Neatorama

---

• British Animals Not Found in the United States
• Facepalm Picard - Nice Going Number One!
• Line-Dancing Horse
• Pantone Officially Announces A Despicably Cute Color
• R2-ME2, Artists Reimagine Star Wars' Iconic Droid R2-D2
• Soldier Dad Photobombs His Son’s School Picture
• Love In the Time of Star Wars
• Polar Bear Meets Toy Bunny
• Homemade Mini BB-8 Droid
• 18th Century Sidewalks Are Single-File to Prevent Couples from Walking Side-by-Side
• The World's Cutest Criminal
• <i>Batman v Superman:</i> Retro Style
• Guess What Day It Is - An Imperial Work Week Seems To Last Forever
• Spider Species Named after Skeletor
• 7 Iconic Musician Styles That Are Hiding Something
• The Photos That Changed The Boston Marathon Forever
• Anime Recommendations and Open Thread
• Gooey Stretchy Grilled Cheese Sandwich Necklace
• Parrots Shout "Help!" and "Fire!" While Rescued from Burning House
• Make Unicorn Pinata Cookies That Poop Tiny Rainbow Stars
• Whodunit: Three Weak Alibis
• Dog Struggles to Grab the Ball in the Mirror
• Popular Choices for the Best Buildings of the Year
• IRON SLASHER - Tony Has Watched One Too Many Horror Movies...
• John Oliver’s Doomsday Video
• Admiral Ackbar Bunny Costume
• An Arresting History of the Police Car
• Excited Dog Gets 800 Tennis Balls for His Birthday

British Animals Not Found in the United States Posted: 21 Apr 2015 04:00 AM PDT YouTube Link Siobhan Thompson is back with another of her delightful Anglophenia videos. In this episode, she discusses animals native to Britain that we won't see running wild here in the United States. Thompson presents information on robins to hedgehogs with her usual sense of fun and humor.

Facepalm Picard - Nice Going Number One! Posted: 21 Apr 2015 03:00 AM PDT Facepalm Picard by Olechka There are some internet creations that only speak to a portion of the populace, some memes that only certain people will "get", and then there's the almighty Facepalm Picard. The Picard facepalm goes well beyond the Trek, and lets a legendary sci-fi star speak your mind for you. It can be applied to many situations in life, and when you're wearing a shirt imbued with the power of Picard's facepalm you become the living embodiment of exasperation! Spread some sci-fi smiles with this Facepalm Picard t-shirt by Olechka, it's an internet meme themed work of art! Visit Olechka's Facebook fan page, official website, Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter, then head on over to her NeatoShop for more inspirationally geeky designs: You Don't Say? ShyGuy Blink Grumpy Watercolors View more designs by Olechka | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Line-Dancing Horse Posted: 21 Apr 2015 03:00 AM PDT (Facebook link) You can knock his taste in music all you want, but this horse has the moves! Watch him prance to the music along with a group of line dancers in from tot an appreciative crowd. Billy Ray Cyrus posted this video to Facebook, but there's no mention of where or when it happened. Just click on the image above to start the video.  -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Pantone Officially Announces A Despicably Cute Color Posted: 21 Apr 2015 02:00 AM PDT Minion lovers everywhere, rejoice! You can now decorate your home in the precise color of your favorite mad-scientist sidekicks. That's right, Pantone has officially released a new color called "Minion Yellow." It's been three years since the company announced a new color, but if you can't say "banana" or "bottom" without a little smile, you'll likely agree that this one was worth the wait. Via Gizmodo

R2-ME2, Artists Reimagine Star Wars' Iconic Droid R2-D2 Posted: 21 Apr 2015 01:00 AM PDT by Michael Woodring These may not be the droids you're looking for! For a Sideshow Collectibles show at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California titled "R2-ME2," artists were given the chance to change the look of a blank R2-D2 1/6 scale figure. Entries included a droid painted to like a robotic Pee-wee Herman (red bowtie and all), Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street ("Scram"), and an adorable likeness of Finn from Adventure Time. by Erik Scoggan by Dave Kawano Check the rest of them out over at Sideshow Collectibles.

