Tuesday, March 28, 2023
The Real Church Ladies of Burndale
The drama queens of high school and the real housewives crowd ain't got nothin' on the ladies of the church. That goes double when they've known each other since childhood. I know, because I am one of those church ladies. While the real drama is not quite as blatant as this skit from It's a Southern Thing, it's simmering beneath the surface, possibly over the course of many years. The good news is that for every drama queen, there are many others who stay silent and keep their egos in check for the greater purpose. Still, if someone were to launch a reality TV show about a church, this type of woman would bag the starring roles, because we love to watch epic dysfunctionality wherever it may arise. Bless their hearts.
Confessions of an Idiom
What happens when the elephant in the room confronts the skeleton in the closet? That’s far from the only turns of speech that go head-to-head in this sequence. Someone who is just learning English would be completely baffled! This award-winning video was made by Amanda Koh and Mollie Helms at Ringling College of Art + Design. (via Metafilter)
Tweet of the Day
(via Fark)I think this cat was caught cheating. pic.twitter.com/U2tXLF7vSv
— Jaz🛡️🌐🔗 (@Jazzie654) March 24, 2023
Monday, March 27, 2023
A Trip to the Pet Shop
— ONT WTF (@OntWtf) March 24, 2023
Kael Schoerlin has a remote control car with a camera and a transparent cargo bed and he's not afraid to use it. When he ran out of fish food, he sent the car to get it! The car doesn't have a speaker, but can communicate pretty well by opening its bed and tooting its horn. It also has a tiny "driver" wearing a cowboy hat that can nod when prompted. The employees at Petco were delighted to be visited by a toy buying food for a fish, and even more delighted when it responded to them, even in its own limited way.
The original video is at TikTok. See other adventures of the little blue car.
Mochi
Mochi is a munchkin cat bred in China and imported to the US. She developed ischemic dermatopathy which caused parts of her body to rot. Mochi lost her ears, her tail, and her right rear leg, and was sent to a shelter. Greg McDouglas, who describes himself as a dog person, fell in love with Mochi and he and his fiancee Natalia adopted her. It didn't matter to then that Mochi had missing parts and some lingering physical challenges. You can see more of Mochi at Instagram.
Immortality
How High Can a Kia Jump?
Witnessed and recorded the most INSANE car crash yesterday, you can see Autopilot also swerve and avoid the rouge tire for me $TSLA pic.twitter.com/csMh2nbRNX
— Anoop (@Anoop_Khatra) March 25, 2023
Anoop Khatra caught this spectacular crash Thursday on the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Los Angeles. Notice how the tire came back a second time to get one last punch. The Kia Soul was certainly engineered to handle this kind of accident. We can see the curtain airbags deployed. And the driver was able to walk away. (via reddit)
Miss Cellania's Links
If you should see a photo of Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, it ain't her. I'm sure you are disappointed that something on the internet turned out not to be true. (via Strange Company)
MIT tested 1,000 Oreo cookies to crack the mystery of the best way to eat one. (via reddit)
Everything you think you know about homelessness is wrong. (via Nag on the Lake)
25 Weird Old-Timey Life Hacks. Some could even get you killed.
Why Are All Action Heroes Named Jack, James, or John? (via Metafilter)
Channel Drift: What Happened to all Those Cable Channels?
Why Did States Require Blood Tests for Marriage Licenses?
The Secret to Sizzling Fajitas Shouldn’t Shock Anyone. Don't let that put a fizzle on your sizzle, though.
Dancing at Rupp Arena
Peyton delights the crowd with his dancing at Kentucky’s Sweet Sixteen state high school basketball tournament in Lexington. Go Peyton!
