Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Monday, June 06, 2011
Interesting Links
4 Little Creatures That Pack a Big Scientific Punch.The Mystery of the Canadian Whiskey Fungus. This detective story will keep you at the edge of your seat, even as you keep reminding yourself that it’s about fungus.
How does a man go on with his life after his wife and daughters are brutally murdered? Bill Petit’s story will make you cry and consider the value of the death penalty. (via Metafilter)
6 Personality Quirks You Didn’t Know Were Medical Conditions. Complete with hard-to-pronounce and impossible-to-spell names. (NSFW text)
Can Math Help You Find Mr. or Miss Right? Maybe, but only unselfishness and commitment will help you keep him/her.
The Republican's 2012 budget proposal contains provisions for limiting, or in some cases eliminating, food stamps. Take that, hungry kids!
What's the scariest, weirdest, most mysterious web site you ever visited? Reddit answers with a big thread.
A History of Ultraviolence in Film. You might laugh at the things that could get a movie banned back in the day, but they caused me nightmares. (via Gorilla Mask)
6 Presidential Siblings and the Headaches They Caused. You can pick your friends, your nose, and your political appointments, but you have no choice of brothers and sisters.
Where Prisoners Can Do Anything, Except Leave. (NYT link) The San Antonio prison in Venezuela is run by inmates for inmates.
In 1900, a new dress could cost a couple month’s wages. The History of a Cheap Dress explains how clothing used to be, and what is has become. (via Boing Boing)
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Friday, June 03, 2011
Friday Fun Links
Cyriak Harris has a weird new animation about how sheep multiply. If you know Cyriak, you can guess what it’s like.This wakeboarder tried to tell us he planned this stunt to turn out that way all along. But he couldn’t do it again in a million years! (Warning: maniacal cackling)
In America, the faucet gives you water. But in Soviet Russia…. you get a visual pun that needs no translation whatsoever.
More Than Just a Toaster. That friendly little appliance can be a lifeline!
Adam Ruben, PhD. wrote about what kind of parents scientists turn out to be -mainly geeky. The article is both funny and accurate, as I was raised by a scientist father. (via Boing Boing)
Bunk’s Perfect Birthday. What could you give a two-year old dog that can make him this happy?
Is your father/husband/grandpa a geek, or does he occasionally display geek-like tendencies? Then you need the Fathers Day Gift Guide for Geeks!
20 Hilarious Boat Names.
Ambigrams and Upside-down Heads.
Amazing Grace on Saws
From the YouTube page:
Even though Uncle Eldon and Uncle Harold protested that this instrument does not lend itself well to duets, we convinced them to try it. I mean, how often do you have two people in the same room who play the saw?Well, the odds are good that it will happen more often if they are brothers. (via Arbroath)
Thursday, June 02, 2011
The Shared Lives of Unusually Close Twins
Most of us, at one time or another, imagine what it would be like if there were another person just like us. Twins already know what this is like. They have the same family, the same childhood experiences, and in the case of identical twins, the same DNA, yet they are separate people who eventually build their individual lives. But some twins share more than others. Read about twins who share things the rest of us cannot understand in this article I wrote for mental_floss.
Good Reads and Information
Our Scandalous Vice Presidents. These men obviously had too much free time on their hands.The wisdom of crowds is incredibly fragile. Altogether, we are pretty smart, but when we start adjusting our attitudes to match those of others, we can become sheep.
Housework Is Bad for Both Sexes. And that’s why we need children to do it for us!
There’s no such thing as a jellyfish. However, there are an awful lot of animals we call jellyfish, and they are quite interesting.
When Good Science Goes Bad: 3 Ideas that Went Really Wrong. Two of these are obvious with hindsight, but the third might surprise you.
4 “Facts” That Have Changed Since You Were In School.
The Sex Trafficking of American Girls. New victims are younger than ever, controlled by violence and drugs, and worth their weight in gold.
