(via Bored Panda)
Monday, April 13, 2026
What Happened at Attica
Conditions at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York were so bad that when a fight between two inmates was broken up in 1971, it started a chain reaction that led to a riot. Critical errors in the guards' containment strategy enabled angry inmates to take control of most of the prison, and hold prison guards as hostages. This led to a standoff, and the prisoners took the opportunity to organize, not only to negotiate with authorities, but to run the prison themselves. Their list of demands seemed to be fairly reasonable, and in fact most were reforms they had been requesting for some time and had been ignored.
The standoff lasted four days and ended with a violent raid that left 43 people dead. The incident shocked America, and the results were a slight bit of prison reform and a lot of Americans who learned about prison conditions for the very first time. Weird History explains what happened at Attica.
Miss Cellania's Links
Is this guy stuck in a time loop, or is he just depressed?
12 Times Movies and TV Influenced the Real World.
A revealing moment from several assemblies of young people. There are hundreds of stories in the comments.
Star Fling is a maddening yet addictive game. How many stars can you hit? (via Metafilter)
One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest.
I found my 1940s Grandma's comics. Between 'pancake gravy' disasters and 'spitting watermelon further than my grandpa,' I think I would have really liked her, she was just like my mom. Click to enlarge the gallery. (via kottke)
In-Between Coins: Bens, Dickels, and Jimes. One man's quest to change coinage in order to fight inflation.
The horror of Yum Yum Salad. (Thanks, Liz!)
Why English Sux
Jordan Watson is famous for his How To Dad series. His daughters are growing up, though, and the oldest is learning to read. There is nothing that makes you question the universe more than helping a child with homework. That's what it took for Watson to realize how weird our language and spelling conventions are. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Raising an Albino Wallaby
When you hear about a mob of wallabies in a nearby park, you might assume that this all takes place in Australia, but no. Lindsay Clarity runs Animal School in East Sussex, UK! It is a shelter for all kinds of rescued animals and also an educational institution where children can learn about nature. One of the odder residents is Blossom, an albino wallaby who was abandoned by her mother at a very young age.
Clarity took Blossom in and had to learn everything about how wallaby mothers normally raise their babies, which includes carrying them around in their pouches until they are 18 months old. Yes, she did that for a year, and now she has a lifetime companion in the little Australian creature. See more from the Animal School at YouTube.
The President Makes Phone Calls
There was way too much news this week. Should SNL open the show with him threatening Iran, or Melania's unhinged press appearance, or the peace negotiations? They all make an appearance, as well as Tiger Woods, when Trump took some time to catch up on phone calls.
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Move On Up
"Move On Up" by Curtis Mayfield is one of those songs you hear all the time, but usually as an instrumental, because the horns are just so awesome. When you do, you think "I know that song! What's the name of it?"
The 1950s Sitcoms Never Showed Real American Family Life
This interview with Steve Allen was recorded in 1989, before the world wide web and long before smart phones, but it holds up.
The Imperial Fugue
John Williams composed "The Imperial March" from Star Wars as a military march because that's how Dart Vader enters a scene. It's a tune that's been stuck in your head for almost 50 years now. Or at least in mine.
Swedish guitarist Lucas Brar turned "The Imperial March" into a fugue, which is a composition with a main theme plus bells and whistles that complement and compete with the main theme but always comes back to it. Read a better explanation here. Johann Sebastian Bach was well known for his musical fugues. Brar was thinking of Back when he dressed up the march in a way that make it sound a little less ominous, or at least least a little less military, and a lot more interesting.
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