Why Are Georgia (the State) and Georgia (the Country) Both Named Georgia?
If you’ve ever wondered why Georgia (the US state) and Georgia (the country) are both named Georgia, Noreen Malone of Slate has the answer:
Why does a country that was formerly part of the USSR have the
same name as a state in the American Deep South?Both got their present-day monikers from the British. The name of the country comes from the Russian word Gruzia, which was in turn derived from the Persian and Turkish versions of the name George, Gorj and Gurju. It’s not clear when the Brits started using the word Georgia in place of Gruzia, but scholars believe the switch happened sometime in the late Middle Ages. [...]
The American Georgia, on the other hand, was named after King George II of England, who granted the state its charter in 1732. The –ia suffix, meaning "state of," comes from the Greek and was tacked onto the end of many place names via the vast imperial and lingual legacy of the Romans. The name George became popular in Western Europe only after the Crusades, when knights traveling to the Holy Land came in contact with the widespread veneration of the saint among the Eastern Christians—in places like Georgia. (George became the patron saint of England in the 1340s.) Meanwhile, the saint’s name derives from Greek and refers to a tiller of land. In that respect, both Georgia and Georgia live up to their names.
Link - via Super Punch
New Baby Shampoo: Nothing But Tears
After decades of coddling young children, Johnson & Johnson decided to go the other way and toughen ‘em up with this new shampoo: Nothing But Tears!
A radical departure for the health goods manufacturer, the new shampoo features an all-alcohol-based formula, has never once been approved by leading dermatologists, and is as gentle on a baby’s skin as "having to grow up and fend for your goddamn self."
"We at Johnson & Johnson have been making bath time a safe and soothing experience for far too long," company CEO William C. Weldon said. "Years of pampering have left our newborns helpless, feeble, and ill-equipped for the arduous road ahead."
"It’s time our children got the wake-up call that’s been coming to them," Weldon continued. "It’s time they cried their precious little eyes out."
Just kidding - that’s from the satirical (read: fake) news website The Onion. Boy, when they’re funny, they can be really funny: Link - via Locust & Honey
Pac-Man: The Movie
Here’s a twisted tale of four ghosts trapped in a maze, while being stalked by a giant yellow monster.
Watch Pac-Man: The Movie, directed by Stanley Wong and Tyler Russell: Link [embedded YouTube clip]
Light up the World
Take one old globe and an easy wiring job and what do you get? Awesomeness. I’m trying to figure out where I can put these in my house… and if I’m smart enough to make them. Any time I try to make something, it never turns out the way it was in my head.
Craftster user slone2601 is a genius.
Flamingo-Away
Here’s a yard ornament I would proudly display to my neighbors and their ubiquitous flamingos! The Flamingo-Away kit include two “Gnome-Be-Gones” and one pink flamingo. Designed by artist Fred Conlon. Scroll down on the product page to find other incarnations of the Gnome-Be-Gones. Link -via Coolest Gadgets
Segway Polo
It’s just like regular polo, except the players ride Segways instead of horses. The first organized match was in 2004, and now the game is played worldwide. The international championship tournament is called the Woz Challenge Cup (yes, named after Steve Wozniak) and has been held annually since 2006. Link -via Fuzzytopia
(image credit: Luiza)
Cabernet Couch: Wine Jug Couch by Carlo Rossi
Photo: Carlo Rossi’s JugSimple
That’s the Cabernet Couch, made from 33 empty Cabernet jugs and vintage corduroy futon mattress for the winemaker Carlo Rossi.
In what can only be called a strange yet utterly fascinating effort to turn the image of wine jugs from being associated with drunk winos into haute couture, Carlo Rossi also has the Chardonnay Chandelier ("jug count: 33"), Burgundy Bookshelf (jug count: 28), Paisano Plasma TV Stand, and more.
Link: Cabernet Couch - via Chair Blog (which btw, is ALL about chairs!)
Switch, a Fun and Simple Flash Game
Some of the funnest Flash games are the simplest - and this game Switch is no different: all you have to do is collect the balls of the same color, then switch over (by clicking your mouse) to collect balls of the other color.
Sounds easy, right? Well, it is … for a while: Link - via FAZED
The Guinea Olympigs
Photo: icarus-arts.com
I Lol’d heartily at these series of cute pics of the Guinea Pig Olympics (Olympigs?). From The Guinea Pig Games Calendar 2009 by Icarus Arts:
renowned ‘ard-man, Squeakers "Knockout" Thompson, caused outrage four years ago when he not only bit the ear off of his competitor, Jimmy Nibbles, but ate his babies too
The Atomic Cake
The bomb will not start a chain-reaction in the water converting it all to gas and letting the ships on all the oceans drop down to the bottom. It will not blow out the bottom of the sea and let all the water run down the hole. It will not destroy gravity. I am not an atomic playboy, as one of my critics labeled me, exploding these bombs to satisfy my personal whim.
