Gordough's Donuts of Austin Texas has a variety of great donuts, but their Mother Clucker, topped with fried chicken and honey butter. Unfortunately, many of us can't get out there to try it ourselves, but you can actually make your own with the help of Oh Sweet Basil.

Link

One reason why androids are such popular movie characters is that they can be totally terrifying or they can be surprisingly human -and make you fall for them. And you won't know at the beginning of the film which direction an android character will take. Read about ten of the most memorable android s in movies at Tech Graffiti. Link

The Go Go Gorillas project placed 50 large gorilla statues throughout Norwich, UK. For two of his contributions, artist Martin Wall made heroes appropriate for Gorilla City.

Artist's Website -via My Modern Met

(Photos: beccaelizabeth315 and Martin Wall, respectively)

(YouTube link)

John Green shares what he knows about cocktails and other alcoholic drinks. Like how they got the names we know them by. Just don't let him make your pina colada! -via mental_floss

A condominium in Boulder, Colorado caught on fire on Monday. Firefighters rescued all three pets inside the home, including this cat who doesn't seem especially grateful. Maybe he was expecting a larger entourage?

Link -via Blame It on the Voices

(Photo: Boulder Police)

Therapy Flashcards

Need therapy, but just don't have the time or the money? Get a quick fix with the Therapy Flashcards from the NeatoShop. This hilarious set includes 50 flashcards focusing on many of the keywords of therapy. 

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Gag Gifts & Pranks. 

Link

Chris-Rachael Oseland made this loaf of bread that has the Superman insignia inside every slice! Sandwiches made from it will get any kid to eat, and make him or her look so cool in school. Find the illustrated instructions at Kitchen Overlord. Link -via Boing Boing

(Video Link)

It's hard to observe a volcanic eruption up close, but it's even harder if that eruption is taking place in a cold, snow-covered environment. So researchers at Syracuse University created a simulation:

There are more than 200 volcanoes currently covered by ice and snow, but researchers who published a paper in Geology on Friday about the phenomenon point out that observing eruptions of snow-covered volcanoes is difficult due to the typical remoteness of the sites. They scraped together data from the few observations they had, and also did real-time experiments, melting over 300 kg of lava and pouring it over ice at Syracuse University’s Lava Project [...]

The research found that lava didn’t always just melt through the ice, and flow under the surface. When lava was poured directly onto densely packed ice, the lava was able to flow over the simulated glacier at rates of tens of centimeters a second, lubricated by a layer of steam.

Link

When the US Supreme Court is expected to make a historic ruling (as it did today), the news media has a plan in place to post or broadcast it as soon as possible. That involves interns in tennis shoes, in what has been a D.C. tradition. Buzzfeed has coverage of today's race to get the ruling on air, with photos and gifs that will make you think twice about going into journalism. Link

(Image credit: Chris Geidner/Buzzfeed)

Eastern57's custom-built lightsaber is powered by an arc reactor. In Tony Stark's hands, the Sith won't stand a chance. At the link, you can view more photos and watch videos about its construction.

Link -via Obvious Winner

(YouTube link)

Pat Stansik achieved some YouTube notoriety and became that all-too-curious phenomena known as a local celebrity. I had to laugh, knowing all about this from my radio days. For years, in various towns, I found that if you meet ten people in a day, eight will have never heard of you, one has, but is not overly impressed, and one will act as if you are a movie star. It's always best to keep your ego in check. -via Tastefully Offensive

I don't think this walker would do much good against a legion of Rebels, but hey, maybe it would slow them down if they had a lot of chicken strips that needed dipping.

Link Via Geeks Are Sexy

This might not be what the manufacturer recommends, but it's the way it's done in most households. Except I would tend to forget where the rest of the blades were put, and ended up using the first one for as long as possible. Now I just buy a bag of non-refillable disposables, and the rest of the bag disappears among the family. From Doghouse Diaries. Link

Let's face it, there are tons of trophies out there that no one wants anymore. But rather than letting them sit in a landfill, Etsy seller Caprock Studio takes the iconic toppers and turns them into fantastically creative wine stoppers.