Soldier Dad Photobombs His Son’s School Picture Posted: 21 Apr 2015 12:00 AM PDT Corporal James Bass returned home to Durham, North Carolina after a deployment in Kuwait. He surprised his son Joshua, a third grade student Pearsontown Magnet Elementary School. While Joshua was getting his school photo taken, his dad sneaked into the view. The photographer told Joshua that something went wrong with the picture and showed his camera to Joshua. Joshua then realized who was behind him. (Video Link) -via BuzzFeed

Love In the Time of Star Wars Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:00 PM PDT If you're a Neatorama reader, then chances are you're a bit of a nerd. And you know what? Whether a freak or a geek, everyone's a little bit weird -and that's a good thing. In fact, in this great Zen Pencils cartoon, artist Gavin Aung Than uses a Robert Fulghum quote to remind us that mutual weirdness is the basis for some of our best relationships. See the full comic after the jump.  So next time you're feeling a little lonely, remember that while being different might make you stand out from the majority, but it makes you even closer to your own special minority. Via Geek Girls

Polar Bear Meets Toy Bunny Posted: 20 Apr 2015 10:00 PM PDT (Photo: AP/Andre Penner) Aurora and Peregrino are two polar bears that, until recently, lived at the Kazan Zoo in Russia. Now they're enjoying a warmer climate at the Sao Paulo Aquarium in Brazil. They've been in seclusion from the public for 4 months in order to get used to their new home. Recently, Aurora and Peregrino began receiving visitors, including this little girl who expressed her welcome by holding up her toy bunny.

Homemade Mini BB-8 Droid Posted: 20 Apr 2015 09:00 PM PDT Everyone is quite taken with the new-style droid from the forthcoming film Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. It just looks so cool with its little head balancing atop a rolling ball body!  Industrial designer Christian Poulsen saw it as a challenge. After seeing a video of the 3D version on stage at Star Wars Celebration, he decided to make one -in only a day. (YouTube link) How did he get the head to stay on while the body rolled around? Magnets. The secret here is that he started with a Sphero ball, which is a robotic ball controlled by phone apps. The device inside is weighed so that it doesn’t roll with the ball.      Poulsen posted a tutorial on the process, in case you want to make your own. But if you are not so technically-inclined, Sphero is teasing the story that it will make a BB-8 to sell. -via the A.V. Club

18th Century Sidewalks Are Single-File to Prevent Couples from Walking Side-by-Side Posted: 20 Apr 2015 08:00 PM PDT (Photo: Stefan) Lady Jane Stanely of Knutsford, Cheshire, UK, never married and was rather bitter about it. She sometimes saw couples walking next to each other down the sidewalks of her town and took it upon herself to end this public impropriety. In the 1790s, at the urging of Lady Jane, the town of Knutsford narrowed its sidewalks so that it woudl be impossible to walk two abreast. Last year, the town decided that it was time to stop accomodating Lady Jane and made plans to widen the sidewalks. The Daily Telegraph reports: Councillor Michael Jones, Conservative leader of Cheshire East Council, said: "I am all in favour of retaining our fantastic heritage, but this is one of those occasions when we can improve on the legacy of the past. "We want to create a space which will be enjoyed by the residents – whether they are walking arm in arm or not – while also attracting visitors and enabling businesses in the locality to thrive. The shops and businesses are a great asset to Cheshire East and the street merits and deserves enhancement works." -via Messy Nessy Chic

The World's Cutest Criminal Posted: 20 Apr 2015 07:00 PM PDT This little sea lion is a rebel without a cause and he doesn't give a damn what you think about his lifestyle. He wanted to go to high school and he did just that -walking five blocks from the beach to a school in San Diego. Unfortunately, The Man has decided that sea lions can't attend human schools, so the police soon scooped him up and detained him until animal contol officers arrived to put him in his place. The sheriff's department reported that "while deputy sheriffs attempted to interview him as to his activities, he clammed up and requested his lawyer," the news release said. I say sea lions are mammals and shouldn't be forced to attend fish schools just because they swim in the ocean. This little guy is a hero for his kind, fighting for his rights!

