Did you enjoy the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics last night? The fireworks were cool, the production numbers were great, but I think it might be time for Sir Paul to retire his voice and concentrate on being a living icon. I can't believe that my kids watched the entire Parade of Nations, but after all, those are the people who the Olympics are all about ...and it might help their understanding of how big the world really is. Anyway, we've got two weeks of sporting events to enjoy, but along the way you'll want to take a break and catch up on the neat stuff going on at Neatorama. Check out this list of feature articles from last week, just in case you may have missed something.
Jill Harness showed us The 12 Most Unique Playgrounds in the World.
Eddie Deezen told us the story behind the iconic song "Rock Around the Clock."
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader gave us The Dumbest Western Ever Made. This article about Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter also comes with the movie in its entirety.
Sonneborn and the Persistently Shapely Paramecia was this week's contribution from the Annals of Improbable Research.
And mental_floss magazine brought us How Chuck Yeager Reached Supersonic Speed.
In the What Is It? game, the items in question are indeed hitching blocks, they were carried in buggies and wagons to hitch horses to when there were no trees in the area. The first with the correct answer was Steve Pauk, who wins a t-shirt for knowing that. The funniest answer (and clever, too) came from jazzypig, who said this is A selection of “grudges”. These have handles, so that they’re easier to hold. That’s worth a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! You’ll find the answers to all this week’s mystery items at the What Is It? blog. Thanks to everyone who entered!
Our last Neatorama Caption Contest was open for quite some time, but we announced the winners this week. Congratulations!
You still have time to win in the Tokyo Flash Treasure Hunt contest that is still open ...but not for long!
The post that inspired the most comments this week (besides giveaways) was When Hyphen Boy Meets Hyphen Girl, followed by Hotel Replaces Bible with Fifty Shades of Grey. In third place was the post Take Care in What You Wear to the Games. Those comment threads are still open, too.
You are also invited to check out past articles on all kinds of subjects at The Best of Neatorama. Join in the discussions at our Facebook page. And be sure to follow Neatorama on Twitter!
I have three children getting ready for high school ...two of them for the first time. Show your kids you're behind them all the way and give them something they'll be proud to take to school from the great selection of back-to-school items at the NeatoShop!