Recent posts at Neatorama

My productivity has fallen off a bit both at Neatorama and at TYWKIWDBI this summer because of a flurry of conflicting interests.  But here are a few interesting items I've posted there:

Video of a Yo-Yo champion in Category 1A ("The player uses a long sleeping yo-yo to perform string tricks which usually require the manipulation of the string.”)  It's awesome, but these guys are professionals who probably do nothing else all day.

Another, video, a "mockumentary" on the life cycle of the plastic bag.  Narrated by Jeremy Irons and created to generate support for a bill before the California legislature which will ban single-use plastic bags, limit distribution of paper bags, and encourage the use of reusable bags.  Four minutes long, very professionally done.

A rosary "terminal" from the sixteenth century, carved out of ivory, and depicting the head of a deceased man, with half the skull eaten away from decay.

Information about a book being published by the Bodleian Library - a dictionary of 17th century slang.  So you can tell the difference between Cackling-farts and Farting-crackers.

A carpet made out of pearls.  Literally.  "Across the centre there are three large round ‘rosettes’ each made of table cut diamonds set in silvered gold. Further smaller diamond rosettes in the border, all of which are embellished with sapphires, rubies and emeralds set in gold."

A nineteenth-century artificial hand and arm.  "The elbow joint can be moved by releasing a spring, whereas the top joint of the wrist allows a degree of rotation and an up-and-down motion."  Visually impressive.

Guilloche patterns have a certain intrinsic visual beauty, quite apart from their mathematical beauty.   If you have a little bit of latent math nerdiness, be sure to click on to the Proof Math is Beautiful site.

Middle-school and high-school students are wearing wristbands declaring "I Love Boobies," supposedly to show support for breast cancer.  The campaign is causing some controversy.

And finally, an old video that shows what happens on a cruise ship when it hits turbulent seas.  Not for the faint of heart.

The photos are, as usual, unrelated.  On the top is a nice macro view of the underside of the wings of a Painted Lady, to show how her pattern is slightly different from the American Lady (the American Lady has "two big eyes" and the Painted Lady has four of them.)  Below that is a nice image of a Viceroy; that black stripe crossing the hind wing distinguishes her from a Monarch (along with a generally smaller size, not evident from the photo).  Both pix enlarge with a click.