Neatorama

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• Watch the King of Random Melt Metals and Rock
• ICE PUNISHMENT - Time To Make Those Adventurers Pay
• Bag Wag Sing!
• Dustin Yellin's Stunning "Window Sandwiches"
• How Pokémon Get Their Names
• Romanian Kids Parody the "Rich Kids of Instagram"
• Dead Man Dresses as the Green Lantern at His Funeral
• 18 Things You Might Not Know About <i>Wayne’s World</i>
• Some of the World's Most Harrowing Roads
• The 24 Most Intense, Death-Defying Military Training Exercises from around the World
• Elizabeth Magie: the Real Inventor of Monopoly
• 5-Year Old Boy Proposes to 8 Disney Princesses . . . And 1 Said Yes!
• An Adventure Begins - Imagination Takes Flight
• This Mother Let Her Toddler Dress Her For A Week
• New York Tourism Agency Gives Up, Suggests That Visitors Go to Florida Instead
• When You Lose Your Snowmobile
• Father Makes Jewelry From Scrap Metal for Thrilled Daughter
• Bostonian Takes Revenge on Parking Space Thief
• Sea Lion Makes a Game out of a Child's Mitten
• Everyday Cosplay
• The Opposing Desires of Two Cats
• 10 Animals With the Most Bizarre Sex Organs Around
• Whodunit: A Real False Alarm
• 34 Places to Swim in the World's Clearest Water
• An Angel From The Moon - The Art Of Intergalactic Conflict
• 10 More Easy and Elegant Storage Solutions
• Some Tentative Cognitive Effects of Chewing Gum

Watch the King of Random Melt Metals and Rock Posted: 18 Feb 2015 04:00 AM PST YouTube Link When we last checked in with the King of Random, he was melting aluminum and molding it into ingots. This time, the King uses a mini arc furnace that he constructed previously to melt various substances including copper and steel.

ICE PUNISHMENT - Time To Make Those Adventurers Pay Posted: 18 Feb 2015 03:00 AM PST ICE PUNISHMENT by B4DW0LF Finn and Jake had smacked the Ice King's buns many times, but they went too far when they "accidentally" killed one of Simon's beloved penguin servants. Those psychos had been holding the Candy Kingdom hostage for quite some time, pretending their violent crimes were the actions of heroes on a grand adventure, but the Ice King had seen through their facade. His heart had grown cold and his every thought was of revenge, and for once in his life he was going to go all the way with his plan for revenge... Warn the world about the dangers of messing with weather wizards with this ICE PUNISHMENT t-shirt by B4DW0LF, it's one mighty cool design! Visit B4DW0LF's Facebook fan page and Twitter, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more geek-tastic designs: SPECIAL WEAPONS, SOLID SHELL OF HATE XENIE WIENIES POP TARDIS Hello Groot View more designs by B4DW0LF | 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!

Bag Wag Sing! Posted: 18 Feb 2015 03:00 AM PST I laughed so hard that my wife asked me if something was wrong. Scott Meyer's Basic Instructions is a treasure. It should be one of your daily reads. Now make the appointment for me. Sometime Thursday morning would be ideal.

Dustin Yellin's Stunning "Window Sandwiches" Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:00 AM PST Dustin Yellin is a Brooklyn-based artist commissioned by the New York City Ballet to do a series of his glass sculptures shown here, which he calls "Psychogeographies" because “they feel like maps of the psyche.” Each sculpture presses found items such as books, magazines and street trash between large-scale plates of glass. Yellin explains, “Imagine if you were to make a drawing on a window, and then you were to take another window and glue it to that window… until you had a window sandwich. I make window sandwiches.” Each stunning sculpture — in this case, of dancers to honor the ballet — weighs 3,000 pounds. The finished pieces were installed in Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. See more of Yellin's incredible pieces at his website, and follow him onInstagram. -Via Colossal YouTube Link

How Pokémon Get Their Names Posted: 18 Feb 2015 01:00 AM PST (Pickled Comics/Mike Royer) How many Pokémon are there? Um, a lot. Maybe 721, more or less? I can’t keep count. That’s a lot of Pokémon. If you’re a Pokémon manufacturer, then you need a constant supply of names, which is why the Swedish language and Mexican restaurant menus exist (I checked: they were invented for this purpose). -via Tastefully Offensive

