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2012/11/29

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8 Famous Mascots Whose Names You Didn't Know

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 05:00 AM PST

You've seen them before. These famous mascots have appeared in countless ads or have graced the pages of websites you visit every day, but do you know their names or how they came to be? Read on for stories of 8 Famous Mascots Whose Names You Didn't Know (until now, that is).

1. Bibendum, the Michelin Man

We all knew him as the Michelin Man, but at 107-years-old (it's one of the world's oldest trademark, by the way), it's time for all of us to learn its true name: Bibendum, or Bib for short.

In 1889, the founders of the Michelin Tire company, brothers Édouard and André Michelin, noticed that a stack of bicycle tires looked like a man - all it needed was a pair of arms. Years later, a French cartoonist named Marius Rossillon (popularly known as O'Galop) showed the brothers an image of a king toasting a drink that he had created for a local brewery. Nunc est bibendum (Now is the time to drink), the king said.

They immediately asked him to change the image to a man made of tires. O'Galop then came up with the poster above, showing Bibendum flanked by his scrawny competitors beat up by road hazards, with the quote "Now is the time to drink ... That is to say, to your health. The Michelin tire drinks up obstacles."

Wait, you say. If Bibendum was made of tires, then why is he white and not black? That's because back then, tires were white. It's not until the early 20th century that carbon was added as a preservative and strengthener to the base rubber material.

Source: Wikipedia and CNN Money

2. Snoo, the Reddit Alien

Back in 2005, reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman dreamed up an online food ordering service business called MyMobileMenu and pitched the idea to Paul Graham, the co-founder of Y Combinator ... and got rejected.

The next morning, while the duo was on their way back home by train, they got a call from Graham, saying that even though he didn't like their idea, he liked the two of them. "You guys need to build the front page of the Internet," Graham said.

The duo coded reddit in just three weeks, and Ohanian wanted to name the site "snoo" as in "what's new?" but the domain name was already taken and the owner refused to sell. So, they chose "reddit" as a temporary name and compromised on calling the alien mascot Snoo.

Source: Business Insider and Hacker News

3. Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch


(L) Cap'n Crunch (R) His creator, the legendary cartoonist Jay Ward (photo via the Hollywood Star Walk)- see the resemblance?

Cap'n Crunch to you and me, but his full name is actually Horatio Magellan Crunch. He was created in 1963 by Jay Ward, who also created the classic cartoons Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, and George of the Jungle amongst others. He was voiced by Daws Butler, who also did Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, and Huckleberry Hound.

The Captain was born and raised on Crunch Island, in the middle of the Milk Sea. He sails on the SS Guppy with first mate Sea Dog and a crew of four kids, Alfie, Brunhilde, Carlyle, and Dave. I suppose child labor laws didn't apply when you were trying to keep the cereal safe from the Cap'n's nemesis, Jean LaFoote the Barefoot Pirate.

Oh, one last thing. The Cap'n Crunch cereal was developed after customers complained that their cereal got soggy in milk. Food company Quaker Oats commissioned flavorist Pamela Low to come up with the sugary coating of the cereal. She decided to replicate the "want-more-ishness" (that's actually the technical term, she said) of the caramel taste in her grandmother's recipe of butter-and-brown-sugar sauce on rice. Obviously, she succeeded - but till her dying day, Low never ate cereal. She didn't like the stuff.

Source: Saveur Magazine (2007) via Megnut and The Presurfer, UNH Magazine

4. Larry, the Twitter Bird

The Twitter bird has a name. A pretty clever one at that, actually. It's Larry the Bird as in the famous basketball star Larry Bird, who played for the Boston Celtics, the home-state team of Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.

Ryan Sarver, Twitter's platform/API team, tweeted the photo above of Twitter's creative director Douglas Bowman talking about the evolution of Larry the Bird logo since the company was founded in 2006.

Source: Mediabistro

5. Mr. Veritably Clean

In the late 1950s, Proctor and Gamble asked Chicago ad agency Tathum-Laird to come up with a name, logo and ad campaign for their new cleaning product. Ad exec Harry Barnhart and illustrator Ernie Allen came up with a brawny man with a shiny bald head and a gold earring - supposedly modeled after a sailor, not a genie. Within 6 months, Mr. Clean became the best-selling household cleaning product on the market.

After 5 years without a first name, Mr. Clean finally got one. In 1962, the company ran a promotion "Give Mr. Clean a First Name." The winning entry was ... Veritably. So meet Mr. Veritably Clean.

