Hobbies

(via Fark)

80 years of Alfred

Alfred Pennyworth is the hero we need. A very proper British butler, Alfred handles all the details behind the scenes for Batman, I mean, Bruce Wayne. He has wise advice, the answer he’s looking for, an opinion worth listening to, and takes care of all his employer’s needs, all the while making Bruce take all the credit… and indeed, even letting him believe he’s the brains of the outfit.

In this video, we get to see the various incarnations of Alfred Pennyworth through the various versions of Batman. Practically perfect in every way! Oh, yeah, that’s Mary Poppins. But she never had to sweep out the bat cave. Alfred deserves much more credit than he gets. (via Geeks Are Sexy)   

Tweet of the Day

pic.twitter.com/tp7sJUgmri

— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) April 24, 2024

All American

(via Bad Menu)

Meet Tippy

Tippy is the cute mascot for the new tipping culture in which anyone and everyone wants you to just pay more than the agreed price for every service imaginable. (via Neatorama)

Potato

The math doesn't add up, but when has that ever stopped anyone from such foolishness?  See also: How to pick up a duck. (via reddit)

Time-Lapse Engine Restoration

You can get a lot of satisfaction in restoring an old engine. Or watching one! This small block 283 engine came out of a '66 Chevelle and sat on the floor for 25 years before the restoration project. Some pretty specialized machine tools were required to carry out the restoration. You have to admire these guys' know-how and dedication to the project, but you also have to admire the craftsmanship in making of this utterly mesmerizing video. It couldn't have been at all easy. You can almost feel the tension between the gearheads waiting to do their thing while the filmmaker lines it up perfectly. The result is worth the wait. (via Boing Boing)

Eating Healthy

(via She Who Seeks)

It Wasn't Me

Trump consults with Putin about his legal troubles and they break out into song in this deepfake video by Swede Mason and Jason Spacey. (via Fark)

Dusty

(via Fark)

The Ray-Cat Solution

I posted a while back about a project to brainstorm methods for warning future civilizations about the dangers of nuclear waste dumps. It said, in part,

But the strangest suggestion by far came from two European linguists. They argued that governments around the world should breed cats that turn colors when exposed to radiation. These so-called “ray cats” could then be immortalized in song and legend, so that even after the scientific knowledge of radiation had been lost to the sands of time, folklore would tell of their supernatural power to change their fur in the presence of extreme danger.

Matthew Kielty investigated the “ray cat” solution, including tracking down Paolo Fabbri, the man who first conceived of the idea. Kielty posted about it, and people started trying to make it happen. Emperor X produced an album of music about the ray cats, that includes the song “Don’t Change Color, Kitty!” Biologist Kevin Chen is looking into how we can make those cats a reality. He’s looking for collaborators on the project. (via Metafilter)  

Tweet of the Day

He was filming resting sharks, and then this happened..🦈 pic.twitter.com/t2ynBIXNHW

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) April 20, 2024

Smarther

(via Bad Newspaper)

Smart Bees

Honeybees are incredibly talented for insects. The manufacture honey and they communicate with each other by dancing to tell their hive mates where to find flowers. But bees can also be trained to do things that bees won't normally do by instinct, like solve puzzles or play ball games. The research on bees' dances have led scientists to focus on how they can judge and communicate distances. Experiments that test a bee's geolocation ability is how we found out that bees have some understanding of numbers, which is rather mind-blowing. I'm also very impressed by the scientists who managed to figure out what the bees are saying when they dance. This episode of Ze Frank's True Facts series is unusually wholesome, almost devoid of salacious jokes. Honeybees are probably smart enough to appreciate that. There's a one-minute skippable ad at the 5:15 mark.

Family Tree

Yeah, it's possible this has been edited. It would only take removing a couple of short vertical lines to make this legal. (via reddit)

Owlet Gets a Foster Dad

You'll love this story that teaches us how a wildlife expert treats an orphaned baby owl. To keep it from imprinting on humans, it is fed by a stuffed owl. It also sleeps with a plush owl toy that has a heartbeat. It's not mom, but it's better than nothing. And Raven Ridge Wildlife Center has more tricks up their sleeve- a foster father! Pharaoh has proven himself to be attentive and gentle with baby owls, and this chick is in good hands with him. His influence is important, because this is how an owlet learns how to be an owl. Check out more owl stories from Raven Ridge Wildlife Center at Instagram.

Ole MagDonkle

Sometimes the farm animals just won't cooperate. But look who's tending them! This farm might be an alternate universe, the kind with no punch line, but it made me laugh. The comic is from Jolly Johnny at Jolly Biscuit. (via Geeks Are Sexy)

Wrong Number

(via Buzzfeed)

Surprised by a Gun

When we disturb the tombs of ancient mummies, we fear a curse or worse, but we also forget that they were people of their time when they were alive. They had no concept of guns. Sure, you can't kill a mummy, because they are already dead, but it can sure hurt them, and baffle them besides. This mummy has to recalibrate and ponder the possible technological innovations that have occurred since he was buried. But he's still supernatural, otherwise he wouldn't have known the date of his death was 2,600 BC. Think about it.

You might recognize the rotoscope technique of Joel Haver in this video. Redditor WiiFitBalanceBoard, who made this video under the name of Cool Giant at YouTube, says he made this after watching Haver's animation tutorial. (via reddit)

Miss Cellania's Links

City removes and preserves Chicago Rat Hole after complaints from neighbors. (via Fark)

The barely visited US national park that requires a passport. (via Damn Interesting)

Many nursery rhymes are credited to Mother Goose. But was such a fowl figure ever even real?

Confronting the fact that your life isn't all that impressive.

When Do We Stop Finding New Music? Your favorite music will always be from the time you were 13 or 14 years old. (via Metafilter)

Pee-wee Herman Enters the World of Cyberpunk 2077. The video contains some NSFW language.

US fertility rate dropped to lowest in a century as births dipped in 2023.

Porcelain Gallbladder Found in Human Remains in Mississippi Asylum Cemetery.

The myth of the second chance. Some mistakes really do affect the rest of our lives. (via Kottke)