Why is the middle finger offensive? Find out over at Mental Floss

My New Fave Chimp

Miss C linked to this gem. I was delighted when I watched it, very charming.

Awesome Bumble Bee Costume

Tarantinos Top 20

Great list

Sick men

My husband has the flu at the moment, so I am living this

Dating Humor:
How To Deal With Man Flu

Hilarity

NSFW language.

Alpha Male

Amazing Stuntman - The top video clips of the week are here

This is really very clever. I particularly like the Halo one.

ZOMG PANCAKES!

Neatorama posted a story about this nifty little machine today.

Although it’s pricey at $3,500, this kitchen gadget will churn out 200 pancakes in one hour. The manufacturer is marketing it toward convenience stores and cafeterias, but I’d say that there’d be a strong demand from individual homes.

If I had some money burning a hole in my pocket I would DEFINITELY buy one.

You can check out the original post at Neatorama

Tape Converter

I found this awesome little device the other day, and I'm finally getting around to posting it.

TapeWriter is yet another one of those products that allows you to convert your old music collection into digital files. This specific device does it from cassette tapes to MP3 files.

This definitely would have been useful for me a few years ago before I moved across the planet and threw all my old tapes out

see more Lol Celebs

Crazy train

United throws... Compassion (out the window)

You might remember (ha ha) a post I made earlier this month about United Airlines throwing guitars and the bang up job they did of remedying the situation.
Here is another story of their stella customer service

Turning White

The Brisbane Times has an interesting article about a man in the US who is turning white.

"I'm a black man turning white on television and people can see it," says Thomas, an anchor and entertainment reporter for the local Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate. "If you've watched me over the years, you've seen my hands completely change from brown to white."

Thomas has vitiligo, a disorder in which pigment-making cells are destroyed. White patches appear on different parts of the body, tissues in the mouth and nose, and the retina.

"There is no cause. There is no cure, and it's very random," Thomas says. "I could turn all the way white or mostly white."

I can't imagine how difficult this would be for a person. As Corey Williams, the authour of the article puts it,

experts say vitiligo robs people of self-confidence, evokes ridicule and unpleasant stares, and pushes some into unforced seclusion

Feel free to check out the rest of the article here

Foul Mouthed Robot

see more Lol Celebs

Pour Some Sugar on Me

Music Royalties for Dummies

Geeks are Sexy has a very interesting article on music copyright laws.
They cover who gets what from where, ranging from record sales to the internet.

Music is a little more complicated than other kinds of art in that there are two completely separate copyrights – the rights to the song and the rights to the sound recording. So when you hear, say, the song “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails, there are two pieces of the pie to carve up: (1) ownership in the song (the composition) by Trent Reznor, because he wrote it; and (2) ownership in the sound recording

Check out the whole story here. It makes for interesting reading.

The Language of Autism

The YouTube clip opens with a woman facing away from the camera, rocking back and forth, flapping her hands awkwardly, and emitting an eerie hum. She then performs strange repetitive behaviors: slapping a piece of paper against a window, running a hand lengthwise over a computer keyboard, twisting the knob of a drawer. She bats a necklace with her hand and nuzzles her face against the pages of a book.

Autism is still something of a mystery to us. The general consensus for a long time has been that autistic people were damaged, unable to interact with the world around them in a meaningful way, and it was even thought by many that the most severely afflicted were not aware of what was happening around them.
Now because of this amazing woman we know that that is not true.
The youtube clip is long, but it is captivating and well worth the time it takes to watch. (if you are really impatient, skip to about 3 mins in, that is where the 'translation' begins)



Don't miss the rest of the story.

RUN!

Badassery. The pacificts way

Richard Feynman began a successful academic career, during which he worked on subjects as diverse as quantum electrodynamics, nanotechnology, string theory, quantum computing and theoretical physics. In his free time he studied biology, art, juggling, percussion, lock-picking and Maya hieroglyphs. Sadly, he contracted two rare forms of cancer and died (because one didn’t have the power to finish him off), but not before he could utter his famous last words: “I’d hate to die twice. It’s so boring.”

In my opinion, thats real badassery. Check out Richards story and 9 more like it here

Amazing Frozen Garden

This appeals to both the science nerd and the garden nerd in me.

nearly 1000 specimens are immersed in twenty-five tons of liquid silicone kept at a constant temperature of -80˚ Celsius. They can neither grow or perish

Check out the rest of the pics here.

