Neatorama

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• July 4, 1826: Oh, What a Day!
• 4th of July Strawberry Jello Shots
• The Moon is Made of Cheese
• Pallet Skating
• What Are Actors Actually Smoking In Movies?
• "Hey, Pass Me a Beer" -- The Summer Edition
• OUTTA TIME - 88 MPH Back To The 80s
• The Hole in the Ozone Shows Signs of Healing
• Testing Mobility in Medieval Armor
• Soundgarden Helps Launch the <i>SoundGuardian</i>
• Some Of The Worst Heavy Metal Album Covers Of All Time
• Music Box and Modulin
• What Is This Thing?
• 7 Billion by Cyriak

July 4, 1826: Oh, What a Day! Posted: 04 Jul 2016 05:00 AM PDT The following is a list from the book Uncle John's Bathroom Reader History's Lists. July 4, 1826, started out with a bang, and as the day wore on, things started happening that seem more than a little coincidental. 1. THE BIG 5-0 Who: The United States of America What: A bicker-free golden anniversary In 1776, John Adams famously predicted that Americans would annually celebrate Independence Day with ”pomp and parades, with shows, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations.” He was wrong. Instead, for its first 40 years, America “celebrated” July 4th as a political holiday with divisive gatherings- the country’s two main political parties at the time (the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans) excluded each other from their Fourth of July speeches and meetings. Why? They had very different agendas. The Federalists (founded by the wealthy Alexander Hamilton) believed in a strong federal government, a national bank, and an alliance with England. On the other hand, the Democratic-Republicans (founded by the country’s favorite well-off everyman, Thomas Jefferson) favored state government, the interests of the common folk over those of the moneyed class, and an alliance with France. The Federalists had held solid control of the government through the 1700s. In 1800, things started changing when the Democratic-Republicans took over Congress and got Thomas Jefferson elected as president. This did little to stop the partisan bickering or make July 4th a fun holiday, though. It wasn’t until 1816 and the election of James Monroe as president that the bickering dissipated… and it was only because Monroe defeated the last remaining Federalist candidate, making that party irrelevant in American politics. Finally came the Era of Good Feelings (1816-1824), as James Madison united the country with a post-politics presidency. July 4th began turning into a non-partisan celebration of the nation’s founding instead of merely an opportunity for divisive politicking. Without all the partisanship, Americans were free to celebrate their golden anniversary with a unified nation. 2. DEATH OF A PRESIDENT I Who: John Adams What: Death After serving as vice-president during George Washington’s administration, Federalist John Adams was elected the second president of the United States in 1797, beating Thomas Jefferson. Under the Constitution at the time, the second-place candidate became vice-president, so the Adams/Jefferson administration forged ahead. The two were trusted friends and allies, even though they were also members of warring parties. That changed in 1801 when Jefferson ran against Adams for president and beat him. In the days before Jefferson’s inauguration, Adams made scores of last-minute appointments in an effort to thwart the new president.Jefferson perceived the behavior as pettiness, and it ended their friendship for the next ten years. A mutual friend finally reconnected them in 1811, and the two, separated by hundreds of miles, began sending each other long letters discussing science, philosophy, and politics. When Adams received his invitation to the jubilee in 1826, he hoped to meet Jefferson in person again after 15 years of correspondence, but realized that, at 90 years of age, he wasn’t in good enough shape to travel to Washington, DC, from his home in Massachusetts. So Adams reluctantly declined the invitation. On June 30, neighbors came to visit their former president. He was so frail he had to be lifted into his coach, but still felt that politeness required him to return the visit the next day. When he got home on the night of July 1, he went to bed feeling ill and never fully recovered. On July 4, visitors came to see Adams again and asked him about the 50th anniversary celebration. He responded, “It is a great day. It is a good day.” However, as the day wore on, he sunk into semiconsciousness- a doctor was called, and Adams said only a few recognizable words and phrases. (One of them was “Jefferson survives.”) By evening, John Adams was dead. 3. Death of a President II Who: Thomas Jefferson What: Death Unfortunately, Adams was wrong: Thomas Jefferson did not survive. He had died a few hours earlier in his home outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Jefferson’s health had been deteriorating for years and had taken a turn for the worse in the spring of 1826, so when he received his invitation to the Washington, DC, celebration, Jefferson sent his regrets… in a note so eloquent that the jubilee’s organizers sold copies of it. On July 2, 1826, Jefferson had awoken feeling ill and retired to his bed, drifting in and out of consciousness. On July 3, he was lucid enough to ask, “Is it the fourth?” Told it would be soon, he began refusing the mind-dulling opiates that he’d been taking to ease the pain. Then, Just after noon on July 4, 1826 -as brass bands played and cannons resounded across the nation- Jefferson passed away. 4. A STAR IS BORN Who: Stephen Foster, “America’s first great songwriter” What: Birth On July 4, 1826, William and Eliza Foster couldn’t make it to the celebrations, either. They were too busy welcoming their ninth child, Stephen Collins Foster, at their home near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Foster published his first song at 18 and, three years later, found fame with his first hit “Oh, Susannah.” At the time, minstrel shows (variety shows that starred white actors in blackface) were the biggest market for songs, and Foster wrote several songs for these shows. However, many of his minstrel songs seemed to empathize with the slave’s perspective. (On the other hand, most minstrel songs depicted them as ignorant caricatures.) Of Foster’s ballad “Old Man Ned,” abolitionist Frederick Douglass wrote that it would likely “awaken sympathies for the slave.” Over the next 15 years, Foster wrote such classics as “Camptown races,” “Nelly was a Lady,” “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair,” “Hard times Come Again No More,” and “Way Down Upon the Swanee River (Old Folks at Home).” His music earned him the title of “Father of American Music,” but it never made him enough money to provide for his family. In January 1864, at the age of 37, Stephen Foster died in New York City. He had just 38 cents in his pocket. (Image credit: Marcus Quigmire) ___________________ The article above was reprinted with permission from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader History's Lists. Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out!

