(via Bits and Pieces)
Friday, June 30, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
These Adorable ‘Star Wars Blips’ Feature R2-D2 With His Best Friend BB-8.
The great health-care debate of 2017 has been immensely clarifying. People are starting to realize what they really believe.
A truck spilled live pigs onto a highway in Texas, and everyone scrambled to take videos. Enjoy the view from several angles as authorities try to round them up.
The Politics of Pie Cutting at West Point’s Mess Hall. One of the most dreaded hazing opportunities came with dessert.
Hydrodynamic Levitation. It looks like magic, but there's a scientific explanation.
Christopher Stracuzza packed $700 in live lobsters for a flight from Boston to Savannah. He later found out the TSA had gone viral posing with his 20-pound lobster, and was understandably upset.
Professor Caveman. Anthropology professor Bill Schindler teaches students that primitive societies weren't really primitive by having them make their own tools, meals, and clothing from scratch.
My Name is Mitch McConnell and I Owe Thanatos, the God of Death, 22 Million Human Souls. A parody column at McSweeney's that hits where it hurts. (via Boing Boing)
7 July 4th Traditions from Around the Nation. What is your community doing this year?
Thursday, June 29, 2017
"Yakko's World" Sung by the Movies
A few years ago, I was astonished to discover there are young people in the internet who can name every country in the world. They learned them from a song featured in the TV show Animaniacs, which I missed by being an adult. It's a delightful song. And now we have a remix from movies you know and love. Goes pretty darn fast, doesn't it? The Usual Suspect managed to find a movie clip of every nation in one film or another, and edited them together in perfect rhythm. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Neighborhood Inside a Building. D.C.’s massive Woodner apartment building is a microcosm of a changing city. (via Digg)
The 5 Most Annoying Things to Say During an Argument. You see these all the time, and they aren't helping.
The True, Top-Secret Story of Trump's Presidency, by Tom the Dancing Bug. If only it were this simple.
8 Ways to Get Weird in Seattle. Places to go and things to do to get the most out of your visit to the city.
The World's Oldest Known Temple Was Home to a ‘Skull Cult.’ The residents of Göbekli Tepe were carving on human skulls thousands of years ago.
Why Do Planes Still Have Ashtrays? Believe it or not, they are required equipment.
When the Beast of Gévaudan Terrorized France. Beginning in 1764, the people of the French region of Gévaudan suffered 100 deaths and nearly 300 injuries attributed to a unknown beast.
29 Mind-blowing Banana Facts. You may think you know a lot about bananas, but you'll learn more in this list.
Kat Wagner of McMansion Hell received a Cease and Desist order from Zillow, but the EFF (Eectronic Frontier Foundation) came to her legal rescue.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Sara Carson and Hero on America's Got Talent
Sara Carson does some amazing things with her dog Hero, as we saw a few months ago. On their televised audition for America's Got Talent last night, they performed a pirate-themed routine that had Hero wielding a sword! The crowd loved it, but the judges didn't. Except for Simon Cowell, who threw his weight around and got Carson and Hero into the next round. You can see the extended scene here. (via Tastefully Offensive)
The Cheetah Meow
I didn't know cheetahs meow I've always thought they roar my whole life has been a lie pic.twitter.com/Zbo8bDVTS6— 🚬 (@hoewever) June 24, 2017
Lions roar, cougars scream, and cheetahs …meow? We know that cheetahs don't roar, and can purr like house cats, but did you know that a cheetah will sometimes meow? I didn't, either. Found at The Daily Dot, where you can also hear a tiny lion cub try out his adorable roar.
Miss Cellania's Links
Free Government Health Care Saved Mitch McConnell’s Heart. But he heartlessly wants to take away coverage for millions of Americans.
This Is How To Have A Great Vacation: 6 Secrets Backed By Research. Plan for everything, then be flexible and have fun!
When Grave Robbers Hold Famous Corpses for Ransom. Even death can't protect some folks from kidnapping.
