Can your neighbor sue you if you decide to follow his herd of cows, record bits of audio from them, and use this audio for a song? Reddit user ProfessionalTom seems to have been very curious when he asked this question at the discussion website.

“I plan on using these sounds in my tracks. He saw me following the herd and recording a plethora of samples of his cows,” Tom writes.

“When he asked me what it is for, I said I will use them in a song. He laughed and didn't seem to mind. His son was there though, and he knows my artist name.

“Now I wonder whether they can take over my song if they change their minds because it contains sounds of their cows.

Many Reddit users were quick to answer Tom’s question, and most of them said that his neighbor wouldn’t be able to sue him.

“How would he prove that the recording uses the sound of his cows, specifically?” he asks (fair point). “Do they sound more distinctive than other cows? There’s no claim to be made here whatsoever; you made the recording and it belongs to you.”

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Peggy_Marco/ Pixabay)

… and other restaurants and independent food outlets as well.

The fast food chain that usually throws shade at McDonald’s states that they “never thought [they’d] be asking you to do this.”

Is it just me or is it really weird to see Burger King like this? I have to say, however, that this is easily one of the most wholesome things to happen this year.

Well, what do you think?

(Image Credit: Burger King UK on Facebook)

Bees are known to be diurnal creatures, and are usually seen foraging for food in broad daylight. However, not all bees are diurnal. Some are capable of foraging at night, like these two bee species recently discovered by scientists.

The study by a team of ecology researchers has observed night time foraging behaviour by a nomiine (Reepenia bituberculata) and masked (Meroglossa gemmata) bee species, with both developing enlarged compound and simple eyes which allow more light to be gathered when compared to their daytime kin.

Published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, the researchers explain that this improved low-light ability could potentially also exist in other Australian species secretly active at night, with their image processing ability best observed through high-resolution close-up images.

Now this is new.

Learn more details about the study over at PHYS.org.

(Image Credit: James Dorey, Flinders University/ PHYS.org)

If you were not able to see Mars last month, then you just missed the opportunity to see Mars in the best time possible. But it’s okay. Mars can still be seen this month, but it will seem to be darker and smaller than it was last month (because it will go farther from Earth). Other than the Red Planet, there might also be other planets which you would like to observe, and Space.com tells us which planets are the best ones to observe this month.

Find out more about this over at the site.

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

A research study recently published in the journal Animals seems to have strengthened the case against using whips on horses. The study found out that “whips make no difference to horse steering, jockey safety, or even a horse's speed.” Previous studies years ago had already established that whipping horses can potentially be “both painful and dangerous”.

We analysed reports for 126 races involving a total of 1,178 starters (horses and jockeys). These included all 67 hands and heels "whipping-free" races in the period starting January 2017 and ending December 2019. For these, we were able to case-match 59 traditional "whipping-permitted" races.

Thus, we were able to compare the performance of racehorses under both "whipping-free" and "whipping-permitted" conditions in real racing environments, to figure out whether whipping makes horses easier to steer, safer to ride, and/or more likely to win.

Our results indicated no significant differences between horse movement on the course, interference on the course, the frequency of incidents related to jockey behaviour, or average race finishing times.

Put simply, whip use had no impact on steering, safety, or speed. Contrary to longstanding beliefs, whipping racehorses just doesn't work.

Learn more details about this over at Science Alert.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: marcelkessler/ Pixabay)

Do you think you can date a photograph just by looking at it? That may be easy for famous historical pictures we see all the time, but what about all the other news images that don’t become quite as iconic? Test your skills by taking a short quiz at The Pudding. While it’s almost impossible to get them exactly right, getting close counts. And as you’ll see from the results, the point is not so much how you score, but how your score compares to others who take the quiz. -via Digg

You wouldn’t expect The Home Depot to sell cute products, because they are known for their hardware and construction products. That’s why Paul Strauss of Technabob was surprised when he saw this Elvis-inspired squirrel, called “Elmer the Rock and Roll Squirrel,” alongside the store’s usual line of products.

I’m not sure what it was about my shopping for PVC deck parts that made Home Depot’s ad retargeting vendor recommend this Elvis-inspired squirrel, but now I must have one for my yard. So I guess the technology is working properly. Somehow the algorithm knew that I would want one of these. Not only that, it must have known that I edit a website filled with strange and wonderful products, and would tell all of my readers about it.

You can get your hands on the king of rock and roll squirrels over at The Home Depot for $23.98.

Well, what do you think?

