Neatorama

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• 9 Awesome 3D-Printed Animal Prosthetics
• How to Win an Election
• The Town of The Dead
• Bread
• Flushing Mercury Down the Toilet
• The Funniest Thing To Wear This Halloween- A Terrible Jared Leto Joker Costume
• A Health Benefit of Riding Roller Coasters
• Free Food - They're Always Thinking With Their Stomachs!
• How Big Companies Think Social Media Works
• Backwards Thru Time with Sam Klemke
• Hilarious Panorama Photo Fails Make Cats Look Like Catbuses
• The Long and Curious History of Curry
• Guy Is Haunted By The Teddy Bears He Gave His Ex-Girlfriends In This Horror Short
• 10 Interesting Hobbit Houses
• The Most Shameful RPG Dice of All Time

9 Awesome 3D-Printed Animal Prosthetics Posted: 28 Sep 2016 04:00 AM PDT 3D printing is revolutionizing a lot of industries, but perhaps no other use of the technology is quite as fascinating as its use in medicine. While its applications in human medicine are amazing, we can't help but be enthralled when we see animals getting a new lease on life thanks to a little 3D printing. Here are a few stories of animals who were saved thanks to the new technology. 1. Fred the Tortoise Fred is a female red-footed tortoise from Sao Paulo who was injured in a forest fire that destroyed most of her shell. Rescuers thought the poor tortoise looked like Freddy Krueger, hence the not-traditionally-feminine name. By taking pictures of her shell from all angles and comparing them to a healthy tortoise, veterinarians were able to create a 3D model of a shell, which they then printed in four individual pieces from a corn-based plastic. It took 3 months all together for the shell to be made into a reality and, unfortunately, Fred came down with pneumonia just after her surgery. Fortunately, she survived the ordeal and artists began to come forward offering to help paint the rescued animal's shell so she looked like a traditional, healthy red-footed tortoise. The team took their time to ensure they could find the right paint that wouldn't damage the shell or present a health risk to poor Fred. (Video Link) Eventually, Fred will need a new shell, but for now, she's cruising in style and couldn't be happier with her new mobile home. 2. AKUT-3 the Sea Turtle In 2015, a loggerhead sea turtle, scientifically named AKUT-3, was found in Turkey with a damaged jaw that left it unable to eat on its own in the wild. He was quickly taken in by the Sea Turtle Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Pamukkale University and the director of the center immediately recognized that 3D printing might be the turtle's best hope. The center then partnered with BTech Innovation and used CT scans to create a 3D model of the turtle's damaged jaws, which allowed for a custom-fitted implant made from 3D printed titanium. 3. Beauty the Bald Eagle Bald eagles use their beaks to clean themselves, eat, and drink, so when poor Beauty was discovered in a dump in Alaska with her beak shot almost all the way off, rescuers knew they needed to act quickly or the bird would starve. X-ray images were taken of the eagle to help create a 3D model of Beauty's face and a prosthetic was then modeled based on this model. While the prosthetic might not be strong enough to let Beauty survive in the wild, it was enough to let her eat, drink and clean herself again. 4. Derby the Dog (Video Link) Derby was born with deformed front legs and suffered from very limited mobility before he was put under the foster care of Tara Anderson, an employee at 3D Systems. Tara took advantage of her position to help get Derby up and running again. The pup's first pair of 3D legs looked like a modified set of wheels and was designed to get Derby used to being off of the ground, without giving him too far to tumble if he did take a spill. When it came time to create a more permanent option that would allow him to stand as high as a normal dog his size, the original design just couldn't maintain proper balance, so the team went back to the drawing board. The end result was a slightly strange looking set of plastic booties in a modified figure-8 shape. He may look a little strange running on his big plastic legs, but now he walks and sits just like any other healthy pup. 5. Philip the Duck Apparently ducks have won the 3D prosthetic lottery because while researching this article, I immediately found manydifferent stories of ducks that had lost their feet and were saved by 3D printing. It seems their highly specialized feet are all too easily damaged. (Video Link) Perhaps the most notable story was that of Philip from Wisconsin, who lost both of his feet due to frostbite. That meant he needed two new feet in order to survive. Philip may appreciate getting to walk again, but the poor duck probably has no idea that he was about an hour away from being euthanized before the prospect of 3D printed feet saved his life.  6. Tieta and Grecia the Toucans Toucans don't just have their big beautiful beaks for looks, they actually help with temperature regulation, mating, foraging and eating. But in 2015, not one, but two different toucans lost half of their beaks and were saved thanks to the use of 3D prosthetics. Replacing a toucan beak is no easy task, the beaks are both strong and lightweight, helping the animals regulate their temperature while allowing them to pick fruit from fragile branches. While the 3D beaks are a lifesaver for the rescued toucans, the sad part is that these animals can never be released into the wild. On the upside, they can find other animals in the sanctuary to mate with and the pair can raise chicks that could be set free at some point. Who knows, maybe Tieta and Grecia could become mates, loving on each other's 3D beaks. 7. Bagpipes the Penguin Since penguins can't fly, their feet are particularly important to their mobility. So when Bagpipes lost his foot after a fishing-line accident, rescuers noticed he kept suffering from pressure wounds after trying to get around on his little stump. His 3D replacement was designed by Dr. Don Clucas, a senior lecturer in design and manufacturing from the University of Canterbury. He said that trying to get a scan of the active penguin's foot was the hardest part of the whole project. While his first foot improved the situation, the team was already dedicated to finding an improved version that would truly mimic Bagpipe's natural foot and stay on his existing limb better. In the meanwhile, the prototypes would be printed in a plastic material, but once they found a perfect fit, the team said they would print it using a rubber material so Bagpipe could have a better grip on slippery ice. 8. Holly the Horse (Video Link) Holly suffers from lamintis, which causes pain and inflammation between the hoof and bone. When her veterinarian saw a news article about a team printing 3D, custom-fitted shoes for a racehorse, he thought that might just be the solution to Holly's problem. "The new shoes will work to redistribute weight away from the painful areas of the laminitic foot and give Holly, and horses like her, the chance to recover," Veterinarian Wells-Smith said. 9. Hiss Majesty the Lizard Hiss Majesty is a semi-aquatic caiman lizard who lost his rear leg to cancer. The 16 year old lizard had quite the loving family at his home in Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, including a team of 3D designers, veterinarians, and animal specialists. While Hiss was quite a patient medical patient and sat perfectly still as his good leg was set in molding materials, finding a 3D prosthetic to perfectly fit the lizard's strangely shaped legs wasn't easy. In fact, his medical team tried more than ten designs with no success. (Video Link) So why was the team so dedicated to making more 3D models even though Hiss seems to be pretty comfortable with his latest prosthetic? Because Hiss is an incredibly patient lizard and his keepers are hoping that their research could help other lizards in the future -including those who might not be so patient and might not do as well with the team's earliest models. And, there's always the promise of the team to change the lizard's name to Bionic Hiss Majesty once they find the perfect fit. Perhaps one of the coolest things about these stories is that when one animal is saved with a 3D printed part, it makes it drastically easier to help future animals suffering from similar injuries. Who knows, in the future, maybe animals with injured limbs can be helped just by vets turning on their computer, downloading a file, modifying the plans and printing out a prosthetic.

