Neatorama |
- Dog Sentenced to Life In Prison
- The Ice Velocipede, c. 1869
- "Assteroid: Countdown to Disasster" (Heh) Poster by Jeff Victor
- Eat Healthily
- Why Can't We Just Host the Olympics in the Same Place Every Year?
- Medieval Cookbook's Unicorn Recipe Begins with "Taketh One Unicorne...."
- Bacon and Eggs Salt & Pepper Shakers
- The Seven Sutherland Sisters and Their 37 Feet of Hair
- Cow Wash
- My Life Decisions - [no. 1030 @gingerfaced]
- Mystery Bug Builds Fence Around Eggs
- 50% of the US Population Is In These 146 Counties
- Trying to Catch the Wind
- Geeky T-shirts from The Hookshot
- Masters of Deception: 5 Two-Faced Species
- The Curious Origin of Sarin Nerve Gas
- How to Make Bell Jars Out of Soda Bottles
- Jack Skellington Hanging Heads
- Crapper Mapper
- Kludge Guitar
- Mom's Not Here Right Now
- If Donut Holes Were Savory, They'd Be Bantams
- The New Yahoo! Logo Can Be Yours, Too
- Photos of Adorable Kids Dressed As Famous Celebrities
- Clumsy Cats Compilation
- Human Lung Calzones
- These Pups Can't Wait to Take A Bath
- Le Grand K: The Perfect Kilogram
| Dog Sentenced to Life In Prison Posted: 07 Sep 2013 04:00 AM PDT The dog in the mug shot is Pep, also known as Inmate C2559. He lived at Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania beginning in 1924.
Eastern State was in operation from 1829 until 1971, and is now a historic landmark, which many consider haunted. See pictures of Eastern State at Curious History. Link -via Nag on the Lake  | ||||||||
| Posted: 07 Sep 2013 02:00 AM PDT It's like a tricycle, but it has skids instead of rear wheels. In his 1869 book Velocipedes, Bicycles, & Tricycles, the pseudonymous author Velox describes this tragically unpopular invention:
Link -via Ask the Past | ||||||||
| "Assteroid: Countdown to Disasster" (Heh) Poster by Jeff Victor Posted: 07 Sep 2013 12:00 AM PDT Oh, where would this blog be without our beloved bathroom humor? Jeff Victor of Wicked Crispy (previously on Neatorama) challenged himself to create movie-related artwork every day for 30 days. For day number 2 ... 2 (ahem, twenty two), he created this gem: a parody poster of an apocalyptic B-movie, Assteroid. Jeff wrote:
Ba dum ... BUM chssh! | ||||||||
| Posted: 06 Sep 2013 11:00 PM PDT A drinkable margarita does you more good than a health shake that you can't keep down. I like Ryan Hudson's dieting advice. | ||||||||
| Why Can't We Just Host the Olympics in the Same Place Every Year? Posted: 06 Sep 2013 10:00 PM PDT Saturday, the International Olympic Committee will announce where the 2020 Summer Games will be held: Istanbul, Madrid, and Tokyo are the contenders. Whichever city wins the games will face enormous costs for a couple weeks of showcasing their country to the world. Hosting the Olympics can almost bankrupt a nation, while corporate sponsors and the IOC reap the profits.
It's an intriguing idea, but at the same time, part of the draw of the Olympics is to focus on a different part of the world every few years. Then again, the day may come when no city wants the hassle and expense of hosting the games. What do you think? Link -via Digg POLL: Should the Summer Games move to a permanent location?
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| Medieval Cookbook's Unicorn Recipe Begins with "Taketh One Unicorne...." Posted: 06 Sep 2013 09:00 PM PDT
The British Library recently discovered a Fourteenth Century English cookbook written by Geoffrey Fule, a royal cook. Fule included a recipe for unicorn meat.