- Vice Admiral William "Spike" Blandy
That’s "Atomic Playboy" Vice Admiral William "Spike" Blandy, his wife (in the matching hat!), and Rear Admiral F.J. Lowry, celebrating the end of Operation Crossroads in 1946 with an ominously shaped cake. The photograph, titled "Atomic Age Angel Food" drew heavy criticism from around the world, presumably not because it wasn’t delicious.
Operation Crossroads [wiki] was a series of nuclear weapon tests, conducted by the United States in the Bikini Atoll, to study the effects of thermonuclear
explosion on warships.
Two weeks later, French fashion designer Louis Réard trademarked the name "bikini" for his latest swimwear collection. Bikini became famous shortly afterwards, because "like the bomb, the bikini is small and devastating" and the realization that "atom bombs reduce everybody to primitive costume."
Photo spotted at Ectoplasmosis
Walt Disney Organizational Chart of 1943
Larger image at Jerry Beck’s Cartoon Research: Link
How did Disney (during the Walt Disney era) make movies? This organization chart from a 1943 booklet The Ropes At Disney showed that everything started with Walt himself, who focused on story and direction, and let others deal with the details …
Links: Disney Organizational Chart 1943 | The Ropes at Disney at Cartoon Brew
Advanced Beauty
(Vimeo link)
Advanced Beauty is an ongoing collaboration between programmers, artists, musicians, animators and architects to create audio-reactive ‘video sound sculptures’ using the visual programming language Processing, high-end audio analysis and fluid dynamic simulations alongside intuitive responses in traditional cell animation.
This series of videos is inspired by the concept of synesthesia, the syndrome where a person experiences one sense as another, for example, a synesthete may “hear” or “taste” colors. See more videos from the project at Colour Lovers. Link -Thanks, Jon Jason!
Satirical Maps of World War I
BibliOdyssey has a neat post about all sort of satirical maps of the First World War. This one above is the Satyrische Europa Karte Weltkrieg 1914 (Satirical Map of Europe in the World War 1914) by E. Zimmerman:
The Russian bear sprays insect repellant on the Russians and holds out his empty wallet while roaring “hunger.” Finland, chained to Russia, tries to cut itself free. The Russian is under fire from Austria and Germany. His (chamber)pot is full of victories. His uniform shows a tear in East Prussia and Lithuania.
The Austrian duly scratches the Serbs.
Rumania is at the ready.
Bulgaria is still wounded from the Balkan War.
The Turk awakes, he looks at his harem woman.
Norway and Sweden are neutral, Denmark supplies butter.Italy has both feet in one boot and remains neutral.
The German pushes Belgium out of the way with the elbow and is at Franzi’s head.
Bordeaux becomes an asylum for the homeless.
The victories of the English and French are false, like the snakes that proclaim them. The Englishman will also soon know what 42ers are, etc. etc.
Artist Robert Bradford’s Fire Sculptures
Photos: Robert Bradford
Artist Robert Bradford sculpts with fire: first he creates large sculptures out of wood, and then set them on fire to get the final (and transient) effect - this one is (was, I suppose) "Man with Something in Mind."
I think that that "something" is the realization that it’s going to be set on fire! Link (www.robertbradford.co.uk)
Previously on Neatorama: Fire Sculpture by Dave Umlas
Ice Sculptures of Melting Men by Nele Azevedo
Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo’s artwork is cool … literally! In this art installation, Nele created hundreds of sitting figures out of ice - the installation lasted till the last one melted in the heat of the day:
Photos: Nele Azevedo
Photo: Lemoox [Flickr]
Link - via Stuff
That Is Relevant
Great Literature You’ve Never Read
Do you think you’re the only one that skipped great works of English classic literature? Well, here’s a little secret: even respectable authors didn’t read ‘em!
At the literary festival Ways With Words 2008, The Daily Telegraph asks established authors which books they are most embarrassed to admit they’ve never read:
During this year’s Ways With Words festival at Dartington Hall, Devon, we would collar our guests and ask: what’s the book you’re most ashamed of never having read?
Would the eminent Cambridge classicist admit to The Iliad? Would V S Naipaul’s old editor cop to A Bend In The River?
Or would the former schoolmate of a fellow guest confess - with apparent relish - to never having read a word his old friend has written?
Link - via Chasing the Southern Cross
So - ‘fess up: what works of literature are you ashamed of never having read?
Cute Bento Meals
Why send your kids to school with a boring lunch pail when you can make awesomely cute bento boxes like this one? (it’s a PB and J, by the way, and it took just 4 minutes to make)
The Cooking for Monkeys blog by Pam is all about making meal times for her toddler healthier and more interesting by creating some really cute bento meals: Link
Air Conditioned Bus Stop
That, my friend, is an air-conditioned bus stop (presumably near Burj Al Arab hotel, where one night stay costs about US$ 1,000). Must be nice to be rich! (though why would they take the bus, then?)
