Saturday, April 13, 2013

Galaxies that Resemble the Letter "G"

Object ID # : 587741490911117326
       The Replica Report goes galactic today looking at 4 galaxies whose shapes Resemble the letter 'G'. A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system consisting of stars, stellar remnants, and a interstellar medium of gas and dust, and, it is hypothesized, an important but poorly understood component called dark matter. Examples of galaxies range from dwarfs with as few as ten million stars to giants with a hundred trillion stars, each orbiting their galaxy's own center of mass.
       Galaxies contain varying numbers of star systems, star clusters and types of interstellar clouds. In between these objects is a sparse interstellar medium of gas, dust, and cosmic rays. Observational data suggests that super massive black holes may exist at the center of many, if not all, galaxies. They are thought to be the primary driver of active galactic nuclei found at the core of some galaxies. The Milky Way galaxy appears to harbor at least one such object.
       Galaxies have been historically categorized according to their apparent shape; usually referred to as their visual morphology. A common form is the elliptical galaxy, which has an ellipse-shaped light profile. Spiral galaxies are disk-shaped with dusty, curving arms. Those with irregular or unusual shapes are known as irregular galaxies and typically originate from disruption by the gravitational pull of neighboring galaxies and are what make the alphabet series possible. Such interactions between nearby galaxies, which may ultimately result in a merging, sometimes induce significantly increased incidents of star formation leading to starburst galaxies. Smaller galaxies lacking a coherent structure are referred to as irregular galaxies.
Src : Wikipedia & http://cas.sdss.org/dr7/en/
Object ID # : 587736979571343696
Object ID # : 587732156852601325
Object ID # : 587728918984786029




Friday, April 12, 2013

Penis Fish

 Urechis unicinctus - The Penis Fish 
      The Echiura, or spoon worms, are a small group of marine animals.  Urechis unicinctus is a species of marine spoon worm widely referred to as the "Penis Fish" (very easy to see the Resemblance reference here).  While the Urechis caupo is often called the "Fat Innkeeper" worm (not so easy to figure out the Resemblance reference here).

      Urechis caupo lives in burrows in sand and mud. It gets the name "fat innkeeper worm" because the tunnels it creates often contain other animals.  In fact, at least four other animals are known to live with the Fat Innkeeper Worm in its tunnel home (get the Resemblance to an Inn Keeper?).  Frequent guests of the Worm include a fish called a goby, a small pea crab, a clam and a scale worm. They feed on food that the Innkeeper Worm leaves behind.

      The Fat Innkeeper Worms are common in the sandy mud of the Elkhorn Slough. They live in a U-shaped tunnel or burrow and have a unique method of eating. It secretes a slime net, which serves to trap small food particles. The worm circulates water through the tunnel, trapping food in the slime net. When the mucus net becomes loaded with food, it is loosened from its attachments and the entire net with its burden of food is swallowed by the worm.

      Fat Innkeeper Worms are eaten by bat rays, leopard sharks and otters, who suck or dig them out of their burrows.

     The Penis Fish in the other hand is commonly eaten raw with salt and sesame oil in Korea and in parts of Japan.  In Chinese cuisine the worm is stir-fried with vegetables, or dried and powdered to be used as an umami enhancer. In particular, the worm is considered an important ingredient in Shandong cuisine and is used in numerous recipes.  It is also used for fishing bait.

     The Penis Fish is so popular it even has it's own Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Urechis-unicinctus/133153840057293?sk=wall

Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urechis_unicinctus

http://www.elkhornslough.org/sloughlife/inverts/fatinnkeeperworm.htm

http://www.wallawalla.edu/academics/departments/biology/rosario/inverts/Echiura/Urechis_caupo.html
 Urechis caupo - The Fat Innkeeper 
Penis Fish at market



Thursday, April 11, 2013

Shroud of Turin, Meet Cloth of Saugus

      SAUGUS, Mass. -- Brian Krantz is the latest Extractionist to be covered by news agencies all over the nation because of a Replica he Recognized and Extracted!

      Krantz used the drop cloth four years ago to spray paint his shutters; he used it 50 or 60 more times before he noticed something for the first time.   “I had it folded up like this and I threw it on the floor and this is what I saw first,” Krantz said as he held up the cloth.

     “My heart went a hundred million miles an hour. I couldn't breath, I felt like I was hyperventilating” said Brian Krantz.

     From a distance, it's a paint splattered drop cloth. But take a closer look… “A crown or a halo. Two eyes. Looks like a mustache, nose, there’s the chin, jaw line.” said Krantz.  He goes on to Extract an extended right arm with, and here's where it gets good, the Shroud hanging from the arm, a background, doorway and tomb.  So the Cloth of Saugus depicts the Shroud of Turin!

