Friday, 30 May 2014
Cracked has 40 of these, although I found a lot of them pretty unimpressive. Here are a few favorites:
via Geekpress.
Harpo Marx Naked (OK for work).
Kurt Vonnegut's May 29, 1945 letter home after imprisonment in an underground slaughterhouse during the Dresden bombing.
Squirrel Tissue in Buttock: until now "gross contamination of an open wound with squirrel flesh [was] an unreported event."
How to make your own wrist-mounted X-Men Pyro flamethrowers, Wolverine claws, and Magneto magnetic shoes.
5 Reasons Why Everyone is Suddenly Putting Butter In Their Coffee. In other news, apparently people are putting butter in their coffee.
Kurt Vonnegut's May 29, 1945 letter home after imprisonment in an underground slaughterhouse during the Dresden bombing.
Squirrel Tissue in Buttock: until now "gross contamination of an open wound with squirrel flesh [was] an unreported event."
33 Graphs That Reveal Painfully True Facts About Everyday Life.
ICYMI, Wednesday's links are here, including a 3 minute time-lapse animated map of World War I, the history of tug-of-war fatalities, and an answer to the age old question: could you get drunk from drinking a drunk person's blood?
On December 19, 1944, twenty-two year old Kurt Vonnegut (wiki) was captured by Wehrmacht troops. Below is the letter he wrote to his family after the end of the war informing them of his capture and survival. Describing the capture and move to Dresden:
Well, the supermen marched us, without food, water or sleep to Limberg, a distance of about sixty miles, I think, where we were loaded and locked up, sixty men to each small, unventilated, unheated box car. There were no sanitary accommodations -- the floors were covered with fresh cow dung. There wasn't room for all of us to lie down. Half slept while the other half stood. We spent several days, including Christmas, on that Limberg siding. On Christmas eve the Royal Air Force bombed and strafed our unmarked train. They killed about one-hundred-and-fifty of us. We got a little water Christmas Day and moved slowly across Germany to a large P.O.W. Camp in Muhlburg, South of Berlin. We were released from the box cars on New Year's Day. The Germans herded us through scalding delousing showers. Many men died from shock in the showers after ten days of starvation, thirst and exposure. But I didn't.
Under the Geneva Convention, Officers and Non-commissioned Officers are not obliged to work when taken prisoner. I am, as you know, a Private. One-hundred-and-fifty such minor beings were shipped to a Dresden work camp on January 10th.
In Dresden they were imprisoned in an underground slaughterhouse known by German soldiers as "Schlachthof Fünf" (Slaughterhouse Five (wiki)), which, of course, he used 25 years later as the title and organizing principle of his best-known book. During the bombing of Dresden (wiki), which took place in four raids between February 13th and 15th, the subterranean nature of the prison saved their lives:
On about February 14th the Americans came over, followed by the R.A.F. their combined labors killed 250,000 people in twenty-four hours and destroyed all of Dresden -- possibly the world's most beautiful city. But not me.
After that we were put to work carrying corpses from Air-Raid shelters; women, children, old men; dead from concussion, fire or suffocation. Civilians cursed us and threw rocks as we carried bodies to huge funeral pyres in the city.
Transcript below the scan - read the whole thing.
Transcript
FROM:
Pfc. K. Vonnegut, Jr.,
12102964 U. S. Army.
TO:
Kurt Vonnegut,
Williams Creek,
Indianapolis, Indiana.
Dear people:
I'm told that you were probably never informed that I was anything other than "missing in action." Chances are that you also failed to receive any of the letters I wrote from Germany. That leaves me a lot of explaining to do -- in precis:
I've been a prisoner of war since December 19th, 1944, when our division was cut to ribbons by Hitler's last desperate thrust through Luxemburg and Belgium. Seven Fanatical Panzer Divisions hit us and cut us off from the rest of Hodges' First Army. The other American Divisions on our flanks managed to pull out: We were obliged to stay and fight. Bayonets aren't much good against tanks: Our ammunition, food and medical supplies gave out and our casualties out-numbered those who could still fight - so we gave up. The 106th got a Presidential Citation and some British Decoration from Montgomery for it, I'm told, but I'll be damned if it was worth it. I was one of the few who weren't wounded. For that much thank God.
Well, the supermen marched us, without food, water or sleep to Limberg, a distance of about sixty miles, I think, where we were loaded and locked up, sixty men to each small, unventilated, unheated box car. There were no sanitary accommodations -- the floors were covered with fresh cow dung. There wasn't room for all of us to lie down. Half slept while the other half stood. We spent several days, including Christmas, on that Limberg siding. On Christmas eve the Royal Air Force bombed and strafed our unmarked train. They killed about one-hundred-and-fifty of us. We got a little water Christmas Day and moved slowly across Germany to a large P.O.W. Camp in Muhlburg, South of Berlin. We were released from the box cars on New Year's Day. The Germans herded us through scalding delousing showers. Many men died from shock in the showers after ten days of starvation, thirst and exposure. But I didn't.
Under the Geneva Convention, Officers and Non-commissioned Officers are not obliged to work when taken prisoner. I am, as you know, a Private. One-hundred-and-fifty such minor beings were shipped to a Dresden work camp on January 10th. I was their leader by virtue of the little German I spoke. It was our misfortune to have sadistic and fanatical guards. We were refused medical attention and clothing: We were given long hours at extremely hard labor. Our food ration was two-hundred-and-fifty grams of black bread and one pint of unseasoned potato soup each day. After desperately trying to improve our situation for two months and having been met with bland smiles I told the guards just what I was going to do to them when the Russians came. They beat me up a little. I was fired as group leader. Beatings were very small time: -- one boy starved to death and the SS Troops shot two for stealing food.
On about February 14th the Americans came over, followed by the R.A.F. their combined labors killed 250,000 people in twenty-four hours and destroyed all of Dresden -- possibly the world's most beautiful city. But not me.
