Felt Science the Rat from Adventure Time

By Steph Laberis, felt Science the Rat from Adventure Time.

Link roundup

1. Supplements at the Olympics:

Beetroot juice also has an additional, instantly recognizable effect that could have a significant psychological impact. The vegetable's natural color can add unfamiliar hues to athletes' waste products.
"You're going to pee purple, you're going to poo purple," said Baar. "There's nothing quite as good for a placebo as seeing, 'Oh yeah, I'm taking the beetroot, there it is, everything is working really well.'"

2. Isaac Chotiner:

Like Malcolm Gladwell and David Brooks, Lehrer writes self-help for people who would be embarrassed to be seen reading it. For this reason, their chestnuts must be roasted in “studies” and given a scientific gloss. The surrender to brain science is particularly zeitgeisty. Their sponging off science is what gives these writers the authority that their readers impute to them, and makes their simplicities seem very weighty.

Bejeweled as a dungeon crawling RPG

Here's a new addiction for you - - 10000000 "is a Dungeon Crawling RPG Matching Game."

Umbrella dating

A campaign in China from JWT: passing out half umbrellas to encourage speed-dating and promote a dating site.

Flooding a movie theater to frighten people about global warming

To frighten movie goers about global warming, JWT simulated the flooding of the theater by replacing coming attractions with the sounds of rushing water, projected imagery, and floating sharks.

Friends With You playground in Hong Kong

Great photo gallery and collection of concept art from Friends With You's playground in Hong Kong. Via.

Boba Fett helmet customized by Weta

Tim Munro/Weta.

Three in One zones

Indonesia:

To reduce the number of cars on the road, lawmakers have designated several main arteries as what they call “Three in One zones.” During the morning and afternoon rush, you can’t drive there unless you have at least three people on board. That’s why, near the entrances to the zones, men, women and children line up – raising their index finger – offering to rent themselves to commuters in a hurry.

Drowned soldiers diorama

"Baba Yaga" diorama by Nicolas Cabaret. Via these sites.

Using nuclear bombs on the Panama canal

When the USA experimented to find out if it could expand the Panama Canal using nuclear bombs.

More Paranorman boxes

Here's Kate Beaton's zombie.




Notcot received box #18.




Jonathan Coulton received box #4.

No one wanted by the top scorer on the 1996 USA basketball team

Grant Hill says no one wanted by the top scorer on the 1996 USA basketball team:

It was actually pretty funny - nobody on the team wanted to be the leading scorer in those games, in the Olympic games. Because whoever was the leading scorer, ended up having to be drug tested.

And the reason for that is the drug testing process, you'd be there for two hours after the game. And so nobody wanted to be there and have to go through that whole process.

So if you watch those games and you watch the highlights at the end of the games, everyone is being super unselfish passing the ball. Because no one wants to shoot (laughs).

Fouling out when it takes 10 fouls

From Grantland's review of notable moments from the NBA's Summer League:

You're guaranteed to see some crazy stuff you'll never get to witness in real NBA games, but you get to see it with a group of players athletically gifted and/or notable enough to make it exhilarating. Sure, that full-court press was a great example, but an even better one might have been the work that Jan Vesely did during the opening game of the tournament. The Wizards center showed up to summer league with his A-game in tow, fouling out in just under 31 minutes of action. Now, I know what you're saying. Jan Vesely fouling out in 31 minutes isn't that impressive. Here is what you are forgetting, though: It takes 10 fouls to foul out of a summer league game.

"The floor is, of course, flat."

The description:

The painted floor of a Paris game store. The floor is, of course, flat.

When a reporter knocked over Ichiro's bats

MNW:

The sacred bats! They had been neatly leaned against the bench (this was before manager John McLaren would tape down tongue depressors to hold them, or before a hole was
drilled in the bench to contain them) and somehow I had knocked them over. There was a gasp from some of the
reporters and I swear I got some disapproving looks from some of the Japanese media. I was absolutely horrified.

I was terrified to touch the bats, even to put them back, but I did so and as I did I looked around furtively to see if Ichiro had seen what I had done. I was pretty sure he hadn’t but just in case I warned the media who saw my misadventure to not say anything to him.

Ichiro came over to get his bats for his turn in batting practice a few minutes later and didn’t look over at me. Whew, I thought. I dodged that one.

Or so I thought. The next day

Super Best Friends Forever

Super Best Friends Forever and other DC Nation heroines by Brianne Drouhard.

Scout Trooper maquette

Scout Trooper and Ewoks Animated Maquette by Gentle Giant. Via.

Waking up and finding a new balcony outside your window

Leo Burnett added temporary balconies to drab apartment exteriors to advertise an apartment rental service in Germany.

Game of Thrones onesie

The stallion who mounts the world on sale at Etsy.

Link roundup

1. Dennis Rodman finally met his dad:

Philander Rodman Jr., who has acknowledged fathering 29 children by 16 mothers, says he was happy and surprised that his son agreed to meet him late Wednesday.

