(Image: CASIS/Marvel Custom Solutions)

Yes, that's Groot and Rocket Raccoon in this official NASA patch. It will represent all of the science missions of the US National Laboratory on board the International Space Station during 2016. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) worked with Marvel artist Juan Doe to develop the design. Space.com reports:

"A major mission for us here at CASIS is to find unique and innovative ways to bring notoriety to the International Space Station National Laboratory and the research that is being conducted," stated Ken Shields, CASIS's operations and educational opportunities director. "There are very few brands in the world who have as large an impact as Marvel and we are thrilled to partner with them on this project."

-via Stephen Green

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Why drive around obstacles when you can fly over them? Golf master Bubba Watson hopes that jetpacks will replace old fashioned 4-wheeled golf carts. Recently, he learned how to fly at Martin P12 jetpack and used it to fly from hole to hole on a golf course. With a 3,000-foot high ceiling and a maximum speed of 46 MPH, he was able to move quickly.

Aside from being a quick form of transportation, Watson says that it offers golfers a tactical advantage over their competitors. They can see the lay of a course from high above, making the game a more 3-dimensional experience. 

-via Telegraph

The Loop is a churro bakery in Westminster, California. It's noted for its long, looped churros, often covered with toppings, such as Fruity Pebbles and chocolate, and served with ice cream.

To promote the Poké Stop at their restaurant, team member Ngoc made this churro concoction shaped like Pikachu.

(They Can Talk/Jimmy Craig)

As G.K. Chesterton put it:

Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.

Your ancestors pooped on cars for generations for a reason. If you can explain why they thought that and why it is no longer necessary or appropriate, then you may stop. But until then, keep pooping on cars.

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This little filly knows what's good: butt scratches. And if you don't deliver them, she'll take them from you. She's got attitude.

-via Tastefully Offensive

(Photo: Sharill Hawkins/AP)

We've all been there at some point in our lives. A whole bucket of cheese puffs is just irresistible. You feel an overwhelming urge to accelerate the consumption process by sticking your entire head inside.

That's what this bear near Glenwood Springs, Colorado did. But he found that he couldn't get out again. When he staggered through the backyard of a local bed-and-breakfast, the owner, Jim Hawkins, came to the rescue. The Washington Post quotes him (Hawkins, not the bear):

“He essentially looked like he had a space helmet on,” Hawkins told The Post.

Hawkins lassoed the bear and tried to get the bucket off his head. That didn't work, so he waited until wildlife officers arrived. Once they tranquilized the bear, it was easy enough to remove the now-empty cheese puff container.

-via Christina H. Sommers

Batman isn’t paid to destroy crime corners. He is actually attracted to crimes and also The Penguin. The Penguin begins to fall in love with guns and with gangs all over Batman. Batman is destroyed. Batman must join The Penguin. He loves him a criminal. […]

Batman must stop The Penguin in order to keep his confidence. He suspects that The Penguin is an addictive face and has no choice but to ask for more of The Penguin.

It comes across like a piece of fan fiction written by someone with a slipshod grasp of storytelling. But it wasn't written by a person at all.

Jamie Brew, the head writer for Clickhole, created a predictive text generating program. It's like the word suggestions that your cell phone offers while you're composing a text message. Gizmodo explains:

You can do this on your phone. Type a word, any word. Then just keep inputting suggestions from the autocorrect and see what you come up with. “Last summer a friend showed me that you can just keep taking the phone’s suggestions and write things like ‘I have a great time in my head and neck and shoulders and the rest.’ I couldn’t get enough of that,” Brew said.

The results are meandering but reasonably coherent compositions, including a freaky Craigslist ad, a car owner manual, and a revision of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. You can see a much larger version of the Batman story here.

-via Agent23

(Photo: Hui-Yuan Yeh/Journal of Archaeological Science)

Archaeologists in western China found 2,000-year old "personal hygiene sticks" in a latrine pit. In the days before toilet paper, people would wrap cloths around sticks, then use those sticks to clean themselves after defecating.

The researchers sent the sticks to a laboratory for study and were delighted at the results. The bottom wipers from this ancient trading post along the Silk Road contained eggs from 4 parasites, including the Chinese liver fluke. This was the first clear evidence that diseases had spread from east to west by travelers along the Silk Road. The Guardian reports:

The fluke needs marshy conditions to complete its life cycle, so could not have come from the desert area around the ancient Xuanquanzhi relay station.

