A donor took a piano to a Goodwill store. Is it in tune? Why, no, but that only lends an air of authenticity when a patron sat down and played "Alley Cat" by Danish composer Bent Fabric. The ragtime tune sounds right at home on this instrument. With a one-time tune-up, it would be a fine addition to a home with children learning to play. Meanwhile, the folks shopping at Goodwill got a free concert while they selected items to buy. -via reddit
Who would hang a stocking by the chimney with care if they didn't want treats stuffed in it? That's not teh story here. Craig Groeschel posted this picture of his wife Amy showing off the new Christmas stocking that just arrived. The caption says,
Guess what @amygroeschel typed in the box that said, “Would you like a name to personalize your stocking?”
We come across the command that "all fields must be filled" so often that we forget that there are some fields that truly do not need to be filled in. This one's funny enough to become a family heirloom. -via reddit
If you've been a Star Wars fan for any length of time, you are probably familiar with the 1978 fan film Hardware Wars, which was a recreation of the first Star Wars movie made on a budget of about $20 using whatever was lying around. We posted it here at least once. It set the standard for all Sweded fan films to follow.
Released in 1978, filmmaker Ernie Fosselius released a crude-but-endearing 13-minute short film that recreated the original Star Wars, only with appliances. Characters Fluke Starbucker (with his flashlight lightsaber) and Augie “Ben” Doggie meet an ace pilot named Ham Salad who flies them all around in a giant iron that battles flying toasters.
I went to see The Last Jedi Saturday evening. Without giving away any spoilers, there is a moment where my brain went haywire when I saw a spaceship that looked just like a vintage steam iron. Wait, what? Yes, it was a deliberate reference to Hardware Wars. Director Rian Johnson admits to it, and was delighted that some fans knew what they were seeing. He talked to Mike Ryan about the easter egg he slipped in just for older hardcore fans at Uproxx. The post there contains no major spoilers.
Many people will be hitting the slopes this winter, and some of those people will even go skiing despite the fact that snowboarding is way more fun.
But whether you like shredding powder or shushing down the runs you're bound to run in to one thing while you're at the ski resort- trail signs.
They're posted everywhere to keep skiiers safe and show them where to find each trail, but these signs usually don't contain much information about what the skiier should expect on each slope.
Which is why these honest trail signs are something every ski resort should consider implementing, so that skiiers can avoid all the child-shaped hazards and hit the slope that best fits their personality.
-Via Bored Panda
Chili Klaus (previously at Neatorama) is a musician and hot pepper vendor. He went back to visit the Herning Boys Choir, the choir he once belonged to, to sing some Christmas music. Here they perform "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful."
But Chili Klaus always has a hot pepper up his sleeve. I don't know how he convinced the entire choir to eat a ghost pepper and sing, but he did, and the resulting music will being tears to your eyes. It certainly brought tears to their eyes! -via reddit
The anonymity afforded by the internet gives people the courage to make bold statements online they'd never say in person, acting like the things they say online will never have an impact on their real life.
And even far less anonymous social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are full of people who have created a rich imaginary lives for themselves online- and they all seem to think they're total badasses.
A real badass knows actions speak louder than words, and they also know that making statements about your mommy after acting tough may result in your badass card being revoked.
But these internet tough guys don't care about real life badassery, they're too busy saying really hardcore stuff online so that everyone knows they're a keyboard warrior and an internet soldier, and totally not to be messed with.
See 12 "Badasses" Who Are Actually Just Bad A#%holes here (NSFW language)
Matt McCorkle and Sam Reider built an interactive soundboard that plays "Auld Lang Syne" in four-part harmony. The fun comes when you change which instrument plays which part, so you can design or own quartet! Or press the button in the middle to hear the full orchestra. An all-accordion quartet brings up the image of a completely different party than a string quartet. You can even add ambient sounds like people talking or a fireplace. Try it out the New Year's Music Box yourself. -via Laughing Squid
When a cat sets their mind to getting something they rarely give up until they get it, and cats have been known to bite the hand that feeds them if that something is food.
But I've never met a cat who liked bread, especially when their humans try to stick it on their heads like a mask, so we must assume Kelley Fultz's cat Mew Mew is trying to snatch her bread simply out of spite.
-Via Laughing Squid
Saint Nicholas, the bishop in Asia Minor who is considered to be the inspiration for Santa Claus, died over 1700 years ago. There are many stories of his generosity and selflessness, and the miracles he performed, even after his death, which were spread by sailors to other parts of the world. That's how Nicholas became a saint, and his earthly remains were venerated as other saints' remains were.
