Jamie Rust had nothing to do during the lockdown, and so he just decided to improve upon what he likes to do: BBQ. And so, when he, along with some mates, took on the Restaurant Challenge by Altons BBQ World, Rust gave it his best shot. The contest was simple: “replicate classic dishes from some of the biggest chains around, such as KFC, Nando's and Pizza Express.”

… he didn't hold back, forking out £60 ($78) on the ingredients to make his own Big Mac, fries, Filet-O-Fish and apple pie.

In preparation, the dad-of one said he went down to his local branch which supplied him with the packaging so it looked a touch more authentic.

He said: "I cooked 99 percent of the whole menu, made my own Maccies uniform, and even made a custom Lego toy that looked like me with a set of tongs and a BBQ.

"The Sausage and Egg McMuffin and Chicken Legend were identical! Everything else was better than Maccies because of the fresh ingredients and seasoning."

Rust won with a score of 9.9/10. But the battle does not end here, as there’s still the second round, where he hopes to step things up a gear.

The McDonald’s menu took him 18 hours to make.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: LADbible/@bro.n.slo)

What does Queen Elizabeth II eat? How many meals does she have in a day? What is her “guilty pleasure”? What kind of food does she like? What kind of food does she hate? How does she act when she doesn’t like the food? The Queen’s former chef, Darren McGrady answers all of these questions in this article over at Independent.

(Image Credit: NASA/ Bill Ingalls/ Wikimedia Commons)

At first glance, this might be a toy that you would give to your child. But on second glance, you’ll notice that it comes with a cord which you can attach to it, and then you realize that this isn’t a toy — it’s a fully functioning mini iron. Sold by Japanese company Piera, this tiny appliance costs ¥1,078 (around $10.17).

So just how small is the Mini Iron, as it’s officially (and very appropriately) called? 10 centimeters long by 6.5 wide and 6 tall (3.9, 2.6, and 2.4 inches). If those numbers are too tiny to be meaningful to your mind’s eye, here it is next to an iPhone 7.

Staff over at SoraNews24 tested the product over some shirts. Know what they found out over at the site.

(Image Credit: SoraNews24)

Yunomine Village, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan — The sun had not yet risen, but the kitchen staff of this traditional Japanese Inn, called Ryokan Adumaya, is already busy preparing their local specialty for their guests.

In one corner of the brightly lit kitchen, Jitsuo Shinka was stirring a large pot of rice porridge, nimbly scooping it in his ladle and gently letting it spill back into the mixture. As the porridge came to a boil, a thick, slightly yellowish foam built up that threatened to spill over the rim of the metal pot.

We all know that porridge is a common dish in many places, so what makes this porridge stand out from the others? The answer is found in the water used.

… it is made with water from Yunomine’s ancient onsen (natural hot spring).

[...]

According to local residents, cooking with onsen water does not radically alter the taste of food, but it does make it milder in flavour. Unlike regular tap water, it also has the benefit of keeping meat tender, even if you cook it for a long time.

Know more about this Japanese village, as well as the properties of the hot spring water, over at BBC.

(Image Credit: Michiyo Nakamoto/ BBC)

Detroit — Had she regained consciousness a little later, her blood would have been drained and she would have been embalmed. Thankfully, this young woman, named Timesa Beauchamp, who was declared dead, opened her eyes at the funeral home just in time before any of this could happen.

The Southfield fire department acknowledged it was involved in a bizarre set of events Sunday that began when a medical crew was summoned to a home where a 20-year-old woman was unresponsive.

Paramedics tried to revive the woman for 30 minutes and consulted an emergency room doctor, the department said.

The Oakland County medical examiner’s office said the body could be released to the family without an autopsy, according to the fire department.

But then came a startling discovery at the James H. Cole funeral home in Detroit: The woman was still alive more than an hour later.

More details about this story over at AP News.

That was close!

(Image Credit: Pixabay)

One of the most common problems that teens and adults have to deal with is acne. It is a skin condition present in many places around the world, affecting millions of people. It is said that up to 50 million Americans are affected by acne annually. But what is it, really?

Here’s what actually happens in your skin to form a zit: A hair follicle becomes clogged with natural oil, known as sebum, along with dead skin cells and bacteria. This is accompanied by inflammation, part of the body’s immune response, which is what causes the redness and swelling. The more sebum and bacteria, the more acne. But then things get tricky.

