Neatorama

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• What Is It? Game 279
• Dude Food Magic Bars
• Gravy Candy
• Over 113 Years, This Home Library Has Grown to 35,000 Books
• One-Armed Woman Wins Miss Iowa Competition
• Wacky Laws Named After People
• Love E.T., Yoda Does
• The Perfect Bouquet For Father's Day
• Rolling Rock ... on Mars
• The Perfect Movie-Time Snack
• This Pug Is Here to Judge Your Toys
• Check the Timey Wimey With This Cool TARDIS Clock
• Honoring A School Therapy Dog Retiree
• Heart Sunglasses
• Does Your Dog Have OCD?
• More Adventure Time Mash Ups
• Where the Line for Men's Restroom is Always Longer
• A Bunny In Bunny Slippers
• Make Your Own Knock-Off Cronuts
• The Grumpy League Doesn't Care About Your Justice
• How to Dress Like <i>Adventure Time</i> Characters
• The Watching Dead
• Elusive Happiness
• Bini the Bunny Plays Basketball
• Zombie Keychain
• An Astrology Chart for Bacteria
• TARDIS Cast
• Baby Mistakes Mole for Nipple

What Is It? Game 279 Posted: 12 Jun 2013 04:00 AM PDT w00t! It's time for our weekly collaboration with the always neat What Is It? Blog. Can you guess the item above? Your guess can win you a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop. Here's how to play: Place your guess in the comment section below. One guess per comment, but you can enter as many guesses as you'd like in separate comments. Post no URLs or weblinks. Like last week, we'll pick two winners who submit funny (but ultimately incorrect) guesses. If you guess correctly, then you're already awesome and that's a prize in and of itself, so you don't win any shirt, mmkay? You probably already won your fair amount of shirts, as the same group of people kept on winning the past What is it? game anyhoo. So, it's up to you, funny Neatoramanauts: now you have twice the chance of winning that T-shirt you've always wanted! (Note: this week's What Is It? Game is true to its name - we actually don't know the purpose of this mysterious tool.) Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your guess. If you don't include a T-shirt, you forfeit the prize. We suggest you take a look at the Funny T-shirt and Science T-shirt sections. Take a look at the What Is It? Blog for more clues, then have at it!

Dude Food Magic Bars Posted: 12 Jun 2013 03:00 AM PDT For Father's Day, Elizabeth LaBau is giving her husband sweet bars composed of all of the major male food groups: bacon, pretzels, chocolate, peanut butter, caramel and potato chips. You can find her full recipe at the link. Link

Gravy Candy Posted: 12 Jun 2013 02:00 AM PDT Grazy Candy Are you crazy for gravy? No you can indulge in your favorite sauce even when you are on the go with the Gravy Candy from the NeatoShop. This deliciously fun tin holds 12 gravy flavored candies. Yum! Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more weird Mints & Candies.  Link

Over 113 Years, This Home Library Has Grown to 35,000 Books Posted: 12 Jun 2013 02:00 AM PDT Tom Johnson, 83, of Osceola, Missouri lives in a library. His grandfather built the house in 1899 and moved his 8,000 volume personal collection into it. Over time, the family added more books and more rooms to house the books. Now Mr. Johnson has a home library that is the envy of bibliophiles everywhere: Three generations of Johnsons never set out to collect “rare books.” Instead, they collected books that fell within their diverse areas of interest — from Plato, to law, to economics, to India, to archeology, to Sanskrit. Not everything in the collection is a 300-year-old scholarly tome. The museum has mystery novels, Jackie Collins’ steamy tales of lust, small books designed to fit into the pockets of GIs during World War II and tawdry novellas Richards calls “bodice rippers.” Many of the older books are in Latin or Greek — or both, on facing pages — and date from the 16th and 17th centuries. The best digital searches, Richards said, show that some of the books are only cataloged at one or two libraries in the world. The oldest book in Mr. Johnson's collection dates back to 1489. His entire collection is protected from network outages: But wherever you look, you won’t find a computer. In this digital age, with the future of printed books uncertain, Johnson lives surrounded by the printed word. “For me personally, I prefer books to digital resources,” he said. Link -via Brian J. Noggle (Photo: Dan Holtmeyer/News-Leader)