Romanian Kids Parody the "Rich Kids of Instagram" Posted: 18 Feb 2015 12:00 AM PST There's an Instagram account and Tumblr with the tagline "They have more money than you, and this is what they do." I'm sure few people realize the following, so allow me to break the news: there are people in this world who are ridiculously wealthy. Those people have kids. They have teens and tweens. Those kids use social media. While you're reeling from the truth, I'll add that some of the aforementioned rich kids use social media to rub your nose in their private jets and Dom Perignon. Their Instagram account isn't just average. Perish the thought. It's equipped with elaborate, solid gold frames for every square shot.  Yet there's a group of kids in Romania who have something to say in response. Under the hashtag "DistractieCuBaniPutini," which translates to "LittleMoneyBigFun" in English (and, oddly enough, was started by Kentucky Fried Chicken), these kids parody the rich kids of Instagram in a way that keeps it light and never bitter. After all, acting out on social media seems to be a current global, first-world, teenage right of passage, which is certainly not limited to those with privilege. Visit the links above to check out the rich kids and their parodists.  Via Distractify | Images: DistractieCuBaniPutini

Dead Man Dresses as the Green Lantern at His Funeral Posted: 17 Feb 2015 11:00 PM PST (Photo: Ricardo Arduengo/AP) Here lies, er, stands Renato Garcia. He passed away at the age of 50 in San Jose, Puerto Rico. He once found a uniform for the Green Lantern Corps in a bag of donated clothes. Though he lacked an Oan power ring, Garcia felt inspired to wear the uniform for several weeks. When he died, his family thought it appropriate to bury him in it. Posing bodies for viewings is becoming a popular funeral custom in Puerto Rico. The New York Daily News reports: Posing embalmed bodies at wakes and funerals is nothing new in Puerto Rico, where the practice has taken off. Georgina Lloren, 80, was posed in her favorite rocking chair after her death in San Jose last year. The last wish of another man, Angel Pantoja Medina, was to stand at his own wake so in 2008, family members abided. Christopher Rivera, a professional boxer, was stood up in the corner of a boxing ring and dressed up in his pugilists gear after his murder in 2014. Another murder victim, David Morales Colon, was propped up on his motorcycle after he 2010 death. This is a great practice! And I have just the right idea for a suit for my own funeral. -via Geek Tyrant

18 Things You Might Not Know About <i>Wayne’s World</i> Posted: 17 Feb 2015 10:00 PM PST Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar (played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) appeared on the SNL 40th anniversary special and proved they are just as loved as they were a quarter-century ago. The recurring skit “Wayne’s World” was such a hit on Saturday Night Live that it propelled Myers onto the big screen for the feature film Wayne’s World in 1992. Here’s some things you should know about both of them.   1. WAYNE BEGAN LIFE ON A DIFFERENT SERIES ALTOGETHER. Though it’s Saturday Night Live that made Wayne Campbell a household name, the character—which Mike Myers began working on when he was still a teenager—began his on-screen life on Canadian television, first on the alternative video show City Limits and later on It’s Only Rock & Roll in 1987 in a sketch called “Wayne’s Power Minute.” When Myers joined the cast of SNL in 1989, he brought Wayne with him. "Wayne’s World" made its SNL debut on February 18, 1989. 12. “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY” ALMOST DIDN’T MAKE IT INTO THE FILM. In 2014, Myers told Marc Maron on his WTF podcast that using “Bohemian Rhapsody” was one of the things he fought for hardest on Wayne’s World. “They wanted Guns N' Roses. Guns N' Roses were very, very popular, they were a fantastic band,” Myers said. “Queen, at that point—not by me and not by hardcore fans—but the public had sort of forgotten about them. Freddie [Mercury] had gotten sick, the last time we had seen them was on Live Aid and then there were a few albums after where they were sort of straying away from their arena rock roots. But I always loved ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ I thought it was a masterpiece. So I fought really, really hard for it. And at one point I said, ‘Well, I'm out. I don't want to make this movie if it’s not ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’” That’s just a sampling of the things you’ll learn about Wayne’s World in a trivia list at mental_floss.