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)I typed Donald Trump doing ballet into an AI app and this is what it generated. I’m not sure what this means, but I know I wanted you to see it. pic.twitter.com/3fSVcKSZhz
— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) March 24, 2023
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Where Alcoholic Drinks Got Their Names
When archaeologists discovered an 800-year-old winery in Georgia (the country, not the state), linguists weren't the least bit surprised. They had already traced the modern word "wine" back to the region and the era by reverse-engineering it, since it occurs in various forms in so many other languages Linguists are a clever bunch. Some of our terms for alcoholic beverages are indeed ancient, while the origins of others are just a matter of deciphering the historical record. PBS's Otherwords gives us a quick lesson in how alcoholic drinks got their names. I'll drink to that! (via Laughing Squid)
Agnodice, the Ancient Greek Doctor
Agnodice was a literary figure who may or may not have been based on a real person. She had to cross dress to get an education and to practice, but also filled a need for women patients who didn't want to expose themselves to strange men. The story of her trial seems so typical: women like this doctor, so let's try him for seduction. Oh, the doctor is a woman? Well, she must be innocent of seduction, but let's find another charge against her, like cross dressing.
Gaius Julius Hyginus most likely wrote the story as a springboard for a discussion of the propriety of a woman doctor vs. the need for women doctors, a valid debate at the time. That discussion devolved into whether Agnodice should be classified as a doctor or a midwife, which was silly anyway because there were no standards or licensing of either in ancient Greece, just a hierarchy of "importance" based on gender.
This comic is from Ryan North at Dinosaur Comics. (Thanks, WTM!)
Stereotypes
The Never-Ending Property
One sure way to get people talking about a house listing is to make a music video about it. Realtor Claire Cossey did just that for a home in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, UK. As she walks through the house, she sings "The Never Ending Property," which is not literal, but a parody of the 1984 Limahl song "The Never Ending Story." Cossey, a former nightclub singer, has a pretty good voice, but the odd lyrics and the entire concept of a musical real estate ad made the video go viral.
As for the house itself, it has five bedrooms and more than 2700 interior square feet. But the ceiling and doorways could be a problem for anyone six feet tall. Is it worth £700,000? (via Metafilter)
Conversation with a Kitten
Why would you want to spend two minutes watching a guy saying meow and petting a kitten? Because Molly the Bengal kitten is so appealing, and quite talkative. This video is a lovely interlude in whatever you’re doing today. (via Daily Picks and Flicks)
Tweet of the Day
(via Fark)cronchy stapler pic.twitter.com/lVOSsk6Rzu
— cats being weird little guys (@weirdlilguys) March 22, 2023
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Weird Innovations in Pizza
Pizza has been around for hundreds of years. First conceived in Naples, Italy, it was improved with tomato sauce and became an American staple food. The competition between pizza parlors and other providers has reached a fever pitch, leading to competition over the "next big thing" in pizza, whether it's a better recipe, faster delivery, reduced labor costs, or the most outrageous advertising gimmick. Weird History Food abandons trying to tell the complete history of pizza in order to bring us the most innovative and bizarre recent pizza schemes, all in the name of making us crave a hot and tasty slice of pizza. They weren't all successful, or even edible, but they do show some thinking outside the pizza box.
A Tiny Pygmy Marmoset
The pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey species in the world. Native to the rainforests of Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, they are small enough that an adult can fit in the palm of your hand. The Rare Species Conservatory Foundation took in a baby pygmy marmoset a few years ago who was rejected by her mother because she is deaf. She wouldn't have much of a chance on her own, but has found a permanent home and safety. Ninita gives us a glimpse into the tiny adorable life of a pygmy marmoset.
If you want to learn more about marmosets, or if you just want to watch these extremely cute monkeys living their best lives, Metafilter has a ton of links for you. Don't forget to play this song.