After that we were put to work carrying corpses from Air-Raid shelters; women, children, old men; dead from concussion, fire or suffocation. Civilians cursed us and threw rocks as we carried bodies to huge funeral pyres in the city.
When General Patton took Leipzig we were evacuated on foot to ('the Saxony-Czechoslovakian border'?). There we remained until the war ended. Our guards deserted us. On that happy day the Russians were intent on mopping up isolated outlaw resistance in our sector. Their planes (P-39's) strafed and bombed us, killing fourteen, but not me.
Eight of us stole a team and wagon. We traveled and looted our way through Sudetenland and Saxony for eight days, living like kings. The Russians are crazy about Americans. The Russians picked us up in Dresden. We rode from there to the American lines at Halle in Lend-Lease Ford trucks. We've since been flown to Le Havre.
I'm writing from a Red Cross Club in the Le Havre P.O.W. Repatriation Camp. I'm being wonderfully well feed and entertained. The state-bound ships are jammed, naturally, so I'll have to be patient. I hope to be home in a month. Once home I'll be given twenty-one days recuperation at Atterbury, about $600 back pay and -- get this -- sixty (60) days furlough.
I've too damned much to say, the rest will have to wait, I can't receive mail here so don't write.
May 29, 1945
Love,
Kurt - Jr.
FROM:
Pfc. K. Vonnegut, Jr.,
12102964 U. S. Army.
TO:
Kurt Vonnegut,
Williams Creek,
Indianapolis, Indiana.
Dear people:
I'm told that you were probably never informed that I was anything other than "missing in action." Chances are that you also failed to receive any of the letters I wrote from Germany. That leaves me a lot of explaining to do -- in precis:
I've been a prisoner of war since December 19th, 1944, when our division was cut to ribbons by Hitler's last desperate thrust through Luxemburg and Belgium. Seven Fanatical Panzer Divisions hit us and cut us off from the rest of Hodges' First Army. The other American Divisions on our flanks managed to pull out: We were obliged to stay and fight. Bayonets aren't much good against tanks: Our ammunition, food and medical supplies gave out and our casualties out-numbered those who could still fight - so we gave up. The 106th got a Presidential Citation and some British Decoration from Montgomery for it, I'm told, but I'll be damned if it was worth it. I was one of the few who weren't wounded. For that much thank God.
Well, the supermen marched us, without food, water or sleep to Limberg, a distance of about sixty miles, I think, where we were loaded and locked up, sixty men to each small, unventilated, unheated box car. There were no sanitary accommodations -- the floors were covered with fresh cow dung. There wasn't room for all of us to lie down. Half slept while the other half stood. We spent several days, including Christmas, on that Limberg siding. On Christmas eve the Royal Air Force bombed and strafed our unmarked train. They killed about one-hundred-and-fifty of us. We got a little water Christmas Day and moved slowly across Germany to a large P.O.W. Camp in Muhlburg, South of Berlin. We were released from the box cars on New Year's Day. The Germans herded us through scalding delousing showers. Many men died from shock in the showers after ten days of starvation, thirst and exposure. But I didn't.
Under the Geneva Convention, Officers and Non-commissioned Officers are not obliged to work when taken prisoner. I am, as you know, a Private. One-hundred-and-fifty such minor beings were shipped to a Dresden work camp on January 10th. I was their leader by virtue of the little German I spoke. It was our misfortune to have sadistic and fanatical guards. We were refused medical attention and clothing: We were given long hours at extremely hard labor. Our food ration was two-hundred-and-fifty grams of black bread and one pint of unseasoned potato soup each day. After desperately trying to improve our situation for two months and having been met with bland smiles I told the guards just what I was going to do to them when the Russians came. They beat me up a little. I was fired as group leader. Beatings were very small time: -- one boy starved to death and the SS Troops shot two for stealing food.
On about February 14th the Americans came over, followed by the R.A.F. their combined labors killed 250,000 people in twenty-four hours and destroyed all of Dresden -- possibly the world's most beautiful city. But not me.
After that we were put to work carrying corpses from Air-Raid shelters; women, children, old men; dead from concussion, fire or suffocation. Civilians cursed us and threw rocks as we carried bodies to huge funeral pyres in the city.
When General Patton took Leipzig we were evacuated on foot to ('the Saxony-Czechoslovakian border'?). There we remained until the war ended. Our guards deserted us. On that happy day the Russians were intent on mopping up isolated outlaw resistance in our sector. Their planes (P-39's) strafed and bombed us, killing fourteen, but not me.
Eight of us stole a team and wagon. We traveled and looted our way through Sudetenland and Saxony for eight days, living like kings. The Russians are crazy about Americans. The Russians picked us up in Dresden. We rode from there to the American lines at Halle in Lend-Lease Ford trucks. We've since been flown to Le Havre.
I'm writing from a Red Cross Club in the Le Havre P.O.W. Repatriation Camp. I'm being wonderfully well feed and entertained. The state-bound ships are jammed, naturally, so I'll have to be patient. I hope to be home in a month. Once home I'll be given twenty-one days recuperation at Atterbury, about $600 back pay and -- get this -- sixty (60) days furlough.
I've too damned much to say, the rest will have to wait, I can't receive mail here so don't write.
May 29, 1945
Love,
Kurt - Jr.
Via the always interesting but not frequently-enough updated (that was a hint, you guys) blog of Letters of Note.
Previous posts: In 2006, Kurt Vonnegut sent this excellent letter to a high school class, and here's his 1944 letter from a German prison camp.
Thursday, 29 May 2014
For hard-core X-Men fans:
and the tutorial:
Here's a demo of the Wolverine claws:
and the tutorial:
And here he is walking on the ceiling with his homemade Magneto magnetic shoes:
and the ceiling walk:
via Laughing Squid.