<i>Batman v Superman:</i> Retro Style Posted: 20 Apr 2015 06:00 PM PDT (YouTube link) The Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser trailer was barely out to the public before Bobby Burns began remixing it to feature Christopher Reeve and Adam West in their iconic superhero roles. The audio from the teaser remains the same. This makes it clear that while we can imagine Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill as having nefarious intentions underneath their public personas, it’s hard to look at our old-school heroes that way. This could have starred George Reeves as Superman, but then you’d get into the color vs. black-and-white mixing problem. And the fact that only us old folks would have appreciated it. -via Time Newsfeed

Guess What Day It Is - An Imperial Work Week Seems To Last Forever Posted: 20 Apr 2015 05:00 PM PDT Guess What Day It Is by DC Visual Arts When you're busy helping your dark masters battle rebel forces and conquer planets your work week goes by in a flash, but when you're stuck on patrol inside a giant AT walker time seems to stand still. Troopers who get stuck with patrol duty instantly start missing the war, and they tend to go a bit stir crazy inside those giant metal star camels. They stop working for the weekend and start celebrating hump day, and if their name happens to be Mike they get asked what day it is until they want to blaster bolt their own brains out! Spread some midweek geek madness with this Guess What Day It Is t-shirt by DC Visual Arts, it's a great way to get geared up for the return of your favorite sci-fi franchise! Visit DC Visual Arts's Facebook fan page, official website, Twitter and Tumblr, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more geek-tastic designs: A Lawyer You Can Trust Stark House Evolution Of Evil The Wolf Of The Wall View more designs by DC Visual Arts | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Spider Species Named after Skeletor Posted: 20 Apr 2015 05:00 PM PDT (Images: Jürgen Otto, Filmation) On the right is Skeletor, the main villain on the cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. On the left is Maratus skeletus, a species of peacock spider named in his honor. Madeline Girard, a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, discovered it and another that she calls "Sparklemuffin" in Australia. How did she come up the names? Girard explains in an interview for the blog of Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management: Searching for and catching spiders feels a little bit like a game; my colleague and I started joking that it felt like we were playing Pokémon! Our first brainstorms with these two new species were trying to play off of that. We didn’t come up with a good Pokémon reference, but “Skeletorus” came up because the spider is black with white lines resembling a skeleton (and we liked the subtle reference to Skeletor from Masters of the Universe!). Sparklemuffin just kind of popped up one day. We wanted something a little bit glamorous, which led to sparkle…and muffin works because the shape of the spider (which is more narrow at the interior of the abdomen and then puffs out at the top) sort of resembles a muffin top. It started as our nickname, but people really love the name and it has made the species really popular! -via Ark in Space

7 Iconic Musician Styles That Are Hiding Something Posted: 20 Apr 2015 04:00 PM PDT We all know Bono loves his giant sunglasses, but did you know he doesn't just wear them for fashion's sake? He actually needs them for his glaucoma. If you've ever wondered about Michael Jackson's glove-hand or Sinead O'Connor's shaved head? Then you won't want to miss this great Cracked article that explains the surprising reasons some musicians adopted a now trademark style.

