(via reddit)
Monday, July 31, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
The Test. A comic about …well, it's a bit hard to describe.
How Medieval Chefs Tackled Meat-Free Days. Redefining "meat" helped a lot.
The Polygamous Town Facing Genetic Disaster. The isolation of a community can lead to an explosion of genetic disorders. (via Digg)
His Intestines Twinkled Like Stars. A medical case from 1874 Virginia may make you cringe, but it has a happy ending. (via Strange Company)
Foxconn's corporate welfare deal will cost Wisconsin taxpayers more than 3 billion dollars.
The Importance of Font Choice. (via reddit)
When two authors start a little back-and-forth on Twitter, strange and wonderful things can result. Sam Sykes asked Chuck Wendig for some advice, and they got into a conversation that went where you wouldn't quite expect. (via Metafilter)
The American Eclipse of 1878 and the Scientists Who Raced West to See It.
Tomi Lahren Unknowingly Admits That She Benefits From Obamacare and Then Says She Would Like to Get Rid of It.
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Friday, July 28, 2017
Hamster Loses Struggle with Hamster Wheel
This hamster trying to use a hamster wheel is a metaphor for the way life tends to throw a wrench in our plans. You're going along just fine, thinking you've finally figured something out, or have a skill down, and suddenly things go sideways and you don't even know how it happened. The real kicker is that you get laughed at when you are in the most vulnerable position. But we can be like this little hamster, and just pick ourselves up and try again! (via Digg)
Miss Cellania's Links
10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Movie Speed.
The Company Behind Many Surprise Emergency Room Bills. Even if your hospital is in your insurance network, the doctor who sees you might not be.
Beavers: The Smartest Thing in Fur Pants. They bend the environment to their will.
Meet the Woman Behind New York’s 1800s School For Crooks. Fredericka “Marm” Mandelbaum worked her way up the ladder from a street peddler to New York's "Queen of Fences."
The Fiercely Precise World of Competitive Table-Setting. Proving once again that humans will turn any activity into a contest.
Five of the Sickest Camouflage Moments in Movies. It's that moment you don't see coming and BAM! There they are.
Wedding DJs Describe the Worst Speeches They've Ever Heard. It's okay to have stage fright, but try to keep the stories appropriate.
Analyzing the Gender Representation of 34,476 Comic Book Characters. The few women superheroes are broken down by powers, names, and tokenism.
The Wonderful Vegetable Figures of Lambeth Country Show 2017. (via Metafilter)
The Real Reason Hospitals Are So Expensive
Adam Ruins Everything explains in simple language why we need single payer insurance in the U.S. In other words, Medicare for all!
I got a bill from Medicare. My husband spent a short time at the emergency room one night last year. The hospital charged him $2100. medicare determined that the services were worth about $918. Medicare says they'll pay the hospital $800, and they can charge me the other $118, but no more. The real kicker is that if he hadn't had Medicare coverage, we would be stuck for a $2100 bill, inflated so that the hospital could recover part of it. That really hurts anyone with no insurance, or an insurance company that won't pay the bill.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
Why the Scariest Nuclear Threat May Be Coming from Inside the White House. The Trump administration came in not knowing anything about government, but even worse, they didn't want to learn. (via Metafilter)
Harvard Magazine Personal Advertisements’ Many Synonyms For “Rich” or “Thin.” Mallory Ortberg is amused at how important that message really is.
Why Hospitals Started Displaying Newborn Babies Through Windows. And why we don't want the custom to die out.
When London Bridge Moved … to Arizona? The entire stone bridge was dismantled, shipped, and rebuilt in the American desert.
11 Geographic Markers That Are Totally Inaccurate. It could be a mistake, a matter of convenience, or the shifting earth.
5 Sequels That Introduce Huge Plot Holes To The Originals. You'd think that someone, somewhere would be in charge of making film franchises internally consistent from one movie to the next.
What is it like to be white?
Zero-G Blood and the Many Horrors of Space Surgery. We'll have to be ready for it if we're going to Mars.
Meet the Man Who Has Lived Alone on This Island for 28 Years. In 1989, Mauro Morandi's catamaran drifted onto Budelli Island in the Mediterranean Sea, and he never left.
