(YouTube link)

Boston Dynamics unveils ATLAS, the latest incarnation of a humanoid robot they are building for DARPA. Atlas is the next step beyond PETMAN, complete with a Terminator physique, a Robocop walk, and Johnny Five's eyes. We can only hope that will be programmed with Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. -via Geeks Are Sexy

So you're engaging in, uh, business negotiations and want to be sensitive to the environment. Mr. Lentz, an artist in San Diego, has the best tool for the job. This knuckle duster made of sustainable walnut has a built-in planter that helps provide a greener atmosphere.

Link -via Inhabitat

Kneel Before Zod by Baznet

Better wear this T-shirt by Baznet before the council sentence you to 300 cycles of somatic reconditioning! Check out Baznet's Tumblr for more super cool T-shirt designs, then get one for yourself over at his NeatoShop page. Your purchase helps support indie artists as well as this blog!

Stupendous Man	No-Face	Arkham Psychiatric: The Doctor Is In	Guardians of Sunshine

View more designs by Baznet | More Funny T-shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop, earn generous royalties, and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

The internet's Kitchen Overlord, Chris-Rachael Oseland, cooked pizza rolls that will make you feel like you've got an extra life. She made her 1-Up Mushrooms with canned biscuit dough, mushrooms, onions, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, pesto and edible ball bearings. You can see her process photos at the link.

Link -via Geekosystem

They might not be custom painted like a lot of the cool geek shoes we have featured here, but for fans who always claim the book version of Harry Potter is way better than the movie version, they're almost certainly the best option. I just wonder if Etsy seller AccioMischeif would use your favorite book of the series if you want her too.

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With Pacific Rim hitting theaters this weekend, it's time to revisit movie robots in all their glory. From the Maschinen-Mensch in the 1927 film Metropolis through Star Wars, The Terminator, and Wall-E, see video clips of the different ways robots have been presented in film.  Link

Pink Skull Sniff Tissues (sold individually)

Are you hunting for a tissue that has enough attitude to combat your monster allergies. You need the Pink Skull Sniff Tissues from the NeatoShop. These 4-ply designer tissues feature a pink skull with heart eyes design. 

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Health & Wellness items. 

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For the last Super Bowl, Nabisco hired the Brooklyn-based artist Alexander Barrett to make sculptures out of Oreo cookies. That was his medium. His subject matter was chosen by people following the Oreo brand on Instagram. They sent him photos to duplicate with Oreo cookies. You can see more sculptures in the series at the link.

Link -via Foodiggity

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Jemima the goat has a nice dinner at the table, with utensils, red wine, and a tasty newspaper. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

It doesn't have a sonic shower, but otherwise you'll feel like you're in an admiral's guest quarters on board a Starfleet starship. The Sheraton Hotel in São Paulo, Brazil has a luxurious suite for dedicated Trekkies. You can view more photos of it at the link.

Link -via Nerd Approved

A croissant mixed with a donut? That's cool, but a croissant with a delicious double stuffed Oreo cookie inside? Now that's brilliant!

The Crookie was created by Clafouti Patisserie et Cafe, and now, I want to go to there.

Link Via Laughing Squid

Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray (1714-1794) was the midwife of the court of French King Louis XV. She was famous for her skills in that trade and highly sought after as a teacher. Madame du Coudray traveled all over France, training as many as 10,000 women to bring babies and mothers through the childbirth process safely. This was one of her training aids--a dummy that simulates childbirth.

Link -via The Oddment Emporium

(Photo: Ministry of Culture, France)

Pay attention; this one is complicated. Two guys in a Lexus in Craighall, South Africa, witnessed a BMW hitting a Peugot in a hit-and-run and then followed the perpetrator. When the two cars stopped, the Lexus passenger got out to take pictures for evidence. Three men got out of the BMW. One of them jumped into the Lexus and pointed a gun at the driver. The Lexus driver hit the gas pedal and backed the car swiftly into a wall. The wall collapsed, and thousands of enraged bees swarmed from their hive behind the wall and into the Lexus.

Resident Sophie Sigrist said that she had heard the crash and from her property was able to see the suspects running up the road while pulling off their clothing, likely due to the bees. Sigrist's husband told the police the cost of the damage to the wall could be as much as R100 000. The damage to the Peugeot was an estimated R50 000. The Lexus was reportedly a write-off.

The police report indicated that the BMW had been hijacked in Edenvale in May. The licence was false and two extra licence plates were found in the car.