One-Armed Woman Wins Miss Iowa Competition Posted: 12 Jun 2013 01:00 AM PDT 23-year old Nicole Kelly is the new Miss Iowa. She was born without a left forearm, but she's never let it get in the way of her ambitions. She writes: I was born without my left forearm. (Although, when people ask me what happened to my arm, I like to ask, "Well, what do you think happened?" My favorite explanation to date has been that it was bitten off by a shark…a perfect explanation for someone from Iowa.) As I grew older, I learned to offset the initial stares I received from people with an outgoing personality that would not give in to "No." This meant that I tried everything! From baseball, to dance to diving, there was nothing I would not try. I found my passion within a world where I was giving people permission to stare…the stage.  Link -via Althouse Photo: Miss Iowa Facebook page/Jenn Cady Photography)

Wacky Laws Named After People Posted: 12 Jun 2013 12:00 AM PDT You've heard of Murphy's Law, no doubt. But how about Sturgeon's Law? How about Skitt's Law? No? Then you have to read this nifty article by Chris Higgins over at mental_floss about 11 wacky "laws" named after people. For example: 1. STURGEON'S LAW The law: "90% of everything is crap." (In some versions, "crap" is replaced with "crud.") The story: Science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon wrote a defense of sci-fi in the March 1958 issue of the sci-fi magazine Venture. He wrote, in part (emphasis added): I repeat Sturgeon’s Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of SF is crud. Using the same standards that categorize 90% of science fiction as trash, crud, or crap, it can be argued that 90% of film, literature, consumer goods, etc. are crap. In other words, the claim (or fact) that 90% of science fiction is crap is ultimately uninformative, because science fiction conforms to the same trends of quality as all other art forms. Two trivia notes on this one. First, as you can see above, Sturgeon himself termed this "Sturgeon's Revelation," however, accidents of history (and the OED) turned it into Sturgeon's Law. There actually is a "Sturgeon's Law," and it is: "Nothing is always absolutely so." Second note — Sturgeon is the basis for Kurt Vonnegut's recurring character Kilgore Trout. 3. SKITT'S LAW The law: "Any post correcting an error in another post will contain at least one error itself." The story: Skitt's Law is just one of many internet-themed corollaries of Muphry's Law, which itself states: "If you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written." So horribly, horribly true. (And yes, "Muphry" is an intentional misspelling referencing Murphy's Law.) Apparently the law was first coined by G. Bryan Lord, referring to a Usenet user named Skitt. Read the rest over at mental_floss: Link

Love E.T., Yoda Does Posted: 11 Jun 2013 11:00 PM PDT Now we know just who E.T. phoned home and talked to. Create great pop culture mash up, graffiti artist Zed1 did, with this Yoda loves E.T. graffiti - just one of 50 neat examples of Star Wars graffiti over at Walyou: Link - Thanks Fede!

The Perfect Bouquet For Father's Day Posted: 11 Jun 2013 10:13 PM PDT Dad doesn't want flowers for Father's Day. He wants something manly, like beer and food. What better way to give him beer and food on his special day than with a cupcake bouquet with cupcakes that include beer? There is one way you could make this gift more awesome though...throw some chocolate-covered bacon bits on these cupcakes. Link

Rolling Rock ... on Mars Posted: 11 Jun 2013 10:00 PM PDT Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona A rolling stone in Mars gathers no moss, because there's no moss in Mars, silly! But there are boulders that roll down the slopes of Mars, as this HiRISE camera on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show. Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy wrote: What started it up? A Marsquake, a nearby impact, the erosion of its underpinning due to the relentless Martian winds? You can see the boulder at the bottom of the image, its shadow stretching off to the upper right. The rock is not quite large enough to clearly see any shape or features on it; it's probably only a few of meters across. Link | Larger pic over at HiRISE's Beautiful Mars Tumblr