Lightning Strikes Car, Then it Gets Weird
A car is moving down the street when it is struck by lightning. It seems like forever before the vehicle stops and people get out. It looks like everyone's okay. The car is still smoking, and so is the spot where the strike hit. Then a mob of zombies dressed in black appears out of nowhere and approaches the car to consume the lightly-fried occupants. Or maybe it was just people coming to see what happened, but it sure looks creepy. (via Boing Boing)
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Star Wars Sound Effects Remix
Eclectic Method has a new song for us, made from sound effects found in all eight Star Wars films. Nothing else was used, no instruments, rhythm tracks, or any kind of added music. Best of all, we can see where the sounds came from. You can guess that the rhythm is a lot of fighting, various tuneful beeps come from the droids, and there's plenty of vroom and pew pew pew! (via Laughing Squid)
Miss Cellania's Links
Republicans want to break Obamacare, then spend billions of dollars to clean up the mess. Everyone has their priorities.
The Most Unexpectedly Annoying Aspect Of Getting Married.
Why aren't peanuts classified as nuts? Because peanuts are biologically legumes, so go ahead and spread peanut butter on your burrito.
What This Company Is Offering Employees Is Raising a Privacy Debate. Would you let your company implant a chip in your hand?
Your Roomba is Spying on You. The devices have been gathering information about your home, and that data could be more valuable to Roomba maker iRobot Corp than the sales of its vacuum cleaner.
The Legend of The Fatal Sisters: Voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau put a curse on plantation owner De Coucy, swearing his bloodline would die out, but he ignored it. (via Strange Company)
Are Helicopter Parents Ruining Summer Camp? Kids don't mind giving up their cell phones for the week, but it really bothers parents.
He Thought Butternut Squash was Cheese. This story is a fairly inconsequential but funny observation of the daily struggles of customer service employees and the fact that the customer is not always right. (via Metafilter)
Why you should vacation somewhere new, unexpected, and totally out of your comfort zone. That's a vacation you'll always remember.
Watch a Swimming Corgi from Underneath
Okay, can you think of anything less efficient than little Corgi legs doing a dog paddle? Yet Zero is having a great time in the swimming pool. The Jaws theme is the icing on the cake for this cute video. Zero's full name is Zero Marie Hussein Corgibutt, which makes her special right away. She has her own Instagram account. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
I Am Your Father
On The Late Late Show with James Corden, Anna Faris, Jenny Slate, and Mark Hamill play a game of "I Am Your Father," in which the celebrities have to guess which parent-child pairs are really related. Once you get a look at all of them, it seems easy. Easier still, when they ask questions and three answers are fairly lame. (via Tastefully Offensive)
7 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Lost Boys
The Lost Boys was released to theaters on July 31, 1987. It was such a film for the 1980s, when sexy teenage vampires were dangerous monsters, instead of selfless glittery romantic interests, although each version of pop culture vampire has the perfect hair for its era. Cinefix revisits The Lost Boys with some trivia for the movie's 30th anniversary. Has it really been that long? Yes it has. While the story is fairly timeless, the big hair, the chunky pants, and those shoulder pads peg 1987 to a T. (via Mashable)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Biggest San Diego Comic-Con 2017 Stories. The latest updates from every pop culture universe.
All hell breaks loose as the tundra thaws.
12 Ways Airports Are Secretly Manipulating You.
If you can’t find a surgeon, employ a butcher. This story of medieval surgery is disturbing. (via Strange Company)
"Dude, where's my car?" Parents take to Craigslist for help after ‘doofy’ son loses car at Metallica show.
Scientific Journals Publish Bogus Paper About Midi-chlorians from Star Wars, a reminder that not all journals use peer review or even proofreaders.
Puzzlewood, Tolkien’s Inspiration for Middle-earth. The peaceful, green, 14-acre section of Gloucestershire is truly inspirational.
How to Turn Your Used Electronics Into Cash. Read the comments, too, for the experiences of people who have used these methods.
The Accent Whisperers of Hollywood. An influx of global acting talent must be taught to passably sound like Americans.
Monday, July 24, 2017
Bird Regrets Opening a Box
This curious parrot sees a box on the table and has to open it. It has an unexpected kitten inside. That's okay, until the cat acts up, then it's goodbye cat. This strikes me as possibly the most perfect gif I've ever seen. I don't know why it didn't make the front page of reddit. In the original video, the bird relents to his human's order to free the cat. However, he makes it clear that he does not forgive the cat for his rude behavior.
