Neatorama

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• Celebrate Your Occasion With A Cthulhu Balloon
• Plastic Utensils Sculptures by Carlos Bonil
• Drunk Driver Pees into Breathalyzer Equipment, Fails Sobriety Test
• Jail's Gardening Scheme Backfires when Prisoners Grow Pot
• Scientific Weight Loss Tips
• The Psychological Advantage of Bonding with Batman
• COPS: Skyrim
• Pixel Oven Mitts
• Will They Survive the 70s?
• Neatorama 'Pin To Win' Contest
• Why All-Night Cram Sessions Are Bad
• The Big Bang Theory Apartments
• Wakeboarding Upstream on a River
• Tiny's Weight Loss
• Robot Recognizes Self in the Mirror
• Triceratops Tractor
• <i>Angry Birds</i> Macarons
• 10 Fantastic Comedies Based on True Stories
• Americans Waste Half of Their Food
• Hello Kitty POP! Vinyl Figurine
• Really Strange School Mascots
• Video Of A Flying Bike In Action
• Life Imitates Mr. Bean: Amateur "Restoration" of 100-Year-Old Fresco
• Ghostbusters Theme Song Played On Eight Floppy Drives
• Shoplifter Betrayed by Hot Peppers
• Hyperrealistic Ball Point Pen Drawings
• Confessions of a Disney Employee Part 2
• Mind Blowing Drummer = 5 Year Old Child!
• Art-o-Mat- A Cigarette Machine Converted To Sell Art
• Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

Celebrate Your Occasion With A Cthulhu Balloon Posted: 23 Aug 2012 04:00 AM PDT Redditor Frostbite795 was at a Bar Mitzvah when he asked the balloon animal guy to make him a cthulhu. This is what he came up with -pretty amazing if you ask me. Link Via BoingBoing

Plastic Utensils Sculptures by Carlos Bonil Posted: 23 Aug 2012 03:00 AM PDT La Herramienta Correcta ("The Right Tool") All photos: carlos.bonil/Flickr Take a closer look: the bones of the sculptures by Carlos Bonil are actually made from disposable utensils. That's right, folks: plastic spoon, forks, and knives. Link - Craft A few more: Feto3 Tiempo Perdido Pez y balde Muertas de Hambre

Drunk Driver Pees into Breathalyzer Equipment, Fails Sobriety Test Posted: 23 Aug 2012 02:00 AM PDT If you're going to fail a sobriety test, you might as well do so with panache, as one man in Christchurch, New Zealand di: After Thompson recorded a breath-alcohol reading of 1137mcg/L at the police station, a police officer was completing paperwork when he heard the sound of running water, according to the summary of facts. He turned to see Thompson, still seated, urinating into a box of breath screening tubes. Thompson continued urinating despite repeated demands to stop. Thompson lost his license for nine months and was fined for damage to the breathalyzer equipment. Link -via Jalopnik | Photo: Tiger Girl

Jail's Gardening Scheme Backfires when Prisoners Grow Pot Posted: 23 Aug 2012 01:00 AM PDT A jail in western France allowed prisoners to maintain a garden to grow their own food. Alas, the prisoners decided to diversify their crops: The plants, which had reached a height of around 80cm (two and a half feet) before being spotted at the weekend, were found in vegetable patches located in the exercise courtyard of the Saint-Martin-de-Re prison in the west of France, Christophe Beaulieu, a regional official of the prison officers' union, told AFP. "When you don't know what you are looking for it is easy to confuse them with other plants," Beaulieu said. Link -via Dave Barry | Photo: "thöR

Scientific Weight Loss Tips Posted: 23 Aug 2012 12:00 AM PDT (YouTube link) These diet tips have been vetted by scholarly journals and the scientific community at one time or another. Still, your mileage may vary. -via The Daily What Geek

The Psychological Advantage of Bonding with Batman Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:00 PM PDT Do you feel more confident and powerful after watching a superhero movie? Researchers led by Ariana Young of the University of Buffalo studied this emotional effect. They asked 98 young men how they felt about Batman and Spider-Man and showed them pictures of the heroes, depicted with variously muscular or normal physiques. Researchers then asked the young men to rate their own physiques and demonstrate their strength: Those who felt no emotional connection the hero in question gave lower ratings to their own bodies after seeing the image of a muscular Batman or Spider-Man. They apparently compared their own bodies to those of the fictional character and judged themselves as lacking. This effect vanished when the participant felt an emotional link with the superhero. Rather than seeing themselves as less than their brawny hero, they apparently adopted his manly aura. What’s more, those who identified with a particular superhero, and saw the muscular version of the character, exhibited greater strength on the hand-grip test than their fellow devotees who either (a) viewed the non-muscular image, or (b) viewed the muscular image of the alternate hero. Seeing the figure they identify with as strapping inspired them to their own feat of strength. In the researchers’ words, this suggests “one possible explanation for the overwhelming popularity of superheroes in our society is that, for some men, they may fulfill an important psychological function: making them feel better about their bodies." Link -via Marginal Revolution | Image: DC Comics

