On August 6th, 1945, the US military dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, and killed 70,000 people. Another 70,000 would die later from injuries and radiation within a few weeks. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The Japanese, not knowing how many bombs the US had (which was two), surrendered and ended World War II.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima when the first bomb detonated. He was severely injured, but managed to get back to his home in Nagasaki and go to his job just in time for the second bomb to be dropped. What are the odds? Weird History tells the story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived both bombs and became a staunch advocate for nuclear disarmament later in life. There's a skippable promotional break from 2:03 to 3:13.
Speaking of the odds, back in 2012, Neatorama published an article about the approximately 165 people who fled Hiroshima after the bombing and went to Nagasaki for safety. Read about these nijyuu hibakusha, or "double bomb-affected people" in The Unluckiest Train Ride.
Monday, February 16, 2026
He Survived Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Weird Al Yankovic Describes EVERY United States President
For President's Day, Weird Al Yankovic made a supercut of all of them. US presidents, that is. Each president is matched with a clip from a Weird Al Yankovic song that illustrates a bit of trivia about them. The trivia is in the caption at the bottom, and the song is identified in the lower-right corner. This reveals that Weird Al has a very deep discography, and our presidents have been weird.
Miss Cellania's Links
2026 Winter Olympics Village Ran Out Of Condoms After Just 3 Days. The article contains many double entendres. (via Metafilter)
Men lose their Y chromosome as they age. Scientists thought it didn’t matter – but now we’re learning more. (via Damn Interesting)
Which Country Has Won The Most Winter Olympic Medals? (via Nag on the Lake)
It's not easy to fly a plane. Luckily, no one died. (via Memo of the Air)
Scientists find evidence that ancient Romans used human poo as medicine. (via Strange Company)
Meet the Splayd, the spork's sharper Australian cousin.
Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped. (via Fark)
A Modern Fairy Tale: The story of the sad little skiing prince who lost his princess, but thought an international press interview and a tearful, uninvited confession would bring her back. (via Metafilter)
I Want to Take You Higher
Watching Tina and the Ikettes shimmying in those high heels makes me tired. This performance from Ike and Tia Turner was an Italian TV appearance in 1971.
Sunday, February 15, 2026
How That False Alarm Happened
Airbnb Surprises
What you see is not always what you get. But sometimes your lodging can come with a bonus. (via Everlasting Blort)
7 American Phrases That Completely Baffle Brits
It's not surprising that contemporary slang sometimes becomes a lasting phrase, but often it stays in its original nation. Every place has shortcuts that are incomprehensible to outsiders. Laurence Brown looks at some American phrases that we all know, but puzzle other English-speaking countries. You might not realize how weird they are. There's a 90-second skippable ad at 2:50.
The converse video is here, about British phrases that baffle Americans. I was baffled by none of them.
Vintage "Rasputin"
Alexey Rom programmed a century-old Marenghi Organ to play the disco hit "Raputin" by Boney-M. This 81-key organ was built in 1905. My piano is older than that, but mine will never be in tune again. (via Boing Boing)
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Billy The Kid Versus Dracula
Billy The Kid Versus Dracula is a rather short movie from 1966. It was shot in eight days. The plot is pretty easy to imagine- Dracula (John Carradine) tries to seduce Billy the Kid's fiancé, and Billy has to save her. But how can a Western outlaw defeat Dracula? (Thanks, WTM!)
Michael Scott in the World of Fallout 4
In the sitcom The Office, Michael Scott is a corporate middleman at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. His main purpose is to supervise a staff and avoid any real work. When this character is transported into the post apocalyptic world of Fallout 4, his is tasked with protecting colonies from attack, but he still just doesn't want to do the work. His main mechanism is to make a joke out of it, but the apocalypse is the most inappropriate place to make jokes.
This mashup is the work of eli_handle_b.wav, who has found his niche in putting comedic characters into life-or-death video game situations. (via Born in Space)
LEGO Submarine
Can you build a working submarine from LEGO blocks? Well, I certainly couldn't, but the guy behind Brick Experiment Channel did it. Most of it is LEGO parts, some are homemade, and some are just convenient, like the syringe. This submarine is controlled by Raspberry Pi and PID. This gadget even has laser sensors, a camera, and remote control. It also has a cute minifig captain inside.
If you want to skip ahead to see the submarine work, that starts at about three minute in, but I was quite impressed to see the quick build. If you want to build your own, the complete project is laid out in a series of articles here. (via kottke)
