Sunday, April 27, 2025
No One Likes a Soggy Pickle
A Heinz commercial from 1965. It still works, because now I would like a crisp pickle. (via Nag on the Lake)
The Elements at a Party
Foil Arms and Hog throw a party for the elements of the periodic table. The elements all have their individual characteristics, and that comes out in the small talk. Some personality quirks have to do with the chemicals themselves, like oxygen, which is a breath of fresh air. Others have to do with their reputation among humans, like aluminum, which wears a foil hat and is a bit paranoid. And some are just puns, like how boron is so very boring. Some of them even dress the part, like neon wearing Day-Glo colors. Watch for some surprises, like when two nitrogens and one oxygen merge and get the giggles, because that makes nitrous oxide, or laughing gas. That's why it's so important to go over your guest list multiple times to make sure your guests won't clash and cause trouble, or in the worst case, explode. (via Laughing Squid)
Squirrel Gets Ice Cream Every Day
Putter the squirrel us lucky enough to live near Fantasy Isle Ice Cream & Mini Golf in Holden Beach, North Carolina. She ate ice cream from the outdoor tables after customers left, and developed a taste for the treat. So shop owner Scott Martin now gives her a tiny squirrel-sized cone every day. While Putter and her ice cream cones are cute and draw customers, wildlife officials say it's not a good idea to feed any wild animals. Especially not ice cream. (via Atlas Obscura)
Saturday, April 26, 2025
"War Pigs" in Amharic
Ethiopian band uKanDanZ covers Black Sabbath's song "War Pigs" in the Amharic language. It's very good. Singer Asnake Gebreyes sounds better (to me) than Ozzy ever did, and the language doesn't matter because we know what the song says. The band shreds. The song really needed a saxophone. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Pee-wee as Himself
Here is a trailer for Pee-wee as Himself, a two-part HBO documentary about Pee-wee Herman and Paul Reubens, both of them separately and together. The trailer gives you can idea of not only the public Pee-wee, but the private Reubens and how they were connected, yet it doesn't give too much away and just makes you want to see the whole thing. Too bad it's on a premium channel you may not have access to. (via Laughing Squid)
Surströmming
Surströmming is known around the world these days, mainly for YouTube videos of people retching when the get a whiff if it. Surströmming is canned, fermented herring from Sweden, where it is considered a delicacy. Elsewhere, it is considered the stinkiest food in the world. That may be enough to keep you from ever trying it yourself, but you have to wonder what it is about Surströmming that some Swedes love. To find out, Great Big Story went for a deep dive to explain how Surströmming was invented, how it's made, what makes it so smelly, and then what's good about it. Apparently the taste is much better than the smell, but it takes a talented eater to completely separate the two senses. Even the head of the Surströmming Association says to open the can outside.
Herding Kittens
How do you take a photograph of ten kittens? They are all from one litter, so they need a family portrait. But arranging kittens to face a camera is like …trying to herd cats. Exactly like that. No wonder mama cats are always on their last nerve. Evgeny, the Russian cat daddy, found that it's best to just use video instead of a still camera. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Friday, April 25, 2025
Fish Scares a Tiger
Riddhi the tiger lives at the Andhari Tiger Reserve in India. He usually doesn't get spooked easily, but when you see a fish, fly, that's something you don't see every day! Is it a predator or a supernatural sign? Either way, he doesn't want to be too close! (via Boing Boing)
Chocolate Bowling Alley
Amaury Guichon is an artist, and his medium is chocolate. You have to be a serious food artist to own a lathe and know how to use it. Here he makes chocolate bowling pins with molds, the lathe, and spray-on chocolate. Then he makes a bowling ball out of chocolate, with holes matched to his own fingers and a bright candy shell. Guichon even makes a smooth and glossy wood-grained alley out of chocolate, complete with gutters! The alley itself is not regulation size, so bowling a strike is not that difficult. The difficult part would be to get this far without eating the equipment. (via Nag on the Lake)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Forgotten Power of the Parlour Palm.
The Shocking Autopsy of Morris Foster. A suspicious death led to the revelation of shocking procedures in a facility for the powerless. (via Strange Company)
That electrical outlet behind your couch.
The History Of Guacamole. (Thanks, WTM!)
America's 19 wealthiest households barely squeak by with trillion-dollar windfall in 2024.
The 15 Best Opening Lines in Rock Music. (via Fark)
The Controversial History of the Word "Hillbilly."