Image: Kyl21 - via Fast Co.

These ain't your kids popsicles!

Food designer David Marx of independent food lab The Science Kitchen in Berlin, Germany, has re-engineered the popsicle to make it fit for the future. Behold the Kyl21, the world's first "sci-fi" popsicle.

"Popsicles know no age, no gender, no borders: They're beloved all over the world," Marx told John Brownlee of Fast Co., "but after 100 years of popsicle history, it hasn't changed much. We thought it was the right time to bring the popsicle to the next level, making it healthier, prettier, and more functional."

Kyl21 - which is the combination of molekyl, the Norwegian word for molecule, and 21, the age of Marx's intended "grown up" popsicle - comes in geometric fantastic shapes and have flavors ranging from organic to vegan to alcoholic cocktails. Yum!

I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of most haunted houses, and not because I don't like the idea, it's just that most are overwhelmingly cheesy with no story line, bad acting, half-assed sets and mediocre make up to boot. That's why I was so intrigued when I got an email asking me to attend the media preview of the Blumhouse Productions take on the horror event called The Purge: Fear Night.

The event was put together by Jason Blum, producer of some of the biggest horror flicks of the last decade including Sinister, Insidious, Paranormal Activity and The Purge. And, as the name implies, the house itself was based on the concept of The Purge. These facts alone peaked my interest, and I knew I had to go when I started to read more about the event, discovering that there were fewer bloody scenes with people jumping out at you and more of a cohesive story line that was actually interactive. Also, you go in a small group together and aren't sent in one after another like you are in most houses, so you don't see what happens to the person in front of you before you get to the supposed scary part. Oh, and did I mention that the house is spread out over six floors and 700,000 square feet?

After going through the event, I'm now hesitant to even call it a haunted house because there is no paranormal aspect to this story line. Regardless, or possibly because of that, I think it was was of the best "haunted houses" I've ever been to and I highly recommend that you visit The Purge: Fear Night if you get the chance. And don't worry if you've never seen The Purge, even Jason Blum himself promises, "it won't matter...The Purge is about a law that is in the United States that is 12 hours of the year all crime is legal and if you know just that little fact, you will enjoy it just as much as if you've seen the movie."

Now, I know that while we have a good number of Southern California readers, the rest of you probably won't be heading to LA to check out this attraction -especially before it closes November 2. That's why I'm going to include a walk through of some of the coolest parts to give you some idea of how fantastic this experience is. If you think there's any chance you might actually be able to make the event, do not read past the jump because there are all kinds of spoilers here and while some people might not mind spoilers in movies or TV shows, they really would make something like this less enjoyable.

(Video Link)

If Tom and Jerry ever just dropped their pesky hijinks, I think they'd realize that they could be friends this close together. Heck, even I want to join in on this snuggle party.

Via Pets Lady

Internet cat star Colonel Meow (previously at Neatorama) is now going to be enshrined in the Guinness Book of World Records as the cat with the longest fur.

Colonel Meow, age two, is a Himalayan-Persian crossbreed with fur that reaches nine inches long. Meow's fantastically furry features will be part of the newest edition of the 2014 Guinness World Records book, which comes out next month.

Meow calls Los Angeles home, specifically the home he shares with owners Anne Marie Avey and Eric Rosario.

Avey admits while the cat's record-setting fur is something special indeed, it's also kind of a pain in the butt, according to info sent over by Meow's representation. “Literally everything in the house has hair on it, including us! I feel like I’m always vacuuming!” says Avey.

Nine-inch fur? That goes a long way toward explaining the cat's unique appearance. See more pictures of the Colonel and his fur at laist. Link

(Image credit:Guinness World Records)

We love the work of Mentalgazzi, a German street art collective. This is a ticket validating machine, which is in either Berlin or Cologne depending on the source.

Link -via Global Street Art

2-year old Alejandro had Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Medical insurance wouldn't cover a powered wheelchair until he was 5 years old. That was unacceptable to Shea, his father, who bought a wheelchair on eBay and modified it so that Alejandro could control it with his feet:

After unsuccessfully trying to repair a broken digital kitchen scale [Shea] was inspired to reuse the sensors as pedal inputs. [Alejandro] has limited foot strength and the sensitive strain gauges are perfect for picking it up. Above you can see the sandal-based interface he built. The two feet working together affect steering as well as forward and reverse. The pedal system is connected to the wheelchair using a Digital to Analog converter chip to stand-in for the original analog joystick. 