How to Win an Election Posted: 28 Sep 2016 02:00 AM PDT You can’t lose when you 1. think outside of the box, and 2. tell the people what they want to hear, even if it’s something they haven’t thought of before. That may even work on your opponent! This is the latest from Raynato Castro and Alex Culang at Buttersafe.

The Town of The Dead Posted: 28 Sep 2016 12:00 AM PDT In 1900, the city of San Francisco decided not to bury any more dead people in the city limits. In 1914, they decided to move the existing cemeteries, which meant digging up thousands of remains. All San Francisco residents were to be buried instead in Colma, a small community south of the city. Today, Colma is home to 1,800 living residents and 1.5 million dead including some of America’s most famous personalities such as the denim trouser pioneer, Levi Strauss, newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, and business tycoon Amadeo Giannini, the founder of Bank of America. The large number of under-the-ground population have earned the town the somber moniker “the City of the Silent”. Colma’s residents, however, take their situation with humor. The town’s official slogan is “It’s great to be alive in Colma.” Read about Colma, the small town that grew into the funeral business, and see lots of pictures, at Amusing Planet. (Image credit: Colma Historical Association)

Bread Posted: 27 Sep 2016 10:00 PM PDT It’s a big, scary world out there. Leaving the soft, warm cocoon of family can make one turn hard. Is this an apt analogy, or just plain silliness from Lunarbaboon?

