Neatorama

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• A Shocking Expedition to Find a Mythical Land
• Hey, Rich People, Can You Invest Your Money Into Rewilding Instead?
• The Last Unclaimed Land On Earth
• Modern Interpretation Of Terracotta Clay Pot Keeps Food Cool Without Electricity
• Graduate Student Cradles Her Thesis Like A Newborn In This Photoshoot
• Best Churches In The World
• Josh Sundquist's 2021 Halloween Costume
• Halloween Hijinks Caught on Doorbell Cameras
• The Poetry of Patent Medicine

A Shocking Expedition to Find a Mythical Land Posted: 31 Oct 2021 04:03 AM PDT In 1908, competing expeditions to reach the North Pole were undertaken by Robert Peary and by Frederick Cook. Both claimed to have reached the Pole, Cook in 1908 and Peary in 1909. Cook's records were eventually deemed insufficient, and Peary is regarded as the first to reach the Pole, although the ruling is still controversial. A 1914 followup expedition to check the claims would make a compelling movie. During the Pole expeditions, Peary claimed to have found a new body of land he called Crocker Land. Frederick Cook also identified a previously-unknown land mass he called Bradley Land. Finding those places would go a long way toward confirming the explorers' records, but ultimately, neither piece of land existed. Nevertheless, an expedition led by five scientists set out five years later to find Crocker Land. As with many Arctic expeditions, anything that could possibly wrong did so. But in this journey, motivations that could be classified as downright evil contributed to the decline in expedition members, particularly among the Inuit guides. These included lust, lying, cultural genocide, and murder. All that was on top of the cold, disease, and thin ice that endangered so many other Arctic expeditions. Read about the ill-fated Crocker Land Expedition at historywithatwist. -via Strange Company (Image: Expedition leader Donald MacMillan and Inuit guide Minik Wallace, taken from a video of the expedition preparations)

Hey, Rich People, Can You Invest Your Money Into Rewilding Instead? Posted: 31 Oct 2021 12:35 AM PDT It's a very valid investment!  Natural capital startup Real Wild Estates Company is now convincing investors and landowners to turn their attention (and money) into acquiring land to rewild, restore biodiversity, and store carbon. The company says that it has tens of millions of pounds already pledged to their cause. With the funds they have amassed, the startup aims to create more than 100,000 acres of wild land across Britain by 2030. The investment works as a tool for conservation efforts and a way for the investors to get more money from tourism, glamping and rewilding safaris, and from the government's post-Brexitenvironmental land management schemes.  Image credit: Geran de Klerk /Unsplash

The Last Unclaimed Land On Earth Posted: 31 Oct 2021 12:33 AM PDT Bir Tawil is the last unclaimed, habitable land on Earth. Wedged in between Egypt and Sudan, the oddity has captured the attention of thrill-seekers, curious minds, and people who want a chance to own or rule an unowned plot of land.  At the moment, Dwain Coward, a 41-year-old barrister from south London, proclaims himself the king of Bir Tawil. He even did a coronation ceremony, complete with a crown and oath to develop his 'new country.' His interest in the land is due to the belief that Bir Tawil can become an 'oasis of possibility.' When travel restrictions due to the pandemic are loosened, the barrister aims to travel to the land in order to redouble his efforts in persuading stakeholders to invest their futures in his vision. Image credit: Dwain Coward

Modern Interpretation Of Terracotta Clay Pot Keeps Food Cool Without Electricity Posted: 31 Oct 2021 12:30 AM PDT It looks pretty, too!  A Zeer pot is a traditional pot-in-pot refrigerator that dates back as far as 3000BC. Surprisingly enough, this kitchen gadget is still used in India and Nigeria. These kinds of pots are composed of two clay pots, an outer pot lined with wet sand, and an inner pot where food items can be stored.  London-based designer Ellie Perry created a modern interpretation of the Zeer pot called the Terracooler. Unlike its predecessor, this new pot is tri-tiered and fits right on the kitchen counter. Learn more about this handy kitchen tool here.  Image via Yanko Design

Graduate Student Cradles Her Thesis Like A Newborn In This Photoshoot Posted: 31 Oct 2021 12:25 AM PDT I wonder if the student would mind if I borrow her idea? God knows we pour blood, sweat, and tears into making our thesis. It's a very difficult feat, and we need to celebrate our success in every possible way!  PhD Candidate Sarah Whelan Curtis finished her thesis in epigenetics after four long years of hard work. The Emory University student decided to create her very own 'newborn photos' with her 'baby.'  Image credit: Sarah Whelan Curtis

Best Churches In The World Posted: 31 Oct 2021 12:23 AM PDT You can visit these extravagant and beautiful churches and marvel at their unique architecture. Each one is a testament to the trends of its time. They serve as a record of architectural trends that future generations can study regardless of religious affiliation. From detailed sculptures that adorn these buildings, to their towering tops and onion domes, Luxury Columnist lists the top religious edifices around the globe. Check the full list here.  Image credit: via Luxury Columnist

Josh Sundquist's 2021 Halloween Costume Posted: 30 Oct 2021 06:45 PM PDT Josh Sundquist has become a legend for his clever Halloween costumes that always incorporate the fact that he has only one leg. We've posted almost all of them over the years. Today he revealed what he's been working on for 2021. He's a microscope! You have to wonder where the inspiration for this came from. Does it have a hidden meaning, or did he decide to do it because it's difficult? Sundquist has made himself into inanimate objects before, like the leg lamp and the IHOP sign. The Pixar lamp is definitely animated, even though it's a lamp. Oh yeah, and then there was the Christmas tree, which was featured in a rather hilarious video that runs through Sundquist's previous costumes. -via Bored Panda

Halloween Hijinks Caught on Doorbell Cameras Posted: 30 Oct 2021 12:23 PM PDT People who use Ring doorbell and security cameras send in unusual things they've recorded to the company, which then makes occasional compilation videos for our amusement. This is the Halloween edition, in which we see plenty of costumed characters, some acting as expected and others not so much. There are also creepy critters, from spiders and bats to a bear who wants that pumpkin and a coyote who wants that house cat. While the narration can be a bit annoying at times, they also slip in some Halloween trivia in order to avoid any hint of silence. -via Boing Boing

The Poetry of Patent Medicine Posted: 30 Oct 2021 11:25 AM PDT Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills were a patent medicine first manufactured in 1854 and promoted as a cure for dyspepsia, liver trouble, women's ailments, pimples, and a host of other maladies. They were manufactured and sold by various Comstock family businesses and their partners, and are still sold today in Australia. But what makes them really interesting is the marketing. The advertisement shown above is dated to somewhere between 1870 and 1900. It has a cat and a poem, which draws the attention, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with medicine. It turns out that this is a series of ads, with a much longer complete poem that tells us what happens to the cat. Continue reading to see the rest of the series.        I was able to read a history of the company, and learned that there was never a Dr. Morse involved. The medicine was supposedly developed by a man named Moore, who lost all rights to the remedy's name. I learned that the story of the medicine's origins was made up of whole cloth. But I never learned what an "Indian root" was, nor what was actually in the original pills. By the 1930s, the company was in new hands in Australia. By then, law mandated that ingredients must be revealed, and at that time, Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills contained aloe, mandrake, gamboge, jalap, and cayenne pepper. Today the pills are marketed as a laxative. See, if you read and waited long enough, you find that the poor tomcat needed Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills to help in his recovery from the grave injuries he suffered. That's worth writing a poem about!   (Images sourced from the Boston Public Library)

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