For centuries, scientists have tried to classify human beings by scientific parameters, and human beings constantly confound such efforts. When I was young, children were given aptitude tests to see what areas of study or career they might succeed in, and such tests often doomed young people to low expectations they could easily exceed if they weren't stigmatized by test results. Now we can test and classify people at the molecular level, but DNA tests still aren't great at pigeonholing people.

No one will argue that Ludwig von Beethoven wasn't a great musician and composer. Yet recent analysis of his DNA would have one believe he had little potential in music. His DNA was scored against a database of 69 genes associated with musical ability gleaned from modern subjects with known musical ability, or lack thereof. The specific talent analyzed was beat synchronization, or the ability to keep a steady beat. Studies by both the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and Vanderbilt University found Beethoven to score at the ninth percentile and 11% percentile respectively. Previous studies show that musical talent is 42% heritable, but we can see right there that genes don't tell the whole story. If DNA had been used for aptitude testing when Beethoven was a child, it might have discouraged one of the greatest musical geniuses from ever pursuing his art. Read more about this study at New Atlas. -via Strange Company

(Image credit: DALL-E)

The Soviet Union was always secretive, but during the Cold War the outside world got hardly any information on what was going on behind the Iron Curtain. Only after the USSR collapsed in 1991 did we learn about the particulars of the Soviet nuclear program, including entire cities that were forbidden territory and kept classified even from their near neighbors. Sure, most of the US didn't know what was going on in Oak Ridge or Los Alamos during World War II, but the Americans working in those places knew it wasn't going to be a life sentence. City 40, on the other hand, was like a high-class, luxurious prison for nuclear scientists, technicians, and their families. Weird things happened in City 40, including a nuclear disaster and a story of alien adoption during those secret years. Now known as Ozersk, the city is clearly identified on Russian maps published after the Soviet Union dissolved. -via Digg

The world's largest veterinary clinic is Salam Veterinary Group in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia. The facility covers 71,500 square meters (769,620 square feet), employees around 300 veterinarians, and can house up to 8,000 animals at once. The complex contains an equine hospital, a camel hospital, pet clinics, a wildlife center, and a research center. They also have branch offices and mobile units used for farm visits. The clinic was already huge when it was established in 2020 before it expanded in 2022 in order to achieve the Guinness World Record.

This clinic offers services you won't find elsewhere, like embryo transfer for specialized camel breeding, infertility treatment, paternity testing, and drug screening for banned substances. I can't find out much about their wildlife services, but you have to wonder if they provide veterinary care for Saudis who keep tigers and other exotic animals. You might notice that the header at their website in English reads backwards. That's because Arabic is read from left to right. Still, any way you look at it, this is a big hospital.  

(Unrelated image credit: Prof. Mortel)

What kind of government would you prefer to live under? There are many that have been tried, with varying levels of success, depending on your standing in the hierarchy. The Paint Explainer (previously at Neatorama) goes through 21 words we use to describe how governments work. These terms are not mutually exclusive; most countries can be described legitimately as a combination of two or more types. When people are criticizing a government, they can use any number of these terms. In fact, you can make up a word and put the Greek suffix "cracy" on it to describe a government. And you'll have to study history to find examples of these terms, and how they can change over time. This comment has a list of the terms, in case you want to look one up and read more. They have a sponsor now; the skippable ad runs from about 5:25 to 6:40. -via Laughing Squid

There are several pairs of Dorothy's ruby slippers that still exist from the production of the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. You might recall that a pair had been stolen from a museum in 2005 and recovered by the FBI in 2018. In 2023, 76-year-old Terry Martin was arrested for the theft. Now we have new details about Martin, such as why he stole the shoes. He thought they were encrusted with real rubies. An accomplice has now been arrested, and we learn more about what those shoes have been through- ultraviolet treatment, burial, and finally a return to their rightful owner. The story also involves a threat of revenge porn.

Also, we learn about the future plans for the shoes. After going on exhibit at various locations, they will be put up for auction in December. Of the half-dozen or so authentic ruby slippers, these are the ones with the most notorious history, and will probably fetch a pretty penny. Read what we know about the case by now at The History Blog. -via Strange Company  

(Image credit: dbking)

In the new short film The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story, Miles Morales is struggling with the pressures of being a teenager in the modern world, juggling family, friends, school work, and his future, combined with the stress of fighting crime and injustice as Spider-Man. His depression turns into anxiety and then to paranoia and a panic attack as he confronts the demon that is himself. Luckily, he doesn't have to deal with all this alone.   

