As we get ready to say goodbye to 2014, it's only natural to take a look and see what we did over the year. Certain articles we posted went above and beyond what was expected, and if you missed them, here's a chance to look back with us and catch up on the most popular of them. Click on a title to go to the full post.
Whaddaya know, people love to read about cats! When Guremike showed us a sure-fire way to attract and enclose a cat, people immediately went and tried it out. Then they told their friends about it. So many people were trapping cats and posting pictures of them that we had to round those pictures up to show you.
19. Reddit's Official Banhammers
A banhammer is a metaphorical tool used to silence trolls by banishing them from posting at websites. Woodworker Brian Timmons made a couple of actual, physical banhammers for reddit moderators, and suddenly every website wanted one of their own.
18. Predatory Glow Worms Found In Peruvian Amazon
Wildlife photographer Jeff Cremer of the Tambopata Research Center sent us some nice pictures of a strange critter he found. We posted them on the Neatorama Spotlight blog, and he then referenced the post in his reddit AMA. Thanks, Jeff!
17. Photo Series Reveals The Last Meals Of Death Row Inmates
One of our favorite artists, photographer Henry Hargreaves did an entire exhibit around the selections famous criminals made for their last meals.
Each meal says something about the man who placed the order, and whether they used it to make a profound statement or simply wanted one last chance to chow down the meal will go down in history as part of their dark and mordid story.
16. CATable: A Work Desk for Cat Owners
As more people work from home, they are dealing with cats who don't understand "work" or "computers." They just know you are home and should pet the cat. The CATable is a work desk with embedded places for cat to hide, explore, and play, keeping him busy while you get something done.
15. Star Wars Parenting Done Right
Click the title to find out what the correct answer is, courtesy of Brian Gordon of Foul Language Comics.
14. 31 April Fools Day Pranks to Play on Your Kids
Your kids have caused you problems their entire lives, so it's good to give a little payback. Apparently there were an awful lot of parents who wanted to.
13. Man Walks in South American Rainforest at Night, Sees Spider the Size of a Small Puppy
Nothing succeeds like excess, and we can't help but take a peek at a spider with 12-inch legs! Entomologist and photographer Piotr Naskrecki showed us one he met in the rainforest of Guyana.
12. As a Joke, A Woman with Muscular Dystrophy Applied to Be a Fashion Model. She Got the Job.
We all loved the story of fashion reporter Jillian Mercado, who looks awesome in a wheelchair.
11. Man Sings "Let It Go" in the Voices of 21 Disney and Pixar Characters
The video has been viewed 17 million times -a chunk of them here at Neatorama. Let's just go ahead and watch it again.
10. Korean Illustrator Gives an Eastern Take on Western Folktales
This post probably derserves some kind of award, because it only came out last week, and went viral immediately. Most of the posts on this list took weeks, sometimes months, to gain such numbers.
9. 14 Facts You Might Not Know about The Brady Bunch
Who doesn't love The Brady Bunch?
8. Tina Fey Blooper Reel From The Muppets Most Wanted
Tina Fey is not only funny, she thinks fast on her feet, so anytime someone goofed on the set of The Muppets Most Wanted, she made it an occasion worth keeping.
7. For Sale: Boneless Pork Rectums (Inverted)
The picture alone was enough to grab attention, but John went ahead and researched uses for inverted pork rectums for us. Remember that, in case you ever get the idea that bloggers don't earn their keep.
6. Gender Swapped Disney Characters
Artist Sakimi Chan gave us the male versions of Disney princesses and other characters as you've never seen them before.
5. 25 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes You Can Make Last Minute
Anything relating to Halloween costumes is popular, but Jill made it more so by enticing us with the words "easy, "DIY," and "last minute." Obviously, there were a lot of folks who needed those things.
Comic artist Grant Snider is a new father, and is discovering all the frightening, exhausting, and joyful things that come with that role. In June, he illustrated what it's like to have a toddler in a comic that all parents can relate to. Just the beginning is shown here. See more of his work at Incidental Comics.
3. A Doctor Who-Themed Restaurant
The Pandorica in Beacon, New York, is a real treat for Doctor Who fans. If you can't get there, take a mini-tour in one of our most popular posts. The menu is particularly intriguing!
2. 33 Pictures Taken at Just the Right Moment
They are not only good pictures, but lucky pictures. A half second earlier or later would have missed the magic.
And the biggest, most viewed and shared post of the year was....
1. Forensic Scientists Create The Face Of Crystal Skull Vodka
Forensic artists help to identify victims from the bones they leave behind by recreating their faces from clues left on their skulls. Zeon unearthed a series of pictures taken when forensic artist Nigel Cockerton worked his magic on the skull-shaped glass bottles used for Dan Aykroyd's Crystal Skull vodka! The final result was amazing, intriguing, and downright funny -and a lot of people thought enough of it to share the post with their friends on their blogs, social media, and by email. It was the most-clicked post of 2014 here at Neatorama, with even more views than the 2013 winner!
Here's a very big THANK YOU to everyone who read, reposted, linked, shared, and emailed Neatorama posts this past year. We couldn't have done it without you! Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2015!