Thursday, March 31, 2011

Great Moments in April Fool's Day Online

The internet makes April Fool’s Day shenanigans accessible to millions of people, many of them quite gullible, as any spammer can attest. Here are some of the biggest and best internet pranks from the past few years, in a list I posted at mental_floss.




Funny Links

Fifty people, one questions. Times four. People seem most more honest and open when they don’t have time to overthink their answers. (via Breakfast Links)

Introducing the Whomp. No, I don’t really get it, either, but I wish I’d been there.

A YouTube collaboration turns the Double Rainbow Song into something beautiful.

When you use word processing software, you can justify, align left, align right, or center your text. But why center your text when you can centaur it? (via The Daily What)

Jackie Kashian is the anti-crazy pet person.

The revolutionary movements of the Middle East, explained by the cast of the game Angry Birds in a retro-animation cartoon set to the tune of the Three Little Pigs. Does that make it all clear now?

Twin baby boys are having a conversation. It’s good that they understand each other, because none of the rest of us can.

A Dog with An Inside Voice.

What’s the difference between a turtle and a tortoise? Watch these to find out -especially the cute one riding around on a turntable.

Extreme Murals & Painted Buildings. All it takes is a competent artist, a clear building title, liberal zoning laws, and understanding neighbors.

Shakespearian Baseball Game


A 1958 Wayne and Shuster skit. (via Nag on the Lake)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Good Reads and Information

Brilliant Inventions that Look Like Gag Gifts. Would you believe... a helicopter ejector seat? A solar-powered flashlight? An inflatable anchor? (via The Daily What)

Public Restroom Options, Ranked. (via Bits and Pieces)

Epic Literary Flame Thread. The comment section of this book review is a textbook example of how NOT to act when your book receives a less-than-stellar review. (via Cynical-C)

Army Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth was a dashing figure, a 24-year-old leader of men, and a friend of Abraham Lincoln. He was also the first Union officer killed in the U.S. Civil War, which affected the president terribly.

The Origin of Air Conditioning. For which we will be forever grateful, once this winter weather is over.

6 TV Shows You Won’t Believe Saved People’s Lives. Hey, wherever you pick up lifesaving information is OK with me!

This is where you learn how to butle: The International Butler Academy. (via Everlasting Blort)

Mugshots from Sydney, Australia in the 1920s. The bad guys looked really bad, but most dressed classier than the biggest part of regular folks you will see all month.

Jeff Martin produced the largest indoor photograph ever: a 40-gigapixel, 360-degree image of the main hall of the 868-year-old Strahov monastery library in Prague, Czech Republic. Almost 3,000 images were shot over five days and then stitched together to make the mega-picture. (via The Daily What)

Horse Feathers Trailer


The Marx Brothers, from 1932.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

10 Clever and Confusing Flowcharts

It’s been almost a year since I shared my ever-growing collection of helpful and not-so-helpful flowcharts found on the internet. The list has grown, and some of the latest flowcharts explain everything from how to date your cousin to picking up food from the floor. See ten of these in this list I posted at mental_floss.


  

Links for Fun

The Lion on Gripsholm's Slott. Don't ever hire a taxidermist who's never seen an animal like yours.

Animator Sally Cruikshank drew every cel and background for for 1975 animation Quasi at the Quackadero. The job took two years, but the result was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. And it’s on YouTube. (via Gorilla Mask)

Murder for Hire.

In horror movies, you realize the call is coming from inside the house! and a chill runs down your spine. When it happens in real life at work, it can be altogether hilarious.

Make sure your next erection is in safe hands. (via b3ta)

Musicians from the Rock and Worship Road Show 2011 filled up their free time by singing in the hotel hallways. Here’s a Beatles cover you might enjoy.

Double Moonbow! What does it mean? (via Fark)

GIRP is almost, but not quite, as difficult to play as QWOP. It was designed by the same guy, so you know it’s a maddening game. (via Metafilter)

ABC News and People Magazine released the results of an online poll about the best movies of all time. Over half a million votes were cast in many categories. (via Roger Ebert)

Our Shrinking World


A travelogue from 1946.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Interesting and Informative Links

5 Science Experiments Gone Wrong. The short version: oops, bad idea, bad idea, total nutcase, and poor public perception.

Affordable Art from Some of the World’s Most Famous Artists. The same artists who command millions for some works also produce other stuff they know will sell fast.

