A few months ago, I brought you a post detailing the stupidest pet products on the market and Alex suggested that I look into products that may have not been released, but were still patented. Researching these made me laugh even harder than the first article, which is why I’m happy to share these absurd animal inventions with you. You might not be able to wear your heart on your sleeve, but you can sure wear your gerbil around your chest with this great pet display clothing. Be sure to jump around a lot while wearing this so your small animal knows you’re excited to have their company. If you have a bigger pet like a small dog or a cat though, don’t worry, you can still carry them on your chest with this remarkably comfortable and uninhibiting design for a wearable pet enclosure. This multi-function pet carrier seems a little more convenient although even more humiliating for your pet. Nothing like a gorgeous poodle purse to get the attention of those socialites you’ve been looking to impress. Some pet owners don’t want to show their babies off to the world though and would rather throw them in a backpack. For these “animal lovers,” this specialty back pack pet carrier is a godsend, as it allows the animal just enough air to breathe and limits their ability to harm the user through the fabric.

Comic Con is one of my favorite things to cover on all the blogs I write for because I love going any way and everyone is incredibly nice. Some of the best things to cover are the outrageous and amazing costumes worn by all the fans. This year was no exception, and I am thrilled to bring you 30 great cosplay pics from Comic Con 2010. If you like these, be sure to scroll to the bottom for links to all sorts of other great Comic Con coverage from this year and previous years. Now, on to the costumes! All images by Jill Harness (Hey, that's me!), and Zeon Santos.

Heroes:

Now this is Sparta! This Xena has incredible leather-working skills. She made the whole costume herself. Normally I try to leave myself out of these things, but I could resist a photo opp with White Gold. Mad Max costumes are always pretty cool.

Literally one day after I wrote a post about the Haunted Mansion, Disney  announced at Comic Con that they are going to make a second movie based on the famed ride. I know I'm not the only one who remembers that they already tried this and didn't do very well with it. Maybe Guillermo Del Toro will do better though.

Image via Zeon Santos.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Zeon Santos.

Since I was a kid, I loved ghosts and haunted houses and Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion has always been one of my favorites and I’m sure many of you agree. But what do you really know about the mansion and the stories behind its layout and design? The history behind the ride is almost as cool as the experience itself, so for today’s Neatorama Facts, I give you an inside look at the Haunted Mansion.

From Humble Beginnings Rose A Legend

Image via Passport to Dreams.

The Haunted Mansion wasn’t open until 1969, but the idea was kicked around since the beginning. In the one of the original park designs created by artist Harper Goff showed a crooked street coming off of Main Street and winding past a church and a graveyard and leading to a run-down mansion on a hill. The idea wasn’t incorporated at first, but Disney liked the idea and assigned imaginer Ken Anderson to build a story around the drawing and create a full experience around it.

Because plans for New Orleans square were currently in progress, it was decided that the ride would be built in the style of an antebellum manor. The original souvenir map that showed New Orleans Square promised that the area would include a thieves market, a pirate wax museum and a haunted house when it was open.

The first drawings for the mansion showed it overgrown with weeds, filled with swarms of bats and having boarded up doors and windows. While this certainly would have set the mood for a scary adventure, Disney hated the idea of a run-down building in his park and insisted, “we'll take care of the outside and let the ghosts take care of the inside."

Delays on Top of Delays

Video link

When working on the original plans for the mansion, Anderson developed a number of wonderfully chilling tales, the main of which revolved around a ghost of a sea captain who killed his nosy bride and then hung himself. He was even hoping to incorporate some of the monsters used in Universal films. Most of this ended up not materializing because Disney wanted to take things in another direction.

For the special effects, Rolly Crump and Yale Grace were hired to create creepy effects that would be far from obvious. The pair researched real haunting stories, Greek myths and monster movies and then started building elaborate effects in their private studio. The effects got to be so good that they scared some of the cleaning crew. Thinking that was funny, they hooked up all the effects to a motion sensor so it would all go off when the cleaning crew entered the room. After that, the crew refused to enter the area and they had to clean up their own studio.

July is National Ice Cream Month and it is indeed a great month to enjoy a cool scoop of your favorite flavors. If  you’re looking to expand your tasting horizons to some of the stranger flavors in the ice cream rainbow, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve collected the weirdest and wackiest ice cream flavors from around the world for your enjoyment. You’ll notice some of the flavors seen on other lists, like lychee, red bean and sesame, are not included here, as they are everyday dessert flavors in their country, and therefore, not all that strange as an ice cream flavoring. Instead, this article focuses on those flavors that make even the most native-son of a given region ask “what the heck were you thinking?”

Something’s Fishy

Agutuk

It could be debated whether or not this North American frozen treat is technically an ice cream, being as how it’s made without any cream or even vegan-friendly cream substitutes, but its nickname, “Eskimo Ice Cream” and its shocking ingredients certainly qualify it to be on this list. So what’s in agutuk? Snow, berries, seal oil and reindeer fat. If cute animals make delicious food, then this has got to be the best ice cream around. Image via Andrea Pokrzywinski [Flickr]

Crab

As for more traditional ice creams with non-traditional flavors, this savory crab ice cream is described as more of a frozen crab bisque than what you would normally think of as ice cream.

Lobster

The lobster ice cream seems a lot more along the lines of a traditional American dessert product, as it has a sugary butter base with chunks of sweet lobster blended in. A Massachusetts dessert parlor started making the treat just to prove that they actually do concoct their own flavors. Surprisingly, the flavor took off and is now one of the most popular items served.

Caviar

For an equally luxurious treat, consider the caviar ice cream by Philippe Faur. If that’s not your style, he also makes mustard, Roquefort, black truffles, pepper and foie gras flavor as well. Unlike the lobster ice creams, these aren’t meant for dessert though, they are actually intended as a side dish or appetizer to tantalize the senses and prepare you for accompanying flavors to come.

Oyster

Apparently luxurious savory ice creams aren’t actually a modern trend, but an old time classic that has been long forgotten about. Lorraine Eaton discovered and posted a recipe for oyster ice cream that dates back to 1824 and was supposedly a popular treat amongst the upper classes in the time of the Revolutionary War. The dish itself is essentially just an oyster stew with the oysters strained out. Reviews from Eaton’s recreation of the dish seem fairly mixed and one tester nearly vomited after tasting it, but it would certainly be a brave appetizer for those who want to feel a gourmet connection with the founding fathers.

Shrimp

If you’re looking for a customizable fish-based ice cream, better head to Cold Stone Creamery in Florida’s Fernandina Beach during the local shrimp fest to try their shrimp ice cream with your choice of mix-ins. Apparently, the light flavor of shrimp makes this base a perfect compliment to tropical fruits like pineapple and coconut.