Link

(YouTube link)

Fafa and Mario of Glove and Boots discuss Joseph Campbell's "Monomyth" theory that all great stories include the same elements. They also act out some well-known examples of iconic characters in their own wacky way. -via Laughing Squid

What do they mean? The more I study Shwa Keristead's mystics--the more I sink into their penetrating gazes--the less I understand.

Artist's Website and Gallery -via Ian Brooks

Cool Jazz Ice Tray and Stirrers

Chill out this summer with some good music and the Cool Jazz Ice Tray and Stirrers from the NeatoShop. This rocking set makes ice stirrers shaped like guitars. They are great way to make any drink sing. 

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Ice Trays. 

Link

MediAvengers: The Earth's Mightiest Gossip is a blog that imagines what magazines, newspapers, and other media would be like in a Marvel Comics universe. Of course, superheroes would dominate the headlines, at the expense of movie stars and sports heroes. For serious Avenger fans: the implied stories are fan fiction and not necessarily canon. But they are a lot of fun! Link -via Geeks Are Sexy

(Video Link)

It all started when Kitty #1 decided he was going to sneak into his owner's suitcase to go on a trip. Kitty #2 wanted to go with him, but when he said "no," #2 decided that if only one could go, then neither could go!

Via Cute Overload

The United States Supreme Court just handed twin victories for the proponents of same-sex marriage.

First, the Supreme Court struck down a part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal benefits to same-sex couples, as unconstitutional. It was declared "a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment."

Second, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of a California marriage ban by proponents of California Prop 8. The proposition, a ballot-box initiative that amended the state constitution to restrict the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman, was passed into law in 2008. State officials, however, have declined to enforce it. In this case, the Court stated that the private parties who sued have no standing - basically, a legal technicality meaning that they're not entitled to sue.

The twin rulings was hailed as historic:

"Today's historic decisions put two giant cracks in the dark wall of discrimination that separates committed gay and lesbian couples from full equality," said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Commission. He called the rulings "a joyous milestone."

While the Supreme Court rulings cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California, it has no impact on bans currently in place in 38 states in the country.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Thumbnail image: nito/Shutterstock

What do you think of the Supreme Court's decision on same-sex marriage?

POLL: Do You Agree with the Supreme Court's Decisions?

• Yes - Same-Sex Marriage Should be Legal
• No - Marriage Should Only be Between a Man and a Woman

A post on reddit recently asked people to tell their favorite intellectual joke. The response was huge, and you should read the whole thing when you have time. Business Insider selected the best fifteen jokes to republish. They are:

A photon is going through airport security. The TSA agent asks if he has any luggage.
The photon says, "No, I'm traveling light."

Pretentious? Moi?

A logician's wife is having a baby. The doctor immediately hands the newborn to the dad. The wife says, "Is it a boy or a girl?"
The logician says, "Yes."

How can you tell the difference between a chemist and a plumber?
Ask them to pronounce "unionized."

Two women walk into a bar and talk about the Bechdel test.

Heard about that new band called 1023 MB? They haven't had any gigs yet.

Heisenberg was speeding down the highway. A cop pulls him over and says "Do you have any idea how fast you were going back there?"
Heisenberg says, "No, but I knew where I was."

C, Eb, and G walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry, no minors."

First Law of Thermodynamics: You can't win.
Second Law of Thermodynamics: You can't break even.
Third Law of Thermodynamics: You can't stop playing.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

A linguistics professor says during a lecture that, "In English, a double negative forms a positive. But in some languages, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, in no language in the world can a double positive form a negative."
But then a voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.

How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A fish.

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Philip Glass.

What does a dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac do at night?
He stays up wondering if there really is a dog.

If there are any here that you don't fully understand, Business Insider explains each joke, and also tells why they selected it. Link

According to Gordon MacMillan, a writer and editor in the UK, this is a policeman in Granada, a province of Spain. His uniform includes a patch letting you know how to reach the police on Twitter.

Link -via Amy Duncan | @PoliciaJun

The following is a Whodunit by Hy Conrad featuring Sherman Oliver Holmes, a mysterious crime solver and great-great-grandson of Sherlock Holmes. Can you solve the crime?