Found at Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
Best New Music Video: Zombie Killer by Leslie and the Ly’s (featuring Elvira).
This is an amazing music video. Think Michael Jackson’s Thriller but with a much smaller budget. It was made by volunteers (Bobby Ciraldo and Andrew Swant) in Milwaukee. And it features guest vocals from Elvira, Mistress of the Dark!
Click play or go to Link.
Goblin Shark in Action
(YouTube link)
The Goblin Shark {wiki} has mostly pink skin and jaws that can protrude out of its skull like the creature in the movie Alien. In this video, the shark is trying to defend himself from a scuba diver. -via Ectoplasmosis
Find more information on this shark in a previous post at Neatorama.
Controversial Maps
What if there were only 38 states in the USA? In 1973, California State University geography professor George Etzel Pearcy proposed that the state lines be redrawn to better distribute population, urban areas, and tax base. Obviously, his plan did not come to fruition. Mental_floss takes a look at the 38 state map, the badly distorted Mercator Map, and the map that claims the Chinese discovered America in the article 3 Controversial Maps. Link
It’s Only a Flesh Wound!
Who didn’t love the Black Knight in the 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Now you can get your own talking Black Knight with removable limbs!
You’ll love to torture him with his tear-off and stick-on arms and legs and hear him say “Tis nothing but a scratch” or the famous “I’ll bite your legs off!” quote. Character featured in Monty Python’s The Quest for the Holy Grail, and now famous in the touring play Spamalot, this 14″ “character” comes in a collector’s edition box. Perfect for your favorite Monty Python fan-atic.
Link -via Unique Daily
10 Videos of Cats Swimming
I couldn’t pick just one, so go to Best Week Ever and enjoy ten videos of cats doing what cats normally don’t do -if they have a choice. Link -via Digg
Bigfoot Reunion
(YouTube link)
If you liked the story of Christian the Lion (previously on Neatorama), you’ll love the story of Bigfoot, from California’s Redwood Coast. Link -via YesButNoButYes
The Periodic Table of Videos
Periodic Table of Videos is neat beyond belief. Martyn Poliakoff, a professor at the University of Nottingham, and video journalist Brady Haran, put together a periodic table where each elements is a link to a video about that element!
It’s heartening to see chemistry in action and that people can actually have fun doing science! If only this were the way science is taught at school …
Anyways, here’s an intro that explains what the Periodic Table of Videos is all about:
If you only click on one link today, make it this one: Link - via Squeezing My Mind Grapes
Soopa Coin-Up Bros. Art
Soopa Coin-Up Bros is a vinyl toy by Erick Scarecrow that you can customize yourself into, welll, just about anything! Vinyl Toy Freaks has a really neat gallery of some of the amazing custom designs that people (with way more time and talent than your truly) have made: Link - via Copperpott’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Previously on Neatorama: Steampunk Pac Man Arcade and Other Toys by Doktor A
The Nike Burger by Olle Hemmendorff
That’s the Nike (Burger) Air Max 90 by Olle Hemmendorff, a Swedish illustrator/designer who was commissioned by Nike (along with 7 other artists) to "interpret" their sneakers. Olle decided to make one out of … hamburger!
The Aertsen Study by Linda Merchant
Paintings: Linda Merchant
This is fantastic: Linda Merchant of It’s All in the Details blog re-created "Market Woman with Vegetable Stall" (c. 1567) by Dutch painter Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575) using the 7-layer Flemish painting technique.
And she’s blogging each and every step: Link
What Would You do for a Klondike Bar? Fan-made Videos
Unilever, the maker of the Klondike ice cream sandwich has a little video contest where fans submit their home-made "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" videos for a chance to win money. They’ve whittled down 500 video entries into four finalists (with surprisingly good videos!)
I like this one by Pete Holmes of Frontpage Films, though the one by JaysonW is pretty good, too!
The voting is on till Aug 30: Link - via Gynomite! | Many more home-made Klondike bar clips on YouTube
The Neatorama Typosquatters Are Slacking!
Typosquatters [wiki] register common misspellings of a website’s domain name, in hope that someone’s typo could lead to making money (by putting ads on the typosquatted domains, for instance). In some instances, typosquatters are more malicious - their aims are to spread malwares or lead viewers to shock sites.
Well, so how do you know if your domain name has been typosquatted? Here’s a pretty neat site called Typosquat24 where you can find out. Digg, for instance, has a "squat popularity" (dunno how they came up with that) of 89%, whereas reddit’s is only 26%. Google has a squat popularity of 91%, MSN has 98%, and Yahoo has 96%.
In terms of blogs, Boing Boing has a squat popularity of 7%, TechCrunch has 11%, HuffPo has 12% and the wily funny ICanHasCheezburger has 7%.
Neatorama has a puny squat popularity of 3%, as you can see below. So get to it, typosquatters! What are you waiting for? My ego is bruised!
See the rest of Neatorama:
