Manhattanhenge!

At 8:17 PM TONIGHT!!! What is it?

"For 15 minutes around sunset on two days this summer, the sun will set in exact alignment with the cross streets of Manhattan's street grid, making the city's towering buildings function something like a modern-day Stonehenge.

They call it Manhattanhenge."

Read more here and here.

Sorry for the late notice!

The Forbidden Library

UPDATE: A reader has informed us that this was a hoax. I can't find proof either way, but it's a nice idea, isn't it?

A high school student who goes by the alias "Kat Atreides" (she's either a big fan of Dune or Greek mythology) claims to have started an unusual library. Her strict school banned a long list of books, so she's decided to keep a selection of the titles in her locker to lend to her classmates.

She now has over 60 banned books available to her fellow students, including:

His Dark Materials
The Divine Comedy
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Animal Farm
The Holy Qu'ran
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Slaughterhouse-5
Lord of the Flies
Bridge to Terabithia
Catch-22
The Brothers Grimm Unabridged Fairytales

What do you think? Is Kat a hero or a criminal? (I'm sure you know how I feel about this. Who bans the Brothers Grimm, anyway?)

Read the post that caught people's attention here.

The Poison Garden

Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities (which I plan to purchase as soon as I finish this post) is living my dream. In a plot of ground behind her house in California, she's growing her very own Poison Garden filled with killer plants such as hemlock, foxglove, jimson weed, and castor beans. She's even decorated her garden with tombstones, skulls, and half-buried books.

I'm so jealous I could spit. But at least I can visit the Stewart-inspired “Wicked Plants” exhibition that's coming soon to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I'll try not to nibble anything while I'm there.

Read more (and take a peek at Amy Stewart's garden) here.

A Manhattan Mystery: Sad Panda

For several months, New Yorkers have been reporting sightings of a rather unusual beast. "Sad Panda," as he's called, has been showing up all over the city. He mopes around Wall Street. He pouts in front of FAO Schwarz. He rides the subway. (And in true New York fashion, he's generally ignored by his fellow passengers). He'll even offer tourists a melancholy hug.

Who IS this bear? No one seems to know. But apparently he accepts tips.

See a slide show (and read a few theories) here. (BTW, the tourists messing with the Wall Street bull are engaging in a rather distasteful tradition in which few New Yorkers would ever take part.)

Great Graffiti

I saw this yesterday, and it made me happy.

Gossip: Have You Been a Victim?

Liltomboyblue just asked an interesting question of all of us.

Should mean-spirited school gossip just be ignored--or does it need to be addressed?

Have you ever been the victim of nasty gossip? How did you deal with it? Did your parents or teachers help? Do you wish they had/hadn't?

Please share!

“I love this class! Where else do you get the chance to hold maggots?”

(Above: Homework)

When I was in high school, the most a budding coroner could hope for was a frog or two to dissect. (Sorry amphibian lovers--it was all in the name of science.) But these days, there seems to be no shortage of dead things for students examine.

That's because forensic science classes have grown quite popular recently. Everyone wants to learn how to calculate a corpse's time of death based on the size of the maggots feeding on the body. (Sorry to be so gross, but isn't it wonderful?!?)

Students also learn how to analyze a body's stomach contents, make sense of blood splatters, and reconstruct car crashes.

Where do I sign up?

Read more here.

New York Harbor's Dirty Little Secrets

We all know what lies beneath New York. But is there anything cool to be found underneath New York Harbor? How about a freight train, a giraffe skeleton, $26 million in silver bars, ice cream trucks, and lots and lots of dead people!

(And of course, until recently, that airplane that landed on the Hudson River.)

Check out the whole list of underwater sites here. Though I wouldn't recommend hopping into your dive suit for a closer look. Apparently there's a whole lotta sewage floating around out there, too.

I'm Feeling a Little Inferior Right Now

Some experts now believe that the awesome painting shown above was painted by Michelangelo when HE WAS TWELVE OR THIRTEEN.

How did he find the time? When I was thirteen, I was way too busy making my mother regret her decision to have children to create something so amazing.