The Chinese liver fluke originated thousands of miles away from the arid Tamrin Basin, an area including the Taklamakan Desert - one of the harshest on earth, dubbed “the desert of death” by the Chinese. 2,000 years ago the parasite’s unfortunate host would have been a very unhappy traveller, producing symptoms including fever, griping pain, diarrhoea and jaundice. It has also been associated with some forms of cancer.

The relay stations at oasis towns, where travellers could rest and buy food, were crucial for any traders on the Silk Road hoping to survive the desert crossing.The bone dry conditions at these sites have preserved a wealth of organic remains for archaeologists.

-via TYWKIWDBI

Japanese toymaker Figma has gained a lot of attention by producing poseable action figures inspired by famous works of art, including the Venus de Milo, Michelangelo's David, and Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. Most recently, it rolled out for your action-packed imaginative playtime an adjustable figure of the haunted soul in Edvard Munch's The Scream (content warning: NSFWish image).

(Photos: TAG Hobby)

-via Super Punch

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Lovin Dublin spliced the iconic voice of naturalist David Attenborough with scenes of people playing Pokémon Go. The result is a nature documentary in a magical world of pocket monsters. Listen to him describe the lifecycle and feeding habits of Charmander, Spearow, and other wonders of the great outdoors.

-via VA Viper

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Explicit bragging and self-congratulation used to be a phenomenon of rap music. Now, according to a study conducted by University of Michigan-Dearborn psychology professors Pamela McAuslan and Marie, Waung it's pervasive in all popular genres. The Pacific Standard describes their research method:

McAuslan and Waung analyzed the lyrics of the top 100 songs from the years 1990, 2000, and 2010, as compiled by Billboard magazine. (Its ratings are based on sales, streaming, radio airplay, and “audience impressions.”) Coders looked for examples of eight categories of self-promotion, including referring to oneself by name and demanding respect.

More recent songs demonstrated increased narcissism:

“Compared with earlier years, songs in 2010 were more likely to include the singer referring to the self by name, general self-promotion, and bragging about wealth, partner’s appearance, or sexual prowess,” the researchers report. “A similar, albeit nonsignificant increase, was also seen for bragging about musical prowess and demands for respect. Overall, the most popular music from 2010 contained more self-promotion than music from 1990 or 2000.”

McAuslan and Waung assert that this trend reflects a cultural shift about the role of the self in society:

“Music both reflects and influences the values of the culture,” McAuslan and Waung write. The hit songs we listen to “both represent the increasing individualistic/narcissistic tendencies in the culture, but also further convey that promoting oneself through bragging, demands for respect, and self-focus is acceptable.”

-via Jonah Goldberg

Have you been walking around for hours gathering Pokémon? You may develop "gamer's arm" -- a medical condition incurred after holding up your arms for hours at a time.

Thankfully, the staff at Rocket News 24 has a solution! They invented the Poké-Han. It's a hands-free cell phone holder. All you need is a wire coathanger and a rubber band. You can make a frame for your phone that makes it readable, all while using your hands elsewhere.

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This tutorial video shows you how to make your own.

(Photo: CNN Newsource)

This is Guy, a dog who lives in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania. On Thursday, he was hiking in the woods with 79-year old human, who fell and hit his head. The human lay there for 12 hours while Guy frantically tried to get the help of other nearby two-legs. WJLA reports:

The dog reportedly ran up the bank where the rescuers were, and would stop every 20-30 feet, barking until he led them to where the elder man was lying. […]

"It was like watching an episode of 'Lassie,'" says emergency responder, Matthew Mariscano.

Good boy.

-via Stephen Green

(Image: Voxelight)

Enjoy the summer sun, but make sure that it doesn't burn you! Put sunblock everywhere. Yes, even there.

Sunscreenr is a new device invented by the startup Voxelight to make sure that you get complete coverage from your sunblock. It's a pocket-sized camera that looks for ultraviolet light. When that ultraviolet light is blocked--which is what sunblock does--then it shows up black on the camera. Whatever isn't black didn't get covered with sunblock. Mashable explains:

Inside Sunscreener is a 1.3 mp UV camera that looks for reflected UV rays. If the sunblock is doing its job, it absorbs the rays. As a result, any place where you did apply the sunblock will look, through the viewfinder, black — because it's not reflecting UV light — and the uncovered spots will look pale. If you are alone, you can record up to 30 seconds of video in the device and then watch back inside Sunscreenr to see if you missed covering any spots. Voxelight representatives tell me that this method will work on darker skin complexions as well, though the contrast will be somewhat diminished.

-via Ace of Spades HQ

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This German Shepherd feels for his comrades. When the wolves in the new Disney movie Zootopia howl, he joins in.

Appropriately, the scene is about a mass howling that started accidentally.

-via Pleated Jeans