Russell George was driving in Prestbury, South Africa, when he noticed a police van swerving. The officer would come to a stop and start off again, leading George to believe the driver was drunk.
George decided it would be best to call 10111. He was told the police would be there shortly. “After five minutes, no one had arrived. So I jumped out of my car and I approached the driver’s side and asked him to come out. He looked at me and I could smell that he had been drinking. “I asked him again, and he refused. “I then grabbed his keys, pulled him out and locked him in the back of his own van,” George said. He added that the police van was badly damaged, as if it had been involved in an accident.
The inebriated police officer was arrested and his firearm was taken away. There had been a report earlier that same evening of the cop pulling a gun on his girlfriend at a nightclub, and a motor vehicle collision in which witnesses reported a police van that had left the scene. The unnamed officer did not deny being drunk. Link -via Arbroath
Shortest Film is a very short film by John Elerick. The credits are another story. They are very long, but probably the only credits you'll see this year that are worth reading at all -unless, of course, you're in them. -via Laughing Squid
Bee Wilson wrote Consider the Fork, a history of the technology of cooking and eating. The way we prepare and consume food has greatly changed over time and those changes have had an impact on the human body. For example, one anthropologist thinks that using the knife and fork to eat food leads to an overbite:
Until around 250 years ago in the West, archaeological evidence suggests that most human beings had an edge-to-edge bite, similar to apes. In other words, our teeth were aligned liked a guillotine, with the top layer clashing against the bottom layer. Then, quite suddenly, this alignment of the jaw changed: We developed an overbite, which is still normal today. The top layer of teeth fits over the bottom layer like a lid on a box.
This change is far too recent for any evolutionary explanation. Rather, it seems to be a question of usage. An American anthropologist, C. Loring Brace, put forward the thesis that the overbite results from the way we use cutlery, from childhood onwards.
What changed 250 years ago was the adoption of the knife and fork, which meant that we were cutting chewy food into small morsels before eating it. Previously, when eating something chewy such as meat, crusty bread or hard cheese, it would have been clamped between the jaws, then sliced with a knife or ripped with a hand -- a style of eating Professor Brace has called "stuff-and-cut."
Brilliant! Apparently these things have been around since the 70s, but I've only now heard of On-Spot tire chains. These gadgets have short lengths of steel chain attached to a spindle. When the driver encounters heavy snow, s/he can lower them to tire level. The spindles spin with the wheels, driving the chains beneath the tires. When the driver turns them off, spring tension raises the spindles back up.
Felix Salazar, a photographer in Los Angeles, gets very close to his subjects. His images of the mysterious lifeforms found in coral reefs will mesmerize you with their colors and shapes. You can view many more at the link.
Dell, pictured above, is a professional model. Yes, really! He may be...uh, aesthetically challenged, but that's only to his benefit. Ugly Models, a London-based modeling agency, specializes in getting photographers models with unusual physical appearances. At their website, you can view their four categories: men, women, "specials" and Guinness World Records.
Professional photographer Lotte van den Acker wants to take your picture. Smile at her gorgeous tattoo of an Asahi Pentax 35mm SLR, a classic camera made from the 70s to the 90s. The tattoo was inked by her own mother, Helma van der Weide.
In the words of Vice President John Nace Garner, the vice presidency "isn't worth a pitcher of warm piss." That may be true, buit the characters who've held the job are definitely worth a few good pages of trivia. Join Neatorama and mental_floss in toasting 10 backup plans that made this country great.
1. Chester Arthur: Garfield's VP
Chester Arthur took office under the thickest cloud of suspicion. As a lieutenant in Senator Roscoe Conkling's political machine, Arthur held one of the most lucrative positions in government—collector for the port of New York. For seven years, Arthur raked in approximately $40,000 annually (about $700,000 today), running a corrupt spoils system for thousands of payroll employees. With so much money and power, Arthur developed an affinity for fancy clothes and earned the nickname "the Gentleman Boss." But his luck didn't last. President Rutherford Hayes eventually stepped in and fired him from the post.
Even with the kickback scandal and claims that he'd been born in Canada (which should've disqualified him for the vice presidency), Arthur still managed to get elected on James Garfield's 1880 ticket. After Garfield passed away 199 days into his presidency, Arthur didn't hesitate to sign the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. Much to the chagrin of Conkling, the Act revamped civil service by effectively killing the same patronage system that made Arthur very, very rich. In cleaning up civil service, Arthur also cleaned up his reputation, and he exited the White House a hero.