First of all, here's the inventor (Colin Furze), who had previously made a set of homemade Wolverine claws and a pair of magnetic Magneto shoes (see below), demonstrating the flamethrowers:
and the tutorial:
Here's a demo of the Wolverine claws:
and the tutorial:
And here he is walking on the ceiling with his homemade Magneto magnetic shoes:
And two tutorials - one for building the shoes and one for walking on the ceiling. First, making the shoes:
and the ceiling walk:
Check out Colin's youtube channel - he seems to have a penchant for adding jet engines to things like bicycles and strollers.
via Laughing Squid.
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
Anoint the gums with the brains of a hare: advice from c. 1450 on soothing a teething baby. Apparently dog milk works, too.
Gallery of vintage toy robots.
3 Minute Time-Lapse Animated Map of World War I (WW II takes 7 minutes), bonus Horrible History explanation.
How To Tell If You've Been Abducted By Aliens.
Could you get drunk from drinking a drunk person's blood?
The Science of Laziness: Is There a Couch-Potato Gene?
A History of Tug-of-War Fatalities.
Gallery of vintage toy robots.
3 Minute Time-Lapse Animated Map of World War I (WW II takes 7 minutes), bonus Horrible History explanation.
How To Tell If You've Been Abducted By Aliens.
Could you get drunk from drinking a drunk person's blood?
The Science of Laziness: Is There a Couch-Potato Gene?
A History of Tug-of-War Fatalities.
ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include the science of Game of Thrones and of Bruce Lee's one inch punch, the 1940's plan to replace jockeys with robots, and ridiculous state fair foods.
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
There seem to be a lot of World War I articles appearing recently, presumably as a lead-up to the centennial of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 28, 1914, the proximate cause of the beginning of the war. If you're interested in further information on the subject there are hundreds of books and films - the best books I know of (and I'm no expert) are Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August (this won a Pulitzer back when they meant something) and John Keegan's The First World War.
This animated map reflects the daily changes over the course of the war. I'd previously seen the WWII version (embedded below) but not this one.
Here's the The BBC’s Horrible Histories explanation of how the Brits got involved in WWI:
The Atlantic has a series of photoessays entitled World War I in Photos on various WWI topics - there will be ten of these, but they're not all available yet. Of those posted so far, I found technology and animals of particular interest.
Previous posts: Wilfred Owen, the best of the WWI "War Poets", was born 121 years ago today
 |
Andrea Mantegna, The Circumcision of Jesus (detail, c. 1461) |
"Sometimes babies have trouble with teething. In that case you should squeeze the gums with your fingers, and gently massage them, and the palate as well. And you should anoint the gums with the brains of a hare (which are very suitable for this purpose), or with fat or butter or good-quality olive oil; and you should do this twice a day. The milk of a dog is suitable, too. It is also very helpful to use hen's fat for both anointing and massaging the gums."
~Michele Savonarola, Ad mulieres ferrarienses (c. 1450)
Previous posts:
Advice from c. 530: How To Use Bacon, including for medicinal purposes such as "thick bacon, placed for a long time on all wounds, be they external or internal or caused by a blow, both cleanses any putrefaction and aids healing".
How to Stop Bleeding, 1664:
“To Stench a Bleeding Wound: Lay hogs Dung, hot from the Hog, to the Bleeding Wound.”
~Samuel Strangehopes, A Book of Knowledge in Three Parts (166[4])Dubious medical device du jour - the prostate warmer.
Advice from 1380: How to Tell if Someone Is or Is Not Dead, with bonus Monty Python.
How to Slim Down in Fourteen Days: Advice from 1595.
Urine-drinking Hindu cult believes a warm cup before sunrise straight from virgin cow cures cancer, baldness.
I have to think intentionally on the part of the people who put it together, but unintentionally on the part of the clueless people who bought it for their business.
I find myself wondering whether I'll ever be able to look at chili again and not think of it as lube.
via I am bored.
Monday, 26 May 2014
Happy Memorial Day! Here's How To Make An American Flag Out Of Bacon.
Smoked Lizard on a Stick, Python Kebabs, Spam Curds, Hot Beef Sundaes and Pork Parfaits: ridiculous State Fair foods.
The Science of Bruce Lee's One-Inch Punch. Also in the science department: Valyrian steel, length of the seasons, dragon biology: The Science of Game of Thrones, bonus geological map.
Smoked Lizard on a Stick, Python Kebabs, Spam Curds, Hot Beef Sundaes and Pork Parfaits: ridiculous State Fair foods.
The Science of Bruce Lee's One-Inch Punch. Also in the science department: Valyrian steel, length of the seasons, dragon biology: The Science of Game of Thrones, bonus geological map.
Why Did Women Start Wearing Makeup?
For fans of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: don't panic - yesterday was Towel Day, but since you should always carry one, it's not to late to remember why.
The 1940s Plan to Replace Jockeys with Robots.
ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include the tactical order of dressing (in case you need to jump out of bed and fight), the Pentagon's zombie apocalypse plan, and a guide to all of the Godzilla kaiju and X-men.
For fans of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: don't panic - yesterday was Towel Day, but since you should always carry one, it's not to late to remember why.
The 1940s Plan to Replace Jockeys with Robots.
ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include the tactical order of dressing (in case you need to jump out of bed and fight), the Pentagon's zombie apocalypse plan, and a guide to all of the Godzilla kaiju and X-men.
Sunday, 25 May 2014
It's Towel Day, a day to honor the late Douglas Adams (wiki) and the first book of his 5-book "trilogy", The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (trailer for the movie version is below). The quote regarding the importance of always carrying a towel (I keep one in the trunk of my car):
A towel, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you)*; you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: nonhitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might have accidentally "lost.". What the strag will think is that any man that can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.
Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in "Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is." (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)
*Here's an animated version of "wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you):
Here's the trailer for the 2005 movie:
BT.com has a a non-hitchhiker’s guide to Towel Day.
Via Lemonly.com:
If you're a real Adams fan, check out this Kinja post on adaptations of some of his other works.
