Image: Toronto Zoo

Toronto Zoo welcomed this precious female polar bear cub on November 11, 2015 when Aurora, one of the zoo's two adult female polar bears, gave birth to two cubs. Unfortunately, the sibling of this cub did not survive his first 24 hours. The surviving cub was immediately moved to the intensive care unit of the facility to give her the best care possible. Though the staff is taking things day by day in terms of her health, it appears she's doing well thus far. 

Due to the disappearing sea ice, experts estimate that there are only 20,000-25,000 polar bears in existence. Scientists predict the worst case scenario being the loss of two-thirds of the polar bear population by the year 2050. The species is classified as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List.

See additional pictures and a video of Toronto Zoo's polar bear cub at Zooborns. 

Bananas | Image: asergeev

Not everyone, even the most enthusiastic eaters of fruits and vegetables, are privy to what their favorite plant-based foods look like as they are growing. Some of them have beautiful, showy flowers and some, like the banana above, grow in visually pleasing arrangements. 

This article features a photo collection of fruits and vegetables growing in their natural habitats. See if you can guess the plants before looking at the captions underneath that identify them. 


Pineapple | Image:  jje

Almond | Image: AJACS

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CineFix's latest is a countdown of their picks of the ten best opening shots in cinema. In doing so, they bring back some truly beautiful sequences that are easily forgotten once the movies progress and the action and storylines take center stage. Via Tastefully Offensive

Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, written by Stieg Larsson

Brian Joseph Davis is an artist and filmmaker whose ongoing project The Composites (featured previously) produces illustrations of popular literary characters using law enforcement sketch software. These interesting illustrations, which are created based on authors' descriptions of their protagonists, are black and whites that allow viewers to fully concentrate on the shapes and features of the faces without the distraction of color. After an extended break in working on the series, the artist is now producing more Composite images. 

Pictured here are some of Davis' images juxtaposed with the Hollywood versions of these characters. See more of these side-by-side comparisons at My Modern Met. Visit Brian J. Davis' Composites Tumblr site to keep up with his latest artistic output, including a new image of Stephen King's Carrie White from his novel Carrie.

 

Annie Wilkes from Misery, written by Stephen King

 Marla Singer from Fight Club, written by Chuck Palahniuk

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In the cat version of "a man walks into a bar..." this pretty kitty wandered into an unidentified pet store. The employees later found him, gettin' crazy with the catnip toys. Eventually, his owner was called to give his pet the feline version of a SafeRide. We all need a bit of an escape from time to time, don't we kitty? Via Arbroath
 

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Fourth Floor, Apartment #22: Don Lukas (An alias as he preferred anonymity), lives with his girlfriend.

Bogdan Gîrbovan is a Romanian photographer living in Bucharest. The Bucharest apartment building pictured here was built in 1966 during a communist regime, in which individual expression was discouraged. These identical, one-room boxes that comprise the homes in the building were built to emphasize that idea.

Gîrbovan, who lives on the 10th floor of the building, created this brilliant series that features residents of the building posing in their homes. His intent in part was to illustrate the differences that emerge in such a uniform environment. The photos are a testament to the creativity and unique nature of people, across all cultural and economic strata. 

See the full series by Gîrbovan and read some of his views on the project here. 

Sixth Floor, Apartment #32. This resident is a public figure who refused to give her name or to show her face in the photograph. She is a temporary tenant, as opposed to other residents who own their rooms. 


Fifth Floor, Apartment #27. Mrs. Suhariuc Ioana is retired. She has lived in this space since 1967, living by herself since 1982. She owns her room. 

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Swearing in movies has come a long way since the days of "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn", baby. But how exactly has the evolution taken form? Get the history on swearing in movies in this video. NSFW SHOCKER: Contains practically every profane word in the history of mankind.

And meanwhile, in Australia... a woman in Adelaide had a shock when she saw a snake peep out at her from behind her fridge. She immediately called Snake Catchers Adelaide, a local service that could trap the creature. What was behind the appliance was the second most venemous land snake in the world: the Eastern brown snake, also known for its speed and aggressive nature.

As it turned out, Rolly from Snake Catchers Adelaide suspected the snake was a pregnant female, so he kept it for a few days. His suspicions were confirmed when the snake shed her skin and laid approximately 14 eggs, which he estimates will hatch in March. See a video about this below, and see Snake Catchers Adelaide's Facebook post about the incident here. 

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Hungarian photographer Flora Borsi's (previously at Neatorama) series "Animeyed" features these captivating images of animal's eyes layered in place over the beautiful Borsi's face. The result is arresting animal/human hybrid photographs that evoke a feeling of fantastic mythological creatures. 

