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At the center of the universe, the Great Seal remains still. You and everything else, however, spin around it.

I could watch this video all day. I'd love to have it on a continuous loop.

-via Daily of the Day

Is this a world record? I don't even want to know! An abandoned house in San Sebastián de la Gomera, Spain, was investigated by police after calls from neighbors. Inside, they found a wasp nest that almost filled a room!

Experts have examined the nest, which is said to be 21'9” in length, and say the common type of wasp found in gardens would never normally build a nest of this size.

They believe it must be an invasive species of wasp which had migrated from Africa.

The Canary Islands are less than 100 kilometres from Morocco by water.

You can almost imagine the wasps, finding that this was the most wonderful place for a nest ever because no one bothered them and it never rained, and then deciding that they'd never leave to build new nests. Link -via Arbroath

Tinkle and Turd Salt & Pepper Shakers

Are you, or someone you love, obsessed with potty humor? Well it is your doody to scoop up the Tinkle and Turd Salt & Pepper Shakers from the NeatoShop. This silly set features a pee shaped shaker and a poo shaped shaker. They are a disgustingly fun way to celebrate your favorite bodily functions.      

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more delightful Salt & Pepper Shakers. 

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Need to wrap up your time surfing the web? Caldwell Tanner's poster of just about every meme out there will help you. You can view a much larger version and a legend at the link. I hadn't heard of Floor Horse. How many are unfamiliar to you?

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(YouTube link)

5m80 is a short film by Nicolas Devaux, about the ridiculous things that giraffes do for fun and sport. The number refers to the average height of a giraffe, which is about 19 feet. -via the Presurfer

Was it a serious mistake? I think that Principal Larry Ching of Waimea College in Nelson, New Zealand now has serious bragging rights. For the rest of his career, he can claim that he's so strict that he once put his entire student body in detention:

Every student at Waimea College in Nelson is to do detention tomorrow - or so parents were mistakenly told in a text message.

Principal Larry Ching confirmed multiple text messages had been sent to "most if not all" of the 1500 parents on Waimea's text-notification system today notifying that their child was expected to show up for detention after school on Thursday.

The messages were sent in error and Mr. Ching sent out a follow-up message cancelling detention.

Link | Photo: Waimea College

Gabriel Dishaw, who created the Darth Vader's Mask from Old Machinery we told you about on Neatorama a while back, is back with another neat creation. This time, C-3PO got the honor of being made from discarded parts of adding machines, calculators, check printers, and typewriters. Human-cyborg relations have never looked so good!

Link - via Geeks Are Sexy

The street artist Roadsworth brings humor to the roads of Montreal. Sometimes he just adds light touches to the pre-existing infrastructure to create appealing images. He makes particularly good use of shadows. You can view more of Roadsworth's work at the link.

Link -via Colossal

The TV series Firefly aired for only four months in the 2002-2003 season. But it left behind many devoted fans. In one episode, the character Jayne Cobb received a gift of a knitted hat. It was shown for only a few minutes on that one episode, but the hat became a symbol for the fans, and many wanted one just like it. As 20th Century Fox Television had cancelled the show, they did not market merchandise from the series, and so knitters stepped in to fill the demand. Then in December of 2012, Think Geek began selling an officially-licensed Jayne Hat. One thing led to another, and Fox TV started sending cease and desist orders to Etsy crafters, some who had been selling the hats for years.  

"When I first got the cease and desist, I felt like I'd been thrown out of an airlock," said Angela of Ma Cobbe's Shoppe, who had been selling Jayne hats on Etsy for almost five years.

"I've seen some copyright infringement on Etsy, but I always thought that the hat was something of my own. Yes, it's inspired by a hat worn by a character in a show that is the intellectual property of Fox, but each independent hand-knitting seller puts their own spin on it. They write up their own patterns with subtle shifts in color and design to appeal to everyone."

"The irony of it is that it's the fans of the show who have propelled the hat into the iconic symbol that it is. The hat itself had only a few measly minutes of screen time in one episode-- an episode that Fox didn't even air."

The entire story and the controversy on the internet is explained at Buzzfeed. Link  

Some Etsy sellers are striking back by re-labeling their wares.  Link

(Image credit: Goddess Vicky)

This object looks like an AC adapter--a device commonly called a "wall wart"--but it's actually a computer mouse. Alec Smecher, a software developer and artist who specializes in "technological surrealism", built it. There's a hole in the bottom to emit a laser and thereby provide optical tracking. The prongs act as buttons

Link -via Hack A Day

Good question! The UB1K chair, designed by Edward Kim, certainly looks like it belongs in a sci-fi movie.

From Yanko Design - via Trendhunter

Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal has written a comic essay on Why the Mantis Shrimp is My New Favorite Animal. The picture here is an idealistic view of this strange creature, and not to be confused with the truth. And truth is stranger than fiction, as you'll find out. With bonus videos. Link

Matt Curran turned his 10-month-old Lab pup into something that many of us Calvin and Hobbes fans wanted when we were younger: a real-life Hobbes (well, labs are much safer than tigers).

