Fantastic news @philae2014 is awake! Details in @ESA_Rosetta blog http://t.co/kIoZ9KC0Cn #WakeUpPhilae pic.twitter.com/VHHFQjL4XD

— ESA (@esa) June 14, 2015

Last November, we reported on the ESA’s Philae lander and its extraordinary separation from the Rosetta spacecraft and rendezvous with the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Sixty hours after landing, the ESA lost all contact with the lander. For months we wondered if it were dead, destroyed, lost somewhere in space, or just out of battery power. Riding the comet closer to the sun might recharge its solar batteries. Might. Then today the ESA announced: 

Rosetta's lander Philae is out of hibernation!

The signals were received at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt at 22:28 CEST on 13 June. More than 300 data packets have been analysed by the teams at the Lander Control Center at the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

"Philae is doing very well: It has an operating temperature of -35ºC and has 24 Watts available," explains DLR Philae Project Manager Dr. Stephan Ulamec. "The lander is ready for operations."

For 85 seconds Philae "spoke" with its team on ground, via Rosetta, in the first contact since going into hibernation in November.

You can follow the return of the Philae lander at the Rosetta blog. Get an overview of Philae and its mission at BBC News. -via Metafilter

Outside of the clothing, this picture looks as if it could have been taken yesterday, yet it is over 100 years old. The archives of Albert Kahn contain hundreds of thousands of photographs, 72,000 of them in color. Kahn used the pioneering Autochrome method of color. In 1912, he took pictures in China, which became the first photographic record of the country in color. See a half-dozen of the China pictures at Creative Roots and and some of Kahn’s photographs of Mongolia as well. -via Everlasting Blort

Just look at this fabulous Hello Kitty donut dress! And those shoes -they’re a marvel of engineering if you can walk on them. This Hello Kitty fan also has oversized earrings, hair, and hair adornments. That mirror she’s holding? That’s a phone case, which makes talking selfies seem like checking your makeup.

The Hello Kitty Supercute Friendship Festival is touring the U.S. this year. Claire de Louraille attended and took photographs of the Hello Kitty cosplayers and fashionistas in Los Angeles, 24 of which you’ll find at Buzzfeed.

Grandpa always struck me as kind of a shady character. This is from Comic Nuggets by Cedar Van Tassel, who says it’s based on an actual conversation with his Grandpa. The comments at reddit about this point out that 1. shooting at a UPS driver is worse than shooting a drone, b. shooting in a residential neighborhood is illegal, and that 3. drones have cameras, so you’d be caught. They are completely missing the point of the comic, which is that Grandpa is, well, a pretty shady character.

My cat is sad because he tries to discuss poetry with other cats but they just talk about TV cookery shows & sexting. pic.twitter.com/eNsPdAfEF5

— WHY MY CAT IS SAD (@MYSADCAT) June 10, 2015

My cat is sad because he can't stop thinking about a spider he sat on in 2009 and wonders if its family are doing ok. pic.twitter.com/Bj33jcR1VI

— WHY MY CAT IS SAD (@MYSADCAT) June 9, 2015

My cat is sad because he fell off stage during a gig & injured himself then continued to sing through the extra pain. pic.twitter.com/JmAxls0V2S

— WHY MY CAT IS SAD (@MYSADCAT) June 13, 2015

My cat is sad because he asked this mirror "Who's the fairest of them all?" and it said "Tom's other cat, Ralph." pic.twitter.com/0xHrMlZaNo

— WHY MY CAT IS SAD (@MYSADCAT) May 20, 2015

Author Tom Cox has five cats and writes about them. He is also the genius behind the Twitter account WHY MY CAT IS SAD. It chronicles the misadventures of his cat The Bear, who is sad for a lot of reasons.

The Bear adopts a pacifist lifestyle and prefers to spend the day following me around, staring at me with his big saucer eyes, which seem to contain all the world's sadness. I did once catch him sitting alone with a dead mouse but I think another cat had killed it, and he just wanted to read some elegiac poetry to it.

My cat is smug because he is in a drawer, and you almost certainly aren't. pic.twitter.com/CIWSZMaTp8

— WHY MY CAT IS SMUG (@MYSMUGCAT) May 18, 2015

Cox also has an account called WHY MY CAT IS SMUG. This account is for Ralph, the cat who is smug most of the time, which is part of the reason The Bear is so sad. And then there’s Shipley, whose Twitter account is MY SWEARY CAT. Shipley is brash and vocal, and his Tweets are often NSFW. There are also two cats who don’t use Twitter. Read about all of them at their blog.

This is the story of a dog named Denali and his life with photographer Ben Moon. You will want to have a hankie ready, especially if you’ve ever loved a dog. Scratch that, you will cry even if you’ve never loved a dog. Denali had a wonderful life, but like that of all dogs, it was too short.

(vimeo link)

The quote at the end is from What Our Dogs Teach us about Aging. -via Metafilter

My husband @DaneGrant and I on set were we met #MadMaxFuryRoad #Furiosa pic.twitter.com/fJsF6ZPJ6Z

— Dayna Grant (@Daynastunts) May 20, 2015

Dayna Grant from New Zealand was Charlize Theron’s stunt double in the movie Mad Max: Fury Road. Dane Grant from South Africa was Tom Hardy’s initial stunt double. When they weren’t busy fighting each other as Mad Max and Furiosa, they got to know each other pretty well. Later, Dane was replaced as Max's stunt double, but he continued on the film as a War Boy. And if you’re wondering why the two stunt professionals have virtually the same names, the first name is coincidence, and the last name is on purpose. Most of the movie was filmed in 2012, and by the time it premiered, Dane and Dayna had gotten married and had a son!

