Thursday, November 13, 2025
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Hula Hoop POV
This is what it looks like to attach a GoPro to a hula hoop. The hoop stays still, but the rest of the world goes crazy around it. (via Memo of the Air)
How?
Robots Making Springs
Utopian science fiction and dystopian science fiction both involve robots (and/or AI) taking over all the work that humans do. The difference is that in utopian fiction, humans can still afford to live without those jobs, while dystopian fiction considers jobless people useless.
In the real world, robots are essentially machines that took over the most boring, dangerous, and mundane manufacturing jobs, freeing us humans to do more creative things. But what happens to people who aren't creative? They are just out of a job. Now AI is coming to replace mentally-based and creative labor, and the educated class is also in danger of being jobless. And in a purely capitalist society, the profits go to those who own the machines. But I digress.
Meanwhile, enjoy this fascinating and hypnotic video of a multi-armed robot producing all manner of springs. (via kottke)
Stress
Stress is the body's natural reaction to changing conditions that we need to react to. It puts our bodies into "fight or flight" mode by releasing hormones that temporarily grant us the power to protect ourselves or our loved ones. That's all well and good when you are being confronted by a man-eating tiger or a forest fire, but our modern world doesn't work like that. We are safe from tigers, but still confront threats that cause stress. The problem is that modern stressors are constantly with us, and they are things we can't really do much about. Why is my boss mad? Why is my spouse mad? Will I be able to pay the bills? Will my child come home safely? Why are people driving so crazy? Is society collapsing? Living in a chronic state of stress is unnatural, and can take a toll on our health. Kurzgesagt explains what stress does to us, and what we can do about it. (via Laughing Squid)
Miss Cellania's Links
Canada nICE Agents. (via Everlasting Blort)
Centuries of Black Death misinformation started with a poem. (via Damn Interesting)
“At the cemetery, Skye said, ‘Come with me, and I will show you the most amazing family that will love you forever. All I ask is you let them know I’m OK and had an amazing life, and that it’s because of their love for me that I became your guardian angel.'” (via Fark)
China's Stranded Astronauts Show the Dangers of Space Junk. (via Nag on the Lake)
Who is ‘fedora man’? Dapper French teenager in viral Louvre heist photo unmasked. (via Metafilter)
Then They Came for the Dreamers. DACA recipients came out of the shadows to follow the law, but are now sitting ducks for ICE.
The Ball of The Burning Men. The moral: watch your costumes' flammability rating.
A gorilla mother showing affection for a human baby. (via Everlasting Blort)
Hoodie
Nature
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Muhammad Ali on the 1960 Olympics
Muhammad Ali was 18 years old and went by Cassius Clay in 1960 when he won the Olympic gold medal for boxing in the light heavyweight category. I don't know when this interview was recorded, but he had developed quite a media persona by then. Sadly, he was ultimately refused service at that restaurant in 1960. (via Everlasting Blort)
What I'd Really Do in a Holodeck
The concept of the holodeck is a great way for Star Trek to shift over to fantasies far from space travel. Anyone who has seen it will fantasize about what they would use it for, assuming that privacy and confidentiality were assured. Let's see what fantasy Adam Schwartz has in mind for his first experience in the holodeck. (via Neatorama)
The Talented Miss Chile
Ignacia Fernández entered the Miss World Chile beauty pageant and went viral for her talent competition performance. While the majority of contestants who must participate in a talent competition choose to sing, Fernández was already a professional singer, having founded the progressive death metal band DECESSUS in 2020. She, of course, showcased one of their original songs at the pageant, accompanied by DECESSUS guitarist Carlos Palma. You can imagine that the judges weren't quite ready for that. However, they were impressed by her performance, which launched Fernández into the top 20 contestants.
Sunday night, Fernández was crowned Miss World Chile, and will go on to represent Chile at the Miss World competition in Thailand later this month. (via Metafilter)
Miss Cellania's Links
Big Phony Schmuck! Randy Rainbow's latest Trump song is a parody of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club." Contains NSFW lyrics.
The Trift Bridge: The Longest Pedestrian Suspension Bridge in the Swiss Alps. It's scary, but 20,000 walk it every year just for the thrill.
Play Pickabal, a random sorting pinball game with a twist. Name as many balls as you like, and hope the one you named for yourself wins. (via Boing Boing)
Why I Am Resigning. Federal judge Mark Wolf can no longer stay silent about Trump's assault on the rule of law.
The New York Zoo Hoax of 1874. It caused a panic. (via Strange Company)
Yossele The Holy Miser.
Why Don’t People Return Their Shopping Carts? A (Somewhat) Scientific Investigation. (via Damn Interesting)
A judge’s ruling that if the Trump administration is going to make mass arrests of suspected illegal immigrants in Chicago, then it better be prepared to feed those detainees a suitable breakfast, lunch and dinner has immigration officials scrambling to find food vendors. (via Fark)