Segregated Prom

I really wasn't aware that this sort of thing still happened. Since 1971, when schools were integrated, parents in Montgomery County have been throwing racially segregated proms. Surrounding areas have made a change and now have school funded integrated proms, but Montgomery County parents are refusing to budge.

Students of both races say that interracial friendships are common at Montgomery County High School. Black and white students also date one another, though often out of sight of judgmental parents. “Most of the students do want to have a prom together,” says Terra Fountain, a white 18-year-old who graduated from Montgomery County High School last year and is now living with her black boyfriend. “But it’s the white parents who say no. … They’re like, if you’re going with the black people, I’m not going to pay for it.”

The full story is here

Tiny robot makes coffee

This awesome little manga inspired robot has been created by a Japanese person who goes under the nickname Clockwork and who is a true fan of the manga culture and robotics.

Awesome. Could this be the beginings of AntroPC's?

Shamelessly Stolen From Geek Alerts

Swearing relieves pain

This may shock and amaze some readers, but recent studies from Keele University have shown that swearing relieves pain.

No shit.

"While it isn’t clear how or why this link exists, the team believes that the pain-lessening effect occurs because swearing triggers our natural ‘fight-or-flight’ response."

There is a flipside though. According to the Dr Richards who headed the study

"If they want to use this pain-lessening effect to their advantage they need to do less casual swearing."

So next time you stub your toe, let a few choice words rip, its good for you.

Zubbles!

The simple chemistry of bubbles — two layers of soap sandwiching a layer of water about a millionth of an inch thick — has foiled virtually every attempt to modify them. Bubbles that last a little longer or can be blown a little bigger have since been created, but adding color, what some toy manufactures have called the "holy grail" of toys, has remained frustratingly elusive.

Not anymore!
I have been following this story since Alex from over at Neatorama posted this article in 2005. I'm very excited to see the finished product is now available to buy.
Miss C (as always) has the story.

Amazing Tricks

Some of these are pretty damn impressive.


Shamelessly Stolen from Baireman over at YesButNoButYes

I love the fact that people seem so concerned

noooo Dr. Evil. Why would you do it?!

The life of a model

The glitz and glamour illusion of the modeling industry are stripped away and flushed forever in the documentary Picture Me.

Picture Me Trailer

Sara’s co-director (and ex-boyfriend) Ole Schell joined her on go-sees and photo shoots for five years, taping hours and hours worth of pretty peoples’ lives. And though the pair filmed the razzle-dazzle that all wannabe catwalkers dream about—gossiping backstage at shows, basking in Karl Lagerfeld’s glow, earning $150,000 a day—young models kept revealing a seedier side of the modeling industry less known to us mortals.

It should be interesting. Don't forget to check the full story in the link above.

Need some Zen in your life?

Then this might be the game for you.
Perfect Balance is easy enough to play, just drop the pieces you're given onto the fixed object so that they all balance. Simple... Right?

Throwing Guitars

Now, I don't want to get into the habit of stealing all of Miss C's posts, but I thought this one deserves to be spread as far and wide as possible.

"On that first leg of the flight were seated at the rear of the aircraft and upon landing and waiting to deplane in order to make our connection a woman sitting behind me, not aware that we were musicians cried out: “My god they’re throwing guitars out there”. Our bass player Mike looked out the window in time to see his bass being heaved without regard by the United baggage handlers. My $3500 710 Taylor had been thrown before his."

the video is gold, but be sure to read the full story.

Sceintists create... Human sperm?

I'm not too sure about this one.

"Scientists in Newcastle claim to have created human sperm in the laboratory in what they say is a world first.

The researchers believe the work could eventually help men with fertility problems to conceive."

What do you think? Helping people or playing God?

Who sucks at Craigslist?

If you have been hanging around the internets for a while, you have more than likely come across craigslist. If you spent more than a few seconds on it you know it has a certain amount of suck posted. One brave blogger has trawled the posts and brought you the suckeyst of the sucky.
I present to you... You Suck at Craigslist

According to the Amazing Fact Generator

"Just like anyone else getting a shot, the arms of condemned prisoners are swabbed with alcohol prior to lethal injection in order to keep the area sterile."

Is it just me or does this defy logic?

Fail Bus is a Win

This cracked me up


shamelessly stolen from Fail Blog

Grow some 'shrooms

You've probably seen something like this before, but it's worth posting again.

Put the lime in the coconut

I love the internet

I really do.

Her name is Elizabeth OK?!

Some people are touchy about their names...

Why Darwin Was Wrong.

This one really got to me.

I mean honestly, what good could possibly come of any situation where fireworks are aimed at your genitals?



shamelessly stole from: Miss Cellania