A Polish truck driver needed to move four vehicles to Belgium. As you can see, he devised an ingenious solution. He almost made it, but spoilsport police in the town of Krefeld, Germany stopped him.
Link (Translation) -via Jalopnik | Photo: Police of Krefeld
I've watched dozens of Harlem Shake videos in the last few days, from TV show casts, military units, and even one done underwater. I keep rejecting them because the meme is burning up faster than Gangnam Style, and it would be easy to overdo it. However, this video from SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas, has something special the rest of them don't. -via reddit
Believe it or not, this is a frog. The Namaqua rain frog of South Africa. It inflates its body as a defense against predators, but I don't know how in the world that would deter anyone, since it's just cute as can be -and hear those little squeaks! -via Daily Picks and Flicks
On the nothern edge of Norway, far above the Arctic Circle, sits the Cathedral of the Northern Light. This new church building in the town of Alta features a 47-meter tall belfry clad in titanium sheeting that reflects the aurora borealis. You can view more photos at the link.
Link | Photos: Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
Neil Freeman created a map of the United States that divide the nation into fifty states with populations are almost equal (about 6,175,000 people). The idea of the map came from discussions of the electoral college, which can return results that are different from the popular vote nationwide. Under this plan, Alaska and Hawaii would be part of mainland states. The biggest cities would be their own states, or even be split between two states. And the names would take some getting used to! I would live on the line dividing the states of Mammoth and Blue Ridge. See a bigger (but not big enough) map at Freeman's website. Link -via Marginal Revolution
Happy Singles Awareness Day, Forever Aloners! To help you celebrate, here are some Anti-Valentine's Day Cards!
Someecards has got some of the funniest ones:
Photo: Takanishi Lab/Waseda University
Well, you'd be depressed too if you have a robot chasing after you. To create depression in rodents, scientists at the Waseda University in Tokyo enlised the help of a robot rat to terrorize lab rats:
In order to create a workable model of a human mental disorder like depression, anxiety or schizophrenia, rats are often genetically manipulated or have their nerve system surgically altered. Sometimes they are forced to swim for long periods of time. Now, researchers at Waseda University in Tokyo have created a new method: Let a robotic rat terrorize the rats into depression.
WR-3, a robotic rat designed to interact with lab rats, bugs the rats until they exhibit signs of depression, signaled by a lack of activity -- when rats are depressed, they move around less.
WR-3 is programmed with three different behaviors: "chasing," "continuous attack" and "interactive attack." Each one was designed to induce a different level of stress in rats. Chasing stresses the rats out, while the attacks create an environment of pain and fear.
Shaunacy Ferro of PopSci has the post: Link
Bill Gekas, an internationally award-winning photographer, feels inspired by the visual ambiances of the Old Masters of Western European painting, particular Vemeer and Rembrandt. He duplicated them magificently in a photo series that includes his daughter and himself:
Using various models, including his five-year-old daughter, Gekas has brilliantly re-imagined the masters, replicating the lighting style for which they are famous. The so-called Rembrandt lighting is characterised by strong window light falling on one side of the subject's face and body, producing shadows amid a rich glow. Gekas uses artificial light to simulate the admired window-lighting effect.
Gallery, Photographer's Website and News Story -via American Digest
I'm in a position as far as cooking goes -I've done it for almost 50 years, and I've forgotten so many of the silly things that can go wrong. At the same time, my kids are learning to cook, and there are a lot of commonsense rules they just don't know yet, like stir your pasta, don't leave plastic on a hot stove, and you need a muffin pan to make cupcakes. Luckily, in the internet age there are plenty of people willing to share their funniest failures to remind us of what we shouldn't do! Besides, even if you are a lousy cook, these pictures will make you feel like some kind of master chef. Link
If you're a die-hard cheese lover, then the bread in a grilled cheese sandwich is just an obstacle. Nick of DudeFoods found a solution to this problem after he discovered juustoleipa, a Finnish cheese known in English as "bread cheese." Nick grilled a layer of cheddar between two slabs of juustoleipa to create a sandwich that is cheese all the way through.
You may have seen the weird mating display of the Superb Bird of Paradise before, but now you can see how he does it. This video is part of the Birds-of-Paradise Project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
It took 8 years and 18 expeditions to New Guinea, Australia, and nearby islands, but Cornell Lab scientist Ed Scholes and National Geographic photographer Tim Laman succeeded in capturing images of all 39 species in the bird-of-paradise family for the first time ever.
At the project site, you can explore lots more videos of the different species and their amazing colors, sounds, shapeshifting displays, and mating dances. Link -via Metafilter
My arteries are clogging just by looking at this, the Heart Attack poutine from Quebec's Poutineville. Yan of Geeks Are Sexy explains:
... the Heart Attack is a 15-pound mess of fries, chicken, bacon, wieners, ground beef, ham, onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese curds, and mozzarella, all smothered in a delicious sauce that will make your taste buds scream for more.
... and your heart scream for mercy! Link - Thanks Yan!
Photo via @raubrey
and Pharyngula
Goats do it. Sloths do it. Ground squirrels do it. And yes, silly humans do it all the time. But how about whales? As this photo shows, whales photobomb like a boss.
This dog fetched himself a big stick, and decided he'd just keep it. But he doesn't quite understand the physics of getting it through a gate. Poor doggie! -via Daily of the Day
Flooding on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, over the weekend left a thick layer of sea foam behind. How thick? Beware of what looks like a "wave" in the foam! Luckily, it appears no one was hurt in this particular incident. -via Daily Picks and Flicks