Some of the World's Most Harrowing Roads Posted: 17 Feb 2015 09:00 PM PST Norway's Atlantic Ocean Road is a little over five miles long, connecting the towns of Kristiansund and Molde in the midwestern section of the coastline. According to its entry on dangerousroads.com,   "Driving along the Atlantic Road is like teetering on the edge of the sea... The curvy road dips and arches over the brutal waves of the Norwegian Sea that often crash over the pavement during storms, and was subjected to 12 hurricanes during construction." YouTube Link As shown in the video above, waves splash onto the highway regularly, leaving quite a bit of water on the roads' surface. See other pictures of this roller coaster highway at the dangerous roads link above.   The photo above is North Yungas Road in Bolivia, which locals call "The Road of Death." Its nickname is fitting in that a 2006 study estimated that 200 to 300 travelers die every year on the roadway, which connects the Amazon rainforest with La Paz. Chulumani Road (below) in Bolivia is also referred to as "South Yungas Road." The frightening looking pathway, with what looks like a dropoff into the clouds. is actually an alternate route for people to take if they don't want to travel North Jungas Road.  Read about more harrowing roads all over the world in this article.

The 24 Most Intense, Death-Defying Military Training Exercises from around the World Posted: 17 Feb 2015 08:00 PM PST (Photo: Reuters/China Daily) Would you jump through a ring of fire? If you’re a frontier soldier in the Chinese army, that’s a requirement. This Reuters photo from last year shows one soldier in the Heilongjiang province in the northeastern corner of China doing precisely that. It’s one of 24 photos of elite soldiers around the world doing extraordinary things as part of their training. You can see more from Business Insider/Rocket News 24. They include US Marines drinking cobra blood, bare-chested South Korean soldiers covering themselves with snow, Filipino marines holding bananas on their heads, and German soldiers assembling guns underwater.

Elizabeth Magie: the Real Inventor of Monopoly Posted: 17 Feb 2015 07:00 PM PST The official origin story of the board game Monopoly was that Charles Darrow invented it in the 1930s. He indeed became very wealthy from the idea, but it wasn’t his. The game was actually conceived by Elizabeth Magie, who filed a patent for her game in 1903. The Landlord’s Game was designed to show the evils of unrestrained capitalism. She created two sets of rules for her game: an anti-monopolist set in which all were rewarded when wealth was created, and a monopolist set in which the goal was to create monopolies and crush opponents. Her dualistic approach was a teaching tool meant to demonstrate that the first set of rules was morally superior. And yet it was the monopolist version of the game that caught on, with Darrow claiming a version of it as his own and selling it to Parker Brothers. While Darrow made millions and struck an agreement that ensured he would receive royalties, Magie’s income for her creation was reported to be a mere $500. Long-time Neatorama readers knew this, as we posted about it in 2011. Cecil Adams goes into detail about why Magie’s version was not as popular as Monopoly. Sure, you might learn about contrasting economic systems, but it was more fun to crush your opponents and see them driven before you. Still, Elizabeth Magie’s story is fascinating. She was a single woman who supported herself and owned her own property even before women had the right to vote. She made national headlines for a stunt she pulled to mock the institution of marriage. And it was only in 1973 that her role in the creation of Monopoly was uncovered. Read about Magie and her game at the New York Times. (Image credit: The Strong Museum, Rochester, New York)

5-Year Old Boy Proposes to 8 Disney Princesses . . . And 1 Said Yes! Posted: 17 Feb 2015 06:00 PM PST Parker Schoberl is 5 years old, so it’s time that he get married. He went to Disney World to find a wife. He’s not that particular. He just wants a Disney princess—and any Disney princess will do. He proposed to Snow White, Jasmine, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Ariel, Elsa, Belle, and Tinkerbelle. Parker is, to say the least, bold. He actually proposed to Jasmine right in front of Aladdin. (Video Link) Parker’s efforts paid off. One of the princesses agreed to marry him. That’s better than having two acceptances, which could cause complications. -via Fashionably Geek