Even in the 1700s, Book Clubs Were Really About Drinking and Socializing. Books gave them an excuse to party, and some members even read them.
Meet the dogs with OCD. Studying obsessive–compulsive disorder in canines could help us with a human treatment.
See 26 things that will make you feel incredibly old. I'm sure you'll relate to at least a couple of them.
We Taste-Tested 10 Hot Dogs. Here Are the Best. A few recommendations for your Fourth of July picnic.
The ghostly loneliness of Greece's roadside shrines. Each one represents lives lost in traffic accidents.
How Do Solar Panels Work? An animated graphic makes it seem less magic, but still a miracle.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Everyone is a Hero
The song "みんながみんな英雄" ("Everyone is a Hero"), from the Japanese singing group AI, became a big hit in 2016. The video is gorgeous, and full of wacky scenes depicting heroes from different folktales coming together. You might recognize the tune as "Turkey in the Straw." That song has a peculiar history in Japan, where it is known as The Oklahoma Mixer. Read about it at Metafilter.
Miss Cellania's Links
Gun owners are outraged by the Philando Castile case. The NRA is silent.
Are Alien and Blade Runner Set in the Same Universe? After all, they were born inside the same brain.
Operation Tracer: The Secret Plan To Bury Soldiers Alive Inside The Rock Of Gibraltar. Spoiler- they didn't have to carry out the plan. (via Metafilter)
Dan Rather On Why America Needs More Empathy.
A Hilarious Series of Tweets That Imagines What Dogs Would Say If They Could Call 911. You'll laugh, but you won't be surprised. (via Neatorama)
How the Great Yankee Wife Swap Scandalized—and Changed—America. The story of the baseball players who married each other's wives is being developed into a movie 44 years later.
Baby Name Guide: Updated for 2017. Learn the meanings behind "Donald" and Vladimir." (via Nag on the Lake)
Why Fewer Lower-Class Americans Are Getting Married.
A Man and His Pineapple.
Monday, June 26, 2017
One Tree, 365 Days
Italian photographer and conservationist Bruno D'Amicis set a camera up in a forest in the Apennine Mountains, trained it on one beech tree, and let it record for an entire year. This video contains clips of that recording that show the diversity wildlife that passed by, stopped to mark their territory, scratch their back, or take a bite. The song is "Have You Ever" by Brandi Carlile. You can see D'Amicis wildlife photography at Instagram. (via Tastefully Offensive)
The 2017 World Taxidermy Championships
Every year, the world's top animal stuffers and fish carvers meet up to show off their skills and compete for cash prizes. Emily Graslie of Brain Scoop works at the Field Museum in Chicago, but she was excited to attend the World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships in Peoria last month. Graslie can't contain her enthusiasm as she wanders among freeze-dried fish, animals made from completely different animals, recreations from scenes in nature, creatures in funny poses, and animals the judges had to look up to see what they're supposed to look like. (via Mental Floss)
The Many Uses for Gummi Bears
I have an ongoing project to make posts for mental_floss articles I wrote way back when that I do not have an archive for. Here's another one, from 2007.
Last week, a chandelier made of Gummi Bears made the rounds on the 'net. I was inspired to look up the history of the Gummi Bear. Did you know Gummi Bears were first produced in 1922?! Candymaker Hans Riegel called them "dancing bears". It wasn't until 1981 that they became widely available in the United States. Besides appealing to kids' tastes, Gummi Bears turned out to be useful in many other ways. Check them out in an article I wrote for Mental Floss.
Miss Cellania's Links
Look Who Caught a Record-setting Salmon. (via Metafilter)
5 mind-blowing things about the GOP's 'Better Care' act. Get ready for a big financial hit -unless you're rich.
Do Giraffes Get Struck by Lightning More Than Other Animals? They do kind of look like lightning rods.
Masabumi Hosono survived the Titanic, but not the public’s scorn. As the only Japanese aboard, he drew publicity just for getting into a lifeboat.