4th of July Strawberry Jello Shots Posted: 04 Jul 2016 04:00 AM PDT Victoria Belanger, the inventor of the Cadbury Creme Egg jello shot, is back with the perfect treat for the Fourth of July! She hollowed out stawberries, then filled them with gelatinized vodka colored white and blue. Get cooking now and you'll have your own available for your party. You can also wait 10 days, change the order of the colors, and have shots for Bastille Day.

The Moon is Made of Cheese Posted: 04 Jul 2016 02:00 AM PDT Silly Lucinda! We don’t have to send cows to the moon by rocket ship with a spacesuit on. Cows JUMP over the moon. That’s how the milk got up there to make the green cheese! This is the latest from Chris Hallbeck at Maximumble.

Pallet Skating Posted: 04 Jul 2016 12:00 AM PDT Think of it as a retro hoverboard. Beily Kralik attached wheels to the bottom of a shipping pallet. They're fitted precisely within the distance between the tram tracks of Bratislava, Slovakia. Then he went skating along the tracks. (Video Link) It looks like fun! -via The Presurfer

What Are Actors Actually Smoking In Movies? Posted: 03 Jul 2016 10:00 PM PDT Despite claims made by your stoner buddies most actors aren't actually smoking pot in movies like Pineapple Express, and most actors haven't even smoked real cigarettes on set since the late 90s. The truth is- look-alike substances have always been used by filmmakers if for no other reason than drugs are illegal and drug use on the set could result in some serious fines or worse. And while pot laws have loosened up quite a bit over the last few years actors would still have a hard time remembering their lines if they were really getting stoned while filming. (Video is NSFW) (YouTube Link) So according to veteran prop master James Butcher the actors are smoking legal "buds" that promise to offer a "multidimensional smoking experience unlike you've ever tried before" In an effort to make sure these "buds" worked as an on-screen replacement for marijuana James "smoked an enormous amount of it" and "didn't really feel anything". But what about the cigarettes? They're really smoking herbal cigarettes, which look right but supposedly aren't as harmful as cigarettes because they don't contain tobacco or nicotine. Read What Are Actors Actually Smoking In Movies? here

"Hey, Pass Me a Beer" -- The Summer Edition Posted: 03 Jul 2016 07:59 PM PDT (Video Link) The Packard Brothers are simple men. All they want on a hot summer day is an ice cold beer. So they turn to each other and say, "Hey, pass me a beer." Then they deliver cans of beer in extraordinary ways. We've previously seen their acrobatic beer passing. Now they're back with more trick shots featuring a summer fun theme to promote Old Milwaukee Beer. -via Tastefully Offensive

OUTTA TIME - 88 MPH Back To The 80s Posted: 03 Jul 2016 06:00 PM PDT OUTTA TIME by Tom Ryan's Studio The 80s had all the coolest movies, but one movie in particular changed the way everyone thought about time machines, clock towers and changing our lives- Back To The Future. It was such an epic tale they made two more, and every kid wanted to be Marty McFly after they saw him rock the 50s on electric guitar. Doc Brown seemed like the coolest best friend a teen time traveler could ever have, and the Delorean became the coolest and most cutting edge of all cars thanks to its appearance in the film. BTTF, like the 80s, will never go outta style! Show some love for a timeless classic with this OUTTA TIME t-shirt by Tom Ryan's Studio, it's an iconic design sure to make you look mighty McFly. Visit Tom Ryan's Studio's Facebook fan page, official website, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr, then head over to his NeatoShop for more geek-tastic designs: Wolf King Bounty Hunter Angel Bear May I Interest You In A Cup Of... View more designs by Tom Ryan's Studio | More Movie 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 Hole in the Ozone Shows Signs of Healing Posted: 03 Jul 2016 06:00 PM PDT You heard a lot about the hole in the ozone layer back in the 1970s and ‘80s, but not much since then. It’s because we identified the culprit, did something about it, and moved on. But the Earth takes a long time to heal from such damage. Scientists have announced that the hole has shrunk by four million square kilometers, or about 14%, since 2000. The authors used “fingerprints” of the ozone changes with season and altitude to attribute the ozone’s recovery to the continuing decline of atmospheric chlorine originating from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These chemical compounds were once emitted by dry cleaning processes, old refrigerators, and aerosols such as hairspray. In 1987, virtually every country in the world signed on to the Montreal Protocol in a concerted effort to ban the use of CFCs and repair the ozone hole. It’s possible that the hole may close for good by mid-century. A discussion at reddit gives the short version of how the hole came about, and how the nations of the world came together to fix the problem. However, the very different problem of climate change due to burning fossil fuels won’t be as simple. -via reddit (Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/altered by MIT News)