The Photos That Changed The Boston Marathon Forever Posted: 20 Apr 2015 03:00 PM PDT (YouTube link) Up until about 50 years ago, women were excluded from marathons, and indeed the longest footrace in the Olympics open to women then was 800 meters -less than a half-mile. In the early ‘60s, a few women snuck into marathons without registering, but in April of 1967, Kathrine Switzer of Syracuse University registered for the marathon under the name "K.V. Switzer." She started undetected, surrounded by fellow Syracuse runners. But at about the two-mile mark, she was spotted by a bus of reporters and officials, which included John Duncan Semple. On Patriots’ Day 1967, “Mr. Boston Marathon” was a very angry man. Runner No. 261 had violated the sacred code of the institution that was his baby. She deserved to be punished – and if Cloney couldn’t do the job, then Jock Semple would. “This wasn’t just about me being a girl,” Switzer said. “Jock probably would have left me alone if I was just running along like Bobbi. It was the number that got him. I had made him look like a fool.” Semple evaded Briggs and lunged at Switzer, grabbing at the cardboard bib pinned to her sweatshirt. “He was pulling at me and screaming, ‘Get the hell out of my race and give me that number,’” Switzer recalled. “Arnie was screaming at Jock, and then Tom smashed Jock out of the way.” News photographer Harry Trask caught the assault on film, which changed the way people viewed women in sports. The sequence overshadowed the winners of the race, and showed the public that not only can women run a marathon, but also refuse to be pushed away. Switzer finished the race in four hours and twenty minutes. Read the entire story at Deadspin. Switzer was at the Boston Marathon yesterday, broadcasting the action as Caroline Rotich won the women’s division in 2:24:55.

Anime Recommendations and Open Thread Posted: 20 Apr 2015 02:00 PM PDT (Protect the Wall t-shirt on sale at the NeatoShop) Every few months, I make anime viewing recommmendations and invite Neatorama readers to suggest their own and discuss any anime topics they want. Let's do it again! The last time that I made anime recommendations, Aldnoah Zero rested at the top of the post. You know what? It does again! It's an extraordinary, soaring drama of love, war, courage, and treachery. Slaine Troyard--the man in the red coat--is the most fascinating character I've encountered in anime. After 24 episodes, the series is now complete and is now easily one of my three favorites. Mushi-Shi, like many anime series, began as a manga that was turned into an anime that aired from 2005-2006. I never saw it, but I recently watched the sequel, Mushi-Shi: The Next Passage. I have watched only this second series and was not the least bit confused by having not watched the first. It's set in an old Japan in which humans must live with tiny, mystical, non-intelligent creatures called mushi. They're invisible to most people and often parasitic. Only shamanistic doctors called mushi-shi can see them. Humans need mushi-shi when mushi become dangerous and infect them. Mushi-Shi: The Next Passage is an episodic show that, despite its slow pace, is not the least bit boring. The main character is Ginko, a mushi-shi who wanders through Japan, helping people who have mushi infections. His patients are richly developed characters facing problems that are truly original. Mushi-Shi: The Next Passage is unlike any other anime that I've seen. Sometimes anime plotlines can become predictable, but that's not at all a problem in this show. Maria the Virgin Witch is set in France during the Hundred Years' War. Maria is a witch who lives in the forest. Local villagers often consult her for medicinal cures. But Maria regards her primary task as stopping war. She despises fighting, so she interrupts warring English and French armies whenever possible and tries to break up their battles. French peasants who are conscripted into military service appreciate this, but nobles, mercenary bands, and local Church officials resent it deeply. Maria is interfering in their plans, so they decide to put an end to her. It's a fun, usually light-hearted show in an unconventional setting. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? is a currently airing show, of which I have seen the first 2 episodes. Fans of Dungeons & Dragons and similar role-playing games will appreciate it. In such games, players play characters who are professional adventurers. These adventurers often go on "dungeon crawls"--underground explorations for killing monsters and getting loot. In Is It Wrong to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? this happens very directly. Adventuring is an everyday profession and there's an immense underground dungeon maintained for the economic livelihood of adventurers. Characters develop stats, gain skills, and level up. They are completely conscious of this because their character sheet information is literally written on their backs. All of which makes this a promising show! Food Wars is another currently-airing show. It's a comedy set in an elite cooking school. Only the finest chefs survive this school, which has a 10% graduation rate. These chefs are so good that people lose control of themselves when they eat food prepared by them. These culinary students battle in absurd, visual effects-laden scenes reminiscent of anime martial arts/magical combat scenes. I've seen 2 episodes so far, and they've been fun! What anime have you enjoyed? Would you like to make recommendations to us?

