(via Bad Newspaper)
Friday, March 31, 2017
12 Amazing Underground Destinations to Visit
It's going to be hot this summer, so you might want to visit a really cool place on your vacation. It's always cool underground, and the world offers many fascinating underground travel destinations you might consider. Check out a dozen of them in this list I posted at mental_floss.
Miss Cellania's Links
21 Famous Movie Scenes with the Added Benefit of Photoshop.
Designing Lessons from Cats. While this motivational article is about designers, it could apply to any worker. (via Metafilter)
The Old Man Who Claimed to Be Billy the Kid. Ollie “Brushy Bill” Roberts convinced quite a few people he was the famed outlaw.
These Fish Inject Predators With Opioid Venom and That's Not Even the Coolest Part. The tiny fangblennie is impressing evolutionary scientists with its tiny teeth.
Freemasonry Forsaken: 16 Abandoned Masonic Lodges, Temples and Halls. Secret societies can't fill a big man cave anymore.
The Myth of Professional Beggars Spawned Today’s Enduring Stereotypes. If the undeserving poor were punished enough, they'd stop being poor.
Alex Yeatts created what appears to be natural geodes, but they're entirely edible chocolate and rock sugar! It took him six months to perfect the technique.
The secret monopoly behind America's outrageous drug prices. Martin Shkreli is more the rule than the exception.
Bare Skin! 'Hussies'! Miss America's Scandalous Beginnings.
The Lure of Fishing
I have an ongoing project to make posts for mental_floss articles I wrote way back when that I do not have an archive for. Here's another one, from 2007.
Now that the daylight lasts longer and the weather is more pleasant, it's time to confront the big decision: should I mow the lawn or go fishing?
Field and Stream published a list of the 50 Best Fishing Lures. Just the names made me curious: Swedish Pimple, Pencil-Popper, Pork Frog- those terms probably make perfect sense to a fisherman. But not to me. So I went looking for strangeness in the world of fishing lures. See what I found in a list at mental_floss.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
The story behind "Smoke on the Water."
How a Wild West Showman Brought Man-Lifting Kites to the British Army. And then abandoned them for planes.
Janelle Shane spent some time teaching a neural network how to generate recipes. The results are quite interesting. (via Metafilter)
Genevieve von Petzinger & the invention of graphics on cave walls. We are still trying to decipher the messages they left us.
10 Eerie Abandoned Cities You Can Visit. It might be difficult to find overnight accommodations, however.
7 Hilarious Ways Reality Would Ruin Famous Movie Scenes. It's a good thing we can suspend our disbelief and just go with the flow when watching.
9 Remarkable Ultrasound Images. Pareidolia reigns supreme when we don't know what we're looking at.
Project Moby Dick, the Cold War’s Least Believable Surveillance Strategy.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
MEAL Team Six
With Trump's federal budget plans cutting social programs to fund the military (and the border wall), Trevor Noah has a plan to save Meals on Wheels. It's simple -make it a part of the military!
Miss Cellania's Links
"Paulownia is known in Japanese as ‘kiri’ and as ‘Princess Tree’ because it was once customary to plant a tree of this kind when a baby girl was born, and then to make it into a dresser as a wedding present when she married." (via Nag on the Lake)
Spiders could theoretically eat every human on Earth in one year. Without them, we'd be overrun with insects.
The Incredible Legend of the First Black Samurai. He sure impressed the Japanese in 1579.
Watch all ten good dogs go up the steps one-by-one as their names are called. Even Mayhem and Chaos are good dogs.
A Japanese photographer who goes by Nyan Kichi has made friends with a colony of feral cats. He's found that the cats particularly love to play in an area where the street has a lot of drain holes they can jump in and peek out of. (via Metafilter)
The Country That Doesn't Exist. Transdniestria lies between between Moldova and Ukraine, but no one recognizes it.
Who Owns Your Face? You may be attached to it, but you don't have exclusive rights to what it looks like.
