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2015/11/05

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Everything You Want to Know About Ranch Dressing (But Were Afraid to Ask)

Posted: 05 Nov 2015 05:00 AM PST

Neatorama is proud to bring you a guest post from Ernie Smith, the editor of Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail. In another life, he ran ShortFormBlog.

Yes, this is an article about ranch dressing. And yes, ranch dressing was invented at Hidden Valley Ranch. Here's some stuff you didn't know about ranch.

(Image credit: Flickr user Amanda)

It was a business model that was destined to happen at some point. With overpriced lunches at fast-casual restaurants and unfortunate late-night fourthmeals at GrubHub alike sporting a certain buttermilk something-or-other at all times, someone was bound to build an entire restaurant concept around it—lest Sriracha get all the attention. And happen it did: Last spring, word of a restaurant that includes ranch dressing in every single menu item (besides, we're assuming, the drinks— ranch milkshakes, everyone!) surfaced out of St. Louis. Fittingly, it's called "twisted RAnCh," like a Limp Bizkit album from another dimension.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch …

Ranch dressing did in fact come from a ranch. And yes, the name of that ranch was Hidden Valley.

But the route to fame didn't just start there.

It started in the Alaskan bush, where businessman Steve Henson—who played cook on top of his main gig as a plumber—came up with an idea to help calm down the workers annoyed that they had to eat salad.

"It's tough to feed men up in those bush jobs," the Nebraska native told Los Angeles Times food reporter Sergio Ortiz in 1999. "If they don't like something, they're as likely to throw it at the cook as they are to walk out cursing. I had to come up with something to keep them happy."

(The source article isn't online in easily accessible form, but I did you a favor and put up a version of it here.)

His solution involved a mixture of three fairly simple ingredients: mayo, buttermilk, and various herbs. It proved just the thing to get the workers to eat their vegetables.

That simple combination would come to save Henson and his dwindling nest egg after he finally launched the ranch of his dreams in 1954 outside of Santa Barbara, California.

(Image credit: Hidden Valley)

Henson's dude ranch was essentially intended as a hideaway for tourists. It occasionally drew some, but it wasn't the ranch itself that was driving chatter after the fact. Rather, it was the dressing served on the salad.

Customers started asking for bottles to take home, some in increasing numbers. In one case, a visitor from Hawaii asked for 300 bottles at once. Henson and his wife couldn't make that many bottles in a short amount of time, so he instead offered the visitor a number of spice packets, telling him how to reproduce the recipe.

The visitor soon wanted more spice packets. Slowly but surely, the dressing became more popular than the ranch. And while Henson hoped to become rich with a ranch, the ranch he became rich from outgrew the far-off property from which he launched the company.

The world could not be kept away from this milky juggernaut.

$8 Million

That's the amount that the cleaning company conglomerate Clorox paid for Hidden Valley Ranch in 1972. The sauce became a major phenomenon after they figured out a way to preserve ranch dressing for long enough that it could be bottled and sold. (Though then again, it wasn't easy—Clorox food scientists spent nearly a decade trying to get it right, according to Malcom Gladwell. It became a hit despite the the food scientists believing they had failed.) By 1992, ranch dressing was the most popular kind of salad dressing. Then—again, with a little push from Clorox—it became a hit condiment.

Five Unusual Contexts for Ranch Dressing

(Image credit: Rocket Fizz Campbell, CA)

1. Because someone had to do it, a company called Rocket Fizz has been making a ranch dressing-flavored soda for the past couple of years. Here's a dude taste-testing it on YouTube … for science.

2. Prolific romance book novelist Janet Dailey became famous for writing books based in every single state, but the late author should be equally known for titling a short story collection of hers Ranch Dressing. Someone had to do it.  

3. Speaking of things people had to do, the vegan food company Organicville makes a brand of non-dairy ranch dressing, which has roughly the number of calories as Hidden Valley's light dressing.

