It takes real guts to mimic someone right in front of them. Even more so when it's a celebrity, and that goes double when they are facing an audience who will be judging the impression. Saturday Night Live has done this many times, sometimes getting the entire cast involved. (via Laughing Squid)
Saturday, December 14, 2024
SNL Impressions in Front of the Actual Person
Robot Around The Christmas Tree
It's a Christmas song for the robot apocalypse! This chilling tune is by samuraiguitarist. I, for one, welcome our robot overlords. If they're listening, that is. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Friday, December 13, 2024
Bicycle Race
Cyclist: I guess this is my life now!Apparently, it is possible to finish a race after you've fallen off the bike. It looks like he came in fifth, but according to the comments at reddit, the race is determined by when the front wheel crosses the finish line, not the rider's body. So this poor guy came in sixth.
byu/Thapee infunny
Strange Beasts
The 1970s were hardcore. Australia is always hardcore. Tigers are hardcore, too. Between 1970a and 1985, Bacchus Marsh Lion Safari Park pioneered the idea of driving through a reserve for dangerous big cats. They learned safety protocols the hard way, but the park was never profitable enough to follow them. In the partially-animated short documentary Strange Beasts, Ron Prendergast tells us of his days as a young zookeeper who was attacked by a tiger at the park -twice. His injuries were horrific, but the psychological scars were even worse. The film was directed by his son, Darcy Predergast. (via Nag on the Lake)
US and Mexican Coca-Cola: Are They Different?
For decades, people have been drawn to Mexican Coca-Cola because it is made with cane sugar, while US Coke is made with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Those who know swear that Mexican Coke tastes better. The difference benefitted the Coca-Cola company because some people would go out of their way to pay a premium price for Mexican Coke, while most Americans drank whatever was available, and it was made with cheaper corn syrup. But a 2011 paper claimed that there is no difference in the sugar content between the two Cokes. Has the company been lying to us? George Zaidan of Reactions decided to do his own sugar content tests to find out. His confounding results required more research.
Sucrose, glucose, and fructose are all sugars, but they are chemically different. Sucrose, or table sugar, is made from sugar cane. Many of our processed foods are made with HFCS, which is a mixture of two simple sugars, glucose and fructose. And since HFCS is made from subsidized corn, it is much cheaper than cane sugar. But as we will find out in this video, cane sugar, or sucrose, has its own secrets that make everything clear in the end. (via Damn Interesting)
Miss Cellania's Links
Hailed as a savior upon his arrival in Helena, Dr. Thomas C. Weiner became a favorite of patients and his hospital’s highest earner. As the myth surrounding the high-profile oncologist grew, so did the trail of patient harm and suspicious deaths. (via Metafilter)
The secret reason the USA beat the USSR to the Moon.
European Workers Are Happier Than Americans — Here's The Proof.
The Booze-Soaked Lives of Wild Animals.
Five Things Only The Middle Class Own, Not The Rich or the Poor. Spoiler: lawn mowers, free time, a refrigerator in the garage, economy airline tickets, and medical debt.
House Cat: The Legend of Gato Gordo.
A Folk Song about United Health Care. (via Boing Boing)
A Blast from the Past (2016): 9 Homemade Food Gifts to Give This Holiday Season.
Swingin' The Alphabet
The Three Stooges sing "Swingin' The Alphabet" in the 1938 short Violent is the Word for Curley. The song has a long history, with roots going back into the 1700s. (via Metafilter)
Look at That Smile!
Mother's love 🥹❤️
— Why you should have a cat (@shouldhavecat.bsky.social) December 6, 2024 at 7:54 AM
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Thursday, December 12, 2024
Carol of the Bells
Bass singer Geoff Castellucci does five part harmony with himself as he brings us a low, low version of "Carol of the Bells." The song is only 3:48; the rest is promotional.
The History of Slipping on Banana Peels
You might think that slipping on a banana peel is a just useful trope for slapstick humor in old movies or cartoons. It is quite useful for that, but the act is based on a real world problem. In the 19th century, cities and towns grew exponentially and no one cared about trash in the streets. We also started to get regular supplies of bananas from Latin America. The discarded peels are particularly slippery compared to other food wrappers, and yes, people slipped a lot.
Jon Bois of Secret Base reveals what a problem this became, and relates some of the more horrific, and the more amusing, examples. It's a 33-minute documentary, but worth the time. The real history part begins at 3:30. (via Metafilter)
On a personal note, I couldn't help but think of my 2009 house project, when the only way to get upstairs was by temporary steps on the roof.