A beautiful time-lapse video of the Aurora Borealis. Terje Sorgjerd shot this over a week’s time in Norway near the Russian border.

7 Companies That Fired Their Spokesmen. When planning your ad campaigns, remember that celebrities don’t become famous by their normality and circumspection.

A year ago, I linked to a Metafilter thread in which the forum banded together to avert disaster for two young women from Russia. Now those who were there tell the entire story. One NSFW image. (via Cynical-C)

5 Reasons Humanity Is Terrible at Democracy. What’s worse, these things are used to manipulate the perceptions of the citizens toward various ends. NSFW text.

5 Awful Saturday Night Live Hosts. Of course, that only became apparent after the episode aired. Live.

Justice doesn't always work the way they portray it on Law & Order: SVU. (via Breakfast Links)

The 10 Worst Products For Men Ever Created. If they didn’t kill him, they would at least undermine his confidence. (via Everlasting Blort)

How do “natural” non-sugar sweeteners stack up? Like artificial sweeteners, they all vary in calories, effect on diabetics, and what happens when you bake cookies with them. (via Lifehacker)

Where Did the Peace Symbol Come From? From very carefully crafted symbolism you might not be familiar with.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Animals on Piano

My kitten waits until long after everyone is retired for the night and then announces to the entire house that someone forgot to close the piano. She is only one in a long line of talented and not-so-talented creatures who play piano. See a collection of them in these videos I posted at mental_floss.




Creeping Pillow


So, what can you do when your headrest walks away? (via Arbroath)

Friday, March 25, 2011

Friday Fun Links

Midnight was born missing part of one leg, and then was so neglected by his owner that he was seized by authorities. The adorable horse was close to being euthanized when the staff at Ranch Hand Rescue came up with a plan to get Midnight a new leg.

Do Not Touch the Frog. National Geographic photographer Mark Moffett went to find a very poisonous frog, but his awesomely funny adventures along the way will make you forget it’s a 16-minute video. (via Boing Boing)

The Wire was a very popular TV show on HBO from 2002 to 2008. If it had been published as a serialized Victorian novel, it would read like this.

Aled Lewis illustrates clever puns and jokes with pictures of toys. See more at his blog Aled Knows Best. (via Nag on the Lake)

Star Wars public service posters. My favorite is the one you might see in an alien health department: “If you don’t know who your father is, anyone could be your sister.” (via Geekologie)

Julian Assange is a Horrible Houseguest. I’ve had acquaintances like that. (via Breakfast Links)

An android, meaning the Android phone mascot, dances up a storm. Impressive, for a guy in an inflatable costume!

Nick Pitera can sing like anyone: a guy, a girl, or even inanimate objects. Put them all together and you have a one-man Disney movie -at least the musical parts.

Misspelled words that only exist to make you laugh. And they will, indeed, succeed.

Russians thinks Americans smile too much, and therefore must be either mentally ill, deceptive, or insulting. But just maybe living in America is something worth smiling about. (via J-Walk Blog)

Walt Disney Studios spent $175 million on Mars Needs Moms, which opened to a $7 million weekend. There is no dearth of reasons why the movie was such a flop. (via Metafilter)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

9 More People Who Refused to be Limited

Some people love a challenge. Some people are handed challenges they never asked for. Whether from pride, passion, inspiration, or a combination of all those things, some people are willing to do what it takes to accomplish what they aren’t “supposed” to be able to do. I remember a phrase from my childhood, used as a comeback when someone is told they can’t or won’t do something- “You hide and watch me.” Here are nine folks who took those challenges and ran with them, in the latest chapter I posted of a continuing series at mental_floss.

Good Reads and Information


7 Songs with Fewer Than 35 Words. Which means you can totally memorize and sing them!

The lovely ladies who played basketball 100 years ago. And the men.

The Witch of Wall Street.

This guy lost his leg a year ago. Now he has a new one designed to look like The Terminator.

Randall Munroe of xkcd illustrates how much ionizing radiation we get from various activities, from eating a banana to receiving a fatal dose of fallout. The exponential differences should be reassuring to anyone who doesn’t live near Chernobyl. (via Bad Astronomy)

12 Things You Might Not Know About the Dust Bowl. History class didn’t cover it much, since there was also a depression and a European war brewing at the same time.

Hideaki Akaiwa couldn't wait for the authorities to save his wife after the tsunami. So he did it himself.