An Adventure Begins - Imagination Takes Flight Posted: 17 Feb 2015 05:00 PM PST An Adventure Begins by Elinakious The halfling sat and smoked his pipeweed and dreamed of grandiose adventures, unaware of what lie in store for him when he fulfilled his destiny as The Burglar. He watched the smoke trail lazily across the sky and imagined it was the tail of a massive dragon guarding his hoarded treasure. What would it be like to come face to face with an actual dragon, and would he survive the encounter? These were all valid thoughts, but only time would tell what the Fates had in store for a Burglar named Baggins... Bring some fantasy imagination to your geeky wardrobe with this An Adventure Begins t-shirt by Elinakious, featuring a totally dreamy design! Visit Elinakious's Facebook fan page, official website and Twitter, then head on over to her NeatoShop for more fantastic designs: Babel Architecture Polar Bear Family Pocket Chipmunk Baby Hedgehog View more designs by Elinakious | More Comic & Cartoon 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!

This Mother Let Her Toddler Dress Her For A Week Posted: 17 Feb 2015 05:00 PM PST Summer Bellessa is the mother of a three year-old boy. After picking out his outfits for three years, she thought it might be interesting to let him pick out her clothes for a week. The results are surprisingly fabulous -particularly the polka dot Minnie ensemble above. Her discoveries from the experiment are interesting not just because her son has pretty great fashion sense, but also because she realized that most people really don't care what you wear -even if you're wearing two shoes that don't even match. And while she doesn't say it, the results also prove that hipsters dress like children. Via Fashionably Geek

New York Tourism Agency Gives Up, Suggests That Visitors Go to Florida Instead Posted: 17 Feb 2015 04:00 PM PST It’s 9⁰F. There’s snow everywhere. Your job, as tourism director for the Ithaca, New York and Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau in the Finger Lakes is to convince people to visit that place of their own free will. Good luck. Yesterday, the website for Visit Ithaca briefly gave up, pulled out a bottle of whiskey from a drawer, and crawled under the desk for a rest. The site admitted that there was no good recreational reason to visit Ithaca and suggested that people instead travel to the warm and sunny Florida Keys. This was a marketing scheme dreamed up by Bruce Stoff, the director of the Visitors Bureau of Ithaca in cooperation with the Florida Keys Tourism Council, which was glad to cooperate. CNN reports: A spokesperson for the Florida Keys Tourism Council called the initiative "the wackiest thing I've ever seen in my life from a tourism marketing standpoint." Andy Newman got a call from Stoff last week pitching the idea and asking for permission to use pictures of the Florida Keys homepage. This wasn't an advertising campaign, Newman said, and no money was exchanged. "I didn't believe he'd actually go through with it," Newman said. But considering the weather conditions in the Keys right now, he understands. "It's in the 70s, there's no snow and no frost on the ground," Newman said. "Come on down. Why wouldn't you?" -via Huffington Post

When You Lose Your Snowmobile Posted: 17 Feb 2015 03:00 PM PST (YouTube link) This guy is traveling down a snowy mountain on his snowmobile. If you think it seems like an awfully steep hill, you are right. At one point, he loses the snowmobile! As the guy slides and spins down the mountain, we wonder if the machine is going to run him over. Then we don’t see it for a while, and we assume it stopped. No, there it comes tumbling after him! So he’s trying to catch the snowmobile without being smashed by it. This is one nerve-wracking video, and that mountain is definitely too steep for a snowmobile run. -via Digg

Father Makes Jewelry From Scrap Metal for Thrilled Daughter Posted: 17 Feb 2015 02:00 PM PST Carolina Breeze, 23, of Israel sent a collection of photos to Bored Panda in a user-submitted offering. She proudly explained how her father taught himself to make jewelry from scrap metal when he was out of work.  "About a year ago, my father (45) came to me and showed me a piece of jewelry he made out of scrap metal. The jewelry junkie inside me felt like my world had just turned upside down. I was full of surprise, admiration and love for my father who just lost his job but still remained a creative person that never stopped using his hands to bring some beauty and magic to the world. It was a big pendant made out of copper wire from an old radio combined with some ugly beads he took from an old piece of my jewelry. My father had never made jewelry before, and there it was... From that day on we’ve been designing different types of pendants, earrings and bracelets, all inspired by mythology, ancient cultures, Indian tribes, Celtic symbols, etc." See more pictures of this beautiful jewelry atCarolina's Bored Panda post, and visit George and Carolina's Etsy store to purchase pieces or inquire about special orders.  Images: Carolina Breeze