Octopus, Squid Ink and Eel

The Japanese are known for being very open to new flavors. In fact, ice cream itself is even a fairly recent addition to the national palate, which is why they are so open to experimenting with flavor combinations most Americans could never even imagine. Some fun flavors you might be afraid to try include octopus, squid ink and eel. Supposedly the octopus flavor isn’t too bad and it doesn’t have any chunks in it unless you buy it garnished with tentacles. Squid ink has a rather mild flavor, so the pitch black sweet also gets fairly high ratings, even from non-natives. On the other hand, eel seems to be limited to those with more “acquired tastes” for the fish and is said to taste incredibly fishy, or as one reviewer put it, “imagine a section of the ocean where about eight thousand very large sea creatures have died and started to decompose.” I’m all for exotic tastes, but this is one I think I’d have to pass on. Images via wilhelmja [Flickr], Katherine Donaldson [Flickr] and Associated Content

Where’s The Meat?

Beef Tongue, Pit Viper and Horse

Last year I announced the Threadcakes competition after it had already rolled to a close, but now's your chance to actually participate in the contest. Simply choose your favorite Threadless shirt, then turn it into a cake and submit the image to the Threadcakes gallery. The prizes aren't listed yet, but I'm sure they will include some awesome shirts.

The inspiration from the cake above can be seen here.

Photos by Zeon Santos. Last week, my boyfriend and I went to the San Diego County Fair, previously known as the Del Mar Fair. We came with hopes of gorging ourselves on fried food and petting the myriads of livestock that are there to be judged. We left with sore bellies, hands that were surprisingly (and disappointingly) clean of animal germs and a full photo story of our day at the fair. This year's theme, "Taste The Fun," left me eager to visit. After all, the best part of these events is a chance to try all the fried goods your belly can handle. Even better, because we went on a Tuesday, most vendors were offering a "Taste of the Fair" deal where one select item would only be $2.

I was eager to see what $2 deals most of the booths offered, but as we discovered, most of the deals were pretty bogus. You could buy half of a cinnamon roll that would ordinarily cost $4 for $2. Or you could get cotton candy, which was normally $2.50. I have to admit, Mr. Tomato here had me disappointed by the time we walked halfway up the main drag.

Some of the places were even worse, offering $2 "tastes" that were literally a single bite of one of their dishes. I guess they thought it was a fair buy when they were already charging $14 for a basket of fried clams.

Regardless of the price though, the food is still one of the main attractions and these places were raking in the dough, particularly those places that offer more non-traditional fare, such as fried Snickers, Twinkies, etc. This place had a massive line all day. I think the light-up sign helped.

Surprisingly, the Heart Attack Cafe wasn't that busy, but I suppose that was more due to its bad location than its lack of trendy foods. After all, it was the only place in the fairgrounds serving both deep fried butter and chocolate-covered bacon. The place sounded like a Neatorama post.

This was one of the two booths I finally chose to eat from. I've been dying to try deep-fried avacados for years and they were the only place selling them. While I was there, I also took a chance on the deep-fried s'mores. I do not regret telling you that I declined to try the Krispy Kreme custard donut chicken sandwich, which seems beyond revolting to me, despite its journalistic appeal. Have any of you tried it?

These are the fried avocados that were served with pesto sauce, lemon and ranch dressing. They were really good with lemon and pesto and the flavors melded together really well. The ranch was a little too creamy for the avocados, which are already so rich and creamy on their own.

This was the fried s'more. The first bite or two was great, but it reminded me of the fried Snickers I tried once...a few bites in and you're pretty much over it.

Of all the $2 "Taste of the Fair" treats, this was the only one that actually seemed worth it. This is a hash dog, a hot dog surrounded by hash browns and then deep fried. The flavor was good, but it was just too greasy as you might imagine. Still, it was a good deal, it is normally $4 for this thing and at least it's remotely filling as oppa "taste" of fish.

Moving on from food that you actually eat, there was an amazing sculpture of a couple with a stroller made completely from butter inside the main livestock area. Because it's always incredibly hot here, the sculpture had to be contained in an air conditioned chamber. There were two people inside working on it while we were there and I have to say, they were amazing. They worked in tons of details into the sculptures. The guy's shirt even had palm trees carved into it.

One of my favorite parts of the fair are the livestock barns, but I have to say, this year was actually a bit disappointing. They had one huge mud area with a few cows, some pigs and some goats, but you couldn't even get close to them.

In the other livestock areas, they had most of the cows roped off.

My favorite animals are the goats, and the only way you could get to them was to go through the madness that is the petting corral. They didn't even have any goats entered into livestock competitions this year.

Actually, there was one species of goats in the livestock corrals. These are angora goats. Unfortunately, they just aren't as friendly as regular or pygmy goats.

On the other hand, there were plenty of sheep, about three barns full. And as a result, there was tons of shearing as well.

A lot of the sheep wear these robes, but I have no idea what the point is, do any of you readers know what they are for?

Not all of the fair animals are livestock though. This little piggy is the star swimmer of the Swifty Swine Racing Pigs show. She loves jumping in  couldn't wait for the guy to do his build up, so she just went for it.

These are the racing pigs from the show and they have become quite a crowd favorite. In fact, their hourly shows seem to always have full seats.

There's also an adorable Doggies of The Wild West Show. While we missed it this year, we did catch a magician doing tricks in front of the cutest stage around.

The fairgrounds are also home to one of San Diego's biggest haunted houses in October. This was their promotion to remind people to come back later in the year. While the booth looked pretty cool, it seemed very out of place amongst the rest of the happy fair attractions.

The plant and garden area is another big attraction of the fair. Clipped flowers sit inside while whole gardens wait outdoors.

This guy seemed to be the mascot for the garden section, which had a fruit and veggie theme to go along with the fair's overall "Taste the Fun" theme.

While there were plenty of veggies and fruits planted in the gardens, I noticed not too many of them won these "noteworthy plant" awards. I guess zucchini, beans and tomatoes just aren't that impressive.

Bromeliads sure are impressive though and they were scattered about the gardens.

Another cool attraction at the fair are all the handmade items. We had a friend who entered something in the woodworking show and we went to have a look. Along the way we found some really cool things like this gun and holster made from just wood and metal.

And this incredible lion that was almost life-size.

This is the piece our friend entered. It's not as artistic as a fully wooden lion, but it's certainly more functional.

This was in the next door gem show. I had no idea tortoise shells and shark's teeth counted as jewels, but they sure make nice jewelery.

Then of course, there are the rides. This was probably the most popular ride this year and the line was out of control.

The farris wheel was massively large. Too bad it costs something like $5 for one ride.

I avoided the rides this year, but I did ride on this one once and if you see it somewhere and are tempted to try it, don't. They hold you at the top of the loop upside down and then hold you there so all the blood rushes to your head...that's why they call it Evolution. Instead of fun dizziness upon exiting you instead get a terrible headache as the blood returns to the rest of your body.

It's been forever since I saw a place that offered elephant rides, but these guys are great because they operate an elephant breeding program to help endangered Asian elephants. The animals all looked really happy, and you could look for areas around their necks to see they weren't abused like many trained elephants.