(via Boing Boing)
(via Boing Boing)
Young Explorers
Filmmaker Jacob Krupnick's project Young Explorers follows children who have barely learned to walk, as their instincts for exploring are kicking in. This isn't easy for urban parents to negotiate. In a recent interview at ICP, Krupnick tells a story to illustrate the disconnect between child's instinct to explore and a parent's instinct to protect them.
While filming my daughter walking around Coney Island, she passed a boy her age who was tied up in one of those child nets, tethered to his mother, unable to experience life outside her reach. Ada, my daughter, marched past him. His look of astonishment read something like: what is that creature? Half an hour later, they met again along the boardwalk. He was still attached to his mum. He looked at Ada tentatively and tenderly offered her a piece of popcorn. In these moments, you come to see how desirable freedom is.I can relate. While watching Bejla above and Tristan below, I had to keep reminding myself that not only was Krupnick right there filming, but the child's parents are no doubt just out of camera range. At the same time, the back of my mind wanted to reach out and hold their little hands.
Krupnick has ten episodes in the series filmed, but only two are available on the 'net so far. We look forward to seeing more. (via Metafilter)
Tweet of the Day
.@GalGadot shared a moment with a young Wonder Woman cosplayer while signing autographs with the Justice League at San Diego @Comic_Con pic.twitter.com/KZhucQd0yC— Variety (@Variety) July 22, 2017
A little girl in a Wonder Woman costume teared up as she approached Gal Gadot at San Diego Comic Con. I case you can't hear what is being said, part of it is Gadot saying, "Now we are friends so there's no reason to cry anymore. We are together!" I believe someone is cutting onions in the next room. Wonder Woman is so important to little girls. (via Buzzfeed)
Miss Cellania's Links
Sex and Marriage in China, Where Generations of Men Outnumber Women. (via Nag on the Lake)
You don't have to love your body. (via Metafilter)
Six "Common" Medical Conditions That Don't Actually Exist. Some of them were only named in order to sell you a cure.
In 1838, Missouri witnessed the “Missouri Mormon War.” It was the first of three armed conflicts before the Mormons found their home.
Hippies, Guns, and LSD: The San Francisco Rock Band That Was Too Wild For the Sixties. The Charlatans were ahead of their time, but flamed out fast.
Remembering Hair-Raising Landings at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport. Landing on runway 13/31 landings was so terrifying, it was called the Kai Tak Heart Attack.
The Scariest Rides At The Fair, Ranked By An Anxious Man. Mark Shrayber is terrified of carnival rides, yet he can't help but try them.
The 100 Greatest American Cooks of All Time. Many of the cooks on the list have a full article about them linked, which could keep you busy for some time. (via Metafilter)
12 charming coastal towns to visit this summer. Get away from the crowds of tourists for a relaxing getaway.
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Whose Line Is It Anyway? Fighting Game
okay so here's my proof of concept for a Whose Line Is It Anyway fighting game. do you know a game developer? let's get this made pic.twitter.com/FckibXrMge— Dominick Nero (@dominicknero) July 20, 2017
(via Digg)
Ready Player One Teaser
Ready Player One is a story that takes place in the future, mostly in a virtual reality game with real-world implications that will entice all serious players. The Wikipedia link contains plot spoilers, so just watch the teaser from San Diego Comic Con. Based on the 2011 novel by Ernest Cline, the movie was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. Ready Player One will be in theaters in March of 2018. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
A Sneak Peek at Justice League
The next DC Comics movie is Justice League. The group established its core characters in Batman v Superman, with a glimpse of Wonder Woman, who we got to know better this summer. Next they will be joined by Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg from the comics. An extended preview was released at San Diego Comic Con. From the YouTube page:
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League will be in theaters November 17. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Saturday, July 22, 2017
British Airways Safety Video
British Airways teamed up with Comic Relief to make a new flight safety video based on the premise of people auditioning for a role in the safety video. A selection of top British performers do their best, but the director is more impressed with some than with others. Honestly, when Sir Ian McKellan tells you to put on your oxygen mask, you listen. The video is actually a combination flight safety video and fundraising appeal for Flying Start. It will be shown on flights beginning in September. There's also a behind-the-scenes look and some outtakes here.