Source: Mr.Clean

6. Poppin' Fresh, the Pillsbury Doughboy

Under pressure to create an advertising campaign for a refrigerated dough product, a Leo Burnett advertising agency copy writer named Rudy Perz sat in his kitchen in 1965 and dreamed up a living dough boy popping out of the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls can. And so, Poppin' Fresh, the Pillsbury Doughboy was born.

More than 50 actors auditioned to be the voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy. The man who won was Paul Frees - you might know him better as the voice of Boris, the bad guy from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. Poppin' was drawn by Martin Nodell, who also drew the Green Lantern.


Image: General Mills Blog

In 1972, Poppin' Fresh got a toy family: a wife named Poppie Fresh, along with Grandmommer and Grandpopper, and two kids - a boy named Popper and a baby named Bun Bun. These toys are now quite rare, with the rarest piece being a mysterious man named Uncle Rollie, who drove a blue car with the license plate "Rollie."

Source: Yahoo! Voices | Pillsbury Baking | General Mills' Blog

7. Honey Nut Cheerios' Buzz Bee

Cheerios, my kids' favorite cereal, almost didn't happen. Lester Borchardt and his team at General Mills had been working for more than a year to figure out how to "puff" oats into the familiar little rings when his corporate bosses told him to abandon the project. Borchardt, having tested over 500 different formulas, felt that he was close to a breakthrough so he persevered and stuck to his guns. Puffing guns, that is.

Two months later, Borchardt perfected the "puffing gun" technology in which little dough balls are heated to high temperatures and shot out of a gun at hundreds of miles per hour to make that perfect "O." In 1941, a brand new cereal named CheeriOats was born.

CheeriOats' mascot was a girl named Cheeri O'Leary, but four years after its debut, General Mills changed the name to Cheerios after Quaker Oats disputed the original name.


The original Honey Nut Cheerios bee, before his makeover in 1999 (image: iCollector)

In 1979, three decades after Cheerios, a new variant came to the market: Honey Nut Cheerios, and with it, a new mascot, a cheerful bee ... who remained nameless for another two decades until a nationwide naming contest for kids in 2000 came up with the name: BuzzBee. The winner was fifth-grader Kristine Tong of Coolidge, Texas, who wrote that she gave it that name because "he is a bee with a lot of talent and when he flies, he makes a buzzing noise. This name suits him." She won a $1,000 for it.

Source: Cheerios | Cheerios History | Cookies in Heaven blog

8. Bugdroid, the Android Robot

Chances are, you have an Android phone, so the green robot should look familiar. But what is its name?

It's not Andy the Android Robot, like most people assume. While it has no official name, the Android team at Google call him the Bugdroid, probably because programmers are always chasing down bugs!

But who created Bugdroid? It was created on November 5, 2007 by a member of the Google Marketing Communications team named Irina Blok. She had a few days to come up with the logo for Google's new operating system, which was set to be released about a week later. Good thing Irina was fast: she came up with the Bugdroid design in just 5 minutes after getting the inspiration from the airport toilet signs that signify men's and women's toilets.

Oh, one last thing: the Bugdroid was Irina's first design job. Which ain't half bad considering the logo is on over 500 million smartphones around the world.

Source: Google I/O [14:50] | Computer Articles

How to Make a Pet Paw Print Ornament

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 04:00 AM PST

You've no doubt seen plenty of ornaments featuring kid's hand prints, but since most ceramic's stores won't let you bring your pup in, you'll have to bring pet ones at home. If you want to make your own, this link has great set of instructions to spruce up your tree with a pet ornament you'll never forget.

Link

Caterpillar Stuck in an Infinite Loop

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 03:00 AM PST

(YouTube link)

It appears that someone set up a camera to get a time-lapse of the tree growing, but a caterpillar stole the show! He almost got the right idea once, but then got back on his usual path. -via Arbroath

Plunge Wine Bottle Stopper

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 02:00 AM PST

Plunge Wine Bottle Stopper - $7.95

Are your kitchen drawers clogged with boring ordinary wine bottle stoppers? Give yourself a quick fix and invest in the Plunge Wine Bottle Stopper from the NeatoShop. This bottle stopper, shaped like a miniature plunger, is a great way to plug up your favorite bottle of wine.  

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Barware & Cocktails items. 

Link

Pedometers for Dogs

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 02:00 AM PST

pedometer

How much ground does your pooch cover in a day? Does he get enough exercise? You don't have to wonder anymore. Fujitsu has produced the Wandant--a pedometer for dogs:

The name Wandant is a combination of the Japanese word for a dog's bark, "wan wan," (which in English would be "woof woof") and the word pendant. The device uses a three-axis accelerometer to log the dog's steps taken, and it even records the dog's shivering motions and body temperature changes.