Emergency services responded and treated the two men from the Lexus for bee stings. The three men from the BMW are still at large. Link -via Fortean Times

Dr. Seuss--that is, Theodor Geisel--wrote and illustrated more than children's books. We've already seen some of his advertising work and political cartoons. Now the blog 22 Words brings us a selection of his works which gently poke at people with more money and time than they know what to do with. This painting is entitled "My Petunia Can Lick Your Geranium." 

Link

(Image: Dr. Seuss Art)

Loggerhead tortoises are endangered and the most dangerous period of their life is when they cross from their nest to the sea. That's because birds find the little cuties to be tasty little snacks. Fortunately, this July 1, when 100 loggerheads recently headed to the sea from the Caribbean island of Bonaire, there were plenty of volunteers there to help guide the little babes to the ocean without fear of attack -and to keep them from getting lost on their short journey.

Link Via Pets Lady

Why did Apple make this 1987 Macintosh computer with a translucent case? Possibly to examine the airflow over the components while it was turned on.

This is one of several unusual Apple products recently auctioned at Christie's, including one of the very few hand built Apple 1 models. You can view photos of these antiques at the link.

Link

(Photo: Christie's)

So this is what happens when astronomy and advertising collide: Luna Corona is a clever billboard by Cramer-Krasselt ad agency for Corona beer. The billboard, located in Manhattan, lets the Moon play the role of a wedge of lime.

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]

Hokusai: Great Wave Travel Mug

The Great Wave at Kanagawa is one of the most widely recognized works of Japanese art in the world. This amazing woodblock print, by artist Hokusai, is even said to have inspired Debussy's La Mer. Now, with the Great Wave Travel Mug from the NeatoShop, you can let this beautiful piece of art inspire you with every sip you take.

The Great Wave Travel Mug holds 16 oz. of hot or cold liquid. Neoprene wetsuit material on the outside provides for a soft and comfortable grip.     

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Glassware & Drinkware. 

Link

Domenico Codispoti was arrested for petty theft and drug charges in Milan, Italy, and was sentenced to two years of house arrest in 2006. But Codispoti is homeless, so the court did the best they could to carry out the sentence. Each night, Codispoti must be at the sidewalk at number 22 via Pisani, in his normal sleeping place by 9PM. He must stay in that spot until 7AM. Police patrols come by to make sure he is in his spot.

“I am a special person under surveillance,” he says with a sad smile. How could you blame him? The rules of the game leave no margin: if he moves away from his slice of pavement, he might end up in handcuffs again. It's happened before.

"One evening, a couple of years ago, I went to the other side of the road to pee," he recalls. The patrolling officers busted him, saying he was trying to escape. After a plea bargain they sentenced him to two additional years.

As it stands, Codispoti's sentence will be up in 2014. Unless he crosses the street again. Link -via Arbroath

(Image credit: Flickr user madamepsychosis)

Like many geeks, photographer Avanaut enjoys playing with his LEGO toys. Unlike most of us though, he actually makes amazingly life-like images by photographing them with fake snow and in other settings to make them look just like they do in the movies. The entire series is amazing.

Link Via Geek Tyrant

Arizona Public Service Co. will file a request today with the Arizona Corporation Commission to add a surcharge to customers who generate their own electricity with solar panels. The power company's proposal has two possible formulas to use for the extra charge, which are estimated to add between $50 to more than $100 to a solar customer's monthly bill. The reason is to offset the costs of maintaining the power grid.

APS officials said solar customers are not paying enough for the services they get from the power grid, which enables them to get electricity at night when solar panels don’t generate power and balance their household energy needs during the day when their solar-panel output and home demand don’t match up.

The change would only affect new solar customers, not those that already have solar on their homes, and would significantly reduce the savings associated with generating power using rooftop systems.

On the one hand, maintaining the power grid is a necessary service. But then you look at the details of the power company's reasoning. The system in place now allows solar customers who generate more electricity than they need to send electricity to the power company, which pays for it in kind, by crediting customers on their electric bills. For each kilowatt hour a solar customer sends to the grid, they are discounted one kilowatt hour from their bill. Therefore, generating extra power during the daylight hours helps to pay for a household's use of power at night.

APS charges its customers between about 9 cents to 17 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity, with prices increasing the more electricity a customer uses. Solar customers tend to be more affluent, with larger homes that use more electricity, so the average price they pay for a kilowatt-hour is about 15.5 cents, APS officials said. That means that when they get a credit for a kilowatt-hour of electricity from solar, the credit is worth about 15.5 cents.

APS officials said it is unfair to pay those customers a 15.5-cent credit when the utility could contract to buy solar power for 8 to 9 cents per kilowatt-hour from large power plants.