COPS: Skyrim Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:00 PM PDT (Video Link)  After you've taken an arrow in the knee, your adventuring days may be over. But you can still pick up a law enforcement gig. Watch the cops of Tamriel deal with drunks, vagrants and thieves in this video by Bryan Basham. -via Kotaku

Pixel Oven Mitts Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:00 PM PDT Pixel Oven Mitts - $14.95 Do you need every bit of help that you can get in the kitchen? Stop using potholders that are out of life and get the the Pixel Oven Mitts from the NeatoShop. This set of 2 pixel hand potholders are really handy for taking your home cooked meals to the next level. They really encourage you to jump into cooking and think outside of the culinary question box.   Be sure to check out the NeatoShp for more great Potholders! Link

Will They Survive the 70s? Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:00 PM PDT The February 1970 issue of Circus magazine -which I probably bought at the local newsstand- asks the burning question of twenty musicians: Will They Survive the 70s? Four of them did not, and two did not even survive the year 1970. However, most of them are still with us -and still performing- 42 years later. Link -via Nag on the Lake

Neatorama 'Pin To Win' Contest Posted: 22 Aug 2012 08:50 PM PDT [update: the contest is still open folks! until the weekend!] This is going to be FUN for Pinterest members (established and new)! And maybe something we do pretty frequently, depending on how many of you get involved. So here's how it works: 1) Put together a wishlist board of items from the Neatoshop - stuff you really want, badly (minumum 5 items, but no max) 2) Be as creative as possible when coming up with a name for your board, or a theme for your wishlist 3) Add the hashtag #NeatoPinToWin to each and every item you pin to that board 4) Follow us on Pintererst! 5) Close your eyes and wish really hard for something on your wishlist! The Neatorama editors will get together over the weekend and pick a few items from a few boards and put them in the mail to you. Bonus points for funny or otherwise well-thought-out themes and creative board titles that make us smile.  Here's a sample board we put together, just in case you're new to Pinterest and have no idea what we're talking about. Note that the Elmo backpack is pinned correctly, with #NeatoPinToWin, while the zombie foot dog toy is not.

Why All-Night Cram Sessions Are Bad Posted: 22 Aug 2012 08:00 PM PDT We've all pulled an all-nighter cram session before the finals, despite others telling us that studying all night is actually worse than getting a good night's sleep. Well, now science has spoken on why staying up late is not the best strategy: ... a new study published in the journal Child Development finds that when teens don't get the sleep they need on a given night, the next day all kinds of things can go poorly. "What we learned is that when kids cram, particularly at the expense of sleep, the next day they're more likely to have academic problems even though they spent more time studying that night," explains researcher Andrew Fuligni of UCLA. "These findings may come as a surprise to many researchers, educators, parents and teens who assume that more studying will surely lead to better grades," says Amy Wolfson, a professor of psychology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. The study builds on a body of evidence that finds sleep and learning are inextricably linked. "Lots of things happen during sleep," explains Helene Emsellem, director of The Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders in Chevy Chase, Md. "We don't just physically restore ourselves." We also process all the information we've gathered during the day. "We take the information and organize it and make all the connections," Emsellem explains. Without adequate sleep, students don't learn as well. Allison Aubrey of NPR's Morning Edition has the story: Link

The Big Bang Theory Apartments Posted: 22 Aug 2012 07:00 PM PDT DeviantART member Iñaki Aliste Lizarralde (nikneuk) renders fictional TV apartments into detailed floor plans. Look hrough her gallery and you'll see the apartments of Friends, Frasier, and Carrie Bradshaw's apartment from Sex and the City plus a few other interiors. The floor plan shown is from The Big Bang Theory, showing Penny's apartment on the left, and Sheldon and Leonard's apartment on the right. It will enlarge considerably at the link. Link -via Geeks Are Sexy

Wakeboarding Upstream on a River Posted: 22 Aug 2012 06:00 PM PDT Forget river rafting. The new hot thing for adrenaline junkies like Robert Pokovec and Dominik Hernler is wakeboarding. On a river. Upstream. The Daily What has the video clip. Watch the duo extreme wakeboarders take on the Bled Gorge and the Soca River in Slovenia: Link [embedded YouTube]