(Image Credit: The Home Depot/ Technabob)

Uh, surprise? Imagine the shock the owner of this Ford Mustang felt when he opened the hood of his car and found a new addition to his car’s interior: a massive Burmese python! Thankfully, no one was hurt from the surprise encounter, as officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded quickly to remove the 10-foot-long reptile, as KTLA details: 

Pythons are an invasive species in Florida and are found largely in south Florida and in the Everglades. Burmese pythons are native to Asia, from eastern India through Vietnam and southern China.

The Burmese python population in the state is believed to have been created in part by escaped or released pets.

FWC officials say the snakes are a threat to native wildlife as predators and also competition for food. A 2012 study found that the most severe decline in native species happened in the southernmost region of the Everglades National Park, where marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits and foxes “effectively disappeared,” according to the USGS. The raccoon population fell by 99.3%, the opossum population by 98.9% and the bobcat population by 87.5%.

Image via KTLA

Update: Metro bungelt op 8 meter hoogte na ongeval Spijkenisse (video)

Het artikel staat online:→ https://t.co/kW5ZiiEEy1 pic.twitter.com/WcgJsndpsq

— Joey Bremer (@010fotograaf) November 2, 2020

A light train in Spijkenisse, the Netherlands derailed on Sunday. Fortunately, it didn't plunge down into water 30 feet below. Instead, the rear-most car got stuck on a sculpture shaped like a whale's tail. BBC News reports:

"We are trying to decide how we can bring the train down in a careful and controlled manner," one official told the Dutch national broadcaster NOS on Monday. [...]

The sculpture, titled Whale Tails, is the work of the architect and artist Maarten Struijs, and was erected in the water at the end of the tracks in 2002.

Mr Struijs told NOS that he was surprised the structure did not break.

At the time of the crash, the train was empty of passengers and the driver was uninjured.

-via Design You Trust

There are too many practical people on the internet today. This bed frame of a provenance unknown to me appears to allow cats to wander in and out at will.

But how will you detect the cat vomit before it sets deeply into the carpet? And if you simply can't locate your cat and begin a panic attack (I have owned a cat for only one year but can attest that this phenomenon is real), your search must include moving your mattress completely off its frame. Thus many internet denizens reject this design as impractical.

Is the cuteness factor really worth the stress?

-via Messy Nessy Chic

Even without direction from its brain, the octopus’s arms can snatch food on the ocean floor without much difficulty. That’s because the arms can operate semi-independently from the brain. But how can the arms identify what is food and what is not even without the guidance of the brain? It would seem that this feat could be attributed to the ability of the octopus arms to “taste.”

… researchers have identified specialized cells not seen in other animals that allow octopuses to “taste” with their arms. Embedded in the suckers, these cells enable the arms to do double duty of touch and taste by detecting chemicals produced by many aquatic creatures. This may help an arm quickly distinguish food from rocks or poisonous prey, Harvard University molecular biologist Nicholas Bellono and his colleagues report online October 29 in Cell.

Just imagine being able to taste stuff with just your limbs. I don’t know if that’s creepy or amazing.

More details about this over at Science News.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: albert_kok/ Wikimedia Commons)

With the many types of chargers for different types of devices, it can be very difficult for a blind person to charge a device. Fortunately, there are charger manufacturing companies that have thought of addressing this problem by putting Braille on the charger, so that the blind person can identify which charger is which.

(Image Credit: u/cabbagesforsale/ Reddit)

Sadly, it’s not a robot alien. Aww. The flying car, called KleinVision AirCar, can transform from a land vehicle to an air vehicle in less than three minutes! Watch the video to see how the car transforms. It’s like magic! 

(via Flipboard)

Image screenshot via Flipboard 

The Gifu Prefecture in Japan is home to Shirakawa-go, a historic community recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The village is composed of Gassho-style homes, unique structures with thatched roofs that can withstand heavy snowfall. To protect the village, a biannual event called the Water Hose Festival is held to test the site’s ability to respond to fire, as Colossal details: 

The flammable and historic nature of the structures spurred caretakers to install massive sprinklers and hoses to prevent extensive damage. Each year in December and May, they test the lines and douse the homes, according to the video above that shows a similar process occurring at a site in Miyama. The systems are concealed inside structures that mimic the original architecture, and the new buildings open from the center allowing water to erupt into the air, a spectacular and almost comical process. 

Image via  Colossal

The Hobbit is a fantasy film and Mad Max: Fury Road is an apocalyptic chase scene, but they have a lot more in common than you might think. This trailer mashup only drives that idea home. -via reddit