How a Star Wars Superfan Scoured the Earth for Space Debris. Brandon Alinger started building his own lightsaber when he was 12, and now is the world's premiere collector of authentic Star Wars props.
Crowdfunding doesn’t help everyone. In fact, it doesn’t help most people.
In addition to developing the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell did extensive research in aerodynamics. From 1898 to 1912, he experimented with a tetrahedral structure for kites to lessen the weight-to-surface ratio to enable humans to fly. (via Nag on the Lake)
7 Everyday Experiences Other Countries Do Waaay Differently. In this list, "other countries" include Los Angeles and Florida.
The Forgotten Man Who Transformed Journalism in America. Lowell Thomas was the first superstar journalist of the broadcast era.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Splashdancing Gorilla
Where does a 380-pound gorilla dance? Wherever he wants to. Zola the gorilla lives at the Dallas Zoo. He's 14 years old, but he has a sense of fun that other gorilla adults don't often show. He especially likes his pool. Zookeepers say the pool is not just for fun, it's for enrichment. You say tomato, I say tomato. The video was so delightful that folks immediately added a soundtrack. The resemblance to a certain movie was evident to Derek Mozer.
You've seen Zola dancing before. Neatorama featured his break dancing five years ago when he lived at the Calgary Zoo. (via Metafilter)
World's Ugliest Dog 2017
The Sonoma Marin Fair in Petaluma, California, crowns the World's Ugliest Dog every year. And most years, a Chinese crested has won the title. But not this year! Congratulations to Martha, a 125-pound Neapolitan mastiff who took the top honor on Friday. Martha is notable for her loose and droopy skin, and her lack of enthusiasm for the contest. Why show off when you can lay down and take a nap?
The dog, from nearby Sebastopol, was rescued when she was nearly blind from neglect by the Dogwood Animal Rescue Project in Sonoma County, where the contest was held. After several surgeries, she can now see again, Zindler said.Martha won $1500, a trophy, and a trip to New York City. Read more about her at CBS News. Gizmodo disagreed that Martha was the ugliest dog in the contest, so they posted a gallery of their top five picks, in which Martha only placed fourth.
The only animal in this year's contest too big to be held by her handler, Martha beat out 13 other dogs, most of them the kind of older, smaller dogs who win here.
Saturday, June 24, 2017
My Shot (Vaccine Version)
Learn about the importance of vaccines with parody rap song performed by eighth graders! No wait, really, this is not what you'd expect from that first sentence. It is actually very well done. The new lyrics are set to the tune of "My Shot" from the Broadway musical Hamilton. The song was researched, written, sung, shot, filmed, and edited by students of the Nueva School in California. (via Digg)
Friday, June 23, 2017
Summer Vacation
We celebrated the beginning of summer when school was out, then again over Memorial Day weekend, and now that the solstice has passed, it is really REALLY summer! You've been out of school three or four weeks now, and what have you crossed off your bucket list? About three weeks of video games, that's what. You might get around to going to the beach next month, and maybe camping in August, and you might remember that novel come September. Also, the color of your room will be okay until next summer. This is the latest comic from Alex Culang and and Raynato Castro at Buttersafe.
Miss Cellania's Links
Barack Obama Blasts The ‘Fundamental Meanness’ Of The Senate GOP Healthcare Bill. Four GOP Senators Are Vowing To Oppose The Newly Revealed Healthcare Bill.
How a Star Wars Superfan Scoured the Earth for Space Debris. Brandon Alinger started building his own lightsaber when he was 12, and now is the world's premiere collector of authentic Star Wars props.
95-Degree Days: How Extreme Heat Could Spread Across the World. The number of extremely hot days for your area could triple in the coming decades.
Encyclopedia Dad. A boy discovers the wisdom his father left him. You might need a hankie.
How a Soviet Circus Clown Tried to Prove That Dogs Can Be Psychic. Research on Vladimir Durov's telepathy indirectly led to The Men Who Stare at Goats.