To capture data from the device the owner can simply hold their NFC-enabled phone near the Wandant and the data transfer will be initiated. That data is then sent to the cloud and presented as graphic statistics that the owner can review on a daily basis on a website via desktop computer or on a special mobile site for Android handsets.

Link | Official Website

Drawing Pinball

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 01:00 AM PST

v

Dutch artist Sam Van Doorn creates art with a pinball machine. Or rather, he documents the movements of a pinball doing its thing in a way that illustrates the physics of the game.

A poster is placed on top of the machine, which has a grid printed on it. Based on this grid you can structure your playing field to your desire. By playing the machine the balls create an unpredictable pattern, dependent on the interaction between the user and the machine. The better you are as a player, the better the poster that you create.

Get a better look at the various pinball games at his website. Link -via Colossal

Toys from the Time When Kids Really Did Play with Fire

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PST

oven

This is an Easy Bake Oven from 1915. Or something like it. It comes from before the Nerf Age of today. The primary difference is that this toy stove wasn't heated with a lightbulb. No, you had to start a fire in it:

The first miniature stoves appeared in the 1840s, made of heavy cast iron and modeled after full-sized cook stoves used in American kitchens. Later toy ovens imitated the range stoves that became popular in the 1880s. These fully functioning toy stoves had compartments to contain red-hot coals or wood, and later ones had operating electric or gas burners. These features gave the toys many of the same capabilities, as well as the safety hazards, of full-sized stoves. Production of cast-iron stoves continued up until the 1940s, when manufacturers instead dedicated their time and materials to the war effort. After World War II, a new generation of toy stoves emerged, made of plastic and tin. In 1963 the Easy-Bake Oven appeared on the market, replacing, once and for all, the dangerous, open burners of earlier stoves with a parent-friendly 100-watt light bulb in a contained cooking chamber.

Link | Photo: Strong National Museum of Play

Amazing Anamorphic Illusions

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:00 PM PST

(YouTubelink)

Brusspup makes these two-dimensional artworks that are 3D illusions when viewed at just the right angle. Bonus: cat. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Penpal: An Original Horror Story

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:00 PM PST


Good horror stories are hard to come by, often we are left with over dramatized clichés like The Happening, The Wicker Man, or The Mist. I have unfortunately seen all of those terrible terrible films, The Mist being especially bad. If you have seen The Mist then you know what I am talking about when I say the ending to that movie was one of the worst decisions I have ever seen anyone make in a film ever.

With all these bad horror stories going on, it's good to see something original break onto the scene. So original in fact, it started on Reddit.

In 2011, Dathan Auerbach posted on Reddit (in the r/nosleep sub-page) the begging of a short story that would quickly gain in popularity.

-It started when he was six years old, a series of unexplainable footsteps—“muffled, rhythmic beats” gently thumping on the carpeted floor. They woke him up every night, jolting his childish imagination and bringing him “back to consciousness, terrified.”

The post "Footsteps" gained nearly 3,000 upvotes and launched Auerbach, a 27-year-old philosophy teacher, down a path that would forever change his life. He, along with help from Kickstarter, has now chronicled and expanded his short story into a full length book titled Penpal. You can buy the book here.

Auerbach's story didn't stop there however. He is now in the works of landing a movie deal with Rich Middlemas, an Oscar winning producer from Undefeated. He blames the Internet for his success.

“The Internet has opened up doors that were seemingly hermetically sealed for a lot of people,” Auerbach said. “This means there’s a lot more content out there, for better or worse, but the fact of the matter is that for the first time in a long time the public has tremendous control over what gets seen and what rises to the top, and there’s no way that’s a bad thing. There are a lot of talented people out there without an agent or publisher, and now they have the ability to get their work in front of people whether a publisher thinks it’s economically viable or not.”

Main Link: Daily Dot

Cool Things to Find

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:00 PM PST

(YouTube link)

Cool Things to Find is a parody of the earlier PSA called Dumb Ways to Die. And who does the finding? The Mars Curiosity rover, of course! -via a comment at Metafilter

The Ultimate Caramel Apple

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 08:00 PM PST


Photo: Cooking Classy

Love Caramel apples? Me too! Who cares that December is almost upon us, I think caramel apples are always in season and these are the ultimate caramel apples. Brought to us by Cooking Classy you can find a recipe here. It is a fairly simple and straightforward recipe, but in order to recreate the apples above - real twigs are needed. If you noticed there are a few different varieties of coatings, and Jaclyn (of Cooking Classy) has some brilliant ideas on that as well.