Gooey Stretchy Grilled Cheese Sandwich Necklace Posted: 20 Apr 2015 01:00 PM PDT You just missed Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day, but you don't have to miss out on this awesome stretchy grilled cheese sandwich necklace! It's handmade by Jen Tuttle of San Diego, California, who sells her fabulous miniature food jewelry through her Etsy shop, miniholiday.  She writes: I have been making miniatures for over 30 years and I still smile when someone falls in love with one of my creations.

Parrots Shout "Help!" and "Fire!" While Rescued from Burning House Posted: 20 Apr 2015 12:00 PM PDT (Image: KBOI) Firefighters found the home in Canyon County, Idaho ablaze. Hearing voices inside, they battled the smoke and flames to get in and rescue the inhabitants. There, they found two parrots repeatedly saying, "Help!" and "Fire!" They took the parrots outside and gave them oxygen. According to KBOI 2 News, the parrots are expected to recover. -via Nothing to Do with Aborath

Make Unicorn Pinata Cookies That Poop Tiny Rainbow Stars Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:30 AM PDT We've seen what we thought was unicorn poop and we've seen the sugary magic mounds that unicorns barf up, and now we get to see what really comes out of them (at least according to Elise Strachan of My Cupcake Addiction): TINY RAINBOW STARS!   She's made an online tutorial and while the process is a bit labor intensive, I think you'll agree, the results are worth it. Watch and learn, watch and learn: via Foodiggity

Whodunit: Three Weak Alibis Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:00 AM PDT The following is a Whodunit by Hy Conrad.  These mysteries are from The Little Giant® Book of Whodunits by Hy Conrad and Matt LaFleur. Can you solve the mystery before you read the solution? (Image credit: Daniel Schwen) After two straight days of dark skies, the stationary front moved, bathing the city of Seattle in bright sunshine. The change seemed to put everyone in a good mood. Well, almost everyone. Fifteen minutes after the sun broke through, a gunshot rang out in the offices of Claxton & Brightman, attorneys-at-law. As luck would have it, a trio of security guards just happened to be sitting in the Claxton & Brightman reception area. The guards barreled through an inner door and down the hall. The firm's senior partner, Henry Claxton, lay in a pool of blood in his office, most decidedly dead. Without exchanging a word, the experienced guards broke up, looking for anyone who might have seen anything. Only three offices were occupied and each occupant had a story. "I heard Claxton arguing with someone," Annette Goulding told guard number one. "I was reviewing court documents and I tried to mentally block out the sound." The guard saw the red light blinking on Annette's voice-mail system and asked how long she'd been here in her office. "For nearly an hour," she replied. "When I'm busy I don't answer my phone." Meanwhile, the second guard was talking to George Brightman, the firm's surviving partner. 'As you can see, Henry's office is way on the other side. I heard nothing until the gunshot. Then I opened my door and looked out into the hall. I heard running footsteps but didn't see anyone." The guard noticed that George's window was open, allowing a warm breeze to play through the blinds. The third guard was with the firm's youngest lawyer, Ellen Youst. "I've been holed up here for hours, working on a speech I'm delivering tonight." She pointed to her computer, the screen awash in sunlight from the window. Ellen swiveled it so the guard could see. It certainly looked like a boring, lawyerly speech. While the receptionist called the police, the guards compared notes. "All their alibis seem weak," said guard number two. "But one of them is definitely lying." Whom does he suspect and why? Show Answer Ellen Youst. It would have been nearly impossible for Ellen to work on her computer while bright sunshine was falling on the screen. She must have left her office while the sky was still cloudy and not returned until shortly before the guard arrived to interview her. 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!

