This is why we need real cashiers. (via Bored Panda)
Thursday, June 25, 2026
The Language of Smell
Can you describe a smell without referring to the possible source of that smell, or something that smells similar? There are such words, like fragrant, stinky, or musky and a few others, but compare that to the huge number of words we can use to describe something we see without referring the the exact object. Most of the time, we just rely on shared knowledge of smell sources, such as "this smells like (bananas, lilac, crap, etc)." In English, you can be on the phone, go outside, sniff, and say "someone's cooking out," and the person you're talking to will instantly know what you are smelling because of our shared experience. Imagine trying to describe that smell without referring to the probable source.
However, this only applies to Western languages. Some languages have a wide vocabulary to describe smells. What makes the difference is codability, or the tendency for all speakers of the language to agree on descriptive words. Dr. Erica Brozovsky explains the linguistics of smell across different languages.
The World's Cutest Cable Guys
Who ever heard of a ferret with a job? That's exactly what's happening here. James Mckay runs the National Ferret School in Chesterfield, England, where they train ferrets to lay cable. If you've ever seen a pet ferret run through a piece of flexipipe for fun, you know they'd be good at this. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Global Warming
A hundred years is just a blip on the geological calendar, but we're accelerating.Global warming is real .... just slow
— RandyLand (@randyland65.bsky.social) June 24, 2026 at 3:30 PM
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Not slow.
— D’Haugeranville (@dhaugeranville1786.bsky.social) June 24, 2026 at 9:40 PM
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Wednesday, June 24, 2026
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher
Jackie Wilson recorded "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" in 1967, before music videos were a thing. But then MTV and VH1 came a long, and they made a video for the song in 1987, after Wilson died. It's pretty goofy, but the song is the original recording, so you'll enjoy both.
An Honest Trailer for Supergirl (No, Not That One)
The new Supergirl movie is set to open nationwide this weekend, so it's as good a time as any for Screen Junkies to go back and do an Honest Trailer for the 1984 film Supergirl. What? You didn't see the movie? You don't even remember it? There's a reason for that. Despite an all-star cast, Supergirl was a box office bomb, and did even worse with critics. The few who enjoyed it weren't quite sure whether they meant for it to turn out the way it did. The attempt to make a superhero adventure/comedy/teen movie with an incomprehensible plot just fell flat.
If you are looking forward to the new Supergirl this weekend, but are also apprehensive about possible disappointment, maybe you should go back and watch the 12984 version. It will only enhance what's to come with the 2026 Supergirl.
Miss Cellania's Links
Soccer fans were treated to a video performance from the New England Patriot cheerleaders before the Scotland-Haiti game. The Tartan Army was so gobsmacked that the bars had a minute or two to restock.
A Million Times Tribute is a grid of 288 analog clock faces that will display the time in digital numbers every minute, or whenever you reload it. But when it isn't displaying the time, it is a mesmerizing geometric artwork of rotating clocks. (via Everlasting Blort)
A short tutorial on making better pancakes. (via Nag on the Lake)
All the Star Wars movies have the wrong title.
Jonathan Pie summarizes the war in Iran in less than five minutes. NSFW language. (via Fark)
The Warrior-Witches of Ukraine’s Resistance. An underground intelligence network uses subterfuge and honey traps to direct drone strikes deep inside Russian-occupied territory. (via Metafilter)
28 Public Relations Nightmares That Went Down Behind The Scenes Of Great Movies And Shows.
A roundup of memes about the reflecting pool on the national mall.
Using GPS in Brazil
Warning: infectious laughter. These guys were trying to find their way around what I think might be the city of Fortaleza in Brazil. Commenters believe the trouble may be because they didn't switch the language of their app to Portuguese. They have stories of using map apps in languages that don't work well in the location they are driving through. At any rate, what came out was not only the road they should turn on, but all the other roads and shopping plazas it leads to. InappropriateSurname jotted them all down.
Turn left onto Avenida Almirante Barroso / Avenida Antonio Justa / Avenida da Abolição / Avenida Desembargador Moreira / Rua Frei Mansueto / Avenida Pessoa Anta / Rua Ana Bilhar / Rua Barbalha / Rua Barbosa de Freitas / Rua José Napoleão / Rua Juazeiro do Norte / Rua Júlio Ibiapina / Av. Senador VirgÃlio TávoraThe video was uploaded years ago. You have to wonder if they're still driving around, trying to find their destination. (via reddit)
Then turn right onto Rua José Napoleão
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Heartbeat, Its A Lovebeat
Tired of all the foreign musical culture on the broadcast airwaves, in 1972 Canada enacted the MAPL system that mandated a certain percentage of Canadian content on radio and TV. This opened the door for stardom for such talented acts as Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, The Guess Who, and the many acts that came after. That stardom was well-deserved, but it wasn't enough to fill the radio schedule. Since Canada has about 10% of the population of the US, there was a mad scramble in the early '70s to find enough Canadian content (also known as CanCon). That's how the DeFranco Family got their big chance. With automatic radio play, they filled the slot that the Jackson 5 and the Osmond Brothers held in the US, but it didn't last long. Read about them and others who got a chance thanks to CanCon regulations.
"Heartbeat, Its A Lovebeat" was never a favorite of mine, but it does bring back memories of 1973. (via Nag on the Lake)
Canadian English vs. American English
British immigrant Laurence Brown has spent years comparing and contrasting Britain and the US in his series Lost in the Pond. Many times he's pointed out the many differences in British English and American English. But somewhere along the way, he discovered that there is also Canadian English, which is another thing altogether. This reminds me of when some French relatives visited Montreal and were shocked to find out that Quebecois is very different from French, but still understandable if you give it a few seconds.
Americans and Canadians are used to each other's word usage and accents, but seeing if from the perspective of one who used to be an outsider is illuminating. We've all heard about Americans traveling to Europe and telling people they are from Canada to avoid American backlash, yet we've wondered how they got away with it. The differences in language are rather subtle, and often undetectable to anyone who speaks English as a second language, or even as a first language, as Brown does.
By the way, I've never heard any American refer to a knit cap as a beanie, but I live near the South, where they are only worn a couple of months out of the year. This video has a skippable ad from 4:58 to 6:01.
Eternia or Ikea?
Alamo Drafthouse presents a new quiz show that challenges your ability to recognize or guess names. They give you a name, and you have to decide whether it's from the fictional kingdom of Eternia from the TV show He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, or from the non-fictional kingdom of IKEA furniture. There is a certain demographic who should ace this quiz, since they grew up on He-Man and now buy IKEA furniture. For the rest of us, it's a toss up because each of these strange names can go either way.
As the game progresses, you can start to see how these kingdoms are somewhat alike. IKEA gives its furniture names instead of simply stock numbers to enable customers to share their favorites, creating free publicity. Eternia names its characters so you can keep up with them in a TV show- but that TV show was born to promote a line of toy products. It might help you to know that some He-Man characters are named for their unique features, while IKEA doesn't do that- or if they do, it's in Swedish. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
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