4. All crazy food things must be inspired by 8-year-olds. Need evidence? If you find yourself near Whitefish, Montana anytime soon, ask Sweet Peaks Ice Cream to serve you a cup of ranch dressing ice cream, a flavor that was inspired by the owners' daughter and is made from Hidden Valley Ranch packets.  

5. Ranch dressing, like just about everything else, has its own day on the calendar. Every March 10 is Ranch Dressing Day. Hidden Valley, of course, thinks that the dressing deserves its own month.

Ranch Across Borders

The ultra-fatty salad dressing concoction may be huge in the U.S., but outside of it, it's mostly a non-entity.

Nowhere is this perhaps as perfectly underlined as it is in Iceland and Norway, where it's a common sight to see convenience stores hawking "Cool American"-flavored Doritos. The U.K. is in on the secrets of ranch dressing a little more than in other places outside of North America, but even there, Doritos are called "Cool Original"—despite the fact that ranch was never the original flavor of Doritos and only became a Doritos flavor in 1987.

In fact, Doritos (another popular example of an American junk food with a fascinating origin story) are something of the trojan horse on which ranch dressing is riding on into new markets.

An example of that slow expansion: Last year, an Australian YouTuber named Elly Awesome had a freakout moment after discovering that Cool Ranch Doritos was being sold in her home country for the first time.

Ranch dressing hasn't reached all corners of the world in the way it has in the U.S., but American food chains like the Middle Eastern version of Subway and the Malaysian version of Chili's are helping to cover the world in dressing.

Eventually, they'll get assimilated into the buttermilk way of life.

Ubiquitous Ranch

(Image credit: Brostach at imgur)

"It just kind of turned into a joke. Okay, if people are going to keep asking for ranch, I thought it'd be funny if I could find one of those 'in case of emergency break glass' things. That's how it started, I went online searching for one that I thought would fit a ranch bottle."

                    — Jay Jerrier, the owner of a Dallas pizza restaurant called Cane Rosso, discussing with Eater how the pizzeria put a bottle of ranch dressing behind a glass case—and started charging, as a joke, $1,000 per side of the mayo-buttermilk concoction. The pizzeria's clever wall ornament became Reddit-famous in 2014.

Fat is Where It's At

"Buttermilk is a good base for anything. You can use it to make a hundred things in the kitchen," Steve Henson said in his 1999 Los Angeles Times interview. "I experimented with other mayonnaise-type dressings, too, but they just don't have the consistency of a real mayo and buttermilk mix."

Henson's greatest work has evolved into a pop-culture punchline, seen as a quick way to mock the gluttonous ways that Americans eat. Certainly, there's a good point there: we literally throw a gloppy mix of buttermilk and mayo (two of the higher-fat options in one's fridge) onto just about everything, not thinking of the damage it's causing us. As sauces go, you're better off with mustard, salsa, or hummus if you're watching your dainty figure.

(The salad-dressing industry realizes that ranch could eventually become a target of Michelle Obama and company and has tried to play up its role as an accent to healthier foods. Then again, Clorox also did create a thicker, dip-style version of the sauce, calling it "the new ketchup.")

(Image credit: Flickr user Steve Snodgrass)

But Henson, who died in 2007 at the age of 89, was clearly onto something, even if he didn't see most of the profits from his most successful business effort.

Clorox, despite not owning a patent on the flavor, has managed to keep its finger on the pulse of what consumers want out of ranch dressing the same way a blogger might keep pace on an important news story: According to the WSJ, it follows Google Trends and sees how people are talking about using the sauce, then uses that to concoct new variants like "Fiesta Salsa Ranch," "Avocado Ranch," and "Cheese Ranch."

We expect Hidden Valley to produce a Sriracha Ranch any day now.

A version of this post by Ernie Smith originally appeared in the Tedium newsletter, which tries in vain to make dull topics slightly more interesting. You can follow along on Twitter or Facebook.