At the link, you can see additional illustrations of the unicorn preparation process. | ||||||||
| Bacon and Eggs Salt & Pepper Shakers Posted: 06 Sep 2013 08:00 PM PDT
Bacon and Eggs Salt & Pepper Shakers Are you looking for a deliciously fun way to make your kitchen decor sizzle? You need the egg-cellent Bacon and Eggs Salt & Pepper Shakers from the NeatoShop. This delectable set looks like sunnyside-up eggs and Bacon. The salt and pepper shakers are made of glazed ceramic and held together by magnets. They are a great way to honor your favorite breakfast treat. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Salt & Pepper Shakers. | ||||||||
| The Seven Sutherland Sisters and Their 37 Feet of Hair Posted: 06 Sep 2013 08:00 PM PDT Some stars of 19th-century freak shows were born, others were made. The Seven Sullivan Sisters: Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Dora, and Mary Sutherland, sang and played musical instruments on stage, but it was mainly something to do while everyone gawked at their hair -a combined 37 feet of hair between them!
But the sisters grew up poor on a turkey farm in upstate New York. And they each have an individual story. Read about how they became world famous, and what happened to them afterward, at Collectors Weekly. Link | ||||||||
| Posted: 06 Sep 2013 07:00 PM PDT
It looks like cows wandered into a car wash, but this brush is actually made for them:
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| My Life Decisions - [no. 1030 @gingerfaced] Posted: 06 Sep 2013 06:00 PM PDT
Want it on a t-shirt? Click the shirts below! | ||||||||
| Mystery Bug Builds Fence Around Eggs Posted: 06 Sep 2013 05:00 PM PDT Have you ever seen anything like this? Chemical ecologist Troy Alexander, doing research in the Peruvian Amazon, found what appears to be an insect egg case with a structure around it that looking surprisingly like a fence. Or it could be a fungus. No one knows yet. Alexander later found more of them, in various locations.
See more pictures of it at Twisted Sifter. Link -via the Presurfer | ||||||||
| 50% of the US Population Is In These 146 Counties Posted: 06 Sep 2013 04:00 PM PDT Earlier this month, John posted an image showing how 98% of Australia's population is clustered in a few coastal regions. While that was fascinating, it turns out that America is pretty highly clustered as well. In fact, 50% of our population is located solely in the 146 counties marked in blue on this map. | ||||||||
| Posted: 06 Sep 2013 03:00 PM PDT The guy blows a stream of air in front of the kitten. The kitten knows something is there even if he can't see it, so why can't he catch it? There, there, baby, you don't have to be smart to be adorable. -via Arbroath | ||||||||
| Geeky T-shirts from The Hookshot Posted: 06 Sep 2013 02:00 PM PDT The "i" in iGeek really makes it doubly geeky! See how many geeky references you can identify in this neat-O shirt. I'd like to welcome The Hookshot to the NeatoShop! Please check out his Tumblr and Facebook page, then visit his NeatoShop page for the latest designs.
