Charles Darwin had ten children, and at least three of them were young artists during the time Darwin was writing his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. They saw dad's project as a source of paper for their drawings and paintings! Of Darwin's first manuscript, only 45 out of 600 pages still exist. They are in the process of being digitized for posterity, and they have yielded dozens of the children's artworks. More than just scribbles, they are historic marginalia worthy of preservation.    

The drawings, made with pencil, ink, and watercolor, are playful and often humorous, although they reflect Dad’s talent for recording details, whether it be the multicolored wings of a butterfly or the pattern on a highlander’s kilt. Indeed, several of the drawings are more military-concerned and show battles or soldier’s portraits. Others show the children’s fluency with the natural world: bees buzz around flowers and a variety of animals are shown in profile and face-forward. Apparently, Darwin also recruited his kids for basic research including collecting various specimens and encouraged them to make their own observations.

See more of the drawings here. -via Everlasting Blort

(Image credit: American Museum of Natural History and Cambridge University Library)

Even though species normally evolve in tiny increments, when one develops something that is different from their ancestors, there has to be a first one to try it. YouTube comedian CalebCity imagined how that very first plant decided it would be carnivorous and then evolve into a Venus Flytrap. He plays the roles of two plants and a bumblebee.  

(YouTube link)

Brace yourselves. This is the one-man short version of Little Shop of Horrors. -via Tastefully Offensive

I knew something was off about this scene from the less-than-symmetrical eyes on the left person's face. Then the robotic word selection in the second panel confirmed it. But it can't be a robot, because a robot would never say "returning back." That's redundant. I thought all this before reaching the second row, which took a totally unexpected turn, but it fits the setup perfectly. Those birds didn't have the greatest disguise, but our victim was too busy on his phone to even notice. This comic is from Chris Hallbeck at Maximumble, who thinks through all the details.

Mary is a 17-year-old in Australia. Secret is her dog, a border collie/Australian shepherd mix. With a pedigree like that, you know this is an intelligent dog. Mary has been training Secret all her life, beginning with clicker training. They even exercise together!

Secret is learning new stunts during their exercise routines.

Secret also dances, does housework, and creates art. And she finds time for some fun, too! See more of Secret at her Instagram page. That's a good dog. -via reddit

Thor seems a bit shocked. Never underestimate the power of a cat responding to the basic feline instinct of knocking things to the floor. And you can grant them all the power in the world, but that won't motivate a cat to come to your rescue, unless he happens to be in the mood to do it. This is the latest comic from Jon Baker at Alarmingly Bad Comics. -via Geeks Are Sexy

An architectural oddity that is almost exclusively found in Vermont is the "witch window." These are windows mounted on a slant, just under the roof line of a house. They are sometimes referred to as "Vermont windows" (for obvious reasons) or "coffin windows." The tale told is that crooked windows are harder for a witch to fly into. That doesn't make much sense. There was one witch trial in Vermont, but it was a couple hundred years before the witch windows became a thing. Other explanations don't make sense, either.

“You’ll also hear them referred to as coffin windows,” explains the Historical Society rep, “The idea being that it’s difficult to maneuver a coffin with a body from the second floor down to the first floor in these narrow staircases, so slide it out through the window and down the roof.” Then again, she says, that “does not seem any easier.” At the end of the day, every conclusion drawn about the curious windows ends with a question mark. Why on earth create a completely lopsided, and by all means impractical, window?

The real answer may be that it's the only way to fit a decent-sized window into a room that sits in an offset gable. But that explanation is no fun! And can you imagine trying to hang a curtain in one? Read about witch windows and see more pictures at Messy Nessy Chic.

(Image credit: Piledhigheranddeeper)

Have you ever seen a slide saxophone? Or a Conn-o-sax? Those are just a couple of the rare saxophones in the collection of Dr. Paul Cohen, who plays, writes about, and collects unusual saxophones. Here he shows off his instruments to saxophone players from the United States Army Field Band.  

(YouTube link)

The saxes range from tiny little things to the huge 6.5-foot contrabass sax that will make your chest rattle. Dr. Cohen even has some custom-made and one-of-a-kind instruments, such as the saxophone with no keys that you play in the manner of a bugle. You could make an entire band out of saxophones! -via Metafilter

Sven has a cat named Muldar who is a genius. He wants what he wants and no human shenanigans are going to stop him. Closing the door? Pfft! Muldar will just open it. Set a pan of water in front of the door? Not a problem. For Muldar. For Sven, it's a problem.

(YouTube link)

Sven noted that the water pan was added to keep Muldar from scratching at the door, and that putting a round knob on the door (as has been recently suggested) would make no difference. I concur; Muldar would just figure out how to open a door with a round knob. -via reddit

You can get a photograph printed on pretty much anything these days. Redditor angelinthehallway posted this photo of her bed, graced with a blanket she received for Christmas. Her husband ordered it through Walmarts photo-printing kiosk. He is also a redditor, and had to jump in to claim that yes, it was his face on the blanket. And he posted a picture of Christmas Day at their home to prove it.

I think they should hang this in the windows as a curtain, facing out. The neighbors would freak out, as well as anyone passing by. And as a bonus, the people inside wouldn't have to look at it on the bed. 