Read more here.

Wanted: First-Hand Report of Horrible Spider Invasion!

Giant spiders are terrorizing the Australian town of Bowen. After heavy rains washed them out of their well-hidden homes, the normally reclusive eastern tarantulas (aka: "bird-eating spiders") started making quite a few public appearances.

The citizens of Bowen are justifiably concerned! No one wants to find a hairy, hissing (yes, they do that) six-inch-long spider in the garden. To make matters even worse, experts say the beasts ARE venomous. One bite from an eastern tarantula can kill a pet or make a human beg for mommy/mummy.

So I'm reaching out to all of our Australian readers. Do any of you have friends or family in Bowen? Any chance we could get a first-hand account of life in a town overrun by giant spiders?

Read more here.

This One's For All You Chicken Lovers

All I'm going to give you are three little words: Chicken Poo Catapult.

Here's the story. And there's even a video! I love this dude. I'm making him my honorary granddad.

(Below: Is this his chicken?)

Is THIS the Most Famous Fake of All Time?

According to a Swiss art historian, the iconic bust of Queen Nefertiti (shown above) may be nothing but a modern fake!

Henri Stierlin's latest book claims that in 1912, a German archaeologist asked an artist to create the bust. The poor man never intended to perpetrate a hoax--he merely wanted to test some ancient pigments he'd uncovered at a dig. But when the work was praised by a German prince, the archaeologist couldn't bring himself to embarrass his guest by exposing the bust as a fake. As a result, Nefertiti ended up in a Berlin museum alongside a plaque that gave her age as 3,400 years old.

This is an astounding theory! The bust only recently underwent a series of scientific tests, which supposedly found a more "realistic" portrait of the queen hidden beneath the glamorous plaster exterior.

Read more here.

It's Ninja Day!

A couple of you kindly alerted me to the photo shown above. (Thanks Nellie and Kiel!) Design student Sara Watson created her own "ninja car" by painting it to blend into it's environment. Cool--but what does it look like driving down the road? I'd like to see THAT.

On a somewhat related topic, I recently came across a list of the "Top Ten Myths about Ninjas." Though we've probably covered much of this information in earlier posts, I think ninjas are cool enough to merit the extra coverage. (They're certainly cooler than pirates--that's for sure.) And I was pleased to discover that while ninjas can't actually vanish, they CAN kill with a single touch. I'm packing my bags for ninja school!

The Fairy Doors of Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan, is apparently home to quite a few wee folk. How else would you explain the mysterious "fairy doors" that can be found all over town? (Tucked next to an otherwise unexceptional fireplace, perched high above a market entrance, or hidden in a library bookshelf.) No two tiny entrances are ever the same. They're all decorated in their own fashion, and sometimes you can even get a glimpse of the rooms beyond.

How lucky are the six-year-olds of Ann Arbor?

Check out dozens of fairy doors here, and read about the mastermind behind them here.

The Irregulars Salute: The Anonymous California Baton-Twirler

(Above: Show off your sequins and carry a big stick.)

When a 17-year-old student was attacked by two muggers earlier this week, she whipped out her baton and left the men limping and bloody.

According to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Rust, "The moral to this story is don't mess with the marching band girls, or you just might get what you deserve."

Read more here.

Whatever You Do, Don't Flush That Spider!

This week, while everyone was freaking out about the swine flu, I had bigger fears to face. What's scarier than swine flu, you ask? ZOMBIE SPIDERS.

I can't tell you how many times I've disposed of spiders in the toilet. Now I learn that those creepy little arachnids could have returned from the dead to seek their revenge! The horror!

Scientists have discovered that some spider species are "resistant to drowning." What does this mean? It means they can spend up to 36 hours underwater, looking completely lifeless. But let them dry off and a few hours later they're twitching back to life!

This is the stuff of nightmares, people. Zombie spiders crawling out of the toilet and taking their revenge on one's most private parts. Eeeek! It's worse than having to ride the subway during a flu epidemic!

Read more here.