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! | ||||||||
| Masters of Deception: 5 Two-Faced Species Posted: 06 Sep 2013 01:00 PM PDT Look at that cute face -looks kind of like Zoidberg, doesn't it? But that's not this insect's face. In fact, it doesn't even have a face quite yet, because this is the pupa form of the skipper butterfly. The eye spots are supposed to scare birds away while the butterfly forms. This is just one of five deceptively-detailed species you can see and read about at National Geographic News. Link-Thanks, Marilyn Terrell! | ||||||||
| The Curious Origin of Sarin Nerve Gas Posted: 06 Sep 2013 12:00 PM PDT
As you know, President Obama is urging Congress to approve a strike against Syria for using chemical weapon. Earlier this week, Secretary of State John Kerry asserted forensic evidence pointed out that the Syrian government used the nerve gas sarin to kill more than 1,400 people (including more than 400 children). But have you ever wondered how sarin came to be? Or even how it got its name? Birth of a Nerve Gas Here's the story: In 1936, a German scientist named Gerhard Schrader at Bayer (yes, that Bayer which made aspirin) and later the IG Farben factory (which also produced Zyklon B, the chemical agent used to gas millions of Jews and other "undesirables" to death during the Holocaust), was working on an insecticide designed to disrupt the insect's nervous system. Schrader experimented with a class of chemical compounds called organophosphates to kill leaf lice or wooly aphids. He and his assistant had synthesized a compound called tabun when, accidentally, they were exposed to a drop of the colorless liquid which fell onto the lab bench. They became very dizzy and had severe difficulty seeing and breathing. It took them three weeks to recover fully. Schrader has just discovered the first class of nerve agent known to man. Tabun or GA is the first in the G-series of nerve agents discovered by the "father of nerve gas." Immediately, the Nazi government instructed Schrader to change the focus of his research from killing insects to humans. New factories dedicated to the production of tabun were built, and the Nazi stockpiled over 12,000 tons of tabun. In the following years, Schrader refined two more compounds in the G-series, sarin (or GB), soman (GD) and cyclosarin (GF), but the Germans stuck to tabun as their main chemical weapon. How Sarin Got Its Name Sarin, which was 500 times more toxic than cyanide, was named in honors of the people who first discovered it: Schrader, Otto Ambros, Rüdiger and Hermann Van der Linde. It later became the preferred nerve gas by Western governments because of its greater lethality over tabun, cheap production cost, as well as its ease of turning into gas. What happened to all that nerve gas that the Nazi made? Fortunately, it was never used against Allied troops (more below). In 1945, at the end of World War II, Soviet forces captured the factory that produced tabun and poured the nerve agent into the Oder River. Unwanted Chemical Weapons? Throw 'Em in the Ocean! Wait, what? They just dumped chemical weapons into the water to get rid of them? Actually yes - even the United States government did this until the early 1970s. In fact, that's the preferred method of getting rid of unwanted munitions and chemical weapons In a series of Operation CHASE, the US Army loaded a dozen or so ships with tens of thousands of tons of unwanted munitions, over 32,000 tons of nerve and mustard gas, sailed the ships some 200 miles off the coast of the US East Coast, and then sank 'em. (CHASE stands for Cut Holes and Sink 'Em - cheeky, eh?). Thanks to incomplete record keeping, they currently only know the rough whereabouts of half of these ocean dumps. Soooo ... What happened to the discoverers of Sarin gas? After the war, the British government tried to recruit Gerhard Schrader, but in 1947 he had gone back to work at Bayer and declined the intelligence officers that approached him:
In 1948, Otto Ambros, who was Hitler's chief chemical weapons engineer and one of the main driving forces behind the Nazi chemical weapons program, was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity at Nuremburg and sentenced to 8 years in prison. Three years later, after only serving a fraction of his ridiculously light sentence*, Ambros was whisked off to the United States to advice the US Army on its own Sarin chemical weapons program.
