bookofjoe

Octodog — 'It's what's for dinner'

Yum.

From Sweden comes this nifty device which turns an ordinary hot dog into an... Octodog (above and below).

199 kr ($25) here.

Oh — you don't understand Swedish?

What's your problem?

Jeez.

Alright, here's a link to a translation.

The things I do....

[via ohgizmo and designboom]

Rust — and baby dolphins — never sleep(s)

Today's Nature magazine report by scientists at UCLA and elsewhere documents a surprising fact about newborn dolphins: in their first month of life they sleep little or not at all, instead remaining mobile and avoiding obstacles 24 hours a day.

But wait, there's more: so do their mothers.

All mammals previously studied require maximal rest or sleep after birth with the amount gradually decreasing as they grow to adulthood.

Forcible sleep deprivation results in death in many species.

The scientists concluded that sleep may not be a requirement for mammalian life forms.

This is an immensely important paper since it contradicts all received and accepted beliefs about the importance of sleep.

Here's the abstract of the paper as it appears in Nature.

Animal Behaviour: Continuous Activity in Cetaceans After Birth

All mammals previously studied take maximal rest or sleep after birth, with the amount gradually decreasing as they grow to adulthood, and adult fruitflies and rats die if they are forcibly deprived of sleep.

It has therefore been assumed that sleep is necessary for development and serves a vital function in adults.

But we show here that, unlike terrestrial mammals, killer-whale and bottlenose-dolphin neonates and their mothers show little or no typical sleep behaviour for the first postpartum month, avoiding obstacles and remaining mobile for 24 hours a day.

We find that neonates and their mothers gradually increase the amount of time they spend resting to normal adult levels over a period of several months, but never exceed these levels.

Our findings indicate either that sleep behaviour may not have the developmental and life-sustaining functions attributed to it, or that alternative mechanisms may have evolved in cetaceans.

Wake up.

Ernst Haeckel

I'd never heard of this man

until two days ago, when a

reader kindly sent me links

to his work (above and below).

Astounding stuff.

[via SB]

Jennifer Tilly — 2005 Ladies No Limit Texas Hold 'Em World Series of Poker Champion

This past Monday in Las Vegas the 46–year old actress (above and below) beat 600 players to capture first place and $158,625 over the two–day event, which featured some of the top female professionals in the world.

Ms. Tilly was an Oscar nominee for her role in the 1994 film "Bullets Over Broadway."

She attributed much of her success to pointers from her boyfriend, poker player Phil "Unabomber" Laak.

In a USA Today story Ms. Tilly said, "When you're living with Phil, you kinda learn by osmosis."

She added, "Even in the middle of the night, he wakes up screaming out poker terms. Most guys scream out other girls' names."

I wouldn't know anything about that — but you might.

BehindTheMedspeak: 'Pre–Worn Eyelashes'

Author Mary Roach checked out the new eyelash bar at the Shu Uemura boutique in San Francisco, then wrote about her adventure for the June 23 New York Times.

She came for a full set of genuine mink false lashes.

Something weird about that phrase, don't you think?

I'm reminded of the late Allan Sherman's line, "A genuine copy of a fake Dior." But I digress.

Ms. Roach noted in her article that Shu Uemura makes the real mink false lashes — as opposed to their slightly cheaper ($20 v $22) synthetic mink version — "only for V.I.P. customers and celebrities."

In the photo above the top pair are synthetic mink, the middle set genuine mink and the purple ones synthetic.

Here's the part of her article that fascinated me: "After trying them for one evening, I would remove and return them so they could be cleaned and used again."

Bad idea!

I would no sooner wear a pair of false eyelashes previously worn by someone else (if I wore false eyelashes) than wear someone else's contact lenses after they were cleaned.

How do you clean mink hair such that viruses and other contaminants are absolutely not present?

Answer: you can't.

Ms. Roach continued, "One pair of false lashes can be worn up to eight times."

Yes, and my toothbrush can be used even more than eight times — by me.

How could a woman as smart as Mary Roach not realize that the lashes she had applied were undoubtedly "pre–worn," to borrow a phrase from the used car lot?

Amazing.

'Floating Neutrinos' — First scrap raft to cross the Atlantic Ocean

Now that's what I call seamanship.

Read all about it here.

If Mad Max had been a sailor this would have been his ship.

[via SB]

'Touch Me: Design and Sensation'

That's the title of a show

that went up at the

Victoria and Albert Museum

in London on June 16.

There are 90 objects on display, of which you're allowed to handle two–thirds.

The show runs through August 29.

whichbook.net — Match a book to your mood

"Welcome to whichbook.net — a completely new way of choosing what to read."

I like it.

"No sex please: we're Version 2.0."

[via DH]