Then of course they had all the carnival games filled with hucksters calling you to try your luck to win lovely knock-off toys. For some reason bananas seemed to be a popular stuffed animal this year.

If you're wondering why a person who doesn't go on the rides still bothers to walk through the ride section, this is why.

I love the artwork on these rides. Even the not-so-good, copyright-infringing artwork is fun to look at.

I was a little sad to see that they finally painted over the totally dated pictures of Tom Selleck on the Magnum ride. I guess they felt like they needed to modernize it...of course, no one felt like they should modernize the dancing Coke can.

For some reason, the fun houses always have the coolest artwork.

The kid's area rides also have really detailed paintings on them.

And there is nothing quite like having a smiling spider wave you goodbye as you head out of the park grounds.

Here's your turn Neatonauts, do you have a local fair? Is it any good? Is it too commercial? What are your favorite attractions? This isn't just to stimulate conversation, it's also to help us find a better fair that's more classic and way less expensive, so let's hear it.

In nature, most animals have little or no contact with their biological fathers, but humans do and we certainly aren’t alone. In celebration of all the great dads of our readers and the great dad readers, here’s a collection of some of the best animal fathers around in no particular order. Image via Sukanto Debnath [Flickr]

1) Seahorses

Perhaps the most famous of all animal fathers are seahorses, which are known for being one of the only male animals in the world to get pregnant. The female deposits her eggs into his brood, then he fertilizes the eggs and carries them to term. As you can see in the image, they can get quite large during the pregnancy period. The number of babies may vary greatly by species, as seahorses can deliver as few as 5 babies or as many as 1,500. On average though, the numbers are around 100-200. Source Image via Jaro Nemcok

2) Hardhead Catfishes

The hardheaded catfish doesn’t have such a thick skull when it comes to fatherhood. While he doesn’t get pregnant like a seahorse, he does put up to 48 of his fertilized eggs in his mouth and carries them with him for 60 days. If that wasn’t uncomfortable enough, he doesn’t eat for this entire period, making him one dedicated daddy. Source Image via Eustatic [Flickr]

3) Marsupial Frogs

As the name suggests, the marsupial frog also carries his babies around in his brood pouch. While there are a few different species of marsupial frogs, perhaps the most impressive fathers are those that guard the eggs laid on the ground. When the eggs hatch, the ground will not provide enough moisture for the tadpoles, so he puts them in his brood pouch until they hop out as baby frogs. Source Image via Brian.gratwicke [Flickr]

4) Darwin Frogs

Similarly, the Darwin frog also guards its eggs until they hatch, but he takes them into his vocal sac (up to 30 at a time), where they will stay until they grow into young frogs and hop out of his mouth. Source Image via huenchecal [Flickr]

5) Mimic Poison Frog

The mimic poison frog has a notable reputation for not only being a great father, but also being a great husband. As a matter of fact, it is the only amphibian to be certifiably monogamous. The female frog lays her eggs on leaves and those that hatch are then moved by the father into a tiny pool of water inside a bromeliad. Because there are not enough nutrients for the tadpoles to survive in these conditions, the male not only guards them, but watches for signs that the baby needs food. When he croaks, the mother comes by and lays an unfertilized egg in the pool of water as a source of nourishment for the baby. Source Image via phrakt [Flickr]

6) Emperor Penguins

Perhaps the next best known fathers in the animal kingdom, emperor penguins not only watch the fertilized eggs, they go for months at a time in the freezing arctic without a meal. The fathers keep the eggs on their feet and covered with their bellies because contact with the sub-freezing ground can result in immediate death of the embryo inside.  He stays like this for two months and by this time, he has already gone over 100 days without a meal. The female penguins generally return shortly after the eggs hatch, but until they arrive, the daddy manages to feed the youngsters with a substance produced in his esophagus. Only after the females return and the couple exchanges shifts does the male get to head to sea for a well-deserved meal. Source Image via ASOC Pictures [Flickr]

7) Namaqua Sandgrouse

When it comes to care after the chick is born, the Namaqua sandgrouse is one heck of a dad. During the incubation period, he sits on the nest at night and then the mother incubates the eggs during the day. The father really shines after the chicks hatch though and the mother leaves the family to fend for themselves. The birds live in arid desert areas and while the nests are always located around watering holes, the young chicks cannot make it to water, so the dad has to bring it to them. He dips his belly in water every morning and his feathers absorb the water like a sponge, each feather can hold up to eight times its weight in water. He then returns to the nest where the chicks can drink the water straight from his feathers. Source Image via Arno & Louise [Flickr]

8) Greater Hornbills

Ever wonder why a hornbill has such a massive beak? It’s partly so they can break out of their nesting area when they grow up. Greater hornbills build their nests inside hollowed out parts of trees, which are then sealed off with mud and feces so nothing can get in or out without quite a struggle. The mother stays in the inside of this nest and a small slit is left in the plug so the male can pass food to her. For the entire incubation period, he will make up to five trips a day to feed his mate and the chicks once they hatch. When the chicks become large enough to crowd the nest, the mother will break her way out of the nest with her casque and then reseal the barrier, leaving the chicks inside. The mother and father then continue to take turns feeding the chicks for another four or five months until their beaks are developed enough that they can break the seal and fly out. Source Image via Lip Kee [Flickr]

9) Rheas

Rhea may not be the most loyal mates, with each male courting anywhere between 2 and 12 females, but they are certainly great dads. Each male can incubate 10 and 60 eggs for around 40 days (an average nest contains around 26 eggs from 7 females). When the chicks are born, he is very protective, charging anyone, including female rheas, who approach the babies. He raises the chicks completely on his own and teaches them how to fend for themselves. Source Image via LadyofHats [Wikimedia]

10) Jacanas

Like the rheas, jacanas are very active fathers who not only incubate their nests but teach their babies about the basics of life. Known as lily trotters or Jesus birds for their ability to walk on water using plants like the lily pads, these little birds lay their nests on submerged plants and the male protects and incubates the eggs while the female finds more mates. If the eggs start to sink or otherwise become endangered, he will carry them to a new nesting site under his wing. Once they are born, he helps feed and care for the chicks until they can survive on their own. The female will only return if the something happens to the eggs and the male is therefore open to breed again. Source Image via emilybean [Flickr]

11) Giant Water Bugs

Insects aren’t generally considered to be the most active parents in the world, but the male giant water bug is certainly an exception. He totes the entire brood of eggs --often up to 150 at a time-- on his back until they hatch. The female simply lays the eggs and then glues them to daddy before she takes off, leaving him to rear the youngsters. During the three weeks he carries the eggs, he protects them and takes time to dry them out of the water so they don’t get moldy. Source Image via NoiseCollusion [Flickr]

12) Marmosets

Primates can be good dads too (as evidenced by our celebration of Father’s Day in general), and humans aren’t the only good fathers in our animal order. Enter marmosets. Not only are these little tiny monkeys simply adorable, they are also great parents. Male marmosets start caring for their young from day one when they groom and lick newborns as the mother recuperates from her ordeal (the babies are generally born as twins and usually make up around 25 percent of her body weight, the equivalent of a human woman giving birth to a baby between 30 and 40 pounds). After thate feeds, carries and grooms the infants. Meanwhile, the mother will often get pregnant again within the next two weeks, leaving daddy to take care of the babies. Source Image via Joachim S. Muller [Flickr] I hope you all have a great day with your families, and to all you fathers out there, Happy Father’s day!

