Video call conferences have become a part of our daily lives in the past months, and it seems that it will still be in the coming days.

When it comes to these video call conferences, a person in one normally has two things to worry about: his voice and his video. Because we don’t want people to hear or see some things in our home, oftentimes we find ourselves monitoring these two things during a video call. This is maybe why Logitech has developed this new mouse called the MX Anywhere 3. The said mouse has “customizable side buttons that control camera and mic settings during video chats”, which are real handy tools, if you ask me.

That’s not the only thing the two side buttons on the Anywhere 3 can do, but it’s the most interesting new setting you can choose. In addition to preset actions, there are app-specific actions you can choose from when customizing each button in the Logitech Options software. The newest ones let you press a side button to start/stop your video feed, or mute/unmute [your] mic, while on a Zoom or Microsoft Teams video call.

More details about this mouse over Engadget.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Valentina Palladino / Engadget)

Butts. The soft, hairy, appendages that are hilarious, erotic and functional seem to be very impactful in our lives. But have you ever wondered what their original purpose was? How did humanity decide that these cheeks were to be viewed as they are in the present? Gizmodo Australia presented those questions to multiple experts, along with the history of the human asscheek. Check their full piece here. 

image via Gizmodo 

Eating well is one of the easiest ways for us to stay healthy. Keeping a good and well-balanced diet can help us protect our body as time passes by. To keep our brain healthy and functional, we can eat foods that are rich in antioxidants, flavonoids, certain vitamins like choline and B vitamins, and healthy fats. If you don’t want to research those components to know what food you can eat to be ‘brain healthy,’ check out Woman’s World’s list of recommendations! 

image via Woman’s World 

Before the rise of the ever helpful toilet paper, have you wondered what ancient humans used to wipe after going to the bathroom? Medieval literature professor Susan Morrison believes that question is difficult to answer, because we lack the archaeological record to support any claim. Experts however, have recovered some samples that can give us a hint about what people back then would use for their designated potty time, as Live Science details: 

Throughout history, people have used everything from their own hands to corn cobs to snow to clean up after bowel movements. One of the oldest materials on record for this purpose is the hygiene stick, dating back to China 2,000 years ago, according to a 2016 study in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Hygiene sticks, also called bamboo slips, were wooden or bamboo sticks wrapped in cloth.

During the Greco-Roman period from 332 B.C. to 642 A.D., the Greeks and Romans cleaned their derrières with another stick called a tersorium, according to a feature in the BMJ. The tersorium, which had a sponge on one end, was left in public bathrooms for communal use. Some scholars argue that the tersorium may not have been used to clean people's behinds but the bathrooms they defecated in. People cleaned the tersorium by dumping it in a bucket of salt or vinegar water or by dipping it in running water that flowed beneath the toilet seats.

image via Live Science 

The local government of the Mexican state of Nuevo León finally downgraded their alert level from red to orange on September 4. This means that locals are now allowed to hold celebrations such as weddings provided they still maintain a distance of five feet from each other. This wedding was one great example of the locals obeying the state government.

Footage shows the moment several couples on the dance floor make sure to stay inside socially-distant squares marked by tape.

[...]

The video goes on to show the rest of the venue as the just-married couple is also seen enjoying a dance, but, unlike their guests, were not confined to a box or wearing face masks.

The Mexican 'epidemiological traffic light' system was created to notify locals which state of emergency they are in depending on the number of people hospitalised due to COVID-19.

It goes from green to yellow to orange to red in order of how serious the situation is at the time.

Cool!

(Image Credit: Newsflash/ DailyMail)

Are you healthy, adventurous, over 21, have a valid driver's license and a social media account, and love beer? Then you are invited to compete for the position of Michelob Ultra CEO. That's Chief Exploration Officer. The duties sound like a lot of fun.

In this case, the chosen CEO will be equipped with a camper van (that has a bathroom and shower), and over the course of six months, visit, hike and photograph several national parks, including Yosemite, Sequoia, Joshua Tree, Saguaro and Big Bend. The job pays $50,000 plus expenses, like gas money for their camper van. The candidate selected will have the opportunity to perform their CEO duties solo, or with a plus-one.

Yeah, that's something you should jump on. However, be aware that there is only one slot, and candidates will be judged on their affinity for the outdoors, photography skills, hiking experience, and enthusiasm, among other things. Read more about the promotional stunt/temp job at Lifehacker.

In the US, KitKat bars come in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and soon, mint flavor. These sweet treats are even more popular in Japan, where they've been made in more than 400 flavors! Would you try a purple sweet potato-flavored KitKat? Gimme a break! Some of those 400 flavors are regional, and some were limited editions, but in any Japanese store, you'll be confronted with a huge variety of KitKat flavors. That's because part of the allure of the KitKat bar is how versatile one can make it. And that "one" is pastry chef Yasumasa Takagi. -Thanks, WTM!

Now, that’s a way to tell people how much time we have left before the Earth gives up on us! Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd reprogrammed Metronome’s digital clock in Manhattan to show how much time our planet has left before it succumbs to global warming and climate change. The digital clock also serves as a call for action, for people to  reverse the effects of climate change before it’s too late, as the New York Times details: 

On Saturday at 3:20 p.m., messages including “The Earth has a deadline” began to appear on the display. Then numbers — 7:103:15:40:07 — showed up, representing the years, days, hours, minutes and seconds until that deadline.

“This is our way to shout that number from the rooftops.” Mr. Golan said just before the countdown began. “The world is literally counting on us.”

