Finland offers a unique ice cream treat: salty licorice ice cream infused with a hefty dose of ammonium chloride. Why this unusual combination? Gastro Obscura explains that it's likely that this dessert began in a pharmacy:

Ammonium chloride, as it happens, has been used in cough medicine. Licorice is also prized for its medicinal qualities, and in the early 20th century had its heyday as a popular flavoring. It’s likely the two ingredients met over the pharmacy counter. 

Photo: JIP

In 1492, the people of Spain completed La Reconquista--the seven centuries-long war of liberation of their land. This highly militarized society then launched wars of conquest in far away lands helpfully discovered by Christopher Columbus later that year. Within a century, Spain was a superpower with vast colonies across the world.

Now, what remains of the Spanish Empire is a few small islands and exclaves off the coast of north Africa. Pictured above is one of them: Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera. An international border between Spain and Morocco lies on the 250-foot sandy stretch of land between the rocky peninsula and the mainland.

-via Nag on the Lake | Photo: Ignacio Gavira

Among skydiving aficionados, it is traditional to complete one's hundredth jump in the nude. But Rian Kanouff of Omaha, Nebraska went much further. He completed 60 nude jumps in 24 hours, thus establishing a Guinness World Record for the most number of nude jumps in a day.

Kanouff did not complete this task alone. He needed a well-organized team of pilots, ground crews, and parachute packers so that, as soon as he landed, he could immediately get airborne again to jump again. KOLN/KGIN News describes the process:

Volunteers who have decades of flying experience were taking him up in down in two different planes. Skydiving pals spent their day packing and re-packing parachutes, so he didn’t spend too much time on the ground. There were even nurses to make sure he wasn’t getting too overexerted. Some of the tents were full of supporters there to cheer him on.

“From the time he loads the plane ‘til he takes off and gets out is about five minutes,” said Scott Dvorak, who helped bring it all together. “Then, about a three-minute descent, so we’re about seven minutes there.”

“He spends about two minutes on the ground re-rigging and getting back in the plane for a total of 10 to 11 minutes per turn. That puts us at about six jumps per hour.”

-via Dave Barry

Set and scene designers for Star Trek couldn't invent everything that appeared on the show. So they selected real-life everyday objects from our time that would fit into their image of the future. In this case, Captain Janeway's office chair is a Signét 8400 Chair by HÅG, which is Norwegian design firm.

I found this information on Star Trek + Design, a website created by a Trekkie with time on his hands during the pandemic. The author, Eno, has carefully researched many of the objects, such as furniture and tableware, that appear in the Star Trek franchise.

-via Kottke

What is this spirit which appears in the fog? Is it approaching you? No, it's just an unusual meteorological phenomenon called a Brocken Spectre. Les Crowley explains at Atmosphere Optics that the image is the viewer's own shadow cast on the mist:

The Brocken Spectre appears when a low sun is behind a climber who is looking downwards into mist from a ridge or peak. The "spectre" is the shadowy figure - the glow and rings are of course a glory centered directly opposite the sun at the antisolar point. But how is the ghostly figure produced? It is no more than the shadow of the climber projected forward through the mist. All shadows converge towards the antisolar point where the glory also shines. The sometimes odd triangular shape is a perspective effect. The Brocken Spectre is a similar effect to anti-crepuscular rays and cloud shadows.

-via Super Punch | Photo: P. Leedell

I AM PISSING MYSELF OVER THIS VIDEO HELP SHSJSBSJSBA pic.twitter.com/bIrutKEPlD

— 💘Cherri🌷 (@cherriimiu) June 9, 2021

This video of unknown origin (most likely hidden to protect the horses from public shaming) shows two horses, Domino and Pie, on their way to dinner. Their path is blocked by a ferocious rabbit. The horses, prudently heeding the warning of Tim the Enchanter, are keeping their distance.

-via Super Punch

Before he became Leondegrance in Excalibur, Gurney Halleck in Dune, and Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart was already an acclaimed Shakespearean actor. In 1996, he slipped on his tights again and played the titular role in Hamlet for Sesame Street. Shakespeare's script was changed a bit.