Tiny's Weight Loss Posted: 22 Aug 2012 05:00 PM PDT When fat cat Tiny came to live at the Fredericton SPCA in New Brunswick, California, Canada, he weighed over 30 pounds. That was in December. Nine months later, Tiny has last over a third of his weight! Yesterday's weigh-in had the cat at 19 pound and 11 ounces. See a series of photographs showing the shrinking but healthy Tiny at Buzzfeed. Link | Tiny's Weight Loss Challenge Facebook Page

Robot Recognizes Self in the Mirror Posted: 22 Aug 2012 04:00 PM PDT Justin Hart and Brian Scassellati of Yale University have taught a humanoid robot named Nico to recognize its own reflection in the mirror: Nico is the centrepiece of a unique experiment to see whether a robot can tackle a classic test of self-awareness called the mirror test. What does it take to pass the test? An animal (usually) has to recognise that a mark on the body it sees in the mirror is in fact on its own body. Only dolphins, orcas, elephants, magpies, humans and a few other apes have passed the test so far. Precise recognition of where its body is in space will be key if Nico is to get to grips with the mirror test, which by its nature is performed in 3D. Before it does, though, the robot will need to learn more about itself. The team plan to teach Nico how to recognise where its torso and head are, what shape they are, and their colour and texture so it can see and react to the mark on its body. So today, robots took the crucial first step toward becoming self-aware, tomorrow we beg Nico to open the pod bay doors to no avail! Link

Triceratops Tractor Posted: 22 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT This contraption was spotted last weekend in Shoreditch, London, England. The mecha-art vehicle was created by artist Alex ‘Wreckage’ Wright. You can see a video of people examining it at Obvious Winner. Link -via The Daily What

<i>Angry Birds</i> Macarons Posted: 22 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT Show those pigs you mean business...by eating them! The Cookie Fairy did, and you can find his/her recipe at the link. Link (Google Translate) -via Tasteologie

10 Fantastic Comedies Based on True Stories Posted: 22 Aug 2012 01:30 PM PDT While truth is stranger than fiction, it can also be ridiculous. Some of the strangest premises for comedies came from actual stories, like the film It Could Happen to You. Originally titled “Cop Tips Waitress $2M,” in the style of the New York tabloids that became fascinated by the tale, Andrew Bergman’s 1994 romantic comedy was based on the story of Robert Cunningham and Phyllis Penzo, a cop and waitress (respectively) who split a New York lotto prize after cop Cunningham gave waitress Penzo half of his ticket in lieu of a tip. In the movie, that act is the first step towards a tender romance between the pair. In real life, not so much; both parties were happily married and stayed that way, telling Entertainment Weekly, “Except for the part about us winning, it’s totally fiction.” Comedies have been made from serious news as well, like Arsenic and Old Lace. Read about ten comedy films based (sometimes very loosely) on true stories at Flavorwire. Link

Americans Waste Half of Their Food Posted: 22 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT Did you throw away that uneaten leftover and wilted groceries that sat too long in the fridge? You're not alone - Americans throw out nearly half of their food every year, to the tune of $165 billion annually: "As a country, we're essentially tossing every other piece of food that crosses our path. That's money and precious resources down the drain," said Dana Gunders, a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council's food and agriculture program. The NRDC report said Americans discard 40 percent of the food supply every year, and the average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to $2,275 annually in food. Link

Hello Kitty POP! Vinyl Figurine Posted: 22 Aug 2012 12:44 PM PDT Hello Kitty POP! Vinyl Figurine - $10.45 Attention Hello Kitty fans! Prepare yourself for cute overload. Now behold the adorable Hello Kitty POP! Vinyl Figurine from the NeatoShop. This mesmerizing little figure comes exaggerated eyes. She makes the purr-fect desktop companion.     Keroppi, Tuxedo Sam, My Melody, and Badtz-Maru also available. Collect them all.  Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Hello Kitty items.  Link

Really Strange School Mascots Posted: 22 Aug 2012 12:30 PM PDT You've read about funny college sports mascots, but have you ever seen a purple cow? Meet Ephelia, the Williams College purple cow. Back in 1865, two young women at Williams College in Massachusetts wanted to make sure that the school's baseball team had an official team color before they faced Harvard in the intercollegiate champion series. They bought purple ribbons for the team, which won the title. One of the young women went on to be Lady Randolph Spencer Churchill, the mother of Winston Churchill. As for the cow, that's still a bit of a mystery. One theory has it that when dairy cows grazed ay sunset in a valley not far from the college, they took on a purplish tinge from the nearby Berkshire Mountains. The name Ephelia was selected in a contest sponsored by a local radio station in 1952. There are plenty of other interesting stories behind this list of 10 strange mascots. Link -via the Presurfer