For Game of Thrones fans, Joe Hanson of It's OK To Be Smart (youtube channel) put together this excellent video about the science of Westeros. By the way, he refers to the name of the planet as Hodor - is that true?
Referred to in the video is this excellent map by Generation Anthropocene describing the geology of Game of Thrones - go there for a larger version and links to explanations of the geological events discussed:
Previous posts:
If Game Of Thrones Characters Were Drawn By Disney
If Game Of Thrones Characters Were Drawn By Disney
Game of Thrones infographic chronology: 4 seasons of the 4 main families and the Night’s Watch.
Peter Dinklage Summarizes Game of Thrones In 45 Seconds.
Super Mario Game of Thrones.
Video: Hodor (Kristian Nairn) Describes His Awkward Game of Thrones Nude Scene.
Game of Goats, A Yelling Goats Version of the Game of Thrones Theme Song.
Game of Thrones Wine Map: The Wines of Westeros.
Supercut of pithy quotes from Game of Thrones, Seasons 1-3.
Fallen behind on Game of Thrones, or want a refresher before Season 4? All 3 seasons recapped in 9 minutes.
Game of Thrones: new trailer and an interview with the actors on who should end up on the iron throne.
Deleted And Extended Scenes From Game Of Thrones Season 3 (NSFW - language)
The Game of Thrones Travel Guide.
Video: Hodor (Kristian Nairn) Describes His Awkward Game of Thrones Nude Scene.
Game of Goats, A Yelling Goats Version of the Game of Thrones Theme Song.
Game of Thrones Wine Map: The Wines of Westeros.
Supercut of pithy quotes from Game of Thrones, Seasons 1-3.
Fallen behind on Game of Thrones, or want a refresher before Season 4? All 3 seasons recapped in 9 minutes.
Game of Thrones: new trailer and an interview with the actors on who should end up on the iron throne.
Deleted And Extended Scenes From Game Of Thrones Season 3 (NSFW - language)
The Game of Thrones Travel Guide.
Interesting that there really does seem to be some something of a genetic component that predisposes one (and I'm one!) to laziness; the opposite may be true, as well - per the video much of the information contained therein comes from The Sports Gene.
via Geeks are Sexy.
Friday, 23 May 2014
24 of the Funniest Reviews Ever Posted to the Internet.
The Tactical Order of Dressing: An Illustrated Guide (as taught to military and emergency personnel).
Let's rank every X-Man ever. In a similar vein, here are all of the Godzilla kaiju (wiki).
The Pentagon is dead serious about its fake zombie apocalypse plan.
The Tactical Order of Dressing: An Illustrated Guide (as taught to military and emergency personnel).
Let's rank every X-Man ever. In a similar vein, here are all of the Godzilla kaiju (wiki).
The Pentagon is dead serious about its fake zombie apocalypse plan.
If Game Of Thrones Characters Were Drawn By Disney.
A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials, which started in May 1692.
ICYMI, Thursday's links are here, and include the meanings behind beer label symbols, what each state Googles more than any other state (what's up with Texas and herpes, anyway?), and finalists for the best optical illusions of 2014.
The Tactical Order of Dressing: An Illustrated Guide (as taught to military and emergency personnel)
“Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.”
~Robert A. Heinlein, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long
If you were suddenly awoken in the middle of the night and needed to go outside to fight off a threat or evacuate from your home, in what order would you don your clothes? Does it matter?
Military and emergency personnel are often taught a specific order in which to put on their clothes that is most efficient and effective. On ITS Tactical, Bryan Black shared the order of dressing he picked up in BUD/s: First you pull on your pants, because you’re going to need something to protect your lower body from brush, debris, hot shell casings, and what have you. Then you’ll put on your boots. If you’re not going far, you might be able to get by in barefeet, but you’ll need to be shod if you’ll be moving out over rough terrain.
 |
| David Guttenfelder. AP |
Whether you put on socks or not is dependent on how much time you have; if seconds matter, you can go without. In boots and pants you’re pretty well set. If you have time, you grab a shirt too.
Of course, if a threat is truly imminent, you may need to face it down in whatever it is you wore (or didn’t wear) to bed. Like this soldier in Afghanistan who was roused from sleep by enemy fire on his post in eastern Afghanistan, and took on the enemy in his pink “I Love New York” boxers.
More at the Art of Manliness blog.
Because it's important to always be battle-ready: How to Poop Like a Samurai.
Dave Barry's Manliness Manifesto is a hoot.
Thursday, 22 May 2014
For Game of Thrones fans:
Previous posts:
 |
| Bran and Hodor |
 |
| Daenerys and her dragon |
 |
| Jon Snow and Ghost |
 |
| Tyrion |
 |
| Cersei |
Game of Thrones infographic chronology: 4 seasons of the 4 main families and the Night’s Watch.
Peter Dinklage Summarizes Game of Thrones In 45 Seconds.
Super Mario Game of Thrones.
Video: Hodor (Kristian Nairn) Describes His Awkward Game of Thrones Nude Scene.
Game of Goats, A Yelling Goats Version of the Game of Thrones Theme Song.
Game of Thrones Wine Map: The Wines of Westeros.
Supercut of pithy quotes from Game of Thrones, Seasons 1-3.
Fallen behind on Game of Thrones, or want a refresher before Season 4? All 3 seasons recapped in 9 minutes.
Game of Thrones: new trailer and an interview with the actors on who should end up on the iron throne.
Deleted And Extended Scenes From Game Of Thrones Season 3 (NSFW - language)
The Game of Thrones Travel Guide.
Video: Hodor (Kristian Nairn) Describes His Awkward Game of Thrones Nude Scene.
Game of Goats, A Yelling Goats Version of the Game of Thrones Theme Song.
Game of Thrones Wine Map: The Wines of Westeros.
Supercut of pithy quotes from Game of Thrones, Seasons 1-3.
Fallen behind on Game of Thrones, or want a refresher before Season 4? All 3 seasons recapped in 9 minutes.