The Rebel Virgins and Desert Mothers Who Have Been Written Out of Christianity’s Early History. The church was not so patriarchal in the beginning.
Thug Notes: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Insightful commentary, NSFW language. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Tweet of the Day
broccoli has caused system failure pic.twitter.com/nHgyZfAcnY— Shibesbot (@shibesbot) March 26, 2017
Broccoli has caused system failure. (via Everlasting Blort)
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Tweet of the Day
Our very own @nancycartwright charming the world as Bart from @TheSimpsons This is adorable! His face when he realizes is priceless! pic.twitter.com/CpPgvV2hCL— Spotted Cow (@SpottedCowEnt) March 24, 2017
This kid didn't realize he was talking to Nancy Cartwright, who does the voice of Bart Simpson, when he was peddling chocolate for his school. (via Buzzfeed)
The Avengers React to Justice League Trailer
After 15 years or so of Marvel movies raking in billions of dollars by using teams of superheroes in The Avengers, X-Men, and Guardians of the Galaxy, DC is finally ready to jump in with Justice League this November. The first trailer debuted this weekend. The Avengers saw it, too. Dr. Machakil edited this fan film that gives us a hint that the Avengers will be plotting a one-up soon. (via Metafilter)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Soul-Sucking, Attention-Eating Black Hole of the Trump Presidency.
Brendan and Robert have a Facebook thing. My sides started to hurt reading this.
Why Women Couldn’t Wear Pants on the Senate Floor Until 1993.
On the advice of a friend, actor Robert Harling quickly wrote a play about the pain his family went through when his sister Susan died of complications from diabetes. Thirty years later, the people that were involved in Steel Magnolias tell the story from there to the filming of the movie. (via Metafilter)
If Obamacare ever fails, it's because the republicans gutted it.
Your Complete DC Comics Superhero Movie Release Calendar. You can write them down, if your calendar goes through 2020.
The 1950s game show Queen for a Day profited from the poverty of a new woman every day. Both reality TV and poverty porn are older than you thought.
How America's Obsession With Hula Girls Almost Wrecked Hawai'i. When Captain James Cook and his crew landed on the islands in 1778, the meeting set off a culture clash that has repercussions to this day. Article contains some vintage nudity.
This Little Girl Meeting A Robot Is The Cutest Thing You'll See All Day. He's the strong, silent type.
Dis My Human Now
Dis my human now pic.twitter.com/oS9MVLJWN4— catclick (@catclick) March 22, 2017
"I get what I wants cuz I'm so cute." (via Everlasting Blort)
Monday, March 27, 2017
Cat Controller
Max X is not catering to his cat properly. That all changes when the cat gives him a taste of his own medicine! (via b3ta)
The Healthcare Solution in a Nutshell
The West Wing explained it in 2005. I should have watched that show. The people will have to demand it, with the 2018 midterms hanging in the balance. (via Boing Boing)
Miss Cellania's Links
Why Democrats should push 'Medicare for all' now. The majority of Americans want it.
Literally 100 Really Funny Game Of Thrones Jokes, Memes, and Puns. But you have to know the show to get the jokes.
Is There an Error in this Painting? John Constable was commissioned to paint Wivenhoe Park and include certain important elements.
Inside Alabama’s Auto Jobs Boom: Cheap Wages, Little Training, Crushed Limbs. "…the global economy’s race to the bottom"
Spite’s a great motivator, even when building a home. A look into the most famously odd spite houses.
When he moved from Dublin to L.A., photographer Andrew Ward became fascinated with the phenomena of abandoned sofas on city streets, so he began photographing the couches. Ward's photographs now fill the Tumblr blog The Sofas of L.A.
One Sloppy Land Surveyor Almost Caused a War Between Missouri and Iowa. You can't just declare what state your land sits in.
