(Photo: Oxford Scientific Films Ltd.)

Television has been around in some form since 1923. Thousands of programs have come and gone. If you're a producer and you want to think of an original concept, then you've got to dig. You got to think to think outside the box. You've got to teach dogs how to fly airplanes, then film and broadcast the results.

Dogs Might Fly is a new program that will air on the British channel Sky 1. It exists to answer an essential question: are dogs intelligent enough that, with proper training, they could fly airplanes?

There are several finalists, including Shadow, a Staffordshire bull terrier-collie cross, who is pictured above. Like the other canine competitors, he's learning on a simulator. But if Shadow wins, then he'll get the chance to fly a real airplane. The Independent reports:

Secluded at a mansion in the Sussex countryside, the 12 rescue dogs have been put through their paces by animal behaviour experts, who believe that the cognitive abilities of the most intelligent pets can be directed towards flying a plane. […]

Carole Hawkins, creative director of Oxford Scientific Films, said the series would test in a “safe and controlled way” the question of whether a highly intelligent dog could take control of an aircraft.

The experts will assess how the dogs response to stimuli and sensations designed to acclimatise them to their high-flying challenge. Their head for heights will be tested by being sent to the top of a London landmark in high-rise lift and they will be strapped in for a spin around the Thames on a speedboat.  Each dog will be found a new home at the series conclusion. The six-part Dogs Might Fly begins in a fortnight.

-via Marginal Revolution

(Background art: Alexander Nanitchkov)

The Twitter feed @AwfulFantasy writes pithy fantasy stories using tortured metaphors, misplaced characters, and realistic but undesired scenarios. Jake Young of Dorkly rounded up 1d10 of the best and then paired them with appropriate fantasy art.

(Background art: David Gaillet)

The artist at Aro Tattoo in Itaewon, Korea appear to apply her work with not a needle, but a soft brush. You can almost feel the pedals of these flowers that blend so smoothly with the skin. You can see more photos at her Instagram feed.

(Video Link)

Are you fond of sheep? Then you need to get to New Zealand to experience this in person. Aerial photographer Tim Whittaker compiled this footage of sheep in the Hawke’s Bay region of the North Island. The herd moves like an enormous, shape-shifting organism. It’s soothing to watch the mass of the sheep squeeze through gates and settle into new forms.

-via Nag on the Lake

A good notebook in your pocket inspires you to jot down your thoughts. It summons forth the inner workings of your mind that otherwise might be lost in the moment. It can thus be a precious possession.

For José Naranja, a Moleskine notebook isn’t just a handy tool for everyday carry, but a work of art. He crafts elegant notebooks with hand-penned words and illustrations around other pieces of paper that he pastes in.

UPDATE 2/18/15: On Facebook, Rebecca Wilson points out that this article is 2 years old! I should have noticed that, but didn't.

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Everyone is showing up to Deadpool’s wedding on the cover of issue #27, which is coming out on Wednesday. Look, there’s Forbush Man on the left! And Squirrel Girl is one of the maids of honor! They’re among 232 Marvel characters on the cover, of which Guinness World Records considers 224 to be significant. So artist Scott Koblish wins a world record for the largest number of comic book characters on a single issue cover. It was a daunting task, but Koblish and his colleagues diligently completed it:

“When artist Scott Koblish proposed this cover layout to me, I thought he was crazy," said Deadpool editor Jordan White, below left. "But it’s the kind of crazy you have to respect. I think there’s no better testament to both his insanity and the amazing cover he and colorist Val Staples produced than an officially recognized world record.”

You can see a much larger version of the cover here.

(Photo: Hayden Godfrey)

My first thought was that this might be a not-terrible dating strategy. If, let’s say, 25% of those girls are single and 1% are interested, that’s a chance of getting dates with 2.235% of them. That’s better odds than anything I managed in high school.

But that’s not what Hayden Godfrey, 17, of Sky View High School in Smithfield, Utah had in mind. He already has a girlfriend. She’s in the above photo. Rather, he noticed that many girls at his school felt disappointed when they didn’t get any attention from boys on Valentine’s Day. His mother told ABC News:

 "That broke his heart on Valentine's Day," she told ABC News today, calling her son a "sensitive soul." She added: "He wanted every girl to feel joy."

So he decided to give each and every one of them a carnation.

Hayden has been planning this project for 3 years. And for the past year and a half, he’s been saving money from his job as a cook at a restaurant and a bagger at a grocery store to be able to afford the $450 necessary:

Godfrey ordered the flowers to his home three weeks in advance and enlisted the help of about 20 friends to help him process and cut the 24-inch stems after they arrived. He gave the carnations one day to bloom before loading them all into his parents' van to bring them to Sky View High School Thursday.