What's Behind the Wall?

(No, this time it's not a mummified cat. It's even more bizarre.)

Remember the forgotten tunnel that was discovered underneath Brooklyn? (If not, you really should click here.) Well, there may soon be a movie about it. The film's producer is trying to raise money to complete the project--and to fund an excavation. He hopes to prove that a section of the tunnel still hidden behind a wall, "contains hidden international mysteries about John Wilkes Booth, the assasination of Abraham Lincoln, the missing pages of Booth's diary that list the conspirators involved in Lincoln's death, and a perfectly preserved locomotive from the early 1800's."

Hey--stranger things have happened.

Watch the film's trailer here. And see a CNN interview with the men behind the film here.

What's Hiding in YOUR Bathroom?

Sometimes, I come across an article that's so perfect that I simply can't bring myself to paraphrase. In these rare cases, I feel I must honor the talented reporter by quoting his/her words. Enjoy.

A 400-YEAR-OLD cat is the last thing you would expect to find when renovating your home. But that is exactly what builders came across in the bathroom of an Ugborough cottage.

Local legend has it that the mummified moggy was placed in the walls of the house near Plymouth to ward off witches four centuries ago and owner Richard Parson said it had done a good job so far.

"I am of the opinion that it works as, since we have lived in the village, we have seen sight nor sound of any witches," he said.

Read more--and see an amazing slideshow--here!

You Are All Delightfully Weird

I have never met a stranger group of people in my entire life! And, as far as I'm concerned, that's the highest compliment I could possibly pay you.

The pictures above and below are proof that the world's Irregulars (as I think of you) are the oddest, most creative people around. The top photo comes courtesy of long-time blog reader Hazel, who recently won the National Library Week cake-making contest at her local library. Her cake recreates the little room that Ananka finds at the bottom of a sinkhole in Kiki #1. I must say, making minature rats out of almonds is a brilliant idea! Congrats, Hazel!

The photo below was sent to me from the Chapel Hill branch of the Irregulars. (You know who you are!) It's a Kiki "shrine." From what I hear, if you spend fifteen minutes a day in front of the candle, you'll soon be granted magical kung-fu skills. Very weird--and AWESOME!

Thanks to everyone who sends me cool stuff. If there's anyone else who'd like a mention, please let me know! (I always try to get permission before I post anything on the blog.)

Know Your Rights!

This story is a couple of months old, but it should still scare us all senseless . . .

For years, when kids in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania were arrested for minor offenses (such as stealing loose change from cars or writing prank notes) they often found themselves outside the American justice system. Many were denied lawyers. Their hearings lasted only a couple of minutes. And quite a few were sentenced to months-long prison terms.

How bad did it get? One girl was sent to a wilderness boot camp for creating a Myspace page that made fun of her assistant principal.

Why were these kids denied justice? Because two corrupt Pennsylvania judges were being paid for every kid they sent to one of two private juvenile detention facilities.

Both the judges will now be spending a few years behind bars. But this case offers an important lesson. Just because you're a kid doesn't mean you don't have any rights. Learn what they are--and make sure no one ever abuses them!

Read the whole horrible story here.

Art and the Animal Kingdom

Mixing art and animals can have questionable results. (Think "Dogs Playing Poker" or anything by Damien Hirst.) But sometimes the two come together to create something . . . magical?

Take, for instance, artist Julian Wolkenstein's horsey supermodels (including the beauty shown above). Or the "extreme sheep LED art" in the video below.

But my favorite? THE URBAN BEAST PROJECT. From the website:

Urban Beasts are recycled skins of thrown out stuffed animals taxidermied to create feral relatives. Often displayed in community gardens, abandoned lots and in trees, an Anthology of their stories was developed to illustrate Humans' role as stewards of their environments.

This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest projects in the history of mankind. (Thanks for the tip, Ivy!!)

Spotted

An octopus in Chinatown. Sorry for the poor quality.

Where Did She Get That Cute Little Sweater?

Admire Coraline's star-speckled sweater? Well here's where she got it . . .