*There's a theory that it was actually Otto Ambros himself that convinced Hitler not to use chemical weapons against Allied troops. Some historians suggested that Ambros lied to Hitler that Western forces also had similar chemical agents (they never did) and would use them against the Nazi in retaliation. So, in a sense, he's both a war criminal and a hero who prevented millions of deaths of Allied soldiers at the same time. | ||||||||
| How to Make Bell Jars Out of Soda Bottles Posted: 06 Sep 2013 11:00 AM PDT If you look at a variety of Halloween decor sites like I do, you'll often see decoration suggestions that require the use of a bell jar, but these can be kind of expensive -especially if you only intend to use them for Halloween decor. Fortunately, you can make your own fake bell jars relatively simply with soda bottles. Seeing Things has the instructions you need to do it. | ||||||||
| Jack Skellington Hanging Heads Posted: 06 Sep 2013 10:00 AM PDT
Jack Skellington Hanging Heads Are you bored with the same old scare-and-scream home accessories? Add a dash of pumpkin king to your decor with the Jack Skellington Hanging Heads from the NeatoShop. The Jack Skellington Hanging Heads are perfect for hanging on the wall, door, or any place that could use a little holiday magic. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great The Nightmare Before Christmas items. | ||||||||
| Posted: 06 Sep 2013 10:00 AM PDT This week's quiz from b3ta's quiz site, UsvsTh3m, challenges you to identify where in the world a toilet is located by its photograph. This quiz isn't timed, so there's no pressure. And in some of these toilets, I'm sure there's no water pressure, either. It's not as easy as you think, but you'll do okay if you use the knowledge of toilets you've learned here at Neatorama. I scored seven out of ten. Link | ||||||||
| Posted: 06 Sep 2013 09:30 AM PDT Musiques de Nulle Part calls it the "Guitare cithare," which translates as the "Guitar sitar." It's made of everything:
Link (warning: auto-sound) -via Recyclart | ||||||||
| Posted: 06 Sep 2013 09:00 AM PDT Enjoy 20 really clever notes parents left for their offspring at The Chive. It's a shame that such subtlety flies right over kids' heads. That is, if they even bother to read them. It's much harder to get youngsters to clean up after themselves than to just do it yourself, but part of parenting is to go that extra frustrating mile, no matter how much they resist -whether you are there at the time or not. Link | ||||||||
| If Donut Holes Were Savory, They'd Be Bantams Posted: 06 Sep 2013 08:30 AM PDT I don't know about you guys, but I simply love a good bagel with cream cheese. They even make a great to-go snack when you sandwich them together. If that still isn't portable enough for you though, perhaps you need a Bantam -a tasty bite-sized bagel already stuffed with cream cheese. You can get a hold of them at Batntam Bagels in New York, but, if you're not in New York, you'll have to stick with bagel sandwiches for the time being. Link Via Food Beast | ||||||||
| The New Yahoo! Logo Can Be Yours, Too Posted: 06 Sep 2013 08:00 AM PDT Yahoo! unveiled a new logo, their first in 18 years, to the public this week. CEO Marissa Mayer tells how she and the designers at Yahoo! turned it out over a weekend. That sparked discussion all over the internet about CEOs who design logos while employing top graphic designers with years of experience …and having them work weekends while she does it. People apparently hate the new look. The Atlantic reacted to the controversy by wondering why anyone cares. But the fun part of all this is that Bertrand Fan quickly made a website that transforms anything you type into a logo just like Yahoo's new one. Notice the different sized letters and the exclamation point whimsically tilted 9 degrees. Link -via Laughing Squid | ||||||||
| Photos of Adorable Kids Dressed As Famous Celebrities Posted: 06 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT Even if you could care less about Madonna, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis or David Bowie, there's just something fantastic about seeing young kids dressed up like these famous celebrities. Especially when photographer April Maciborka is behind the lens. You can check out more of her fantastic images at the link. Link Via Design Taxi | ||||||||
| Posted: 06 Sep 2013 07:00 AM PDT Back before the internet, we had to watch our own cats for non-stop comedy. If any cats were harmed in the making of this video, it was their own fault. (via Tastefully Offensive) | ||||||||
| Posted: 06 Sep 2013 06:30 AM PDT No, these calzones aren't made with human lungs--although I suppose that you could make them that way. Rather, Beth Jackson Klosterboer just made them in the shape of human lungs. It's one of her many wonderful food crafts from Halloweens past. You can view more at the link. | ||||||||
| These Pups Can't Wait to Take A Bath Posted: 06 Sep 2013 06:00 AM PDT
I have to bribe my pooch with food to get in the bath tub during bath time and even then, he tries to get out the second I turn my back, but these little dachshund pups jump at the chance to take a bath -quite literally. Via BoingBoing | ||||||||
| Le Grand K: The Perfect Kilogram Posted: 06 Sep 2013 05:00 AM PDT The world’s most perfect weight isn’t so perfect anymore. And that'd got scientists scared.
