(via Fark)
Thursday, August 20, 2026
The (Mostly) True Story of Hobo Graffiti
Hobos have been around since the railroad system made traveling across America possible. Itinerant workers rode the rails to where work was available, as best they could. Their numbers grew when unemployment did, and they developed a system leave messages for each other. Or did they? Historians know that the "hobo code" we've all read about is not what we've been told. (via Kottke)
Christmas Lights
In my neck of the woods, there are quite a few houses that leave their Christmas lights up all year long. We would like it if they quit turning them on about May or so. This comic is from Chris Hallbeck at Maximumble.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
The Strange World of Planet X
The 1958 British movie The Strange World of Planet X was retitled Cosmic Monsters in the US, in case it seems familiar to you. It was modeled after a TV series of the same name that ran in 1956. From Wikipedia:
A monomaniacal scientist creates ultra-sensitive, disruptive magnetic fields, which have unexpected side effects, while also attracting unidentified flying objects from outer space. Strange things begin to happen, including a freak storm, blasts of cosmic radiation that penetrates the Earth's normally protective magnetic shield, and insects and spiders mutating into giant flesh-eating monsters.The Strange World of Planet X was not a success, and is mostly remembered for its ridiculous and comically cheap special effects. (Thanks, WTM!)
If Star Wars had a $10 Budget
Secondhand Movie Co, the same people who did If Jurassic Park Had a $10 Budget did Star Wars, too. If you enjoyed the five minute clip above, you might want to see the entire Sweded film.
Yep, that's how we used to do it in junior high, although the film camera was much more expensive back then. (Thanks, WTM!)
An Honest Trailer for Supergirl
The second film in the new DC Universe features Superman's younger cousin from Krypton. Supergirl was released in June, and soon proved to be a box office bomb. The movie needed to gross around $315 million to break even, but only made $126.3 million during its theatrical run. Supergirl in this movie is a rebellious 23-year-old who lashes out like a teenager after the destruction of her home planet and family. She's recruited by a younger girl to help her in a revenge plot. You'll recognize several plot points from other movies, rendered in colorless or too dark cinematography. Critics found the movie so-so, and lamented that the characters' struggles were intriguing, but not developed enough to make the audience car. You might wonder how this is a James Gunn movie, considering it was written and directed by others, but there's a sequence showing how it copies Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. If you're interested in the excruciating details, Screen Junkies has a feature-length video on how bad Supergirl really is.
Miss Cellania's Links
Valonia ventricosa: The Giant Single-Celled Organism (Also Known as The Sailor’s Eyeball).
Knocked it down real good! (via Everlasting Blort)
How is deli meat made? The food science behind the turkey, ham and other cold cuts in your lunch. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
What if America Went Completely Dark? Our electrical grid is vulnerable to attack by pretty much anyone. (via Metafilter)
The comic strip that may have cast Sean Connery as the first James Bond.
Why This Traffic Light Only Turns Green Once Per Year. (via Fark)
A Blast from the Past (2007): Life Before Air Conditioning.
Cats Do Shakespeare
You know how dramatic cats can be. If all the world's a stage, they are surely all players. Continue reading to see their talents.
The Space Song
Here's a cute and catchy song from Clare and Si Bennett, also known as Planet Custard, about the planets of the solar system. It's set to an animated video that is cute, funny, and artistic at the same time. Each planet gets a verse about what makes it unique, and even Pluto makes a cameo appearance. And now I can't get the tune out of my head. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Baby Talk
Your mother told you not to use baby talk, but that's when you were old enough to use regular speech. She changed her mind when you had children of your own. We just can't help ourselves when we talk to a baby. But what is baby talk? One kind is just gibberish, when the speaker is imitating baby sounds that aren't real words, which is useless. The other is "parentese," or "infant directed speech" (IDS). The word pronunciation is correct, the grammar is correct, but the tone and accent are especially designed to grab an infant's interest.And it comes fairly naturally to anyone interacting with a baby.
Dr. Erica Brozovsky breaks down what infant directed speech is for and how it helps babies learn to speak a real language. This video is more than a minute shorter than it looks, as it ends with a sponsor.
A Terrifying Bowl of Spaghetti
We're getting into that time of year when you look for ways to make an impression for Halloween. YouTuber and crafter North of the Border made a bowl of spaghetti that wants to eat you instead of being eaten. You could call it creepypasta. It's very detailed, all made of clay and some metal wire. I would have just used a real bowl, fork, knife, and spaghetti and thrown in the homemade eyes and teeth, but he went all out. After all, those eyes and teeth could be used in other dishes. The twelve minutes of the building process are cut into chapters in the progress bar in case you want to skip something, but the commentary can be funny at times. See the finished product from all angles at 10:38.
I cannot quite peg where North of the Border learned English, from the way he pronounces pasta and oregano, but the channel reveals he's in the UK even though the accent is not quite British. The channel also reveals he's made quite a few weird things you might want to try. (via Laughing Squid)
Sweetest What the Fluff Surprise Yet
Zephyr is a four-year-old golden retriever witnessing the "What the Fluff Challenge." We don't know what Zephyr was expecting, but we were expecting the young man holding the blanket up to disappear. Instead, he changed into Kevin, Zephyr's favorite person, who has been gone for nine months doing Army training at Ft. Bragg. Zephyr was pretty happy with the result! (via Digg)
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