Sergeant Wilson found the letter and envelope torn up and crammed into the bottom of a wastebasket. Reassembling it while wearing plastic gloves proved difficult.

"It's from Henry Liggit's lawyer," he finally said, looking up from the jigsaw-like puzzle. "It outlines Mr. Liggit's proposed new will, disinheriting his three nephews and leaving everything to charity."

Sherman stood behind the sergeant, peering over his shoulder. "What do you think?" Wilson asked him.

"Hmm. It doesn't take a Sherman Holmes," said Sherman Holmes, "to suspect that Mr. Liggit's suicide wasn't really a suicide."

"My thoughts exactly," the officer agreed.

Sherman and the sergeant were in Henry Liggit's library, just yards from where the millionaire lay slumped in his chair with a gun in his hand and a hole in his head.

"Our first job, my dear Wilson, will be determining which devoted nephew opened Liggit's mail and discovered the threat to his inheritance." With that, Sherman led the way into the front hall where the nervous nephews stood waiting.

All three nephews lived in the Liggit house; all three had been at home at the time of the shot. None, or so they swore, had the least idea Uncle Henry had been about to cut them out of his will.

"Uncle Henry had been depressed," said Nigel, the eldest, in mournful tones. He was sipping a martini and Sherman suspected it wasn't his first of the day. "I spent all afternoon at home. About three P.M. I walked into the front hall. I was checking the mail on that side table when I heard the gunshot."

Sherman observed a few pieces of mail on the table. "When did the mail arrive, my good fellows?"

Gerald, the youngest nephew, raised his hand. "When I got home around 2:30, the mail was already on the hall floor. I walked right across it before noticing. I picked it up and put it on the hall table."

"Did you check through it?"

Gerald nodded. "Yes, but there was nothing for me. I went straight out to the garden and sat by the pool. I, too, heard the gunshot. Around three, as Nigel said."

"I looked through the mail," volunteered the middle nephew, Thomas. "I'd just got home from a trip. I put my bags down in the hall, sorted through, and found a letter for me. I put it in my pocket, then went up to my room."

"What time was this?"

"Ten minutes to three, or thereabouts. I was unpacking when I heard the shot."

"Is the letter still in your pocket?"

With some hesitation, Thomas reached into his jacket and produced the unopened envelope. Sherman noticed a faint shoe print, a water ring, and a curious return address. "It's from a bill collector," Thomas confessed. "I've got a cash flow problem."

"Can anyone verify your arrival at the house at 2:50?"

"I can," said Gerald. "You can see the driveway from poolside. Thomas's car pulled in about ten minutes before poor Uncle killed himself."

"Yes," said Sherman. "We'll talk about suicide in a minute. Did any of you notice a letter addressed to your uncle from his lawyer?"

The nephews all shook their heads.

"Then that settles it," said Sherman. "One of you is lying. One of you knew about your uncle's plans to change his will and killed him before he could do it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Nigel.

"Join the club," laughed Sergeant Wilson. "I don't know what he's talking about half the time, either. But he's usually right."

WHO KILLED HENRY LIGGIT?

WHAT PROOF DOES SHERMAN HAVE?


Show Answer

The whodunit above was provided by American mystery fiction author Hy Conrad.

In addition to his work in mystery and crime puzzles, Hy was also one of the original writers for the groundbreaking TV series Monk.

Currently, Hy is working on mystery novel series "Abel Adventures" as well as the Monk series of novels, starting with Mr. Monk Helps Himself (published by Penguin, order from Amazon here)

Check out Hy's official website and Facebook page - and stay tuned for more whodunits puzzlers on Neatorama from the master of whodunit mysteries himself!

Cosplayer Emma Franks allowed makeup artist JWBeyond to turn her into a fungus-infected clicker from the video game The Last of Us. The result is one of the most terrifying examples of cosply I've ever seen. Remember to think positive thoughts before you go to bed because you're sure to sleep poorly if this is the last thing you think of before falling asleep.

