Sophia, Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy thank you for being a friend and invite you to commiserate over a slice of cheesecake, which was the greatest character on The Golden Girls. Bookmansaz snapped these five cosplayers at Phoenix Fan Fusion.

-via Cosplay in America

Need to let out some stress? Donttakethisthewrongway, a design firm in New York City, understands. So it strapped cheerfully yellow punching bags to street light poles in Soho, Chelsea, and Washington Square Park. Punch and kick your worries away! The designers explain:

the concept explores designing common spaces for the emotions we all face. good or bad, as we travel from point A to point B we deal with a good number of frustrations. frustrations that go beyond designed systems and happen, well, because we are human. the public punching bag offers an outlet for these emotions as a means to maybe develop a healthier way to address personal and collective issues in a public setting.

It's like the arcade game, only at a much larger size. Human players are strapped onto poles inside a 16 by 40 foot fenced-in field. Do your best to kick the soccer ball into the goal.

This setup is part of Velocity Karts, an entertainment facility in Christchurch, New Zealand. Owner Ian Brown got the idea last year when the suggestion popped into his Facebook feed. He suggests it as a team building exercise for employers.

I claim Miss Cellania as my team's goalie.

Photo: Ian Brown

The theorbo is a lute with a second, very long neck. The second set of strings permit it to play low notes. That requires a lot of space, thus making the instrument 6 feet long. Italian musicians built this extraordinary instrument in the 16th Century to accompany operas.

In this video, professional lutist Elizabeth Kenny teaches about the theorbo and performs a variety of Baroque pieces on it. She also describes the challenges of travel with it on the London Underground.

-via Messy Nessy Chic

Perhaps the two most defining images of World War II--at least from the American perspective--are Joe Rosenthal's picture of of Marines raising the flag on the island of Iwo Jima and Alfred Eisenstaedt's photo of a sailor and nurse kissing in Times Square upon the news of Japan's surrender.

Redditor S_S_Sioux offers these interpretations of those great moments in stained glass. He's now looking for another image to work into glass. Which great World War II photo do you suggest?

Lake Geneva, a town on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin, is the home of many houseboat residents. They roam about the lake, but have their mail delivered to individual mailboxes on docks.

The mailboat approaches each dock. At the front is the mailboat jumper jumps off, runs to the mailbox, takes the outgoing mail, puts in the incoming mail, then runs back to the boat and jumps on.

The boat doesn't stop. It doesn't even slow down. The jumper has to be fast and precise if he doesn't want to get left behind.

This video from last year shows young people trying out. The young man at the 0:57 mark has spunk. I like the cut of his jib.

-via Nag on the Lake

It's a big potato, even by Idaho standards. It's 28 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 11.5 feet tall, not counting any bacon bits that you sprinkle on top. Staying at the Big Idaho Potato Hotel outside of Boise will cost you $242 per night.

The building started out as a prop that the Idaho Potato Commission made 6 years ago. It was driven across the United States to promote Idaho's most famous product. When the advertising campaign was done, real estate developer Kristie Wolfe asked to convert it into an Airbnb rental. The Idaho Statesman reports that, compared to most potatoes, the living conditions inside are luxurious:

With 336 square feet, it includes a queen-size bed, two easy chairs, an elk antler chandelier, a small sink, lights, heating and air conditioning, and a beverage cooler. There’s a separate bathroom that looks like a miniature steel silo with a round corrugated steel tub, a walk-in shower and sink and toilet.

-via Unusual Places

Photo: John Sowell

Parry Creek Farm Tourist Resort and Caravan Park in Wyndham, Western Australia is a great place to see many of the amazing creatures that live in the World's Most Terrifying Continent. This resident python is a fine example. The caretakers found the 11.5 to 13-foot long python with a bloated body, as you can see in the photo below.

They thought that python had grabbed a chicken. But they then observed the snake regurgitating a smaller whole python that was just to heavy a meal. You can see more frightening photos of the snake here.

Don't worry about the snake--at least the bigger one. The humans relocated him because "the safety of the python is a priority."

-via Dave Barry

Photos: Parry Creek Farm Tourist Resort and Caravan Park

We live in a fallen and broken world. Yet a spark of hope remains in the blight and, today, it is manifested in the Big Mac Cake created by the blogger behind Oh, Bite It.

She used canned crescent roll dough, sesame seeds, and, of course, lots of Big Macs. Specifically, she used eight of the burgers, between which she sandwiched extra slices of cheese. She baked this wonder in the oven at 350 degrees until it was warm, golden brown.

I wish that I had known about this possibility before wedding planning.

The ice-filled Lena River in Pokrovsk, Yakutia, Russia is a torrent of frozen death. The videographer must move quickly to escape before he is consumed by it.

The Siberian Times explains that the ice is breaking up. In another week or so, this river, which flows into the Arctic Ocean, should be ice-free.

-via Aaron Starmer

Canadian astronaut Dr. David Saint-Jacques, who is currently on board the International Space Station, puts his scientific training spanning decades of intense labor to work by playing with a tub of honey in zero gravity.

Maple syrup could not be reached for comment on the incident.

-via Marilyn Terrell

Presumably Dr. Rafal Klajn, a chemist and biological engineer at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, will not make this mistake again. As fellow scientist Rob Martin quipped, the loss was catastrophic to scientific research:

The whole Twitter thread is filled with great jokes by scientists (or jokes by great scientists--one of the two) about the research, publication, and tenure processes.

-via Marilyn Terrell

Redditor ThUltimateGuy says that his grandmother made this work of jello art. That's 21 layers! Because they're so thin, each one required only 5 to 10 minutes of freezing. But that's still a loooooong project!

When most people are looking for fun and relaxation, they think, "Hey, let's go to the Taco Bell." The problem is that after the restaurant closes, the police get called when you refuse to leave and it becomes in awkward situation for everyone.

But what if you could stay at a Taco Bell for a long time? Say, overnight and not have the employees hassling you? Well, I have great news! Taco Bell plans to open a hotel and resort inspired by its famous luxury brand.

The company will build a resort in Palm Springs, California. The Thrillist reports:

The temporary destination will have swanky rooms and no shortage of opportunities to sip a Baja Blast by the pool, or catch some rays on a Hot Sauce packet pool float. There will also be a gift shop with T-Bell hotel apparel and accessories, and even an on-site salon offering Taco Bell-inspired nail art, haircuts, and braids. Obviously, there will also be plenty of Taco Bell food on hand to enjoy during your stay, including several new and exclusive menu items the chain has yet to reveal.

“The Bell stands to be the biggest expression of the Taco Bell lifestyle to day. It will be fun, colorful, flavorful and filled with more than what our fans might expect,” Taco Bell’s Chief Global Brand Officer Marisa Thalberg said in a statement. “Also, just like some of our most sought-after food innovation, this hotel brings something entirely new for lucky fans to experience and enjoy.”

Is the resort hiring? May I offer my services as a chef?

-via Kaiju the Bricklayer

Photo: Taco Bell

The #1 is, of course, Texas. Our meandering drawls dance across your eardrums, rhythmically enticing your interest, then libidinous arousal, then feverish passion. Verily, the sound of a Lone Star voice is an acoustic aphrodisiac.

That's the result of a survey conducted by Big Seven Travel, which ranks 50 accents in the United States by sexiness. #2 is Bostonian. I suppose that's okay, you know. But there's not a single Whataburger in the state of Massachusetts. And you'll need that to, shall we say, recover your energy.

-via Althouse

Photo: Rodrigo Paredes