22 Vintage Photos of Animals Acting Like People. And looking adorable doing it.
The Peak Age for Everything. Each conclusion has links to the research that produced it. (via mental_floss)
Cat Stalks a Mouse
Cat stalking a mouse until... pic.twitter.com/TlYYhB8X9n— Fascinating things (@YupThatExist) February 12, 2017
It doesn't turn out like you think. A dinosaur shows up. (via Everlasting Blort)
Sunday, March 26, 2017
10 Internet Memes Illustrated in Peeps
I have an ongoing project to make posts for mental_floss articles I wrote way back when that I do not have an archive for. Here's another one, from 2014.
Marshmallow Peeps are everywhere! The stores are full of them, and so are Easter baskets. Better stock up now if you use them as an art medium. Plenty of people do for the Peeps diorama competitions held each year. And every year I pick some of those best, centered around a theme for your entertainment. More and more of the dioramas feature internet themes and memes, social networking, and popular videos. See ten of them in this list I posted at mental_floss.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Stubborn Russian Cat
Boris is hungry, or at least he knows a good stash of food when he sees it. He's not giving up his loaf of bread easily. No siree. And you see who wins the battle, even though Boris never stooped to attacking the woman. Boris lives in an animal shelter in St. Petersburg. He has to share food with 25 other cats who need homes, and no doubt has memories of greater hunger in his past. While this particular scene doesn't bode well for Boris' adoption, the Instagram video assures us that he is usually a nice cat, believe it or not. See more from the shelter 50 Tails. (via reddit)
The Secrets Behind Rogue One's Final Vader Scene
Director Gareth Edwards explains how the Darth Vader scene in Rogue One came about. It almost turned out quite differently. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Friday, March 24, 2017
Simon's Cat in Camouflage Challenge
Blending in with one's surroundings is a common strategy for predators to use in getting some other animal to eat. Leopards are good at it. So are spiders, anglerfish, and octopuses. Simon's Cat tries it out. But Simon's cat is neither a spider nor an anglerfish, although he probably thinks he's a leopard. He just doesn't quite have the needed skills. It might have been his comfy suburban upbringing, or it may be just his bad luck.
Miss Cellania's Links
Nowruz Celebrations Around the World. Nowruz is the Persian New Year holiday, which starts at the vernal equinox.
The Upside of Anger: It's a Strong Emotion, But Not Always a Bad One. And it makes people finally listen to you.
Why 10 Daily Tons of Ant Poop Keep This Rainforest Thriving. Instead of a village, it takes an army to grow a tree.
30 Passionate But Pointless Arguments. And afterward, you wondered why it mattered so much. (via Metafilter)
This $5900 office chair is supposed to counteract the ill effects of sitting at work. But can you stay awake while being that comfortable?
The Gig Economy Celebrates Working Yourself to Death.
Trump Lawyers Swipe at Teen Over Cat Website.
Why Are There No Eggs in Indian Cakes? You don't need them to make light and airy pineapple cake.
Neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you stress-free. Bring on the puppy videos!
Peeps in a Vacuum
This is neat. Scientist and science educator Carl Nelson demonstrates what happens when you put things that contain air pockets into a vacuum chamber. the Peeps are cool, but the shaving cream is the best part.
13 Graphs for Laughs
I have an ongoing project to make posts for mental_floss articles I wrote way back when that I do not have an archive for. Here's another one, from 2014.
Can graphs be funny? That’s a silly question, as you’ve seen plenty of funny flowcharts, pie charts, and Venn diagrams, as well as other charts and graphs, made just for fun here already. But there are other kinds of charts that have a joke in them somewhere. Doghouse Diaries explains a graph's potential for humor. This type of chart is called an XY Plot, or scatter chart, which places items along two axes depending on the two variables measured in relationship to other items. See all of them in a post I did for mental_floss.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Unwind With These 6 Quirky Crochet Projects
If you can imagine it, you can make it with yarn and a crochet hook. Let the crochet lovers of the internet help you try some of these projects from a list I compiled for mental_floss.