Man told he can't wear shorts to office, abides by the dress code for women instead. Joey Barge's mini-dress led to a change in dress code during the heat wave. (via Boing Boing)
John Oliver dared a coal exec to sue him, and now he's being sued. (via Boing Boing)
5 Reality Shows That Screwed Over Their Contestants.
How Accusing A Powerful Man of Rape Drove A College Student To Suicide.
John Oliver dared a coal exec to sue him, and now he's being sued. (via Boing Boing)
5 Reality Shows That Screwed Over Their Contestants.
How Accusing A Powerful Man of Rape Drove A College Student To Suicide.
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Trevor Noah Tells It Like It Is
Philando Castle was shot in his car after police pulled him over for a broken light, with his girlfriend and young daughter in the car. This week, the officer who shot him multiple times was acquitted of all charges. Trevor Noah addressed this better than anyone else I've heard, on The Daily Show. He added his personal experience in a "between the scenes" unaired segment.
Read more about the case at Uproxx.
Miss Cellania's Links
The Dog Photographer Of The Year Contest Announced Its Winners, And They're Amazing. The squee is strong with these doggos.
Would Canadians give up their single-payer healthcare system for the US style of healthcare? No, and they then explain why.
I'm Terrible, Thanks For Asking.
Angry Neighbors and the Notes They Write. (via Boing Boing)
A surgeon’s secret: As she operated on babies’ birth defects, a doctor hid her own diagnosis. Dr. Mary Austin is performing cutting-edge miracles for infants not yet born. (via Metafilter)
Yoga Makes People Super Emotional. But Why? To those who do not participate, it looks like the pain causes tears.
How Cults Brainwash their Members. And the ways to break out of such a system. (via Digg)
Everything you ever wanted to know about America’s northernmost town. Find out why Barrow, Alaska, even exists.
The Making of the American Diner. They were once known as a "vulgar boys' club."
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
The United States Postal Service released a new stamp that uses thermochromic ink to give us two different images on one stamp. The eclipse stamp is a commemoration of the total solar eclipse that will cross the U.S. on August 21. (via Metafilter)
Marais Poitevin: France’s Green Venice.
Donald Trump Reports He’s Getting Rich as President.
Inside the Tolstoy Family Reunion. Almost 300 of Leo Tolstoy's descendants live all over the world.
Star Wars: 10 Unsung Heroes Behind A New Hope. You might be surprised at those who worked behind the scenes to bring the saga to life.
Why Diverse Ken Dolls Now Come in Different Body Types, Skin Colors.
Reinventing the Toilet. New technology could be the future of sanitation in Third World nations.
23 Things Emergency Room Workers Want You To Know. They will save your life, so straighten up.
I was bullied as a kid. It almost ruined my adult life.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
An Honest Trailer for Power Rangers
Did anyone go see the movie Power Rangers when it was released back in the spring? I guess so, since the movie performed a little better than expected, but it was never expected to be a blockbuster. Critical response was meh. Screen Junkies knows what the problem was: the movie was too serious about the adventures of five teenage superheroes in matching costumes. The producers didn't seem to realize that the franchise's silliness was a big part of its draw. Too bad. Instead of a action-comedy, they ended up with a teen drama crossed with a doughnut ad. Enjoy some hard-hitting criticism of Power Rangers in the latest Honest Trailer. (Thanks, Jill!)
1865 Ad for a Wife
We don't know the provenance of this delightful newspaper ad posted at reddit.
We can assume that it was published around 1865, as the young man was a
fan of Andy Johnson, or president Andrew Johnson, who served from 1865
(upon the death of Lincoln), was impeached in 1868, and remained in
office until 1869. For an 18-year-old, the writer seems to have his life
together, but was probably working too hard so far to meet many young
woman. When he says he wants to buy waterfalls, he is most likely
referring to a waterfall bustle, as was the style at the time. I would bet that he got responses to this ad. The last line makes him seem cute as well as successful.
