Previously we've seen CineFix present seven facts about The Big Lebowski. Here are twenty-one facts about the film from Mental Floss. While two bits of trivia in the CineFix video are discussed here, the reader still comes out nineteen ahead, and even the facts that overlap are expressed differently and expanded upon here. Because when all is said and done, one can never know too much about The Dude, man. 

(Warning: Both the Mental Floss writer and the narrator in the CineFix video use the term "F-bomb," and you're far too mature for that. Read with caution.)

17.  LEBOWSKI WAS ONCE CITED IN A TEXAS SUPREME COURT DECISION

In 2014, Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrmann cited the movie in a legal decision on a freedom of speech case. Lehrmann noted that it’s common knowledge that prior restraint, or censorship prior to an expression taking place, has been largely rejected by “the Supreme Court, this Court, Texas courts of appeals, legal treatises, and even popular culture." A footnote attached quoted Walter Sobchak's claim that “the Supreme Court has roundly rejected prior restraint.”

Mermaid Tail Blanket

If you're looking for a way to treat or reward the kids in your life or are in need of a birthday gift or two, this collection of Etsy items is full of cute gifts — many hand knitted or sewn — from which to choose. Some of these items are even suitable for adult "kids" who are enthusiasts of things based on popular movies or games; the Wizard of Oz bookmark, for instance. Visit this link to see that item and 26 more, along with links to the various Etsy stores whose offerings are listed. 

Piñata Rug

Minecraft Bedding


Elsa from Frozen night light

The pieces shown here are custom made coffins from Teshie, Ghana, where the craft of is part of the local history. Seth Kane Kwei, a carpenter born in 1922, became known for his elaborate custom caskets. Kwei himself learned the craft from carpenter Ata Owoo who fashioned specially made coffins for tribal chiefs. 

Today, Seth Kane Kwei has now passed on, but the workshop named after him and run by his ancestors is a successful business. The company, called Kane Kwei Company Workshop, makes wood coffins according to the occupations, hobbies, interests or loves of the deceased. 

See more examples of these specially made coffins at the Kane Kwei Company Workshop Facebook Page. -Via Messy Nessy Chic

 
  

New York City-based graphic designer and recent Rhode Island School of Design graduate Annalisa Van Den Bergh created this series of minimalist graphics illustrating her perception of the differences between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Van Den Bergh was inspired by Vahram Muratyan’s book Paris vs New York. She writes, 

"[Paris vs New York] is a book of fun illustrations comparing the two cities. I’ve always admired the collection because Muratyan doesn’t put down either place; instead, he paints a friendly, simple comparison between two cities he adores. Inspired, I illustrated a spin-off featuring California’s most notable cities: San Francisco and Los Angeles."

See the full set of drawings here.

YouTube Link

This video footage shows Robert Downey, Jr. present a bionic arm to a seven-year-old boy named Alex, born with a partially developed right arm. The arm is free of charge to Alex and his family, courtesy of Albert Manero and the Collective Project, which makes and donates bionic limbs to children in need across the globe. It's safe to say little Alex, who recognizes that he's getting a bionic arm from Iron Man himself, is having a great day.

Image: Team of Jeff Corwin, Animal Planet

Animal Planet personality Jeff Corwin's team snapped this photo of a stingray that is 14 feet in length, 7.9 feet across and approximately 800 pounds. The ray was caught and released recently in the Mae Klong River in Thailand, in water approximately 65-feet deep. The animal is the biggest stingray ever observed by researchers and may be the biggest freshwater fish in the world. The same ray was caught and tagged in 2009. 

Zeb Hogan, a National Geographic fellow and a professor of biology at the University of Nevada, Reno said,

"The team was unable to get an exact weight because it’s really hard to weigh these things without hurting them, because they are such big, awkward animals.Certainly [this] was a huge fish, even compared to other giant freshwater stingrays, and it definitely ranks among the largest freshwater fish in the world.”

Read more on this catch and see a video of another giant stingray at National Geographic and at Jeff Corwin's Facebook page. 

A 21-year-old Disney and animation enthusiast from Newcastle, Australia named Jack has an interesting Tumblr called Kristoff Bjorgman, which is full of odds and ends. One offering is this visual glossary of the name meanings of various Disney princesses and heroines in other languages. Shown above is a sample; see the rest here.  

Via Elite Daily | Images: Kristoff Bjorgman

Dog lovers, have you ever taken your dog in the car as you run certain errands, and found out that some establishments give the dog a treat when you drive through? The first time I took my dog with me to drive through at the bank, I found a milk bone in the pneumatic tube along with my bank envelope. Surprisingly, I found the same thing happened when I went to the drive-through pharmacy at Walgreens. My dog had always loved car rides, but after those unexpected treat windfalls, he was more enthusiastic than ever. 

This article mentions fifteen examples of restaurants that have secret menu items for their canine clientele. Check them out to see if there's any place you frequent that will accomodate your "best friend" as well. 