Hidden in a vault outside Paris, vacuum-sealed under three bell jars, sits a palm-sized metal cylinder known as the International Prototype Kilogram, or “Le Grand K.” Forged in 1879 from an alloy of platinum and iridium, it was hailed as the “perfect” kilogram—the gold standard by which other kilograms would be judged. Although it’s arguably the world’s most famous weight, Le Grand K doesn’t get out much. Since hydrocarbons on fingertips or moisture in the air could contaminate its pristine surface, it goes untouched for decades, under triple lock and key at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Every 40 years, however, it makes an appearance. The weight is ushered from its chamber, washed with alcohol, polished, and weighed against 80 official replicas hand-delivered from laboratories around the world. Today, whenever scientists need to verify something is precisely one kilogram, they turn to one of these replicas, over which Le Grand K reigns supreme.
While basing measurements on tangible benchmarks was an improvement, using physical standards wasn’t without its flaws. For one, they have a nasty habit of changing. In Le Grand K’s case, it’s been losing weight. At its most recent weigh-in in 1988, it was found to be 0.05 milligrams—about the weight of a grain of sand—lighter than its underling replicas. Experts aren’t sure where this weight went, but some theorize that the replicas have been handled more often, which could subtly add weight. Others postulate Le Grand K’s alloy is “outgassing,” which means air is gradually escaping the metal. Whatever the reason for Le Grand K’s gradual wasting away, it’s got scientists scrambling for a more reliable standard. Some argue that this is long overdue, since all other units of measurement are already defined by fundamental constants of nature that can be reproduced anywhere anytime (provided you’ve got some sophisticated lab equipment). The meter, for example, used to be defined by a metal rod stored alongside Le Grand K. But in 1983, it was redefined as the distance light travels in a vacuum during 1/299,792,458 of a second. Standardizing the kilogram has been trickier, though. Australian scientists are polishing a one-kilogram sphere of silicon, hoping that they’ll be able to count the number of atoms it contains to create a more accurate standard. American physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are attempting to redefine a kilogram in terms of the amount of voltage required to levitate a weight. But so far, neither approach can match Le Grand K’s accuracy.
These links mean that if the kilogram is flawed, so are the joule and candela, which could eventually cause problems in an array of industries, particularly in technology. As microchips process more information at higher speeds, even tiny deviations will lead to catastrophes. Le Grand K’s unreliability “will start to be noticeable in the next decade or two in the electronics industry,” warns NIST physicist Richard Steiner. If your next smartphone is buggy, you’ll know which hunk of metal to blame. So scientists continue to chase the perfect kilogram. “Maybe we have all been looking for too high-tech an answer,” says Stuart Davidson of England’s National Physical Laboratory. “There could be something really obvious out there we’ve missed.” The NPL’s website encourages others to give it a shot: Any better ideas on a postcard please. Until then, Le Grand K will remain king—short of true perfection, but as perfect as it gets. __________________________
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(Image: Geoffrey Fule's Cookbook, British Library)
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This system sounds absurd, but not too long ago, lots of units relied on similar methods. The kilogram was just one of seven standards of measurement established by the French Academy of Sciences in 1791, all based on physical prototypes. These benchmarks caught on worldwide because standardization was sorely needed. At the time, some 250,000 different units of weights and measures existed in France alone, which meant that the only constant was complete chaos.
Why should we care whether a kilogram in a vault is “perfect” or not? Because it’s bad news when your standard is no longer standardized. While no one’s worried whether a single kilogram of apples is a hair lighter or heavier at the produce stand, a small discrepancy can become a gargantuan one if you’re dealing with, say, a whole tanker of wheat. The kilogram is also used as a building block in other measurements. The joule, for instance, is the amount of energy required to move a one-kilogram weight one meter. The candela, a measure of the brightness of light, is measured in joules per second.
The above article by Judy Dutton is reprinted with permission from the 
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