How Far Do Cats Roam? Pet and feral cats were fitted with electronics to trace their movements over two years, with a map to show how far they went. (via Pawesome)
The real life Band of Brothers kept their heroism to themselves until their World War II experiences were made into a book and then a miniseries. The Art of Manliness took some of their quotes and made them into a series of awesome motivational posters. (via Gorilla Mask)
The 10 Worst Ads. For various reasons.
A Short History of the Campsite. We’ve gone from roughing it in a pup tent to renting a space for an RV, and developed traditions and rituals for the process along the way.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Miss Cellania T-shirts
Finally, after six years of blogging, there's a Miss Cellania t-shirt! This lovely design by Chris Murphy is based on the masthead art by Brother Bill. Now you can wear Groucho glasses without compromising your field of vision or scaring the children! Just $14.95. The shirt is also available as a hoodie or sweatshirt if you prefer. Three different shirt colors to choose from. The Miss Cellania T-shirt is the first item in the new Miss Cellania Shop at Neatorama!
It's like a store within a store at the NeatoShop. Besides the t-shirt, you'll find other items I personally recommend (and there will be more added as we go along). The best part is that I get a cut of any purchase you make -without affecting the everyday price. Get your Miss Cellania t-shirt today, and check out the other items at the Miss Cellania Shop!
Funny Links
Things I've Learned from Law & Order. And more things.The Playing for Change project recorded people all over the world performing Gimme Shelter. It’s a global jam session!
Cats, when given the opportunity, will engage in gambling or other games of chance. This German cat is pretty good at it.
A long reddit pun comment thread based on one word. I love these.
A Danish football league for 14-year-olds got a boost a group converged on a game unbeknownst to the players and made it feel like a championship final! They brought spectators, fervent fans, cheerleaders, a marching band, vendors, sports journalists, and soccer stars. A good time was had by all.
The Grand Rapids LipDub. A masterpiece of civic participation and timing.
Anatomy of the Centaur. This is what happens when mythology meets anatomy.
A socially awkward student has a unique method for making friends. I Steal Pets by Rachel Bloom is weird, funny, and disturbing …and has cute animals!
One Crime, Two Suspects. Will they ever figure out who trashed the trash?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Rodent, or NOT a Rodent?
According to Grandpa, any wild mammal that invades your home or garden is a rodent, often lovingly referred to as a “varmint.” This turns out to be not quite so. We know that mice, rats, and hamsters are rodents, but other animals that resemble mice or rats may or may not belong to the order Rodentia. Find out about quite a few of these animals in this article I posted at mental_floss.
Interesting Links
A guy on the highway saw a young driver texting, so he called the police and then started his video camera. That recording was given to the police, and stands as a testament to why you don’t text while driving. NSFW audio.According to a new book, Nazi scientists tried to train dogs to speak, read, and write at the School for Dog-Human Communication. The dogs, however, were intelligent enough to keep their education to themselves.
Top Ten Myths About the Brain. In other words, science marches on, while the same old sound bites are passed along from generation to generation.
Saskboy has a short course in global economics.
If high school was horrible because you were ostracized as a geek, you may be on the path to success. At least, compared to the popular kids who ruled the school.
People with long commutes to work have more health problems, pain, stress, loneliness, divorce, obesity, and unhappiness. Believe it; my happiness level went way up when I traded in a ten-minute commute for working at home. (via Metafilter)
The 50 State Conspiracy Road Trip. There’s a scandal for every state; some are proven facts and others are way out in left field -or are they? (via Gorilla Mask)
Graham Walker gives his Stanford University School of Medicine commencement address in 2008: What it means to be called “Doctor”.
R.I.P. Mars Spirit Rover. The little robot geologist went above and beyond the call of duty until he couldn’t anymore.
15 Things Your Lifeguard Won’t Tell You. Your best bet is to participate in your own safety. (via Breakfast Links)
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day Links
Five for Fighting, the story of the Sullivan brothers, who served together in the US Navy in World War II.