Dog Struggles to Grab the Ball in the Mirror Posted: 20 Apr 2015 10:00 AM PDT (Video Link) Xena, a Miniature Pinscher, wants the ball. She needs the ball. Yet though it is only a few inches away, it is forever beyond her grasp. Despite her best efforts, she cannot break through the invisible, magical barrier between herself and the tennis ball. Just keep trying, Xena! -via Blame It on the Voices

Popular Choices for the Best Buildings of the Year Posted: 20 Apr 2015 09:00 AM PDT Best Apartment Category, Popular Choice Winner: Ice & Snow Apartment by Penda Architects To select the winners of Architizer’s annual A+ Awards for architectural standouts, a panel of experts does the judging. Yet there is also a popular favorite in each category, which is decided by internet voters. Evidently the internet loves mid-century modern; most popular choice winners for this year have a decidedly modern style. Some photos of the people's choice honorees are shown above and below. See both the popular and overall winners of the A+ Awardshere. Via: Gizmodo | Images: A+ Awards Best Museum Category, Popular Choice Winner: The Blue Planet Aquarium by 3XN Best Residential Interior Category, Popular Choice Winner, House in Sai Kung by Millimeter Interior Design

IRON SLASHER - Tony Has Watched One Too Many Horror Movies... Posted: 20 Apr 2015 08:00 AM PDT IRON SLASHER by Edgarascensao Even an inventor as prolific as Tony Stark will someday grow tired of looking at his own designs, and then he'll go searching for new stylistic influences to help inspire his new wave of designs. The Model 16 armor is already pretty intimidating, but add a few stylistic upgrades and crank up the violence chip and you've got the Jason Voorhees inspired Model Friday 13th suit, the most killer looking suit in the Stark collection! Eliminate the forces of boring fashion by adding this IRON SLASHER t-shirt by Edgarascensao to your geeky wardrobe, it's the perfect shirt to wear while taking a trip to Crystal Lake or watching Earth's mightiest heroes make their triumphant return to the big screen. Visit Edgarascensao's Facebook fan page and official website, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more mighty cool designs: INFINITY GALAXY ULTRON DETENTION TREMORS PARK RESERVOIR DOGS View more designs by Edgarascensao | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

John Oliver’s Doomsday Video Posted: 20 Apr 2015 08:00 AM PDT (YouTube link) John Oliver was not impressed with CNN’s Doomsday Video that Ted Turner had ready just in case, and made an effort to improve upon it. Oliver apparently does not care for marching bands. His alternative video for the end of the world features humanity's greatest hits, a few bloopers, and of course, cats, hosted by Martin Sheen. This is from the HBO show Last Week Tonight. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Admiral Ackbar Bunny Costume Posted: 20 Apr 2015 07:00 AM PDT (Photo: Stephanie Burdo) This magnificent cosplay by an unknown fan at Star Wars Celebration this past weekend offers the perfect trap. From the bridge of the flagship Home One, the Admiral conducts the attack on the second Death Star. His uniform is now more suited for a hot summer on Endor. Hopefully he will now be more welcome at Ole Miss. -via reddit UPDATE 4/20/15: The name of the cosplayer is Jenny Newman. Thanks, @justJENN!