The Climate Clock, as the two artists call their project, will be displayed on the 14th Street building, One Union Square South, through Sept. 27, the end of Climate Week. The creators say their aim is to arrange for the clock to be permanently displayed, there or elsewhere.

image via The New York Times

The police not only rely on manpower, but on dog power as well, especially when it comes to cases that require their skills, like in drug trafficking and weapons distribution. A police dog is not just a co-worker for the officer who is assigned with one; the dog is family, and one of the most painful experiences in life is losing a family member.

For Malaysian police officer Patrick Sandai, saying goodbye to his ageing K9 partner Tho couldn't get anymore difficult and heart-wrenching.

"I’ve lost my first colleague," says Sandai.

On September 19, 2020, Tho passed away due to complications associated with old age, at twelve years and eight months.

Tho knew when Sandai wasn’t having a great day, and he would rub against the legs of his human partner. Tho was a testament that a dog is indeed a man’s best friend.

Learn more about Tho’s life over at Mashable.

Rest in peace, doggo.

(Image Credit: New Straits Times/ Bernama/ Mashable)

Polly Pockets are small dolls introduced in the 1980s that come in tiny cases that are their homes. They've grown since then, but the idea is still the same as it was when the first such doll was presented in a house made from a face powder compact. Now, ToyZone has collaborated with artist Jan Koudela to reimagine some of our favorite pop culture characters living in such compact cases. Click to the right on the image above to see the Byers residence from Stranger Things, Monica’s apartment from Friends, The Simpsons' home, a Hobbit house from Lord of the Rings, the Overlook Hotel from The Shining, and the home of the Royal Tenenbaums. These are computer-generated renderings, but you never know what can happen if the demand is there. Read more about them -and see closeups- at the ToyZone.  -via Laughing Squid

Researchers discovered fossils that are perfectly preserved in the western Liaoning Province in China. The 125-million-year-old dinosaur fossils, named Changmiania liaoningensis (which means "eternal sleeper from Liaoning" in Chinese), were possibly trapped by a volcanic eruption, as Fox News details:

"These animals were quickly covered by fine sediment while they were still alive or just after their death," said the study's co-author and paleontologist Pascal Godefroit, in a statement.

C. liaoningensis was small compared to its larger herbivore brethren, such as the titanosaur. It was approximately 4-feet long and had "very powerful hind legs" to go with a long tail, which suggests the ancient ornithopod was a strong and fast runner and walked upright, similar to iguanodons.

“However, certain characteristics of the skeleton suggest that Changmiania could dig burrows, much like rabbits do today,” Godefroit added. “Its neck and forearms are very short but robust, its shoulder blades are characteristic of burrowing vertebrates and the top of its snout is shaped like a shovel. So we believe that both Changmiania specimens were trapped by the volcanic eruption when they were resting at the bottom of their burrows 125 million years ago.”

As for their perfect preservation, the researchers suggest the two dinosaurs were resting when they died.

image via Fox News 

Tom Scott begins this video by telling us all the problems with monorails and why they never really caught on. So what good are they? There's a specific place for a monorail system where it works perfectly for its purpose. The secret was to make them small, and not use them to carry people. The upshot is that a failure in one industry could be just the thing for another industry. Oh yeah, James Bond figures in this video, too.

Nine years ago, we posted about the building of a 10,000-year clock. The project by the Long Now Foundation got a real boost in 2016 with a $42 million donation as well as some land in West Texas from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Now the clock is there, tucked underneath a mountain. It's not quite complete, but it's ticking, very slowly.

It ticks once a year, the century hand advances once every 100 years, the cuckoo comes out on the millennium, and it will keep time for the next 10,000 years. In the belly of a Texas mountain, picture a huge clock, hundreds of feet tall, and as you read this, it’s quietly ticking away against Doomsday. Over thirty years in the making, and now bankrolled by the world’s richest man, it’s a Jules Verne-worthy project that Jeff Bezos himself had to be a part of. The goal is to create an icon of long-term thinking, something that can keep time without human intervention and survive several millennia in the process. Got a minute to find out why?

Read about the philosophy behind the Long Now Foundation and its giant slow clock at Messy Messy Chic. You'll even find out how you can visit it ...although it won't be easy.

One of the easiest ways to put more fun and action in a photo is by adding in animals in the picture. Just look at these pictures from Sad and Useless. Chaotic and hilarious.

(Image Credit: Sad and Useless)

A Japanese cat named Shiroi (white) was known for her particularly long torso, said to be 65 cm from head to toe. An image of the cat was posted to 2chan in 2004 or 2005, and went viral. She came to be known as Nobiko (stretch) in Japan, and Longcat in English-speaking countries. Her owner Miko explains Nobiko's story. 

According to an interview with PETomorrow from last year, who interviewed Miko, Nobiko was rescued after being discovered on the street back in 2002. Nobiko, who was “thin and messy” after being found, was given a bath and revealed to be a beautiful “snow-white” cat. Upon being adopted, Nobiko lived with Miko and was the oldest of their seven cats. "Mr. Nobiko was deaf and couldn't hear any sound, so she might have slept in the middle of the road," Miko said. "I'm really glad that [we were] able to protect her before she was hit by a car."

Nobiko lived a long and pampered life, but crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Sunday.

Hong Kong-based pro-democracy website Stand News reported that Longcat had been rushed to the vet after being found in a weak state on Sunday morning. The cat eventually passed away at around 2pm local time.

See a roundup of Longcat images and tributes at CNET. She was at least 18 years old. -via Metafilter

(Image source: @aerosubaru)