Things Many People Still Don't Understand About Star Wars
Star Wars has become such an epic franchise with such a devoted fandom that the origins of that universe have been left behind. To understand some of the mechanics of the story, Looper takes us back to how the stories were first constructed to remind of some details we've either forgotten or never realized in the first place. A little context helps us to understand how the juggernaut we know as Star Wars grew from just a movie into what it is today: a modern mythology that became more than anyone could have imagined. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Miss Cellania's Links
White House: Trump's golfing is work, unlike Obama's golfing, which was scandalous.
30 Years Ago: A Look Back at 1987.
"A woman came through the drive through yesterday and got a little irritated with me because we didn't have drink carriers. Today, she came back and handed me this."
The Origins of the World’s Most Divisive Condiment. There is no middle ground when it comes to Marmite.
North Carolina’s Shangri-La Stone Village. More links to explore Shangri-La.
10 of the Lowest-Rated Cars for 2017. If you're having trouble deciding on a model, at least you can eliminate the bottom of the barrel.
Catnip Ain’t the Only Plant That’ll Send Your Kitty to Blissville. A cat-loving scientist has discovered three others.
This Is What America Looked Like When Alcohol Was Illegal. A gallery of images from Prohibition.
If Deadpool were a musical, our hero might sing this parody of "Gaston" from Beauty and the Beast. Contains NSFW language, as you would expect.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Trump Campaign Rally
Trump is already campaigning for the 2020 presidential race, because running is way more fun than presidenting. (via Uproxx)
Hi Stranger
Kirsten Lepore gives us an odd little video that turns out to be just a nice, affirming talk from an animated humanoid with a butt. (via Metafilter)
Miss Cellania's Links
Where to Hide If a Nuclear Bomb Goes Off In Your Area. It's been a few years since they taught this in school.
How WWI food propaganda forever changed the way Americans eat. We learned to be more resourceful, thrifty, and efficient.
The Like Button Ruined the Internet. Why bother with words when you can just press a button?
How to trap a self-driving car. It's much easier than it should be.
How Disney Saved Musicals for a New Generation. A little song and dance seems almost normal again.
The Haunting Face of a Man Who Lived 700 Years Ago. He could be our neighbor, but his life was very different from ours.
How many kids is too many kids? Large families were once unavoidable, then irresponsible, and may now be turning into a status symbol.
10 Things to Know When Sneaking into North Korea. Not that we recommend actually trying that, of course.
Chop & Steele Prank Morning Shows
Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher are not strongmen, but they play two of them on TV. They took on the duo name Chop & Steele and convinced TV morning shows to feature them. Their strongman act is obviously lame, but it's probably the best they could do. This stunt is from the Found Footage Festival. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Cheetah Encounter
A safari into cheetah country got more than they bargained for when a curious cheetah climbed into a tourist-filled vehicle. This cat apparently had some contact with people before, probably in previous safaris, but he still wanted to check them all out. This video is a compilation of such encounters, with different cheetahs. If you were in that position, you' be stuck between the impulse to pet the kitty and terror at confronting an apex predator who could chew your face off if he so desired. (via Laughing Squid)
Miss Cellania's Links
From T. Rex to Pantydraco: How Dinosaurs Get Their Names. Some are very serious about it; others, not so much.
Unspeakable Realities Block Universal Health Coverage In America.
Bedtime for the twins. (via reddit)
The Zeppelin Stamps That Enraged 1930s Collectors. And they didn't do much for the post office, either.
Losing weight won’t make you happier—but eating a balanced diet will. Studies show that's more important for your mental health than what's in the mirror.
Agloe: a Fake Town That Became Real. But not too real that it couldn't disappear again.
Reindeer really can fly! This herd flew coach on Polar Airlines.
How Hospitality and Some Tulips Brought Canada and the Netherlands Together. Canada still gets tulips in gratitude.
Elmo Gets Fired
Proposed cuts to the federal budget might land some educational TV stars on their ears. It's hard to understand when you've been at the same job for decades… and you're only four years old.