Watch This Skydiver Deliberately Set Fire to Her Own Parachute

Posted: 05 Nov 2015 04:00 AM PST


(Video Link)

This was, believe it or not, a safety demonstration. Expert skydiver Brianne Thompson wants to teach people the importance of carrying a second parachute. So after she jumped and deployed her first parachute, she intentionally set it on fire with a flare gun.

The canopy instantly flared and dissolved, causing Thompson to go into a free fall. That's when she deployed her back-up parachute, which she used to land safely on the ground.

Thompson is, by my estimation, successful in her goal. I plan to begin wearing two parachutes everywhere, even in the shower.

-via Daily of the Day

What Defines a Country?

Posted: 05 Nov 2015 03:00 AM PST

University of Oxford geographer Nick Middleton wrote a book titled An Atlas of Countries that Don’t Exist. The world has plenty of them, some you are familiar with, and others you’ve probably never heard of. They are real places, but whether they are "countries" or not depend on what you mean by "country."

The problem, he says, is that we don’t have a watertight definition of what a country is. “Which as a geographer, is kind of shocking,” he says. Some cite a treaty signed in 1933, during the International Conference of American States in Montevideo, Uruguay. The “Montevideo Convention” declares that to become a country, a region needs the following features: a defined territory, a permanent population, a government, and “the capacity to enter into relations with other states”.

There are plenty of places that fit this definition, yet that really doesn’t help when you’re a small nation trying -and failing- to gain acceptance from other nations. Not only does a country have to be recognized, but recognized by the right nations. Look at Taiwan: it was kicked off the UN’s General Assembly when China joined. Look at the United Kingdom: it has four countries, but only one seat in the UN. Look at Lakotah, in the upper Great Plains of the U.S.: by treaty, it belongs to the Lakotah Nation,  but the U.S. reneged on the treaty long ago and doesn’t take kindly to secessionist movements. Look at Christiana, a neighborhood in Copenhagen: it considers itself sovereign, but relies on Denmark for everything. Conversely, Denmark owns Greenland, but Greenland has its own government. Read more about countries that don’t exist (or do they?) at BBC Future. -via Digg

Every James Bond Gadget Ever

Posted: 05 Nov 2015 02:00 AM PST


(Video Link)

He's had a submarine car, a horse's butt that opens to reveal a plane, and a coffee pot that . . . well, it makes coffee. Over 23 movies covering his lengthy career, Agent 007 has used the most extraordinary devices to get his work done. Often they're concealed to look like ordinary, everyday objects, since he's a spy. But inside, they're all amazing technological wonders.

In this video, Burger Fiction runs through all of the movies in order, showing each special gadget that Bond has used at work. That's fully 193 unique machines.

-via NotCot

Jake Punisher - Those Rotten Candy Criminals Must Pay For Their Crimes

Posted: 05 Nov 2015 01:00 AM PST


Jake Punisher by B4DW0LF

The day Finn fell in battle was the last time anybody saw Jake acting like his lovable old doggy self, but who could blame him for being changed by that horrific day? Time seemed to slow for Jake, and his body became less stretchy and more rigid, ready for the fierce battles that lay ahead. His days of bacon pancakes and adventure were over, but the punishment was just beginning in the land of Ooo...

Cater to your cartoon dark side with this Jake Punisher t-shirt by B4DW0LF, it's the ultimate design for those who love cartoon adventuring and comic book vigilantes.

Visit B4DW0LF's Facebook fan page and Twitter, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more geek-tastic designs:

GrimlockDia De Los DaleksThe Doctor

XENIE WIENIES

View more designs by B4DW0LF | More 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!

Names I Know

Posted: 05 Nov 2015 01:00 AM PST

This makes sense to me. After all, you spend more time with those fictional characters than you do with your neighbors. Fictional characters can be as interesting and as pleasant as the writer wishes, while real people have their ups and downs. Still, Salacious Crumb won’t help you move a stalled car or pick up your mail while you're on vacation, so smile and wave even if the name escapes you. This is the latest from Chris at Lunarbaboon.

