Dizzy was a feral cat that has become a cuddlebug. She has crossed eyes and some special needs that mean she needs daily medication. She's turned out to be quite a wonderful companion for the folks who were willing to step up for her.
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Dizzy
The Risks of Eating Raw Fish
We eat other living things, which are likely to contain parasites. Plant parasites don't worry us much because they are usually only dangerous to plants. But meat, on the other hand, sometimes has parasites that can survive inside us. Commercial meat producing facilities have made great strides in reducing parasites. Wild animals are more likely to contain them, but we don't worry about it because we cook our food.
But then there's sushi and sashimi, which are more popular than ever. Can you get parasites from eating raw fish? Yes, if you catch your own fish and take it home and make your own fresh sashimi. Fish vendors, food processors, and restaurants have strict procedures to kill parasites before you have a chance to consume them. MinuteFood goes through the process, so you can stop worrying about it. I've never worried about it because I don't like fish and would never eat it raw anyway. This video is seven minutes long; the rest is an ad. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Dinosaur, a Film by Nathan and His Dad
Four-year-old Nathan Mezquida tells a story he made up about dinosaurs. His dad, Allen Mezquida, animated his drawings to tell it.
Nathan spends hours drawing every day, mostly dinosaurs. He also loves watching BBC documentaries about dinosaurs. Next thing I knew, we were working on this short film together. Nathan was very clear about the story he wanted to tell and how he wanted it to look. He said he wanted it to be very real, "never cartoony." I did my best to stay true to his vision.(via Laughing Squid)
Monday, February 23, 2026
About Looney Tunes
The Warner Bros. animated shorts we know as Looney Tunes were so successful and so enduring because they didn't play to children. They were funny to everyone! They were made to run in theaters, in front of Warner bros. movies, so they often had stars from those classic films in them. But they didn't have to be respectful. After all, they were, first and foremost, funny. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has acquired Looney Tunes, and made this video to welcome them. (via the Awesomer)
Kids React to Rotary Phones
Warning: this will make you feel ancient. Dial phones were replaced by push-button phones when these kids’ parents were children (although that wasn’t universal -remember when we had to pay an extra fee for touchtone service?), so it’s no surprise they don’t know how to use them. But when you hear them try to figure out how to send a text on a rotary phone, it strikes home how different the world they are growing up in really is. (via Metafilter)
Update: Want to feel even older? This video is 11 years old. All these kids are adults now.
The Secrets of Silk
Up until 552 AD, Europe paid dearly for a luxurious fabric from China called silk. It was lightweight but strangely strong, felt good against the skin, and came in amazing colors and patterns. What was it made of? How did they produce such beautiful fabric with it? That was a mystery that China was careful not to reveal, because they were making a ton of money sending silk along a trade route that became known as the Silk Road. They kept the existence of the silk worm, and the food it ate. But they also had some really advanced technology for fabric production that worked on principles that eventually made their way into our modern computers.
This simple video of the silk making process is more interesting than it has any right to be. There's a 70-second skippable ad at 4:07. (via Damn Interesting)
Miss Cellania's Links
Animal rescue is extra difficult (and dangerous) when a trapped critter can still move around a lot.
‘Smart Underwear’ could help unlock secrets of human flatulence. (via Damn Interesting)
How far back can you understand English? Try it going back one century at a time. (via Metafilter)
‘Mystical’ Kitten With Enormous Eyes Is Not AI — She’s A Rare Survivor. (via Fark)
The Trip That Changed Me: How Antarctica Shattered Daniela Hernandez’s Sense of Self.
Front-Page Felines: 10 Heroic Cats of Yesteryear. (via Strange Company)
Why is Trump trying to send a hospital ship to Greenland?
Routine medical procedures can feel harder for women – here’s why. (via Metafilter)
Origins of the Moonwalk
Awesome footwork going back to the dawn of the film age. Too bad we can't watch dancers from even earlier. (via Everlasting Blort)
Sunday, February 22, 2026
Loop
This wordless animation tells the story of a place where people are on a loop. They do the same thing all the time, in perfect synchronization, in a perfect rhythm. That is, until the day someone throws a wrench in to everything by -gasp- doing something different. That will not do! (via kottke)
The Coen Brothers' Circles
Next time you're watching a Coen brothers film, keep your eye out for the big centered circle. It's always there somewhere, often changing sizes. You've probably seen most of them in this supercut by Ariel Avissar. (via Laughing Squid)
Deadly Sibling Rivalry
Living species have varying reproductive strategies. Plants and insects produce as many offspring as possible because most of them will not survive. Mammals produce fewer offspring, but devote lots of time and energy to keep them alive. Then there are some species, like certain fishes and birds, that nurture their young while not getting too attached to them. They depend on sibling rivalry to cull the herd, so to speak, and keep only the fittest as their surviving progeny. MinuteEarth introduces us to some families that actually encourage offspring to kill each other. It seems a cruel strategy, but nature is only interested in what works. The video is only 2:25; the rest is an ad.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)