Bostonian Takes Revenge on Parking Space Thief Posted: 17 Feb 2015 01:00 PM PST An anonymous Boston resident spent hours shoveling snow from a parking space in front of his home. He even shoveled a path to his house from it, and left an old bookshelf in the spot to block it. In Boston, if you shovel out a space, no one but the shoveler is supposed to use it for at least 48 hours after snowfall has stopped. In Boston this winter, that’s about how long it takes for another snowfall to begin! Anyway, this guy returned home from work to find someone had taken his space. He spent Monday considering his options. Then, on Monday night, he shoveled all the snow back into the spot. The shoveler posted this picture on Craigslist, then deleted it because he feared retribution if he were identified. But he talked to Boston.com about it.  -via Uproxx

Sea Lion Makes a Game out of a Child's Mitten Posted: 17 Feb 2015 12:00 PM PST YouTube Link Miles Barnhart, during a visit to St. Louis Zoo on Saturday, captured a sea lion entertaining herself with a game of chasing a child's pink mitten, to the delight of onlookers. Though I know the St. Louis Zoo to be a great organization that provides excellent care for the animals, seeing videos like these makes me fantasize about pulling a Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys move.

Everyday Cosplay Posted: 17 Feb 2015 11:00 AM PST (Fowl Language Comics/Brian Gordon) This is my costume. I made it myself. Yes, I know: it’s not convincing at all. It’s a shoddy work of craftsmanship that was obviously cobbled together the night before the con, and every other day of my life.

The Opposing Desires of Two Cats Posted: 17 Feb 2015 10:00 AM PST (YouTube link) Sebastian appears to be addicted to the computer. You can’t blame him for enjoying the fish swimming across the screen. Hamlet, however, can take it or leave it. The two cats illustrate the conflict that occurs when one of a couple can’t stop playing video games, while the other feels neglected. “Honey, you’ve been on that computer for hours. Why don’t you come play with me for a while?” The videographer described the action as Hamlet trying to prevent Sebastian from scratching the screen. Although they are both cases of anthropomorphism, I prefer my interpretation. Who knows what really goes on in the minds of cats?  -via Daily Picks and Flicks

10 Animals With the Most Bizarre Sex Organs Around Posted: 17 Feb 2015 09:00 AM PST Last weekend was Valentine's Day and while plenty of you got a little freaky with your special someone (or watched someone else get freaky by checking out 50 Shades of Grey), I'm doubting many of you got anywhere near as freaky as the animals in this Toptenz list do when they get down.  From the fruit fly with sperm 20 times longer than their bodies to the water baotman with a penis that can make sounds as loud as 100 decibels, the animals in this article are a great reminder of how strange and amazing nature can be.