There are tons of cat photos around the net, but Petfinder.com has recognized that almost all of these feline fatales are happily-owned pets. To bring attention to Adopt-A-Cat Month and to celebrate homeless kitties in need everywhere, the site launched a new contest where you can vote for the cutest photos of homeless cats at a variety of shelters. The shelters with the most votes win kitty bed/scratching post combos and hopefully the kittens pictured will be adopted lickity split.

Link

June is the Humane Society’s Adopt-A-Cat Month and what better way to celebrate than to take a look at some of the world’s most famous felines. Actually, there is one much better way to celebrate: if you have room in your home, why not open your heart up to a new kitty this year? Ok, enough with the preaching, on to the internet’s favorite pastime (outside of “adult” things) –kitties!

Kittens In the News:

You’ve Gotta Have Faith

Throughout the centuries, famous animals have gotten headlines and attracted attention for heroic deeds and fascinating behaviors. Perhaps one of the earliest cats to garner this sort of worldwide attention was Faith, The Church Cat. Faith was adopted by the parishioners of a London church in 1936. In 1940, she gave birth to a single kitten. In early September of that year, she started insisting on being let into the church basement and then she carried her kitten downstairs. The kitten was retrieved twice by Father Ross, but each time she brought him back downstairs. The next day, German air raids began to fall on London and the entire church was destroyed. When Father Ross discovered the church in ruins, he heard a faint meowing and discovered Faith and her kitten were safe under the rubble in the basement. He managed to grab the two cats and get out of the building just before the roof collapsed.

Faith was nominated for a Dinkin Medal but was determined ineligible because she was a civilian, but she instead received a special medal for bravery. The Archbishop of Canterbury even made a guest appearance at the medal ceremony.

Simon Says Keep Your Chin Up

Speaking of cats with military honors, let’s not forget Simon, a ship cat on the HMS Amethyst, who was in the business of catching rats. When the ship was attacked in 1947, Simon was wounded and wasn’t discovered for four days. The ship’s doctor nursed his wounds and soon the kitty was back to catching rats and he now had a new duty of keeping injured sailors company. He was presented with a campaign ribbon when they reached port and it was announced that he would receive a Dicken Medal for animal gallantry, but he passed away in quarantine in England before the medal ceremony took place. Even in his death though, Simon was honored. He was buried in a special casket and given full naval honors.

Classroom Kitties Need Love Too

Of course, a cat need not be in the military or involved with a war to be worshiped by the masses. Room 8 was a cat who showed up at Elysian Heights Elementary School in Los Angeles in 1952 and decided to spend the rest of his life there. Not surprisingly, given his name, his favorite classroom was Room 8. Over the summers he would disappear, but he always managed to reappear when class began again. Eventually the television news crews took notice and Room 8 became the most famous kitty in L.A. Throughout his life he received more than 100,000 fan letters, up to 100 in one day.

Sock It To Me Mr. Socks

Anyone who remembers the Clinton administration is sure to remember Socks, the First Cat. While not the wildest pet to be owned by a president, there was something about Socks that drove the media crazy. They stalked him, even to the point where Clinton eventually had to tell them to leave the kitty alone. He went on his own publicity tours to nursing homes and schools. Later, he became the star of a Murphy Brown plot and the inspiration for a children’s book. Nintendo made a video game about him, but it was never released. After Buddy was adopted though, Sock’s position seemed to falter in the Clinton household. The two pets never got along and eventually Socks was instead adopted by one of the president’s secretaries.

The Grim Reaper Cat

Perhaps the biggest cat-related news story in the last decade though was Oscar, the cat who could predict patient’s deaths. He lived in a nursing home and had an uncanny ability to recognize who was going to die next. When Oscar curled up with someone in the home, they almost always died in the next four hours. He correctly identified over 50 deaths before they occurred. While the media and public seemed to be disturbed by the idea, the staff of the hospice feel that he actually helps calm those who are passing on and provides a remarkable connection between patients, their families, and the staff.

Working Hard For The Money:

One of the Most Powerful Females in Japan

Tama is perhaps my favorite cat on this list, you may recall seeing this lovely station master before, but you may not know that she is credited with saving the Wakayama Electric Railway from bankruptcy and she is now the only female manager in the entire company. She’s even an honorary knight in Japan. Of course, all Tama really did was hang out at the station and look cute, which got her the position of station master, which brought in 1.1 billion Yen to the local economy thanks to tourist visits. But hey, it still takes talent to bring in that kind of money just based on your looks.

Wendy the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Service Cat

Sure plenty of people have service dogs, but when was the last time you saw a service cat? Wendy is a service cat who helps Jeff Ward cope with his post-traumatic stress disorder. The kitty acts as a social buffer to help soothe his anxiety in social disorders. While a lot of our readers seemed to have an issue with a man needing a cat to get through the day, I think Wendy’s fascinating if for no other reason than getting a cat to walk around with you on a leash is pretty impressive. On a sad note, a few months after Wendy made national news, she was attacked by an unknown assailant who broke her pelvic bones. Luckily, she survived the attack and donors covered the cost of the surgery.

Morris The Cat Was Mighty Lucky

Morris is one of the best animals for a feature in Adopt-A-Cat month, as he was one of only a few actually picked up from an animal shelter. He was discovered by Bob Martwick in a Chicago animal shelter and was on the list for euthanasia because he had a torn eyelid from a fight before he came into the pound. Martwick adopted him and named him “Lucky.” A while later, he found Nine Lives was looking for a cat representative and he sent Lucky into the boardroom alone. The cat jumped onto the table, head-butted the art director and then sat back and watched him. He was immediately hired and started spending his remaining years in first-class flights and five-star hotels. YouTube link

Internet Celebrities:

Inspirational Tails

There are probably thousands of cat internet stars these days, but Chase may be the most inspirational of all of them. After a tragic accident left chase without a nose, cheek skin or eyelids, she required a lot of daily maintenance including daily eye drops. The cat is not in pain, but her face is quite a shock to many people. Rather than keep her away from the public though, her  owner has opted to use her as an inspirational icon to accident victims everywhere through the wonderful blog, Daily Tails of Chase. She also works as a therapy cat for Paws For Friendship, where she visits hospitals and schools to educate and inspire about disabilities. Chase teaches people that it's ok to look a little different and that you can go through something horrible and still live a wonderful life. The picture used above was by artist Namowal, who is a fan of Chase. Be warned if you click the link to Chase’s site, her appearance is rather disturbing for many sensitive viewers.

