The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago off the coast of western Africa. Before tourism transformed the islands into a sunny destination, the economy was dominated by shepherding. Long centuries of this profession led to the development of Salto del Pastor--the shepherd's leap.

To navigate through the rocky hills of the islands, shepherds used a long staff with a metal tip to hurl themselves over obstacles and down the mountains. Today, it is a sport that requires great strength and dexterity.

I can see how the technique is useful. Salto de Pastor is a kind of practical parkour, but for rural rather than urban environments.

-via Massimo

Sorry I can't!

I'm locked in to the German Shopping Cart Return Championships... pic.twitter.com/cwa44vNsAK

— ฿₳₮₮ⱠɆ ฿ɎⱤĐ (@BattleByrd) August 15, 2025

Shopping Cart Theory is the belief that returning the shopping cart after exiting the store is the best test of a person's moral capacity for self-governance. Or, to put it in Starship Troopers terms, the difference between a citizen and a civilian.

Returning the shopping cart is only the beginning of the journey into civilization. To people on this German game show, it is necessary to return the shopping cart with precision and elegance. Watch the contestants attempt to propel their carts into the corral perfectly.

Watching classic Star Trek is...soothing. That's what I'll call it. Pop in the DVD and watch an episode of The Next Generation that you've already seen half a dozen times in the past thirty years. It's like an old friend. So this is a fitting mashup with Gary Portnoy's song "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," which served as the opening theme to Cheers.

Commenters on YouTube remind us of a connection between Star Trek and Cheers: the Deep Space Nine barfly character Morn was inspired by the Cheers character Norm. Norm, though, was less annoying because unlike his Star Trek counterpart, he wouldn't talk all of the time.

-via Kurositas

(Beetle Moses)

Alone, these items are ordinary purchases. But when they are selected on a single trip to the store, it's reasonable if not also advisable to be suspicious.

Honestly, I don't know why it's even legal to own or pruchase a copy of Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties. There's a reason why it polls so badly on Rotten Tomatoes. It's just too dangerous to have around, especially where kids can get at it.

Redditor /u/eugendied crafts mostly quilts and other creative fabric arts, but what drew my attention from her body of work was this strikingly realistic and beautiful bench that looks just like a stick of butter. As one commenter says, "I can't believe it's not butter!"

The form is actually a precisely cut and shaped wooden box. /u/eugenedied then used Canva and Photoshop to create the lettering design, which she then cut out of vinyl with a Cricut.

This table was a fitting gift for a friend who is a food scientist at Land O'Lakes.

Women secured the right to vote in the United Kingdom is 1918 after an activist movement overcame popular and political opposition. Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, the occupant of Number 10 from 1908 to 1916, was an opponent of the movement. Feminist leader Emmaline Pankhurst was ultimately victorious in a February 1918 act which extended the franchise to men over 21 and women over 30.

Pank-a-Squith was a pro-suffrage board game published in 1909 in which players acted as Panks (Pankhurst) to overcome the resistance of Squiths (Asquith). Hanson's Auctioneers sold the copy photographed above. You can download and print out your own copy here courtesy of Johns Hopkins University Libraries.

-via Women's Art

Dennis "Tink" Bell was a scientist who served in the British Antarctic Survey. The Guardian reports that in 1959, he fell into a crevasse on King George Island, which is just north of the Antarctic Peninsula, during a mission. His companions were unable to pull him out and he died.

In January, shifting ice exposed Bell's well-preserved body, which was found by Polish explorers. DNA testing compared those remains with surviving siblings and confirmed the identity of the body.

The Antarctic Monument, an organization that honors British explorers who died exploring the Antarctic, notes that Bell was noted for his great sense of humor. He's the man on the left in the photo engaging in playful tomfoolery to the amusement of his colleagues.

-via Glenn Reynolds

Katia Lekarski loves to attend weddings, but doesn't get invited to as many as she'd like. Figuring that there are other people like her, she created the app Invitin. This app allows people to invite strangers on the internet to attend their weddings in exchange for ticketing fees. The Guardian explains that couples can sell these tickets to defray the costs of their special events.