The Telegraph wrote:

Lilo the 10-month-old Labrador has been dyed to look like a tiger. Owner Matt Curran from Surfers Paradise decided to turn his pup into a tiger, using animal-safe dye, for his niece's 4th birthday. It took 90 minutes to dye Lilo's coat at Mudgeeraba's Animal Magic Pet Grooming Salon.

Link (Photo: David Clark)

Where's The Fire? Salt & Pepper Shakers

Could your meal use a little rescuing? Season it with the Where's The Fire? Salt & Pepper Shakers from the NeatoShop. This adorable set features a Dalmatian puppy peeing on a fire hydrant.   

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Salt & Pepper Shakers. 

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(YouTube link)

South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp made a name for himself with a short film called Alive in Joburg which became the 2009 blockbuster District 9. Blomkamp's new film Elysium also illustrates political ideas in a science fiction world by pitting the 99% against the 1%. And Jodie Foster is the bad guy! The plot, from Wikipedia:

In the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on Elysium – a Stanford torus space habitat in Earth orbit – and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the planet’s crime and poverty, and they critically need the state-of-the-art medical care available on Elysium – but some in Elysium will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve their citizens’ luxurious lifestyle. The only man with the chance to bring equality to these worlds is Max Da Costa, an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission – one that pits him against Elysium’s mayor, Secretary Jessica Delacourt and her hard-line forces – but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well.

The movie is scheduled to be released August 9. -via Geeks Are Sexy

The ZO_loft designers write, "Sooner or later, at home or at work, we all end up by falling asleep on our computer’s keyboard." That's why they built a sofa bed to make the transition to sleep easier. The QWERTY Sofa reclines and features adjustable keys. Pop up the D key, stretch outand slumber.

Link -via Fubiz

Accentuate the positive. Real estate agent Kristy DeBruhi took that age-old advice to heart when she listed this charming four-bedroom home in Washington D.C:

The riders (or little placards that sit atop real estate signs) usually signal that a home is having an open house or that it has gone under contract.

But a four-bedroom home recently hit the market in the 500 block of Sheridan Street NW that has a humorous rider. Specifically, it signals that the home is “not haunted.”

Urban Turf has the post: Link

Any time you want to add to a child's reading experience, whether the child is yours or someone else's, a book from this list will be much appreciated. I counted 13 that I had as a child; most of the others weren't written that long ago. Check out the reasoning behind all 25 at Flavorwire. Link

For talented artists, the sky is the limit. For French artist Thomas Lamadieu (AKA Roots Art), the sky is a canvas. Literally! He turns the skies in photographs of buildings around town into an artboard for whimsical doodles. The results are fantastic: Link

View more at Lamadieu's website: Link

Some brilliant recipes are invented out of necessity. For example, legend has it that Napoleon Bonaparte's chef invented Chicken Marengo from whatever he could find in the field after a battle. Now it's a popular dish in French cuisine.

Enter the ramen po' boy. Stuart J. Chartock, its inventor, has now guaranteed himself a place in culinary history. His recipe is simple but perfect: ramen, cheese and ham.

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Fairy doors lead to fairy houses, of course. But no one has seen these tiny dwellings before, until Boston-based illustrator Daniel Barreto came along. Enjoy his photo series Woodhouses, which is the cleverest use animated GIFs we've seen in a long time: Link - via Archie McPhee's Endless Geyser of Awesome

Gabrielle Rogers and Stefan Auer build ships in bottles the old-fashioned way (and if you don't know how it's done, you'll be amazed to find out). They got a request to build the boat from the 1975 movie Jaws in a bottle, and they did, complete with shark!

The amount of details makes all the difference when an artist is tyring to bring to life a scene like this one.  A miniature fishing rod is made of a needle.  Miniscule hoops (watch washers) act as the eyes, which the slender thread actually passes through.  The reel is a gear from a watch.
 
If there are people, the must be directed to a task.  The personna holding the bucket represents Quint (the shark hunter).  He will be handing a bucket of chum.  Brody (the police chief) holds the rifle and will be taking aim at the shark before its final moments. Hooper (oceanographer) bravely takes to what he calls the shark proof cage in an attempt to stab the animal.

See how it was constructed step-by-step, with pictures. The finished bottle is just wonderful! Link -via Metafilter

Do you find cruises relaxing? So do your pets! To help relieve them of their stress, Pet Cruise in Singapore offers pets boat rides:

Boat owner Joe Howe, 48, started the Pet Cruise company last July.

His 26-foot (7.8-metre) motor catamaran, which comes with a swimming deck, has a fully-stocked cleaning station and life jackets for dogs.

On weekends, a basic cruise lasting two hours costs Sg$40 ($32) per guest -- human or pet -- or Sg$400 to book the entire boat.

Howe, a retired broker who now leads an average of two cruises every week, has even had people bring pet tortoises on board.

