The Original Series prompted the creation of some very strange merchandise. Most notably, the notorious Spock helmet never appeared in the Original Series, although it did make an appearance in the more recent comedy Lower Decks.

Like the Spock helmet (officially "Space Fun Helmet"), the Astrotank was clearly created by a design team that had never watched Star Trek or did not care about product topicality at all. It had Star Trek written on the side and a sticker vaguely resembling the Starfleet logo. Tanks made only two appearances on Enterprise and none of them looked like this . . . thing.

Still, you can buy an Astrotank if you wish. They're occasionally listed on eBay, albeit for steep prices.

The Astrotank and Space Fun Helmets are only two bizarre items of Star Trek merchandise produced. You can see 7 others at Star Trek's official webpage, including a Star Trek V marshmallow dispenser.

-via @TheMekon_Venus

There's an issue that we need to talk about--something that we've all known about for a long time but have avoided addressing directly.

We're talking about the elephant in the room. Specifically, we're talking about this wild elephant that walked into a grocery store near the Khao Yai National Park in Thailand.

The elephant is named (by humans, we don't know what he calls himself) Plai Biang Lek. The Associated Press reports that shop owner Kamploy Kakaew recorded the elephant shoplifting rice crackers, dried bananas, and a sandwich.

As I said, Plai Biang Lek shoplifted these items; he made no attempt to pay for them. Although he left without attacking any humans, he did steal from them.

Shameful.

In 1973, Gary Gygax and Don Kaye founded the firm TSR -- Tactical Strategic Rules. The next year, this company created Dungeons & Dragons.

This cultural phenomenon had humble origins. Those origins include a hobby shop named the Dungeon Hobby Shop which Gygax established in 1976 at 723 Williams Street in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. TSR went through varied fortunes before Wizards of the Coast purchased the company in 1997. So did the hobby shop, which eventually became a museum about Dungeons & Dragons. It closed several months ago.

Now the building is for sale. You can see more photos of this magnificent historical landmark at the realtor's website.

-via @DungeonNoir

I'm glad you asked!

Cutter Wood has a new book out titled Earthly Materials: Journeys through Our Bodies' Emissions, Excretions, and Disintegrations. It examines the science of our excretory systems. An exerpt available at Harper's Magazine summarizes the numbers.

3,500 kilograms of feces will pass out of your body, assuming that you live 75 years. That would overflow a 20-foot long shipping container. These deposited feces will be matched with 38,000 liters of urine.

Wood also provides numbers for total amounts of hair, semen, menses, tears, and energy measured in joules. This is all information that you will need for future conversation starters.

-via TYWKIWDBI | Photo: Jason Unbound

Singer Michael Geier, better known as his clownish persona Puddles Pity Party, was a friend of the late Paul Reubens--now gone from us nearly two years. In his latest music video, Puddles offers a melancholy version of the theme song to Reubens's iconic show Pee-wee's Playhouse.

The original theme had Cindi Lauper's sped-up voice cheerfully welcoming audiences to Saturday morning joy with Pee-wee Herman. Puddles, though, mourns the passing of Reubens. He offers slow lamentations, then uses an enormous balloon to make fart noises.

-via Laughing Squid

These Dominican friars take their name from a line by Southern writer Flannery O'Connor, who described herself as a "hillbilly Thomist" -- a woman of the Deep South steeped in the thought of theologian Thomas Aquinas.

Based out of a Dominican center in Washington, D.C., the men began recreationally playing together in 2014. They then used their music a means to evangelize their faith while connecting with secular audiences who appreciate traditional bluegrasss music.

The Hillbilly Thomists have released four albums from 2017 to 2024. Much of their music is available on the YouTube channel of an official Dominican publication.

-via J.R.R. TolKee

Punctuation marks, like all other aspects of language, change over time. A personal example: I routinely teach college students what a colon (:) is; they rarely, if ever, have used one before and are unfamiliar with it.

The Daily Mail reports that Venetian printer and publisher Aldus Manutius invented the semicolon in 1494. It proliferated in English. In Nineteenth Century English literature, semicolons typically appeared approximately once every 205 words; a number that is now down to every 309 words. A survey of British students revealed that only 11% use it it regularly and 69% use it rarely.

Although some authors, such as Virginia Woolf, have been fond of it, other writers, notably Kurt Vonnegut, have expressed loathing for this punctuation mark; opinions range into extremes for the semicolon.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: kencf0618

The subreddit /r/Tragedeigh is devoted to highlighting the most bizarre and outlandish names that people create for their children. Some are normal names that are deliberately misspelled (e.g. Jaxshuyn), some place unrealistic demands upon a child (e.g. Messiah), and others are fictional characters that do not serve as good role models for children (e.g. Daeneyrs).

