In the hills of Austria you can find magical moments unfolding as a child discovers how to speak to the animals, in this case marmots, and relate to them on their level.

Whether he knows exactly what they're saying or not is anyone's guess, but his special rapport with the normally shy marmots is truly something special, and their connection makes for some magical photo-ops.

12-year-old Matteo Walch became pals with the alpine marmots at an early age, when his mom Michaela introduced him to the joy of nature and he had the good fortune of meeting a colony of marmots.

They've come back to Grossglockner for two weeks a year ever since, where Michaela takes some great shots that truly capture the unusual yet heartwarming bond between Matteo and the marmots.

Alex first posted about Matteo and the marmots back in 2012, and it's interesting to see that even though Matteo is now a tween the marmots still see him as their little buddy!

See Adorable Photos Of A Young Austrian Boy Enjoys A Special Friendship With Shy Marmots here

Cults have been known to do some pretty strange things, and when we take a look at their activities we're left wondering what could possess people to take part in such odd activities.

In Canada this odd cult activity comes in the form of staring at a screen featuring video footage of a blue eyed cult leader named John de Ruiter for hours at a time.

John's strange staring cult has thousands of members, who have moved to Edmonton just to be a part of his College of Integrated Philosophy and worship their messiah by staring deeply at his face for three-hour-long "meetings".

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John was once a humble preacher and orthopedic shoemaker before he discovered there's a lot more money in commanding a flock of followers who are susceptible to suggestion, and now he's the man with the million dollar stare.

Read about The Canadian Man Who Commands A Cult With His Gaze here

Adidas is one of the largest athletic shoe companies in the world, so they have plenty of funding for their advertising campaigns and don't need to go looking for free submissions from film students.

But Eugene Merher, a 26-year-old student filmmaker from Germany, decided to submit the ad he'd made for Adidas to their communications department anyway- and found his submission completely ignored.

Determined to show off his hard work despite the cold shoulder he received from Adidas he posted the ad online, where it instantly went viral and gave viewers all sorts of feels.

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Now Adidas is probably wishing they'd sent Eugene Merher a "thank you but no" letter at least, because this ad is getting way more love than any Adidas commercial in recent memory.

-Via Bored Panda

Shipping fragile stuff is always risky, because you never know whether the shipping company is going to handle the package with care or mangle it during transit.

And if you're shipping something as fragile as a glass box you'd have to be crazy not to swathe it in bubble wrap to protect it from getting smashed to bits by careless carriers.

Either that or the packages and the glass boxes are being used in an art project, and the shipping damage turns each glass box into a physical representation of the journey it took across the country.

Artist Walea Beshty created laminated glass boxes that fit perfectly inside FedEx shipping boxes then sent them all over the place, pairing each piece with the original shipping box to create pieces like FedEx Large Box, LA to NYC, 2007.

Here's a video of Walea describing the project at the 2008 Whitney Biennial:

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-Via Boing Boing

In the movie A Clockwork Orange Alex and the boys drink glasses of Moloko Plus, which are milk and drug cocktails that fuel the gang's wicked behavior, so they have a valid reason for drinking milk.

But why did Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men, Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds and Leon in The Professional drink milk by the bottle?

Because it's seen as unsettling when an adult male drinks milk, especially when they look all menacing or nutsy while they drink it.

And in Leon's case it's also a sign of his maternal nature, and a way to add a whimsical element that feels natural for the character.

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Now You See It explores the various reasons why characters drink milk more often in movies than whiskey or Coke, and once you've seen all those characters drinking milk you'll be looking for it in every movie you watch!

-Via Sploid

New York City is the birthplace of pizza in America, and pizza is so intrinsically tied to the city that many historical tours will include stops at pizzerias like Lombardi's, America's first pizzeria, which opened in 1905.

And that's what's kind of amazing about New York City pizza- places are serving up tasty slices all over the city, and some of these places have been in operation for a hundred years.

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Host Frank Pinello investigates the pizzas of Brooklyn in the premiere of the Munchies series "The Pizza Show":

New York is the birthplace of many things, but for today’s purposes, we’re sticking to pizza. Frank starts with a quick history lesson from Scott Wiener, the owner of Scott’s Pizza Tours. Then, we hit the streets to see and taste the history for ourselves. The best thing about the city’s pizza scene is that it’s relatively young, so you can still eat slices from the ovens of the people that started it all and put New York pizza on the map.

-Via Laughing Squid

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Jack In The Box is known for serving up fun food that isn't exactly good for you, but fast food fans don't worry about the calories- they just want something affordable that tastes good.

And at Jack's the entire menu is priced to sell, but nothing is cheaper than their tacos, which are often sold at the nice price of 2 for a buck.

Maybe this nice price is why Jack In The Box sells over 554 million crispy tacos a year, or maybe it's the fact that they're so easy to tack on to any order?

Whatever the reason Jack's is currently selling "the same amount of tacos as McDonald's sold Big Macs in 2007".

And even though many people think Jack's tacos are gross, claiming they'd never eat them, they're being sold at a rate of 1000 per minute so somebody's scarfing them down!

-Via Esquire

Characters, storylines and art styles are all elements that are regularly ripped off in the comic book industry, which has been a standard practice even before the superfolks took over.