2. William Rufus de Vane King: Franklin Pierce's VP
William R. King was sworn into office in Cuba, becoming the only executive officer to take the oath on foreign soil. King had gone to Cuba to recuperate from tuberculosis and severe alcoholism, but it didn't work. He died in 1853 after being vice president for just 25 days.
That might not be the most memorable thing about King, though. It's widely rumored that the former VP was homosexual. Further still, he's suspected of being James Buchanan's lover. Neither King nor Buchanan ever married, and they lived together in Washington for 15 years before Buchanan became president. Of course, King's predilection for wearing scarves and wigs only fanned the rumors. President Andrew Jackson used to call him "Miss Nancy," and Aaron Brown, a fellow Southern Democrat, dubbed him "Aunt Fancy."
3. Henry Wallace: FDR's 2nd VP
Henry Wallace was a dedicated devotee of Eastern mysticism. While serving as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in the 1930s, he allegedly sent his guru to Mongolia under the pretense of collecting grasses that could withstand drought. In reality, Wallace was diverting funds to help his guru hunt for evidence that Christ had visited Asia.
But it wasn't Wallace's spiritual beliefs that landed him America's No. 2 job. Wallace was a big Franklin Roosevelt fan and supported his entire platform, which is why Roosevelt handpicked him as his third-term running mate in 1940. Wallace wasn't popular with the Democratic Party, but when Roosevelt made it clear he wouldn't run without him, the party acquiesced.
As vice president, Wallace made many international goodwill trips. Most famously, he traveled to the Soviet Union, where he experienced a political transformation that resulted in him becoming an avowed Soviet apologist. His communist leanings did nothing for his image, especially once he became secretary of commerce under President Truman. In 1948, Wallace unsuccessfully ran for president on the Progressive Party ticket, espousing views that sounded shockingly Marxist. He even described corporations as "midget Hitlers" attempting to crush the labor class.
Pauline Phillips, better known as Dear Abby, has passed away at the age of 94.
Philips did not begin her professional career as a writer until she was 37 when she wrote to a newspaper complaining that she, a housewife and mother of two, could give better advice to the readers.
The editor of the paper apparently agreed. Her first "Dear Abby" column appeared in the San Francisco chronicle on January 9, 1956. It was syndicated that same year and went on to become the world's most widely syndicated column. Phillips continued writing the column until 2002 when it was announced that she suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.
Pithy advice seems to runs in the family. Pauline Phillip's twin sister was known by the pen name Ann Landers.
Phillip's daughter Jeanne Phillips has continued the legacy of writing the column known for its succinct, yet meaningful, advice.
Are you hoping the Good Doctor will be stopping in for a spot of tea? Make sure you look like the hostess with the mostess with the TARDIS Ceramic Teapot from the NeatoShop. This beautiful teapot with lid is made of glazed ceramic. It is perfect for entertaining time lords or other time traveling aliens.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Doctor Who items.
If you are trying to avoid the flu, simple math tells us that placing all your faith in hand sanitizer is a mistake. Randall Munroe at xkcd even did the math for you! Wash your hands, cover those sneezes, and get a flu shot. Link-Thanks, Ned Scioneaux!
Artist Anna Dabrowska, who goes by Finnabair, creates lovely collages by reusing discarded computer parts, mechanical leftovers, and other objects that an imaginative mind can find useful.
The fantastic textures seen in these works of art are created by pasting the assorted pieces and parts onto canvas. The artist then skillfully colors her work using a mixture of inks and sprays. With these collages, she manages to transform recycling from a practical, mundane activity into a process for creating objects of beauty.
See a selection of Finnabair's works at the new site Tech Graffiti. Link
Everyone plays basketball with the laundry hamper occasionally, but it's so much more fun when you have an agile kitten to complete the layup! -via Arbroath
Bike manufacturer SRAM bought a unique storage building in Chicago. It was formerly a ten-story freezer for Chicago’s Fulton Market District. All that freezer space had to be defrosted before it could be used for anything else!
After decades of use, the building literally had to be defrosted like an old freezer. See the Time Lapse Video (courtesy of Sterling Bay Companies.) At the: 24 second mark, you can see the large propane heaters brought in to accelerate the melting process.
