Surprise!

(Thanks, WTM!)

Mystery Kitten

This couple in Mexico were considering getting a dog, but fate intervened. A kitten mysteriously showed up at their house, riddled with fleas and other parasites. Lilo needed help, and when he got it, he wasn't about to let these wonderful people go. He became a velcro cat, following them everywhere. 

The guy says it makes "zero sense" that Lilo just showed up like that. As an old cat lady, it makes plenty of sense to me. Lilo didn't walk to their home. Someone who cares so little that they didn't get their cat spayed ended up with a bunch of kittens. As soon as they were barely old enough to be weaned, any kitten not given away got a ride to a random neighborhood and was put out. The kitten is desperate for help, and will approach every human until they find a kind soul. I can't tell you how many cats I've gotten that way. You can see more of Lilo and his loving nature at Instagram. 

Rachel

(via Bits and Pieces)

Can You Make a Jetpack Out of a Rifle?

  
The recoil of a rifle can leave quite a bruise if you aren't properly braced. Most people only have to learn this lesson once. A young man named Rob noticed this force and imagined making a jetpack out of the recoil force of a rifle. Is this at all plausible? He submitted it to What If? as a theoretical question. They tackle those questions seriously, no matter how dumb they sound. The answer is "sort of," meaning that you could do it, but it would be difficult, ridiculous, and not worth the effort. 

But there are guns that have more powerful recoils than a mere rifle. And that's where this theory gets interesting. Not that we're ever going to try making a jetpack from a gun, but the existence of a gun that could do it is both interesting and unnerving.     

Stand Still

(via Fark)

A Love Poem

From Matt Sloan of Blame Society Productions.

Nominative Determinism

(via Bad Newspaper)

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a 1988 film that I enjoyed a lot. Wikipedia explains the plot succinctly:

Set on the French Riviera, the film stars Steve Martin and Michael Caine as two con men competing to swindle a wealthy tourist (Glenne Headly) out of $50,000. 

Sure, the story is predictable, but what's more important is that it's really funny. Steve Martin and Michael Caine worked together quite well. I just today learned that the screenplay was actually written as a vehicle for Mick Jagger and David Bowie! I believe it worked out better with the final cast.  

It's About Time

(via BroBible)

Project West Ford

After World War II, the race was on for the US to build more and better technology than the Soviet Union, which gave us many weird projects that were launched without anyone asking what could possibly go wrong. Space, being the final frontier, was at the head of the list (along with nuclear arsenals). But communications was also important. We didn't have communication satellites yet, so the next best thing would be to fling something into space that radio signals could bounce off of, like 480,000,000 copper needles. Somehow, no one could foresee the problem of space junk in the early 1960s. After all, nothing was up there, so why would it bother anyone? Project West Ford required several attempts, but they eventually got those needles into space. This video is only seven minutes long; the rest is an ad. 
 

Buttons

(via She Who Seeks)

Ride of the Valkyries

Sure, you know Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" from The Ring Cycle, but have you ever heard it played by one guy on a huge pipe organ? Jonathan Scott of the Scott Brothers performs. (via Metafilter) 

Backtracking

(via reddit)

Dolly Said No To Elvis

Dolly Parton is an acclaimed singer, yet few outside the country music world know her as a songwriter. If she had never sung a note, she'd be a rich woman for a little tune called "I Will Always Love You." Dolly recorded the song and took it to #1 in 1974 and then again in 1982. And you probably remember how well it did in 1992 when Whitney Houston sang it in the movie The Bodyguard. But when the song was still fresh, she was approached by one Colonel Tom Parker about Elvis Presley recording the song she wrote. Dolly said no. Mark Levin wrote and performed a little song about the incident, with charming stop-motion animation by Heather Colbert. Why did Dolly turn down the offer? According to Wikipedia:

When the 1974 recording of the song was reaching number one on the country charts, Elvis Presley indicated that he wanted to cover the song. Parton was interested until Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her that it was standard procedure for the songwriter to sign over half of the publishing rights to any song Elvis recorded.[15] Parton refused. She recalls:

I said, 'I'm really sorry,' and I cried all night. I mean, it was like the worst thing. You know, it's like, Oh, my God … Elvis Presley.' And other people were saying, 'You're nuts. It's Elvis Presley.' ...I said, 'I can't do that. Something in my heart says, 'Don't do that. And I just didn't do it... He would have killed it. But anyway, so he didn't. Then when Whitney [Houston's version] came out, I made enough money to buy Graceland.[16]

(via Metafilter)

Romantic Gift Idea

(via Bad Newspaper)

That's AI!

What's the worst thing artificial intelligence AI has done to us so far? We could make a list, and one of the things on it would be how it takes the joy out of watching videos on the internet. I can't tell you how many times I've found something that may be worth sharing, and as soon as someone comments that it's AI, the joy is gone. 

The short film That's AI! illustrates this concept perfectly. Can that young man really be doing all those backflips, or is it artificially-generated? If you can't believe your eyes online, how can you believe your eyes in the real world? If we can't believe what we see, how are we to ever enjoy or even trust anything anymore? That said, this video is still funny, and the kicker is that there was no artificial intelligence used in its making. (via the Awesomer) 

Be Prepared

(Thanks, WTM!)

Lyin' and Spinnin' (and Cheatin' and Hidin')

Randy Rainbow's latest parody is set to the tune of "Wishin' and Hopin'," which Dusty Springfield made into a hit in 1964. This one's about obeying in advance, and giving the toddler in chief everything he wants. There's a 95-second skippable ad at 1:00.  

Speed Trap

This happens in the deep South a lot, too. (via Pleated-Jeans)

Bad Bunny Supercut

In case you want to enjoy Bad Bunny's halftime show from the big football game, but you don't have much time, Dustin Ballard of There I Ruined It has edited it down into a compact supercut. This version only has the "Eys." Yes, he has certainly ruined it this time. (via reddit) 

If you want to see the entire presentation, it's at YouTube. If you don't know Spanish, or maybe you're not all that familiar with Bad Bunny's music, Becky Hammer offers a detailed explanation of every song and cultural element of the show. Be warned that the subject matter is sometimes NSFW. (via Metafilter) 

A couple more notes: The wedding was real. The grass and bushes were not, yes, there were people inside the shrubbery, but they sadly did not dance. That was just the easiest way to get the greenery out onto the field and off again in a hurry.