As usual, the content is similiar to what I would otherwise post here; there just aren't as many of them, because my productivity there has fallen off even more than it has here. But it's good stuff.
The advertisement that won a national award in the “low budget” category of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers features a woman eating a stick of butter. Filming required 25 takes (and 42 sticks of butter).
Roman ships were designed with a "livewell" that allowed them to transport live fish.
Roger Ebert pans a new seating technology for movie theaters - seats with three levels of pitching, rolling, and heaving.
If you drop a neodynium magnet through a copper pipe, it falls slowly, even though magnets are not attracted to copper.
A pediatric neurosurgeon held her wedding in her hospital so her patients could attend the ceremony.
A "water sommelier" can advise you regarding what type of rainwater would be best to accompany your dinner.
A discomycetes fungus has been named "Hotlips" because of its appearance.
Very unusual metal dodecahedrons have been unearthed in excavation of ancient Roman sites. No one knows whether they were used as a gambling or game die, a candleholder, a staff decoration, a survey instrument, a toy, a calibration device, or a religious object. Take a look; your guess is as good as anyones.
Until the practice was banned, several children in the U.S. were mailed to their destination by putting stamps on their clothes.
A photo of a steam-powered tricycle.
Der Spiegel has assembled a photo gallery of Walk/Don't Walk traffic signal icons from around the world, some of which are quite unusual.
Lacking any current photos of butterflies or wildflowers, the pix accompanying this post are of Nimbus, a rescued feral who is the youngest cat in our household. He wanted his 15 minutes of fame.
It looks like Nimbus has already learned the most important function of a domestic cat - find the softest, sunniest surface available, curl up, and threaten to swipe any humans who come near. Bonus points if it's on clean laundry.
ReplyDeleteGood kitty!
Very pretty cat.
ReplyDeleteI always read 'noone' as NOO-nee. And then, because I'm obnoxious about these things, I have to pretend it's an actual person to keep my sense of humor. :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely gorgeous cat! Really feral? How old was he when you rescued him?
ReplyDelete--Swift Loris
Amy, that's the most common grammatical mistake I make on this blog. Fixed. Tx.
ReplyDeleteAnd after a search, fixed on three other posts (there are probably more).
Bet those are clean towels. They're always the best place here for cats to sleep on.
ReplyDeleteOh, you bet. Towels get rejected when they accumulate hair. Have to have fresh towels in a sunny window.
ReplyDeleteSwift, re Nimbus, he was about a year old when he showed up on our porch. Not feral in behavior, but beginning to turn feral - probably a perfectly good cat someone threw away (we live out near the farms where city folk sometimes dump their cats).
ReplyDelete25 takes and 42 sticks or 42 takes and 25 sticks?
ReplyDeleteIf cats had scales and warts instead of fur, we'd recognize them for the horrible, selfish murderous bastards they are...
ReplyDeleteNumbers fixed. Tx, expatQLD.
ReplyDelete@M'stan--I didn't think he really had that feral look in his eye. Good thing he showed up at your place when he did.
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful.
--Swift Loris
Re Walk/Don't Walk traffic signals, here's one in my home town: http://www.oddee.com/contrib_8767.aspx
ReplyDelete