A gallery of soldiers coming home. There's something in my eye...
How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be.
Is it true that women prefer men in uniform?
How We’ve Commemorated the Civil War.
14 Hot Dog Horrors. Recipes you DO NOT WANT for Memorial Day.
Become the Memorial Day Grill Master.
Barbecue for Bastards.
10 Things to Remember About Memorial Day. And number 11 is: have a safe and happy holiday.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Friday Fun Links
In 1955, the Atomic Energy Commission started getting complaints from local citizens about nuclear testing. The government responded by publishing a cartoon booklet that made a nuclear blast seem like a family picnic. (via Gorilla Mask)14 Facts You Might Not Know about The Addams Family.
It's hard to pontificate on philosophy when your cat is a video photobomber.
This guy set out to build the biggest domino pyramid ever, with 13,482 dominoes. He spent five weeks, or 30 hours of work, and stacked 13,043 of the dominoes when the unthinkable happened.
In 2004, Dark Horse comics published a 10-page story starring both Han Solo and Indiana Jones. It was inspired by the legend of Bigfoot. (via Metafilter)
A little boy and an otter share a moment of hyperactivity. No surprise for those who know little boys and otters.
If you leave a camera sitting in the open and drive off, you shouldn’t be surprised when someone makes off with it. Even if that someone is a lion.
Do my eyes deceive me? Take a look at the top ten finalists in the 2011 Illusion of the Year contest.
If Boring Cereals Had Mascots, they would be boring mascots. Which aren’t necessary because real adults don’t require sugar coating or cartoon characters to eat breakfast.
What kind of entertainment would you expect at Maker Faire? Arc Attack performing the Dr. Who theme on Tesla coils as Adam Savage dances in a Faraday cage. Of course.
Marvin's Moments
Scenes featuring Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
11 Fictional Family Trees
They say you can’t tell the players without a program! When a story is an “epic saga” or a long-running series, some kind of guide will help immensely. Plot lines turn on family secrets, and fresh material is injected by the introduction of yet another relative. And sometimes, complicated bloodlines meet as characters marry each other (since a wedding and new babies will always boost ratings). To help you along, TV, movie, and literature geeks will chart out those relationships in family trees. See eleven of them in this article I posted at mental_floss.
Good Reads informative Links
Acrobat Tiny Kline crosses the rooftops between buildings in Times Square hanging by her teeth in 1932.The 15 Most Awesome Bonsai Trees On Earth. Bonsai trees are cute and all, but I had no idea certain trees were famous!
How the Indy 500 Came About. It was carefully calculated to keep you watching as long as possible.
Göbekli Tepe was built 11,600 years ago, before the pyramids, before Stonehenge, and before anything else we’ve found. The ancient temple in Turkey hints that religion, and not agriculture, caused the birth of civilization.
Last year, we brought you the story of heiress Huguette Clark and the controversy over who controls her fortune. Clark died Tuesday at age 104, and the investigation into her finances continues. (via Metafilter)
For the class of 2011, lowered expectations may be the only way to get a job after graduation. A response from a 25-year-old writer makes the Lost Generation sound a lot like the Baby Boomers.
10 Facts About Wrigley Field. Tradition can carry a team even when their talent can’t.
Tatiana and Krista Hogan 4-year-old craniopagus conjoined twins. The connection between their brains may allow them to feel each other’s sensations, and possibly read each other’s thoughts! (NYT link)
I can’t vouch for the quality or the safety of this recipe, but English Russia has a how-to post on making your own absinthe. One of the steps is to put the concoction away for two weeks, presumably to give you time to ponder the wisdom of the whole enterprise. (via Dangerous Minds)
10 Modern Movies That Are Better in Black and White. Includes video and commentary for all ten, which convinced me..
7 Things You Should Know About The Indy 500. Especially if you want to show off to your guests as you watch the race this holiday weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)