Hairy guys from all over the world traveled to Leogang, Austria, last weekend for the World Beard and Moustache Championship. There were over 350 competitors in several categories to crown the best mustache, beard, and other facial hair configurations. Some were long, some were sculpted into shapes, and some were just overall magnificent. See a collection of images from the event at Buzzfeed.
Disney released the movie Aladdin in 1992, and times have changed a bit since then. Thought loosely based on the classic 1001 Nights, there’s plenty wrong with the screenplay written for children, especially how the movie rewards questionable ethics. But it’s all right, because Robin Williams steals the show.
Screen Junkies gives it the Honest Trailer treatment. -via Uproxx
For Postseason Home Games: The @Rangers will sell a hot dog w/cotton candy-infused mustard, topped w/cotton candy pic.twitter.com/No7V4iufdC
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 5, 2015
Here’s a treat for anyone attending the Texas Rangers’ home games at Globe Life Park, as long as they remain in the playoffs, according to a Tweet from ESPN’s Darren Rovell. A hot dog with cotton-candy infused mustard topped with more cotton candy. I don’t know anything about cotton candy-infused mustard, but that might be the green stuff in the picture. Would you eat this? Let me phrase that differently. How many ballpark beers would you have to ingest before you’d consider eating this? -via Uproxx
Visual media has played out all sorts of different post apocalyptic scenarios, from the fantasy zombie kind to the down and dirty nuclear annihilation doomsday, and somehow humans always manage to survive.
But where humans would be dealing with radiation sickness some creatures would hardly even notice the effects of a nuclear war, proving they deserve to be called a survivor.
We've all heard the theory that cockroaches would survive a nuclear blast because they can withstand more radiation than humans, but did you know the fruit fly is even more of a survivor than the roach?
According to Mythbusters only ten percent of roaches would survive a 10,000 rad bomb blast (Hiroshima level), but the common fruit fly can handle up to 64,000 rads thanks to their slow cell division and extremely fast reproduction. That means fruit flies are pesky and persistent!
Martin Vargic is a 17-year-old Slovakian artist who specializes in maps. He created a world map of stereotypes, relying on online forums, TV Tropes (warning: internet black hole), movies, books, and internet search. There are over 5,000 stereotype labels on the globe!
Note “Hipsteria” in Oregon and “Shit hit the fan” for Detroit. Washington, DC is “Baphomet’s Lair.” I was a little disappointed that my part of Kentucky, with all the stereotypes that come with it, is only labeled “white water rafting.” The map is part of his new book Vargic's Miscellany of Curious Maps: Mapping Out the Modern World. Get a closer view of North America and some of the other continents at Buzzfeed.
Image: Rich Dogs of Instagram
Many luxuries that us "common folk" could barely conceive of as options in life are enjoyed by the so-called one percent on a regular basis. For every inconvenience or unpleasant circumstance that rich people could endure, there is an enterprising person marketing that service to them for a hefty price tag.
The linked article lists fourteen such services that the uber wealthy partake in, in order to make their lives easier or more exciting, to make them more attractive, etc. One such business is Hollywood Pet Mom, the brainchild of "canine well being expert" Lexi Beermann. She offers multiple resources including a 24-hour Puppy Nurse program for $8,000 per month or $36,000 for six months. As Puppy Nurse, Beermann lives with the client's pampered pooch in their guesthouse or at her home. Post Puppy Nurse treatment, the dog supposedly emerges trained and perfectly behaved. A $3,700, five-day "boot camp" for problem pups is also part of the program, a service for which some clients have flown their doggies in on private jets.
Holistic concierge vet Dr. Patrick Mahaney makes $525 house calls and offers in-home pet sitting. The doctor once personally obtained and delivered an international health certificate to a billionaire in 24 hours. This enabled the dog to fly to meet its owners and their $300 million yacht in Turks and Caicos.
Read about more luxury services that cater to the super wealthy here.
Stephen Grant and Lucy Day of East Sussex, UK, were having a bad day. Grant cut off his finger in a lawnmower accident. They couldn’t get an ambulance. The couple put their 3-year-old daughter in the backseat and took off toward a hospital. On the way, their car burst into flames. They pulled off to the side and exited the car. That’s when Spider-Man showed up to save the day.
Tom Roche, a 24-year-old entertainer, was traveling to a child’s birthday party fully dressed in latex as Spider-Man. He and his girlfriend noticed smoke coming from the car before it pulled over in flames. Roche hurried the family away from the burning car, and seeing Grant’s wound, drove them straight to a hospital.
Lucy, who is 22 weeks pregnant with her second child, said, “We’re concerned that a relatively new vehicle with a reputation for safety and reliability should fail in such a dramatic way.
“The fact we couldn’t get an ambulance is worrying. It goes to show there is something really wrong with the care available in Eastbourne.”
The couple tracked down Tom after the incident to offer him and his girlfriend their thanks.
Lucy said, “We are so grateful for their help. He was only a young guy and I think he was a bit shaken up by the whole thing. I really want him to know how much it meant.