Sony Pictures Animation made this video to bring attention to the Kevin Love Fund which encourages those with mental health struggles to seek help. They even have a mental health lesson plan to go along with this video. The film is also a part of The Hero Within series of videos reaching out to those who may need help. Director Jarelle Dampier and Kevin Love talk about the initiative in another video. -via Geeks Are Sexy

My 94-year-old grandmother has kept a list of every book she ever read since she was 14 years old. Amazing archive of one person’s mind over nearly a century pic.twitter.com/Cu9znTgkJO

— Ben Myers (@_BenMyers_) March 20, 2023

Ben Myers, a professor of theology and literature at a college in Australia, writes that his grandmother, who was born in Germany, recorded every book that she read from the age of 14 until she passed away last week. She provided complete records of every book for 80 years. It's a total of 1,658 books, which is approximately one book every two weeks.

The lady was, I gather, a Serbian who lived in Germany before immigrating to Australia after World War II. In addition to English and Serbian, could read German and Hungarian.

I've done something similar for the past dozen years or so--just an ongoing reading list. Perhaps it will give something for my own grandchildren to ponder.

By now you've heard about the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after it was struck by a cargo ship Tuesday morning, leading to the deaths of six men working on the bridge. Large modern bridges that carry lots of traffic are engineering marvels, except when they aren't, or when they are hit by ships bigger than they were designed to resist, or when big storms or earthquakes hit. The picture above shows Howard Clifford running away from his abandoned car as the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed on November 7, 1940. We previously posted a video of that harrowing bridge failure. The suspension bridge twisted under the force of 40 mph winds until it couldn't maintain its integrity any longer.

Smithsonian brings us some information on the Baltimore bridge accident, plus seven other horrific bridge collapses from history. A couple of them were destroyed twice, and a few are accompanied by video of the destruction.

(Image source: UW Digital Collections)

Getting on an elevator with your boss can be stressful, but it's much worse when your boss has the power of life and death over you. You just want to fade into the background, but this stormtrooper named TK-FNG is the only one there besides Darth Vader. And to make things worse, Vader has the hiccups. Can he keep his cool all the way to his floor? This would have been much easier back in the day when stormtroopers were clones who didn't have the time nor the background to develop human emotions and anxieties.

You also have to wonder what the implications of a case of hiccups would be for a guy who uses an artificial beathing apparatus. But you can't just ask him.

This Star Wars short film is brought to you by AFK. Peter Haynes created this video as part of his For The Empire series, in which TK-FNG is a recurring character. You can see all the episodes here.

Aaron Cohen has been running Jason Kottke's blog while he's on vacation. Cohen also owns an ice cream shop. Here he presents us with an example of confusing design. The image is of a freezer knob. If you wanted to make the freezer colder, would you turn the knob clockwise or counterclockwise? The arrow is pointing to the right (clockwise). Does that mean that you should turn the knob in this direction to make the freezer colder, or does it mean that these smaller numbers on the right are where you should set the knob for a colder temperature? In other words, which is colder, a setting of 1 or a setting of 6? I have the same knob on my refrigerator, and since both ideas occurred to me, I just left it sitting where it's always been.

It's like when someone asks you to turn the air conditioning up. Do they mean to make the A/C work harder to make the room cooler, or do they mean turn the thermostat up, which would be warmer? In that case, you can just ask them what they mean. Let us know your opinion in the poll, and maybe some HVAC pro will set us straight in the comments.

There are two kinds of people in this world- those who never listen to the lyrics of their favorite songs, and those who know all the lyrics but misinterpret what they mean. That's why "The One I Love" by R.E.M. is on many wedding playlists despite it being about an abusive relationship, and why Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." is used as a patriotic anthem despite it being a complaint about a guy's awful life. A song is always more than its title, but that's the thing people remember. Do you know what Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is about? No, because the title has nothing to do with the lyrics, as far as we can tell.

