(Photo: DNAinfo/Mina Bloom)
In the 1988 movie Coming to America, Eddie Murphy plays an African prince who comes to New York City in search of the sort of woman he wishes to marry: an independent-minded American woman. Casting aside his royal wealth and position, Prince Akeem gets a lowly job at McDowell's -- a fast food restaurant is that is clearly a knockoff of the McDonald's brand.
(Image: Paramount Pictures)
In 2007, the student chapter of the American Chemical Society at Clarkson University celebrated National Chemistry Week with this display of the periodic table of elements carved into pumpkins. I wonder if the transuranic pumpkins rotted before the others?
-via Marilyn Bellamy
What makes a costume scary is a matter of opinion, but few would be comfortable around a working beekeeper, whether it’s Halloween or not! Still, think long and hard about this idea before you use it for trick-or-treat. This is the latest comic from Eric Erbes at Statistical Fact. -Thanks, Eric!
Since Halloween is on a Saturday this year, many people wore Halloween costumes to work, school, or parties yesterday. Lucky us! Some really good ones have already been posted on the internet. Like the pun costume Jon Snow White.
Redditor mankardo shared a picture of the Game of Thrones/Disney Princess mashup. 
Another pun costume is Ash Wednesday. That’s Ash Ketchum from the Pokemon franchise mashed up with Wednesday Addams. Redditor kdanson introduced him to us.
Everyone loves the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Homestar Runner is back with a Halloween special! Strong Bad wants to open a haunted house with new and different features that instill a more modern sort of dread. Welcome to St. Cadaverstump’s totally not just an old furniture warehouse Mortuary!
Pay close attention to the Halloween costumes the regulars wear for this. When it says “end,” it’s not the end. When the credits run, that’s not the end, either. -via Metafilter
Every Halloween, adults are prompted to reminisce about candies we loved that are no longer manufactured. Most of those are gone because of business decisions: either they didn’t sell well or the manufacturer is gone. But there have been candies that disappeared for more interesting reasons, like consumer complaints or even copyright infringement. You might think the Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge Chew Bar shown here disappeared because it was in bad taste (or tasted bad), but the real reason is much more horrifying.
It came as little surprise to many when a candy called “Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge Chew Bars” was recalled in 2011 for being, yes, toxic. Tests by the California Department of Public Health indicated that many of the bars had "elevated levels of lead"–approximately .24 parts per million, more than double the standard US FDA “tolerance” of .1 parts per million. Of course, lead poisoning can be fatal, especially in pregnant women and children under six years old.
As for the culprit, Indianapolis’ Candy Dynamics sold the candy (they are still in business), but it was manufactured in Pakistan, a country notorious for having lax safety and health standards. Luckily, no one reported becoming sick from the candy. The recall was self-imposed, out of what Candy Dynamics called "an abundance of caution."
Read the stories behind five other candy disappearances in a list at Atlas Obscura.
What's your favorite horror movie? I'd love to hear your answers in the comments, but if you'd like to vote against other horror fans you'll want to head over to The Daily Dot where you can help vote for the top horror film of all time. Since Halloween is almost here the bracket is almost closed, so you can help narrow things down between Shaun of the Dead, The Exorcist, The Shining and Alien. Which one will win? Only time will tell.
Chris Poole wanted to take pictures of his cats Cole and Marmalade in their Halloween costumes. Cole is Batcat and Marmalade is Supermarm. He even made an elaborate backdrop for the pictures. But cats don’t like to cooperate with anything a human comes up with. If you get them to look at the camera, they immediately jump at it. If you distract their attention away from the camera, all you see is the rear of the cat. So it goes.
Cats do much better in video form, where you can watch their movements ranging from graceful to disgraceful to hilarious. -via Tastefully Offensive
See also: more from Cole and Marmalade.
Alexis Noriega of Tucson Estates, Arizona makes amazingly detailed and precise costumes and clothing using feathers. At her Etsy shop, Noriega says that she's already booked through November. I'm not surprised! Her craftsmanship is incredible.
In this video, Noriega shows off a pair of wings that almost look natural. They're pneumatically controlled with the push of a button, spreading and contracting. On Facebook (auto-start video), she explains that they cost about $2500 and that she hopes to put up a video tutorial about them soon.
-via Laughing Squid
The little girl, who appears to be dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, sees the animatronic monster in front of the house. She realizes that she's not in Kansas anymore and decides that she wants no part of trick-or-treating at this house. I don't blame her. As she says, "That's freaky."
-via 22 Words
The question is, should you be Cinderella or a Transformer for Halloween? Or maybe a better question is, should you be Cinderella before meeting your fairy godmother, or after? Why not both? Just say, "Bibbity-bobbity-boo!"
Bumbly Bee is a costume designer and cosplayer. She designed, made, and modeled this award-winning Cinderella transformation. It's downright magical! -via Buzzfeed
(Image credit: Bubbly Bee Cosplays)
For those of us who wait all year for the spookiest of holidays, it's hard to believe that Halloween is finally almost upon us. But if you're a bit of a slacker and still haven't finished decorating, don't worry, there's still time.
In fact, there are some downright delightfully spooky additions you can make to your decor in no time. We even did you the favor of roundin up quite a few clever, quick a creepy ideas you can do today and tomorrow to make sure your home is ready for all the ghosts and ghouls visiting over the weekend. So don't miss the full article at Homes and Hues: 8 Super Easy Halloween Decorations You Can Make Last Minute
A video from The Royal Institution explains in a very calm, subdued, British way what happens when you burn iron oxide and aluminum powder inside a pumpkin. The visual effects are quite impressive.
It’s also quite dangerous, so don’t try this at home. Please. Thermite is nothing to fool around with. -via The Daily Dot
This "Walter White" mask is one part meth-dealer, one part Leather Face and one part just-plain-no. And it's only one of the many WTF costumes Flavorwire discovered are available for sale on Etsy this year.
While it might be a little too late to have an item delivered on this list to your house in time for Halloween (though I don't know why you would though) you can at least get the PDF instructions to make this terrible Lady Gaga lobster hat.
You remember Nibbles the Duck: he’s the one who couldn’t wait for his boy Jonny to get home from school. Now Nibbles is modeling his Halloween costume. He’s a Lobster!
You could say the costume is, um, daffy. What makes the video is the infectious laughter. Nibbles is quite a trooper. He’ll put up with anything for his beloved, if somewhat wacky, family. -via Tastefully Offensive