Link Via Fashionably Geek

It's snowing catflakes! Once you've watched this mesmerizing web toy for a while, you might notice the control panel at the bottom right. You can change the wind speed, the amount of catflakes, and even their colors. There's also a special button at the bottom you must try. Link -via Digg

Obesity has grown into such a big problem that it's even seen in laboratory animals that live under controlled conditions. David Berreby writes in Aeon:

[...] over the past 20 years or more, as the American people were getting fatter, so were America’s marmosets. As were laboratory macaques, chimpanzees, vervet monkeys and mice, as well as domestic dogs, domestic cats, and domestic and feral rats from both rural and urban areas. In fact, the researchers examined records on those eight species and found that average weight for every one had increased. The marmosets gained an average of nine per cent per decade. Lab mice gained about 11 per cent per decade. Chimps, for some reason, are doing especially badly: their average body weight had risen 35 per cent per decade. Allison, who had been hearing about an unexplained rise in the average weight of lab animals, was nonetheless surprised by the consistency across so many species. ‘Virtually in every population of animals we looked at, that met our criteria, there was the same upward trend,’ he told me.

It isn’t hard to imagine that people who are eating more themselves are giving more to their spoiled pets, or leaving sweeter, fattier garbage for street cats and rodents. But such results don’t explain why the weight gain is also occurring in species that human beings don’t pamper, such as animals in labs, whose diets are strictly controlled. In fact, lab animals’ lives are so precisely watched and measured that the researchers can rule out accidental human influence: records show those creatures gained weight over decades without any significant change in their diet or activities. Obviously, if animals are getting heavier along with us, it can’t just be that they’re eating more Snickers bars and driving to work most days. On the contrary, the trend suggests some widely shared cause, beyond the control of individuals, which is contributing to obesity across many species.

Link -via Glenn Reynolds

(Photo: Steve Jurvetson)

Recently, we learned on Neatorama that as spaghetti and meatballs are actually not true Italian food, which got us thinking about what other things we've accepted as truths are actually damned lies. Well, here's what we found out:

1. Baby Carrots Are Actually Made from Grown Up Carrots

In 1986, California farmer Mike Yurosek got tired of having to throw away imperfect carrots at his packing plant. In some loads, as much as 70% of the carrots had to be thrown away because they were twisted, knobby, or otherwise deformed (he couldn't even feed them all to pigs because after a while, "their fat turned orange," he said.)

One day, Yurosek bought an industrial green-bean cutter from a frozen-food company that was going out of business, and cut the carrots into 2-inch pieces. Then he loaded them up into an industrial potato peeler to smooth down their edges. What he got was what we now know and love as baby carrots (technically, "baby-cut" carrots).

Oh, and here's the best part about the whole baby carrot business: they sell for much higher price than regular carrots, despite that they actually started as carrots destined for the trash heap.

2. Portabello Mushroom is Actually Just Mature Brown Crimini Mushroom

Image: BGSmith/Shutterstock

You pay a hefty premium for large portabello mushrooms at the grocyer store, but did you know that you're actually buying mature brown crimini or button mushrooms? Yep, they're the same thing.

3. You Won't Find Fortune Cookies in China

Eat in any Chinese restaurant in America, and you'll be served with a plate of fortune cookies at the end of the meal. Fortune cookies are so quintessentially Chinese ... yet you won't find them in China.

The origin of the fortune cookies is controversial, but food researchers pointed to its origin as distinctly Japanese (the modern version of the fortune cookie was supposedly invented by Japanese bakers who immigrated to the United States).

And here's the kicker: In the early 1990s, Wonton Food, the largest fortune cookie manufacturer in the United States, attempted to introduce fortune cookies to China, but gave up because the cookies were considered "too American" by the Chinese.

4. General Tso Didn't Invent General Tso's Chicken ...

... but he did quell a few rebellions in which millions of people died!

General Tso Tsun-t'ang, the man whom General Tso's chicken was named after, was a real general* in the late Qing Dynasty, China. He didn't invent the chicken dish in question - or any Chinese food at all, for the matter.

