Neatorama

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• Clearing the Driveway
• Spider Man Gloves are Real, and They're Spectacular
• Behold the Power of Telekinesis Cat
• Let It Go, Bruce
• Why Is Coffee More Likely to Spill Than Beer?
• 23 Facts About <i>Steel Magnolias</i>
• Misconceptions About Pets
• Ten Television Characters Who Were Never Fully Revealed On Screen
• Hermit Crab Housing Chain
• Embrace Your Demons - The Darkness Within Us All
• Friends of the Galaxy
• Xavier Puente Vilardell’s Twisted Wood Sculptures
• Shark Attack Men's Sock
• Shark Cats
• Sleepy Ferret Collapses into Zzzs

Clearing the Driveway Posted: 23 Nov 2014 04:00 AM PST (YouTube link) Be careful! A guy in Corbett, Oregon, was going to remove the snow from his driveway. Turns out he didn’t need to worry about snow at all. He needs to worry about the ice! The driveway is on a hill, and from the looks of it, no vehicles should attempt to drive down. Or walk down, for that matter. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Spider Man Gloves are Real, and They're Spectacular Posted: 23 Nov 2014 02:00 AM PST Researchers at Stanford have developed gloves inspired by the climbing movement of geckos that give users under 200 pounds the ability to climb a smooth, vertical surface. Their research is published in this week's issue of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.  Popular Mechanics' William Herkewitz discussed the project,  "Hawkes and his colleagues developed a dry-adhesive called PDMS microwedges. Unlike duct tape or super glue, this reptile-inspired adhesive works via clingy hair-like nanofibers. These nanofibers flatten out when pulled downward against a surface and grip via electromagnetic attraction (called the van der Waals force) but can be pulled off easily with a perpendicular tug. Using springs, they anchored 24 microwedge patches to a flat plate that a person could grab with their hand, the idea being that the 24 patches distribute the force of a climber. However, this is actually a well-tested recipe for failure. Normal springs won't distribute weight as evenly as you'd need. Worse, when a single patch is pulled past its breaking point, the failure can avalanche across the entire plate. Here's the key to Hawkes' system: Instead of using ordinary springs to anchor the adhesive patches, they used springs made of a shape-memory alloy. While normal springs become tenser as you pull them like a rubber band, the scientist's shape-memory alloy springs actually become softer and less tense, like stretching bubblegum. Anchored by these weird springs, each of Hawkes' microwedges distributed the weight of a clinging climber across the plate with near perfection. Hawkes could easily scale a glass wall, and the scientists have calculated that the gloves could be used by anyone up to around 200 lbs. And if one wedge ever fails, the plate simply self-corrects." Read more in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Popular Mechanics and Science News. Via i09 | Image: Elliot Hawkes

Behold the Power of Telekinesis Cat Posted: 23 Nov 2014 12:00 AM PST (Video Link) Fluffy was an ordinary cat. Then, late one night while roaming through the neighborhood, he encountered a crashed alien spaceship. Now he can . . . do things . . . with his mind. His power is growing every day. Soon the house cat lifestyle will not be enough for him. From YouTube user Super Epic Cats comes the first episode of "Telekinesis Cat." Other videos in the series include "Mad Scientist Cat" and "Hover Cat." -via David Thompson

Let It Go, Bruce Posted: 22 Nov 2014 10:00 PM PST So, did Batman watch Frozen, or did he become familiar with the entire story by osmosis, like I did? I finally saw the movie, or most of it, about a month ago. This comic is from DeviantART member nebezial. And there was a great comment underneath: Clark? Do you want to save the planet? Come on lets go today. We don't save people anymore, come out the door, and up up and away. We used to be best allies, but now we're not and it's all DC's fault. Do you want to save this planet? It doesn't have to be this planet. Go away Bruce. Okay bye. -via Geeks Are Sexy

Why Is Coffee More Likely to Spill Than Beer? Posted: 22 Nov 2014 08:00 PM PST If you walk around with a glass of beer and a glass of coffee, you're more likely to spill your coffee than you beer. Why? 4 physicists think that they have an answer. Alban Sauret, Francois Boulogne, Jean Cappello, and Howard Stone recently presented their findings at a conference. Their studies suggest that the foam on the surface of beer dampens movement. The thicker the foam, the less movement and less spillage. Rachel Nuwer writes for Smithsonian: Just as solid foam reduces noise by absorbing sound waves, liquid foam does the same for motion. The researchers discovered foam's insulating effects by performing controlled lab experiments on coffee and beer. They used high speed cameras to record the waves of motion that rocked through the surface of coffee, an amber beer and Guinness. The more foam that was present, they observed, the more energy was absorbed and the less sloshing occurred. (Video Link) -via David Thompson