As far back as anyone can recall, American high schools have printed yearbooks to celebrate the accomplishments of their graduating seniors and other students, and to serve as a souvenir book with pictures of their carefree student days. This high school yearbook called '43 Ramblings chronicled the proud students of Topaz High School in Utah, which was the school for residents of Topaz Internment Camp. The students had been shipped in from their original schools up and down the West Coast, and continued their education at the school created for them. Topaz was several times the size of the better-known Manzanar Camp, with over 8,000 people at its peak.

Utah State University has archived the 1943 and 1944 editions of the Topaz High School Ramblings yearbook. With a cursory browse, the Topaz High Rams look just like any other 1940s high school students. They played sports, printed alma mater lyrics that probably nobody knew by heart, and produced a slick-looking literary magazine. Topaz High was a prison camp school for unjustly incarcerated Americans, but the yearbooks provide the perception of normalcy.

In the 1943 Ramblings, the beginning dedication reads, “This year finds us vastly different from our naive selves of previous years.” Alongside photos of students, the old high schools they attended, mostly in California and Washington, are listed directly above their Topaz High School activities.

Imagine showing your grandchildren that you were once "The Brainiest of the brainier girls," and then explaining why you graduated from a school in Utah. Read about Topaz High School at Atlas Obscura, and browse through the yearbooks at Utah State University's Digital Collections.

An entire generation of American children know and love Fred Rogers from his TV show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Over the years, many were delighted to find out that Rogers was never playing a character, that he was exactly the same off camera. Even when Candid Camera tried to get a rise out of him. He didn't react the way they expected.

(YouTube link)

It seems like a lame prank, but this was recorded before smart phones and WiFi were everywhere, when many travelers would look forward to watching TV in their hotel rooms. But not Rogers! He let the small things go, and even when he was tired he never missed an opportunity to treat people kindly and make them feel good. -via reddit

When people say they've been living out of their car they usually just mean they've been spending way too much time on the road, because without the basics like a stove, a fridge and running water one can't truly live in their car.

But the guy behind the YouTube channel Kiwi EV Adventures really wanted to figure out how he could live out of his tiny electric car, so he could take full advantage of camping season.

So he installed a functional kitchen in the back, complete with cabinets, a stove, refrigerator and a sink with running water, all of which can be easily removed from the car as needed.

(YouTube Link)

-Via Boing Boing

Naming NPCs is one of the banes of my existence as a DM (or GM if you prefer the more generic and broadly encompassing title), and try as I might to come up with new names I often fall back on old standards.

If the guy or gal is a rogue-like character then the words sneaky, stabby, cutter, shadow or fingers tend to find their way into their name somewhere, and rangers are almost always named Roger, Dan or Dana for some reason.

And, as this Electric Bunny comic shows, when all else fails you should just name them after the first thing you see. My personal favorites- Mr. Coffee and Senor Stinkbottom (my dog's nickname).

A few days ago, zoos and aquariums began giving their animals Amazon-style ratings on Twitter. As more and more reviews came in, biologists, science labs, and universities got involved. Everyday people started rating their pets and favorite species, too.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED
This stylish little unit is amazing. Sound quality A+. No distortion at full volume but bass is a little weak. Top rotates which is a plus. #rateaspecies pic.twitter.com/OYaWOfzosA

— Oregon Zoo (@OregonZoo) March 9, 2018

⭐️NOT WHAT I ORDERED
I ordered a duck, otter, and beaver bundle apparently there was some kind of freak accident in shipping or something. Contacted shipper, they claim no error. Bad seller. NEVER BUYING AGAIN!#rateaspecies pic.twitter.com/e13u4K657F

— Tyger (@TygerWDR) March 9, 2018

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ PRAYING THEY KEEP MAKING THESE
As seen on @Oatmeal. Full set is the ultimate seafood multi-tool: tenderizes, slices and serves in milliseconds! Comes in all colors plus some you can’t see.#rateaspecies pic.twitter.com/vm2YhrBihR

— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) March 9, 2018

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 Great product!
Speedy deliver. Makes a weird chirping sound instead of the roar as advertised, but not a deal breaker. Runs efficiently - would recommend. #rateaspecies pic.twitter.com/9uAvnKw4AX

— National Zoo & Aqua (@national_zoo) March 14, 2018

⭐ very unsatisfied with the shipping. I ordered a frog and what I got was this big melted pile. #rateaspecies pic.twitter.com/6pj9D2HcED

— Slartibartfast (@shtoopy) March 9, 2018

You can see a ton of these as they come in with the Twitter hashtag #rateaspecies or see a roundup of some really funny examples at Buzzfeed.

I never tried online dating. I looked at Yahoo Singles once many years ago, and found quite a few guys I knew. I also knew why they were single, because their ex-wives had already told me. That's life in a small town. It's probably better for younger people. Redditor keongmanja, who is from the UK but lives in Indonesia, tried Tinder for a month and kept stats on how it worked for him. Then he turned his data into a chart. He doesn't tell how many times he swiped right to get 53 matches, but the consensus of commenters is that four actual dates in a month is pretty good. There were a few quibbles about his terms.



-via Mashable