No Hope
How the Witness Protection Program Works
Witness protection is crucial for certain legal cases, when testifying against someone might endanger your life. So we have the federal Witness Security Program top make sure that doesn't happen, and that witnesses don't have to risk their lives to tell the truth. WITSEC has never lost a witness who complied with their rules. Half as Interesting goes through how the process works. And we find out that a My Blue Heaven situation actually happened at least once. The last minute of this video is an ad. (via Digg)
Teen Drivers in Their Natural Habitat
You say you never text while driving. You should still worry, because these teenagers are out there on the same roads you drive. While it happens to all age groups, teenagers are most likely to believe they are more competent than they really are. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety issued a report on teen drivers who crash due to distracted driving. This video is a sampling of some of those crashes, which are mostly due to cell phone use, and the horrible habit of texting while driving. The very first thing any new driver should learn is the importance of constant observation. Traffic is like a complicated mass dance, with most of the dancers at less-than-professional level. So you have to not only see where you are going, but where everyone else on the road is, front, back, and sides, plus where they are going and how fast. The ability to map that dance takes constant observation and a lot of practice.
The video analysis detailed in the report found that distracted driving contributes to four times as many accidents as indicated through police reports. And you can see that many of these accidents will never involve a police report, as there is often no other car involved. Of course, what intrigued me was how they got so much video of crashes that weren’t staged. The explanation is in the report:
Lytx, a company that has been collecting data using in-vehicle event recorders (IVERs) for over a decade, provided the crash data. Their DriveCam system collects video, audio and accelerometer data when a driver triggers the device by hard braking, fast cornering, or an impact that exceeds a certain g-force. Each video is 12-seconds long, and provides information on the 8 seconds before and 4 seconds after the trigger. The system has a wide range of applications—families use them to help young drivers as they begin to drive independently, while over 500 commercial and government fleets employ them for fleet management.Such a system seems like it might be a good idea for probationary drivers, maybe for a year or until they prove their competence. (via Viral Viral Videos)
Crashes examined in this study involved drivers aged 16-19 who were participating in a teen driving program that involved the use of a DriveCam system. Ltyx made 6,842 videos of crashes that occurred between August 2007 and July 2013 available for review. In order to reduce this number and to eliminate minor curb strikes from the analysis, those crashes in which the vehicle sustained forces less than 1g were excluded. Crashes in which the DriveCam equipped vehicle was struck from behind were excluded. Additional videos were excluded for other reasons (e.g., animal strikes, video problems, or the driver not being a teen). A total of 1,691 moderate-to-severe crashes met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed for the current study.
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)The Pyramid from above. pic.twitter.com/ylD88dH14e
— Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele) March 18, 2023
Friday, March 24, 2023
Rollerman
Jean-Yves Blondeau invented a roller suit consisting of body protection and 32 wheels distributed over the body. He introduced it to the world in 1995, and custom-builds them for skating enthusiasts ever since. Yes, they are very expensive. You may have seen these suits in movies, variety shows, or the occasional public relations stunt. Now you can not only learn the story behind the suit, but watch the Rollerman show it off.Even at age 52, Blondeau takes the suit out buggyrollin. Make sure you watch at least until the night time version is shown. (via Nag on the Lake)
Sign at Work
Cat Meets New Baby
Cats, even cats who hate strangers, will instinctively make allowances for babies, whether they are kittens, puppies, humans, or other creatures. Nick Filippou gives us a compilation of clips showing how the family's cat Minnie reacted when their newborn daughter arrived. Minnie was curious but cautious, and quickly fell in love with the new family member. Filippou runs the website i iz cat and draws cartoons featuring Minnie and the rest of the family. (via Laughing Squid)
March Madness
Big Shark
Twenty years after his debut film The Room, Tommy Wiseau has directed a second movie. He also stars in it. Big Shark is the story of three New Orleans firefighter who try to save the city from a big shark. Which you will see in the trailer, swimming down a road in the Big Easy. Big Shark, which has been in production since 2019, will be introduced theater by theater, beginning on April 2 in Portland, Oregon. Wiseau will personally introduce the film at subsequent theaters for an eight-month road tour. The plan is to tweak the movie before the “Official Final Cut Version” is released to theaters much later this year. (via Uproxx)
Miss Cellania's Links
40 Pictures of Cats with Human Babies. Squee!
Beau gets a little charged up talking about what kids should learn in school.