But once DC Comics and Marvel Comics started battling it out for the top spot they began to rip each other off at an alarming rate- which resulted in some of the most beloved comic book characters of all time.

Most comic readers know Deadpool is a blatant rip-off of DC's Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, but over the years Deadpool has evolved into an unique and hilarious yang to Deathstroke's dark and brooding yin. 

And speaking of brooding- Wolverine is one of the most popular comic book characters of all time, but surprisingly he's a rip-off of the DC Comics character Timber Wolf (nee Lone Wolf), who has all but the adamantium skeleton.

Doctor Strange is another rip-off character who ended up outshining the original character he's based on, DC's Doctor Fate, but readers have a hard time deciding between the two because their stories are so darn mystifying.

And lastly there's the issue of Black Cat vs Catwoman- they're both virtually the same in every regard, from their powers to their penchant for burglary, but one kisses a bat while the other kisses a spider...you decide which is better!

Read Yoink! 20 Blatant Comic Book Rip-Offs here

Ever since Rogue One: A Star Wars Story came out people have been wondering where they can get their hands on a Stormtrooper doll like the one carried by young Jyn Erso in the beginning of the movie.

Since it's not the kind of licensed Star Wars toy that typically gets released, fans have been out of luck, but now we can make our own adorable Stormtrooper doll thanks to this Instructable by backwards lamb.

All you need to make this cute little guy is some clay, elastic or twine, a few simple sculpting tools and some paint.

Or, if you're not the crafty type, you can buy this little guy from Etsy seller StormtrooperCrafts, made to order for around $45.

-Via Nerd Approved

People typically drink tea to relax, therefore tea is typically marketed as a relaxation-related product with calming commercials and soothing box art.

But according to this commercial bubble tea is a fun, youthful product that gets people so fired up they feel like doing some kung-fu fighting!

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This clever ad for Kung Fu Tea was created by Team Red Productions and stars the Shaolin Stooges, three guys who like taro bubble tea so much they study martial arts so they don't have to share!

Apparently they'll also fight to the death over the last slice of pizza...these guys need a bigger food budget!

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-Via GeekTyrant

If you wanted to make a non-local call back in 1936 you typically had to speak to a switchboard operator, who would connect your call to a number that began with exchange letters related to the location you were calling.

But as phone technology improved the old system was phased out, replaced with the ability to dial phone numbers directly via automatic exchange systems and rotary phones, which totally freaked some people out.

Thankfully, AT&T was there for folks who were frightened by all that newfangled telephone technology, alleviating their concerns with this short PSA that explains how the dial telephone works.

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-Via Laughing Squid

Social media has made it easy for pretty much anyone to become a celebrity in their own mind, proving that if you try hard enough any wanna-be celeb can amass quite a few followers and get the likes they seek.

But something tells me model and actress Phoebe Price would have gotten attention with or without social media, because her gonzo diva persona demands all eyes are on her- and her burrito.

Phoebe can be seen hanging around Hollywood doing totally normal stuff like posing with a burrito, reading tabloids in a sultry manner, and strutting down the sidewalk with a giant sundae.

No wonder the paparazzi love to photograph Phoebe whenever they spot her in the wild!

See Phoebe Price Is Officially The Most Ridiculous "Celebrity" Of 2016 here (NSFW-ish)

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There's Bruce Wayne and then there's The Batman, the crime fighter in the cape and cowl who's capable of conquering any challenge physical or mental.

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He's the original Most Interesting Man In The World, the man who makes James Bond look like a Boy Scout, and the super guy whose silhouette is enough to strike fear into the hearts of wicked men- and sharks apparently.

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Brazilian comic artist Dragonarte continues his quest to reveal all the Bat-antics left out of the DC Comics Batman titles, and with each Dragonarte strip we come a little closer to figuring out Batman's biggest secret to success.

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-Via Geeks Are Sexy

Animal screams have such a distinct sound that other animals will react as if the screaming critter is in the room when they hear a recording of the unique vocalization, but human screams aren't so distinct.

That is, they're not so distinct we can tell them apart without using software, because they sound virtually the same to our ears, which is why sound effects artists are still using the same old Wilhelm screams.

But how would you react if you heard a human scream coming from the maw of a wild animal? Watch this ridiculous clip from BBC's Planet Earth 2, edited by Matt Amys, and find out!

(YouTube Link)

If you answered "I would react by laughing my face off" before you watched the clip you were correct!

-Via Laughing Squid

Christopher Walken slips effortlessly between playing a total badass and playing roles that require him to act super silly, but his acting range isn't something he just picked up.

Christopher Walken's range comes from experience- he's been acting since he was 10 years old, when he was bitten by the acting bug after appearing in a sketch with Martin and Lewis on The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1953.

But young Ronnie Walken didn't make his official debut until 1954, when he and his brother Glenn began appearing on the soap opera Guiding Light- as the same character, Michael Bauer.

That may not have been a career highlight for young Ronnie, but these amazing photos taken by Al Barry in 1955 show us that Ronnie, who later changed his stage name to Christopher, was born to be an entertainer.

And seriously folks- if you're still scared of clowns after seeing young Ronnie Walken yukking it up in front of the camera your issues may run much deeper than mere coulrophobia!

See Christopher Walken. As a child. Dressed like a clown. here