Sometimes, the miracles concerned the saints' own bodies. Their corpses would refuse to decay, exude an inexplicable ooze, or start to drip blood that mysteriously solidified and then reliquefied. So it was with Nicholas: at some point after his death, his bones began to secrete a liquid called manna or myrrh, which was said to smell like roses and possess potent healing powers.
The appearance of the manna was taken as a sign that Nicholas’s corpse was especially holy, and pilgrims began flocking by the thousands to his tomb in the port city of Myra (now called Demre). By the eleventh century, other cities started getting jealous. At the time, cities and churches often competed for relics, which brought power and prestige to their hometowns the way a successful sports team might today. Originally, the relics trade had been nourished by the catacombs in Rome, but when demand outstripped supply, merchants—and even monks—weren't above sneaking down into the crypts of churches to steal some holy bones. Such thefts weren't seen as a sin; the sanctity of the remains trumped any ethical concerns. The relics were also thought to have their own personalities—if they didn't want to be stolen, they wouldn't allow it. Like King Arthur's sword in the stone, they could only be removed by the right person.
There was no shortage of people who wanted those relics, and today Nicholas' tomb in Myra where he was first buried is empty. There has been more than one documented grave robbery, so who has St. Nicholas today? Bess Lovejoy wrote a book called Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses. An excerpt at Mental Floss follows what we know about the fate of St. Nicholas' remains.
(Image credit: Wellcome Images)
Christmas in the Goondocks by djkopet
The Goonies had better things to do than sit in the arcade all day playing video games, because every time they went outside to play their playtime turned into an epic adventure. But even though they beat the odds by taking down the Fratellis, and went on one of the most epic and dangerous adventures any kids have ever gone on, they still enjoy the simple things in life- like comic books, Baby Ruth candy bars and a happy ending on the beach!
Hey you guys! If you want your holidays to be merry and bright you've gotta grab this Christmas In The Goondocks t-shirt by Djkopet and dress for the occasion!
Visit djkopet's Facebook fan page, official website, Instagram and Twitter, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more radically retro designs:
| Merry Linkmas | Where the SideQuest Ends | Zombie Girl |
View more designs by djkopet | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts
Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!
These days most toys go through rigorous safety testing before being released, and yet a few defective playthings still manage to slip through and make it into stores before they're summarily recalled.
But back in the day defective and dangerous toys were coming out left and right, and yet kids still somehow managed to survive the days of lawn darts, Slip N' Slide and Moon shoes.
This countdown video by TheWacky doesn't include lawn darts, but it does include classic toys like Creepy Crawlers and the almighty Slip N' Slide that brought back great memories.
Oh, and when I was 10 I used a chemistry set I got for Christmas to make some kind of caustic and smoky substance that I used to get rid of a nest full of wasps in our tool shed. Good times!
Masuleh, Iran, is an ancient town that grew up around the iron mining industry. Its buildings are set against a mountainside with a 60 degree angle! Look closely, and you'll see that the roads and public spaces are the roofs of houses. This saves space and allows for a gradual ascent to the higher levels of the multi-level village. One man's front yard is another man's roof.
In many respects, it’s a city planner’s paradise — a place where roof surfaces are fully used and integrated, and no space is wasted. Another appealing prospect to many urbanists: no cars are allowed, as these would strain the structural limits of supporting architecture.
Even if the buildings could support vehicles, they still couldn't reach the different levels, which are accessible by stairs. See more pictures of Masuleh at 99% Invisible. -via Digg
(Image credit: Hoomanb)
Chris and Jess Poole decided it was asking for too much trouble to put up a Christmas tree this year, because Cole and Marmalade (previously at Neatorama) would just trash it again. Instead, they built a cat-friendly gingerbread house out of cardboard! They decorated it so festively that they don't miss having a tree. And the cats love it.
Watch them build the Christmas cardboard gingerbread house in this video. -via Laughing Squid
The overall winner of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards for 2017 is Tibor Kercz, for this amazing sequence of four pictures of a trio of young owls. One of them is a little clumsy, and his brothers look at him like they aren't at all surprised. The sequence, titled "Help," also won the category of Amazing Internet Portfolio. Kercz will receive a photo safari in Kenya, along with other prizes, for his entry. See the enlargeable photos of these and all the winners and honorable mentions in the various categories at the competition website.
The struggle is real. They say you shouldn't compare yourself to other people, and that the only one you should complete against is yourself. That's not so easy when the forces of the world are working against you in different ways, changing from one moment to the next. This comic is from Ryan and Laura Harby of the webcomic Honey Dill. There are additional updates to this comic here and here that you're sure to relate to. -via Geeks Are Sexy