The Walking Dead Season 8 Official Comic-Con Trailer
The first trailer for season eight of The Walking Dead, which premieres on October 22, was unveiled at San Diego Comic Con on Friday. This video contains NSFW language, despite the fact that it's from a TV show. There's a lot of action, explosions, shooting, and an inspirational speech or two, but not nearly enough zombies. But then, it's only a few minutes of clips that try not to give too much away. Every frame will be examined and speculated on in the next few days. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Friday, July 21, 2017
U.S. Executive Branch Crime Statistics
The article accompanying this chart was published backing January. (via TYWKIWDBI) http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/
Why a Total Solar Eclipse is Such a Big Deal
The total solar eclipse that will cross the U.S. on August 21st is a big deal. "Eclipse" is not so rare, but "solar" is, and "total" even more so. It doesn't happen often, and the view is expected to be spectacular. Get a preview in this video from Vox. Sadly, my plan to drive two hours or so to see the eclipse has been canceled. August 21st is move-in day at my youngest kid's new college. But we will see a partial solar eclipse, which will cover all of the lower 48. And if you live too far away to get to the path of totality, you'll still see plenty of reports on the internet. (via Kottke)
Miss Cellania's Links
My ‘Just In Case’ Inheritance. Indians invest in jewelry for their daughters as a lifelong safety net.
We Are Awful at Detecting Manipulated Photos. Test your altered image detecting abilities here. (via Daily of the Day)
Trump's 2020 Campaign Has Already Paid Out $600K—to Trump.
In the 18th century, Britain shipped around 50,000 prison inmates to the American colonies to do hard labor. James Dalton was sent multiple times for theft, and once succeeded in leading a mutiny aboard the prison ship.
10 Surprising Ways to Lose Your Mind. Mental disorders can be triggered by a wide variety of conditions.
How a Group of ’70s Radicals Tried (and Failed) to Invade Disneyland. Four hundred police were waiting for the paltry few hundred Yippies that showed up.
Rocket Launches Look Even Cooler From Space. A satellite recorded images of a Soyuz launch on July 14.
How Synthetic Fabrics Inspired a Cultural Revolution. Few people remember how much time laundry and ironing used to take.
Ancient ruins keep being 'discovered.' Were they ever lost?
Singing Samoyeds
What we have here are four Samoyeds, harmonizing like a barbershop quartet. Well, three of them anyway. In every quartet, there's one guy who wants to only take the solos. In this case, that's Biscotti. Dog trainer Lisa Marino caught her dogs singing and had to share it with us. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Kitten Playing with Dog
This kitten wants to play, while the dog just wants to nap. It's a cute sequence. But wait, now. How many toes does this kitten have? I think this kitten has at least twenty-four toes, maybe more. Those big feet are going to win him some fans! (via Tastefully Offensive)
Tweet of the Day
A lawyer, a spy, a mob boss, and a money launder walk into a bar. The bartender says: "you guys must be here to talk about adoption."— ❄️ Dr. A ❄️ (@AAPsyc) July 18, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
A history of why the US is the only rich country without universal health care.
I Faked Being Engaged for the Discounts. While weddings are getting outrageously expensive, there are some perks that go along with the ordeal. (via Digg)
Swim With Manta Rays, the Ocean’s Peaceful Giants. They can grow to 25 feet wide and resemble underwater flying saucers.
Why ordering from the kids menu is harmful to children. They've changed from smaller portions of adult entrees to bland but safe options for picky eaters.
A Newly Discovered Diary Tells the Harrowing Story of the Deadly Halifax Explosion. It's believed to be the only same-day account from an eyewitness to the disaster that left 2000 people dead.
Drug Expiration Dates May Be More Myth Than Fact. A stash of medicines was found to be effectively potent decades after they were made. (via Boing Boing)
Downtown Atlanta’s Lost Psychedelic Theme Park. The World of Sid and Marty Krofft was as weird as their TV shows.
Malloy the Invincible. In 1932, a gang of killers bought insurance on a homeless drunk, but then found out he was harder to kill than Rasputin.