Keyboard Cat Strikes a Chord

In 1984, Charlie Schmidt shot a video of his cat, “Fatso,” playing piano with the help of someone grabbing him under the belly, their arm was covered up by a shirt. In more recent years, he uploaded the video with some music added, with the title, “Cool Cat.” Then someone put up a video entitled “Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat,” (I can't track down the original video) where the cat played vaudeville style after someone goofed up bad on another video. That’s when Keyboard Cat quickly became one of the biggest memes on YouTube, as seen above.

Soon enough, the video garnered national attention and was seen on G4’s “Attack of the Show” and “The Colbert Report.” More recently Charlie Schmidt made a video with his new cat, titled, “Keyboard Cat Reincarnated.” While the video wasn’t as successful as the original keyboard cat videos, it still made its rounds on the blogosphere, including Neatorama.

Making Music With Nora

Keyboard cat might be a little better known, but he can’t actually play the piano. Nora can. Nora was a shelter cat who was adopted by a couple who taught piano lessons. She was always interested in the piano, but one day her owners came in the room, shocked to see the cat hitting the keys one at a time. When the cat started playing in front of students, the kids started photographing her and when someone took a YouTube video and posted it online, Nora became a star overnight. She now has a series of YouTube videos and her own website.

R.I.P. Commuter Cat

Casper, better known as Commuter Cat, was famous for lining up to ride a bus, boarding the vehicle and then riding a few stops down and exiting near a local fish and chips shop. Unfortunately, he recently passed away at the beginning of this year when he was struck by a hit and run driver. Before that though, he spent a four year stint riding the Number 3. His owner said that she didn’t believe tales of his adventures at first, but when she saw the proof, she guessed he must have just followed all the people who board the bus at a stop just outside their home.

The Box-Loving Sensation Sweeping the Nation

Maru became famous for loving to climb in boxes, but his video channel on YouTube has expanded to show him playing with a variety of objects. While it seems strange that a playful kitty would be enough to develop a fan following, it is very true in his case, as he has received over 50 million times and his YouTube channel is now the ninth most popular in all of Japan. He even had a book published in his home country in 2009. Video link

Kitty YouTube Videos:

While these cat video stars may not be famous enough to be known by name, let’s never forget these fabulous felines and their 15 minutes of fame.

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You’ve probably noticed that I didn’t include any fat cats, but that’s purely because Alex covered the issue so well in his Top 15 Amazingly Fat Cats post. If you’ve never read this one, you’ve gotta give it a view. Now I know there’s probably hundreds more cats that are arguably just as famous and thousands more who deserve to be (I even had to cut out a few or this post would have taken up the whole front page), so share! Who is your favorite cat online or off?

While most people cite Dr. Suess as their favorite children’s author, they often overlook another childhood favorite, Richard Scarry. Surprisingly though, Scarry is the number one selling children’s book author in the world and his titles are far more popular than the good Doctor’s. With a career spanning over four decades during which he wrote and illustrated more than 300 books that have been translated into 30 languages, Richard Scarry is the widely successful, but often overlooked, children’s book author that most of us have grown up reading.

It’s time to celebrate the not-so-scary Mr. Scarry in honor of what would have been his ninety-first birthday this June 5. Image via Amazon

The Great Teacher Was A Horrible Student

While most Richard Scarry books are incredibly educational for kids, he was a terrible student and hated school. He excelled at scaring the girls in his school in Boston and was permanently banned from the library after bringing in too many snakes to slither along the tables and bookshelves. He received so many poor grades that he almost dropped out of school in junior high and ended up taking five years to finish high school after being held back due to excessive absences. During this period, many other children were dropping out of school to help keep their families afloat during the Depression, but Richard’s family owned a successful shop that helped keep them living comfortably despite the economic downturn.

Around this time, his artistic talents began blooming and on top of practicing his mother’s handwriting for excuse notes to get out of class, he also started finding himself quite able when it came to drawing the human form. Unfortunately, his parents were far from excited when they learned about his new talents --as they made the discovery by finding his stack of charcoal drawings depicting nude girls. His dad asked him, after discovering an image of a beautiful woman with tassels on her breasts, “What's going to become of you, Richard?” A born artist and trouble-maker, he already had a response ready, “if I'm going to be an artist, sir, I have to learn how to draw the human form.”

While his father desperately wanted him to go to an Ivy League school like Harvard, Richard’s terrible grades and bad attitude ensured that was little more than a pipe dream and he instead was sent off to a local business school where he again did miserably and he dropped out within his first year. After long last, his father gave up hopes of having a child do anything more than be an artist and he finally sent the boy to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where he flourished until he joined the army to fight in World War II. Scarry never did obtain a college diploma.

Image via Gwen [Flickr]

Artistic Advances In The Army

When Richard first joined the army, he listed his occupation as artist, which caused them to put him in radio repair school. Angered at the prospect of more schooling, he bombed the entry test and earned the esteemed reputation of having the lowest score ever recorded on the test --a negative 13. He later joked, “My exam mark was minus 13, so they decided to make me a corporal." Because he did so badly, he was instead assigned to be a military art director and was instructed to tell the troops why they were fighting and to share news from home. To do this job, he paraphrased clips from Time magazine and illustrated them and then sent them off as fliers.

He impressed his superiors enough that they soon promoted him to be the editor and writer of Publications for the Information and Morale Services section of the Allied Force Headquarters. With his new position, he was given enough leisure time to visit Africa, Algiers, Italy and France, an experience that left him with a lifelong drive to travel. When the war ended, Scarry’s job had provided him enough experience developing content for a publication with over one million readers every week and he was able to get great positions in the New York art world without ever having to work his way up.

Big Success In New York, New York

Immediately upon moving to New York he was given an illustrator job at Vogue, but he was fired three weeks later, when they claimed he just wasn’t right for the position. He was soon able to get a few positions at other magazines but really made a name for himself doing freelance children’s illustrations. It wasn’t long before he submitted his impressive portfolio to the Artist and Writers Guild, a subsidiary in New York that was just about to start mass-producing a new line of children’s books that would sell for 25 cents each. He was immediately hired and started out doing artwork for other writers, including his future wife, Patricia Murphy, who he married in 1949. By the early fifties, Scarry was inspired and experienced enough in children’s books that he decided to start writing his own titles. His first book, The Great Big Car and Truck Book, was published in 1951. It did moderately well and featured many of his interests, such as travel and technology, but it was most notable for being his only title to use humans instead of athropomorphized animals.

His second book, Rabbit and His Friends, introduced his use of talking animals, but his true success didn’t take place until the 1963 title The Best Word Book Ever. This groundbreaking work served as a sort of picture dictionary that was broken up by word type, rather than being organized alphabetically. This was also the first place he featured many of his famous anthropomorphic characters that would later be the backbone of his Big Busy World and Busytown. Image via Senor Ryan [Flickr]

The Secret Behind Scarry Success

The reason the classic Scarry books have done so well to this day is because they are so complex, yet so easy to follow. Children love that they can flip through the pages before they can even read and make up stories about the characters. At the same time, there is so much going on in his pictures that they often re-read the books over and over to make sure they catch all the action on every page. This seems to be what Scarry was going for. He once said, "I'm not interested in creating a book that is read once and then placed on the shelf and forgotten. I am very happy when people write that they have worn out my books, or that they are held together by Scotch tape. I consider that the ultimate compliment."