Penny Lick: the deceptive, dirty ice cream ware. (via Boing Boing)
In Congress, breaking unwritten rules that encouraged civility and enabled things to get done is becoming the new normal.
The Boy Who Was Kissed to Death.
The New Yorkers fighting to protect Chinatown. Plans to build a billion-dollar mega-jail threaten a neighborhood that's been a safe haven for Chinese immigrants since the 1870s. (via Digg)
Congratulations to the 2023 International Mollusc of the Year. Read about the Chilean abalone, plus the four other finalists. (via Metafilter)
The World's Largest Organism Is Slowly Being Eaten. (via Neatorama)
51 Astounding Animal Facts
A ferret played a crucial role in building our National Accelerator Laboratory. There’s a crab that comes with its own pompons. There are 11,000 species of bats. When hyenas laugh, it doesn’t mean anything funny. The difference between kangaroos and wallabies may surprise you. This week’s mental_floss List Show gives us a quick rundown of things you don’t really need to know about animals, but you’ll want to, because they are quite interesting.
Tweet of the Day
(via Bored Panda)Whoever said life is about the journey not the destination has never been on mile 6 of a 3.5-mile hike
— Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources (@waDNR) March 13, 2023
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Universal Movie Monsters
The recognizable looks of many classic horror characters came from Universal Studios. The movie studio began cranking out monster movies in 1931 with Dracula, which was a huge hit. Hoping to catch lightening in a bottle twice, Frankenstein followed. Universal had found its winning formula. Monster movies were inexpensive to film and the returns were phenomenal. They followed those successes with The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and The Wolf Man. In the 1940s, Universal institutes the concept of the sequel and the crossover, further solidifying their monsters in the public's perception. Science fiction was melded into the genre in the 1950s. In this video, we get the chronological history of Universal Studios' monster movies and how they captured the world.
Blind Kitten Brothers
Four-week-old littermates George and Hamilton had eye infections that were so bad their eyesights couldn't be saved. Nicole was supposed to be their foster mother, but couldn't bear to give up the two blind kittens. They've grown and adapted in amazing ways. They chirp to call each other and let their location be known. Otherwise, they act like normal cats, if your vision of a normal cat is one who is friendly, affectionate, and welcoming to strangers. These boys are now two years old and still thriving. You can see a lot more of George, Hamilton, and Nicole's foster kittens at Instagram.
The Arctic Balloon Expedition
In the 19th century, there was a race to be the first to reach the North Pole. That quest was finally accomplished by Robert Peary in 1909. That expedition followed many others that were unsuccessful. In 1897, S. A. Andrée had the bright idea to just fly to the North Pole using the only available air vehicle of the time, a balloon. What could possibly go wrong? The three-man Arctic balloon expedition set off from Svalbard in July of that year, determined to bring glory to Sweden by reaching the North Pole. They were not seen again until 1933.
Miss Cellania's Links
Saber-Toothed Marsupial Predator Compensated for Its Teeth With Cow Eyes.
We’ve Got What It Takes to End Poverty in America. The hard part is the politics—and complacency—says author Matthew Desmond. (via Fark)
The adorable scamps of the Republican Circus. The latest from Tom the Dancing Bug.
See the New Moonwalk Spacesuit Designed for NASA’s Artemis Program.
Gunned down and burned by the Nazis: the shocking true story of Bambi. (via Damn Interesting)
A Map of Places in the US with the Same Name. Find out if your town is the most famous of its name. (via Neatorama)
Something Extremely Goofy Happens When You Ask Google's Bard AI To Generate Images. It's not only incompetent, it lied about it. (via Fark)
Uptown Funk Treadmill Dance
Carson Dean has quite the skill -he can dance even when the floor is moving underneath him! Watch him get down to “Uptown Funk” without losing his balance even the slightest bit. Don’t believe me? Just watch! (via Viral Viral Videos)
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)Most people are looking at this and admiring the interaction. I am watching and thinking, lord, I hope that is a very tiny primate and not a giant insect.