Six ways Trump is 'dismantling' the US after six months in office. (via Metafilter)
Why ordering from the kids menu is harmful to children. They've changed from smaller portions of adult entrees to bland but safe options for picky eaters.
A Newly Discovered Diary Tells the Harrowing Story of the Deadly Halifax Explosion. It's believed to be the only same-day account from an eyewitness to the disaster that left 2000 people dead.
Drug Expiration Dates May Be More Myth Than Fact. A stash of medicines was found to be effectively potent decades after they were made. (via Boing Boing)
Downtown Atlanta’s Lost Psychedelic Theme Park. The World of Sid and Marty Krofft was as weird as their TV shows.
Malloy the Invincible. In 1932, a gang of killers bought insurance on a homeless drunk, but then found out he was harder to kill than Rasputin.
Six ways Trump is 'dismantling' the US after six months in office. (via Metafilter)
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Tweet of the Day
In less than 10 years, 📱 replaced:— Buffer (@buffer) July 17, 2017
📟 ☎️ 📠 💾 💻🎼
⏰ 📷 🎥 📺 📻📀
📰 🔑 💳 💼 📎 📄
⏳ 🔦 📼 📚 ⌚️ 🎮
📓 ✏️📁🎤 📇 📆
🎰 💵 📬📝 🆘 🏧
🎫 ✉️ 📤 ✒️ 📊 📋
via @ValaAfshar
Luther, Obama's Anger Translator, is Back
Keegan-Michael Key appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night, and lets Luther tells us what he thinks of our current president. (via Uproxx)
Miss Cellania's Links
10 Amazing Additions Coming to Disney Parks and Resorts.
How bosses are (literally) like dictators. In America, you give up your rights for a paycheck, and too many people are cool with that.
Tracing the Elusive History of Pier 1’s Ubiquitous Papasan Chair. The design has a particularly murky history, with many accounts of how and where it was originated.
How Cellophane Changed the Way We Shop for Food. And made color its most important feature.
One of the most common questions in American small talk is considered rude in much of the world. Don't ask a French person what they do for a living.
As Paperwork Goes Missing, Thousands of Private Student Loan Debts May Be Wiped Away. Some debts purchasers did not learn to avoid the documentation mistakes of the mortgage crisis.
Republicans' deranged health-care nostalgia.
12 Strange, Yet Beautiful Fruits & Vegetables. Keep your eye out for these and you might find your new favorite food.
Male writers writing female characters.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
First Look at The Disaster Artist
Tommy Wiseau's 2003 movie The Room was hailed as the "worst movie of all time." It therefore became a cult favorite. Audiences gasped at the utter incompetence of Wise, who wrote, directed, and starred in The Room. Could he really be that bad at filmmaking? The new comedy The Disaster Artist recreates the making of the film, and answers that question with a resounding "Yes!"
The Disaster Artist stars James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan, Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron, Hannibal Buress, and Sharon Stone. It is scheduled for release December first. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Tweet of the Day
WHO CARES IF I FAILED SCIENCE I FOUND TWO BARRELS FULL OF FIDGET SPINNERS 😤😤😤🙌 pic.twitter.com/gmBpIG0iAE— ☢️ foofet spinner ☢️ (@Fireflufferz) July 17, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
We Are Living in the Coen Brothers’ Darkest Comedy. 2008's Burn After Reading strikingly resembles the bumbling plot of Trump's Russia scandal, but also captures how amorality leads to treason.
14 Netflix Hacks That Will Change the Way You Stream. Some tricks for getting the most enjoyment for your $7.99 a month.
6 Throwaway Jokes That Ended Up Predicting Huge Plot Twists. It's almost like Hollywood is searching anywhere for new ideas.
Real Men Might Get Made Fun Of. That's a small price for making the world a better place. (via Kottke)
How the Guy Who Played Jar Jar Binks Survived the Fandom Menace. Ahmed Best landed the role of a lifetime and spent years paying the price.
Pushing Buttons: In Our Divided America, Political Pinbacks Give Anyone a Voice. John Aisthorpe has been collecting pins since the Vietnam War era, and tells us the stories behind some of them.
How Many United States Have You Visited? Make your own map to show others how many states you've seen at the Maploco Visited States Generator.