Game of Thrones: new trailer and an interview with the actors on who should end up on the iron throne.
Deleted And Extended Scenes From Game Of Thrones Season 3 (NSFW - language)
The Game of Thrones Travel Guide.
Via Buzzfeed. See more of Fernando Mendonça's work here.
At Amazon, get 1,000 Amazon Coins (they convert to a $10 Amazon Appstore Credit) when you download five select free Android apps. (If you've downloaded any of them before, you can "repurchase" it for the coin value to be added to your account.)
The free apps, each with 200 coins (which translates to a $2 Amazon Credit):
The Meanings Behind the Weird Symbols on 20 Beer Labels.
Map: This is what each state Googles more than any other. Why are Texans are so worried about herpes, and Pennsylvanians about back shaving, and New Jersey residents about Teletubbies?
Crocodile Injured by Falling Accountant.
What if you were to somehow ignite the pollen (which is extremely flammable) that floats around in the air in spring?
Map: This is what each state Googles more than any other. Why are Texans are so worried about herpes, and Pennsylvanians about back shaving, and New Jersey residents about Teletubbies?
Crocodile Injured by Falling Accountant.
More interesting than it sounds World War II training film: How to Evade Anti-Aircraft Fire.
Finalists for the best optical illusions of 2014.
ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, including a 1936 guide to the Art of Kissing, a Godzilla/Jurassic Park mashup, and bones from the (so far) biggest dinosaur ever.
It's hard to imagine that this is accurate, and even so it doesn't appear to list the most searched for terms in each state, but the top state in searching for those terms. As an example, the most searched for term is Texas is not "Do I Have Herpes", but people search for the term "Do I Have Herpes" from Texas more frequently than from any other state. Same with Pennsylvania and "Back Shaving". At least, that's my interpretation. Still, it's kinda fascinating to imagine why Texans are so worried about herpes, and Pennsylvanians about back shaving, and New Jersey residents about Teletubbies.
You Can Learn A Lot About America From Each State's Internet Search History.
From real estate site Estately:
CALIFORNIA: Alcoholics Anonymous / Bros Before Hos / Dandruff Cure / Food Poisoning / Google Glass / Kim Kardashian / Meat is Murder / Paris Hilton / Pokemon / Rogaine / What does Siri look like?
Analysis: California has a variety pack of issues.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Congressional Investigation / Lobbyist Jobs / C.I.A. / Hillary Clinton / Ronald Reagan / Republican Party / Democratic Party
FLORIDA: Alligator Wrestling / Botox / Eyebrow Piercing / Hulk Hogan / Juviderm / Lice / Mazda Miata / MDMA / Obamacare / Stand Your Ground / Swingers / Viagra / What is sarcasm?
Analysis: The only thing surprising about Florida’s search history is that it wasn’t even weirder.
ILLINOIS: Burrito / Deep Dish Pizza / Dennis Rodman (idiot) / Golf Injury / Oasis (band) / Pizza / Racist Jokes / Thin Crust Pizza / “Workaholics” (TV show)
Analysis: In Illinois, you get a free racist joke with the purchase of a large two-topping pizza.
MARYLAND: Crabs / David Hasselhoff / “House of Cards” (TV show) / Kickball / National Football League / Skate or Die / What is Twitter?
Analysis: David Hasselhoff? Is Maryland America’s Germany?
NEVADA: Bitcoin / Breast Implants / Gamblers Anonymous / Great White (band) / Guy Fiery (TV chef) / Online Poker / Quiet Riot (band) / Tattoo Removal
Analysis: The shallow hedonism that was the 1980s is alive and well in Nevada.
NEW JERSEY: Bon Jovi / Britney Spears / Cure for Baldness / Girdles / New Jersey Jokes / Pantaloons / Six Pack Abs / Teletubbies / Thumb Wrestling
Analysis: In New Jersey, nobody makes fun of your belly or bald spot when you’re the local thumb wrestling champ.
NEW YORK: Bail Money / Bed Bugs / Bill Maher (comedian) / Darwinism / Fur Coats / George Michael (singer) / Hangover Remedy / Marrying Cousin / Propecia / Sniffing Glue
Analysis: The saddest day in a New Yorker’s life is the day you raise bail money by selling your fur coat.
OREGON: Allah / Sex / Spork
Analysis: Somebody needs to go and check on Oregon.
PENNSYLVANIA: Back Shaving / Beer / Competitive Eating / Eagles (band) / Freedom / Furries / Heroin / Jello Wrestling / Madden NFL (video game) / Malt Liquor / “Married With Children” (TV show), Major League Baseball / National Hockey League / Online Dating / Oxycodone / Partying / Taylor Swift (singer) / What is ketchup?
Analysis: Might be time for the other state’s to organize an intervention for Pennsylvania.
TEXAS: Are dinosaurs real? / Are zombies real? / The Bill of Rights / Boogers / Calf Implants / Can dogs talk? / Chupacrabra / Curves International (company) / Do I have herpes? / Does beer make you fat? / Government Mind Control / How to cook meth? / How to sell your soul to the Devil? / Justin Bieber (singer) / Krunk / Meth Recipes / Porn / Purple Drank / Rodeo / Snake Bites / Tacos
Analysis: Texas asks a lot of questions, has a worrisome level of interest in crystal meth, and probably a sore that should be looked at by doctor, but the Lone Star State also has a boatload of tacos. So many delicious tacos.
VIRGINIA: Barney & Friends (TV show)/ Blackeyed Peas (music group) / Che Guevara / Evolution / Farmville / Shakira (singer)
Analysis: Virginia, I love you, you love the Blackeyed Peas, this is why we can’t be a family.
WEST VIRGINIA: Anarchy / Belly Button Piercing / Cat Videos / Conspiracy Theories / Ferrets / Ghosts / How to make moonshine? / Infected Piercing / Meat Loaf Recipe / Methadone / Nancy Grace / Scabies / Second Amendment / Steroids / Vampires / Who let the dogs out?