— LizzyL (@egallag) August 11, 2022
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
How James Cameron Sank the Titanic
I didn't see Titanic in its first run, because I already knew how it ended- the boat sank. But watching the boat sink was a breathtaking experience. It was bigger, longer, and more dramatic than the audience's imagination could conceive, but not beyond James Cameron's imagination. He supervised every detail down to the shortest clip to ensure maximum drama while retaining plausibility. When you spend $200 million to make a movie, you don't want to leave anything to chance. Cameron made sure to get the most bang for the buck. (via Digg)
Shower
Honest Trailer: EEAAO
You probably knew that the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once won almost all the Oscars at this year's Academy Awards (seven major awards). If you haven't seen the movie, you might be wondering what all the hoopla is about. Screen Junkies has you covered with this Honest Trailer. Just kidding; you will probably be just as confused after you see it. Is EEAAO a comedy, science fiction, action-adventure, a superhero film, martial arts, or a family drama? All of those, actually. Any selection of clips they could have shown us would be nonsensical, but ask anyone who has seen the movie, and they will tell you that it really all comes together in a way that wins Oscars.
Miss Cellania's Links
What If the Person Who Named Walkie Talkies Named Everything? (via Boing Boing)
A review of the movie Tetris, from a film critic who had never even heard of the game. (via Kottke)
Holstein calf with smiling face markings lands role as farm lawnmower for life. (via reddit)
Everyone Wants My Little Danny.
The hilarious story of 1908 "fake rescue dog" who pushed children into the Seine and then rescued them for steak rewards.
Use Your SodaStream to Extend the Life of Greens. (via Kottke)
The Long History of the Figurative 'Literally'—and 8 Great Writers Who Used It. Maybe it will lower your blood pressure about the subject.
A Twitter Gallery of All the US Presidents as Comic Book Villains. Or at Threadreader, if you prefer. (via Fark)
My Name is Bond. James Bond.
Lottie the African grey parrot has been watching a few James Bond movies! She’s got the voice down, the phrase, and even the theme song. But does she understand the implications of channeling the world’s greatest spy? Maybe not. She has to ask: “What’s that all about?” (via Tastefully Offensive)
Tweet of the Day
This is Squire. He's struggling a bit at his new job because they use Windows instead of Mac. Also because he cannot read. 12/10 pic.twitter.com/cmju1UxlaM
— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) March 13, 2023
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
The BBC on the Slow Mo Guys
The Slow Mo Guys, Gavin Free and Dan Gruchy, have been bringing us fascinating videos for years. The BBC brings us a retrospective of some of their wildest stunts captured on their high-speed cameras. We also learn a bit about how they do it, which is more complicated than you might think on a digital high-speed camera. We also get to meet their newest toy, a high-speed robotic camera arm. As to why they do it, well, it's fun, and 14 million YouTube subscribers is nothing to sneeze at. (via Damn Interesting)
To Spring
We have crossed the vernal equinox, and spring is here! Never mind that the temperature is still below freezing at night. Get in the mood with this 1936 MGM cartoon. (via Boing Boing)
Ben Stiller in Encino Man
The 1992 movie Encino Man could have been a lot different. Ben Stiller was in the lead to get the role of the caveman, and made this screen test. So why didn't Stiller get the role? The filmmakers started to explain that Stiller didn't appear in the movie because of a scheduling conflict, but then went all in on how they just really wanted Brendan Fraser after seeing his screen test. Pauly Shore found this sequence in his archives just a few days ago and decided to let us all in on what might have been. (via Cracked)
I Want You Bach
In this video, the Piano Guys go for Baroque with a mashup that spans a couple of centuries: The Jackson Five and Johann Sebastian Bach. The result just proves that good music is good music, no matter when or where it came from. That’s one rockin’ harpsichord! (via Viral Viral Videos)
Tweet of the Day
(Thanks, WTM!)With a length of 8 km, the Phu Quoc cable car route is the longest non-stop three-way cable car in the world.