So the more they charge a customer, the higher the reimbursement rate, and that's not fair? The idea behind charging more for higher-use customers is already solved for solar users, because they take less power from the grid. Isn't that what the graduated pricing is supposed to encourage? What do you think? Read more about the case at AZ Central. Link -via Simply Left Behind

(Image credit: Flickr user Dominic Alves)

POLL: Is it okay for a power company to charge household solar customers extra?

• Yes, we have to keep the power company running.
• Yes, maintenance is important, but $100 a month is too high.
• No, this is gouging and will discourage solar use.
• It's complicated. Just show me the poll answers.

I've noticed that some people online get really upset about the patriarchy. I'm not sure why.

Question: in a three-way fight between the three Patricks, who would win?

Link

Some little piggie might have gone to the market, but this little piggie is who I want to hang out with on a hot summer day. He knows how to relax on a hot summer day, complete with a nice ice cream cone.

Link

When you squeeze into your Speedo, you're not just baring your skin -you're celebrating centuries of technological breakthroughs.

3rd Century C.E. Sicilian mosaics depict women wearing bikini-like outfits to exercise, but all Roman swimming is done in the nude.

18th Century Women hit the beach in long formless smocks that hide their shapes. Some women sew lead weights in their hems to make sure the fabric doesn't rise and offs a scandalous glimpse of their calves.

1813 The next time you're lugging gear to the beach, be glad you're not living in the 17th or 18th century. Back then, beachgoers used bathing machines to protect their modesty. Swimmers would step fully dressed into horse-drawn cart topped with a hut. As the horse plodded out into the surf, the swimmer would change into his long-sleeved bathing suit. Only when the cart had reached a suitable distance from the shore would the swimmer emerge to frolic. When finished, he'd climb back into the cart and raise a flag to alert the cart's driver he was ready to head in. As the cart approached the beach,  the swimmer would change back into street clothes and emerge on the sand looking dapper. Was this system a lot of trouble? You Bet! But it was a small price to pay to avoid baring the elbow.

1860 English waters banned men from swimming in the buff, giving rise to the striped knit bathing costume.

Mid-19th Century Ladies began splashing around in baggy flannel pants over loose flannel dresses.

1880 The first recorded "bathing beauty" pageant is held is Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Thomas Edison is a judge!

Kellerman later became the first major movie star to do a nude scene.

1907 Australian synchronized swimmer Annette Kellerman appears in Boston wearing a saucy formfitting one-piece suit with a high neck, knee-length shorts, and short sleeves. She is promptly arrested for indecent exposure. Kellerman counters, "I can't swim wearing more stuff than you hang on a clothesline." A judge agrees that she needs a suit that offers "unrestricted movement when swimming."

1912 Australian Fanny Durack wears just such an unrestricted suit while breaking the 100-meter world record and winning the first ever gold in women's Olympic swimming. The fashionable Durack goes on to become the female Michael Phelps of her day; at one point, she held the women's world record in every event from the 100 meters to the mile.

1921 The first edition of what will become the Miss America pageant takes place in Atlantic City. Since illustrators are thought to have inside knowledge of the human form, Norman Rockwell judges the swimsuit competition in the 1920s.

The winner was Margaret Gorman, the only contestant not wearing a sash.

1946 French auto engineer and fashion designer Louis Reard crafts a revealing new two-piece suit he dubs the "bikini" after Bikini Atoll, site of many nuclear tests. When no models agree to wear his creation for its debut, Reard is forced to hire an exotic dancer from a Paris casino. The dancer, Micheline Barnardini, briefly becomes as famous as the swimsuit and receives 50,000 pieces of fan mail.

1956 Speedo debuts its famous tiny racing trunks while sponsoring the Australian swim meet at the Melbourne Olympics. Powered by their skimpy suits, the Aussie men take five of six swimming golds.

1957 Brigitte Bardot popularizes the bikini during the Cannes Film Festival, but it takes a few years for the craze to catch on. Modern Girl magazine dismisses the trend, writing, "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."

1964Sports Illustrateddebuts its swimsuit issue. Adolescent boys' interest in long-form sports journalism suddenly spikes.

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1965 Jodie Foster makes her acting debut as the Coppertone baby.

1966 The first written incidence of "skinny dipping" makes a surprisingly late entry into the English language.

1996 Bangalore, India, hosts the Miss World pageant, but local outrage forces the swimsuit competition to be held in the Seychelles instead.

1999 The Miss America pageant changes its swimsuit rules to ban string bikinis and thongs.

2011 Sick of seeing half-naked tourists, Barcelona bans bikinis on streets that aren't adjacent to the beach. Violators face a 300-euro fine.

The article above is from the Scatterbrained section of the June 2013 issue of mental_floss magazine. It is reprinted here with permission from mental_floss magazine.

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