Video Of A Flying Bike In Action Posted: 22 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT (YouTube Link) This video shows a flying (hovering, really) bike created by Aerofex floating across the desert floor, proving that our Star Wars landspeeder/speeder bike dreams will soon be coming true. It can go as fast as 30 mph, and as high as 15 feet off the ground, and once they've supplied the military Aerofex is going to release these hoverbikes for sale to the public. Aside from all the dust this thing kicks up it looks like a fun ride! --via Gizmodo

Life Imitates Mr. Bean: Amateur "Restoration" of 100-Year-Old Fresco Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:30 AM PDT It's life imitating Mr. Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie , where the hapless hero unwittingly destroyedWhistler's Mother. Here's the story of how a woman decided to "restore" a deteriorated fresco in Spain: Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) by Elias Garcia Martinez has held pride of place in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza for more than 100 years. The woman took her brush to it after years of deterioration due to moisture. [...] The woman, in her 80s, was reportedly upset at the way the fresco had deteriorated and took it on herself to "restore" the image. BBC Europe correspondent Christian Fraser says the delicate brush strokes of Elias Garcia Martinez have been buried under a haphazard splattering of paint. The once-dignified portrait now resembles a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic, he says. Link

Ghostbusters Theme Song Played On Eight Floppy Drives Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT (YouTube Link) Retro computer junk is all the rage in the world of geeky electronic music, so when I saw a video posted by MrSolidSnake745 in which the Ghostbusters theme song is played by eight floppy drives I thought "why not?" Now that I've watched the video I know what the buzz is about- this is the best floppy drive rendition I've ever heard, and that's saying a lot considering how many of these silly floppy styled videos are on the interwebs! --via Geekologie

Shoplifter Betrayed by Hot Peppers Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:30 AM PDT Marcus Banwell learned the hard way that if you steal hot peppers, you should wait until you are away from the store before you eat them. Banwell had apparently ingested at least one Scotch Bonnet pepper from the Singh Store in Bristol, England. The store owner heard a commotion as Barnwell doubled over and became sick from the fiery food. Prosecutor May Li said when officers searched Banwell they found another four chilli peppers in his pocket, a stolen milkshake and fruit juice, and a clarinet stashed in his waistband, which was missing from a music shop. The heat of a chilli pepper is measured using the Scoville scale. The Scotch Bonnet, also known as Boabs Bonnet or Caribbean red pepper, is named for its resemblance to a Tam O'Shanter hat. Most Scotch Bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville units. This compares to the rating of most jalapeño peppers, which is 2,500 to 8,000. A small amount of drugs was also found. Banwell was sentenced to 14 weeks incarceration. Link -via Arbroath

Hyperrealistic Ball Point Pen Drawings Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:00 AM PDT This stunning portrait of a fiery redheaded girl is by Samuel Silva, an illustrator who really knows his way around a ball point pen! Samuel's use of color elevates his works above the standard realistic portraits rendered in black ink, and adds to the realism and warmth of each piece. Link  --via JazJaz

Confessions of a Disney Employee Part 2 Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:30 AM PDT (YouTube link) Adande Thorne, also known as Swoozie has another in his series of stories from the world of Disney employment. I could have sworn that we posted the first video at Neatorama, but I can't find it now, so continue reading for the earlier videos in the series. Confessions of a Disney Employee (YouTube link) The first video of Disney confessions was so successful that it led to a career in video blogging for Thorne. Revenge of the Disney Employee (YouTube link) This video explains why Swoozie is no longer working at Disney. It has a happy ending. Thorne also lends his storytelling skills to videos that have nothing to do with Disney. See then at his YouTube channel. Link

Mind Blowing Drummer = 5 Year Old Child! Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:09 AM PDT If this 5-year-old drummer doesn't blow your mind this morning, nothing will. The drum fill at the end, cued here, has to be John Bonham's ghost! Unreal. Rewind and watch the whole thing!

Art-o-Mat- A Cigarette Machine Converted To Sell Art Posted: 22 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT Once upon a time you dropped your money in the slot and pulled for a pack of cigarettes, now these renovated cig machines dole out miniature works of art. They've been converted by Clark Whittington, of Artists-In-Cellophane out of North Carolina, since 1997, and I hope one makes its way to one of my neighborhood bars! The "smoke 'em if you got 'em" days may be long gone, but these diner and barroom fixtures live on. Link  --via Laughing Squid

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes Posted: 22 Aug 2012 07:00 AM PDT The blogger behind Testado, Provado & Aprovado made this delicious-looking pancake. It tastes like a cinnamon bun, thanks to a mixture of cinnamon, butter and brown sugar that s/he added to the top with an improvised pastry cone. Link -via Tasteologie

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