In one of the best scenes in one of the greatest comedy series—Yes, Minister—Sir Desmond Glazebrook explains to Sir Humphrey Appleby that, yes, he does carry a copy of the Financial Times with him. But that doesn’t mean that he actually understands it.
Fortunately, the 404 error page of the Financial Times is far more comprehensible to those of us with a passing familiarity with economics. Or, if you’re like me, just smile and laugh when you see other people around you doing likewise. It will be less awkward.
Get ready for the uproar- the Bird of the Year (Te Manu Rongonui o Te Tau) competition has been won by a bat! The New Zealand organization Forest & Bird stages a poll each year to determine the best bird. This year, the winner is the long-tailed bat, or pekapeka-tou-roa. The announcement of the poll results has people wondering how a bat ever got into the competition, much less defeated the actual birds that were in the running.
This is the first time New Zealand’s only land mammal has been included in Forest & Bird’s annual contest, and it has flown away with the title.
“I think I’m going to be fired,” says Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year spokesperson Laura Keown.
Organizers say they included the bat in order to draw attention to it. In that they have succeeded wildly. On top of that, more votes were cast this year than in any previous year. The 2020 winner, the kākāpō, came in second in the polling. It's not the first time that the Bird of the Year contest was in the news for odd reasons. Last year, the contest had to deal with a case of voter fraud, in which 1500 votes had to be thrown out. -via Metafilter
Owlkitty is back, and starring in a new blockbuster! Well, not exactly new, as Jurassic Park is 28 years old, but the remix is new. Animator Tibo Charroppin has edited his very patient cat Lizzy into so many movies we know and love, but this one is more than just replacing a monster with a cat -it's a masterpiece of VFX. Notice how the lighting and even the lightning flashes are perfectly synched with the original film. And the scene has been altered in other ways to make sense with a giant cat. Lizzy, er, Owlkitty (previously at Neatorama) takes the part of the T-rex that menaces our heroes in their stalled cars, but the action hinges on the one thing a cat will always be drawn to- the sound of a can of Fancy Feast being opened. I know my cats go nuts for it. I'm lucky they aren't twenty feet tall! -via reddit
General Mills' first monster cereals, Count Chocula and Franken Berry, are marking their 50th anniversary. In celebration, they have released a cereal called Monster Mash in tribute to all five flavors of monster cereals, although the actual cereal is fruit flavored. Otherwise, they only have monster cereals in stores for a few months out of the year, so if you're into that sort of thing, you better get yours before the stores sell out.
You might be interested in the cereals' backstory. It turns out that General Mills already had the products, two oat-based cereals with marshmallows, one chocolate and the other strawberry flavored. The actual names came from the advertising department. But once the characters were named, they took off and never looked back. Mel magazine spoke with the copy writer responsible for the character's names, the artists who gave them character, the voice actors, and the people who developed the advertising juggernaut through the next 50 years. We learn how Boo Berry joined the team, and about the rise and fall of the short-lived Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy characters -and their cereals. Read an oral history of the monster cereals here.
It's finally Halloween, and it's time for some Ghostbusters! But this isn't Ray Parker, Jr. It's an entire chorus of anthropomorphic electronic devices! The Device Orchestra (previously at Neatorama) consists of 14 electronic gadgets in this song, including several electric toothbrushes (one dressed as a ghost), calculators, a steam iron, razors, card readers, printers of all kinds, and even a nail polishing device. Spare a thought for the impressive wiring and programming that went into producing this song, but also relax and enjoy these cute googly-eyed little gadgets as they sing the song of the season for you. -via Gizmodo
In 1908, competing expeditions to reach the North Pole were undertaken by Robert Peary and by Frederick Cook. Both claimed to have reached the Pole, Cook in 1908 and Peary in 1909. Cook's records were eventually deemed insufficient, and Peary is regarded as the first to reach the Pole, although the ruling is still controversial. A 1914 followup expedition to check the claims would make a compelling movie.
During the Pole expeditions, Peary claimed to have found a new body of land he called Crocker Land. Frederick Cook also identified a previously-unknown land mass he called Bradley Land. Finding those places would go a long way toward confirming the explorers' records, but ultimately, neither piece of land existed. Nevertheless, an expedition led by five scientists set out five years later to find Crocker Land.
