It's been a long, hard summer. Even bears enjoy relaxing in hammocks to drip off some of the stress. That's probably why this bear family wandered into the backyard of Carol Harrington in Washington Borough, Warren County, New Jersey. She's seen them occasionally in the 13-14 years that she's lived there. But they've never been so interested in her patio furniture!
John Farrier's Blog Posts
(Photo: Mike Persons/Booksmith)
The Alabama Booksmith in the suburbs of Birmingham is a rarity: all of the books it sells have been signed by the authors. Neil Gaiman, Harper Lee, Sue Grafton, Kazuo Ishiguro, Philip Roth and other famous authors have all contributed. The shelves are filled with books that are not only loved, but also personalized by the authors. Brian Barrett of Atlas Obscura talked to owner Jacob Reiss:
“If a book is not important to us, we don’t buy it,” says Reiss. “When we select a book, we’re as strong in depth with that title as any chain of stores.” There are also no interior shelves so book covers line the walls with plenty of space to roam, making Alabama Booksmith feel more like a boutique art gallery than a mini-Barnes & Noble.
(Photo: reynermedia)
Is your boss telling you to do actual work before 10 AM? If so, he's effectively torturing you by forcing you to work outside of your natural circadian rhythms. That's the conclusion of Dr. Paul Kelley of Oxford University, an expert on sleep. The National Post quotes him:
“This applies in the bigger picture to prisons and hospitals,” he added. “They wake up people and give people food they don’t want. You’re more biddable because you’re totally out of it. Sleep deprivation is a torture.” […]
Lack of sleep has been found to affect performance, attention and long-term memory and to encourage drug and alcohol use. It also leads to anxiety, frustration, anger, impulsive behaviour, weight gain, high blood pressure, lower immunity, stress and mental health conditions.
-via Dave Barry
Ice cream with whipped cream, berries, and syrup, all inside a structure that looks like a giant cake. This is where you want to relieve yourself. Or pig out. Or both.
The Oita Toilennale 2015 is a public art festival devoted to public toilets. The artists who contribute use nature's call as their central theme. Among the 10 major projects is "Melting Dream," an ice cream-like toilet building by Minako Nishiyama, Mika Kasahara, and Yuma Haruna.
The Fukishima nuclear accident 4 year ago inspired the project. With this structure, the artists are commenting that beneath a sweet structure, Japan is beginning to crumble. You can see more photos of it at Spoon & Tamago.
This sparkly liqueur based on gin is surely the drink of choice for those of us with a grudge against the one-horns. Firebox isn't clear how much content is pure unicorn tears, but $61.59 a bottle, I'd hope for at least half. Edible silver flakes inside remind you of what those monsters did to us when they said we could use them as an employment reference, then said terrible things about us when prospective employers called. Drink up.
-via You Bent My Wookie
The people of Britain need to know the weather they're facing when going out in the morning. If you live in the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in northwestern Wales, then you'll have sunshine and warm temperatures.
At 58 characters long, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the longest place name in all of Europe. Can you pronounce it? Liam Dutton, a weatherman with Channel 4 News, can. Watch it pour off his tongue with ease in this weather report. Dutton told the Daily Mail that he even pronounced it correctly on the first try.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch might be easy for Dutton. Perhaps he should next try the longest place name in the entire world: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, New Zealand. That's 85 characters long.
(Photo: Arvada Police Department)
Mary walked into the police station with a simple request: to hug an officer.
Upset at what she perceives as an uptick in violence against police officers in the US, the 83-year old resident of Arvada, Colorado walked into the Lake Arbor station and asked to hug an officer to thank the police for their work. Officer Steiner was on hand to do his duty. He and his colleagues were emotionally overwhelmed by the moment. KDVR reports:
She walked to her local police station, picked up the phone and told the lady who answered why she was there.
"That I wanted to express my appreciation to what our police people are doing," Mary said.
And after she waited for a minute, "This policeman came out, and, well, the minute he came out, I gave him a hug and told him how much I appreciated what the police people are doing."