Whodunit: A Real False Alarm Posted: 17 Feb 2015 08:00 AM PST The following is a Whodunit by Hy Conrad.  These mysteries are from The Little Giant® Book of Whodunits by Hy Conrad and Matt LaFleur. Can you solve the mystery before you read the solution? (Image credit: Flickr user David, Bergin, Emmett and Elliott) "The car alarm often goes off in hot, humid weather," Elliot Zypher told the inspector from the burglary division. "When it went off last night, I had no idea the car was actually being robbed. This has always been such a safe area." The detective looked around at the large houses and well-tended lawns and had to agree. "Do you usually leave expensive necklaces out in the car?" "That was my fault, inspector," answered Elliot's sister, Zelda. "I had just brought the necklace back from the jeweler. We were halfway through dinner when I remembered where it was. Neither Elliot nor I had the energy to go get it. I went right from dinner up to my room. With the windows closed and the air conditioning on, I could barely hear the horn start blaring. I assumed it was the usual false alarm." Elliot had been downstairs when the car began its wailing. He felt just unsure enough about the necklace to go out and check. "The front passenger window had been smashed in with a rock," he said. "I checked under the passenger seat. That's where I remembered Zelda placing the necklace case. But it was gone." The only other person in the house that night had been Martha, the maid. She confirmed as much as she could of their stories, then added her own. "As I was clearing the dinner table, I thought I saw something moving out in the garden. Usually when that happens it's just my imagination. But I remembered what Ms. Zelda said about the necklace. I went out in the garden to look around. I was still there when the alarm went off. A few seconds later, I saw Mr. Elliot exit the patio doors to go check up on it." The police dusted for prints and came up with nothing. The passenger door and seat had both been wiped clean. "I guess we're dealing with a professional," a rookie cop suggested. "We're dealing with an inside job," his boss answered. "And I know who." Whodunit? And how did he know? Show Answer Two facts pointed the inspector in the right direction: (a) Martha didn't hear the smashing of the car window. (b) Elliot said he looked under the front passenger seat for the necklace case, yet his prints were not there, not even on a door handle. When the alarm went off by accident that night, Elliot seized the opportunity, smashing the window and stealing his sister's necklace. The alarm covered up the sound of breaking glass. But Elliot's big mistake lay in wiping away his prints. Sometimes fingerprints can prove you innocent. The whodunit above was provided by American mystery fiction author Hy Conrad. In addition to his work in mystery and crime puzzles, Hy was also one of the original writers for the groundbreaking TV series Monk. Currently, Hy is working on mystery novel series "Abel Adventures" as well as the Monk series of novels, starting with Mr. Monk Helps Himself (published by Penguin, order from Amazon here) Check out Hy's official website and Facebook page - and stay tuned for more whodunits puzzlers on Neatorama from the master of whodunit mysteries himself!

34 Places to Swim in the World's Clearest Water Posted: 17 Feb 2015 07:00 AM PST Dog Island, San Blas, Panama | Image: Scott Sporleder The linked article below features photographs of beautiful bodies of water all across the globe that appear transparent and pristine. Two shots in the collection are from unidentified locations; the editor of the photo collection has requested help in identifying them.  If you're reading and have been to any of these spots, give us your review of the location. Does the water there live up to these gorgeous pictures? What's the clearest body of water you've ever had the pleasure of seeing or swimming?  See all thirty-four photos here.

An Angel From The Moon - The Art Of Intergalactic Conflict Posted: 17 Feb 2015 06:00 AM PST An Angel From The Moon by Barrett Biggers The Evangelion project began as a way to give humanity a chance of survival against the mysterious beings we came to know as Angels, but in the end those bio-machines showed us all what it means to be human. Humans are born fighting for survival, so when the planet faces a threat either native or extraterrestrial in origin we don't give up until the last of us has fallen. Some thought linking man and machine would lead to a loss of humanity, but if there's one thing Evangelion shows us it's the power of the human spirit. It's time to defend your wardrobe against the forces of boring fashion, so bring home this An Angel From The Moon t-shirt by Barrett Biggers and fight fire with wearable cool! Visit Barrett Biggers's Facebook fan page, official website, Tumblr and Twitter, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more mighty geeky designs: Kill or be Killed Vintage Straw Hat Pirates Epic Hylian Shield Tribute To Hayao View more designs by Barrett Biggers | 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!

10 More Easy and Elegant Storage Solutions Posted: 17 Feb 2015 06:00 AM PST Practically everyone could use a little more space in their home, but sometimes making more space seems as impossible as turning lead into gold. Over at Homes and Hues though, we rounded up ten great storage solutions to help you make the most out of your existing space.  The article follows one of our all time most popular articles on the site that featured 18 ideas for making more space in your home and it features all new tips and tricks that you can use in your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and more.  Don't miss the full list of space-savers over at Homes and Hues: 10 More Brilliant Space Savers For Small Homes