As with many Arctic expeditions, anything that could possibly wrong did so. But in this journey, motivations that could be classified as downright evil contributed to the decline in expedition members, particularly among the Inuit guides. These included lust, lying, cultural genocide, and murder. All that was on top of the cold, disease, and thin ice that endangered so many other Arctic expeditions. Read about the ill-fated Crocker Land Expedition at historywithatwist. -via Strange Company
The investment works as a tool for conservation efforts and a way for the investors to get more money from tourism, glamping and rewilding safaris, and from the government’s post-Brexitenvironmental land management schemes.
Bir Tawil is the last unclaimed, habitable land on Earth. Wedged in between Egypt and Sudan, the oddity has captured the attention of thrill-seekers, curious minds, and people who want a chance to own or rule an unowned plot of land.
At the moment, Dwain Coward, a 41-year-old barrister from south London, proclaims himself the king of Bir Tawil. He even did a coronation ceremony, complete with a crown and oath to develop his ‘new country.’ His interest in the land is due to the belief that Bir Tawil can become an ‘oasis of possibility.’ When travel restrictions due to the pandemic are loosened, the barrister aims to travel to the land in order to redouble his efforts in persuading stakeholders to invest their futures in his vision.
A Zeer pot is a traditional pot-in-pot refrigerator that dates back as far as 3000BC. Surprisingly enough, this kitchen gadget is still used in India and Nigeria. These kinds of pots are composed of two clay pots, an outer pot lined with wet sand, and an inner pot where food items can be stored.
London-based designer Ellie Perry created a modern interpretation of the Zeer pot called the Terracooler. Unlike its predecessor, this new pot is tri-tiered and fits right on the kitchen counter. Learn more about this handy kitchen tool here.
I wonder if the student would mind if I borrow her idea? God knows we pour blood, sweat, and tears into making our thesis. It’s a very difficult feat, and we need to celebrate our success in every possible way!
You can visit these extravagant and beautiful churches and marvel at their unique architecture. Each one is a testament to the trends of its time. They serve as a record of architectural trends that future generations can study regardless of religious affiliation.
From detailed sculptures that adorn these buildings, to their towering tops and onion domes, Luxury Columnist lists the top religious edifices around the globe. Check the full list here.
Josh Sundquist has become a legend for his clever Halloween costumes that always incorporate the fact that he has only one leg. We've posted almost all of them over the years. Today he revealed what he's been working on for 2021. He's a microscope!
You have to wonder where the inspiration for this came from. Does it have a hidden meaning, or did he decide to do it because it's difficult? Sundquist has made himself into inanimate objects before, like the leg lamp and the IHOP sign. The Pixar lamp is definitely animated, even though it's a lamp. Oh yeah, and then there was the Christmas tree, which was featured in a rather hilarious video that runs through Sundquist's previous costumes. -via Bored Panda
People who use Ring doorbell and security cameras send in unusual things they've recorded to the company, which then makes occasional compilation videos for our amusement. This is the Halloween edition, in which we see plenty of costumed characters, some acting as expected and others not so much. There are also creepy critters, from spiders and bats to a bear who wants that pumpkin and a coyote who wants that house cat. While the narration can be a bit annoying at times, they also slip in some Halloween trivia in order to avoid any hint of silence. -via Boing Boing
Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills were a patent medicine first manufactured in 1854 and promoted as a cure for dyspepsia, liver trouble, women's ailments, pimples, and a host of other maladies. They were manufactured and sold by various Comstock family businesses and their partners, and are still sold today in Australia.
But what makes them really interesting is the marketing. The advertisement shown above is dated to somewhere between 1870 and 1900. It has a cat and a poem, which draws the attention, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with medicine. It turns out that this is a series of ads, with a much longer complete poem that tells us what happens to the cat. Continue reading to see the rest of the series.
This dog has guts! A playful Labrador interrupted a soccer game and demanded a belly rub in Gori, Georgia. Many players tried to catch the dog and remove him from the field, including the referee. Instead of feeling scared or threatened, the dog thought they were playing a game and happily ran away from them. The dog was eventually coaxed to get off the pitch. No one really knows where the dog came from or how it got into the field.