-via Kottke

Traditional forms of medicine attribute special powers to rhinoceros horns, which is why that animal is hunted by poachers. A rhino horn is worth a lot of money on the black market, so poachers are highly motivated to kill rhinoceroses and remove their horns.

The Rhisotope Project is an innovative effort by conservationists to right back. Scientists propose to inject radioactive isotopes inside the horns of living rhinoceroses, thus making the horns trackable if removed and smuggled. Hack A Day explains:

The radiation from these would not be enough to cause any harm to the animal. But smuggling the horn through illicit channels becomes immensely more difficult as the tell-tale radioactive signature would be hard to hide.

Presumably the radioisotope that would be picked would be a Gamma or Beta emitter, as these are significantly harder to block than Alpha (large helium atoms) radiation. This radiation would make the horn, and any shipping container it would be placed into, light up light a Christmas tree on any of the radiation detectors used at borders and ports around the world.

Photo: Rhisotope Project

For several weeks, journalists have been trying to convince us to eat bugs. Like those scientists who want us to drink dog urine, news outlets these days abound with articles advocating the consumption of cicadas.

This trend has, apparently, caught on enough that a pizzeria in Dayton, Ohio is offering a pizza topped with cicadas.

Yes, that's what you're looking at. The restaurant Pizza Bandit calls it the Spicy Thai Cicada Pie. CNN reports:

The restaurant did livestream a tasting panel trying out the pizza, which also featured miso hoisin sriracha sauce, mozzarella, provolone, mushrooms, cabbage, green onion, mango, cilantro and a spicy Thai sauce.

"Opinions of the pizza range from absolutely delicious to...well...uh...yeah...," the Facebook post said.

-via Dave Barry | Photos: Pizza Bandit

The divisive flavor is a frozen blend of raw herring, onion, sugar, and cream. https://t.co/cBtjP5UFma

— Atlas Obscura (@atlasobscura) June 14, 2021

Are you travelling to the Netherlands? If so, you may wish to try this Dutch specialty: ice cream flavored with raw herring. Inventor Robin Alting admits that some of his countrymen are hesitant to eat it. That may be a result of the ingredients, which Atlas Obscura lists:

The divisive flavor is a frozen blend of raw herring, onion, sugar, and cream. It’s been described as having the texture of traditional ice cream but the strong taste and smell of herring.

A few months ago, celebrity librarian Jessamyn West had an inspired idea to promote public library use: advertise for them on the side of race cars. She did some research and found that such advertising, at least on a local level, is quite affordable. Now her library promotion is written on the back quarters of two racing Honda Civics driven by Andrea St. Amour.

Photo: Chambers Racing

Benjamin Franklin once said that wine is "a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy." We can surely say the same about crocs, all the more so now that they are elevated on stiletto heels.

Or, perhaps, we should instead thank the Parisian fashion house Balenciaga, which has brought these shoes into existence. Complex reports that these wonders, as well as knee-high crocs, will be available in Balenciaga's 2022 Spring line of fashions. Personally, though, I'm holding out for thigh-high crocs.

-via The Mary Sue | Photo: Balenciaga

No, seriously, that's the name of this Québécois pastry. In the original French, the name of one is "pet de soeur", which is "fart of the sister." Atlas Obscura suggests origins for this aromatic delights filled with butter and brown sugar:

Regarding its name, explanations abound. Some say it stems from the sound the dough makes as it’s being fried in oil. Others tell tales of one nun’s fart causing such hysterical laughter that another sister accidentally dropped some dough in oil.

Photo: Twin1995

In Japan, the need for immediate, effective protection from earthquakes is great. Designer Kota Nezu offers this chair to help. When the ground begins shaking, remove the back and put it on your head to protect your skull and spine.

-via Toxel

Tilly, a border collie, was thrown out of a car that crashed in northern Idaho. He was found two days later at a nearby sheep farm, where he was busying himself by herding the resident sheep. KHQ News reports that he had lost weight, but Tilly was otherwise fine.

That's the kind of attitude that we need today. Although Tilly had lost his job, he immediately went out to find a new job and got right to work.

-via Dave Barry