The Black Hole

Yup, often, just like this.

Women Hate Pink

Because it's not the color of pink that women hate, according to the study, so much as the fact that pink is "a gender cue" that triggers a "defensive response" among women.

When women wrote an essay about gender, just 42% of them said they would donate to ovarian cancer research. When they wrote a gender-neutral essay, 77% did. And those who saw a pink ad about breast cancer were significantly less likely to say that they'd contract the disease than those who saw an ad with neutral colors."

News flash, ladies: if the real world was "gender-neutral," we wouldn't be talking about breast cancer in the first place, we'd just be talking about "chest cancer." Or, more likely, "testicular cancer." Jesus. You could have told us this before we wore that hideous ribbon!

Ok, so maybe I shouldn't expect much here, considering the source is Gawker. But the overuse of quotation marks, the inaccurate description of color as a means of women hating each other, and the comments focused solely on which ethnicity should actually attempt to wear colors such as pink and yellow, makes me just sad that the point of the entire study was ignored.

Women hate pink. As the interview by one of the researchers explains, it is more that the use of pink has been pushed over the last century as a gender marker of femininity, and the reason women rebel against it is that in the context of such a campaign as Breast Cancer Awareness, pink is a terrifying omen. Pink signifies that it isn't just a cancer that could happen to a faceless population, but that every woman out there has over a 10% chance of developing the disease. When faced with that, most people will do the obvious and run from it, not embrace it. It's a natural instinct to flee from something that you are scared of. And whether it be a noble idea, such as raising money for research or something as base and ridiculous as pink handguns aimed at women, the influx of such a now-generic color that is considered gender related is cause for a vast amount of women to despise it.

I'll be the first to admit that I do not like the color, and when faced with the exact same material about breast cancer in a neutral color I would be more likely to respond. Perhaps if we started a campaign for prostate cancer for men that was color coded in blue and let it run for decades, men would have the same disgust.

Before and After Shots of Joggers

Last summer, Sacha Goldberger decided he would take on a very interesting project. He assembled a team who helped him create an outdoor studio at Bois de Boulogne, a park located near Paris that's 2 1/2 times the size of New York's Central Park. He stopped joggers, asking them for a favor - would they sprint for him and then pose right after for his camera? Many obliged. Out of breath, these joggers showed an overwhelming amount of fatigue on their faces.

Goldberger then asked these same people to come into his professional studio exactly one week later. Using the same light, he asked them to pose the same way they had before.

"I wanted to show the difference between our natural and brute side versus how we represent ourselves to society," Goldberger tells us. "The difference was very surprising."

Also, I dig that guys glasses. And after a session in kettlebells and then a 3 mile run tonight, I am very quite sure I look so much worse than any of these people.

..via Notcot

5K Zombie Run

Protect your brain and run for your life. This is one race where your legs giving out are the least of your problems. Run For Your Lives is a first-of-its-kind event, one part 5K, one part obstacle course, one part escaping the clutches of zombies — and all parts awesome.

I really wish this was coming to Dallas this year. Not just a mud run (which I really want to do), but with zombies chasing you! Incentive!

Boop

Today I turned 30. This completely sums it up. :)

When does crime happen?

Crime based on time of day. Seriously, what's up with Indianapolis? Rest breaks?

Made of Wool

Cute stop-motion, knitted adventure!

Favorite Cross-Stitch Ever

This man influenced so very much of my childhood. I read his books so many times, loved the illustrations, learned not to take myself quite so seriously all of the time thanks to his illustrations. Yet somehow, I never owned the books. This will be remedied for my nieces, as I firmly believe all children should have this amazing nonsensicalism firmly embedded in their heads. That said, some amazing person has decided to make some of his poems into fantastic cross-stitch. And I completely want a set on my wall.

No picture of the final products, respecting copyright law. Click for awesome: lilyvanilli72

Superhero Garden Gnomes!

Evil lurks in the shadows of our backyards. Rogue snails. Radioactive skunks. My yard has a maniacal possum that will stop at nothing until he controls the entire area behind the compost pile. That's why every backyard needs a hero. One that can clean up the garden and make it safe for all law abiding neighborhood critters. This Instructable will show you how to turn an unassuming mild-mannered garden gnome into a tiny butt-kicking purveyor of justice.