Some Tentative Cognitive Effects of Chewing Gum Posted: 17 Feb 2015 05:00 AM PST The following is an article from The Annals of Improbable Research. (Image credit: Milad Mosapoor) Highlights from gummy, chewy research literature about cognition compiled by Katherine Lee, Improbable Research staff Numerous researchers, doing numerous studies, have debated and are debating whether there are cognitive effects of chewing chewing gum, and if there are such effects, what, how strong, and how consistent those effects may be. Cognitive Advantages of Chewing Gum “Cognitive Advantages of Chewing Gum: Now You See Them, Now You Don’t,” Serge V. Onyper, Timothy L. Carr, John S. Farrar, and Brittney R. Floyd, Appetite, vol. 57, no. 2, October 2011, pp. 321–8. The authors, at St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York, explain: The current series of experiments investigated the effects of the timing of gum chewing on cognitive function, by administering a battery of cognitive tasks to participants who chewed gum either prior to or throughout testing, and comparing their performance to that of controls who did not chew gum. Chewing gum was associated with performance advantages on multiple measures when gum was chewed for 5 min before, but not during, cognitive testing. The benefits, however, persisted only for the first 15–20 min of the testing session, and did not extend to all cognitive domains. This... can potentially account for a wide range of findings reported in the literature. Chewing Gum and Memory (2004): Yup “Chewing Gum Can Produce Context-Dependent Effects Upon Memory,” Jess R. Baker, Jessica B. Bezance, Ella Zellaby, and John P. Aggleton, Appetite, vol. 43, 2004, pp. 207–10. The authors, at Cardiff University, Wales, U.K., report: Two experiments examined whether chewing spearmint gum can affect the initial learning or subsequent recall of a word list. Comparing those participants in Experiment 1 who chewed gum at the learning or the recall phases showed that chewing gum at initial learning was associated with superior recall. In addition, chewing gum led to context-dependent effects as a switch between gum and no gum (or no gum and gum) between learning and recall led to poorer performance. Experiment 2 provided evidence that sucking gum was sufficient to induce some of the same effects as chewing. Chewing Gum and Memory (2007): Nope “Chewing Gum and Context-Dependent Memory Effects: A Re-Examination,” Christopher Miles and Andrew J. Johnson, Appetite, vol. 48, no. 2, March 2007, pp. 1548. (Thanks to Martin Gardiner for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, also at Cardiff University, report: Two experiments re-examined whether chewing spearmint gum affects initial word learning and/or immediate recall for a word list. Both experiments failed to show effects of chewing gum at learning or recall, nor did they suggest that chewing gum produces a context-dependent memory effect. Chewing Gum versus Depression “Chewing Gum May Be an Effective Complementary Therapy in Patients with Mild to Moderate Depression,” Furkan Muhammed Erbay, Nazan AydIn, and Tülay SatI-KIrkan, Appetite, vol. 65, June 2013, pp. 31–4. The authors, at Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey, explain: 30 patients with mild to moderate depression were given either medication combined with chewing gum, or medication only, for 6 weeks.... Those patients who were administrated chewing gum responded better to the treatment than patients who took medication only. The most beneficial effect of chewing gum was observed on the gastrointestinal symptoms, e.g. loss of appetite, and flatulence among others. These results indicate that chewing gum may not be directly effective on depressed mood; however, it may reduce the symptoms originating from depression. Cognitive Disadvantages of Chewing Gum, and Chewing’s Relation to Tapping “Gummed-up Memory: Chewing Gum Impairs Short-Term Recall,” Michail D. Kozlov, Robert W. Hughes, and Dylan M. Jones, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, vol. 65, no. 3, March 2012, pp. 501–13. (Thanks to Scott Langill for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, coincidentally at Cardiff University, explain: Several studies have suggested that short-term memory is generally improved by chewing gum. However, we report the first studies to show that chewing gum impairs short-term memory.... Experiment 1 showed that chewing gum reduces serial recall of letter lists. Experiment 2 indicated that chewing does not simply disrupt vocal–articulatory planning required for order retention: Chewing equally impairs a matched task that required retention of list item identity. Experiment 3 demonstrated that manual tapping produces a similar pattern of impairment