Part of what makes acne so difficult to treat is that there are many contributing factors. Hormone fluctuations spur many acne flare-ups. So, changes in women’s hormones during menstruation, pregnancy or menopause makes acne more common in women.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for acne. But there are many ways to reduce their occurrence on your face.

More details about this over at Discover Magazine.

(Image Credit: Kjerstin_Michaela/ Pixabay)

Like Bilbo Baggins said, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door." Just stay inside. If not, then a smoking tire may slam into your house.

Ben Stentz, the homeowner, should at least be grateful that the stray tire rung his doorbell. That was good manners.

-via TYWKIWDBI

As a means of helping photographers make money, Google Images is trialling a “Licensable” tag on image results. This tag is a project that the company has been working on since early 2018. To strengthen the photographer’s claim on their photos, Google has removed the “view image” button that lets users download high-res images straight from the search results and added metadata to the search results. The licensing button is a new addition to their efforts, as Fstoppers details: 

In order to have the licensing option appear alongside your image within a Google Image search, the licensing information needs to be specified on your website.

A link is then provided which guides users to more information about how to license. The feature is still in testing mode and is yet to be rolled out – although anyone who currently owns their own photo website can input the licensing information for their photos through metadata. 

Image via Fstoppers

Relax, they’re not bringing the furniture from the game in real life. The furniture company has recreated its catalog in the style of Animal Crossing: New Horizons! IKEA Taiwan redid key pages from its 2021 catalog using furniture from the game. It’s a fun marketing stunt that’s for sure, as PetaPixel details: 

the company shared images showing the original page from the catalog alongside a recreation done in Animal Crossing.

The video game versions aren’t always a perfect match, since you can’t find every bit of IKEA furniture and interior design “stuff” in the Animal Crossing video game, but they got surprisingly close and created something fun at the same time:

Image via PetaPixel

Taking photos of a beautiful starry night takes skill and precision. Sometimes we might experience a pretty sky at night and be able to capture it using our phones, but it takes more effort and patience to fully try out astrophotography. Photographer Jess Santos shares some tips and tricks that can help beginners push their night images to the next level. Check the full piece here. 

image via Shutterbug

Stuntman Tim Howell climbed to the peak of Lord Berkeley’s Seat, which was 4,000 feet from the ground. The 31-year-old stuntman from Somerset made the climb to the Ann Teallach mountain range and jumped from its peak. Howell was accompanied by photographer Hamish Frost, who was able to take photos before and after his jump. Some of the images were captured with a helmet- mounted camera that uses software to automatically remove the camera from the image. 

Image via Scotsman

Wikipedia is a crowdsourced font of information about everything, usually with sources cited. But Wikipedia exists in many languages, and since the editors and admins are all volunteers, who is safeguarding all those various versions? Redditor Ultach tells us that one user has been posting Wikipedia articles on the Scots language version since 2013 -around 20,000 of them, or a third of the entire inventory. This one person began at age 12 and is now an administrator of the Scots language Wikipedia. But they are no true Scotsman.

The problem is that this person cannot speak Scots. I don’t mean this in a mean spirited or gatekeeping way where they’re trying their best but are making a few mistakes, I mean they don’t seem to have any knowledge of the language at all. They misuse common elements of Scots that are even regularly found in Scots English like “syne” and “an aw”, they invent words which look like phonetically written English words spoken in a Scottish accent like “knaw” (an actual Middle Scots word to be fair, thanks u/lauchteuch9) instead of “ken”, “saive” instead of “hain” and “moost” instead of “maun”, sometimes they just sometimes leave entire English phrases and sentences in the articles without even making an attempt at Scottifying them, nevermind using the appropriate Scots words. Scots words that aren’t also found in an alternate form in English are barely ever used, and never used correctly. Scots grammar is simply not used, there are only Scots words inserted at random into English sentences.

When doing research for an article on Scots I did think the Scots Wikipedia felt more like parody or humour than a real project, & ended up deciding not to cite anything from it. Still staggered by this.

— Reply Guy #BPD #anxiety #fml (@no_frankly) August 25, 2020

Some consider the unnamed teenager to be well intended but misguided, akin to Cecilia Gimenez' restoration of the artwork called Ecce Homo. Others consider them a troll or vandal. At the minimum, it's language appropriation. Metafilter has quite an informative discussion about it. Another Scots Wikipedia admin has an AMA discussing what should be done. And a Facebook group has sprung up, inviting native Scots speakers to help clean up Scots Wikipedia.