There is a screening process. Guests must abide by a dress code and event organizers can vet them by their profiles prior to approval. But it is otherwise a straightforward process to attending a wedding.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: outreachr on Wikimedia Commons

Do you need a bit more light in your workspace? This lamp and provide a simple and practical solution. The Swedish design firm Front, which consists of Sofia Lagerkvist and Anna Lindgren, created this lamp for the furnishings and furniture store Moooi.

It's part of a series of animal-themed lamps that the designers say you will "fall in love with at first sight, or hate forever." Well, I'm in love with the idea of a 7-foot tall horse lamp in my home.

-via Toxel

Redditor /u/Pavelcraftleather is a Romanian master leatherworker who produces unique leather products, notably masks, helmets, and bags from overstock material, and sells them at Atom Leather.

I'm especially taken with this beautifully formed purse that resembles a shrimp. The whirling lines and the forms they create are a delight to the eye.

The Hustle interviewed a few Chuckheads--adults who loved visiting Chuck E. Cheese restaurants as children and relish those experiences to this day. They collect memorabilia and artifacts from the company's history and document the history of this icon of their childhoods. One of them, Damon Breland, operates an appointment-only museum with many of the original animatronics for which Chuck E. Cheese used to be famous.

How does the private equity firm that owns Chuck E. Cheese feel about Chuckheads? It's an uneasy relationship. The Chuckheads want to maintain the traditional style and activities of the restaurants, whereas the owners want to modernize. But the company has agreed to maintain six Chuck E. Cheese restaurants according to the folkways that Chuckheads appreciate.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Damon Breland

I recently had to spend the night at the Dallas Love Field airport due to weather-related flight delays. This was not a pleasant experience, although I have seen worse airports at which to spend the night.

What was notable during that evening and morning was that several travelers were remarkably well prepared for the experience. They camped out on padded benches and had blankets, pillows, face masks, and noise-canceling earmuffs. Because these items were not standardized, I think they were unlikely to have been provided by the airport; these were personal possessions that had been thoughtfully packed for just such an event.

Perhaps these prudent travels were familiar with Sleeping in Airports, a website dedicated to providing information about this experience. The site provides tips and reviews for different airports, as well as provides suggestions about how to sleep effectively.

One such tip is to rent a car...and then just go to sleep in it without driving it anywhere.

-via Book of Joe | Photo: Flickr user Oakley Originals used under Creative Commons license

On August 10, 1945, after deciding that two atomic bombs was enough, the Japanese government, using rather obtuse language, indicated a willingness to surrender. On August 14, Japan formally expressed this sentiment to the United States through Swiss intermediaries. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito made his first public radio broadcast to inform his people of the surrender. The actual ceremony would take place on board the USS Missouri on September 2.

For the United States and the other Allied powers, August 15 is accepted as Victory over Japan Day. As the last major belligerent surrendered, it was the end of the war and thus a time of great celebration.

WPRI News notes that V-J Day is not a federal holiday. In fact, only the State of Rhode Island designates it as an official holiday--a decision made in 1948. Although Arkansas has celebrated V-J Day in the past, it dropped the holiday in 1975.

Rhode Island marks this great victory on the second Monday of August, which is today.

-via Kiel James Patrick | Photo: Victor Jorgensen/US Navy

The annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas is ending today. Many Trekkies have gathered at the Rio Las Vegas hotel to meet their favorite stars, buy merchandise, and, most importantly, dress as their favorite characters.

Cosplayer Michelle Hughes attended as Klingon version of Barbie. Hot pink replaces the traditional black and grey and her bat'leth is especially sparkly. I like the floofy grips.

Photo: Brian K. Nguyen

The best thing about reddit is that there's a subreddit for everything.* There's even a subreddit dedicated to outhouses.

While browsing it, I came across this post about a lovely outhouse in Sweden, or, as they say in Swedish, "utedass."