The Perfect Movie-Time Snack Posted: 11 Jun 2013 09:00 PM PDT Not sure if you're in the mood for something salty or sweet or crunchy or chewy? Why not satisfy all those cravings at once with these buttered popcorn brownies? The secret to getting the popcorn to stick to the brownies is a heavy drizzle of condensed milk and chocolate. Excuse me, I've got to go bake some brownies and pop some corn now. Link

This Pug Is Here to Judge Your Toys Posted: 11 Jun 2013 08:00 PM PDT (Video Link) Not sure what toy to buy your favorite stinky friend? Well, Toy Critic Pug is here to help. In this episode, the winner is certainly the Furby and the biggest loser is the llama cut out, which is just plain horrifying. Via I Can Has Cheezburger

Check the Timey Wimey With This Cool TARDIS Clock Posted: 11 Jun 2013 07:00 PM PDT What time is it? It's all times at all the times with this fantastic TARDIS clock by Etsy seller UnicornEmpirePrints. Does anyone know the time zone of Galifrey? Link

Honoring A School Therapy Dog Retiree Posted: 11 Jun 2013 06:00 PM PDT Prince worked as a therapy dog at Portage High School in Indiana for four years before retiring this spring. To honor the pup's service, the school opted to include him in the yearbook among all the graduating seniors and let him lead the pack of students during the graduation ceremony last Sunday. Link

Heart Sunglasses Posted: 11 Jun 2013 05:00 PM PDT Heart Sunglasses (sold individually) Summer is almost here. Let your love of this sunny season shine through with the Heart Sunglasses from the NeatoShop. The lenses of these stylish sunglasses are shaped like a heart.  The Heart Sunglasses are available in:  Red Black Maroon Purple Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Eyewear.  Link

Does Your Dog Have OCD? Posted: 11 Jun 2013 05:00 PM PDT Does your dog chase its tail or lick its paws over and over again? Maybe it has the dog-equivalent of OCD, a condition called CCD or canine compulsive disorder. Now, researchers have discovered that MRI brain scans of 8 CCD-affected Doberman pinschers show similar brain characteristics with humans with OCD: For the study, Ogata and colleagues recruited eight Doberman pinschers with CCD and a control group of eight Dobermans without CCD. The team chose Dobermans because they are the first breed to show a genetic basis for CCD and because the breed has a high prevalence of CCD—about 28 percent of U.S. Dobermans, said Ogata, whose study was published online in April in the journal Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. After obtaining MRI scans for each group, the team discovered that the CCD dogs had higher total brain and gray matter volumes and lower gray matter densities in certain parts of the brain—similar to the structures of people brains' with OCD. Gray matter is a brownish-gray tissue inside the brain and spinal cord that contains mostly nerve cells. Christine Dell'Amore of National Geographic reports: Link

More Adventure Time Mash Ups Posted: 11 Jun 2013 04:00 PM PDT You've seen what happens when Adventure Time meets the Avengers, but as it turns out, that was only one of many Adventure Time/comic book mash ups. Here are two more, one featuring Galactus and another with The Batman filling in as Finn. Don't miss the link for even more amusing crossovers. Link Via io9

Where the Line for Men's Restroom is Always Longer Posted: 11 Jun 2013 03:00 PM PDT Photo: Dan Ackerman Go ahead and laugh, ladies. The tables are turned in the dude-fest known as WWDC yesterday as this photo by CNET editor Dan Ackerman showed a long line for the men's room and no line at all for the ladies' room. 'Tis a fodder for the websites like A Line at the Ladies Room, which noted:  We have built the backbone of our economy, healthcare, and security systems on software so you would expect that industry to be a high-growth area for young professionals. And it is… for men. Did you know: 94% of phone app developers are men. 91% of software architects are men. Fewer than 10% of the CIOs in America are female. Megan Garber of The Atlantic has more examples of ridiculously long lines at men's room at tech conferences around the country: Link