Dog Puts Little Boy to Bed

Posted: 05 Nov 2015 12:00 AM PST

Baron Vom Herrn (you can call him Baron) is a German Shepherd. He's the caregiver for a little boy named Zander. When it's time for bed, Baron is in charge. He makes sure that Zander takes care of all of his affairs and enjoys a warm and loving bedtime. At the end, he turns off the lights so that the boy can get a good night's sleep. 


(Video Link)

Good dog!

-via Tastefully Offensive

High School Restroom Pass

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 11:00 PM PST

In many American high schools, if you’re caught in a hallway during class, you need something to prove that you have permission to be out of the classroom. In these schools, teachers can give out hall passes, or “potty passes.” They are often slips of paper, but sometimes are more creative, in order to force shy students to choose between feeling humiliated or holding it in. Non-shy students don’t care. Redditor bad_trip_ posted such a pass from his school. It’s a full-size cardboard cutout of a cop.

One of my teachers back in the ‘70s used a toilet seat for a potty pass. No one cared, and some would even wear it around their necks. Of course, back then it was important to go to the restroom often, because that was the only place in the building you could smoke (besides the teachers lounge).

Report: Yeti Sightings Are Down

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 10:00 PM PST


(I Heart Yeti t-shirt on sale at the NeatoShop)

It used to be common for people in Bhutan to see the yeti--the legendary hairy man-like beast of the Himalayas. But not anymore. In recent years, sightings of yeti have plummeted. Why? It's not because there are fewer yetis. BBC News investigated and found the answer: people little reason to venture high into the mountains anymore.

Yeti sightings used to occur as people foraged for firewood. Now people living in rural Bhutan are more likely to heat their homes with electricity and kerosene, leaving the region's most famous cryptid alone. No one in the village of Chendebji has seen one in 20 years:

The last person in Chendebji to have seen possible evidence of the yeti is a younger famer called Norbu.

The first time was 20 years ago, he says, when he was 18. He was in the mountains with his cattle when he saw a large footprint and the body marks of a yeti in the snow. The mere sight of them made his hair stand on end.

Then, five years later, Norbu says he discovered something very unusual - a lair made out of intricately woven sticks of bamboo.

"The yeti had broken the bamboo trees, folded them into a semi-circular shape, with the two edges of the bamboo in the ground. He had then slept inside the den. I could see the marks left by the yeti inside the nest," he says.

-via Marginal Revolution

Student Takes A First Class Trip Around The World For $300

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 09:00 PM PST

Avid travelers are always dreaming of taking a trip around the world, and yet this globetrotting adventure is financially well out of reach for most.

With the cost of airfare, hotel, food, drink and any unexpected expenses that will surely pop up along the way the dream trip will remain nothing but a dream for most.

But one extremely clever college student named Sam Huang found a way to take a trip around the world, flying in Emirates First Class Suite no less, for a whopping $300.

How did he accomplish such an amazing act of frugality?

(YouTube Link)

For the full details you should read the full post about Sam's cheap trip of a lifetime here, but in a nutshell- he used his frequent flyer miles to fly from New York to Melbourne, Australia, on a flight that had lots of long layovers in various countries. Brilliant!

-Via The Daily What

The Quest for Wisdom

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 08:00 PM PST

(Pie Comic/John McNamee)

The old joke goes something like this:

An angel appeared to three fishermen and says to one of them, "I'll grant you whichever of three blessings you choose: wisdom, beauty, or ten million dollars."

The fisherman thinks for a moment and chooses wisdom. There is a flash of lightning and the fisherman is transformed, but then he just sits there, staring blankly.

His two friends poke him and say, “You have great wisdom. Say something!" The fisherman says, “I should have taken the money!”