His girlfriend of six months and fellow classmate, 18-year-old Lilyan Sharp, called Godfrey's gesture "very special" and said every girl walked out of school with a "giant smile on their face."

-via Lost at E Minor

For millennia, humanity has been plagued with the need to stand up. Standing up is one of the worst aspects of work. It would be much nicer if you could remain seated and your chair would move where you need it to move.

Nissan is making progress toward this noble goal, but only accidentally. Its self-parking office chair project is designed to promote its self-parking cars. Wired reports that the chairs are tracked by cameras, which guide the chairs back into home position. Clapping activates the motors, which could make applause-filled presentations fun.

Now offices and conference rooms can be tidier. Just clap your hands and the chairs that your slothful co-workers have left sprawled over the room will move back into their proper places.

(Video Link)

-via reddit

This is Koyuki, a Scottish Fold cat from Yokohama, Japan. Rocket News 24 says that his name translates as "light snow," but his disposition clearly says that he's a "bone-chilling blizzard." Tardar Sauce the Grumpy Cat looks like he's disappointed in you. Koyuki looks like he's about to kill you.

(Unrelated photo via Bryan Ledgard)

When is an appropriate time to play the bagpipes to strangers? What is the appropriate location? If you answered "McDonald's at 3:40 in the morning," then there are at least 2 men in Scotland who agree with you.

Calum Graham and Allan Gilruth had just been to a wedding. They were hungry, and so went to a McDonald's in Perth, Scotland. Both were wearing full Scottish regalia, and one--Gilruth--had a set of bagpipes. He was in a celebratory mood, and so decided to play them.

Another diner commented his disapproval with this decision. Naturally, Gilruth punched him. The Courier quotes prosecutor Jim Eodanable:

“One of the parties made a comment which was taken the wrong way and Mr Gilruth punched the complainer. He falls to the ground and on the way down strikes his head off a seat in the booth.

“That complainer’s friend then comes over to assist and the second accused then steps forward and swings a punch at him. The blow was deflected but it does strike the complainer.

“Fortunately for all concerned the injuries were not serious. Police were contacted.”

Graham and Gilruth were fined for their defense of public order. The lout who spoke ill of the bagpipes apparently escaped punishment.

-via Nothing to Do with Aborath

Amy of the food blog Oh, Bite It does provide an actual recipe. But you don't need one. You can just look at the photo, find the necessary ingredients, and get started:

Layer and pile…pile and layer…

Keep doing this until you’re satisfied with yourself..

Or too ashamed of yourself to continue. But if you're preparing this for dinner, you're past shame. Like the guy who was caught enjoying his In-N-Out in public way too much, you're ready to live your life to the fullest.

You don't want to be that guy lying on his deathbed at 46 thinking, "Hey, I should have had those Kit Kat nachos, but I decided to be healthy instead." That kind of attitude gets you nowhere in life.

We all enjoy well-roasted Hutt flesh. But if your dinner guests include vegans, then you may wish to prepare this alternative. Food blogger Yuki offers this animal-free shepherd's pie that looks like the Star Wars character Jabba the Hutt. You can find a complete recipe at Rocket News 24.

The dish includes mushrooms, lentils, and potatoes to make it nice and filling for a hungry sarlacc. Yuki shaped the potatoes into the shape of Jabba, who rests on a bed of lentils and vegetables. She used seaweed to form Jabba's facial features.

(Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal/Zach Weinersmith)

Yeah, everyday life seems safe enough. But that's only as long as you remain the apex predator. When you stray into human country, you need to be prepared. Your position at the top of the food chain is not assured. Remember what the PSAs taught you.

(Video Link)

The story of The Little Mermaid is of Danish origin, so Ariel would probably sing in that language. In this clever video by Movie Munchies, she switches mid-song from English to Danish. She's followed by Mulan in Chinese, Elsa in Norwegian, Jasmine in Arabic, and Rapunzel in German.

Here's the second video in the series. It features Belle in French, Snow White in German, Megara in Greek, Aurora in French, and Anna in Norwegian. Notably absent are Thor in Swedish and Leia in Basic. Hopefully they will be in a third video.

-via Laughing Squid

(Photo of the Jupiter station by An Errant Knight)

When I was in middle school, my classmates and I made a scale model of the solar system in a football field. This is a common science educational activity. But what's novel about this particular model in Anchorage, Alaska is the scale. If you walk leisurely from the sun to Pluto, you're traveling at the speed of light.

Eli Menaker, a 17-year old high school student, made the Anchorage Light Speed Planet Walk in 2003. It takes about 8 minutes for light from the Sun to reach the Earth. Appropriately, it takes about 8 minutes to walk from the Sun station to the Earth station of the walk. Keep walking and in 5 and 1/2 hours, you'll reach the Pluto station.

-via Marilyn Terrell