That’s not all there is to like. When parents read the books to kids, they enjoy the fact that the questions proposed throughout the pages start getting the children thinking and talking, meaning Scarry’s books help educate youngsters on an array of levels that go far deeper than most children’s books. Another positive aspect of the titles is his use of animals. While they are certainly cute, they also serve to be much more enjoyable and identifiable to children. One of the reasons his books have done so well throughout the world is the fact that animals do not have racial characteristics, which allow all children to connect with the little girl bunny or little boy cat. He explained "children can identify more closely with pictures of animals than they can with pictures of another child. They see an illustration of a blond girl or a dark-haired boy, who they know is somebody other than themselves, and competition creeps in. With imagination -- and children all have marvelous imagination -- they can easily identify with an anteater who is a painter or a goat who is an Indian."

Images via Pinot & Dita and beccaplusmolly [Flickr]

Controversy Quickly Corrected

Of course, that’s not to say Richard’s work was always free from issues revolving around political correctness. While his Big, Busy World books were based around real observations he noticed while traveling, the post seventies world was far less accepting of a near-sighted panda from Hong Kong or Manuel of Mexico with a pot of beans on his head. As a result, he largely stopped writing these titles and Random House stopped distributing the titles. As if that weren’t enough controversy, mothers soon started being offended by Scarry’s decidedly fifties roles of housewives taking care of the children while the husbands go off to work. Really though, Richard wasn’t sexist, he was just not with the times. As soon as he heard the complaints, he happily revised his images to show female farmers and police officers and men pushing strollers and cooking in the kitchen. If you're interested, the differences between the versions are well documented in this Flickr set by user Kokogiak.

The Patented Scarry Work Process

While the artist originally started painting his works in full-color watercolors, his signature books are all done using a work process he perfected throughout the years. First he would sketch out his panels with pencil, then he would re-draw the finalized versions with blue pencil. Then he would color in all the red areas on every page, then blue, then yellow, etc. and at the end, he would draw in all the detail lines with a pen. After he finished the works, he would tape on his narrative texts that quickly pecked out on a typewriter. Many of these contained spelling errors and other typos, but he left that to the editors to worry about.

Despite his popularity, Richard was always an artist first and a writer a distant second. While he always hated leaving white space and loved complicated machineries and cut-away diagrams, his early titles aren’t as loaded with these aspects. When things progressed on though, his titles were increasingly complex. By the time he completed his final work, Richard Scarry's Biggest Word Book Ever, the sixty-six year old Scarry’s eyesight was failing miserably, but that didn’t stop him from finishing the artwork for the monstrous 15 3/4 x 24 inches book. It was so large that Random House had to charge $29 per copy, but it was so popular that the first printing sold out in no time despite the price. Image via Rotten

A Family Affair

In their later years, Richard and his wife bought a chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland. Here he worked diligently on his books, sitting at his desk every day between 8 A.M. and 4 P.M. After his eyesight failed, he stopped working on his books, but he still lived happily with his wife until he passed away from a fatal heart attack on April 30, 1994.

These days, his son Richard Scarry Jr. carries on the tradition, writing and illustrating books under his father’s name and periodically under the name “Huck Scarry,” which he adapted from Huckle Cat, one of the most common characters in the Busytown world.

Image via JB Publishing

Sources: Ciao UK, Wikipedia, Barnes & Noble, Carnegie Museums, Kirjasto and Rotten

With the fear global warming taking over the minds of Americans everywhere, it’s no wonder that bicycles have gone through a renaissance in the last decade. True to form, the bike renaissance comes with a lot of innovations to make our old two-wheeled cycles safer, faster and cooler than ever. Some of these bikes are really futuristic advances, while others are just plain cool, whichever you prefer, there’s plenty to see here.

Why Strain When You Can Relax Under the Sun?

The Cycle Sol prototype may look a little strange, but its solar-charged battery makes it an inspiring piece of machinery. Soaking up the sun help to charge the battery, which can help push the bike to speeds up to 15 MPH. Its greatest attribute though may be the convenient push you’ll feel when tackling tedious hills. Also a plus, if it is left in the garage or used on a cloudy day, you can still plug it into an outlet to get the full battery charge you need to get moving.

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The Bike That Is Actually A Computer

Talk about a bike of the future. This stream-lined prototype incorporates an on-board computer that can help count the calories you burn, play music and serve as an unbreakable lock. It was designed by Gold Medalist Chris Boardman, who believes his creation could be an everyday product within the next twenty years. Similar to the Cycle Sol, this bike will also have a solar-powered battery to help you out when you’re tired of pedaling.

If you’re wondering how a bike computer could incorporate an unbreakable lock, it’s all through the magic of fingerprint identification. Of course, if the bikes are considered valuable enough, then you may run the risk of losing your digit all together when some really motivated thieves approach you –a fate that has already befallen one iPad user.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23730599-cycle-champion-chris-boardman-reveals-intelligent-wheels-of-the-future.do

Is the Shweeb the Next Schwinn?

One of the biggest drawbacks to cycling is the danger inherent with sharing the road with vehicles. The Shweeb individual monorail system eliminates this problem and gives you the safety and serenity only possible in your own personal bubble. The company working to make these mini-monorail systems a part of your daily commute claims they are “a personal, efficient, and cost-effective transport solution with applications for urban commuting, recreational and fitness markets.”

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Dissecting the Attraction of the Di-Cycle

If the classic bicycle design of two wheels in line with your body is just too outdated for you, then perhaps the Di-Cycle’s two side wheels are more your style. Perhaps the coolest advantage of the Di-Cycle though is its ability to operate on both land and water.

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Speed And Safety: Together At Last

The Hyperbike may not ride on water like the Dicycle does, but its massive side wheels are instead designed to help protect you in the event of an accident. Also nice, its design, which includes both feet and hand pedals allows you to travel at speeds up to 50 MPH.

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Why Snowboard When You Can Bike Sideways?

On the other hand, if you’d prefer to sit on your bike sideways while it moves to the front, then perhaps the Sideways Bike is more to your liking. Inspired by snowboarding, this one allows you to sit and pedal while facing sideways and then to look to your left or right while steering. I’d be terrified to ride this next to the road, but maybe that’s just me.

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The World’s Cheapest Bike

If money is your main concern, then this handy $30 bicycle might be more in your price range. It’s cool, it’s collapsible, it’s recyclable, and not to worry, it is water proof. The inventor claims that one of the biggest advantages though is the fact that it will probably not get stolen. On the downside, it doesn’t go very fast and if you bike regularly, you’ll need to replace it every six months or so.