Analysis: If U.S. states were competing in “The Bachelor”, West Virginia would be the first to not receive a rose.
America’s fifty states have a lot in common, but if their internet search histories are any indication they also have significant differences. Estately ran hundreds of search queries through Google Trends to determine which words, terms, and questions each state was searching for more than any other. The results ranged from mildly amusing to completely disturbing. The results on the map above are just the tip of the online search iceberg. Check out what other search queries each state performed more of than any other in the list below…
A few of the states I found particularly interesting, either because I live there (Virginia), live close (DC, MD, WV), have relatives there (NY, FL, OR, NV), or just found the list of terms interesting:
CALIFORNIA: Alcoholics Anonymous / Bros Before Hos / Dandruff Cure / Food Poisoning / Google Glass / Kim Kardashian / Meat is Murder / Paris Hilton / Pokemon / Rogaine / What does Siri look like?
Analysis: California has a variety pack of issues.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Congressional Investigation / Lobbyist Jobs / C.I.A. / Hillary Clinton / Ronald Reagan / Republican Party / Democratic Party
FLORIDA: Alligator Wrestling / Botox / Eyebrow Piercing / Hulk Hogan / Juviderm / Lice / Mazda Miata / MDMA / Obamacare / Stand Your Ground / Swingers / Viagra / What is sarcasm?
Analysis: The only thing surprising about Florida’s search history is that it wasn’t even weirder.
ILLINOIS: Burrito / Deep Dish Pizza / Dennis Rodman (idiot) / Golf Injury / Oasis (band) / Pizza / Racist Jokes / Thin Crust Pizza / “Workaholics” (TV show)
Analysis: In Illinois, you get a free racist joke with the purchase of a large two-topping pizza.
MARYLAND: Crabs / David Hasselhoff / “House of Cards” (TV show) / Kickball / National Football League / Skate or Die / What is Twitter?
Analysis: David Hasselhoff? Is Maryland America’s Germany?
NEVADA: Bitcoin / Breast Implants / Gamblers Anonymous / Great White (band) / Guy Fiery (TV chef) / Online Poker / Quiet Riot (band) / Tattoo Removal
Analysis: The shallow hedonism that was the 1980s is alive and well in Nevada.
NEW JERSEY: Bon Jovi / Britney Spears / Cure for Baldness / Girdles / New Jersey Jokes / Pantaloons / Six Pack Abs / Teletubbies / Thumb Wrestling
Analysis: In New Jersey, nobody makes fun of your belly or bald spot when you’re the local thumb wrestling champ.
NEW YORK: Bail Money / Bed Bugs / Bill Maher (comedian) / Darwinism / Fur Coats / George Michael (singer) / Hangover Remedy / Marrying Cousin / Propecia / Sniffing Glue
Analysis: The saddest day in a New Yorker’s life is the day you raise bail money by selling your fur coat.
OREGON: Allah / Sex / Spork
Analysis: Somebody needs to go and check on Oregon.
PENNSYLVANIA: Back Shaving / Beer / Competitive Eating / Eagles (band) / Freedom / Furries / Heroin / Jello Wrestling / Madden NFL (video game) / Malt Liquor / “Married With Children” (TV show), Major League Baseball / National Hockey League / Online Dating / Oxycodone / Partying / Taylor Swift (singer) / What is ketchup?
Analysis: Might be time for the other state’s to organize an intervention for Pennsylvania.
TEXAS: Are dinosaurs real? / Are zombies real? / The Bill of Rights / Boogers / Calf Implants / Can dogs talk? / Chupacrabra / Curves International (company) / Do I have herpes? / Does beer make you fat? / Government Mind Control / How to cook meth? / How to sell your soul to the Devil? / Justin Bieber (singer) / Krunk / Meth Recipes / Porn / Purple Drank / Rodeo / Snake Bites / Tacos
Analysis: Texas asks a lot of questions, has a worrisome level of interest in crystal meth, and probably a sore that should be looked at by doctor, but the Lone Star State also has a boatload of tacos. So many delicious tacos.
VIRGINIA: Barney & Friends (TV show)/ Blackeyed Peas (music group) / Che Guevara / Evolution / Farmville / Shakira (singer)
Analysis: Virginia, I love you, you love the Blackeyed Peas, this is why we can’t be a family.
WEST VIRGINIA: Anarchy / Belly Button Piercing / Cat Videos / Conspiracy Theories / Ferrets / Ghosts / How to make moonshine? / Infected Piercing / Meat Loaf Recipe / Methadone / Nancy Grace / Scabies / Second Amendment / Steroids / Vampires / Who let the dogs out?
Analysis: If U.S. states were competing in “The Bachelor”, West Virginia would be the first to not receive a rose.
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
Based on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (wiki) comics - the movie will be out in August.
Previous post: This Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer is a hoot.
An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
The voice of Rocket Raccoon is done by Bradley Cooper; Groot is voiced by Vin Diesel.
The Art of Kissing: A 1936 Guide for Lovers.
Holy crap - look at the size of this bone: scientists have discovered the biggest dinosaur ever (so far).
Holy crap - look at the size of this bone: scientists have discovered the biggest dinosaur ever (so far).
A Retiree Digitizes 27 Million Old Newspaper Pages in His Living Room (and Libraries Fight to Catch Up).
Peter Mayhew, the 7'3" actor who played Chewbacca, turns 70 years old today. Here are 15 Chewbacca Facts in Honor of His Birthday.
Game of Thrones infographic chronology: 4 seasons of the 4 main families (Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Targaryen) and the Night’s Watch.
Godzilla Park, 2014 Godzilla Trailer Mashed Up with Footage From Jurassic Park.
ICYMI, Friday's links are here, including the Great Sperm Race scaled to human size, cooking some of literature's most famous meals, and raising pigs to taste like whiskey.
