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• “Toll House” Recipe Cookies Do Not Maintain Their Morphology Under Heat Stress Conditions
• A Hogwarts Wedding
• Even Big Bird Showed Up To Cast His Vote
• Catbus Backpack
• Real Life Medusa
• Balloon Bridge
• Fungus as a Building Material
• One Grumpy Cat
• Bowling Pin Lamp
• Did You Get a Sticker?
• Flintlock Alarm Clock
• Cats vs. Laser
• Is Extreme Couponing Worth It?
• Exhaustively Detailed Hobbit Dollhouse
• Clumsy Cook Turkey Mask
• Abandoned Zoo Turned Into Street Art Gallery
• If Harley Quinn Joined The Circus
• Helpful Jackson
• Nelson Mandela: Release
• Neil deGrasse Tyson Found Planet Krypton
• Skull Watch, c. 1640-1650
• Megatron for President
• On Space Time Foam
• Dazzling Street Art By Shida
• Who Came in Third?
• Kermit Plush Slippers
• Sock It To Me?
• Quantum Physics Experiment Shows Light Behaving as a Wave and a Particle Simultaneously
• Cute <i>Game of Thrones</i> Cosplay
• Swirling Op-Art On The High Trestle Trail Bridge

“Toll House” Recipe Cookies Do Not Maintain Their Morphology Under Heat Stress Conditions Posted: 07 Nov 2012 05:00 AM PST by Michael Cammer Director of Light Microscopy and Image Analysis Albert Einstein College of Medicine Yeshiva University, The Bronx, New York (Image credit: Flickr user Nathan LeClair) We investigated the morphological behavior of chocolate chip cookies as reported by previous investigators. A hallmark of the male-dominated scientific establishment is the disbelief in or marginalization of the outsider or other. Two children undertook to prove their hypothesis that the popular drop-cookie recipe1 for chocolate chip cookies (known as “Toll House cookies”) would not yield preshaped cookies or that preshaped batter would not maintain its morphology through a trial of heat shock (a.k.a. “baking”).2 Because their results were exclusively qualitative, i.e. based on exclusively descriptive data drawn from repeated experimentation and because the experimenters were mere children, we sought to disprove the results via quantitative computer analysis of batter under heat stress conditions. We were unable to effectively challenge their results. (Image credit: Flickr user Nathan LeClair) Methods To challenge the results, we prepared the Toll House formulation in its standard form.1,2 To assess area and shape continuity or flux over a ten-minute heat stress condition, we employed an endpoint assay. Morphology and area, measured from a vantage normal to the plane of plating, were quantified before and after baking conditions using the powerful image analysis package.3 Index of roundness is measured as a ratio of perimeter to the square root of area with an adjustment by a constant based on 4 * pi to yield 1 for a perfect circle. Results We confirm the qualitative analysis that dough both spreads and loses integrity of hard corners due to heat shock (see Figures 1a and 1b). The dough is a suspension of starch, sucrose and lipid-based chips in butterfat, which is subjected to pretreatment and post-treatment by heat. Application of heat appears to alter morphology of the suspension, resulting in more spread and smoother-edged objects. In addition, quantification of changes in absolute area and circularity confirm that dough loses its morphometric integrity when heated to 375 degrees F. Absolute area change is an index of spreading. All specimens spread typically by more than 100 percent each. Circularity is an index of variation from a perfect circle where 1 = perfect circle and, for our uses as it is known that area increases over time, 0 = perimeter approaching infinity. Circularity increases by approximately 25 percent which indicates the smoothing and loss of detailed edge features. Unfortunately, we were unable to establish a 1:1 correlation between area change and increase of circularity in individual specimens; however, the population study of each parameter isolated from the other is compelling (see Figures 2a and 2b). Discussion The de facto final arbiter on all things cooking in the United States, the Culinary Institute of America, says nothing in its popular press regarding the chemistry or stability of drop-cookie dough under heat stress conditions.4 Therefore, we established definitively that drop-cookie dough loses its morphometric integrity when subjected to heat. Area as measured by 2D projection from directly above. The thick colloid increases by 2X due to treatment by heat in standard convection oven. However, the mechanisms of action have not been identified. Yet to be determined is the cascade of chemical events leading to collapse, spreading and subsequent cessation of flux. What roles do sugar and starch suspended in lipid play to slow the spread of the fat, which loses viscosity when heated? Do chocolate chips play a significant role as physical barriers to heat and gravity induced flow? Does protein in flour crosslink to provide stability and at what point does protein in egg crosslink due to heat? Cookies develop crisp outer shells which may be involved in the cessation of flux. The relative roles dehydration or other chemical reactions contribute to this exoskeleton have yet to be investigated. Our investigation lays a firm foundation for further study. It should also be especially noted that cookies are three- dimensional constructs and, therefore, need more rigorous study as objects in space. Approximate 25 percent loss of unique edge variation of features as measured by circularity of 2D projection from directly above due to treatment by heat in standard convection oven. Acknowledgements Special thanks to Dr. Dianne Cox for tolerating this research and not complaining excessively about the laboratory being too messy or the results too crispy. Bibliography 1. R. Wakefield’s 1930 Toll House Cookie recipe as published by Nestlé, http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=18476 2. How does the Cookie Crumble?, C. Deane and R.C. Cammer, 2005, Webster, New Rochelle, N.Y. 3. Image J 1.34g, W.S. Rasband, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/, 1997-2005. 4. Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft, Culinary Institute of America, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Hoboken, N.J., 2004. _____________________ This article is republished with permission from the July-August 2005 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. You can download or purchase back issues of the magazine, or subscribe to receive future issues. Or get a subscription for someone as a gift! Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.