A Bunny In Bunny Slippers Posted: 11 Jun 2013 02:00 PM PDT Sure, Bini can play basketball, but I'd much rather be friends with Alibi, who knows how to relax and take a load off. We could enjoy avocado face masks together while we munch on some popcorn and watch a cheesy rom-com. You can follow Albi on his daily adventures on his website, AlbiRabbit.com. Link

Make Your Own Knock-Off Cronuts Posted: 11 Jun 2013 01:00 PM PDT (Video Link) Can't afford to visit New York and stand outside for hours just to get your hands on an authentic cronut? Then head to your local grocery store and grab some Pillsbury cresent rolls so you can make a delicious knock-off version right in your own kitchen. Via Serious Eats

The Grumpy League Doesn't Care About Your Justice Posted: 11 Jun 2013 12:00 PM PDT Being a superhero takes more than super powers, it also takes a dedication to helping the innocent and fighting evil, which is why Grumpy Cat would truly be the ultimate in anti-heroes. Oh Tard, is there anything your negativity can't improve? Link Via Geeks Are Sexy

How to Dress Like <i>Adventure Time</i> Characters Posted: 11 Jun 2013 11:00 AM PDT We can't be the ravishing Lumpy Space Princess, but with effort, we can emulate her. Rebecca Jane Stokes of The Hairpin has created detailed wardrobe instructions that will help you look like Lumpy Space Princess, Gunter and Marceline. Link

The Watching Dead Posted: 11 Jun 2013 10:00 AM PDT The Watching Dead by Di.Jay Running is not an option, but watching TV always is! Check out The Watching Dead T-shirt by T-shirt design powerhouse duo Di.Jay over at the NeatoShop. Check out their Facebook page (give 'em a like, wontcha?), then head on over to their NeatoShop page for more: Link Thank you in advance for taking a look! Your purchase helps support indie artists and this blog. Apocalypse Tour No More Kicking Not Now Chewie Orange Recall View more T-shirts by Di.Jay | More Funny T-shirts | Zombie items Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop, earn generous royalties, and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Elusive Happiness Posted: 11 Jun 2013 09:00 AM PDT The horse in this cartoon by Carolyn Hiler is foolish. Stop looking for happiness in achievement and look for the source of true joy: money. Link -via Lustik

Bini the Bunny Plays Basketball Posted: 11 Jun 2013 08:00 AM PDT (Video Link) This rabbit in Michael Jordan's #23 jersey is Bini, the next sensation of the basketball world. Watch him wow the crowds (you can hear them cheering) as he sinks ball after ball. At the end, he does a proud victory dance. -via Daily of the Day

Zombie Keychain Posted: 11 Jun 2013 07:00 AM PDT Zombie Keychain It is a little known fact that zombies live to be helpful. They truly don't mind just hanging around and keeping an eye on your keys. Invite a Zombie Keychain from the NeatoShop into your life today. The Zombie Keychain is a 3D sculpted keychain that looks like a zombie impaled through the eye with a keychain eyelet. The zombie is handcrafted, in the USA, of tough urethane resin and features beautiful hand-painted details. No two are exactly alike.  Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Zombie items.  Link

