(via Fark)
Thursday, November 12, 2026
State Borders Are Hard to Draw From Memory
The online game Borderline challenges us to draw map borders from memory. The United States version has proven to be quite popular. Drawing each state's borders is not easy when you've never done it before, no matter how well you know the US map. Some people are astonishingly good at it. Then you remember that no one is going to try the game unless they think they can do it.
A compilation map of how all players drew those lines is fascinating. Matt Forrest brings us some insights about that map, specifically that the states with the most complicated borders turn out to be the easiest states to place. The hardest are those with simple, straight borders because they are all together in the American West. (via Laughing Squid)
Cats Sing the '80s
Generation X will always remember the music of the 1980s as their time. While its not the music of my adolescence, I spent the decade playing pop music on radio, so I also have a soft spot for the music of the decade. Enjoy a collection of cats (and other animals) illustrating puns and jokes based on the most memorable songs of the '80s. Continue reading for more.
Guard Cat Repels Invader
A security camera was trained on the cat door of this home, so you can assume that funny things had been happening, and the family was trying to figure it out. Maybe this raccoon had attempted burglary here before! In this instance, Fluffy sprang into action to defend her territory. "Territory" is what cats call their food dish. (via Geekologie)
Harmacy
this was the only cvs with adderall in stock
— duen (@riolu.gay) November 9, 2026 at 10:05 AM
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Wednesday, November 11, 2026
In Lieu of Flowers
Sure, it's dumb to print a URL in a newspaper, but they could have made this relatively easy to use if they had deleted the question mark and everything after. (via Bad Newspaper)
Eegah
The 1962 horror film Eegah stars Richard Kiel as a giant prehistoric caveman who lives in the California desert. He kidnaps a beautiful young woman and her father (tell me if you've heard this one before). Oh yeah, it's also a rock 'n' roll musical. With a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Eegah is considered to be one of the worst films ever made. Ignore the AI thumbnail; it has nothing to do with the movie. (Thanks, WTM!)
Urinals
They didn't quite think this trough. I believe they meant only one person using the urinals at a time. (Thanks, WTM!)
This is Harmony
Okay, here's something just pleasant. The barbershop quartet Duly Noted recently placed second in the SingUnited International Quartet Contest in Columbus, Ohio. The performance in this video is from last year. Stay for the end, you won't regret it.
The Dying Minutes of World War One
Canadian soldier George Lawrence Price, from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, was serving with the 28th Infantry Battalion on November 11. The 26-year-old was part of a five-man patrol that was checking buildings beside the canal at Ville-sur-Haine, in Mons, for signs of the enemy.Read the stories of the last men to die in World War I at historywithatwist. (via Strange Company)
Unfortunately, they found them – a group of German soldiers in the process of setting up machine guns on a wall overlooking the canal. There was an exchange of fire; both sides took cover and the Germans retreated.
The Canadians began to follow, but just as George stepped out onto the street he was shot in the chest by a German sniper. Dragged into a nearby house, he was treated by a local nurse, but there was little she could do.
George Price died soon after, at 10.58am… just two minutes before the armistice.
Five Species That Harness Wildfires
For most animals, plants, and other life forms, fire is the worst thing that can happen. It's deadly, and even if you escape, your environment is ruined. But wildfires have always been a part of earth's activities, and some species have evolved to use it to their benefit. For example, the fire lily bulb stays dormant in the ground until after a wildfire rages through. Then it grows and blooms without competition from other plants!
Plants that grow in the ashes of a wildfire attracts bugs, which attract birds. It's almost as if there's a system to heal and renew the environment after its devastated by fire. There are other species that are attracted to wildfires, and even one that actively spreads a fire. SciScow introduces us to how all this works. This video has a skippable ad from 6:00 to 6:48.
Miss Cellania's Links
Why Veterans Day Was Originally Called Armistice Day. And still is, in many parts of the world.
Warner Bros. is Remaking You've Got Mail Despite All the Reasons Not to Do That. I thought the 1998 version was tragically regressive.
Thanksgiving Trends: What America Cooked, Forgot, and Ordered on DoorDash. (via Mental Floss)
Here's an explanation of how Trump made billions off the presidency in the last two years. It doesn't even take direct bribes or pardon payments into account. (via MetaFilter)
73 Unsettling True Stories That Belong In A Horror Movie Or Netflix Documentary.
Why do farts smell so bad? A microbiologist explains the odors brewing in your gut. (via Damn Interesting)
8 Bakers Failing At Ridiculously Simple Tasks.
She was Arrested for Riding Astride a Horse in Central Park. (via Strange Company)
Miller Time
Rachel Maddow Is Right. Stephen Miller Lied.......
— M Meerkat (@kackbro.bsky.social) November 9, 2026 at 6:06 AM
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Tuesday, November 10, 2026
The History of Salt
We all need salt to function, so animals evolved to seek it out. Lucky for us, the salty seas have left deposits of salt everywhere, if we can find them. Humans, however, sought salt so much that today our doctors tell us to lay off the salty snacks and put away the shaker because it can lead to high blood pressure. It wasn't always this way, because salt was not always so easy to get. the quest for salt as a commodity goes all the way back to the beginning of agriculture. Those who had it became rich selling it, although it wasn't easy- that's why working in the salt mines became a metaphor for backbreaking, unpleasant labor. Getting salt to those who had less became one of the reasons we developed global trade. This TED-Ed lesson brings us a short history of sale, but try to resist the urge to grab some chips while watching it.
Atomic Chicken
A flock of chickens seem to be living an idyllic life in the shadow of a nuclear power plant, because they are birdbrains and have no concept of the possible danger. Then one day something goes wrong, and the farm is showered with radioactive fallout. The effects are the ridiculous extremes we saw in 1950s B-movies, like immediate mutant growth and unexplainable super powers. The chickens are still birdbrains, but they have an idea of how to stop the nuclear plant from contaminating their environment.
Atomic Chicken is a student film from the French art school Ecole des Nouvelles, specifically the 2023 graduation film for animation students. I like the animated fabric textures, but was a little surprised at one point. "Hey, we can see this chicken's cloaca!" There's a reason for that, since a hen's main talent is laying eggs, and that's important to the story, although what they do with that talent is surprising. (via Kuriositas)
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