahs. Of course, it doesn't hurt if the performer is a gorgeous gal sporting an eye-catching getup. Enjoy this gallery of vintage photos featuring brave performers risking their lives for the sake of sideshow entertainment. Link

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