to that of chewing gum. Detail from the study “Gummed-up Memory: Chewing Gum Impairs Short-Term Recall.” Scholey the Gum-chewing Effects Gumshoe Andrew Scholey, at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K., and later at Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia, has done a lengthy series of experiments involving chewing gum and the mind. Other scholars have, in some cases, found some of these studies to be provocative. Scholey on Gum (2002) “Chewing Gum Selectively Improves Aspects of Memory in Healthy Volunteers,” Lucy Wilkinson, Andrew Scholey, and Keith Wesnes, Appetite, vol. 38, 2002, pp. 235–6. These results provided the first evidence that the chewing of gum can improve episodic memory (involving the learning, storage and retrieval of information) and working memory (where information is held “on line”). Scholey on Gum (2004) “Chewing Gum and Cognitive Performance: A Case of a Functional Food with Function but No Food?”, Andrew Scholey, Appetite, vol. 43, no. 2, October 2004, pp. 215–6. Recent reports suggest that enhancement of memory performance while chewing gum is a fairly robust phenomenon. The processes underlying the effect are not known, but may involve glucose delivery, context-dependent effects and arousal mechanisms amongst others. This brief commentary outlines the main findings from these studies and raises some issues regarding interpretation, methodology and future research directions. Stephens on Gum “Role of Glucose in Chewing Gum-Related Facilitation of Cognitive Function,” Richard Stephens and Richard J. Tunney, Appetite, vol. 43, no. 2, Oct. 2004, pp. 211–3. Richard Stephens is an Ig Nobel Prize winner, having been awarded the 2010 Ig Nobel peace prize for his study “Swearing as a Response to Pain” (Richard Stephens, John Atkins, and Andrew Kingston, Neuroreport, vol. 20 , no. 12, 2009, pp. 1056–60). In this gum study Stephens and co-author Tunney write: This study tests the hypothesis that chewing gum leads to cognitive benefits through improved delivery of glucose to the brain, by comparing the cognitive performance effects of gum [chewing a single strip of Wrigley’s sugarfree mint flavoured gum] and glucose administered separately and together. Stephens on Scholey on Gum “How Does Chewing Gum Affect Cognitive Function? Reply to Scholey (2004),” Richard Stephens and Richard J. Tunney, Appetite, vol. 43, no. 2, October 2004, pp. 217–8. Stephens and Tunney write: we discuss here how the studies reviewed by Scholey conform to our hypothesis that chewing gum affects some aspects of cognition by means of enhanced glucose delivery via the act of chewing. At first blush the data reported by Tucha et al. (2004) and Baker et al. (2004) seem inconsistent with this hypothesis. However, Tucha et al. found null effects with respect to both gum-related improvement in cognition and changes in heart rate. This is consistent with our hypothesis that heart rate must increase for chewing gum to enhance cognition. Scholey on Stephens on Scholey on Gum “Further Issues Regarding the Possible Modulation of Cognitive Function by the Chewing of gum: Response to Stephens and Tunney (2004) and Tucha et al. (2004),” Andrew Scholey, Appetite, vol. 43, 2004, pp. 221–3. Scholey writes: An initial summary of four papers in Appetite on modulation of cognitive function while chewing gum attempted to identify the bearing of similarities and differences between methodologies on the results reported. In their responses the authors of two of the papers highlight further methodological and theoretical issues, and these are discussed briefly here. Scholey on Gum (2009) “Chewing Gum Alleviates Negative Mood and Reduces Cortisol During Acute Laboratory Psychological Stress,” Andrew Scholey, Crystal Haskell, Bernadette Robertson, David Kennedy, Anthea Milne, Mark Wetherell, Physiology and Behavior, June 22, 2009, vol. 97, nos. 3–4, pp. 304–312. (Thanks to Ig Nobel Prize winner Richard Wassersug for bringing this to our attention.) Scholey and his colleagues write: to what extent can sugar-free gum be classed as a nutraceutical? The latter is strictly defined as any substance that is a food or a part of a food which provides medical or health benefits. The term is used more loosely to describe so-called ‘functional foods’ whose administration provides something other than simple nutritional load. Clearly sugar-free gum has no nutritional value as such, ironically making it theoretically more similar to a pharmaceutical than a nutraceutical, despite apparently sharing more elements with feeding than with drug ingestion. _____________________ The article above is from the July-August 2014 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.

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