Modern Scenarios in Japanese Ukiyo-e Woodblock Style by Yamada Zenjidou. (via Madam Jujujive)
Doctor Faust’s handy guide to conjuring up demons.
Monday, July 17, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
Every bride and groom who hires a DJ has a song or two, or more, or an artist, or an entire genre that they ask specifically not to be played. Those songs have been compiled in a new list, and the ones that rose to the top are perfectly understandable.
Mary Poppins Returns Looks Like Nostalgic Delight. The sequel comes out in 2018, 54 years after Mary Poppins.
The Role of Cats and Dogs in Victorian Cases of Spousal Abuse. Three cases where a heroic pet saved the day. (via Strange Company)
Ted Cruz's Democratic challenger is a small-dollars fundraising monster who won't take PAC money. Beto O’Rourke could use your help. (via Boing Boing)
A Data-Based Guide to Dealing with Lines at Disneyland. Consult the charts and makes your plans accordingly.
In Sync We Trust: Pop Music's History of Lip-Syncing (and Lying About It). Singers can get away with it, if the show is good enough. (via Metafilter)
The Trump Administration Is Quietly Cutting Funding For Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs.
The secret life of urban crows. They are clever, adaptive, and won't forget who you are.
Where Do Seedless Watermelons Come From? From two parents, one of which is a genetic wonder.
Meet the Thirteenth Doctor
Want to know who will play the 13th incarnation of The Doctor in the BBC series Doctor Who beginning in December? Speculation has been rampant since it was announced that Peter Capaldi will be retired from the series. If you really want to know, you'll need to watch the video or highlight the following text, in consideration of those who don't want to know this soon.
Yes, we will finally see a woman in the role of The Doctor. Actress Jodie Whittaker will appear in the Christmas special, and then take over the role in the series beginning in late 2018. Read more here. (via Metafilter)
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Behind-The-Scenes Footage Of The Last Jedi
We have exactly five months to go until the release of Episode VIII, so it's the perfect time for Disney to release some footage from the set of The Last Jedi. Just in case we'd started to lose interest, ya know. There's no actual footage from the film here, as far as we know, but we do get a glimpse of sets, some special effects, and characters both old and new. Carrie Fisher is there, so you might want to get a hankie ready. (via Digg)
Friday, July 14, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
11 Things You Should Know Before Going to the San Diego Comic-Con. To get the most enjoyment out of your first experience, you have to be well-prepared.
Trump reportedly wants Cheryl Stanton to lead the agency that enforces federal wage and overtime laws, holding employers accountable when they cheat workers. But records show Stanton has had her own problems paying people who work for her.
The Team That Conquered Mexico, MLB-Style. How the 1907 White Sox popularized baseball in Mexico.
5 Simple Ways to Save Thousands of Lives (Nobody Does). Some are counterintuitive, but studies say they work.
Meatballs: An Oral History. The 1979 film laid the groundwork for Stripes, Ghostbusters, and dozens of other comedy classics.
Police punch 115 lb 5'2 teen girl with a backpack after mistaking her for 170lb 5'10 black male suspect with a machete. (via reddit)
How Newport, Kentucky Lost the Title of ‘Sin City.’ The investigation made national news, prompted Robert Kennedy to send in federal investigators, and revealed that Newport's organized criminal masterminds were working on a Three Stooges level.
The 5-Year Quest to Unglue the MacBook Pro’s Battery. You'll soon be able to keep the computer even after the battery goes bad.
Rebuilding the Great Wall of China. Take a photo tour of the current renovation project.
Artificial Intelligence Learns to Walk
Google's artificial intelligence entity is actually an algorithm on a graphics computer. It's colloquially called DeepMind after the company that runs it. The operators gave it three different forms and instructions to get from here to there, but didn't tell it how. The algorithm learned to walk all on its own! Sure, it's not at all graceful, but grace was not its goal. Like they say, if it looks stupid and it works, it's not stupid. But it is fun to watch, like a Looney Tunes cartoon or the game QWOP.