Poor bird. To borrow a phrase from Richard Adams, "He had the jewel in his pocket all along."

13 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Tattoo Artists

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 07:00 PM PST

Tattoos are more mainstream than ever, to the chagrin of tattooed hipsters who were once happily ahead of the curve. Anyone can ink a tattoo, but if you want it to look better than a jailhouse tat, you want to go to a professional artist to have yours done. Mental_floss talked to some experienced inkers to find out what goes on behind the scenes of your local tattoo shop. Here’s a sample:

5. A GOOD ARTIST WILL SAY NO.

Whatever your age or employment status, there are some tattoos artists just won’t do, either because it’s not their specialty or they know it won’t look good or heal well. The professionals will be honest about this.

Small, intricate designs might not age well, and finger tattoos won’t last. A good artist will warn you about these potential complications and maybe even refuse the work. Because so much of their business relies on referrals, their art is an advertisement, so it better be good. “A good artist will tell you no because your money is not worth their name,” says Page.

But this isn’t always true, especially for less-experienced artists looking to make as much money as possible. “They probably didn’t train under somebody that taught them well,” Leever says. “It’s become this cash-cow industry where people open up a shop that know nothing about tattooing and hire a bunch of people who don’t know anything about tattooing and it’s just about making money.”

8. THEY MAKE MISTAKES ALL THE TIME.

They just know how to cover them up so the customer never knows. “Every tattoo artist messes up,” says one artist on Reddit. “We just take the time to fix it as we go, adding a flourish here or there, a little bit more contrast. No client would notice.”

Oh, there’s lots more to learn about tattoo artists at mental_floss, and you’ll find it interesting even if you’re never going to get a tattoo.

Willow the Mini Pig Discovers Her Love of Leaves

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 06:00 PM PST


YouTube Link

Willow is an acutely adorable miniature pig who has found a new love in life: leaf piles! The enthusiastic noises she makes and her deliriously happy spins and jumps are quick evidence of her intelligence and ample ability to be playful and experience joy. Via The Dodo

16 Stories You Might Not Know about the <i>Titanic</i>

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 05:00 PM PST

The RMS Titanic was a floating city with almost every amenity from dry land that could be desired at sea. For example, the Titanic had its own daily newspaper called the Atlantic Daily Bulletin. Pictured above is an officer editing such a paper from a similar liner from the same time period.

The Atlantic Daily Bulletin offered practical information, such as the day's menus, but also entertained guests by providing society gossip, and kept people connected with the outside world by listing changing stock prices.

This is 1 of 16 unusual stories about the ill-fated Titanic that you might not know about. Read the rest at Vintage.

-via The Presurfer

MMA Fighter Tries To Knock Down The Mountain From <i>Game Of Thrones</i>

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 04:00 PM PST

The man who plays The Mountain on the TV series Game Of Thrones is an Icelandic actor, and World's Strongest Man title holder, named Hafthor Julius Bjornsson.

He's a 6 foot 9 inch tall beast of a man who weighs 400 pounds and seems to be made of pure muscle, but for some reason MMA featherweight fighter Conor McGregor isn't afraid to face The Mountain.

(YouTube Link)

The fight looks a bit unbalanced, and Conor's blows seem to do very little to mighty Hafthor, but you've gotta admire young Mr. McGregor's moxie!

-Via Esquire

Procaffeinated - He Never Has A Second Cup Of My Coffee...

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 03:00 PM PST


Procaffeination by Theduc

Sometimes it's hard to crawl down from your tree without proper motivation, but when the smell of fresh brewed espresso hits their nostrils even the most slothful creatures in the world will climb down with a quickness! That's the power of procaffeination, and even though that stiff black brew makes you feeled totally wired it can also make you feel like kicking back and enjoying one or three more cups!

Bring some animalistic energy to your geeky wardrobe with this Procaffeination t-shirt by Theduc, it's one flavorful design!