An Interactive Timeline of Middle East Protest Movements. Just in case you are a bit confused about what happened and when in the various countries experiencing civil unrest. (via Metafilter)

Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks it strange that our initial response to a natural disaster somewhere far away is to design a t-shirt.

4 Stories about America’s Best-Known Burger. Say it with me now: two all-beef patties….

Singing the Puppies to Sleep


Does it get any sweeter than this? (via Breakfast Links)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Funny Links

Build Your Wild Self. From the New York Zoo and Aquarium. (via Everlasting Blort)

The Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists.

Star Trek Kinect Dancer. You gotta dance like nobody's watching, except for a convention full of gamers and the entire internet.

"Your grocery store thinks you are a moron, and here are 6 examples of how".

American movies are often re-titled for foreign audiences. In this quiz, you'll be given a foreign title of a US movie, translated into English. Can you guess what movie it was in the US? I scored 27 out of 30. (via mental_floss)

Top 20 Things White People Smell Like.

A particularly steep hill caused grief for many competitors at the BUCS Cycling Championships at Moelfre Hall Downhill Track in Wales. If you think the hill doesn’t look all that steep in this video, notice the angle of the spectators.

This is the supercut of movie clips in which someone says the title of the movie. See if you can find the one that was said in the wrong film.

Transform is one WEIRD game. You have to try it -once. Maybe twice, because it changes depending on how fast you go.

A classic from National Lampoon: Nancy Reagan's Guide to Dating Dos and Don'ts. Guaranteed to frighten any gullible person "twixt twelve and twenty".

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Informative Links

Parents are anxious about everything to do with raising children, despite thousands of generations of parents who also didn’t have all the answers. This anxiety by itself can have negative consequences for growing children.

Can Bill Gates Buy a Better World? The Gates Foundation isn’t perfect, but there are success stories coming in about what that those billions can do.

The Tale of a Japanese Dog that Refused to Leave an Injured Friend. Have your hanky ready, but be assured they are both OK now. (via Breakfast Links)

Can You Pay Mommies and Daddies to Be Better Parents? An experiment in Chicago Heights is looking into the possibility that parents can be “incentivized” the way school students can be.

“Should I take potassium iodide pills to protect against radiation exposure?” Boing Boing posted an FAQ about the popular antidote and other radiation fears.

3 Colorful California Politicians. Believe me, it takes a lot of color to stand out from the crowd in California.

Hiding the Real Africa. Do organizations looking for support promote bad news at the expense of the entire continent? (via Metafilter)

How do you play football when you live in a floating village? You improvise, compromise, and put your heart into making it happen.

Isolation and solitude are two very different sides of the same coin. An occasional dose of solitude can improve memory, creativity, empathy, and focus.

An interactive map of Manhattan compares the city in old maps and new. Watch it grow in population, infrastructure, and physically by landfill. (via Metafilter)

Monday, March 21, 2011

Fun and Funny Links

The Origins of Genetic Quirks. The Sonic hedgehog gene is responsible for polydactylism in Hemingway cats. Got it? (Thanks, E Willse!)

A Brief History of Movie Title Design. Not so much a learning experience as a delightful interlude into Hollywood memories.

The annual Vasaloppet in Sweden is the largest cross-country ski race in the world. See a video of the more than 15,000 people who took part on March 6th. (via Dark Roasted Blend)

Animated biology class notes. Doodling a robot elephant is so much more fun than etoecology.

How to make a really big blanket. First, you need some really, really big knitting needles. (via Neatorama)

You may have to play Jorinapeka through at least once to get the hang of it. The goal is to clear the colored balls, but clearing other balls along the way brings you more points. (via Look at This)

Wisdom and experience helps you understand what sexy really means. All it takes is being open to better definitions. (via 9gag)

A classic: Nancy Reagan’s Guide to Dating Dos and Don’ts. Guaranteed to frighten any gullible person “twixt twelve and twenty”.

Biorn the elderly Viking is ready to die in battle and enter Valhalla. That’s not nearly as easy as it sounds.

Rob went away for six months and trusted his friend to look after his room while he was gone. He found this video upon his return. Audio NSFW. 