-via Huffington Post
If you insist on eating vegetables--what Ron Swanson correctly calls "the food that my food eats"--then this is the right way to prepare them. Instructables member Peter Brown devised a means to infuse vegetables with bacony awesomeness. He encased a whole strip of bacon inside a block of epoxy resin, shaped that block into a tool handle, then drove a vegetable peeling bit into one end. The result is an appealling peeler, but possibly frustrating if you feel a sudden need to eat bacon.
The task is not an easy one: the monkey must deliver the contents of her nose into her mouth for consumption. You might use your finger for that task. But the capuchin monkey is more clever than you. She uses a stick.
This is an adult female bearded capuchin monkey (Sapajus libidinosus)--an animal clearly ready to challenge humanity for dominance. With their advanced nose picking technology, the capuchins are already the equal of humans, if not our superiors. Science News reports on this startling finding from Brazil:
For about five minutes, an adult female bearded capuchin (Sapajus libidinosus) in northeastern Brazil repeatedly inserted a twig or stem into its nostril, usually inducing a sneeze. The monkey also rubbed sticks back and forth against the base of its teeth, probably to dislodge debris, Haslam and Oxford colleague Tiago Falótico report in the July Primates. After picking its nose or teeth, the monkey often licked the tool tip, perhaps to wipe the stick clean.
-via Dave Barry
Prankster Obvious Plant likes to visit stores and add unauthorized signs to amuse himself and other shoppers. We've covered his pranks extensively, including his reviews added to an appliance store. He's back with more helpful feedback at an IKEA. There are many satisfied customers at this IKEA, including one primarily concerned with efficient snake storage.
In a recreation of The Great Escape, two kindergarteners in Magnitogorsk, Russia, secretly used spades for several days to dig out of their school. After breaking out, they walked for 2 kilometers to a Jaguar car dealership. Their intention was certainly understandable: they wanted to buy a sports car. ABC News reports:
A female driver noticed the unaccompanied children and asked them what they were doing. They told her they had come from their kindergarten to buy a Jaguar but did not have any money.
She put them in her car and drove them to a police station.
The boys might have succeeded in their plot, if they had brought money and maintained a good cover story.
-via Dave Barry
Every day, kids around the world are subjected to brutally lame, pun-based jokes made by their fathers. These are ordinary, innocent children--like mine, who have to face my awful jokes.
Some children are able to avoid much of the brunt of these pathetic attempts at humor. My eldest daughter, for example, no longer says to me, "Dad, I'm hungry." She'll say, "Dad, my name is Natasha and I'm hungry." This disarms that particular joke.
But there are more. Oh, so many more awful puns. This PSA by Nickelodeon Australia encourages reminds fathers to be careful because their jokes leave marks on the soul. Dad jokes are not a laughing matter.
-via Jeremy Barker
Tommy Morrissey is only 4 years old, which alone would make him an impressive golf prodigy. What's only more amazing is that he's attained such a high level at the sport even though he was born without a right arm. Metro reports:
If a four-year-old capable of hitting the ball over 100 yards wasn’t already astonishing enough, it’s worth mentioning that Tommy manages to drive fairways, avoid bunkers, chip greens and sink putts using just one arm.
The young boy from Florida was born missing most of his right arm, but hasn’t let that stop him from inspiring millions with his wonderful spirit and incredible skill.
That's because, as Fox Sports puts it, Tommy doesn't see himself as a disabled child. The absence of an arm doesn't hold him back--a message that he shares with kids and adults.
-via Adam Baldwin
It costs 2 quarters--unless you can pay the iron price. Stern Pinball, a maker of high-end pinball machines, offers this machine decorated with Game of Thrones images and sculptures.
(Photo: Atkinson Family)
As Carolyn Cox of The Mary Sue puts it, "he was born with a silver brick in his mouth." The Legoland park and resort in Windsor, UK recently got a unique minifig. Lucas Atkinson was born there last August when his mother went into labor in the parking lot of the theme park. That wasn't intentional. She was just making a detour on the way to the hospital. Little Lucas was ready to be born at that very moment.
Park officials have responded by giving the boy a lifetime pass. That's a whole lot of adventure and constructive play to pack in!
Email This Post to a Friend