Images Credit: beanthere_donethat and reubendubrow 

YouTube Link

Medical experts have long been talking about the possible dangers of microwave popcorn to human health, focusing on the chemicals inside the bags. While it seems that definitive medical evidence has yet to be obtained, it doesn't hurt to go the safer route and make your own. Here Grant Thompson, a/k/a the King of Random, demonstrates how to quickly and easily make your own microwave popcorn at home with natural ingredients.

One of few SFW sculptures at South Korea's Love Land amusement park.|  Image Source

Love Land is an amusement park designed with adults in mind. Located on the South Korean island of Jeju, the park was erected (pun intended) in 2004. Promotional material describes the park as a place where "love oriented art and eroticism meet." A walk around Love Land will net visitors a view of 140 sculptures of people in a variety of sexual positions, phallic statues, labia made of stone, and other adult material. The park got its start when Jeju island became popular as a destination for honeymooners. Love Land was developed as an extension of the sexual "icebreaker" mentality already present in the minds of local hotel management and employees. 

Read about other strange amusement parks in this article. 

The Living Room, Seventies Style

The seventies. Orange formica, avocado shag carpet and macrame accessories. Out-of-control inflation and gasoline shortage. Smoking cigarettes at the office and on packed airplanes. Equal opportunity afros. Pollution and unregulated environmental hazards. Considering that the decade was rife with situations that would now be regarded as dangerous or life threatening, it's a wonder that anyone lived though it.

These photos are from the Documerica project, a six-year-long effort led by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA enlisted photographers nationwide to interpret environmental issues in the context of 1970s culture. See the full collection here. 

Children play in the yard of a house in Rushton, Washington, 1972 as the Tacoma smelter stack in the background showers the area with arsenic and lead residue.
Image: Gene Daniels/National Archives/Records of the Environmental Protection Agency

Gas stations abandoned during the fuel crisis in winter of 1973-74.
Image: David Falconer/National Archives/Records of the Environmental Protection Agency

Abandoned cars and other debris fill an acid water and oil-filled, five-acre pond, 1974. It was cleaned up under EPA supervision to prevent possible contamination of Great Salt Lake and a nearby wildlife refuge.
Image: Bruce McAllister/National Archives/Records of the Environmental Protection Agency

Steve Buscemi | Source: Reddit

This photo collection of celebrities when they were relative unknowns is interesting. In some cases, such as Brad Pitt at age 14, they're completely unrecognizable. Some, despite being in their youths, are at awkward, "ugly duckling" stages,  while some youthful versions appear to be more attractive than when they were older.  

In the photo above, Steve Buscemi was working as a New York firefighter. According to the Wall Street Journal, he left that job in 1985. But the day after 9/11, Buscemi wandered around ground zero until he found his old firefighting team. Once he located them, the actor spent almost a week working with them, digging, clearing debris and even handling body bags. Some people come into fame and fortune, but they remain down-to-Earth, compassionate and in touch with the everyman. 

See more photos of public figures before they were famous here.


 Brad Pitt at 14 (front Row, center) with his basketball team, which he named himself | Source: Coleman-Rayner

Christian Bale, 1988 | Source: Reddit

Sarah Silverman at a casting call, 1980s | Source: Reddit

In this Funny or Die spoof of Office Space, singer Michael Bolton plays the part of the character with the glorious grimace, Michael Bolton. Video complete with a smash to the printer that dares read "PC Load Letter" one time too many. -Via Rolling Stone

Image: Amazon

The 25th anniversary of popular classic The Princess Bride inspired lead Cary Elwes to write a book about the making of the movie. The book features interviews from almost all of the cast and crew, with the exception of André the Giant, who had passed on by then. Elwes' book, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride, is the source for this collection of facts about the film. Here are two anecdotes about André: 

"5. ANDRE THE GIANT COULD REALLY, REALLY DRINK.

Three bottles of cognac and 12 bottles of wine reportedly made him just a little tipsy. When the cast would go out for dinner, Andre—who, according to Robin Wright, ordered four appetizers and five entrees—would drink out of a 40-ounce beer pitcher filled with a mix of liquors, a concoction he called "The American."

6. AND HE HAD AN UNCONVENTIONAL METHOD FOR LEARNING HIS LINES.

Reiner and Goldman met Andre, then a famous wrestler, at a bar in Paris. "I brought him up to the hotel room to audition him. He read this three-page scene, and I couldn’t understand one word he said," Reiner recalls. "I go, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to do? He’s perfect physically for the part, but I can’t understand him!’ So I recorded his entire part on tape, exactly how I wanted him to do it, and he studied the tape. He got pretty good!"

Read 13 other facts about The Princess Bride at Mental Floss.

YouTube Link

Disney's 1950 animated classic Cinderella is the focus of Screen Junkies' honest trailer treatment in this video. Beautiful waif taken advantage of by evil family members and made to be an indentured servant, or insane woman driven to talk to animals in her rodent infested dwelling? You decide.