A Hogwarts Wedding Posted: 07 Nov 2012 04:00 AM PST If you love Harry Potter and you're in love, then maybe you can combine your two loves by having an incredible Harry Potter wedding like this one, complete with a sorting hat and Hogwarts garte. Link

Even Big Bird Showed Up To Cast His Vote Posted: 07 Nov 2012 03:00 AM PST With funding for his beloved PBS stations threatened by a presidential candidate, Big Bird showed up at the polls to voice his displeasure and caw for children's television. Reporter for the Austin American-Statesman John Kelso voted while dressed as Big Bird to make a tongue-in-cheek political statement and pose for this hilarious photo op. I guess we know who John voted for! Link  --via Cheezburger

Catbus Backpack Posted: 07 Nov 2012 02:00 AM PST Catbus Backpack - $39.95 Attention Totoro fans! Are you looking for a unique and fun backpack? You need the Catbus Backpack from the NeatoShop. This delightful plush bag, with zippered compartment, features a small Totoro and Soot Sprite. It makes a great gift for any My Neighbor Totoro lover.   Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Bags & Backpacks and fantastic Totoro items.  Link

Real Life Medusa Posted: 07 Nov 2012 02:00 AM PST Japanese singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is noted for her outrageous hairstyles, this being perhaps the most frightening. Don't look at her eyes. But do visit Kotaku to see her other wild hairstyles. Link -via Kotaku

Balloon Bridge Posted: 07 Nov 2012 01:00 AM PST Artist Olivier Grossetête created a bridge suspended by 3 helium-filled balloons over a lake in Tatton's Japanese Guarden in the UK. Personally, I don't think I would try to walk it. Grossetête’s artwork toys with the disciplines of design and engineering, with this particular piece an extension of his earlier 2007 work 'pont suspendu' - an installation along a similar vein of three large balloons supporting a bridge-like structure, hovering over château ferry lacombe in tret, France. The work evokes a sense of abstract delicacy, transferring fanciful imagery usually reserved for daydreaming to reality. - More images at Design Boom

Fungus as a Building Material Posted: 07 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PST These bricks aren't made of clay, but mushrooms. Artist Philip Ross grows one species into useful, durable shapes: Feeding it agricultural waste, Ross grows each prototype onsite in an ultra-controlled environment, using a mold, filtered air, gravity, and pressure to achieve the shape: An armchair took two weeks to grow. Then he kiln-dies them, leaving little or no odor and a texture similar to high-density foam or cork. The species he uses, ganoderma, can attain almost any texture given the right conditions: "Fluffy cotton, rubber, high-impact plastic, cork, styrofoam, or a complex hybrid composite--all within the same monolithic object," he says. What other pizza toppings could be turned into building materials? Link -via Smart News | Photo: Philip Ross

One Grumpy Cat Posted: 06 Nov 2012 11:00 PM PST I woke up at 5:00 AM to go hiking with my dog since this whole daylight savings time has thrown my biological clock for a loop. This was my face. Only kidding, why it's Tard the Grumpy Cat of course! Yes her name is Tard, short for Tardar (Tartar) Sauce. She is quite amusing. The cat belongs to Tabatha Bundesen and was originally posted on Reddit in September by her brother, redditor Cataliades. Also on Youtube. -Via Tard The Grumpy Cat