The Guardian reports that the Japanese government has banned names that it deems are kirakika, which means shiny or glittery. In English, we could call such names Tragedeighs. Parents must tell government officials how names are pronounced in order to prevent weird pronunciations. Parents with eccentric pronunciations must justify those renderings in writing.

Photo: Flickr user alexxis used under Creative Commons license.

The Hugging Chair, also called the OTO, is a chair designed for people with autism. Sometimes, people with autism experience needs for continuous sensory pressure. The OTO provides it by wrapping the user with soft, warm fabric. There's a control pad that allows the user to adjust the pressure to suit his/her unique needs at the time.

This is the work of LABAA, a firm based in Nantes, France, consisting of cabinetmaker Alexia Audrain and business partner Corentin Lemaitre. The pair have won a James Dyson Award for the design of this unique product.

-via Toxel

As we have noted in the past, President John Tyler (1790-1862) left the White House in 1845. He had many children, the last of which, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, was born in 1853 when former President Tyler was 63 years old. Lyon Gardiner Tyler himself sired a child in 1928, when he was 75. That man, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, was the grandson of a President born in the Eighteenth Century.

The youngest Mr. Tyler had been something of a historical curiosity in recent years. Now he has passed on. Last Sunday, The Richmonder reports, he died at the age of 96.

During his life, Mr. Tyler worked in chemical engineering and thrived financially. He eventually purchased and restored Sherwood Forest Plantation, a home once owned by his Presidential grandfather. He also bought and restored the nearby Fort Pocahontas, which was constructed and defended by African American troops during the Civil War.

-via Educatëd Hillbilly

The Bishop of Rome had significant temporal power from at least Pope Miltiades, a trend that generally accelerated (with interruptions, Byzantine and otherwise) until the papal domains assembled its own navy to combat Muslim invaders in 849. The Popes intermittently maintained naval forces in addition to armies in the centuries that followed.

Starting in the 1840s, the gradual unification of Italy squeezed the Papal States and its armed forces. The last warship serving in the Papal Navy (Marina Pontifica) was a screw corvette built by the British in 1859 and named the Immacolata Concezione. According to a 1963 article in the US Naval Institute's Proceedings, it had 8 18-pound cannons and a very comfortable cabin built with the Pope's travel in mind. The crew of 46, though, was primarily tasked with protecting the Papal States' fishing rights.

In 1870, the Kingdom of Italy invaded the Papal States and, erm, persuaded Pope Pius IX that the temporal power of the Bishops of Rome had reached a conclusion. The Immacolata Concezione was integrated into the Royal Italian Navy. It later entered French service. The precise fate of the vessel is uncertain, but it was definitely the last warship to sail under the Papal ensign.

"After we're done with this show, you should probably go."

I agree with Julia Dunn, colleague of reporter Olivia Jacquith, whose water broke at about 4:15 AM, right before the CBS 6 News Albany's morning broadcast began at 5 AM. Jacquith's baby was two days overdue, but he would have to wait until the show concluded before the mother left for the hospital. It's worth noting that staying was Jacquith's decision, not the station's.

Jacquith and her baby boy, who is named Quincy, are doing well. You can see photos of them at the news site of Jacquith's own employer.

-via Dave Barry

McCallie School is a private boarding school for boys in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Several years ago, the school asked sixth graders to propose questions that they would answer when they were ready to graduate.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the young boys asked their future iterations about their life preferences and future plans. Last week, the school videographer assembled them and gave the young men the opportunity to answer those questions.

Even though the video was intended for use by the school, it's gone viral. Perhaps many of us would like to connect with who we were in the past and who we could become in the future.

-via Colin Rugg

SLAW DOG WITH COMEBACK VICTORY pic.twitter.com/rQ1AHWTImN

— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) May 23, 2025

KTLA 5 News reports that all 6 of Oscar Mayer's Wienermobiles gathered at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway--the home of the Indy 500--to determine which Wienermobile is the fastest. The competitors at the Wienie 500 each represent different regions of the United States--the only nation capable of producing so spectacular a sport.

Slaw Dog, the Wienermobile that represents us here in the Southeast, prevailed in the final yards of the the last lap of the race.

Yesterday, Kermit the Frog delivered the commencement address to graduating students at the University of Maryland. Inside Higher Ed reports that Kermit passed on what he has learned over the 70 years of his life. The University of Maryland selected Kermit to honor the late alumnus Jim Henson, who graduated from that school with a degree in economics.

I notice that Kermit is wearing academic regalia that includes a doctoral hood. I'm having trouble interpreting the colors, although Insider Higher Ed notes that the frog does hold an honorary doctorate in amphibious letters awarded by Southampton College in 1996.

-via David Burge