Bubble Wrap Began... In The Shower?

Crackle, Pop, Pop! Who doesn't love popping a sheet of bubble wrap? And yet, this handy packing material hasn't been around that long. Surprisingly, bubble wrap got its start in the bathroom.

In 1957, inventors Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes were looking to market a new kind of wallpaper. Oddly enough, they started with two shower curtains. They sealed the two curtains together, creating random clusters of trapped air bubbles between them. When no one wanted to buy their terrible wallpaper, they decided to remarket the shower curtain monstrosity as greenhouse insulation. Again, their concept was a total disaster.

It wasn't until 1961 that their idea finally found its optimal use. IBM contracted Chavannes and Fielding's company, Sealed Air Corporation, to provide the bubble wrap as protective padding for their IBM 1401 computer.

The IBM 1401 Computer was HUGE by today's standards.

Since then, the Sealed Air Corporation has continually refined their bubble wrap product into the cheap, effective packing material we have today.

And there you have it! Bubble wrap as we've come to know it is a total accident. Yet, where would we be without it?

Draw Something: Bunny Rabbit

Hello folks! There's nothing really special about my installment of Draw Something this week. I just felt like drawing a bunny rabbit. Hippity-Hop!

Laqunah: Part III

For Ova, the two days of waiting passed in a flash. Around her stood startling recreations of Persimmon's greatest alumni, represented in massive statue form. Beasts and creatures of great diversity were immortalized in stone, both peculiar and terrifying all in the same breath. Then again, growing up as the sole human in Laqunah had taught Ova a valuable life lesson – what's horrifying to one is beautiful to another. This keen sense of balance shared by the city residents is what held them together, even when cultural or social disputes arose. Live and let live... even if you're a member of the undead. She walked past the statues while following the admissions department secretary, a delightful harpy. Ova made small talk with the winged beauty; concurrently, the harpy's coppery wings created an elegant sparkling effect on the walls and ceiling. Up a long staircase and down a very narrow hallway they went, the walls ornately decorated with banners of ancient conquests and kings. The hallway grew thinner the farther along they went, much like the tip of a spear. At one point, the harpy's wings began to scrape the walls, which left a faint golden streak. It was obvious that she'd not been there before; the walls were clean. Ova assumed that she must have been a new employee. Finally, the hall ended at a simple, unmarked wooden door. The harpy extended one of her claws and parted the door open. She smiled at Ova, revealing a row of sharp teeth, then walked away.

Ova entered the room, which had no windows to brighten the space. The only source of light was a series of lanterns hanging above a lone desk. Below the lanterns sat an indescribable, pulsating mass. Situated between immense stacks of dusty papers and books, the glob contorted and twisted like electrified jelly. The poor illumination made it hard for Ova to even detect the color of the creature. Perhaps it was dark blue, maybe green or black. She simply couldn't tell. Eventually, the quivering lump poured itself more prominently onto the desk. As if trying to burp, a series of bubbles gushed through the semi-transparent pile of slime. The bubbles slowly rose to the surface. One by one, they popped, each revealing some part of a face. First an eye, then a nostril. Another eye erupted, followed by a snout and another nostril. Trails of slime started to form below the snout, creating the appearance of gelatinous prison bars. A salty stench escaped from the pit forming some sort of mouth on the creature; Ova fought her gag reflex to remain respectful.

“Sit, dear child.”

Droplets of the creature's mass were lightly sprayed upon Ova as it spoke. Her gag reflex grew stronger by the second. In a moment of uncertainty, Ova located a receptacle next to the desk, just in case her lunch wasn't going to stay down. Firmly planted in a chair, she scooted it back a few feet as a precaution. The bellowing beast continued to greet her.

“Ova is it? From where do you come? I've not seen anything like you before.”

Clearing her throat, Ova explained “Well, there's no one else in Laqunah like me. I came here as an infant from another world. As you can see, not all of me made the trip.”

Ova pulled her coat off to reveal that her right arm was missing, taken cleanly above the elbow.

“I was taken in by my father Hultran. He found me screaming behind his shop, wrapped in a quilt and bleeding terribly. I traveled through some sort of portal, but it closed before the last of me could completely pass through. Thankfully, he fixed me up and decided to take care of me.”

The jelly-like globule smacked its mouth hole and made a subdued slurping sound.

“A tasty morsel left behind. What a pity. Well, your aptitude scores for admission were more than satisfactory. Your father has done quite the job raising you.”

“He has,” Ova replied. “I'd be dead without him.”

Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow Virtual Console Releases Compatible With Pokémon Bank.

In a direct message from Nintendo this morning, the company revealed that the upcoming Virtual Console re-releases of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow will function just as the original cartridges, but with some additional features that are wonderful for new and old players alike.

You'll finally be able to move that awesome Pidgey you've always wanted to your current generation Sun or Moon cartridge later in 2016.