Flushing Mercury Down the Toilet Posted: 27 Sep 2016 08:00 PM PDT Mercury is a dense metal, but it’s also liquid, which makes it a rather odd substance to play experiment with. The same volume of mercury is 13 times heavier than water. Mad scientist CodyDon Reeder wondered if you could flush mercury down a toilet. No, not your toilet, because it’s dangerous to put mercury in the sewer system. But a working toilet with a closed water system? Let’s see. (YouTube link) He also wondered how much mercury it would take to stop up a toilet, and then what would it be like to flush a toilet with mercury and no water! A toilet tank of mercury weighs about 240 pounds, so that in itself presented challenges, but Cody managed to do it. This is way more interesting than you might think. YouTube commenters say he should be nominated for an Ig Nobel next year. -via Metafilter

The Funniest Thing To Wear This Halloween- A Terrible Jared Leto Joker Costume Posted: 27 Sep 2016 06:00 PM PDT (Image Link) Jared Leto's portrayal of The Joker in Suicide Squad was not well received by fans and critics, but kids who don't know better think this System Of A Clown version of The Joker is the coolest thing since pre-torn skinny jeans. When Mom won't take you to Spencer's Gifts pic.twitter.com/vt4xwSAb5c — Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) September 23, 2016 But there appears to be one positive outcome of the Leto Joker debacle- he inadvertantly created the ultimate ironic Halloween costume. (Image Link) Of course, there will be people dressed as Leto's Joker who will wear the costume with pride, so try not to grab your head and scream in their face when you see them standing there looking cool in that cheesy costume! (Image Link) -Via FAILBlog

A Health Benefit of Riding Roller Coasters Posted: 27 Sep 2016 04:00 PM PDT Michigan State professor and urological surgeon David Wartinger noticed that some of his patients tended to come home from vacation with fewer kidney stones, mainly because they told him about passing kidney stones while visiting the Disney theme parks in Orlando. One man passed three kidney stones, one every time he road the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Wartinger decided to investigate by going to Florida himself. First, Wartinger used a 3-D printer to create a clear silicone model of that three-time-stone patient’s kidney. He then filled the kidney with stones and urine. (Not real urine, I assumed, as I know the park already has plenty.) Then he and colleague Marc Mitchell bought two tickets and flew to Orlando. Of course, the researchers had to get permission from Disney World before bringing the model kidney onto the rides. “It was a little bit of luck,” Wartinger recalls. “We went to guest services, and we didn't want them to wonder what was going on—two adult men riding the same ride again and again, carrying a backpack. We told them what our intent was, and it turned out that the manager that day was a guy who recently had a kidney stone. He called the ride manager and said, do whatever you can to help these guys, they're trying to help people with kidney stones.” Amazingly, the fake kidney passed the stones in the real urine, in 16.67 percent of the rides in the front of the coaster and 63.89 percent of rides in the back of the coaster. “No, it was urine. It was mine.” Read about Wartinger’s roller coaster adventures (and more about kidney stones) at the Atlantic. -Thanks, John Farrier!    (Image credit: SteamFan)

Free Food - They're Always Thinking With Their Stomachs! Posted: 27 Sep 2016 02:00 PM PDT Free food by NemiMakeit & Licunatt Most animals don't understand the words that come out of human mouths, but they've all learned to listen for one particularly rewarding word- "food". When critters hear the word "food" they come running, and even if the critter in question is a bit skittish around humans they'll stick around to see if they can score a free meal when the human's not looking. Urban critters like rats and raccoons have learned another important word that makes their hungry little lives much easier-"free". And when a city dwelling critter hears the words "free" and "food" used together in a sentence they know they won't be dumpster diving for their daily meal! Celebrate the animal kingdom's bottomless appetite with this Free Food t-shirt by NemiMakeit & Licunatt, it's the cutest way to tell the urban wildlife you're down to throw some scraps their way! Visit Nemimakeit's Facebook fan page and official webite, then head on over to her NeatoShop for more adorably geeky designs. Visit Licunatt's Facebook fan page and official website, then head on over to her NeatoShop for more wonderfully geeky designs: Adopt A Stardog Dragon Cuteness Homerbusters Tic Toc Doctah View more designs by NemiMakeit | Licunatt |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!