Chinito, Chinito


From the 1948 Mexican movie El Ángel caído (The Fallen Angel). From the YouTube page:
Not imaginatively shot or edited, the pleasure comes from the campy song itself, the attractive Quintana (with some killer legs!) and the spritely choreography (uncredited but possibly the work of Julian de Meriche, who appears in the movie as an actor). And where else do you get to see someone singing in Spanish with a faux-Chinese accent!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Friday Fun Links

The 20 Best Supermarket Fails. A marketing background is not required for one to make grocery signs, but don’t you just love seeing a sign that’s worth whipping out the camera for?

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost try to recreate Star Wars. The one scene they completed doesn’t quite live up to the original. (via Geeks Are Sexy)

Mom blows her nose, and baby doesn’t know whether to be amused or horrified. Which makes for a hilariously adorable video.

The Biggest Microwave Bottle Explosion Yet. Don’t try this at home, or anywhere else.

Cyriak made a new set of bumpers for Adult Swim. There’s cows and aliens and recursion and all that you’d expect in short doses.

Star Trek Kinect Dancer. You gotta dance like nobody’s watching, except for a convention full of gamers and the entire internet.

Change One Letter. Mark Longmire's project to see how silly he can make businesses in Knoxville look.

The most obvious news headline ever.

This home for sale comes with a garage door opener that is powered by electricity. You won’t believe how that electricity gets to the garage door opener.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

12 Non-Basketball March Madness Brackets

We love March Madness! We love it so much that we can’t restrict it to just a basketball tournament. See, citizens of the internet love to make charts and graphs (which includes tournament brackets), and they love reader participation polls. Some of these tournaments want your vote to select the winner, others are just for grins. Find a dozen such tournaments (actually more than that) in this list I posted at mental_floss.

St. Patrick's Day Links (Thursday)

Unusual St. Patrick's Day Celebrations. From Arkansas to the Caribbean to Japan, everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day!

The Adventures of St. Patrick. The real story of the real man beats leprechauns and green beer any day.

Who's the better snake fighter: St. Patrick or Samuel L. Jackson?

Cooking with beer: St. Patty's Day recipes for what ales you. (via Fark)

St. Patrick's Day Drinking Advice. (via Gorilla Mask)

Putting a beloved dog through a guilt trip is a delicate task, yet sometimes necessary. I bet the cats would never feel this sorry about any transgression.

Mom learns a new emoticon.

How to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day Like an Irishman


Have a great holiday!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Informative Links

The biggest earthquake ever in Japan was also the most scientifically documented. Data shows that the shock deformed the earth’s shape and shifted its axis.

Vanity Fair looks at 4chan. Or, at least that what you think when you see this article, but it’s mainly about Anonymous.

The Salton Sea was once a popular tourist attraction, before it filled with salt and toxic chemicals. Now one woman is working to bring the visitors back with some innovative ideas for saving the sea.

How “Dungeons & Dragons” changed my life. Gen X looks back with nostalgia and appreciation. (via TYWKIWDBI)

Mental_floss author Stacy Conradt managed to find the time to run the Disney Princess half-marathon at Walt Disney World in Florida. The event raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Stacy got a tiara!

The story of the first moving pictures involves horse racing, a “crime of passion” killing, and prize money. Of course, nudie movies came very soon afterward.

Photographer John C.H. Grabill took pictures of the American West between 1887 and 1892. They are now in the public domain, so we can get a glimpse of the frontier days. (via the Presurfer)

From Single Cells, a Vast Kingdom Arose. The short version of how all animals came to be.

Mary Todd Lincoln was a Shopaholic! (and other First Lady facts) It’s a pretty cushy job with perks and few responsibilities, until your eccentricities go into the history books.

Form Constants and the Visual Cortex. Science explains why hallucinations tend to be similar no matter what the cause or the cultural background of the visualizer. (via Metafilter)

Why do we sing the National Anthem at sporting events? Or, at least some of us try to!

I've Got Ants in My Plans


The Ant and the Aardvark, from 1970.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Ides of March

Today is March 15th, which is known as the Ides of March. So, what does that mean, exactly? And how are we supposed to celebrate? Find out in this article I wrote for mental_floss.


Funny Links

Madison gives us a tutorial on how to put on makeup with brushes. I only recommend this video because our expert Madison is five years old.

The Fantastic Mr. Starfox. This is why most science fiction filmmakers limit the amount of introspection allowed. (via Metafilter)

Attention, sword-swallowers, fire-eaters, and blockheads! Ripley’s Believe It Or Not is auditioning skilled sideshow freaks to work in their Odditorium.