     The fact that this drop cloth has so many Resemblances that complete a whole scene along with it's creation having been inadvertent or unintentional makes this a special Replica.

     To Brian Krantz, the image is perfectly clear.  “I can't deny this. This is what it is. It looks like Jesus Christ,” Krantz said. (We here at the Replica Report tend to think it looks a Costa Rican villager with a hat)

     Like any good Extractionist, Krantz said he plans to frame the image and keep it in his home.


Sources : http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/north/10010099510473/saugus-man-claims-jesus-christ-depicted-on-cloth/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/susanhardman/2459962836/

http://www.wickedlocal.com/saugus/news/x711937422/Saugus-man-sees-im

video : http://youtu.be/37nsG4wCuhw


Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Cross & Crown Cracker

     National news agencies are featuring the art of Extractionist Patti Burke.  She Recognized the Resemblances of Cross and Crown on a Goldfish cracker during Holy Week recently and Extracted the Resemblances by pointing them out and titling them - thus giving them meaning.

    “When I picked this one up, I knew he was special,” the Melbourne, FL woman said of her Holy Week discovery. “He had a cross on him, and he had a crown circle up by his head. Something I’ve never seen before out of all the Goldfish I’ve eaten.”

     Burke's art was even featured on Easter Sunday, when her pastor, D. Scott Worth, began talking about fish as a symbol of Christianity in front of the congregation of Presbyterian Church of the Good Shepherd in Melbourne.  “I think it’s a sign. I think it points to, I would hesitate to call it a miracle, but I think it points to THE miracle, which is Jesus Christ defeated death. And that’s what Easter is all about.”

     Burke hasn’t yet decided what to do with the cracker, so she carries it in an earring box padded by gauze. She tried to find out how the cracker — which is normally only printed with a smile — ended up with the cross and two circles. At first, she thought she’d won a special promotion.

     “I called Pepperidge Farm and said, ‘Hey, do you have some special promotion going on, I think I’ve got the lucky fish,’” she said. “They called me back and said there’s no way this could have been printed like that in the factory. ... They said it sounds like something miraculous happened and we don’t know how it happened.”

Watch the video here: http://bcove.me/edamgavh

     The Replica Report would like to add that there appears to be a third Resemblance - somewhat of a gonopodium!! (a modified anal fin (it looks rather like a thin rod) that allows male fish of the families Anablepidae and Poeciliidae to briefly hook into the vent of a female fish to deposit sperm.
This fin is normally held back and the male fish turns it down and forward just before mating)

Sources : http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20130404/NEWS01/304040060/-Miracle-snack-no-fish-tale-Melbourne-woman?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

http://gawker.com/5993845/florida-woman-finds-goldfish-cracker-with-a-cross-and-crown-claims-its-a-sign-from-god



Monday, April 8, 2013

Eat A Comb? Sure, If From A Cock!

     A comb is a toothed device used for styling, cleaning and managing hair and scalp. Combs are among the oldest tools found by archaeologists, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating back to 5,000 years ago in Persia.  Combs consist of a shaft and teeth that are placed at a perpendicular angle to the shaft.

     With that in mind, the Replica Report looks at another comb (so named  because of it's Resemblance to the comb tool)- the fleshy growth or crest on the top of the head of gallinaceous birds, most notably turkeys, pheasants, and domestic chickens. Its alternative name cockscomb (spelling variations abound) is because combs are generally larger on males than on females.

      Scientists suggest that a chicken's comb has two important functions. The primary function is to help keep a chicken cool in hot weather, as chickens can't pant like other animals (such as dogs) are able to do. Blood circulates in dense networks of tiny blood vessels and capillaries from the chicken's comb to its wattles. This gives the comb its deep red color and allows the blood to be cooled by the air before traveling to other parts of the bird's body.

     The secondary function of the comb is to help a chicken attract a mate. A large, bright-colored comb is a sign of health and vitality. Often, in the pecking order of a flock, the bird with the biggest, brightest comb becomes the "alpha" rooster or hen.

    In cookery: Combs are used in cookery, often in combination with wattles or chicken kidneys.
    Combs were formerly used in French cuisine as garnishes. They were also used to prepare salpicons served in vol-au-vents, profiteroles, etc. in which they were often combined with other luxury ingredients such as truffles, sweetbreads, or morels in a cream sauce.

    In Italian cuisine, combs are an important ingredient in the famous sauce called Cibreo, which also includes chicken livers, wattles, and unlaid eggs. It is used as a sauce for tagliatelle and in the molded potato-ricotta ring Cimabella con cibreo.

     Combs are prepared by parboiling and skinning, then cooking in court-bouillon. After preparation, they are greyish.

     Rooster combs are often served in Chinese dim sum style dishes.

Source : Wikipedia