The humanoid form is the funniest. It had arms but no idea what to do with them, since they don't help it get from here to there. Still, you have to give props to a machine that can learn that well. Next, it will learn all our jobs. (via Metafilter)
Thursday, July 13, 2017
A World Without Net Neutrality
Here's what could happen is we lose net neutrality, although I would guess that the prices would be higher. This leaves out the back end, in that websites like Neatorama (and mine) would not be able to negotiate a ($$$) deal to get onto one of those tiers. Casual websites would go completely out of business, and you'll pay through the nose for others. The money would not go to the websites, either, but to the providers. They should be classified as a utility. What can you do? Let your voice be heard. (via reddit)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Deep Industry Ties of Trump’s Deregulation Teams.
10 Things From Around the World With the Names of U.S. States.
B3ta's current image challenge is called Product Horror, in which the goal is to combine a horror film with an advertisement for some other product. Some of the images may be NSFW.
A Few Things to Know About American Sign Language. It takes more than just your hands to get your message across.
The internet is pulling for a couple who have been Tinder chatting for three years. Even though they live on the same campus, they've yet to meet.
The National Park That Was Stolen to Death. Find out why you've never heard of Fossil Cycad National Monument.
The Strange and Righteous History of the Equals Sign. Robert Recorde opened the door for math to have its own language, which is understood by people all over the world.
Scientists Discover the Secret Behind Incredible Ant Towers. They actually fed radioactive iodine to some of the ants in order to track them by X-ray.
80-Person Human Chain Rescues Ten from Riptide. Now that's what you call teamwork!
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Over-the-top TV News Entrance
The Portuguese TV network SIC celebrated their 25th anniversary by staging an epic opening for their July 7 newscast. Newscaster Bento Rodrigues is in the water and the streets of Aveiro with multiple cameras going for this live shot. Yet he never hesitates, never stops talking as he makes his way to the outdoor news set. Maybe someone who knows Portuguese could let us know what he's saying. The YouTube auto-translate feature is really no help. (via Digg)
Hilarious Science Fails
It's wonderful how amateur science experiments are recorded on video these days, so we all can enjoy the mayhem when things go wrong. This video is a compilation of science experiments that did not go exactly as planned, from Fail Army. The one that made me laugh the hardest is at 4:20, and did not involve a failed experiment, just a failed experimenter. That said, many of these experiments worked exactly as expected, but only went wrong because of inadequate precautions. When you're dealing with potentially explosive materials, stand back and wear your safety goggles. Remember, propulsion does not automatically include aim. And don't try this at home, like many of these people did. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Miss Cellania's Links
Most Republicans now say that higher education has a negative effect on America. That's a startling change from 2015.
The Devastation of Black Wall Street. The prosperous black district of Greenwood in Tulsa was burned to the ground in 1921.
I Found Seven Skeletons in My Dining Room in 1874. No wonder no one could sleep in that part of the house. (via Strange Company)
A Violent 15th-Century Freshman Hazing Ritual Involving Boar Tusks and Razors.
The original Planet Of The Apes series became more daring from movie to movie. It wasn't easy to improve on the near-perfect original story.
This Change to Google Maps Is a Win for Americans with Disabilities. Android users can contribute to accessibility information.
What if Hollywood movies were created by artificial intelligence? You can see what a neural might come up with, with the AI Movie Poster Generator.
Our enduring obsession with Amelia Earhart's mysterious disappearance. Maybe it's the human conceit that we should be able to figure out everything.
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
The 100 Greatest Props in Movie History, and the Stories Behind Them. Propmasters, producers, actors, and others tell the tales. (via Metafilter)
The Strange, High-Pressure Work of Presidential Interpreters. They are expected to not only be highly skilled at languages, but also intuitive, trustworthy, dedicated, and knowledgeable in other areas.
The Massive Volcano That Scientists Can't Find. There are conflicting clues, so no one knows for sure what happened in 1465.
Food Courts Are Out; Food Halls Are In. Yes, they are different.
11 Monuments to Cats. They all deserve to be remembered.
The Hidden Rules of the Puritan Fashion Police. Any time fashions changed, new laws were put in place to forbid them.
Spike is a stag beetle in Japan who creates artwork. And he has a fan club on the internet.
John Margolies traveled the United States and took pictures of roadside amenities, attractions, and architecture from 1969 to 2008, leaving a singular archive of 20th-century Americana. These include buildings made in the shapes of the things they sold, odd tourist attractions, themed restaurants and hotels, and other oddities offered to travelers. (via Metafilter)
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