The Latest in Adventure Sports

What do you think of when you see the picture above? My guess? It's not surfing. But these days, "volcano boarding" is a sport that's growing in popularity. All you need is a rupture in the earth's surface and a board. Just hike to the top of your local active volcano and slide all the way down. By the time you reach the bottom, you could be going up to 50 miles per hour. It's that easy (and dirty and dangerous and hot)!

Read more and check out the pictures and video here.

(What sort of thing would I like to do? Check it out here!)

Say Hello to Miss Outdoors

I think we have a theme going today. Dakota Abbott (see above) was crowned Miss Outdoors in 2008. She's the only woman to have won the beauty pageant--and a muskrat skinning contest. (Apparently people eat them--who knew? Anyone out there ever nibbled a muskrat? If so, please write in.)

Read more here!

Scary Girl

This game looks awesome! It has all of my favorite things: Eye patches, scary girls, a giant octopus, terrifying creatures, and BUNNIES! (Do all of the exclamation points manage to convey my excitement?!?)

Play here!

New to Me: Snow Rollers

Of all the creepy weather-related phenomena we've discussed on this blog (lenticular clouds, the red rain of Kerala, mayor-eating groundhogs), I have never come across anything as bizarre as snow rollers.

I was blissfully unaware of their existence until approximately 8:30 this morning when I discovered these pictures from the National Weather Service.

According to Wikipedia:

"A snow roller is a rare meteorological phenomenon in which large snowballs are formed naturally as chunks of snow are blown along the ground by wind, picking up material along the way, in much the same way that the large snowballs used in snowmen are made.

Unlike snowballs made by people, snow rollers are typically cylindrical in shape, and are often hollow since the inner layers, which are the first layers to form, are weak and thin compared to the outer layers and can easily be blown away, leaving what looks like a doughnut or Swiss roll. Snow rollers have been seen to grow as large as two feet in diameter."

I know it's just a natural phenomenon, but there's something about seeing them all lined up on the plain that really spooks me! Imagine waking up one morning to find your entire lawn covered in these things!

I Love New York EVEN MORE!

Why Don't These Things Happen to ME?

Today we offer two videos for your review. The first (above) allegedly shows the "Beast of Gum Hill" crossing a creek in Virginia.

The second video can be seen here. What terrible creature ate an SUV owned by a North Carolina family? (There was a similiar incident featured on Monster Quest. The experts believed a dog did the damage.)

Are hoaxters responsible? Unknown monsters? All I can say is, why don't these things happen when I'M down South?

I Love New York!

I've always said that New Yorkers get a bad rap. We're not the surly, weapon-wielding thugs that everyone thinks we are. We're actually quite nice! And now I've got proof (above).

Artist Kacie Kinzer recently devised an interesting experiment. She built a series of robots (cute robots!) that explore the city--with the help of pedestrians. You see, her "tweenbots" can only travel in a straight line. So they need assistance from the humans around them to reach their destinations.

The first tweenbot mission was a resounding success. Why? Because New Yorkers are so darn nice and helpful. (Unless you tick us off. Then we attack.)

Read more about the project here.

Is This the Work of the British Irregulars?

(Artwork by Tereza Vlčková.)

Over the past year, over 200 anonymous letters have been sent to the police in the small British town of Highbridge. The notes, which are always typed on plain white paper, have given authorities enough information to catch drug dealers, tax dodgers, and a wide assortment of evil-doers.

Some people suggest that the mysterious sleuth may be a retired policeman or crime novel aficionado. Heh heh. We'll just let them believe that . . . for now.

Read more here.

Things People Do in Belgium, Part I

In the spirit of "Frozen Grand Central."

(Thanks to Spiffy for correcting my geography.)

The Only Eggs I Don't Hate are EASTER EGGS

I'm back! I hope everyone who celebrates Passover is having a great time. And for those of you who are fans of the Easter bunny, I just came across a site with some amazing ways to color Easter eggs. Check them out here!

Cool Old Stuff

(Top: Mrs. L.O. King, traffic cop. 1918. Bottom: New York City detective Mary Agnes Shanley. 1937.)