Bowling Pin Lamp Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:00 PM PST This lamp modified by Etsy seller RenegadeVintage was originally a bowling arcade game. Those aren't pins but markers that fold back when hit by balls. Now the assembly is a lamp that provides ambient light perfect for a romantic love nest. Link -via Nag on the Lake

Did You Get a Sticker? Posted: 06 Nov 2012 09:00 PM PST This Twaggie was made when Matt Lassen illustrated a Tweet by Ethan Trex. I didn't get a sticker as a reward for voting. I got to stand in line for 30 minutes while the smell of delicious soup made everyone hungry, just to find out afterward that it was $1.50 a bowl! Check out more illustrated Tweets at Twaggies. Link

Flintlock Alarm Clock Posted: 06 Nov 2012 08:00 PM PST This mechanical marvel built in Austria sometime between 1715 and 1725 is handy alarm clock. When the alarm is activiated, the clock rings a bell and triggers a flintlock mechanism. That latter part doesn't fire a gun, but instead lights a candle. This would be handy if you're getting up at some indecent hour--a highly overrated practice. Link -via Wunderkammer | Photo: British Museum

Cats vs. Laser Posted: 06 Nov 2012 07:00 PM PST (YouTube link) This dramatic footage was obtained by placing the camera and the laser pointer in a box together and pulling the box around with shoe strings. Yeah, it's a GoPro ad, but well worth a minute to watch. -via Laughing Squid

Is Extreme Couponing Worth It? Posted: 06 Nov 2012 06:00 PM PST If you've seen the TLC's TV show Extreme Couponing, then you know the drill: extreme couponers dragged supermarket cart (or even carts) full of stuff worth hundreds of dollars, then checked out to find the register showing a bill of hundreds of dollars, which then miraculously dwindled down to zero or close to it after a big wollop of coupons got applied. Then cut away to their home's pantries or basements, where the extreme couponers proudly showcase hundreds of single-ply toilet paper rolls, travel-sized toothpaste tubes and several lifetime's worth of Vitamin Water. Granted today's economy is tough, but is extreme couponing - which consumes so much time that it's like a part-time job - worth it? No, actually, according to one former extreme couponers. Christy Rakoczy, who used to be an extreme couponer from 2007 to 2010, explains why she has stopped extreme couponing in an article over at Money Crashers and an interview with NPR's Michel Martin: MARTIN: You also wrote in your piece that you found yourself buying products that you really didn't need or particularly want just because you were getting bargains. RAKOCZY: That is absolutely true. That's pretty much what you see. Any time someone's really saving a fortune, they're not saving a fortune necessarily on things that they can use. It's, you know, 200 Tic Tacs, 100 jars of tomato sauce that you're probably not going to use. A lot of diabetes monitors. Those are free almost all the time, because they want to get you hooked on using their brand. But, really, what are you going to do with them? It's just stuff that kind of clutters up your house. MARTIN: Wait a minute. So you were getting diabetes monitors. Do you have diabetes? RAKOCZY: No, I don't. But any couponer... MARTIN: So you bought a diabetes monitor but you didn't have diabetes. OK. Well, that's kind of an example, I think, isn't it, Of what you're talking about - buying stuff that you don't need. RAKOCZY: I bought about 60 diabetes monitors and I don't have diabetes. So I still have a few, actually. Link (Photo: Shutterstock) - via TIME

Exhaustively Detailed Hobbit Dollhouse Posted: 06 Nov 2012 05:39 PM PST Every detail of Maddie Brindley's Bag End is perfect. Every miniaturized item is Hobbit-appropriate, right down to the decorations and writings. You've got to see it to believe it--and you should. Link -via Nerd Bastards

Clumsy Cook Turkey Mask Posted: 06 Nov 2012 05:00 PM PST Clumsy Cook Turkey Mask - $34.95 Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Are you looking to give your favorite novice chef a little lighthearted ribbing? You need the Clumsy Cook Turkey Mask from the NeatoShop. This hilarious mask makes it look like you got a raw turkey stuck on your head.  Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fun Masks and great Kitchen Stuff.  Link