The most innovative real estate ad ever. Probably NSFW. (via Breakfast Links)

Geek convergence: The day Ken Jennings met Whil Wheaton. "I think he and Geordi had to reverse the polarity on the shields, or something, to make this happen)."

College Humor ranked the top 100 comedy films of all time according to reader’s votes. If you haven’t seen them all, this could help fill out your Netflix queue.

Press all the dots. And press them again. When was through, I wanted to start all over! (via reddit)

In knocking over dominoes, more is always better, but creative techniques for making them look different is even better! This video has both quality and quantity.

Do You Like Dog? It took a while, but now I like dog. (via the Presurfer)

Naughty menstrual humor. Prepare yourself. 

Police Save Dolphin. A short but happy story from New Zealand. (via Metafilter)

The Dynosphere


An invention from 1932 that didn't quite catch on. Read more about it here. (via Everlasting Blort)

Monday, March 14, 2011

Good Reads and Information

Happy Pi Day! Besides eating pie, there are plenty of ways to celebrate.

Ten percent of all people are left-handed, a ratio that holds up over generations. While we can correlate a lot of things with handedness, we still don’t know what causes it.

A scientist with lots of hair explains Schrodinger’s Cat and its quantum state. No cats were killed in the making of this thought experiment.

Ed Watson and Derence Kernek have been committed to each other for 40 years. Ed wants to marry before Alzheimer's robs him of the ability to recognize and remember his partner.

Dafna Linzer became an American citizen by remembering the official answers to the citizenship test -even though some are not exactly correct.

Atlas Obscura is hosting their second annual International Obscura Day on April 9, 2011. This is a day set aside for you to go on “expeditions, back-room tours and hidden treasures” in places near or not-so-near.

The 1966 hit “Walk Away Renee” was written by a lovesick 16-year-old harpsichord player, which is probably why it stuck with us. You have to wonder how that harpsichord part ever got synched with the bass line. (Thanks, Joe!)

Enjoy 52 photographs from Carnival 2011. And another 43 pictures over here. A colorful sampling of celebrations all over the world.

Voyager I has been traveling in space for over 33 years. It is still maneuvering and sending back signals as it reaches the very edge of the sun’s influence.

5 Forgotten Founding Fathers. Let’s remember how they helped deliver a free nation for us.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Rufus T. Firefly


Hail Freedonia! From the 1933 Marx Brothers movie Duck Soup.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Friday Fun Links

She’s just a little girl, standing in the hallway of a hotel. Some people are a little touchy -or they’ve seen too many movies.

What happens when you offer an umbrella to a slow loris? You get the most adorable video of the entire day -maybe the week!

Hot Granny Construction Workers for Equal Pay.

Use a steady hand and a virtual catapult to toss Cadbury Creme Eggs at any Google Maps location. I managed to “egg” my own home! (via the Presurfer)

What Pi Sounds Like. Numerical data transposed into music, rendered on different musical instruments, makes a nice tune.

6 Television Firsts (from Canned Laughter to Dropping the “D” Word). My first thought was that the “d-word was “divorce” but I was wrong.

URL Hunter is a game played entirely in your browser's address bar. You are the "O", trying to eat the "a"s, but it's harder than you might think. (via Breakfast Links)

20 Fortune Cookies That Don't Make Any Sense. In some, you kind of know what they are trying to say, and others are totally off in the ozone.

This Fantasy World. Can true love drag a nerd out of the basement long enough for a dinner date?

Woos Whoopee


Felix the Cat from 1928.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Good Reads and Informative Links

National Geographic has a new infinite photo project online called Tropical Island. You can select an area and click to zoom in on more images of native creatures, and then click again to zoom on more! (via Metafilter)

Did you read the story about how scientists found bacteria inside a meteorite? Too bad the facts aren’t there. It’s not the first time this has happened, either.

"White Evangelical Christians are the group least likely to support politicians or policies that reflect the actual teachings of Jesus."

There is a movement among those who study such things to refer to the current stage of geologic time as the Anthropocene epoch, or “age of man.” Does the presence of man make that much difference in the geologic timeline?

The Saga of the Scientific Swindler! (1884-1891) Even educated eggheads can be taken in by a charmer who can smooth-talk the jargon. (via Boing Boing)
Why are there 9 Supreme Court Justices? (And why have a Supreme Court at all?) The short answers are “no particular reason” and “because we need it.”

