Miss C Recommends

Plane Crash Survivor Tells Story

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:52:00 +0000

In 1971, Juliane Koepcke was the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed 91 people over Peru. She fell two miles and landed in the rain forest. The 17-year-old Koepcke then walked for ten days through the jungle to find help.

As she travelled downstream, Koepcke discovered more wreckage from the plane -- and found some of the crash victims.

"I found another row of seats with three dead women still strapped in. They had landed head-first and the impact must have been so hard that they were buried almost two feet into the ground.

"I was horrified -- I didn't want to touch them but I wanted to make sure that my mother wasn't one of them. So I took a stick and knocked a shoe off one of the bodies. The toe nails had nail polish on them and I knew it could not have been my mother because she never used nail polish."

Juliane continued through the rainforest, wading through jungle streams infested with crocodiles, piranhas and devil rays.

Koepcke is now a librarian in Munich.

Links for Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:41:00 +0000

24 Most Ridiculously Thought Out Storefront Signs. They may be victims of language differences, but they certainly will draw your attention.

LEGO Acade. The stop-motion video recreates classic 80s video games using our favorite building blocks.

Robo-geisha: a movie trailer from Japan. NSFW.

The Top 10 Weird Sex-Related Mishaps. Not for the squeamish. (via Unique Daily)

True stories, told in one sentence. There are hundreds of these, if you want to explore more than the best fifty.

Listen to the croaking! Can you imagine the size of the frog that would make such a noise?

This music video for the Japanese group Sour was compiled using fans and their webcams. You might think that the be the easy way out, but the end product is anything but simple.

10 Best Uses Of Classical Music In Classic Cartoons. You can call it a music appreciation session or an excuse to watch cartoons.

Fancy Footwork

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Michael Jackson was far from the first to do the Moonwalk. Here are some of the greats who inspired him. (via Boing Boing)

Fifty Four Fifty

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Look, another keyboard cat! Music by the Bran Flakes. (via Everlasting Blort)

Stars and Stripes Forever

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:07:00 +0000

By the trombone quartet Bones Apart. Awesome.

Good Reads

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:26:00 +0000

Author and illustrator Maira Kalman took a trip to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Her fascination with the man makes us want to go, too!

A brief history of the bikini. "It is hardly necessary to waste words over the so-called bikini since it is inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency would ever wear such a thing."

Censoring information in the news media is a lot easier than controlling information on Wikipedia, even when lives are at stake. The case of David Rohde is a fascinating and terrifying example.

Words That Changed Their Meanings. Popular usage trumps original usage, especially when "...the actual meaning is the complete opposite of the literal meaning."

The debate over health care is satirized using the analogy of police protection. "Under our system, we can choose our own police officers, as long as we pay for protection out of our own pockets. Do we want some government bureaucrat choosing the police for us?"

Creatures from the Sewer. Reading an explanation of what this is doesn't make the sewer-cam video any less disturbing.

Four things EVERYONE needs to know about sharks. Especially those who haven't been in the water since Jaws premiered.

A philosophy professor battles alcoholism with a variety of methods: rehab, psychotherapy, medication, and AA. So far, something is working for him. (via Metafilter)

How to Start and Drive a Model T

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:08:00 +0000

(YouTube link) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxb5R4rSgxE
If you are ever lucky enough to get the chance to drive a Ford Model T, keep in mind that they were a bit different from modern cars. Who knew it had three pedals, none of which was an accelerator? Henry Ford Estate volunteer Ed Hebb takes you through the process. (via Metafilter)

7 July 4th Traditions from Around the Nation

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:05:00 +0000

This weekend, people across the United States will be celebrating the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with fireworks displays, picnics, and parades. Some communities celebrate in other ways that you may not be familiar with. Read about some of them in this article I wrote for mental_floss.

Fun and Funny Links

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:50:00 +0000

What if the internet was a musical? It would be called Web Site Story, and would make you snicker at its cleverness.

Oceansize is a beautiful and horrifying student film. Exactly the kind of thing 3D animation was meant for.

Have you ever seen a guy jump out of a helicopter into the ocean to catch a huge game fish with his bare hands? Well, you're in luck today!

5 Pathetic Groups That People Think Rule the World. A primer to keep your worldwide conspiracies straight.

There, I Fixed It collects evidence of "adventures in home pwnership". As scary as these repairs are, they show the genius of making do with what you have.

6 New Personality Disorders Caused by the Internet. I run into at least one of each of these types every day. (via Gorilla Mask)

The Tale of How is a gothic opera about birds menaced by a sea monster. The animation is creepy and beautiful.

20 Ridiculous Signs, made to spread information or produce smiles. Nice to know that you can't depend on licorice to work.

Volkswagen Transparent Factory

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:06:00 +0000

Part factory, part museum. This factory is in downtown Dresden, germany. (Thanks, Holistic CPA!)

Information Links

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:04:00 +0000

We're shockingly bad at noticing changes even to familiar scenes. This is called "change blindness", which has nothing to do with the fact that a dime is used for an example.

The top 10 plants for removing indoor toxins. Three of these are thriving in my home -how about yours?

A newspaper promotion in 1904 got out of hand when treasure hunters dug up a big part of London and other English cities. The madness continued until the newspaper was hauled into court. (via Metafilter)

4 Holy Women Transformed by Cheese. Where in the world do you find such a strangely-focused list? Why, mental_floss magazine, of course.

The final shame: burying a body face-down means humiliation, worldwide and through thousands of years of history.