At the link, you can watch a video of Alejandro maneuvering the wheelchair.

Link | Project Website

Ariana Page Russell has dermatographia, which the Mayo Clinic defines as:

Dermatographia is a condition also known as skin writing. When people who have dermatographia lightly scratch their skin, the scratches redden into a raised wheal similar to hives. These marks usually disappear within 30 minutes.

Ms. Russell is an artist. Where other people might see a disability, she saw an opportunity. She inscribes images, words and patterns on her skin. You can see more photos of her work at the link.

Link -via 22 Words

(Photos: Adriano A. Biondo)

From both the front and the back, this kindergarten building in Karlsruhe, Germany looks like a cat:

Designed by artist Tomi Ungerer and architect Ayla-Suzan Yöndel, the educational venue adds a dose of whimsy for children to take delight in going to school. Each day, students are given the opportunity to playfully enter through the mouth of the cat into the spirited belly of the cuddly feline where the space is built to house 100 children.

You can see more photos at the link.

Link -via Technabob

(Photo: Cuddle Mattress)

Oh, you have someone to love but you can't slip your arms around him/her without losing circulation to an arm? Poor you. Well, bless your heart, there is now a solution to your crisis:

Essentially the Cuddle Mattress divides the upper and lower portions of the bed into a series of slats. Side sleepers can wedge their arm — or stomach sleepers can wedge their feet — in between these slats. Each slat has a firm and a soft side, which you can flip depending on your sleeping preference. The slats come in three different materials: latex, polyurethane or polyurethane memory foam. The mattress also comes with its own stretchable, fitted sheets.

Link -via Marginal Revolution

Photo: David Rennie, Mandurah Wetlands, Western Australia

Photographer David Rennie captured this fantastic photo of an encounter of an osprey and a spoonbill in mid-air. Rennie wrote that the young osprey was learning to fish. It was her sixth try one morning, when she came out of the water and looked at her talons to see why she missed her prey. At that exact time, a spoonbill was coming in to land and the two had a "near miss."

Rennie's photo won overall winner at the Australian Geographic's 2013 ANZANG Nature Photographer of the Year contest. It beat more than 1,800 photographs submitted from around the world.

View the rest of the winners over at Australian Geographic's website.

(Video Link)

Otherwise this baby goat is going to go right through it when he gets a little older and decides to really go at it with that copy cat goat.

Via BoingBoing

A penguin can dream, can't he? Fly, little penguin. Use any means you have to, such as this one suggested in the webcomic Safely Endangered.

Link

(Photo: Canada Tourism)

This requires a bit of explanation.

There's a bar in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada that has--or had--a preserved human toe. Since 1973, for a fee, drinkers could sip their whiskey with the toe inside. Because Canada.

Then, last week, one bar-goer swallowed the toe:

Terry Lee, the bar’s “Toe Captain,” said that on Saturday night, an American patron, who had drunk the cocktail before, decided to ingest it this time.

Mr. Lee said the customer was a card-carrying member of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club, a distinction given to each person who tries the drink. To gain full membership, people agree to abide by the club rules, including a $500 fine if the toe is ingested. He said the patron drank the cocktail, swallowed the toe, put the money on the table and left. “He just wanted bragging rights, that’s what he wanted,” Mr. Lee said, adding the patron deliberately swallowed the toe.

To be fair, he abided by the rules. Anyway, there's no need to worry because the bar has a large supply of severed human toes. Terry Lee, the owner, explained:

He said the bar receives toes through donations: either people who have lost toes in accidents or through illness, or have stipulated in their wills that they want a toe or toes donated to the bar.

Link -via Nag on the Lake

Some authors on this list died before publishing their final works. But others, such as E.M. Forster, hid their work from public view:

Purposely kept under wraps during his lifetime, E.M. Forster's tale of same-sex love was written in 1913 and kept secret for nearly 60 years. Maurice’s manuscript famously bears the author’s note to himself: “Publishable, but worth it?”

At the link, you can learn about 9 other novels that emerged only after their authors died.

Link -via Katherine Miller | Image: W.W. Norton

It's hard to beat the Bacon Taco Shell that John posted here on Neatorama last year, but Nick of Dude Foods has improved upon that timeless design, by weaving the strips of bacon together (what simple yet genius improvement in structural stability!) and making it a breakfast food: Link

Like that? More Bacon-y goodness at the NeatoShop