It’s a rough world out there, even for the Sesame Street gang who, through no fault of its own, has stayed in its comfortable bubble for the past 48 years. Now, Ernie might be forced to get a job, Bert might have to start driving for Uber, and the Count might have to actually go back to CPA school.(via The Daily Dot)
Monday, March 20, 2017
Russian Car Curling Tournament
In Russia, car pushes you! The sport of curling involves sliding a stone across ice to score points and knock the opposing teams stone out of points. Curling stones are very expensive, so a group of Russians came up with a better idea: use old Yugos to slide across the ice! The first ever Russian Carl Curling Tournament was held in Yekaterinburg Saturday. Four teams hurled small cars across the ice at each other. The cars were devoid of any heavy parts, such as motors. A good time was had by all. (via reddit)
Miss Cellania's Links
Why Chess Fans Hate the Movies. Hollywood can't ever seem to get the game right.
Secret Crime-Fighter Revealed to Be 1930s Physicist. William Souder went by "Detective X" in his forensic work for the FBI, the Secret Service, and other agencies.
The 2017 Name Of The Year Bracket. Keep up with the tournament progression, and cast your votes, at the Name of the Year website. (via Deadspin)
Josh and Hannah Brown of Frankfort, Kentucky, remodeled their basement to be a replica of the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disney's Magic Kingdom! See more pictures in their Facebook album. (via Laughing Squid)
9 Famous Puppeteers of the 20th Century. They brought the art into the television age.
Ranking the Most Dangerous Countries for American Tourists.
51 Pictures That Are Guaranteed To Make Every Teacher Laugh.
The Best Free Throw Line Distractions Throughout NCAA History.
What America Could Be Losing Out On Because Of The Proposed Trump Budget Cuts. Then there's the food programs. Trump’s budget would cut funding for Appalachia — and his allies in coal country are livid. Who will lose if the US National Endowment for the Arts is eliminated? Did someone talk about jobs? Trump’s Budget Could Cut 200,000 Federal Jobs.
Home
Charlie Peck recorded half of "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros on the day he started testosterone treatment. After nine months of treatment, he recorded the other half of the duet. Essentially he is singing to himself, but the duality of the finished product is thought-provoking.
As a sidenote: In the video I refer to myself with my previous name. I do this because I personally feel comfortable with this. Generally never refer to a trans* person with their "dead name".(via Metafilter)
My way to transition is also just that - My way. There are so many ways to feel comfortable in your own body and no way is more right than the other. Go your own way.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
The Eiffel Tower: a "truly tragic street lamp"
I have an ongoing project to make posts for mental_floss articles I wrote way back when that I do not have an archive for. Here's another one, from 2007.
When the Eiffel Tower was first built, it was the tallest building in the world. At 986 feet, it was almost twice as tall as the previous tallest building, the Washington Monument. It wasn't until 1930 that the Chrysler Building in New York surpassed the Eiffel Tower in height. Read about how the Eiffel Tower came about in an article I wrote for mental_floss.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Simon's Cat in Dinner Date: Main Course
Remember back around Valentines Day when Simon was getting ready for a dinner date? Here's the second part of that story, in which the date meets Simon's Cat. Good news- she likes cats! In another month or so, we'll get the next chapter. Will there be a disaster? Knowing Simon Tofield and his animated cat, the odds are good.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Woman Interrupted During BBC Interview
If it had been a woman sharing her expertise instead of a flustered dad, things would have worked out just fine, because women keep up with everything, all at the same time. (Thanks, Betsy!)
Puppies vs. Couches
These puppies want to be on the couch so bad! They're too young to jump and too short to climb, but they give it their all because the couch is where the humans sit! Puppies will learn soon enough, with a little growth and a lot of practice, so enjoy them when they're little, and be sure to take video. Enjoy this compilation from MrFunnyMals. (via Tastefully Offensive)
10 Times Kids Stole the Spotlight on Live Television
The perils of live television news include dealing with children who either jump at the chance to be on TV or who just wander into the shot being themselves. Some of those encounters are so cute and funny that they become more popular than whatever was being reported. See ten of them in a video roundup I posted at mental_floss.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)