Shown here are two of the most conventional animals used in the series; see more exotic images featuring blowfish and other aquatic creatures, snakes and more at Borsi's Behance site. Via Laughing Squid

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the top grossing movie of all time in the U.S. and Canada. Girls is a popular HBO show going into its sixth season. Adam Driver happens to star in both. He also made his mark in Inside Llewyn Davis, J. Edgar, and a number of indies. He's essentially an "It Boy" of the moment. 

Tell me this cat at @TheMCSPCA doesn't look like Adam Driver. pic.twitter.com/OmtGnOWxyG

— Marci Robin (@MarciRobin) January 16, 2016

But let me introduce you to one sweet soul who couldn't care less: Adam Driver Cat. There he hangs, adorably big-eared and intense, at the Monmouth County SPCA, waiting to be adopted. He doesn't care about your lightsabers or Chewie action figures. He wants a forever home. Hopefully, looking like a movie star will help him in this endeavor.

Via Reddit | Image: Rodney Wright via Imgur, batty77

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In this video (filed under "clips that make my dogs go crazy"), Plato the adorable Airedale terrier is seriously bugged by a chipmunk toy that records his barking and immediately plays it back to him. In fact, it appears as if Plato's not quite convinced this confusing critter is a toy, since he gently bats it around but doesn't bite or otherwise try to destroy it. I don't blame you, Plato. This is a question for the ages. Via Arbroath

If you're old enough to remember the days of roller skating rinks in the 1970s and 1980s, complete with roller fashions, "couple skates," custom-made, iron-on, lettered t-shirts, disco tricks and other mini-wheeled madness, well then you're in luck. This wealth of photos from that era is an absolute blast from the past.

With the exception of the fifth photo (that inexplicably doesn't show people on skates), many of these shots are from disco-era movies, some are promo shots of celebrities getting into the hobby, and the rest are the general public getting down and startin' something. NSFW: One photo has an overzealous scenester wearing a see-through shirt with no bra. Images: Via collection at Vintage Everyday
 
 

It's Pat | Image: Touchstone Pictures

The movie business is never short of secrets, or stories that certain people might be somewhat embarrassed to comment on or acknowledge. Prior to the year 2000, the Alan Smithee pseudonym was employed by film directors who didn't want their names associated with disappointing final products. Screenwriters like Joel and Ethan Coen, Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen have used pseudonyms, not necesarily out of embarrassment, but for other reasons. 

The list linked below connects famous writers to some film scripts they've written, some of which are hard to fathom. For instance, take It's Pat. A largely unremarkable Saturday Night Live skit-based movie, it follows androgynous protagonist Pat. Too roly-poly to discern the outlines of her critical bodily features and with a partner whose gender is also maddeningly questionable, this bizarre comedy keeps the audience guessing. And guessing. But who would have guessed that the writer was none other than Quentin Tarantino? What's that? It's... not Reservoir Dogs.  

Read a list of 23 film writers— talents such as Noah Baumbach, Louis C.K., J.J. Abrams and more — in this article. 

The Seashell House, Isla Mujeres Mexico

The list of vacation rentals linked below features the top ten Airbnb listings that prompted users to enable the site's wish list feature. The popular listings, recorded by Airbnb and compiled by mental_floss, feature attractive options for sleeping and playing quarters, some of which have a theme in common. It turns out that the most desired among Airbnb site members is the idea of a treehouse. That type of accomodation, steeped in childhood, literature and fantasy, seems to capture the imagination of so many. Mental_floss descriptions of the sites follow; to see all ten most wish-listed Airbnb listings, visit this link. Images: Airbnb

2. THE SEASHELL HOUSE: ISLA MUJERES, MEXICO (pictured above)

This gated island home looks just as the name suggests, and it’s something out of a Tim Burton scene. It was built by the owner’s husband and is secluded near a cliff. 

8.  BALIAN TREEHOUSE WITH PRIVATE POOL: BALI, INDONESIA

This treehouse in a quiet beach town has honeymoon written all over it, with a large garden, private pool, and easy access to the sand. Surfing and the nearby night market are two activities for those who want to leave the house – though you may not want to.

As with the latest art, music and all other human invention, even some of the ideas considered most innovative borrow from those already conceived. Perhaps one takes existing technology and adds one minor invention or marketing tool to the mix that pushes it over the edge into consumer sales breakthrough.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, which ran from January 6-9, showcased the latest in consumer technology focusing on two particular trends: virtual reality headsets and the "Internet of Things." The ten products from the show that are linked below build on existing technology and product ideas, adding one or more "bells and whistles."

For example, the product pictured above is known as the CleverPet Hub for dogs. It's the latest in "gaming" for dogs, treating them to food if they figure out a built-in "puzzle."  The product will cost approximately $269.

To see other products that wake you up, track your children's toys, mix your drinks and more, visit this article.