I just found Shorpy, a cool site with lots of old pictures. I particularly like the pictures of women from previous generations.

Here's something to think about. Mrs. L.O. King was working as a Washington DC traffic cop . . . before she was even able to VOTE in this country. Interesting, no?

I'm Heading Home

Tomorrow morning I'm flying down to visit my hometown in the mountains of North Carolina. (Sorry I missed you, Lili!) So I may not be able to post as regularly as I'd like. (My mom likes to hog the computer.) But I'll keep in touch any way that I can. Maybe I'll even take a few pictures. Some CRAZY stuff goes on down there . . .

Here's a little something to think about while I'm gone.

Terribly Sad and Extremely Interesting

The creature above made the list of eleven extinct animals photographed while alive. According to ecoworldly.com . . .

"The Bubal Hartebeest was a magnificent, tough beast which was once domesticated by the ancient Egyptians as a food source and for sacrificial purposes. The creature was even mentioned in the Old Testament.

Although it once roamed throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East, the deep-rooted mythology which surrounded the animal was not enough to save it from European hunters who began hunting them for recreation and meat. The last Bubal Hartebeest was probably a female which died in the Paris Zoo in 1923."

See the other unfortunate creatures that made the list here.

Great Graveyards

What can I say? I like graveyards. I find them endlessly fascinating. So I was thrilled to discover this list of ten "must-see" cemeteries. I've already visited five of them, and I'm dying to see more (ha), particularly London's Highgate Cemetery (shown above). Surprisingly, number seven on the list is near my new home in Brooklyn! So the next time the weather is nice, I think I'll pack a picnic and have lunch with some Roosevelts.

New to Me: Flea Circuses

(Photo by Roy Maloy)

Okay, so I've known about flea circuses for quite some time now. But until I read this fabulous post on Dark Roasted Blend, I had no idea how cool they really are.

Check it out. You'll be scratching yourself all night--but I promise it's worth it!




(Posters by David Manuel.)

This Can't Be Real . . . Can It?

According to CNN, a swim coach in Darwin, Australia has found a novel way to encourage his swimmers to move a bit faster. He simply tosses a hungry crocodile in after them.

Supposedly he makes sure that the kids have enough of a head start that the crocodile couldn't possibly catch up. But what if someone gets a cramp?!?

Don't believe me? Check here.

Of course if you want to try swimming with crocodiles, you can always pay a visit to Crocosaurus Cove (shown above)!

An Album of Ghostly Images

As often happens, the moment I post on a topic, I stumble across more juicy information on the very same subject. For instance, this morning I discovered a website that recently asked readers to send in their own "ghost" photographs. The website received over 250 images from around the world. The ten best are now posted here.

The top prize went to the photo shown above, which was taken at Tantallon Castle in Scotland.

Creepy!

Did Google Street View Capture a Ghost?

The figure above was snapped by the Google Street View camera near what was once dangerous dockland in Britain. Is the woman, who appears to be wearing Victorian garb, a ghost? (She does appear to be missing her legs.)

Read more here. And if you're interested, see an "alien" photographed by the Google Street View van in New Jersey.

Quick, Someone Fetch Me Some Fingerpaints!

A Melbourne art gallery recently agreed to show the work of a promising new artist named Aelita Andre. But when the artist arrived at her show's opening, gallery owners discovered that Aelita (shown above) is only two-years-old.

This is by no means the first modern art "prodigy" to arrive on the art scene. American Marla Olmstead was selling paintings for tens of thousands of dollars when she was four. (A documentary film later questioned whether Marla's work was her own. Some believe her artist father might have completed the paintings. See a trailer for the movie below.)

What do you think? Are artists like Aelita geniuses? Frauds? Jokes on the art world? (The fact that this question needs to be asked really says something.) And is anyone interested in purchasing some lovely paintings created by my talented three-year-old niece, Zoe?

Is Miss Porter's Run By An All-Girl Torture Squad?