Raymond Daniel Towler was imprisoned for almost 29 years for a crime he did not commit. He was exonerated by DNA testing in 2010, but so many years behind bars makes the world hard to catch up with. (via Boing Boing)

Daniel “Professor Funk” Keogh explains the Placebo Effect. Who knew they could save your life -or cause withdrawal symptoms?

See the most realistic android yet: the Geminoid DK. If you didn’t know going in, how much of the video would you watch before figuring out he’s a robot?

You know those standardized tests that determine whether schools are closed or teachers receive bonuses or which child gets left behind? Yeah, those. Have you ever wondered who grades those tests? (via Metafilter)

The Balloon Man.

Aquatic Frolics


A short newsreel from 1926.

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Links for Fun and Entertainment

You Might be a Redneck Jedi If....

Which Star Trek series do you like the best? It doesn’t really matter, because you can watch them all here, at least for now. (via Metafilter)

You Are Not A Photographer is a blog full of snarky comment on photographs that are supposed to be professionally done. Mean? Yes. Funny? Very much so. (via b3ta)

How not to clean a window.

Inspired by the movie Exit Through the Gift Shop, a family embarked on a street art project that involved no vandalism. See the funny faces they spread all over the town for people to find. (via The Daily What)

Don’t know if they can shred, but they sure pose nicely for pictures! Here are four pages of animals on skateboards. (via Gorilla Mask)

Have you ever seen a dog ride a scooter? Norman is actually driving a scooter, on the road and on TV as well.

Kingsford the Piglet.

March is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month. If you’re over 50, your first colonoscopy screening is due, but this silly song will prepare you well.

The History of Science Fiction, laid out on a large timeline. This artwork by Ward Shelley enlarges to a size that might take you all day to follow. (via Neatorama)

I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You


Louis Armstrong and his band star in this quasi-Betty Boop carton from 1932. (via Boing Boing)

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Our Readers’ Favorite Bookstore Cats (Volume Three)

Many mental_floss readers contributed to the list of bookstore cats we met in the previous four posts on the subject -and I certainly appreciate your help! However, many of those favorites don’t have a picture or biography on the internet. Here are some of the few left that do, in a new list of cats I posted at mental_floss.

Mardi Gras Links

Chicken Chasing: A Cajun Mardi Gras Tradition.

7 Carnivals Around the World.

Virtual Mardi Gras Beads! Just click the magic words.

How to Make a King Cake.

Happy Pancake Day!

The Top 7 Most Brutal Parade Float Accidents.

I wrote Six Ways to do Mardi Gras four years ago, and I must have been drunk or something, because there are only five!

Parade Time in New Orleans.

Monday, March 07, 2011

Fun and Funny Links

Ballet is hard, but young ballerinas are adorable.

Manspeak and Womanspeak.

If cats only had opposable thumbs, they could open doors, embroider, and snap their fingers. Worst of all, they could turn the pages of books about how to take over the world.

Ken Jennings illustrated himself doing battle with Watson. It’s a book autograph for a fan.

That's a lot of ducks. And they're all in a hurry.

Watch a professional biker take a downhill course in Valparaiso, Chili. Or, more accurately, watch the course from the biker’s point of view, which may induce vertigo.

I dare you to watch this baby without grinning. It's like taking a tonic for what ails ya.

A series of 25 cat scans. That is all, but that’s enough. (via Metafilter)

Out of Context Science is a blog that prints sentences from science articles and blog posts all by themselves. These are so funny you have to check the source links to make sure they are real. (via Nag on the Lake)

Have you ever watched how a cursor works, up close? Careful, don’t wear it out!

A limited edition line of action figures gives us The Most Interesting Man in the World, the Old Spice Guy, and some insurance salesman. For an extra $10, you can get Old Spice Guy in an anatomically-correct version.

Fly Frolic


From 1932.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

The Big Show


From the 1935 movie A Night at the Opera.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Beatles Cartoons

Taking on any project involving The Beatles is an overwhelming task, so I simplified matters by limiting the selection to a few animated videos. I hope you enjoy these eight at mental_floss.

Black is Beautiful -Josephine Baker


(via Everlasting Blort)

Friday, March 04, 2011

Good Reads and Info

With a thousand times the number of cells humans have, you’d think blue whales would be more prone to cancer, but that is just not so. What are they doing that we should learn to do?