Visit Theduc's Facebook fan page and official website, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more delightfully geeky designs:

Kodamas & Susuwataris V2RunRaptureViva La Transformacion

View more designs by Theduc | 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!

The Many Lives of Maria Rasputin, Daughter of the 'Mad Monk'

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 03:00 PM PST

Who knew that Rasputin, advisor to Tsar Nicholas II, had a daughter who became a circus performer -and then an American? Maria went from a young village peasant to a life of education and high society in St. Petersburg. The murder of her father threw Maria’s life into chaos. Eventually, Maria’s entire family, as well as the Tsar’s family, were either dead or imprisoned. Maria escaped to Europe with her husband, who died in Paris in 1926. She was left alone with two young daughters to support.

Then, Maria told the Los Angeles Times, “absolutely unexpected, I got offer to be cabaret dancer in Bucharest. This was because of my name, not because of my dancing.” For several years Maria danced across Europe, allowing herself to be billed as “the daughter of the mad monk.” In 1929, she published her first book, The Real Rasputin, a strongly worded defense of her father.

Soon Maria took on another career- that of an animal trainer in a traveling circus. With her characteristic sense of humor, Maria said: “They ask me if I mind to be in a cage with animals, and I answer, ‘Why not? I have been in a cage with Bolsheviks.’”

Maria Rasputin had what you could call an eventful life, which you can read about at Atlas Obscura.

Finally! City Builds Sidewalk Lanes for Fast Walkers

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 02:00 PM PST

I walk fast. This is because I am a decent human being, unlike all of the people who waddle in front of me at 1 mile per hour, like they have nothing to accomplish in their lives except be obstacles to human progress.

The city of Liverpool, UK found that 47% of survey respondents said that slow walkers are the most annoying problem they encounter when shopping in the city center. The city responded to this problem by making it legal to taser slow walkers building "fast lanes" on sidewalks with high foot traffic. The Independent reports:

Opening on the city's St John Street, the fast lanes will allow users to speed through the crowds while perusing the three-storey Liverpool One shopping centre.

The research, conducted by Argos, also revealed shoppers hated battling through crowds, people chatting in the middle of the street and pavement hoggers.

I found this article through reddit, where commenters offer great suggestions about how to deal with slow walkers. For example:

I find it's much easier to trip them or push them to the ground and continue my walking without the awkward baby steps behind them. Try it for yourself

The Foo Fighters Play Cesena

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 01:00 PM PST

You recall that a group of 1000 Italians musicians got together to play The Foo Fighters’ song “Learn to Fly” in order to convince the group to come play in Cesena, Italy? They did just that Tuesday night. Dave Grohl had a warm welcome for the fans.

(YouTube link)

The Rockin 1000 bandleader Fabio and the drummer with the Mohawk got to play with the band! They joined in for the Queen/David Bowie song "Under Pressure." Video contains NSFW language. -via Uproxx 

40 Brilliant Lifehacks from Disney Movies

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 12:00 PM PST

Do you have high air conditioning bills, cracked nipples, knotted hair, and bad luck with Tinder? Then everything you need to learn to make daily life work can be found in Disney animated movies. For 75 years, Disney animated features have discreetly shown us how solve these problems. Mallory McInnis of BuzzFeed rounded up 40 of the most ingenious lifehacks that these dawn characters illustrate.

26 Things You Didn't Know about Barbie

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 11:00 AM PST

(YouTube link)

You may have played with Barbie dolls when you were young, but they don’t come with this much trivia! John Green returns in this week’s mental_floss List Show to talk about Barbie. Learn the doll’s origins, statistics, and the soap opera saga of careers and romance that is her life.

The "Science" Behind The Plague Doctor's Mask

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 10:00 AM PST

The strange bird-like look of the classic 17th century plague doctor mask, often seen during the Carnival Of Venice, has captured the imagination of artists who see it as equal parts creepy and visually compelling.