This weekend, I read an interesting article in the New York Times about a former student at Miss Porter's, the famous New England prep school (shown below), who is suing the institution. The student in question was expelled in November of last year for skipping classes and cheating, and she's not happy about it. Nothing new there.

But the girl claims that her bad behavior was the result of bullying by a group of her fellow students. She blames a secret society known as the Oprichniki, which takes its name from a 16th century Russian torture squad. (Yes, it's a little weird. But this is a place where freshmen are required to learn four useless phrases in German and recite them in front of the entire school.)

There's no doubt that bullying is a huge issue at schools across the country. But there's one little problem with the Miss Porter's lawsuit. No one knows for sure if the Oprichniki still exists. Has the student in question resurrected a legendary group to clear her name? Or does the Oprichniki secretly rule one of the best-known girls' schools in the country?

Read the Times article and share your opinions!

Deadly Kangaroos on the Lam in France

(Above: Hop faster, they're gaining on you!)

This past weekend, vandals freed fifteen kangaroos from an Australian-themed park in Toulouse, France. As of yesterday, three were still roaming the land, nibbling cheese and sipping wine at cute little cafes across France. Don't let the gendarmes catch you, little roos!

The owner of the theme park was quoted as saying, "They are not aggressive or nervous animals by nature. They're probably just grazing quietly away somewhere." Really? I mean I agree with the grazing part, but can't kangaroos be kind of dangerous? They have nasty claws that they use to defend themselves--and legs so powerful that they can kick a grown man to death. (Australian readers, feel free to chip in some thoughts here!)

So if you happen to cross paths with one of these kangaroos, I recommend that you be very, very polite.

More here.

AWESOME! Stick Figure Aliens

And I thought giant worms were going to be the big story of the day! WHAT ON EARTH ARE THESE THINGS?!?

(via Boing Boing)

New to Me: 4-Foot-Long Worms

What's four feet long, has jaws powerful enough to bite through 20-lb fishing line, and is covered with thousands of stinging bristles that can inflict permanent numbness? Why it's Barry the giant worm!

The nightmare creature was discovered inside a coral display at a British aquarium. Scientists couldn't figure out what was slowly destroying their beloved coral reef, so they decided to take it apart, rock by rock. There, in the middle, was a four-foot-long giant reef worm.

They lured Barry (as they later named him) out of the coral using fish scraps as bait. He's been put in a separate tank where he can no longer harm the other marine life at the aquarium. Unfortunately, after looking at Barry's mugshot (above), I think I might be permanently scarred.

Read more here.

The World's Greatest Imposters

I've been thinking about imposters lately. (Why? That's for me to know and for you to read about in a few months.) So I was thrilled to discover this fascinating list of the world's ten greatest imposters. At number two, there's Frank Abagnale, who managed to impersonate a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer without the benefit of a single degree. And number nine is Mary Baker, an English cobbler's daughter, who invented a new language and convinced the world that she was Princess Carabou from the island of Javasu. But I was surprised to see that the list did not include one of the most famous imposters of all.

In 1918, the last Czar of Russia and his family were murdered by Bolsheviks. But in 1920, a lovely young woman appeared in Berlin. Her name was Anna Anderson (shown below), and she claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia (shown above), one of the Czar's three daughters.

Anderson spun a remarkable tale. She'd been shot by the Bolsheviks but managed to escape with the help of a soldier. Later, she had made her way to Berlin where she tried to contact her father's sister, Princess Irene. When the princess failed to recognize her, Anderson tried to take her life. Doctors at the mental facility where Anderson had been taken after her suicide attempt confirmed that the young woman's body was riddled with bullet wounds.

For decades, many believed that Anderson was, in fact, the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Even members of the royal family insisted she was a relation. Anderson's true identity remained one of the world's greatest mysteries--until 1994 when DNA testing proved that Anderson was not of royal blood. She had been an imposter after all.

Sadly, the bones of the real Anastasia were recently identified. While Anna Anderson hobnobbed with royalty, Anastasia had been lying in a lonely grave on the eastern side of the Ural mountains.