Testing Mobility in Medieval Armor Posted: 03 Jul 2016 04:00 PM PDT (Video Link) Jean II le Meingre Boucicaut (c.1366-1421) was a French knight of high renown in his own day. Aside from his chivalrous comportment, he was famous for his mastery of the physical demands of fighting in full plate armor. A description of Boucicaut's physical conditioning program survives to this day. To test its effectiveness and the practicality of wearing full armor, Daniel Jacquet performed those exercises and more while wearing a 58-pound suit of armor. He jumped on a horse, ran, chopped wood, did cartwheels, and more. And although Boucicaut did not call for it, at the end of the video, Jacquet danced to Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" in the steel suit. -via Tastefully Offensive

Soundgarden Helps Launch the <i>SoundGuardian</i> Posted: 03 Jul 2016 02:00 PM PDT Rock the boat: Soundgarden members attend launch of new research vessel SoundGuardian https://t.co/AY34KWpUZ4pic.twitter.com/ko2c2vQ60s — GeekWire (@geekwire) June 29, 2016 While the rest of the world was going nuts over Boaty McBoatface, another science boat was getting a name by internet poll, and this one turned out just fine. The waters of the Pacific Northwest will be monitored by the new vessel the SoundGuardian.    The name for King County’s new 48-foot, twin-hulled environmental research vessel was announced in January after a naming contest drew 319 votes. SoundGuardian led the way with 178 votes. The runners up were “Cascadia,” with 126 votes, and “SeaKing,” with 15 votes. According to the county’s news release, Environmental Laboratory field scientists will use the SoundGuardian “to collect water quality data in Puget Sound, Lake Washington and the Duwamish River. The new vessel, which will replace the 40-year-old Liberty, will be cleaner, more efficient and safer to operate in rough waters.” What’s even neater is that the Seattle band Soundgarden blessed the SoundGuardian personally. Drummer Matt Cameron and guitarist Kim Thayil came to the official christening Wednesday. Read more about the boat and the christening ceremony at GeekWire. -via Atlas Obscura

Some Of The Worst Heavy Metal Album Covers Of All Time Posted: 03 Jul 2016 12:00 PM PDT Heavy metal is generally thought of as rock's totally hardcore cousin, and heavy metal album art is supposed to reflect the band's extreme fist pumping and headbanging nature. But sometimes in the quest to prove how hardcore you are you just end up making yourself look like a high-caliber tool. Even bands like Iron Maiden, who usually get the album art so right, can fall from grace when they ditch the hand drawn art to make the leap into the digital age. But all bands have to start somewhere near the bottom, and it's okay if they let their less than talented buddy draw the cover art for their first album, so they can look back on it some day and smile. See Thirty Of The Worst Heavy Metal Album Covers Of All Time here (NSFW)

Music Box and Modulin Posted: 03 Jul 2016 10:00 AM PDT Wintergatan, the band that brought us the Musical Marble Machine, is back with two new homemade instruments. Here is Martin Molin playing a music box and a modulin. (YouTube link) The modulin was named that because it’s a modular synthesizer played like a violin. At least that’s what Molin says. I saw it and thought it was a cross between an accordion and a theremin. The music box uses a paper feed like a player piano. You can see a video of its creation here. Molin hopes to one day synchronized the music box and the marble machine to play together! -via Digg

What Is This Thing? Posted: 03 Jul 2016 08:00 AM PDT Celebrity librarian Jessamyn West posts this photo and asks reader to identify this strange object. Do you know the answer? Post a guess in the comments and find the correct answer here.

7 Billion by Cyriak Posted: 03 Jul 2016 06:00 AM PDT Cyriak Harris is back at it, with a new animation sure to give you nightmares! It’s a floppy bunny flopping around. But you know how rabbits are: they multiply.   (YouTube link) When I first had the idea for this video there were 7 billion people in the world, and I wanted to see what 7 billion of something actually looks like. I'm not entirely sure if I managed to create that many rabbits as I gave up counting them, and meanwhile 400 million new people appeared, so perhaps my work will never be done. I’ll say this much- that’s a lot of rabbits! -via Geeks Are Sexy

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