Via.

2. Having young kids makes you a little crazy - - the Wikipedia entry on Swiper the Fox from Dora the Explorer is 1,300 words of analysis:

Swiper's motive for theft is patently childish; he never seems actually to want the object he takes, since he almost immediately throws it away to hide it from Dora, which prompts her to ask the audience to help her find it. Until recently, it was unclear if he swipes merely for the joy of swiping, or from a desire to annoy and frustrate Dora. Compounding the confusion is the fact that, given the right reason, for example, that the item in question is a present for Dora's puppy, he will return items he has taken, no matter how much effort he went through to get them. It is also shown that he rarely knows the full importance of what he has taken; for example, he had no idea the aforementioned gift was for Dora's puppy. In the episode Dora Saves the Mermaids, he revealed that he "liked swiping." He has some kind of New York accent, and lives in a burrow on top of Blueberry Hill.....Also in this episode, it is revealed that Swiper does not speak Spanish, and wishes that he did.

Tumblr devoted to the deaths in Choose Your Own Adventure books

You Chose Wrong:

Felicia Day's Paranorman box, and art-dispensing vending machines

First off, here's Felicia Day's Paranorman box:




And second, W+K is having a fundraiser in Portland featuring vending machines stocked with art:

Two more Paranorman boxes

Make received a Paranorman box and made a mess.




Bonnie Burton received box 11.

Lego tropical island

Lego tropical island by Shannon Sproule.

Bane Capital

Bane Capital's Twitter feed.

The time five men stood under a nuclear explosion to show how safe it was

"Folks it was just a wonderful thrill":

On July 19, 1957, five men stood at Ground Zero of an atomic test that was being conducted at the Nevada Test Site. This was the test of a 2KT (kiloton) MB-1 nuclear air-to-air rocket launched from an F-89 Scorpion interceptor. The nuclear missile detonated 10,000 ft above their heads.

A reel-to-reel tape recorder was present to record their experience. You can see and hear the men react to the shock wave moments after the detonation.

NPR has more.

Pitbull's headed to Alaska

Pitbull accepted the results of the Walmart fan vote challenge and will go to Kodiak, Alaska.

Dark Helmet cosplay

Dark Helmet cosplay from this big SDCC cosplay gallery.

Link roundup

1. "The rise and incredible fall of a vicious extortion ring that preyed on prominent gay men in the 1960s."

2. High school drug kingpin: "Authorities valued the drug operation at more than $3 million and say they believe the 17-year-old was grossing more than $20,000 a month." Via.

3. Image's Eric Stephenson:

Part of what we do is make good comics, and we want to be the best version of Image Comics. But part of what we do is create a sustainable market. It has to be a part of what we do. Things like Saga and Walking Dead and Fatale, these are things that people want to return to. People can recommend these things to their friends, even people that don't read comics. As opposed to tailchasing events, these yearly spike makers, but who's going to be talking about AvX ten years from now.

Drowning in Debt Salt and Pepper Shakers

Drowning in Debt Salt and Pepper Shakers by Sebastian Errazuriz.

Sabotage at the Tour de France

Drama at the Tour de France:

At least 30 riders were disrupted by tire punctures at the top of the final climb after tacks and small nails were tossed on the road. Tour officials asked police to investigate.

Tales from Lovecraft Middle School (the series)

Tales from Lovecraft Middle School with "morphing" book covers:




Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #1:

Professor Gargoyle:Strange things are happening at Lovecraft Middle School. Rats are leaping from lockers. Students are disappearing. The school library is a labyrinth of secret corridors. And the science teacher is acting very peculiar – in fact, he just might be a monster-in-disguise. Twelve-year-old Robert Arthur knew that seventh grade was going to be weird, but this is ridiculous!

Professor Gargoyle (Volume I in the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series) is full of bizarre beasts, strange mysteries, and nonstop adventure. It's perfect for readers ages 10 and up. Best of all, the cover features a state-of-the-art “morphing” photo portrait – so you can personally witness the professor transforming into a monster. You won't believe your eyes!

Preorder for $11 at Amazon.






Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #2: The Slither Sisters:

This second novel in the Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series begins right where Professor Gargoyle ended. Seventh-grader Robert Arthur has discovered that two of his classmates are actually sinister snake-women in disguise. Even worse, his new middle school is full of “gates” to a terrifying alternate dimension – a haunted mansion full of strange spirits and monstrous beasts. For Robert to protect his teachers and classmates, he'll need to return to this haunted dimension with his best friends Glenn and Karina. Can they uncover the secrets of Lovecraft Middle School before it's too late?

The Slither Sisters features more bizarre beasts, more strange mysteries, and more adventure. It's perfect for readers ages 10 and up. Best of all, the cover features a state-of-the-art “morphing” photo portrait – so you can personally witness the sisters transforming into their slithering alter egos. You won't believe your eyes!

Preorder for $14 at Amazon.