  • Crushed Oreos with milk chocolate chips - Cookie Fudge 
  • Sliced or chopped almonds and poppy seeds with white chocolate - Almond Poppyseed 
  • Chopped dried cranberries & chopped walnuts or pecans with white chocolate chips - Christmas Apple
  • Crushed lavender & vanilla bean with white chocolate chips - The Gourmet
  • Crushed graham crackers or graham cracker pie crust & a little cinnamon & nutmeg with white chocolate chips - Apple Pie


Photo: Cooking Classy

Link | Via Holy Puns, Batman!

Yoko Ono's Fashions for Men

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 07:00 PM PST

v

No one should be surprised -after all, it is Yoko Ono behind the designs. The collection, called “Fashions For Men: 1969-2012,” is based on sketches she gave to John Lennon for their wedding. There are 52 pieces in all, but many share the same motifs, such as the crotch-hand. You can see Ono's illustrations in a video at Laughing Squid. Link

Puppy Love

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:00 PM PST

If only we could all fall asleep this way... the world would be a better place. This could quite possibly be one of the cutest freaking things I have ever seen. Just looking at this makes me sleepy. The only thing that could possibly make this a better nap is if dogs could pur. Get on that dogs, time to step up your purring game.

Via Picks and Flicks

Sundial Alarm Clock Goes off with a Bang

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 05:00 PM PST

sundial

This unusual clock is a solar cannon. It's a sundial that fires a tiny cannon when the heat of sunlight, concentrated wih a lens, detonates gunpowder. In a 1903 treatise on solar energy, Charles Henry Pope wrote:

In the issue of the American of December 30, 1882, an account is given of the "solar cannon of the Palais Royal in Paris, France, which is fired by the heat of the sun at noon, concentrated by means of burning glass, falling on the powder priming of the cannon."

Link -via Pocket Pistols, Historic Firearms, & Curiosities | Photo: Little Gun

Musical Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 04:00 PM PST

 

Musical Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree - $34.95

Are you depressed because you are having trouble deciding what kind of Christmas tree to get this year? Cedar, Fir, Cypress, aluminum and painted pink? Good grief! There are so many choices.

Pull yourself together! The NeatoShop has the most perfect Christmas tree of them all. Behold the Musical Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree. It comes with a single ornament and plays the Peanuts theme song.    

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Christmas stuff and fantastic Peanuts items. 

Link

Dog Camera Cozy

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:00 PM PST

camera

Sarah Goldschadt's crocheted cozy keeps her camera safe, warm and stylish. Goldschadt is the author of Craft-A-Day, a daily guide to a year of craftmaking. This cute project is typical of her delightful work.

Link -via Swiss Miss

X-Wing Beer Can

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:00 PM PST


Photo: Tamas Kanya

People love to make their own X-Wings, so it is no surprise that we now get one made out of beer cans. It is still clearly awesome though. While Kaiser beer may not have been my first choice (probably Newcastle Brown Ale but I don't think they make cans for those) I do salute the combining of Star Wars and beer. Originally uploaded by flickr user Tamas Kanya.

Link | Via Obvious Winner

Kitten Playing Ping Pong

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:30 PM PST

(YouTube link)

This kitten has mad skills and will surely go far in the world of human athletics.  -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Vintage Vandals

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:00 PM PST


Photo: Steven Leduc

Reproposing items for art has been popular ever since (and probably before) Marcel Duchamp's Fountain. What about reproposing art for art though? That is a new trend. Duchamp took a toilet and turned it into art, these dubious artists are using thrift store paintings and making them almost pop-art like productions with monsters and ghouls.


Photo: Driscoll Reid

You can view a full list of 6 artists monsterizing thrift store paintings put together by Web Urbanist.

Embroidered Straightjacket

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 12:30 PM PST

straightjacket

During the 1890s, a German woman named Agnes Richter was institutionalized for a mental illness. She wasn't allowed to use conventional writing instruments, but she was allowed to sew. Richter was a good seamstress, so she embroidered hundreds of mysterious words and phrases on a straightjacket. Gail Hornstein, a psychologist, wrote a book about her exploration of this unique artifact and what it reveals about Richter's mind.

Link -via Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things

Chrono Trigger Nerd Art

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 12:00 PM PST

What is better than art featuring your favorite all time video game? Art you made with your real-life girlfriend featuring your favorite all time video game. Redditor Tannon and his girlfriend Nicole were up to the challenge. It took two years and 47,096 beads, but the couple finally finished their Chrono Trigger tribute. It's a work of art really. You can see the whole project in the works here.