Baby Enjoys a Rocking Horse
This horse knows what babies like! Just a slight push on the baby seat handle rocks the child and produces smiles and squeals of delight from 8-month-old Ruby. Her mother, Stacey Storer from Nottingham, England, said Ruby was tired and upset before Red started rocking her. That's a good horse. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Miss Cellania's Links
John Oliver sees a coal company’s cease-and-desist letter and raises them these nuts. Video contains NSFW language.
This Bizarre 1911 Film Warns of the Perils of Self-Driving Cars.
The 50 Best Drive-In Restaurants in the U.S..
A Treasury Official in 1866 Put His Own Face on U.S. Currency. When paper money was temporarily issued to replace coin amounts, Spencer M. Clark saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Margaret Brown led a remarkable life even apart from surviving the Titanic. She was "unsinkable" in all her pursuits.
Tesla electric cars are usually quiet, but this guy's Model X was meowing when he went out Saturday morning! Tesla technicians went above and beyond to remove a kitten stuck inside the bumper.
12 fascinating facts about feminist icon Nancy Drew. She broke carriers, despite creator Edward Stratemeyer's belief in traditional gender roles.
The Stories Behind Ding Dong and Other Small Town Names. Like Two Egg, Florida; Possum Grape, Arkansas; George, Washington; and more.
Ancient DNA shows that Cats Domesticated Themselves. They lived among humans for thousands of years before they decided to be pets.
Quick Rescue of a Baby Elephant
A security camera at a South Korean zoo caught a scary incident when a baby elephant fell into the deep end of the pool. Its mother went right into panic mode as another elephant runs up to help. Both adult elephants rush around to the ramp, and walk the baby back to the shallow end. All's well that ends well. This goes to show that elephants are great parents, and not only to their own offspring. It takes teamwork to raise kids! (via Tastefully Offensive)
Monday, June 19, 2017
The Fountain of Youth
The moral of the story is: When you are handed a miracle, don't get greedy and ask for too much. This guy just Benjamin Buttoned himself out of existence. Besides, who would ever expect the fountain youth to be disguised as a regular town square water feature? This comic is from Chris Allison at Toonhole. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
WoodSwimmer
Brett Foxwell is an animator who uses stop-motion, time-lapse, motion graphics and other techniques, and he's always looking for a new method to experiment with. WoodSwimmer was made by photographing cut trees as layers were milled away from the wood. The effect is that of traveling through the wood itself.
“Fascinated with the shapes and textures found in both newly-cut and long-dead pieces of wood, I envisioned a world composed entirely of these forms,” Foxwell told Colossal. “As I began to engage with the material, I conceived a method using a milling machine and an animation camera setup to scan through a wood sample photographically and capture its entire structure. Although a difficult and tedious technique to refine, it yielded gorgeous imagery at once abstract and very real. Between the twisting growth rings, swirling rays, knot holes, termites and rot, I found there is a lot going on inside of wood.”WoodSwimmer is less than two minutes long, and you will be mesmerized the entire time. It's hard to look away from the ever-shifting wood images. The music is by Bedtimes. Read more about the video at Foxwell's website.
Killer Home Decor
I have an ongoing project to make posts for mental_floss articles I wrote way back when that I do not have an archive for. Here's one from back in 2007.
Have you ever had visions of living like The Addams Family? Or maybe you just want to make your family and friends wonder about you. No matter how normal your home decor is, it's fun to have something around to make people gasp, and then (maybe) laugh. But if you put all the products I found together, you'd have a truly scary home. Check them out in a list I wrote for Mental Floss.
Miss Cellania's Links
A yearlong investigation by the USA TODAY Network found that port trucking companies in southern California have spent the past decade forcing drivers to finance their own trucks by taking on debt they could not afford. Companies then used that debt as leverage to extract forced labor and trap drivers in jobs that left them destitute. (via Metafilter)
Some Incredible Things Your Pets Have Eaten. And let us know the most unusual thing your dog has eaten.