ICYMI, Friday's links are here, including the Great Sperm Race scaled to human size, cooking some of literature's most famous meals, and raising pigs to taste like whiskey.
Air Force training film in evasive maneuvers for bomber pilots to avoid being hit by anti-aircraft fire.
FlaK comes from the German word for Anti-aircraft gun - Flugabwehrkanone.
For Game of Thrones fans - 4 seasons of the 4 main families (Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Targaryen) and the Night’s Watch. Possible spoilers, if you're running behind; this is updated after each episode.
Game of Thrones Infographic by Fishfinger Creative Agency
Larger version (and original) here.
Previous posts:
Super Mario Game of Thrones.
Video: Hodor (Kristian Nairn) Describes His Awkward Game of Thrones Nude Scene.
Game of Goats, A Yelling Goats Version of the Game of Thrones Theme Song.
Game of Thrones Wine Map: The Wines of Westeros.
Supercut of pithy quotes from Game of Thrones, Seasons 1-3.
Fallen behind on Game of Thrones, or want a refresher before Season 4? All 3 seasons recapped in 9 minutes.
Game of Thrones: new trailer and an interview with the actors on who should end up on the iron throne.
Deleted And Extended Scenes From Game Of Thrones Season 3 (NSFW - language)
The Game of Thrones Travel Guide.
Sunday, 18 May 2014
For Game of Thrones fans:
Previous posts:
Super Mario Game of Thrones.
Video: Hodor (Kristian Nairn) Describes His Awkward Game of Thrones Nude Scene.
Game of Goats, A Yelling Goats Version of the Game of Thrones Theme Song.
Game of Thrones Wine Map: The Wines of Westeros.
Supercut of pithy quotes from Game of Thrones, Seasons 1-3.
Fallen behind on Game of Thrones, or want a refresher before Season 4? All 3 seasons recapped in 9 minutes.
Game of Thrones: new trailer and an interview with the actors on who should end up on the iron throne.
Deleted And Extended Scenes From Game Of Thrones Season 3 (NSFW - language)
The Game of Thrones Travel Guide.
Previous posts:
Super Mario Game of Thrones.
Video: Hodor (Kristian Nairn) Describes His Awkward Game of Thrones Nude Scene.
Game of Goats, A Yelling Goats Version of the Game of Thrones Theme Song.
Game of Thrones Wine Map: The Wines of Westeros.
Supercut of pithy quotes from Game of Thrones, Seasons 1-3.
Fallen behind on Game of Thrones, or want a refresher before Season 4? All 3 seasons recapped in 9 minutes.
Game of Thrones: new trailer and an interview with the actors on who should end up on the iron throne.
Deleted And Extended Scenes From Game Of Thrones Season 3 (NSFW - language)
The Game of Thrones Travel Guide.
It's time to revise all of those dinosaur books once again - scientists in Argentina have uncovered the bones of a creature believed to be the world’s biggest dinosaur.
Based on its huge thigh bones, it was 130ft long and 65ft tall. Scientists believe it is a new species of titanosaur - an enormous herbivore dating from the Late Cretaceous period.
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| Fossilised bones of a dinosaur believed to be the largest creature ever to walk the Earth have been unearthed in Argentina, palaeontologists say. |
The bones were initially discovered a year ago by a local farm worker in the desert near La Flecha, about 135 miles west of the Patagonian town of Trelew, and were this week excavated by a team of paleontologists. They unearthed the partial skeletons of seven individuals - about 150 bones in total - all in "remarkable condition".
This giant herbivore lived in the forests of Patagonia between 95 and 100 million years ago, based on the age of the rocks in which its bones were found.
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| Argentinosaurus |
Weighing in at 77 tons, it was as heavy as 14 African elephants, and 7 tons heavier than the previous record holder, Argentinosaurus, a similar type of sauropod, also discovered in Patagonia.
There have been many previous contenders for the mantle of the world’s largest dinosaur and some scientists say it is difficult to determine with any certainty which is the winner.
The Argentine researchers say the number of bones discovered give them enough material to be confident they have found “the big one”. This video describes how the creature's size and mass are calculated from the existing bones:
But while Dr. Paul Barrett, a dinosaur expert from London’s Natural History Museum, agreed the new species is “a genuinely big critter”, he cautioned that further research was needed before declaring the find the world’s biggest dinosaur.
Standing with its neck up, it was about 65ft high - equal to a 7 story building.
Friday, 16 May 2014
Au Bon Pain is being sued for $2 undecillion (which is a 2 followed by 36 zeros). What if they lose and have to pay?
Operation Margarine: Tracing the wartime rise of ersatz butter.
Mathematics Of Murder, Autonomous Cars and Robotic Soldiers: Should A Robot Sacrifice Your Life To Save Two?
ICYMI, Thursday's links are here, and include the reason red M&Ms disappeared for a decade, calculating Star Trek's Tribble problem, pain management via orgasm, and impossible Godzilla anatomy.
The Great Sperm Race: The Most Extreme Race on Earth. Scaled To Human Size (plus bonus Monty Python)
A contest with 250 million competitors; only one winner... relentless obstacles, outrageous fatality rate.
Within 30 minutes of ejaculation, over 99 percent of the sperm will be dead or dying. But for those that remain it will be a vicious 14-hour fight to the end, with only one champion!
Sizing Up Sperm uses real people to represent 250 million sperm on their marathon quest to be first to reach a single egg; it was made by NatGeo and appeared on NBC in 2009:
Scaled up to human size with the sperm played by real people, The Great Sperm Race tells the story of human conception as it's never been told before using helicopter-mounted cameras, world-renowned scientists, CGI and dramatic reconstruction to illustrate the extraordinary journey of sperm.
With the microscopic world of sperm and egg accurately scaled up by 34,000 times, we see the human-sized heroes negotiate some of the world's most striking landscapes when the epic proportions of the vagina become the Canadian Rockies and the buildings on London's South Bank symbolise the intricacies of the cervix.