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The Nothing Bike

When you’re looking for something a little more flashy, but just as bare-boned as a cardboard bike, the Nulla minimalist bike is a great choice. It’s spokeless, stylish and light, as it is stripped of all non-essential components. The name Nulla even translates to “nothing” in Italian, which means it’s also a perfect ride for any existentialists out there.

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The Relaxed Minimalist Design

Minimalists who prefer recumbent cycles are likely to find this spokeless cycle, created by designer Mathew Zurlinden, to offer many of the same advantages as the Nulla, only with the critical difference in the rider’s body position.

http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_file.asp?specialty=4&is_featured=-1&c=1&portfolio_id=813629&individual_id=94738

Row Row Row Your Bike

If you were on your college rowing team or if you are simply much more muscular on the top half of your body, then why not row your bike home? Unlike a regular bicycle, even a standard hand-operated bike, this one is not powered by rotating pedals, but instead through pushing and pulling the handle bars. Using it can burn up to 850 calories per hour and it’s supposedly easier on your joints than a standard bike.

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Now it’s your turn readers. I’m sure many of you have seen some cool and crazy bikes in your time. Feel free to share them in the comments. Also, which of these designs would you prefer?

Viral marketing has become so commonplace that it is now a household term even in the least media-savvy households. Even so, many marketing agencies have managed to fool the world into thinking that certain outrageous stories are genuine articles and not simply a clever ruse to bring nationwide attention to a product or event. These viral marketing campaigns have managed to trick their way into the public eye and managed to fool us all into believing their ads were real.

The Blair Witch Panic

One of the first and most famous viral marketing campaigns was the one involving the promotion of The Blair Witch Project. Those of you who remember when this film hit the theaters likely remember at least one person you knew thought this was a real documentary and that a group of student film makers was really killed while getting the footage. Some people were so terrified of this mediocre fear-fest that they actually lost sleep after seeing it. It was so successful that the maker of the movie, Eduardo Sanchez claimed, “One of the guys from Artisan told me the other day, 'Everything that could possibly go right on the film has gone right on this film, and you're never going to experience that again in your career and I'm never going to experience it again in my career.'” Sources CNN, Viral Blog

Should We Ban RayBan?

More recently, you probably remember the video featuring the hipster who was apparently stupid enough to get Buddy Holly sunglasses tattooed on his face. This one spread throughout the web before anyone started realizing that maybe, just maybe, he was actually working with RayBan. Humorously, even after everyone discovered he was working with the company, no one has yet proven if the tattoo is real or not. This wasn’t the first time RayBan managed to fool the masses though, remember the two guys who managed to keep catching RayBans on their faces?

Source: Mashable

Denim Devotion

Levis had a similar success story as RayBan when blogs across the net picked up on this clever video showing a guy jumping into his pants. The commercial isn’t branded, but people started being tipped off when they heard the comment on the tape that mentions “at least there’s no zipper” and then noticed the video was put on YouTube by "unbuttonedfilms."  Levis is the only jeans company that markets their button-up flies, which really helped limit down the choices when it came time to figure out who made the promotion. A while later the company tried to pull a similar stunt with their helium-inflated pants video, but no one really picked it up because it was a) obviously impossible (there's no where near enough helium in his pants to lift him off the ground) and b) an obvious advertisement. Instead the company decided to just use the ad as a television commercial. Sources: Trend Hunter, Gawker, Adrants

Don't Try This At Home

What happens when you combine illegal activities, extreme sports and poor video quality? You get a surefire viral video hit that’s sure to spawn some idiotic imitations. That’s how Quicksilver landed a major success with this questionable video showing someone surfing in an English river thanks to a hefty load of dynamite. Source: Daily Mail

Bike Hero Or Bike Huckster?

This video was obviously branded for Guitar Hero, but it originally seemed to be a fan project. It also made its rounds on the blogosphere before someone discovered it was created by an advertising agency and not “Kevin in Indiana” like the YouTube profile page indicated. Source: Multi-Player Blog

Fake Science In Fake Virals

Do you remember when everyone thought for a split second that cell phones popping popcorn with radiation could be the new Mentos and Coke? That is until people actually tried it and realized it was a complete hoax. Then the news quickly arose that the video was actually created by a Bluetooth headset company called Cardo. Lets just hope people were smart enough to test this bunk science before running out and buying a headset. Sources: Boing Boing Gadgets Now it’s your turn readers. There’s been thousands of these promotions in the last ten years, most of which were unsuccessful. But I’m sure many of you have fallen for these tricks at least once? What was the most convincing viral ad you’ve seen?

This month’s birthday article is a little belated because I had some personal projects I had to take care of, but Salvador Dali is a May baby and his creations just make him too great to pass up, even if his birthday was back on the 11. So without further ado, I bring you a brief history of Dali and his infinite weirdness in celebration of his much belated birthday.

The Reincarnated Salvador Dali?

The Dali we all recognize was actually the third Salvador Dali in his family. His father also had the name and his parents had another son that was also named Salvador, but he died nine months before Dali was born. For this reason, Dali’s parents always believed that he was the reincarnation of his brother, a belief the artist also held throughout his life. In many of his writings, he claimed that he felt deep stress from the pressures of living as both himself and his dead brother.

Humble, But Flashy Beginnings

Dali’s family was decidedly middle class and his mother was incredibly supportive of his work…until she died when he was only 16. The next year, he moved to the student housing at an arts school in Madrid and he immediately started to stand out through his eccentric methods of dress. The young student enjoyed wearing knee breeches with sideburns and long hair, similar to something Oscar Wilde would have worn forty years earlier. While he made friends with a number of students at the school, he was not an ideal student and was expelled shortly before he completed his courses after he refused to be tested by anyone in the faculty, saying, “I am very sorry, but I am infinitely more intelligent than these three professors, and I therefore refuse to be examined by them.” It wasn’t long after this that his unique painting style, which seamlessly blended classic influences like Raphael with modern avant garde styles like those of Joan Miro, started to garner him quite a bit of attention in the art community. Not to be outdone by his own artwork, Dali promptly started to grow his trademark moustache, which was influenced by the seventeenth-century painter Diego Velazquez.

His Wife Was a Bit of a Groupie

When Dali met his future wife, Gala, in 1929, she was already married to a prominent French poet. She soon left this artist for Dali, who was ten years her junior, but after their 1934 marriage, she continued to have many other affairs with young artists and even a rockstar in the 70s –all with Dali’s permission of course. While Dali was said to have a terrible fear of the female genitalia (part of the reason he was so accepting of her affairs was because he preferred to watch, but not partake in the activities), he was still unquestionably in love with Gala all the way up until his death. “Without Gala,” he said, “Divine Dalí would be insane.”