Where are they now? Serial Killers. This had to be the easiest "Where Are They Now" post ever.

An infographic detailing The Descent into Credit Card Debt. It looks bad, but it's still a better route than check-holding schemes.

Watching Psilocybin Mushrooms Grow

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:05:00 +0000

(via Cynical-C)

Greetings to Remember

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:38:00 +0000

Believe it or not, there was a time when you went down to the dime store (yes, there were such things) or drug store and bought greeting cards to send to friends and family for special occasions. You could buy birthday greetings, get well cards, congratulations on your new baby, sympathy cards, and not much else. Now that the internet has made our world into a global marketplace, there are special greetings for occasions you’d have never thought of, in styles that no national distributor would’ve taken a chance on selling just ten years ago. See eight sources of these alternative greeting cards and ecards in this article I wrote for mental_floss.

Links for Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:17:00 +0000

The dancing inmates of Cebu prison in the Philippines pay tribute to Michael Jackson. Don't miss the Thriller dance without the Thriller music.

Buzz Aldrin has only two passions: space exploration and hip-hop. He celebrates the 40th anniversary of the moon landing by recording with Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli. (via Gorilla Mask)

A Chinese version of Popeye makes an appearance in a 1976 martial arts movie. No, he's not a cartoon, he just plays one in the movies.

Awesome remote-control airplane freestyle routine. I didn't know there are airplanes that can move like this, much less people with the skills to make them dance.

A shelter in Australia takes care of the world's cutest baby fruit bats during tick paralysis season.

This optical illusion stumped me until I got to see the closeup. Even clearer is a version with the distracting colors blocked out in the comments of this post.

You think you're a heavy sleeper? What about the guy who has an air compressor to wake him up every morning?

Time-lapse Tattoos. Four videos that don't begin to explain what it's like to get a tattoo, but you'll enjoy watching them anyway.

Kids These Days

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:04:00 +0000

They're designing robots that can kill you and stuff. This is Adam Halverson of Garretson, South Dakota showing off his creation. (via Intelisef)

The Drinking Duck

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:03:00 +0000

This is just one of Sixty Symbols of physics and astronomy. When completed, all sixty will be connected to a video that explains the concept.

Red Ball

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:04:00 +0000

From Sesame Street. (Thanks, Frau!)

Safety Hairstyles

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:01:00 +0000

During World War II, Veronica Lake changed her iconic one-eyed hairstyle in order to set an example for women working in factories. (via Everlasting Blort)

Friday Fun Links

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:53:00 +0000

Bad Tattoos. 162 of them so far.

Joel Veitch and his wife just wanted to record a simple song with/for their kids. The second half of the video shows how difficult that process is! (via b3ta)

The 15 Funniest Vampire Movies. Look some of these up before the Halloween rush. (via Gorilla Mask)

It's Take Your Goat to Work Day at this office. Watch it and you'll want your own kid pygmy goat.

It may look like a hat, or jewelry, or a hamburger, but it's Jell-O. See photographs from the Jell-O Mold Competition in Brooklyn. (via Buzzfeed)

A Donnie and Marie Star Wars. Complete with dancing Storm Troopers and Jedi Redd Foxx.

This guy knows how to use a water slide with style! Can we make it an Olympic event?

The Terrible Thing of Alpha Nine! Space explorers go to Alpha Nine to check out the monster, which turns out to be what you've secretly thought space aliens were really all about.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:05:00 +0000

(via Boing Boing)

8 Mysterious Tales of Traveling Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:03:00 +0000

Dogs disappear, dogs get lost, dogs are taken, and when we’re lucky, dogs go home again. Here are eight stories of “How did that dog get here?” in this article I wrote for mental_floss.

Give it a Digg if you like it!

Good Reads and Information

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:48:00 +0000

An interview with Alex Santoso, webmaster at Neatorama.

The latest on Female Ejaculation.

An atomic veteran tells of his experience as a nuclear guinea pig in 1957, and the price he has paid.

Male pond skaters forced to 'sing' for sex.

8 Starship Enterprise Facts Every Trekker Should Know.

Why Men Prefer Direct Pick-Up Lines.

We hear about how the recession has affected rich people and middle-class people, but the poor are affected, too. They are just Too Poor to Make the News.

The 7 Greatest Robots of the Pre-Modern World. (via Gorilla Mask)

Turkish Ice Cream Vendor

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:09:00 +0000

You get a free floor show with your cone! (via the Presurfer)

Body Anomaly Tattoos

noreply@blogger.com (Miss Cellania) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:36:00 +0000

More people than you realize have some condition that makes their physical bodies different from the majority. Many try to hide those differences out of self-consciousness, even though the anomaly might be something you’d never notice anyway. Then there are some who celebrate their differences with a clever tattoo that provokes smiles and puts people at ease. See a collection of the best in this article I wrote for mental floss.

Miss C Recommends

Plane Crash Survivor Tells Story

Links for Fun

Fancy Footwork

Fifty Four Fifty

Stars and Stripes Forever

Good Reads

How to Start and Drive a Model T

7 July 4th Traditions from Around the Nation

Fun and Funny Links

Volkswagen Transparent Factory

Information Links

Watching Psilocybin Mushrooms Grow

Greetings to Remember

Links for Fun

Kids These Days

Recommended Reading

The Drinking Duck

Red Ball

Safety Hairstyles

Friday Fun Links

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

8 Mysterious Tales of Traveling Dogs

Good Reads and Information

Turkish Ice Cream Vendor

Body Anomaly Tattoos