Slate explains how young men have gained power in sexual matters due to economics and demographics. What say you: anecdotal, biased, or a ring of truth? (via Metafilter)

My friend Marti Lawrence wrote a mystery novel, available at Amazon and as an ebook for only $5.

The US Budget: What Would Jesus Cut?

6 Series You Didn't Know Were Made Up on the Fly.

The Bias of Thoughts bookshelf is a 2d illusion rendered in 3D. A closer look might help you figure how how it’s done -or not.

Meth is a hell of a drug. (via J-Walk Blog)

A meet-and-greet with Helen Keller, from Mark Twain's autobiography.

28 Delightfully Geeky Videogame Cross Stitches.

Rob Cockerham constructed a chart of TV shows that were set in a time period other than the one they were produced in. Really, who knew that Lost in Space was set in the 1990s!

How a tungsten light bulb filament works. Or doesn't.

Great Guns!


Starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a Walt Disney creation, in 1927.

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Lnks for Fun

Cats Do Hollywood Movies!

The fun science of Cartozoology.

Play the game: Famous Objects from Classic Movies. (via Breakfast Links)

The remixed George Carlin performs like you’ve never seen him before. He’s not only singing and dancing, he’s completely SFW.

Kentucky Fried WTF on a stick.

The Trials of an Astronomy Forum.

Watch out, Papa’s dancing! If everyone enjoyed life this much, we’d all be healthier and happier.

The Origins of 10 of Your Favorite Muppets. Some of the earlier characters are old enough to be your grandparents, yet they look so young!

You never outgrow your first love.

Peter Weller
is in favor of the Robocop statue for Detroit.

The worst celebrity baby names.

A Sheep in the Deep


Ralph and Sam watch the sheep, for differing reasons. From 1962.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Informative Links

The Physics of Breakfast Cereal.

People who were conceived through anonymous sperm donation are demanding the right to know who their fathers are. How does this understandable desire balance against the donor’s right to privacy?

Lessons in Manliness from the Egyptian Revolution. A participant writes about how the experience changed him for the better.

Photographer Howard Schatz gave actors several roles and scenarios to inhabit as he took their pictures. The results were combined for a portrait gallery featuring the masters of emotions.

8 Rejected Supreme Court Justices. Thirty-four nominations were not confirmed by the senate, and some have rather interesting reasons.

How to Make Oatmeal . . . Wrong. McDonalds takes something simple and natural and gives it a dozen extra ingredients and more sugar than a Snickers bar.

In 2009, Malcolm Casadaban died from a weakened research-grade strain of the Plague that he was studying. It was able to kill him because of a genetic condition that flourished among people who survived the Plague. (via Boing Boing)

The satirical art of Pawel Kuczynski. If a particular image touches you, you can buy it here.

The Three Little Bops


The 1957 version of the Three Little Pigs, in which they are jazz musicians! (via Boing Boing)

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

The Last Man Standing

This past Sunday marked the end of an era in US history. Frank W. Buckles celebrated his 110th birthday on February first. He died peacefully at his home on February 27th. Buckles was one of 4,734,992 Americans who served in World War I. With his death, there are no more surviving US veterans of that war.

Reading about the dwindling number of World War I veterans made me curious about the last survivors of previous wars. This post I wrote for mental_floss looks at the last surviving veterans of US wars.

  

Fun and Funny Links

Princess Bride Cats.

Beware Icy Hot. Some context.

Predator: The Musical.

Libyan protesters demand resignation of Gadhafi, Khadafi, Qadhafi and Khaddaffi.

DO NOT join a forum of internet veterans just to submit your ads as content -and then lie about it. They know how to find you.

Next time you need a good fart story, you can let this one rip.

Your cats may act sweet, but if these photos are any indication, they are ready to destroy you and everything you love. Don't count on any help from the dog, either.

Zach Anner Gets His TV Show. No quest is too underwater or fictional for the comedian and travel expert-in-training.

Single White Feline explains how crazy cat ladies are born. A cat is not always your best friend.

The Marmoset Song. Go watch this while I run, run far away!

When You Write Your Essays In Programming Languages.

A Quaint Little Railway


A 1930 silent film of the Leek and Manifold Light Railway on the Staffordshire Moorlands. This railway was closed in 1934.