Link | Via Kotaku

La Surprise du Chef!

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:00 AM PST

(YouTube link)

This French ad for underwear may not have any facts, but it sure gets your attention! The description at YouTube, translated by Babelfish, says:

Discover finally what makes the Slipway French more extremely than all the other Slipways

Uh, don't try this at home. -via Everlasting Blort  

Kelvin Doe: The Prodigy

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:34 AM PST


Youtube Link

Thnkr TV is helping promote this 15-year-old Kelvin Doe. Doe is a typical Sierra Leone teenager. He scours his neighborhood trash bins for spare parts, likes to build things, goes by the name DJ Focus, and happens to be the youngest person ever to be invited to the M.I.T. Visiting Practitioner's Program. So maybe not so typical.

Completely self-taught, Kelvin has created his own radio station where he broadcasts news and plays music under the moniker, DJ Focus. Kelvin became the youngest person in history to be invited to the "Visiting Practitioner's Program" at MIT. THNKR had exclusive access to Kelvin and his life-changing journey - experiencing the US for the first time, exploring incredible opportunities, contending with homesickness, and mapping out his future.

You can support Doe here.

Via Booooooom

The Moustache Trainer and Other Brilliant Patents for the Moustache Enthusiast

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:30 AM PST

moustache trainer

As we near the end of a glorious Movember, remember that we did not always have this special month. In a lost, golden age, every month was Movember. Manly facial hair was the norm, not the exception. In the old days, moustache engineers devised great inventions to advance facial hair development, such as Louis Auguste Allard's 1889 moustache trainer. You can read about this and twelve other brilliant moustache inventions at the link. 

Link -via The Presurfer

Anime Eyes Sleep Mask

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST

Anime Eyes Sleep Mask - $4.45

Are you looking to add a little drama to your nighttime attire? You need the Anime Eyes Sleep Mask from the NeatoShop. This fantastic mask features exaggerated eyes and is perfect for adding a little artistic flair to your sleep routine.  

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more eye opening Personal Care items. 

Link

Mars Rover Curiosity

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST

(vimeo link)

Enjoy a beautiful and contemplative tribute to the Mars Curiosity rover. The analogy is that of a child growing up and leaving home. The engineers who designed, built, and launched her are sad that she's gone, but proud that their baby is doing such a marvelous job so far away. -via Geeks Are Sexy

Thanksgiving Leftovers Benedict

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:30 AM PST

Forget English muffins, ham and hollandaise sauce, these Thanksgiving eggs benedict look delicious and are a great way to make your leftovers fun again (which can be hard to do after a few days).

Link

How to Eat an Ear of Corn in 10 Seconds

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:00 AM PST


(Video Link)

Put those corn cob holders away. What you need is an electric drill and a quarter inch bit. Just stick the cob on the bit, place the corn by your mouth, then turn on the drill.

-via Yababoon

Chicago's Highest-Ever Parking Ticket Bill

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 08:30 AM PST

vJennifer Fitzgerald, an unemployed single mother, has racked up over $105,000 in parking ticket fines for a car that she wasn't aware she owned that was left at O'Hare airport for three years. Fitzgerald says the car was purchased by her then-boyfriend, but he registered it in Fitzgerald's name without telling her. When they broke up in 2009, he left the car at the airport.

Now three years later, the car has received 687 parking tickets, equaling a hefty $105,761.81 fine. The Expired Meter reports that it's the highest ever fine in Chicago history, with second place only coming in at $65,000 and more than 400 tickets.

Fitzgerald claimed to The Expired Meter that she didn't know the car was parked in the airport. However, even if she did, Chicago law states that any car parked for more than 30 days in a city-owned lot is subject to an immediate tow to a city pound or authorized garage. She's arguing that the majority of the tickets would not have even been issued if the car had been towed.

Fitzgerald found out about the car when the first parking tickets arrived, and she asked for it to be towed away because she did not have the keys. She had the car's license plates revoked in 2010, but it was not towed until October of 2012 -and the tickets piled up all that time. Meanwhile, Fitzgerald has lost her driver's license because of the debt. Link -via Arbroath

(Image credit: Flickr user alicegop)

How to Make Your Own Howler A La Harry Potter

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 08:00 AM PST

Making a basic origami swan is beyond my skill level, but for those who can faithfully follow such frustrating folding instructions, these Harry Potter howlers are really cool and would be an incredible way to present people with party invitations.

Link
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