When To Make An Apology…And When Not To

Dali was a prominent player in the surrealist movement, but many of the surrealists actually disliked him. This was for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest issues was the fact that surrealists did not believe that anyone should ever apologize for their art. To some extent, Dali did agree with this sentiment and when his father demanded an apology for a painting the young artist made that bore the words “Sometimes, I spit with pleasure on my mother's portrait.” While it seems unlikely that Dali actually even meant it about his own mother because he adored her, he still refused to tell his father he was sorry, which resulted in his being thrown out of his childhood home, written out of his father’s will and being threatened by his pop that he should never step foot in Cadaquès again. When Dali and Gala caused a serious scandal in America, shortly after his work was introduced into the country, though, he quickly changed his tune. The incident in question involved the couple showing up to a masquerade party in New York dressed as the Lindbergh baby and his kidnapper. After facing great outrage on the part of the American press, he apologized, but he only ended up facing more outrage from the surrealist group he was a member of when he returned home. Of course, they were furious about the apology, not the act.

Political Abstinence

Around this same time, the majority of surrealists began to lean to leftist politics, but Dali further incensed them by always maintaining an ambiguous position on the matters. Dali disagreed with the idea that surrealism should involve politics and at the same time that he refused to support fascism, he also refused to denounce it. Eventually he was subject to a mock trial in his surrealist group and was expelled largely for his absence of political beliefs. His politics didn’t just bother the surrealists. Dali moved to France at the outbreak of war and only moved back after World War II ended. George Orwell denounced him for this, stating, “When the European War approaches he has one preoccupation only: how to find a place which has good cookery and from which he can make a quick bolt if danger comes too near.”

All About The Benjamins

Another major problem the surrealists had with Dali was his apparent willingness to sell his soul for money. As some started referring to him in the past tense, although he was dead, others preferred the nickname “Avida Dollars,” which is more than just an anagram for his name, it also sounds the same as avide à dollar, which can be translated as “eager for dollars.” More Surreal Than The Surreal Dali is famous for quipping, "the only difference between me and the surrealists is that I am a surrealist,” but perhaps even that was a bit of an understatement, as he developed many of his best known works by connecting with his subconscious not through drugs, but through sleep manipulation. He claims he would sit in a chair with a metal spoon in his hand, directly above a metal pan. When he started to fall into deep sleep, he would drop the spoon, the clang of the spoon hitting the pan would wake him up. Perhaps this method is what he used to create his most enduring surrealist works, the lobster telephone and the Mae West Lips Sofa.

Deeper Meanings of Dali

The surreal nature of his works should never be taken as a sign that Dali’s work was without meaning though. In fact, Dali was a huge fan of Freud and believed in a much deeper meaning of dreams, which is widely demonstrated in his artwork. Here are a few interesting symbolisms to look for next time you enjoy some of his artworks:

• Melting clocks. These are probably the most famous of all Dali’s symbolisms and they represent the changing nature of time and eternity. Interestingly, he got the idea for these classic representations when he was looking at a melting piece of Camembert cheese on a hot summer day.


• Absurdly tall elephants. Other classic images of Dali’s are the long-legged and multi-jointed elephants carrying huge obelisks on their back. These are used largely to represent men struggling to reach new heights while burdened with the weight of reality.


• Drawers. Many of his human subjects are made up of a number of drawers, which are representative of the secrets of the soul and the hidden sins of the individual.


• Eggs. If you’ve ever seen the Dali Theater-Museum in Spain, you probably noticed the massive eggs adorning the building’s roof. While it is easy to realize that these represent maternity, femininity and the prenatal, they also, in turn, are used to indicate hope and love.

• Ants. Ants are seen in a number of his works, even those where you don’t immediately notice them. These insects are used to show death and decay.


• Grasshoppers and locusts. These two critters are used for both fear and waste. (An interesting side note: Dali was terrified of grasshoppers as a child and the other kids would throw them at him to scare him.)


• Crutches. While the obvious symbolism behind crutches is to show handicaps and man’s weakness, he also used them regularly to show man’s ability to overcome these problems in a feat of ingenuity.

Image via Kaneda99 [Flickr]

His Portfolio is Massive

Throughout his life, Dali painted over 1,500 works. This number is on top of the many illustrations, lithographs, theater sets, costumes, drawings, photographs, sculptures, films, holographs, and other works he helped to create. He loved to experiment with new mediums and even stepped into the world of high fashion, designing a few outfits for Elsa Schiaparelli and Christian Dior. He also created the rainbow-colored Chupa Chups logo. Even more amazing is the fact that his portfolio only recently expanded to include his completed Disney animation, Destino. While he started it with Walt in 1946, the pair soon found themselves out of money for the project. It was instead completed in 2003 by Roy Disney and Baker Bloodworth. That wasn’t his only film contribution though. He also worked on the famous surreal art piece Un Chien Andalou, worked on a dream sequence for Hitchcock’s Spellbound, and narrated about a search for magic mushrooms in Impressions of Upper Mongolia. Image via pecaenrique [Flickr]

Dedicating A Museum to Himself

As a matter of fact, Dali was one of only a few artists to actually play an active role in the museum dedicated to his works. His Theater and Museum in Figueres goes beyond showcasing his paintings, it is in its own way, another work of his. It’s hardly surprising that a self-obsessed creator like Dali would make a museum for himself, after all, he was famous for once saying, "every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí." He started working on the building in 1960 and he continued adding to it all the way through the mid-80’s.These days, it houses the largest collection of his works, followed by the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. The most interesting place for his work to be displayed though was the Rikers Island jail in New York. Dali donated a crucifixion drawing to the warden and it was hung in the dining room for years before officials decided to move it into the lobby so it could be kept safe. Humorously, after spending 16 years in a jail dining room, the painting wasn’t lost or damaged until it was moved to the lobby, where it was stolen in 2003. It is still missing to this day.

The Death of an Immortal

When Dali went on 60 Minutes in the 70’s, he told Mike Wallace that, “Dalí is immortal and will not die.” Unfortunately, like all self-proclaimed immortals, he was wrong. In 1980, his health started to fade and when Gala started dosing him with unprescribed medicine, it only made things worse as her drug cocktail damaged his nervous system. In 1982, Gala passed away and this made Dali’s health fade away even faster as he lost his will to live. He started dehydrating himself and a few years later a fire broke out in his bedroom. Both acts may have been accidents or he may have been trying to commit suicide, no one knows for sure. After the fire though, he started living in his museum until the end of his life. In 1989, Dali died of a heart failure, shortly after King Juan Carlos visited him on his deathbed and confessed his lifelong adoration of Dali’s works. Dali quickly sketched a drawing for the king and it turned out to be the last artwork ever done by the artist. I love Dali, so I was really excited to write this article, but I must admit, he was a bit of a freak. There is so much information about him, particularly his crazy stunts, that I couldn't even begin to describe them all here. So, instead I leave them to you. What are your favorite Dali tales? Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2, Artcyclopedia, Smithsonian Magazine, BBC News, Salvador Dali Museum, and Neatorama

Max's owner was working on the deck in their back yard and accidentally shot the pup in the head when he started acting too playful and got too close to the action. Fortunately, he was rushed off to the vet, who was able to remove the nail and keep the dog alive. Be sure to click the link to see the amazing photos of the X-rays and removed nail.

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