How Big Companies Think Social Media Works Posted: 27 Sep 2016 02:00 PM PDT Corporations and other large companies are still figuring out how to use social media to help them create a buzz and make money, and just when they start to get their online act together they blow it big time, often via Twitter. And yet, as this Rock Paper Cynic comic shows, these large companies still expect their social media managers to work internet miracles, convinced they hold the secret to creating a viral video... -Via Geeks Are Sexy

Backwards Thru Time with Sam Klemke Posted: 27 Sep 2016 12:00 PM PDT Sam Klemke recorded some footage of himself every year from 1977 through at least 2011 (and probably since then as well). In this video, small clips are shown in reverse order. This project was eventually made into a documentary.  (YouTube link) While we see him getting younger, he constantly talks about how old he is getting. I suppose that’s normal. Today is my birthday, and I can’t help but think about how I’ve never been this old. Yet I think the same thought every year. -via reddit

Hilarious Panorama Photo Fails Make Cats Look Like Catbuses Posted: 27 Sep 2016 10:00 AM PDT The Catbus in My Neighbor Totoro captured the imagination of cat lovers, who wondered what real cats would look like if they were extra long with a bunch more legs, like a cat-ipede. Now, thanks to these panoramic photography fails by Japanese Twitter user @hanamomoact we needn't wonder what a real life catbus would look like any longer! Hanamomoact shot these funny catbus photos in the Middle East using an iPhone in panorama mode, the elongation a result of the cat moving in the same direction as the lens. -Via design you trust

The Long and Curious History of Curry Posted: 27 Sep 2016 09:00 AM PDT “Curry” has become the unofficial cuisine of England, which has boosted that country’s culinary reputation considerably. It was once considered exotic, but shouldn’t have been, since it is eaten around the world and even appeared in an American cookbook as far back as 1824. In fact, the only place that doesn’t have a curry tradition is India. That word “curry,” now as then, has a meaning as vague and inclusive as its ingredients. It can mean any stew made with “Indian” spices, as well as the yellow spice powder (usually a mixture of turmeric, coriander, cumin, and fenugreek) used in raisin-studded chicken salads. It’s not difficult to trace the spread of curry—it traveled by sea, following traders and slavers and laborers, the ancient vectors of colony and conquest—but the word itself is an altogether different beast, a bastard with many potential parents and no clear pedigree. The Portuguese first came to India’s palm-toothed southern shores in 1498, in search of cardamom, cloves, and black pepper, each among the world’s most valuable commodities. Lacking a word to describe the spicy, coconut-thickened stews they found there, they went ahead and made one up: carel, taken from the Tamil word kari. From those early traders, the Indian dishes we call curry followed the spread of imperialism. Read about how curry took over the world at the A.V. Club.   (Image credit:  Nick Wanserski)

Guy Is Haunted By The Teddy Bears He Gave His Ex-Girlfriends In This Horror Short Posted: 27 Sep 2016 08:00 AM PDT Teddy bears and other plush toys are often all that's physically left behind after a couple breaks up, and the couple's attachment to these toys varies according to what these items represent. But does anybody ever stop to wonder how these toys feel about being a physical reminder of love gone sour? Of course we don't, which is why it would be easy for the events that transpire in Almog Avidan Antonir's short film Teddy Bears Are For Lovers to go down in a bedroom near you. (NSFW language) TEDDY BEARS ARE FOR LOVERS from Short of the Week on Vimeo. This is why you should always keep a Teddy Ruxpin doll loaded with a death metal tape at the ready, so he can help you quell a plush toy uprising... -Via io9

10 Interesting Hobbit Houses Posted: 27 Sep 2016 07:00 AM PDT The Lord of the Rings showed us the cozy underground homes of the Shire, where Hobbits live. They were intriguing, how they meshed with the surrounding natural world, and their Middle-Earth details. There are quite a few Hobbit homes in the real world, either specifically designed to be Tolkien or that happen to share the esthetic. Underground homes are quite eco-friendly and energy-efficient, and some of these houses fit into the landscape so well that you might not even realize they are there, like the Dune House in Florida.   Look too quickly, and you may miss the fact that a house is built under all of the greenery. It’s called the Dune House, is located in Atlantic Beach, Florida, and is practically hidden in the landscape. As far as Hobbit houses go, this one is completely decked out. It’s a two story building and was built in 1975 by famed architect William Morgan — that means he had a jump on the trend before LOTR was even a thing. The home is worth $1.4 million dollars, and it definitely looks expensive inside. Well, The Hobbit was published in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the ‘50s, but most of the ten homes on this list are relatively recent and resemble the Hobbit homes in the movies. You can even visit and sleep in a couple of them!

The Most Shameful RPG Dice of All Time Posted: 27 Sep 2016 06:00 AM PDT Role players love their dice, but not all die are created equal. While percentile dice require you to roll two different dice, it's still less unwieldy than using a D100 like the one pictured above. I'm sure you can imagine it doesn't stop roling very easily. The Robot's Voice has compiled a list of the 10 most shameful dice of all time and while I don't agree with all of their decisions (I'm a sucker for crystal dice no matter what anyone says), their criticisms are hilarious.

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