With the female body designed to repel and destroy invaders, from acidic vaginal walls to impassable cervical crypts, the sperm face unremitting obstacles. 'The battle that sperm have in order to find and fertilise an egg is just immense,' explains Dr Allan Pacey.
'Everything is working against sperm and they're not really given a helping hand by the female reproductive tract.'
 |
| A team of Leukocytes from the female immune system are sent to kill the sperm in the uterus: |
 |
| On the left you see sperm squished in the cervix, and on the right is an army of freshly created sperm waiting inside a giant testicle. |
Here's a trailer for the show (and here's a link to the whole thing, divided into 10 minute youtube size bits):
And, of course, Monty Python's Every Sperm is Sacred skit from The Meaning Of Life:
via the excellent Dark Roasted Blend, which has additional images.
Thursday, 15 May 2014
It happens quickly—more quickly than you, being human, can fully process.
A front tire blows, and your autonomous SUV swerves. But rather than veering left, into the opposing lane of traffic, the robotic vehicle steers right. Brakes engage, the system tries to correct itself, but there’s too much momentum. Like a cornball stunt in a bad action movie, you are over the cliff, in free fall.
Your robot, the one you paid good money for, has chosen to kill you. Better that, its collision-response algorithms decided, than a high-speed, head-on collision with a smaller, non-robotic compact. There were two people in that car, to your one. The math couldn’t be simpler.
That's the beginning of a PopSci article discussing a recent opinion piece at Wired on one of the most disturbing questions in robot ethics: If a crash is unavoidable, should an autonomous car choose who it slams into?
Here's a second robotic scenario, in combat:
A group of soldiers has wandered into the kill box. That’s the GPS-designated area within which an autonomous military ground robot has been given clearance to engage any and all targets. The machine’s sensors calculate wind-speed, humidity, and barometric pressure. Then it goes to work.
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| Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot - video below |
The shots land cleanly, for the most part. All of the targets are down.
But only one of them is in immediate mortal danger—instead of suffering a leg wound, like the rest, he took a round to the abdomen. Even a robot’s aim isn’t perfect.
As with the autonomous car crash scenario, everything hinges on that level of technological certainty. A human soldier or police officer isn’t legally or ethically expected to aim for a target’s leg. Accuracy, at any range or skill level, is never a sure thing for mere mortals, much less ones full of adrenaline.
But if it’s possible to build that level of precision into a machine, expectations would invariably change. A manufacturer may be able to program systems to cripple targets instead of executing them. But if that’s the clear choice—that robots should actively reduce human deaths, even among the enemy—wouldn’t you have to accept that your car has killed you, instead of two strangers?
The Department of Defense issued a Directive in 2013 titled “Autonomy in Weapons Systems”—another sign of how seriously the military is taking this. Among other things, it “Establishes guidelines designed to minimize[emphasis added] the probability and consequences of failures in autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems that could lead to unintended engagements.” But the directive also requires that the robots will “Function as anticipated in realistic operational environments against adaptive adversaries.”
Plus this:Coping with “adaptive adversaries” implies at least a degree of autonomy—and that is a discomforting notion for some.
DARPA—the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency—has been actively funding robot research for years and this past summer showcased “one of the most advanced humanoid robots ever built”: a stocky 6’ 2” behemoth of a bot named “Atlas.” Its creators at Boston Dynamics (a company recently acquired by none other than Google, Inc.) say it is designed for disaster response, such as nuclear and chemical incidents. Atlas has no weapons, but it’s not hard not to blink your eyes and imagine a potential military future.
From research into the genital-brain relationship comes the pain management tip of the day: have an orgasm.
Doing the Math: How Many Tribbles Were Aboard the Enterprise?
Found after 500 years, the wreck of Christopher Columbus’s flagship the Santa Maria.
Why Red M&Ms Disappeared for a Decade.
Science vs science fiction: The Impossible Anatomy of Godzilla.
ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include the history of powdered alcohol and of the pocket knife, photos of bat-eating spiders, and a backstage tour of the Channel Tunnel.
Doing the Math: How Many Tribbles Were Aboard the Enterprise?
Found after 500 years, the wreck of Christopher Columbus’s flagship the Santa Maria.
Why Red M&Ms Disappeared for a Decade.
Science vs science fiction: The Impossible Anatomy of Godzilla.
Deep Sea Fauna... with Googly Eyes.
ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include the history of powdered alcohol and of the pocket knife, photos of bat-eating spiders, and a backstage tour of the Channel Tunnel.
At Popular Mechanics, an astute analysis based on "our keen analysis of the 2014 Godzilla toy and a formula developed by paleontologists to work out the mass of bipedal dinosaurs".
This summer Godzilla is back in theaters, and he's big. Since his first awakening, the radioactive, fire-spewing kaiju has grown 200 feet and put on more than 150,000 tons. Godzilla is now 30 stories tall and weighs as much as a cruise ship. No actual animal could take the pressure of being so massive: It would overheat, its organs would implode, and it would need to mainline butter to get enough calories. For fun, we surveyed scientists to help us break down the beast's biology.
The Popular Mechanics article includes more detail about his anatomy: Godzilla would weigh 164,000 tons, the force on his bones would be roughly 20 times greater than the force on a T. rex's, so his bones would need to be phenomenally strong—about twice as tough as some titanium alloys, and his crocodile-like hide would be embedded with osteoderms, or bony deposits akin to chain mail (with protruding osteoderms on his back and tail vent excess heat). Go there to read the whole thing.
Previous links:
Science! The Ever Increasing Size of Godzilla: Implications for Sexual Selection and Urine Production.
Godzilla size chart.
The Art of Destruction - new art book from the about-to-be-released Godzilla movie, plus a bunch of old-time Godzilla movie posters.
U.S. Military Expert Unveils a Strategy for Deploying Godzilla in War.
Trailer, trailer.
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