Os dublês de Max e Furiosa estão apaixonados: http://t.co/KxnK6wz49d #MadMaxFuryRoad #DiaDosNamorados pic.twitter.com/5nUlZZlPeP

— Filipe Laurentino (@phi_lauren) June 12, 2015

The story inspired artist Filipe Laurentino to create this artwork. It’s a nice love story, but it wasn’t the only one born from the movie Mad Max: Fury Road.

Riley Keough, who played the red haired bride, ended up marrying the stunt double for Doof Warrior, the dude with the electric guitar flame thrower. You can see their wedding photos here. 

By the way, Riley Keough is Elvis Presley’s granddaughter. Is that enough romance from a movie that contained no romance?

Mike Fountaine bought a ranch in Santa Barbara, California, and found out it came with dozens of feral cats. Over time, he made friends with them. Not only has he tamed them, he has trained them! And he’s built elaborate doors and passageways to corral the cats, and they are caged at night to protect them from coyotes and other wildlife. The feeding thing at the beginning was “just a silly idea cos we thought it would look cute.”

(YouTube link)

One thing you don’t see in the video is kittens. Each cat was spayed or neutered as soon as possible and it’s been ten years since any were born. Fountaine founded an organization for animals called The Lucky Few. Read more about Fountaine’s adventures in cat taming. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Anyone who donates blood a thousand times is a definite hero. You could say they helped save a thousand lives. But James Harrison is different. He passed the 1,000 donation mark in 2011 and has donated a hundred or so times since then. But his blood has saved the lives of more than two million people! After receiving blood as a teenager in 1951, Harrison vowed to pay it back when he turned 18. And he did, but then doctors discovered something unusual about Harrison’s blood.

Remember the scary Rh factor problem (also called Rhesus disease)? That’s when an Rh negative mother has an Rh positive baby and develops antibodies against the blood type. If she has subsequent babies, her antibodies can attack the fetus. But Harrison had a rare factor in his blood that was used to develop a treatment for Rhesus disease. That's why you don't hear much about it anymore. Jemma Falkenmire, of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service says,  

"Every bag of blood is precious, but James' blood is particularly extraordinary," says Falkenmire. "His blood is actually used to make a life-saving medication, given to moms whose blood is at risk of attacking their unborn babies. Every batch of Anti-D that has ever been made in Australia has come from James' blood.

"And more than 17% of women in Australia are at risk, so James has helped save a lot of lives."

What makes Harrison even more heroic is that he can’t stand the sight of blood! Yet he soldiers on. Harrison is 78 now, and must retire from donation in a couple of years. Read about James Harrison and see a video interview at CNN. -via mental_floss

(Image credit: CNN)

I cannot resist a good geography quiz, even when I fail miserably. Here’s one from Buzzfeed that tests your knowledge of the U.S. states, as in where they are. There are two modes of play. The regular game is pretty simple; just identify the state they ask for on a map with borders. I scored 50 in that. Then there’s the “Patriot Mode,” that does away with all borders, even international borders! That brought me down to 36/50, and it’s frustrating to get so close and miss the state. Try it yourself, and let us know how you did (even if you’re not American).

Imagine the Rebel Alliance from Star Wars as the Rat Pack. Or even George Clooney and the gang from the remake of Ocean’s Eleven, which is the audio used here. That’s the premise of this mashup, in which Admiral Ackbar leads an effort to pull of a caper that will yield massive riches to fund the rebel efforts -if they can pull it off.

(YouTube link)

The editing works surprisingly well. -via Geeks Are Sexy

Columbia University professor of paleontology Dr. Paul Olsen knows a lot about dinosaurs -real dinosaurs. The popular image of dinosaurs that gets translated into children’s toys is different from reality. Well, of course, no one expects that purple thing named Barney to represent the fossil record, but toys that aim for more authenticity are not keeping up with the research. Not by a long shot.

(YouTube link)

In this video from The Watercooler, Dr. Olsen contrasts science with manufacturing and marketing. -via Boing Boing

Recently we asked, Which is More Technologically Advanced — Star Wars or Star Trek? College Humor has a more relevant question: which series is nerdier?

(YouTube link)

I’ve heard it explained that Star Wars was written for children while Star Trek was written for adults. That makes sense, but the fandoms for both are pretty nerdy. I say that as a fan. By the way, keep an eye on the stuff that goes on in the background. -via Tastefully Offensive   

We all know about dragons, mermaids, and unicorns, but there are plenty of other fantastical beasts handed down through the centuries that don’t get as much as today. Yes, our ancestors had documented bestiaries full of half-understood animals illustrated by people who had never seen them, beasts with unbelievable powers, and made-up creatures from scary tales. Have you ever heard of a Gorgon?

The Gorgon may look like a harmless, scaly cow, but don’t be fooled. “It eateth deadly and poysonfull hearbs, and if at any time he see a Bull, or other creature whereof he is afraid… sendeth forth of his throat a certaine sharpe and horrible breath, which infecteth, and poysoneth the air above his head, so that all living creatures which draw the breath of that aire are greevously afflicted thereby.”  

Also read about the Ravenna, the Manticora, the Su (no relation to the Snoo or the Shmoo) and more at Atlas Obscura.

(Image credit: Biodiversity Heritage Library/Digitized by University of California Libraries)

(YouTube link)

Men who are not in the medical field talk about what happens at the gynecologist’s office. If these guys would have been honest, they’d have just said they have no clue, but they were encouraged to speculate the best they could for the video. They have a couple of vague ideas from what women have told them, and fill in the rest with fantasy. No, the doctor (or nurse, in many cases) is not checking to make sure a woman is ready for you to have sex with. These exams are mainly to check and see if a woman has cancer. -via Buzzfeed