As the Pokémon franchise has progressed over the past twenty years, the first and second generation of games have been rendered largely obsolete. Being that they were only available for play on the Nintendo Game Boy handheld console, they were incompatible with later iterations in the series. Hence, Pokémon captured on an original first generation Blue cartridge couldn't be transferred to a later game, like the fourth generation Pokémon Pearl, for example.

That problem has officially been remedied.

On February 27, Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow will be available for download on Nintendo's Virtual Console. Much to my surprise, these games will be fully compatible with the Pokémon Bank.

Thereby, Pokémon caught in the first generation games can be deposited into the bank, then transferred to the upcoming Pokémon Sun and Moon game cartridges when they're released later in 2016.

Old games that had been left out of the "Gotta Catch 'Em All" loop due to technical limitations are suddenly viable once again. This is great news for new or young Pokémon players whom weren't able to experience the first generation of games. It also makes moving the original 151 Pokémon from the first generation to the current generation a bit easier.

For years, players whom really wanted access to the original Pokémon had to rely upon the FireRed and LeafGreen remakes, which were released on the Game Boy Advance in 2004. Through a long and tedious method of video game leap frog, players could trade from the remakes, one generation to the next, up to the current sixth generation. It was a very slow process, with a great deal of in-game man hours needing to be invested to even make it possible.

In an ironic twist, it's now the 2004 remakes that are rendered mostly obsolete.

A Bouquet Of Colorful Cauliflower!

Perhaps you've seen it in your local grocer's produce section. Just sitting there, looking like alien brains from another planet.

Cauliflower... but it's not white. AHHHHHHHHHH!

Relax. There's no need to worry about an invasion of brain-sucking body snatchers. What you're seeing isn't extra-terrestrial fungus, either. It's just cauliflower, completely natural in every way.

Most people are familiar with typical white-colored cauliflower. We've all eaten it at some point. I happen to be a big fan of cauliflower, more so than even broccoli. Yet, cauliflower can also come in three other different colors -- orange, green and purple. These changes in hue are natural thanks to mutations in the cauliflower itself.

Orange cauliflower results from high levels of beta-carotene. This is the same substance that makes most commercially-bred carrots orange. Much to your benefit, orange cauliflower also has 25% more Vitamin A than your average head!

There's more than one variety of green cauliflower, also known as broccoflower. Some varieties are mutations of cauliflower that happen to produce chlorophyll. Others are hybrids between broccoli and cauliflower. Either way, green cauliflower is extremely nutritious. It has high levels of protein, more than either traditional cauliflower or broccoli.

Thanks to the presence of the antioxidant anthocyanin, there is purple cauliflower. Anthocyanin is also found in red cabbage and red wine. Purple cauliflower doesn't offer any real health benefits over white cauliflower, but it sure is pretty to look at!

And there you have it -- a plethora of colorful cauliflower choices. Give one a try the next time you have a craving for the bushy, firm-textured plant!

How To Get The Classic Windows Starfield Screen Saver On Your Modern PC.

You know what I miss? The classic starfield screen saver application.

Back with Windows 3.1, Microsoft provided a nifty little screen saver that simulated traveling through space. While the screen saver was running, it was as if you were watching through a window on the Starship Enterprise. Little stars would blast past you at warp speed, recreating faster-than-light space travel. The starfield screen saver was a wonderful feature, but unfortunately there's a whole generation of computer users whom know nothing of it.

The last version of Windows to offer the starfield screen saver was XP. As of Windows Vista, the application was terminated. It has also not been included with Windows 7, 8 or 10. I've never seen a reason as to why the folks at Microsoft decided to cut the starfield from future releases, but I think they made a real mistake. The starfield screen saver is as synonymous with Windows as Solitaire and Minesweeper!

But, all is not lost. If you want to put the starfield screen saver on your modern Windows-based computer, there's a simple workaround. You'll need access to a computer still running on Windows XP. Perform a search on the XP system for a file named 'ssstars.scr'. This is the file for the starfield screen saver. Simply copy the file to a jump drive and then place it on the computer you want to use it with. Drop the file in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Ta-da! You can now run the classic starfield screen saver!

Isn't it so soothing to watch? Boldly going where so many have gone before!

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo! What's The Purpose Of A Chicken's Comb?

Ever notice that large, flappy piece of flesh sitting perched atop a chicken's head? That fancy chunk of flesh is called a comb. And yet, you probably have no idea what it's for.

In just a moment, you will.

A chicken's comb serves two main purposes. The first mission of the comb is to help cool the animal. The flesh growth helps to circulate blood and release the stored heat from within the animal. The comb then emits this excess heat. In essence, the comb is like a radiator for blood. This generally explains why most combs are red, but some also come in black or dark purple.

The second function of the comb is to aid in the mating process. Male chickens, called roosters, have larger and often more pronounced combs. Female chickens see the comb as a sign of superiority. They're drawn to the biggest and flashiest of combs, guaranteeing the best roosters get the chance to breed the newest generation of chickens.

Of note, the chicken isn't the only bird with a comb. Other fowl like turkeys and pheasants possess them, much for the same purposes.