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) March 7, 2023
Me no! Would you dare?
pic.twitter.com/0xoDFUYGS6
Monday, March 20, 2023
How American Pizza is Promoted Overseas
It might make you Americans feel a bit strange how our foods are advertised elsewhere as exotic. This ad from Netherlands shows how Big Americans pizza will make you feel like a cowboy, or football player, or something. Especially since that pizza is tiny. (via reddit)
Actual Origins of Ethnic Foods
America immigrants brought cuisine from their native lands, and shared it with everyone. Once a new dish caught on outside an ethnic enclave, it became American. Often somewhere along the way, someone would change it a little to make it simple, faster, sweeter, or conform to the ingredients available. There are also purely American food innovations that were labeled as being from some other place to made it more alluring. The result of all this is a bunch of American dishes with ethnic-sounding names and complicated backstories that have been lost to time. But not always- Weird Food History digs up those stories so we can know and enjoy our favorite dishes no matter whether they are "authentic" or not.
Miss Cellania's Links
The Art of Ventriloquism Involves a Steep Learning Curve.
1907: The $500 Reward for a Kips Bay Kitten. Everyone and their brother tried to collect that reward. (via Strange Company)
30 Ridiculous, Creepy Or Gross Real Estate Photos.
St. Gertrude of Nivelles, the Patron Saint of Cats.
The 1970s Cow Mutilation Mystery. There was a perfectly reasonable explanation. (via Damn Interesting)
History's Last Knight in Shining Armor: The Odd Story of Josef Mencik the Knight Who Stood Up Against Nazi Germany in 1938. (via Strange Company)
The Gag Reel from the Filming of Everything Everywhere At At Once.
Prices at the supermarket keep rising. So do corporate profits.
Shut Up and Dance
Here's a supercut of 89 of the most joyous dance scenes in film, all joyfully edited and synched to the song “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon. (via The Daily Dot)
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)旅支度を万全に整えて、どこでもドア🚪 pic.twitter.com/pYCvVVZrvV
— 豆本ドールハウス 3/18-19 大阪てづバ ひ-01 (@mame_lili_lily) February 8, 2023
Sunday, March 19, 2023
The Power of Music
Henry lived in a nursing home and spent his days sitting, unresponsive. The Music & Memory program got him an iPod and his transformation was amazing. He went from an occasional yes or no to singing and talking about his younger days!
Insured
Swiss Avalanche: Complete Burial and Rescue
In 2015, James Mort, Daniel O’Sullivan, Andrew, and Leonard went skiing on a meter of new snow in the Alps on the Swiss/French border. Mort was in front when a avalanche buried him. The whole story is here.
As the snow piled higher and higher, It became darker and darker until I was surrounded by an eerie black silence, broken only by the sound of my slow breathing and racing heartbeat.O’Sullivan was wearing a GoPro on his helmet and captured the action. (via reddit)
"Okay" I thought to myself;
"You’re dead."
I had a shovel and probe in my backpack and I was wearing a transceiver, however, the others were only carrying a shovel and probe. I was convinced that they would not find me in time. Unable to move I focused on slowing my breathing, relaxing and conserving oxygen. I felt bizarrely emotionless and wondered for a moment what death would be like. Then I remembered that I was reaching upwards with my left arm, ski pole still attached. I tried to wiggle my hand and I felt a ‘pop’ as the top 5cm of the pole broke the surface of the snow. Suddenly emotion flooded through me as I realised that Andrew, Dan and Leonard would be able to locate me under the snow if they saw the tip of the pole. However I still forced myself to remain calm as I sat in wait.
Tweet of the Day
(Thanks, WTM!)Smart mouse! 🤣pic.twitter.com/tnf7LBZfyX
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) March 7, 2023