Link -via Marginal Revolution

(Photo: Pet Cruise)

(YouTube link)

When Brandon married Mandy, his brother couldn't be there because he was busy at work. So he turned his dashcam around and recorded a greeting from the cockpit of his Harrier jet -and even did a roll in honor of the occasion! When this was played at the wedding, there was not a dry eye in the house. -via Viral Viral Videos

Dig-Ins Cookie Cutters

Are you craving cookies? Now is the perfect time to dig up that old family cookie recipe and rescue it from extinction with the Dig-Ins Cookie Cutters from the NeatoShop. This terrifyingly fun set includes three jumbo 5" cookie cutters:

• Tyrannosaurus Rex
• Stegosaurus
• Triceratops

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Baking Supplies. 

Link

This British dish is spelled stargazy or stargazey. And yes, those are real fish heads:

Stargazey pie sounds rather quaint, but this Cornish dish of pilchards baked under a pastry crust won't appeal to everyone - it traditionally has fish heads poking through the crust, so they appear to be gazing up at the sky. Legend has it that the dish originates from the village of Mousehole, where a plucky fisherman called Tom Bawcock once saved his fellow villagers from starvation by braving the stormy seas to catch a record haul. The fish were baked poking out of the pies, to prove to everyone that there was fish inside.

America fought two wars to get away from this kind of food.

Link -via TYWKIWDBI

(Photo: goodiesfirst)

Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.

The story of TV's first-ever interracial kiss is actually one of the medium's biggest urban legends. Most believe it occurred on Star Trek in 1968. The common belief is that the first kiss between an African-American and a Caucasian happened in a third season Star Trek episode called "Plato's Stepchildren." Before I correct the common misconception, I will fill you in on the details of the Star Trek kiss, which is historic in its own right.

The "Plato's Stepchildren" episode involved the crew of the starship Enterprise being made into unwilling slaves, the condition being enforced by the "superior" beings called Platonians who have the power of telekinesis, which they employed to make the crew behave as their masters desired. William Shatner (Captain Kirk) and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) are thereby "forced" to kiss.

The telekinesis made it easier for NBC to explain the kiss, as in the big scene Captain Kirk is forced to kiss the African-American Uhura against his will. Shatner, in his inimitable manner, emotes, "I-won't-kiss-you! I-won't-kiss-you!" But because of the great counter-effort, the kiss does, indeed, take place.

William Shatner, in his book Star Trek Memories, insists that he and actress Nichols never actually kissed during the scene; he maintains that their lips never touched. However, Nichols positively declares that they did lock lips. It seems incredible that such a major event is not more clearly recalled, as obviously either Shatner or Nichols is mistaken. The kiss itself is obscured by the back of Nichols' head, so we, the viewers, can't tell who is right.

(YouTube link)

NBC, nervous about the reaction from their Southern affiliates, insisted that an alternate take be shot, one without the kiss. After Shatner and Nichols shot several kisses, the alternate takes were attempted. Both Shatner and Nichols agree on what happened next.

During every alternate take, Shatner crossed his eyes goofily, thus ruining any further takes. According to Nichols, NBC was still against using the kiss, so she went to view the dailies and see the reaction of the NBC brass. After viewing the kiss and the "cross-eyed" alternate takes, the NBC suits finally conceded and said, "To hell with it. Let's go with the kiss."

Nichols recalled the flood of mail the show received after the episode was aired. To her surprise, it was all positive. She even recalled one letter from a Southern viewer, which said: "I am totally opposed to the mixing of the races. However, any time a red-blooded American boy like Captain Kirk gets a beautiful dame in his arms that looks like Uhura, he ain't gonna fight it."

Okay, now that the misconception has been clarified, let's take a look at television's actual first-ever interracial kiss.

On December 11, 1967, several months before "Plato's Stepchildren," Nancy Sinatra starred in a TV special called "Movin' with Nancy." The special was directed by Jack Haley, Jr. and showcased Nancy traveling around, i.e. driving a car, strolling along the California countryside, riding in a hot-air balloon, and singing different songs. Her dad, Frank Sinatra, makes a guest appearance near the end and sings "Younger Than Springtime." Nancy's god-uncle Dean Martin also makes an appearance, singing a duet with Nancy ("Things") and a solo ("Just Bummin' Around"). But it is in the second half of "Movin' with Nancy" that television history was made.

In this segment, Sammy Davis, Jr. joins Nancy, playing a photographer who snaps various photos of her as she sings "What'd I Say." Sammy dances around, mugs for the camera, and clicks away. Then, at the end of the bit, Sammy gives Nancy a quick little kiss on the cheek. There is nothing sexual about the kiss; it is obviously a kiss of great affection, the affection of two close friends (which they were).

(YouTube link)

According to Nancy, the apparently spontaneous kiss was actually carefully planned. She had Sammy shoot the scene late in the day, knowing he had to leave to get to another job, thus making it impossible for the brass to ask for a re-take sans the kiss.

And so, television history was made- the first-ever interracial kiss.

The Star Trek kiss, nonetheless, does hold its own place in TV history, as the very first scripted interracial kiss in a TV series.