Abandoned Zoo Turned Into Street Art Gallery Posted: 06 Nov 2012 05:00 PM PST (YouTube Link) The ruins of an abandoned zoo in Torino, Italy have been given new life, repurposed into a Street Art Museum by the Border Land Project. It's now home to many amazing works of graffiti art, some of which feature animals that once called the zoo home.  Enjoy the video tour, it's well worth the price of admission. --via io9

If Harley Quinn Joined The Circus Posted: 06 Nov 2012 04:00 PM PST Etsy seller Hollymessinger is both a geek and an amazing seamstress, so it makes sense that her shop designs featuring a great selection of comic-inspired designs including this gorgeous Harley Quinn dress. Link Via Gracious Majesty

Helpful Jackson Posted: 06 Nov 2012 03:00 PM PST (YouTube link) Jackson is an Australian shepherd mix. That means part Australian shepherd and all awesome! I mean really, my pets still won't close the refrigerator after they get their water bottles out.  -via reddit

Nelson Mandela: Release Posted: 06 Nov 2012 02:00 PM PST Nelson Mandela was arrested on the spot in which this sculpture sits in 1962. He spent 27 years in custody on Robben Island before becoming the President of South Africa. Titled Release, the sculpture is made of 50 steel beams and is between 21 and 31 feet high. Created by Marco Cianfanelli, a South African artist. A great collection of photos on how the structure was constructed here. -Via Amanda Patterson

Neil deGrasse Tyson Found Planet Krypton Posted: 06 Nov 2012 01:30 PM PST We all know that Superman came from the Planet Krypton, but where exactly was that planet located before it exploded? Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked by DC Comics to find it: I’ve often wondered exactly what kind of star Krypton orbited and where it was. Up until now all we’ve known is that it was red, and red stars come in many flavors, from dinky red dwarfs with a tenth the mass of the Sun up to massive supergiants like Betelgeuse which outweigh the Sun by dozens of times (I’ll note that a deleted scene in "Superman Returns" indicates it’s a red supergiant). Well, that’s about to change. DC comics is releasing a new book this week – Action Comics Superman #14 – that finally reveals the answer to this stellar question. And they picked a special guest to reveal it: my old friend Neil Tyson. Actually, Neil did more than just appear in the comic: he was approached by DC to find a good star to fit the story. Red supergiants don’t work; they explode as supernovae when they are too young to have an advanced civilization rise on any orbiting planets. Red giants aren’t a great fit either; they can be old, but none is at the right distance to match the storyline. It would have to be a red dwarf: there are lots of them, they can be very old, and some are close enough to fit the plot. I won’t keep you in suspense: the star is LHS 2520, a red dwarf in the southern constellation of Corvus (at the center of the picture here). It’s an M3.5 dwarf, meaning it has about a quarter of the Sun’s mass, a third its diameter, roughly half the Sun’s temperature, and a luminosity of a mere 1% of our Sun’s. It’s only 27 light years away – very close on the scale of the galaxy – but such a dim bulb you need a telescope to see it at all (for any astronomers out there, the coordinates are RA: 12h 10m 5.77s, Dec: -15° 4m 17.9 s). Phil Plaitt of Bad Astronomy has the story: Link

Skull Watch, c. 1640-1650 Posted: 06 Nov 2012 01:00 PM PST This spooky watch, which measures under two inches across, was made by Swiss watchmaker Isaac Penard (1619-1676). If I had one, I'd love for people to ask me for the time just so I could see their reactions when I pull it out. Link -via Anachronistic Exploration | Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Megatron for President Posted: 06 Nov 2012 12:30 PM PST Megatron, leader of the Decepticons (or wide receiver for the Detroit Lions if you prefer) is throwing his hat into the political ring. Somewhere in there is a bad joke about all politicians being Decepticons but hey, he's got my vote! From redditor BergerKing80 and made into a Facebook timeline header here. Bonus- More Transformer puns found here. -Via Laughing Squid

On Space Time Foam Posted: 06 Nov 2012 12:00 PM PST Argentinian artist Tomas Saraceno was inspired by the spacetime foam theory of quantum mechanics to create his artwork On Space Time Foam, which lets participants walk on a giant floating structure of clear plastic. It looks like a lot of fun! Link - via notcot | YouTube Link

