Monday, February 03, 2025
Squirrel Attacks Burglar
Adam Pearl of Meridian, Idaho, came home to find evidence that his home had been burglarized- footprints in the snow, missing items, etc. His pet squirrel Joey was okay, though. As events unfolded, it turns out that Joey had acted as a guard dog, and repeatedly bit the suspect! He should get a "Beware of Squirrel" sign to warn off any future intruders. Joey is now regarded as a hero. (via Uproxx)
Comfort
(Thanks, WTM!)Awwww the cat comforts its best friend. pic.twitter.com/Qx0FK9BGpN
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) January 22, 2025
Sunday, February 02, 2025
An 1897 Snowball Fight
It may be hard to believe, but these people put on this snowball fight 128 years ago while being filmed in Lyon, France. The action was captured by the Lumière brothers, pioneers in the new art of motion pictures. It looks as if Hollywood made a period movie and the latest technology captured it as if we were right there with them. But don't be fooled. While the snowball fight was in 1897, the one-minute film titled Bataille de neige shot by the Lumière brothers didn't look like this at all. It was in black-and-white, with high contrast, with the quick stuttering movements typical of the time. Of course, it didn't have music, either. You can see the original here, although there has surely been some deterioration from what audiences in France saw in 1897.
The footage from the Lumière brothers was reprocessed by "a Russian amateur film restorer" in 2020 using artificial intelligence to make it seem more modern. The motion was smoothed out, gaps were filled in, and color was added. Yet it's still people from 1897 throwing those snowballs. These were actors putting on a show for the movies. We can imagine that people in the Victorian era might have had fun like this, but they would have been suspicious of a motion picture camera. (via Mental Floss)
A Special Occasion
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Over breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband, "I bet you don't know what day this is."
"Of course I do," he indignantly answered, going out the door to the office. At 10 AM, the doorbell rang and when the woman opened the door, she was handed a box containing a dozen long stemmed red roses. At 1 PM, a foil wrapped, two pound box of her favorite chocolates arrived. Later, a boutique delivered a designer dress. The woman couldn't wait for her husband to come home.
"First the flowers, then the chocolates and then the dress!" she exclaimed. "I've never had a more wonderful Groundhog Day in my life!"
How Do Fish Get Into Isolated Mountain Lakes?
Mammals walk, birds fly, and fish swim. But fish are restricted to living where there's water to live in. How did fish ever get to lake high up on mountainsides? Lake Titicaca is 12,507 feet above sea level, and it has fish. The water comes from glacial runoff and rain, but where did the fish come from? Even small mountain lakes have fish, and there have even been cases of fish living in lakes that dry up every year.
MinuteEarth gives us three possible scenarios in which fish from far away can end up living in isolated lakes, and the most likely scenario for a random mountain lake is also the most bizarre. I guess life finds a way. This video is only 2:40; the rest is an ad.
Dr. Strangelove Remix
Stanley Kubrick's Cold war satire Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb was a masterpiece of filmmaking that stands the test of time. If you don't have the time to re-watch the whole thing, enjoy the best lines of the movie (often rhyming, no less) in this musical remix by Eclectic Method with Martin Ware.
Martyn Ware, founder of Human League, Heaven 17, legendary producer of Tina Turner and Erasure, Multimedia artist and professor has teamed up with Eclectic Method to remix Dr. Strangelove. With relations between East and West at such an ambiguous point and the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight then it's been since the Cuban Missile Crisis what better time to revisit the Stanley Kubrick Classic. "Gentlemen, You can't fight in here this is war room!"
(via Laughing Squid)
Saturday, February 01, 2025
The Scientific Importance of Groundhogs
Tomorrow we have the only holiday dedicated to a rodent. Groundhog Day is actually about the weather, which we are more interested in than rodents this time of year, but in the United States, we have designated the groundhog as the animal most likely to forecast the weather for the rest of the winter.
The species Marmota monax goes by many names, but they are mostly called groundhogs these days, especially since that 1993 movie made the creature world famous. Groundhogs have been important in science, but not so much in meteorology. Groundhogs aren't all that great at weather forecasting. However, they have made a name in archaeology, since they are experts at digging, and in medical research, where they shine as research subjects. Savannah Geary of SciShow explains how valuable groundhogs really are. There's a 40-second ad at 3:33. The video actually ends at 8:32, but you'll be glad you continued watching after that. It will eventually make sense, except for that part where she takes a swig of what appears to be pickle juice.
Fireproof Pineapple Shoes
Did you know that pineapple skins are fireproof? I didn't, either, until I saw this video. Connor Creates had to test this assertion, along with other fruits, to see if it was true. Pineapple held up pretty well to fire, so his next idea was to make a pair of shows out of pineapple skins and test them by walking over a bed of burning embers. Is this a really stupid idea? Yes it is, for several reasons. How do you make shoes out of pineapple skin? And if you could do it, just imagine your feet pressed against the delicious but acidic pineapple fruit. Not only is pineapple so acidic that your dentist will warn you about it, just imagine how slippery those shoes would be. But Connor pressed on, because a stupid idea is what the internet is for. (via Nag on the Lake)
Custom LEGO Roller Coaster Dinosaur Amusement Park
James Burrows built a working LEGO roller coaster and set it in an amusement park filled with dinosaurs. Right there you have a hit: LEGO, roller coaster, and dinosaurs. This construction, seen at BrickFair Alabama 2017, uses around 125,000 LEGO pieces. But wait! There's more! This amusement park has secrets and extra features you would only find if you look closely, or if you listen to the interview. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Suddenly, Mobility!
(Thanks, WTM!)This dog's human made him a wheelchair, and his smiles say it all pic.twitter.com/bM3ZuGEqfX
— B&S (@_B___S) December 6, 2024
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