An Astrology Chart for Bacteria Posted: 11 Jun 2013 07:00 AM PDT The following is an article from the Annals of Improbable Research. (Image credit: Flickr user  Matthew Kirkland) By Karen Hopkin, Ph.D. Journal of NIH Research, Washington, DC Photos by Tim Hazzard, Ph.D. Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, Portland, Oregon Editor's note: Photos of all twelve of signs appear in the original version of this article in AIR 3:6. Astrological science holds that the differential monthly positioning of the stars and planets controls human mood (DSM-IIIR),1 personality (Goodman, 1972),2 and even fate (Reagan, 1982).3 But what of the daily variations in the location of the star that is responsible for all life on earth-the sun? Might this simple diurnal cycle affect the lives of more primitive, shorter-lived organisms, such as prokaryotes? If the relative hourly positions of the Sun and Earth do influence bacterial fate, a sample horoscope for the common laboratory bug, Escherichia coli,4 might read something like this. Numbers indicate time of day (am or pm) when a bacterium was born. Aries (12 to 1) A long dark stranger may be swimming into your life. Might be a good idea to eliminate any viral sequences from your genome. This special someone has an F plasmid with your name on it. Excess oxygen may be in your future. Crank up the superoxide dismutase and hoard vitamins C and E. Taurus (1 to 2) You will develop ampicillin resistance. Take advantage of your new beta lactam splitting talents and venture into drugged media. Look for a nice, tetracycline-resistant mate and start a multi-drug resistant family. Gemini (2 to 3) A creep with wandering pilli will make a pass at you. Why not take all his genes and leave him an empty mass of lipoprotein? You're feeling motile, but should avoid the south side of the petri dish. Don't be intimidated by eukaryotes. Cancer (3 to 4) Your stars are definitely off course, and you will likely be engulfed by a hungry euglena. But every cloud has a silver lining-you will develop a trusting relationship with its mitochondria. Leo (4 to 5) Tough times ahead-minimal media at best. Why not sporulate and try again in a month or two? A hearty virus will sweep through your parent colony. Rest and get plenty of complex sugars to avoid this nasty little phage. Virgo (5 to 6) Great financial news-New England BioLabs is hot for your plasmid. But things slow down when your home plate gets shoved into the cold room for two weeks. Use the time to do some badly needed repairs to your cell wall. Libra (6 to 7) You're feeling mischievous and consider ruining a grad student's thesis by inexplicably altering your phosphofructokinase expression. Sure, it might be fun to wreck a scientist's career, but can you handle the extra glucose-1,6 bisphosphate? Be sure to get rid of excess acid before visiting your mother. Scorpio (7 to 8) Rich medium supplemented with casamino acids is in your future. Rev up the Embden-Myerhoff pathway! Avoid sticking you chemoreceptors into other cells' business. Some of your more sensitive friends may be experiencing pre-S phase-syndrome and are best left alone. Sagittarius (8 to 9) Beware lab techs promising golden opportunities. You'll only get a nanometer-thick coating of precious metal before you take a little trip to the scanning electron microscope. Prepare to spend some time caring for a friend in heat shock. Capricorn (9 to 10) Isn't it time you grow up and divide? Your friends have all set up colonies of their own. So stop living off the nutrients released by your dead relatives, and GET A LIFE! Live or lyse, my friend. Aquarius (10 to 11) An urge to rediscover your roots sends you on a trip to your homeland-a young student's lower bowel. Travel should be easy: Microbiologists rarely wash their hands before eating. Pisces (11 to 12) Ethanol has become your main source of carbon, you soused bug. Keep it up and you may wake up wondering how you ever acquired the ability to fluoresce. While you're thinking of it, stock up on catalase-where there's oxygen there's peroxide. Divide early and often! References and Notes 1Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition [DSM-IV], published by American Psychiatric Association (American Psychiatric Press, Inc.), updated 1994, Washington, DC. 2Sun Signs, Linda Goodman, Bantam Books, NY, 1968. 3President Ronald Reagan, numerous US government documents, and interpersonal and interstellar communications. 4To be specific: DH5 E. coli, phenotype F- supE44 hsdR17 recA1 gyrA96 endA1 thi-1 relA1 deoR - _____________________ This article is republished with permission from the Nov/Dec 1997 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.

TARDIS Cast Posted: 11 Jun 2013 06:00 AM PDT While her broken arm is healing, Laura Keeney will be able to travel through time and space. Her friend Zak Kinsella painted her cast in a completely inconspicuous manner. Link | Artist's Website

Baby Mistakes Mole for Nipple Posted: 11 Jun 2013 05:00 AM PDT (Video Link) Baby wants a snack and Grandpa's mole is convenient. But why doesn't it work? -via Yababoon (warning: auto-sound)

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