23 Facts About <i>Steel Magnolias</i> Posted: 22 Nov 2014 06:00 PM PST The movie Steel Magnolias turned 25 years old this past week. Where did the time go? Just the mention of the movie reminds me of getting my hair done and crying along with the movie characters as we watched on VHS. The star-studded film was based on a successful play and became one of the biggest hits of 1989. Let’s learn some more about Steel Magnolias.     1. IT’S BASED ON A TRUE STORY. Writer Robert Harling wrote Steel Magnolias as a way of coping with the passing of his sister, Susan, who died from complications related to diabetes in 1985. In the play, Susan became Shelby. 5. BETTE DAVIS WANTED A PIECE OF STEEL MAGNOLIAS. Bette Davis saw the play in New York and immediately began a push to be cast in the film as Ouiser (Shirley MacLaine’s part). She also thought that Katharine Hepburn could make a fantastic Clairee and Elizabeth Taylor would be a perfect Truvy. In 1989, Harling told The Morning Call how Davis had invited him to tea to lobby for the part. As he left, Davis told him, “You may give the role of Ouiser to someone else. But you and they will hear from Bette Davis.” 15. THE FILM WAS CRITICIZED FOR THE MALE ROLES’ LACK OF SUBSTANCE. But the guys are lucky there were any roles for them in the film at all. Though the men are often talked about in the stage play, no men appeared on the stage at any time. In his review of the film for The New York Times, Vincent Canby noted that “The men in their lives are played by Sam Shepard, Tom Skerritt and Dylan McDermott, among others, but the male characters are no more substantial now than when they were invisible.” Treating male characters as tokens with barely any substance may be a flaw, but women are used like that in movies all the time. Steel Magnolias turned a spotlight on women and showed that a man is just one of many things they care deeply about. Read the rest of 23 Facts About Steel Magnolias at mental_floss.

Misconceptions About Pets Posted: 22 Nov 2014 04:00 PM PST YouTube Link Mental Floss addresses a number of commonly repeated bits of information about pets that aren't necessarily factual. What is best for your cat to eat and drink? Is your dog really hypoallergenic? And if that dog happens to be old, should you just pack it in instead of teaching him a new trick? Learn the answers to these questions and others in this video.

Ten Television Characters Who Were Never Fully Revealed On Screen Posted: 22 Nov 2014 02:00 PM PST In the television world there are characters like Kramer or Gilligan who keep the slapstick humor alive on a show, and then there are those wonderfully compelling mystery characters. These characters never fully appear on screen, and yet they have a big impact on the lives of the main characters as they give them guidance and help them learn a lesson, without revealing too much about themselves, of course. We can only guess what Wilson from Home Improvement or Norm’s wife Vera on Cheers actually look like, but there’s no denying they make the entire TV program that much more entertaining to watch. Check out this list of The Best TV Characters Who Never Actually Appeared On Screen and explore one of television's most enduring, and least abused, tropes- the faceless mystery character!

Hermit Crab Housing Chain Posted: 22 Nov 2014 12:00 PM PST In this clip from the BBC One series Life Story, Sir David Attenborough narrates a hermit crab housing chain. If you’ve ever had pet hermit crabs, you know they are always on the lookout for the perfect shell, one slightly larger than the one they have because they are growing. But a shell that is too big will be hard to carry around. In the wild, they’ve worked out their own system for exchanging shells of the proper size. Everybody wins! I love how each of them "claimed" the shell they really wanted, as if they had been watching it for some time. After seeing this, I have to wonder if they leave the smallest shells strategically placed near crab eggs for newly-hatched hermits. -via b3ta

Embrace Your Demons - The Darkness Within Us All Posted: 22 Nov 2014 10:00 AM PST Embrace Your Demons by Brittany Brown Do you have dark forces raging inside you? Don't try to supress them, or wait for them to go away on their own, you're better off just embracing your inner demons and becoming all the bad you can be! With your inner demon on your side you'll be unstoppable, and people will learn to respect your wishes...or else! Take it from someone who knows a thing or two about the dark forces at work within us all- it's better to embrace your demons than to let them sink their claws into your heart! Spread the word about the monster that lurks within us all with this Embrace Your Demons t-shirt by Brittany Brown, it's one horrifically fun design! Visit Brittany Brown's Facebook fan page, official website, Tumblr and Twitter, then head on over to her NeatoShop for more inspirationally geeky designs: Dapper Demon Artsy Owl (Color Version) Meowth's Payday Green Evolution View more designs by Brittany Brown | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Friends of the Galaxy Posted: 22 Nov 2014 10:00 AM PST (YouTube link) Robert Jones brings us a mashup of the TV show Friends and the film Guardians of the Galaxy! Yes, it’s the every-so-familiar intro to Friends re-edited with selected relevant clips featuring Peter, Gamora, and Rocket celebrating their friendship, despite how different they are. -Thanks, Robert!

Xavier Puente Vilardell’s Twisted Wood Sculptures Posted: 22 Nov 2014 08:00 AM PST Xavier Puente Vilardell is an artist in Brussels, Belgium. If you examine his wood sculptures, you’d swear that he makes them by twisting reality rather than carving wood. He says that his work reflects “a strong Mediterranean tradition, where carved holes in the wood turn into light beams caressing amazing shapes.” You can view more of Vilardell’s work here. -via Colossal

Shark Attack Men's Sock Posted: 22 Nov 2014 07:15 AM PST   Shark Attack Men's Sock Are visions of sharp and piercing winter swimming through your head? Take bite out of the cold with the Shark Attack Men's Socks from the NeatoShop. This ferocious pair of socks makes a fierce fashion statement.  Hungry for more fashionable Footware? Be sure to check out the NeatoShop! Link

Shark Cats Posted: 22 Nov 2014 07:00 AM PST The great question is clear: should I get a filter feeding shark cat, such as a basking tabby, because it's safe, or should I get a more hazardous shark, such as a great white calico, because it would be cool? Brynn Metheney, an artist in Oakland, California, drew 12 shark cats for a shark cat-themed monthly calendar. You can see the other shark cats in that calendar here. -via io9

Sleepy Ferret Collapses into Zzzs Posted: 22 Nov 2014 06:00 AM PST YouTube Link This ferret has obviously had an exhausting day of ferret play and is at his consciousness' end. His human's lap seems like a perfect place to collapse (not that he spent a moment of ferret decision-making time considering the issue). All's well that ends well. -Via Tastefully Offensive

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