The meaning of some songs is misinterpreted because the word "love" stands out, so it must be a love song. Or there's a rumor about a hidden meaning that's completely untrue. Or it's such a dance bop that it couldn't possibly say anything deep or philosophical. Sometimes one misheard lyric gives the song an entirely new, but unintentional, meaning. And there are even cases where the singer and the liner notes disagree over what the lyrics really are. Read up on nine popular songs for which the lyrics are either ignored or misinterpreted at Mental Floss. You can also listen to the article in video form.

Ryan Gosling memorably sang the song "I'm just Ken" from the movie Barbie at the Oscar awards ceremony earlier this month. Viewers loved it. Sadly, Gosling did not win for Best Supporting Actor, but he did rule the internet for a few days afterward. The performance sparked a sense of deja vu for The Kiffness (previously at Neatorama) because it reminded him of the singing bulldog that went viral five years ago. Therefore, he couldn't resist editing together a mashup of the two. So who does it better- Walter Geoffrey's French bulldog or the movie star? Neither are professional singers, and that's okay, but personally, I can't help but be drawn to the bulldog's performance. It's just so emotional! -via Geeks Are Sexy

Candlepin bowling is a variant of bowling that originated in New England and the maritime provinces of Canada. The cylindrical pins, which resemble candles in shape, are three inches wide. The balls are much smaller than what you might be used to measuring only four and a half inches across.

D'Amanda's bowling alley in Ellsworth Maine, which is owned and operated by one person, has a unique pinsetting machine that was built as a prototype in 1949. It's still in use, although it is fragile and requires almost constant repairs.

At the age of 19, Autumn Mowery purchased the alley and is its only employee. Mowery has to run everything because it's impossible for her to get insurance to protect workers who would have to repair and reset the pinsetting machine. WCSH News in Portland interviewed Mowery about her mission to preserve the traditions of candlepin bowling and this particular business.

Johannes Vetter is a German athlete who specializes in the javelin throw. His personal record is almost 320 feet and 9 inches, which is a long distance to throw anything at all.

How does Vetter do it? He trains hard and trains smart, using the best techniques and equipment available. This includes weighted sleds designed specifically for javelin training. I think that he's using this specific model, which was allows for not only weight adjustment, but also calculates the velocity of each throw. Athletes can use this machine while seated or standing.

-via Massimo

Sewing any garment by hand is tedious work, and it requires a tremendous amount of skill as well. But we don't sew clothes by hand anymore, because we have sewing machines. It may seem trivial for anyone who isn't interested in embroidery or sewing, but the things needed in order to make invent sewing machines was actually remarkable.

When I was a kid, my grandmother had a sewing machine in her room, and my cousins and I would often visit her room and play with the sewing machine, not knowing exactly how the machine worked. We would often just step on the pedal and the machine would start, and the sound that it made was like music to our ears.

The sewing machine was invented in the 1850s, although it's unclear who exactly was the first to do so, as there were many competing claims. However, in order for the sewing machine to work, there were three main innovations that had to be established before we got to a prototype of the modern sewing machine.

First of all, inventors needed to think of a different way of sewing. Instead of having to manually flip over the needle from one side to the other, Charles Wiesenthal invented a needle that was sharp on two edges. That removes the need for flipping. But then a second problem presented itself.

Even though the needle could now go through the fabric on both sides, there was no way of tangling the thread onto the fabric. That's when the chain stitch was conceptualized. Although the chain stitch solved the problem of the thread staying on the fabric, if the thread were to come loose, then the whole seam would come apart as well.

So, inventors devised a solution called the lock stitch, which held the thread in place by using two different spools of thread which will be interlocked in the middle of the fabric to keep it in place. This brought about several changes to the sewing machine integrating that innovation.

The last piece of the puzzle was how to move the fabric without having to do it by hand. And thus came the feed dog, which is the part of the sewing machine that automatically moved the fabric after every stitch.

Once all the pieces had been acquired, we finally got the modern sewing machine. With all of these different parts, Isaac Singer, a businessman, thought of commercializing the sewing machine. He bought the patents for all the different innovations and made the manufacturing of the sewing machines more efficient, so that it can be sold to households instead of corporations.

This brought the price of the sewing machine down to one-tenth of its original price of $100. And that's how our grandmothers were able to have this nifty machine that can make clothes in half an hour in their rooms.

(Video credit: Veritasium/Youtube)