An Arresting History of the Police Car Posted: 20 Apr 2015 06:00 AM PDT The following is an article from the book Uncle John’s Perpetually Pleasing Bathroom Reader. Ever see a police car in your rearview mirror and think, “Hey! Where’d that come from?” If so, you probably weren’t wondering about the origin of the police car, but in case you were, here it is. THE COMMISH Frank Croul was the Police Commissioner of Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1913. Then, as now, the city was the heart of the American auto industry. Ford, Studebaker, Packard, and Cadillac were all headquartered there, and as Croul saw an ever-increasing number of cars buzzing around the city streets, he wondered if they might have some use for the police. He wasn’t the first person to contemplate such a possibility: In 1899, the city of Akron, Ohio, paid the Collins Buggy Company $ 2,400 ($ 65,000 today) for a battery-powered “paddy wagon,” complete with a stretcher, a cage for prisoners, electric headlights, and a gong. America’s first horseless police vehicle left a lot to be desired. Weighing 5,000 pounds, it had a top speed of just 16 mph and a range of 30 miles before the batteries had to be recharged. A year after it was built, an angry mob pushed it into the Ohio Canal during a race riot. Though the wagon was returned to service, the city never bothered to build another one. IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED… As Croul could tell from watching the traffic in front of his office, motor vehicles had improved a lot since 1899. Cars with newfangled gasoline engines had none of the problems with range that older electric cars had. Now that automakers had been building them in quantity for nearly a decade, gas-powered automobiles were becoming quite reliable. Some, like Ford’s Model T, were even affordable. Croul thought the time was right to buy a car for the Detroit Police Department. But when he asked the city for money to buy one, they turned him down. Croul was adament. He was so sure that “police cars” had a future, he bought the department a Packard with his own money, $ 5,000— more than $100,000 today. ON A ROLL Croul’s hunch proved to be correct: His Packard was a lot more useful than Akron’s electric paddy wagon. It was speedy and reliable, needed less care than a police horse, and it allowed police to get to the scene of an emergency faster than if they went on foot or in a horse-drawn wagon. After just four months, the city reimbursed Croul for the Packard and made plans to buy six more cars. These proved so economical to operate— less than half the cost of the horses and wagons they replaced— that by 1913, even the city dog catcher had his own truck. Detroit’s last horse-drawn vehicles were phased out forever. FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE Even in those very early days police cars were also known as “patrol cars.” But they didn’t do much patrolling, because there was no way to communicate with them once they were away from the station. Police radios hadn’t been invented yet, so patrol officers had to wait at the station for emergency calls to come in. Then, as soon as they finished with one call, they had to return to the station to wait for the next one. In 1917, Detroit began deploying automobile patrol officers to special telephone kiosks set up around the city. One officer sat in the kiosk waiting for the phone to ring, while his partner patrolled the beat on foot. When a call came in, the kiosk officer hopped in the police car, went looking for his partner, picked him up, and responded to the call. Some cities installed special red lights at major intersections and on top of tall buildings as a way to signal patrol officers as they were driving around. When the lights were lit or flashing, the officers knew they needed to find a telephone or a police call box and check in to receive their assignment. CALLING ALL CARS It was obvious that if a way could ever be found to install radios in automobiles, police cars would become much more effective law-enforcement tools. But in the 1910s and early 1920s, it wasn’t clear that such a thing was even possible. Automotive electric systems generated lots of static interference, but they weren’t powerful enough to provide electricity for add-ons like radios. The radios themselves were very bulky, and the vacuum tubes that made them work were fragile, not the kind of thing that would do well vibrating and bouncing around in a speeding police car. In 1921, a Detroit police officer named Kenneth Cox teamed up with an engineering student named Robert Batts to try to install a radio in the back seat of a Model T Ford. It took them six years to do it. Their radio had trouble receiving signals in tunnels, under bridges, and around tall buildings; and the radio’s batteries, which couldn’t fit in the back seat and had to be installed on the running boards, needed to be recharged every four hours. But the radio worked. PUBLIC RADIO Just like the radios you use to listen to music, Cox and Batts’s radio was a one-way radio: It could only receive signals, not send them. Patrol officers still had to find a phone or a call box to check in with headquarters, but it was enough of an improvement over phone kiosks that in 1928, the Detroit Police Department began operating its own radio station, KOP. Because the Federal Radio Commission saw broadcasting as primarily an entertainment medium, it required the police department to play music on KOP when it wasn’t broadcasting police calls. Anyone with an ordinary AM radio, even criminals, could listen to the station. More than once, the FRC suspended the station’s license when the police department didn’t take its entertainment responsibilities seriously enough. Luckily for law enforcement, though, the FRC soon realized the error of its ways and stopped requiring the police to act as disc jockeys. Then in 1933, engineers