Dazzling Street Art By Shida Posted: 06 Nov 2012 11:30 AM PST The amazing mural works of Australian street artist Shida aren't lacking in style or detail, and they certainly don't look like every other painting slapped on a wall. Shida excels in the use of color, intricate linework and designing characters that look like delicate monsters, beautiful yet edgy and full of pointy bits. Link  --via Hi Fructose

Who Came in Third? Posted: 06 Nov 2012 11:00 AM PST The more presidential election cycles you live through, the harder it becomes to recall who lost -even among the major parties. Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss adds another level of difficulty. Can you remember who came in third place in past presidential elections? Most are before your lifetime, but you may have learned about them in history class or in your personal reading. I didn't; I missed every one through 1924, and got the rest right. I hope you do better! Link

Kermit Plush Slippers Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:30 AM PST Kermit Plush Slippers - $19.95 Are you exhausted from a long day of movin' right along in search of good time and good news? It's time to get footloose and fancy free in the Kermit Plush Slippers from the NeatoShop. This comfy pair of slippers features Kermit the Frog from the Muppets. After a little rest in these adorable slippers your will be ready to take on the big town again. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Footwear.  Link

Sock It To Me? Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:30 AM PST (YouTube link) In 1962, Richard Nixon quit politics after losing the California governor's race. His poor showing in the 1960 presidential election is often blamed on the televised debates that made John Kennedy look more presidential. So Nixon laid low for a few years and hung around with comedy writer Paul Keyes, who became his media consultant. In 1968, Nixon ran for president again, against Vice-president Hubert Humphrey. Neither candidate appealed to the young voters left behind when candidate Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. Then came what Nixon later characterized as a godsend: the series premiere of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” network television’s flower-powered precursor to sketch comedy shows like “Saturday Night Live” and “SCTV.” (Oh, BTW, here’s my favorite “SCTV” sketch. Watch if you want.) While “Laugh-In” purported itself to be the hippy dippy countercultural hub Monday nights on NBC, it was only posturing as some kind of groovy thing. After all, its head writer was a staunch conservative — one you already know, and one who was able to score airtime with the Republican presidential nominee. Against his numerous advisers’ wishes, 55-year old Richard Nixon was convinced by Keyes to appear on the series premiere of “Laugh-In,” Monday, September 16, 1968. (The show was picked up for a full season after a one-off special in September 1967.) That appearance on Laugh-In is often credited with giving Nixon the White House in 1968. Read how it came about, how difficult the filming was, and the fallout it created, at Death and Taxes. Link

Quantum Physics Experiment Shows Light Behaving as a Wave and a Particle Simultaneously Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST Damn you, quantum physics! Just as we got used to the mind-boggling fact that light can act as either a wave OR as a particle, a new quantum physics experiment has shown that it can act like a wave AND a particle at the same time: Now, for the first time, researchers have devised a new type of measurement apparatus that can detect both particle and wave-like behavior at the same time. The device relies on a strange quantum effect called quantum nonlocality, a counter-intuitive notion that boils down to the idea that the same particle can exist in two locations at once. "The measurement apparatus detected strong nonlocality, which certified that the photon behaved simultaneously as a wave and a particle in our experiment," physicist Alberto Peruzzo of England's University of Bristol said in a statement. "This represents a strong refutation of models in which the photon is either a wave or a particle." Link

Cute <i>Game of Thrones</i> Cosplay Posted: 06 Nov 2012 09:30 AM PST Not all of Game of Thrones is depressing. There are funny moments mixed into the brutality, like when Daenerys Targaryen eats a raw horse heart. Laura Pliskin submitted this photo to Fashionably Geek's Halloween costume roundup, which you can view at the link. Link

Swirling Op-Art On The High Trestle Trail Bridge Posted: 06 Nov 2012 09:00 AM PST By day the High Trestle Trail Bridge in Des Moines, Iowa looks pretty normal, aside from the tilted steel beams above the footpath, but at night the bridge lights up and blows minds. Here's more on this brightly glowing bridge: Towering 13 stories above the Des Moines River Valley in Iowa, The High Trestle Trail Bridge is one of the largest foot bridges in the world. Completed last year, the bridge now comes complete with one of the best examples of public art I’ve seen in a long time. Designed by David B. Dahlquist of RDG Dahlquist Art Studio, the steel  beams that swirl around the bridge not only accentuates the motion of pedestrians moving back and forth across the bridge but also create a gorgeous op-art effect that makes you feel as though you’re in the middle of a surreal stop motion animation. Link  --via Beautiful/Decay

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