But did it have a practical function to match the eye pleasing form?

Here's the antiquated "science" behind the beaky shape of the mask:

The nose [is] half a foot long, shaped like a beak, filled with perfume with only two holes, one on each side near the nostrils, but that can suffice to breathe and carry along with the air one breathes the impression of the [herbs] enclosed further along in the beak. Under the coat we wear boots made in Moroccan leather (goat leather) from the front of the breeches in smooth skin that are attached to said boots, and a short sleeved blouse in smooth skin, the bottom of which is tucked into the breeches. The hat and gloves are also made of the same skin…with spectacles over the eyes.

The mask was but one element of the Plague Doctor's prescription costume, and the hat, coat, gloves and staff were equally important to keeping the doctor safe from sickness.

Read more aobut The "Science" Behind Today's Plague Doctor Costume at io9

An Honest Teaser for <i>The Force Awakens</i>

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 09:00 AM PST

Screen Junkies does the Honest Trailer series, but for this project, they had to go with “honest teaser” instead, because the movie isn’t even out yet! Yes, they’ve gone and tackled Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

(YouTube link)

All they’ve got to work with is the trailers -and the six previous movies, and the reams of press, and the discussion groups, and the entire Star Wars mythology. It’s enough for this video. -via Gamma Squad

Department of Energy Issues New Rule: Don't Put Highly Enriched Uranium in Your Pocket

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 08:00 AM PST

(Image: Fox)

Now they tell us!

The US Department of Energy, which oversees how nuclear materials are handled in the United States, found that, on occasion, nuclear materials workers had placed highly enriched uranium in their pockets. A report on the subject informs people who work with these hazardous substances to cease pocketing them:

Further, after interviewing chemical operators and reviewing revised Y-12 procedures, we confirmed that chemical operators are no longer allowed to place samples in their pockets and must check their pockets before removing their coveralls.

The risk was, thankfully, very low. CNS News summarizes:

According to a Y-12 Subject Matter Expert (SME), the possibility of “a nuclear criticality accident occurring during the incident was very low,” because the “minimum critical mass” for such an incident is over 700 grams, while the samples in question only contained 20 grams of uranium. Also, personnel wore proper protective equipment.

-via VA Viper

The Strange Realities Of Working In A Fake Colonial Town

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 07:00 AM PST

Working in a fake colonial town drives employees batty, which isn't surprising since employees are method actors stuck in a place where they have to be "on" at all times and no trace of the modern world can be seen.

But even more unsettling than working somewhere without screens or ambient music is the fact that many fake towns stay historically accurate to a fault, like Colonial Williamsburg, where slavery still exists.

The presence of pretend slaves raises lots of questions in the minds of tourists, who are all too happy to ask whether the slaves get whipped, sold and how much it costs to buy them.

Luckily, many of the kids asking after a price say they want to know so they can set the slaves free, but imagine what must run through an actor's mind when they hear these kinds of questions!

Read 5 Insane Realities Of My Life In A Fake Historical Town at Cracked (contains NSFW language)

Can a Cuttlefish Blend in with a Tacky Living Room?

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 06:00 AM PST


(Video Link)

The cuttlefish is a master of camouflage. It has the ability to seemingly disappear into any natural background. But what about unnatural environments? A badly decorated living room is hardly what the typical cuttlefish might encounter on the bottom of the ocean.

Richard Hammond, the host of the BBC's Miracles of Nature, decided to find out. The show built a cuttlefish-sized living room with hideous decor inside an aquarium. It had vertical stripes, checkerboard patterns, and chintz. Then it released a cuttlefish into this aesthetic monstrosity.

The cuttlefish was well-motivated: it did not want to be publicly seen in such an environment. Although it was not able to precisely mimic the patterns in the room, it did a remarkably good job of vanishing into patterns, especially the ugly chintz sofa.

-via Twisted Sifter
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