working for the Bayonne (New Jersey) Police Department developed the first two-way police radios. Within a few years, General Electric, RCA, and Motorola were making them for departments all over the country. They weren’t cheap— the radios cost more than $700 apiece, more than some police cars— but they became standard equipment everywhere. PLAIN-CLOTHED Early police cars were almost indistinguishable from other cars. They were typically dark in color and might have the word “POLICE” or “P.D.” hand-painted in small letters on the driver and passenger-side doors, but that was about it. They had no extra lights— early automotive electrical systems couldn’t power them— and what few sirens there were had to be cranked by hand. (The Detroit Police Department didn’t bother with sirens; it issued its motor vehicle officers “loud-sounding whistles.”) New York City’s first police cars were convertibles, to enable citizens to see the officers’ police hats so that they’d know they were police cars. Patrol officers were under orders to keep the top down so that the hats could be seen, unless a superior officer gave special permission for the top to be put back up. Rain or even snow was no guarantee that permission would be given. By the late 1920s, some departments were beginning to use police cars with special paint schemes. The NYPD’s cars had green bodies, white roofs, and black front fenders. The California Highway Patrol, founded in 1929, preferred white cars with black roofs. It wasn’t until the 1930s that a style began to appear in police departments all over the country: black cars with white doors and roofs— the first “black and whites.” LIGHTS ON Police cars began adding spotlights for extra visibility as soon as the electrical systems could handle them, but red police lights didn’t become common until the 1930s. The first ones were re-purposed tail lights— which explains why they were red— and were mounted on the front fender, the front bumper, or the roof. Some cars had them in pairs, and others had an extra light mounted on the front right fender, facing rightward, that read “PULL OVER” or “STOP” when lit, which was used to stop speeding drivers. The first 360° rotating “gumball” light, called the Beacon Ray, was introduced by the Federal Sign and Signal Company in 1948. Red (and later blue) gumball lights remained popular through the late 1960s, when they began to be replaced with horizontal “light bars” that included multiple rotating lights, mirrors to reflect their light forward or wherever else it was needed, and a siren. STILL THE SAME For all the changes that police cars have gone through in their first 100 years, one thing has not changed, at least not since that angry mob pushed the City of Akron’s custom-built electric police wagon into the river in 1900. Police cars have always been modified versions of standard automobiles, nothing more. Automakers didn’t even offer special law-enforcement upgrades (such as improved brakes, tires, steering, and suspension components) until Ford added them to its first “Police Package” cars in 1950. GM, Chrysler, and other major American automakers soon followed, and American police cars have been made that way ever since. So far, none of the Big 3 automakers have ever designed a “purpose-built” police car from scratch, because annual police car sales are too small to justify the expense. FUTURE CAR But that hasn’t stopped other people from trying. In 2003, former Ford Motor company executive William Santana Li teamed up with a former police officer named Stacy Dean Stephens to found Carbon Motors, a company that planned to build purpose-built police cars. By 2012, the company had a prototype patrol car called the E7, and a factory in Indiana where it planned to build it. The E7 had all of its equipment— lights, siren, radio, gun rack, night vision, license plate scanner, and more— engineered right into the car. The doors and dashboard were bulletproof so that officers could hide behind them during a shoot-out. The rear compartment had front-opening “suicide doors” that made it easier to get handcuffed suspects in and out. The rear compartment also contained a hidden camera and microphone to record any incriminating statements the suspects might make while they were sitting back there. Did an intoxicated suspect barf in the back seat while being transported to the drunk tank? Not a problem: the rear compartment was waterproof and designed to be cleaned out with a hose. So how soon can we expect to see the E7 and the police van on our streets? Probably never: In 2012, Carbon Motors was turned down for a $ 310 million Energy Department loan. It spent a year trying to line up other investors and when that failed, in April 2013 it moved out of the Indiana plant, took down its website, and went out of business. (It looks like the Big 3 were right after all.) _______________________________ The article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John’s Perpetually Pleasing Bathroom Reader. The 26th annual edition of Uncle John’s wildly successful series is all-new and jam-packed with the BRI’s patented mix of fun and information. Open up to any page and you may find an interesting origin (like the origin of the snowglobe) or a piece of obscure history (like the true story of the man who tried to repeal the law of gravity). Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out!

Excited Dog Gets 800 Tennis Balls for His Birthday Posted: 20 Apr 2015 05:00 AM PDT (Video Link) Joey Jax, a Golden Retriever, just turned 2 years old! He loves to play with tennis balls, so his human spoiled him by giving him 800 new ones. Watch his reaction when he realizes that the entire pile of balls on the living room floor is his to play with. He has no idea which to play with first! -via Debby Witt

You are subscribed to email updates from Neatorama To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States