Doctors were able to successfully reattach Grant’s finger. Fire officials do not know why the couple's car caught fire. -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Tom Roche via Facebook)
It’s hard to believe we’re already into October- I’m still in summer mode. Maybe you need to get your October vibe going with a taste of Halloween. How about a compilation of Liz Climo’s Halloween comics? There’s a bunch of them in a post at her website, compiled by Tastefully Offensive.
Once upon a time, before computers or even photography, young people in France, Germany, and the Netherlands would keep journals called alba amicorum, which translates from Latin to “friend books.” Young men would use them to document their travels and education, and have teachers and experts write -or draw- in them. They could eventually be used as resumes. Girls made their own books, and had their friends add art, poetry, and personal notes to them. They became a document of events and relationships. There’s more to learn and fascinating images at Messy Nessy Chic. -via the Presurfer
YouTube user Devon Meadows set up a camera to see how much his dog Chazz was barking when Meadows left home. But the human need not worry about Chazz being a noisy nuisance. The dog's housemate, Grayscale the cat, is fully capable of handling the problem. One stern stare renders the dog silent and sorry. Via 9GAGTV
Amanita phalloides, also known as the Death Cap mushroom, is extremely toxic to humans. Consumption of as little as 30 grams of the fungus can result in death. | Image: Ak ccm
While humans have learned new skills in modern times, such as how to operate a selfie stick, we have lost a number of proficiencies throughout the ages that our ancient ancestors needed to thrive in their lifetimes. The linked article at i09 highlights and discusses six such skills with the input of Klint Janulis, an anthropologist completing his doctorate in prehistoric archaeology at the University of Oxford.
One such skill modern peoples no longer have is the knowledge of what in nature is edible and medicinal. According to Janulis, such detailed knowledge would have been passed down from generation to generation. He says,
“That accumulated knowledge of the plant world not only was specific to each ecosystem, but would have contained the nuances of conditions, appearance, and preparation that those of us who study survival and ethnobotany can’t hope to fully replicate without that generational knowledge guiding us,”
The article continues,
Today, the best thing we have when confronted with a similar situation is the so-called “universal edibility test.” This rather imperfect test involves the graduated introduction of a given plant to the body in a series of steps. It starts by placing the plant on the skin, and then introducing it to an abraded area, then lips, tongue, and finally a small amount of consumption. Between each step, the person is supposed to wait and assess their reaction to the plant.
“This method is debated as some plants have chemicals that have a delayed onset reaction and it may take much more time for the toxins to harm you than the test allows, particularly with fungus,” says Janulis.In regards to medicine, it’s worth noting that some degree of self medication has been observed in other primates as well. It’s likely that humans have been doing this for eons.
Read about other survival skills we've lost to our ancient ancestors here.
When you hear the term “grammar police,” you probably don’t picture real law enforcement officers. What if those cops really did enforce proper grammar? Juliana Gray and Erica Dawson imagined just that when they slipped grammar police into a film noir script. Of course, the buddy cops are named Strunk and White, as in the authors of the reference book The Elements of Style. It opens, as so many police procedurals do, with a crime scene in a dark alley.
BEAT COP
It’s over here, detectives. The body was found about an hour ago.
STRUNK
Use the active voice, rookie.
BEAT COP
Oh god, it’s horrible. I feel nauseous.
STRUNK
Unless you mean you’re sickening to contemplate, you mean “nauseated.” Now get out of my crime scene before you puke all over it.
It gets better from there. Read the entire episode at The Millions, but don’t let them see your participles dangling! Next, they need to do one with grammar nazis.
If you enjoyed that, here’s a couple of other suggestions from Metafilter: Chicago and Double Negative.
This proud hunter is posing with his catch. Something tells me he went over the limit; surely you can’t get a license to bag that many! Of course, in the discussion at reddit, the vegetarians are coming out of the woodwork to disparage this man’s ethics in hunting poor defenseless zucchini, while others are proclaiming the superior taste of free-range zucchini over farm-grown zucchini.
Whether you call it a soft drink, a carbonated beverage, a soda, a pop or you just call them all Coke there's no denying that soft drinks are appealing.
People often disagree about which type or brand of soft drink is best, but if you live in an area that has a regional brand you'd better at least pretend to like it too, because folks there are probably mighty attached to their regional brand.
These regional favorites are seen as a part of people's lives in these areas, but many residents have forgotten where these particular soft drink brands came from, not to mention why they're so popular in their region.
Take Moxie for instance- it's a big hit in New England, especially in Maine where Moxie has been the official state soft drink since 2005, and yet it tastes a bit too medicinal for most folks.
That flavor comes from the fact that the drink's inventor, Dr. Augustin Thompson, originally intended Moxie to be a tonic that "nourishes the nervous system, cools the blood, tones up the stomach, and causes healthful, restful sleep."
The soft drink craze was just taking off, so the doc decided to market Moxie as a soft drink, and the rest is New England beverage history!
Read The Stories Behind 11 Regional Soft Drinks at mental_floss
This Manhattan rat knows full well how delicious the cheesy slices are in New York City. They're fold-and-eat heaven. That's why Pizza Rat isn't giving up his newfound slice just because he has a commute to get home. You may be slowed down when danger comes walking along, but keep your eye on the prize, little guy! Via Gawker