(Image credit: Wikipedia)

Before the rise of selfies, there were small photographic prints on cards. These were called carte de visites, and they were popular during the Victorian era. The carte de visites (CdV) were initially expensive and difficult to produce, but that didn’t stop people from offering theirs to other people during their social visits. Homes often had a tray for collecting these calling card-esque photographs. Besides the owner’s photograph, the CdV contains the owner’s name and an emblem, as DIYPhotography details: 

In 1854, Paris photographer Andre Adolphe Disderi patented the 2 1/2″ x 4″ carte de visite format. They were created by using a sliding plate holder and a camera with four lenses. The technique spread to the photographic studios in the great cities of the world. Carte de visites were extensively used in the American Civil War era as families sought mementos before loved ones left for war. Queen Victoria had numerous albums filled with images of her extensive family.

Small and inexpensive to produce, cartes de visites became the international standard. They were collected, exchanged and placed in family albums. Most carte de visites were taken in studios but some adventurous photographers took them outdoors in early examples of photojournalism.

For many people, posing for a carte de visite was the first time they had been photographed. Smiles are almost completely absent. Some people look ill at ease. Most photographers posed their subjects as if they were being painted for a grand oil painting. Look past the stern expressions and you will see Victorian fashion, various accessories and props, uniforms, and hair styles and epic facial hair.

From 1860 until the end of the century, carte de visites were immensely popular. But people didn’t just want pictures of themselves or loved ones, carte de visites of celebrities were also in demand. Images of politicians, authors, explorers, sports stars and other people of note were widely circulated. Eventually the larger cabinet cards replaced CdVs as the technology behind photography continued to advance.

Image via DIYPhotography

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Should we all be this happy in 2020!!!♥️

A post shared by Amy (@a_doll_like_me) on Jan 1, 2020 at 4:20pm PST

Not every child looks the same. For kids with physical disabilities, it can be hard to relate closely to a doll that is very physically different. That's why former social worker Amy Jandrisevits makes dolls that have bodies like their child caretakers. My Modern Met reports:

The meticulous work is seen by Jandrisevits as a direct reflection of the recipients themselves. “We need to see each child as a work of art—a masterpiece. While doll-making is an art form, the real canvas is the child him/herself. If we want to become a society that values differences and inclusivity, this is where we start. We start with something as simple as a doll—a human likeness.”

Jandrisevits has made about three hundred dolls so far. You can see examples of her work on Instagram.

Paying online bills. Using GPS. Sending emails. These are just some of the things that we could do today, and it’s all thanks to our satellites, man-made machines that orbit around our planet. Sooner or later, however, these machines cease functioning, and this created a new problem for us to solve. That problem is space junk.

Technically referred to as orbital debris, space junk is any defunct human-made object remaining in space or reentering Earth’s atmosphere. Experts estimate that there are already millions of pieces of space junk in orbit, ranging from chips of paint and scraps of metal to used-up rocket stages and defunct satellites. The debris multiplies each time objects collide or a fuel leak causes a satellite or rocket to explode.

Eventually, this debris will fall back to Earth as atmospheric drag causes it to spiral into lower and lower orbits, a process that can take anywhere from weeks to millennia. (Atmospheric drag is similar to the force you feel when you put your hand out a car window as it’s moving, only much weaker because the density of air in space is so low.) Most debris will burn up as it reenters the atmosphere, but there are some exceptions. In 1978, a Soviet Union spy satellite powered by uranium failed in orbit, just months after it had launched, and fell back toward Earth. Instead of burning up on reentry, fragments—some of which were radioactive—scattered across the Canadian North. Just this past May, an almost twenty-tonne chunk of space junk from a recent rocket launch passed over Los Angeles and New York before crash landing in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Mauritania. It was moving so fast that scientists couldn’t predict with certainty where it would land.

While they may not be raining down on Earth, space junk also poses another problem — it could collide with our active satellites (including the International Space Station), which could wipe out satellite communications and cost us millions of dollars.

One way in which we could solve this problem is by retrieving these space junk. But, like any other space project, this one would be very expensive as well.

More details about this over at The Walrus.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: NASA/ Wikimedia Commons)