*Unlike Colonel Sanders, for example, who wasn't a real colonel in the military. Sanders was a Kentucky Colonel, a title of honor given by the Governor of Kentucky.

5. You Haven't Tasted Real Wasabi

Wasabi root (Image: Chris 73/Wikipedia)

Unless you've eaten sushi in Japan, or at a very expensive sushi restaurant elsewhere, you haven't tasted real wasabi. That pungent glob of green stuff swimming in soy sauce that you think is wasabi is actually a combination of horseradish, mustard and green food dye.

Real wasabi is made from wasabi root. It is traditionally grated with a piece of sharkskin stretched over wooden paddle.

6. Two Words: Meat Glue

If you thought pink slime in your burger was bad, wait till you hear about meat glue in your steak.

Meat glue, or an enzyme called transglutaminase, binds protein together. It is often used in the food industry to stick together scraps of meat into prime cuts of steak. After the meat is cooked, you can't tell the difference.

7. The First Caesar Salad Was Made From Scraps

From its name, you'd think that Caesar salad is a salad fit for Roman emperors, but did you know that the first Caesar salad was made from scraps?

In 1924, chef Caesar Cardini (yes, the salad was named after him), ran out of food in his restaurant's kitchen, so when a customer asked for a salad, he made do. Cardini put together bits of lettuce with olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, egg, garlic, croutons and Parmesan. He then added the dramatic flair of tossing the salad "by the chef" at the table-side. The crowds loved it, and the Caesar salad was born!

8. Salmon Gets Dyed Pink

Wild salmon got its nice pink color from eating red-hued krill, but farmed salmon don't get a chance to eat that. Instead, they're fed ground up fish meal and oils that turn their flesh a dull gray color. So, to make up for that color deficiency, farmed salmon are fed pink pigments.

SalmoFan (Image: farmedsalmonfree/Flickr)

Salmon farmers can even choose how pink is pink enough with this nifty SalmoFan. It's just like looking at paint swatches at the hardware store!

9. Chilean Sea bass isn't Chilean. It isn't even a Sea bass.

Chilean sea bass sounds quite nice, doesn't it? That's exactly why it's called that instead of the fish's real name: Patagonian toothfish (man, what an ugly fish!)

Patagonian toothfish AKA Chilean sea bass

In 1977, a fish wholesaler named Lee Lantz wanted to sell Patagonian toothfish to the American market, but realized that nobody wanted to eat a fish with such an unappetizing name. So he tried "Pacific sea bass" and "South American sea bass" before settling on "Chilean sea bass."

The clever name isn't the only problem with Chilean sea bass: according a 2011 DNA analysis by Peter Marko of Clemson University, 15% of Chilean sea bass sold with eco-labels weren't actually from approved, sustainable stock. Worse, 8% were actually different species of fish altogether!

10. You Can't Tell the Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Wine

Image: Minerva Studio/Shutterstock

Ah, the sweet nose of lies that is wine tasting. If you ever thought that pretentious wine tasting experts are full of it, you'd be right.

Psychologist Richard Wiseman of the Hertfordshire University conducted a blind test in which he asked 578 regular people to tell the difference between a variety of wine, ranging from cheap £3 wines to expensive £30 bottles:

The study found that people correctly distinguished between cheap and expensive white wines only 53% of the time, and only 47% of the time for red wines. The overall result suggests a 50:50 chance of identifying a wine as expensive or cheap based on taste alone – the same odds as flipping a coin.

So, in other words. They guessed.

Ah, but that's regular people, oenophiles said. What about experts? Well, the results aren't much better: In 2001, Frédéric Brochet at the University of Bordeaux tested 54 wine experts to rate 2 glasses of red and 2 glasses of white wine. The experts couldn't even tell that the red wine was actually the same as the white wine, but colored by red dye.

If that's not bad enough, wait till you hear what Brochet did next. He took a middling bottle of wine and served it in two different bottles. One bottle had a fancy grand cru label and the other one had an ordinary table wine label. The experts gave the same two wines opposite descriptions: they praised the "grand cru" wine and dismissed the ordinary one as less favorable.

Do you know of any more food lies? Tell us in the comments!