Daily One Inch Button #240 - Cat with Spaghetti

Haven't you ever seen a cat sitting in a high chair with a plate full of spaghetti in front of him?

I know that I have.

I think cats in high chairs eating spaghetti are adorable.

You could even call him a spaghetti cat.

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Daily One Inch Button - Gakutensoku

He was indeed a handsome robot. In some ways he was probably a strong inspiration for the creation of this Hello Kitty loving robot. Somehow, despite the fact that he was a fairly large robot (created in 1928) he managed to get misplaced in Germany in the early 1930s while on tour. (Has anyone seen him? I'm sure they'd love to get him back...)

A replica was created in 2008 with, well, a few enhancements. They couldn't help but make the enhancements based on the fact that robot technology has gotten considerably better in the last eighty years. I'm imagine the creator of the original would be quite happy with the new version.

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Daily One Inch Button - Global Warming Bear

Wow.

Just look at that bear. It looks like a bear that is suffering as a result of global warming - a global warming bear.

Is it a matter of the white house versus the white bear? I think that now that we will have President Obama in office, things will start looking a lot better for our friend the polar bear.

Aren't you glad you voted for him?

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Daily One Inch Button - Acoustic Kitty

This cat looks like he's a bit more confident and put together than the real original acoustic kitty, who was supposed to help the United States government spy on people suspected of dangerous activity. Does that sound like the atmosphere today? This took place in the early 1960s and resulted in one cat that got run over by a taxi cab.

If you're a music fan you can get into a band named after the acoustic kitty and an entire album named after the acoustic kitty. Here's a song from that album.

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Daily One Inch Button - Carrier Pigeon

No, they don't always smuggle drugs - though some of them are being used for that nefarious purpose right now. Sometimes they were used for transporting important messages, as seen in this clip of someone playing a Nancy Drew video game. Were they the inspiration for the pet owls that transported letters in the wizarding world of Harry Potter?

Of course they were, silly. Actually, one of my favourite clips from the movies is this one, where Hermione tells Harry that she is not an owl. The owl depicted on the button looks like he's up to no good. Or maybe he's up to nothing but good?

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Daily One Inch Button - The Grumpy Disappearing Bees

It's a mystery that will make honey disappear from our kitchen if we don't do something to fix it. Why are millions of bees dying across North America? Are they just so unhappy with us that they are leaving us in this gruesome manner? From the look of this bee, the answer may just be yes. It's a problem that is affecting small and large beekeeper alike - many have had to go out of business as a result of lack of bee. 60 Minutes even has had a special report: Why Are Honeybees Disappearing? Let us hope that this problem is resolved quickly, with a sweet resolution. Rosh Hashana wouldn't be the same without apples dipped in honey.

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Daily One Inch Button Rerun - Cute Bathtub

Note: For the rest of the month of August, we are going to run classic buttons every weekday except for Thursdays. We are working on a new website that will allow you to see all of the buttons at once on a nice looking page. Whee!

Aw, look - he's so happy to see you. You're probably thrilled to see him too after a long day of working hard at the coal mines or the cubicle. Sometimes it's great even just to put your feet in the tub - hot water + soap = good loving feeling.

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Daily One Inch Button - Shaved Ice Kakigori

Sometimes when you are in the mood for a cold dessert food, ice cream just won't do it. No, you want something made out of shaved ice, perhaps something that has been sweetened. The good news is that you can find your sweet treat in the form of kakigori, or Japanese sweetened shaved ice. Though sometimes electric machines are used to shave the ice needed for kakigori, in the summer you can find street vendors all over Japan manually shaving big blocks of ice. Kakigori is sometimes served in coffee shops with bean paste and ice cream. Makes me want to have some right now.

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Daily One Inch Button - Beer, beer, beer!

I think if there were a revised version of the classic "Take me out to the Ballgame," it would include beer in there somewhere. Granted, beer is nearly as overpriced at ballparks as it is in some bars (One of my favorite lines from The 40 Year Old Virgin is when a character is explaining that the bar is crowded because it is "Nine dollar beer night") but it's part of the experience, right?

Speaking of price, I actually had the distinct honor (I think that's the right word) of having one can each of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Rainier beer - if for no other reason than I had never tried them and my friends usually call me a "beer snob" because I prefer tap-pulled beers made by McMenamin's to canned beers by just about anyone. It was a different experience, and I don't mean that negatively.

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