Twenty-five years ago, U.S. tech companies pledged to stop using chemicals that caused miscarriages and birth defects. They failed to ensure that their Asian suppliers did the same.
Read a Book, Gamble With Your Life. Literacy is power, and many times in history, that power was controlled rigidly.
Why Your Baby Doesn't Sleep Through The Night. Babies wake up during the night because they are hungry/wet/lonely, and because it's natural for them.
The Persistence of Prog Rock. Critics called it pretentious, you couldn't dance to it, but we loved the music anyway. (via Metafilter)
The Fiberglass Statue Graveyard of Sparta. Where bygone advertising mascots, both familiar and unfamiliar, are retired.
And now, the Bikini Bobbers of the Summer of 1961. It looks like fun -and a liability nightmare.
How American real estate went bananas. A place to live is too expensive for the majority of Americans, and the few are snapping them up.
Not Falling for It
Oiqlele's mother tried to pull a prank on their cat. She assumed the cat can't read, but the joke was on her. That's one smart kitten! Of course, it would have helped if the hole were a bit bigger, because judging from the size of the paw, the cat is a little large for it. She still got a viral photo out of it.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Kittens and Rabbits
Kittens raised near rabbits learn to jump like rabbits pic.twitter.com/kixJx02nKj— Paul Haine (@paul_haine) May 24, 2017
I didn't know which ones were kittens and which were rabbits until they turned toward the camera. (via Everlasting Blort)
Tweet of the Day
Mum: "Have you got something nice to wear for your date tonight, love?"— Horacio (@HoracioMelvin) June 6, 2017
Me: "Mum, I'm 33. I know what I'm doing" pic.twitter.com/15V1SyymXb
(via Everlasting Blort)
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Is Your Cat Talking To You?
Simon Tofield presents a new episode of Simon's Cat Logic, in which we look at how cats communicate with body language. Body language is what the Simon's Cat cartoons are all about. Cat expert Nicky Trevorrow explains what certain cat postures mean. A cat meows to get your attention, then they move around to let you know what they want. For my cats, that means running to either their food dish or the door. They communicate quite clearly. I have one cat that will come and tell me when the others want in. At the end of this video, we get a chance to see the very first Simon's Cat video that went explosively viral in 2007.
Friday, June 16, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
A Mexican Town Is Giving Americans Something Donald Trump Can’t: Affordable Dental Care.(via Metafilter)
How a Philly Ob-Gyn Ended Up Delivering a Baby Gorilla. Zoo vets thought Kira might need a cesarean section, but Dr. Rebekah McCurdy got the situation under control.
Being Too Clean Can Be Almost as Bad as Being Too Dirty. The balance of nature prefers a sweet spot somewhere in the middle.
The 19th-Century Book of Horrors That Scared German Kids Into Behaving. See illustrations from the rare 1845 first edition of Struwwelpeter.
Team Trump: Oval Office Tapes? Talk to My Lawyer. Or, how to look more guilty by the day.
A Pair of Rare Apple Sneakers are up for Auction. By the time the bidding ends on Sunday, the price is estimated to go to around $30,000. (Thanks, John Farrier!)
"Every summer, men head into the Siberian wilderness to hunt for mammoth tusks, I joined one expedition & watched tuskers get rich, get drunk & nearly die." Photographer Amos Chappie brings the adventure to us. (via reddit)
Sit'on back now kids and let me tell you the legend of Eric C. Conn.
Some Versions of "The Tortoise and the Hare" Messed With the Moral.
Crossing the English Channel in a Flying Car
Entrepreneur Jerome Dauffy wanted to build a flying machine that could travel around the world in80 days. He might not be there yet, but he designed a flying car he calls Pegasus that resembles a dune buggy crossed with a paraglider. On Wednesday, Bruno Vezzoli took off from Calais, France, and flew it to Dover, England, across the English Channel. The 36-mile flight came off without a hitch! Read more about the flight here. (via Nag on the Lake)
Thursday, June 15, 2017
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