You think you like Gummi Bears? Christof Neimann is a connoisseur of Gummi Bears, and doesn't mind to admit it.

My children think they can hide their candy consumption from me. But they fail to recognize my tactical advantage: They mistake me for an ignorant grown-up, when I’m actually an eternal preteen. My relationship to sweets has hardly changed since I was their age. Yes, I might eat candy less often now. But once I start, a precise choreography ensues.

Then he tells us each step of this “precise choreography,” with illustrations. But don’t we all have these little routines when we eat our favorite treats? When eating Smarties, I separate out the white and green candies, saving them for last because they are the best. I bite off the very top of a cherry cordial to keep the liquid from running out (a technique the kids tried and failed to emulate; therefore cherry cordials are for adults only). And everyone has their particular “correct way” to eat an Oreo cookie. Read Neimann’s column on Gummi Bears at the New York Times, and think about how you tackle your favorite candy. I’d love to hear it!

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When we got a Bad Lip Reading episode of The Walking Dead a couple of weeks ago, we were promised a part two. Here it is! Although the musical interludes are not as involved as Coral’s rap in the earlier video, we get to hear Tyrese, Michonne, and a walker all croon a little. “I hope you’re not afraid of owls, ‘cause I’m gettin’ you one.” -via Uproxx

Astrophysicist Brian Schmidt of the Australian National University won the Nobel Prize for physics in 2011 for discovering dark energy. Speaking at an event in New York last month, he talked about how winning a Nobel changed his life. Some of the things that come with the medal are money, respect, worldwide recognition of your research, and at least for Schmidt, a bit more hassle with U.S. airport security.  

“When I won this, my grandma, who lives in Fargo, North Dakota, wanted to see it. I was coming around so I decided I’d bring my Nobel Prize. You would think that carrying around a Nobel Prize would be uneventful, and it was uneventful, until I tried to leave Fargo with it, and went through the X-ray machine. I could see they were puzzled. It was in my laptop bag. It’s made of gold, so it absorbs all the X-rays—it’s completely black. And they had never seen anything completely black.

The exchange that followed was amusing, although you have to understand that if you’re a TSA officer in Fargo, this is probably the most excitement you’ve had on the job in years. Read the story at Scientific American. -via Digg

(Image credit: Markus Pössel)

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The New York Times Magazine took six children from the second grade at P.S. 295 in Brooklyn to a restaurant. Not just any restaurant, though: they were treated to a seven-course tasting meal at Daniels, which runs $220 a head. Chef Daniel Boulud served them Smoked Paprika Cured Hamachi, Crispy Japanese Snapper, and Wagyu Beef Rib-Eye, among other dishes. These are Brooklyn kids, so they have restaurant experience, but none had been to such a fancy diner before. They are well-behaved, but they are also delightfully opinionated about their food. -via reddit

Redditor ColoradoMovieCars has understated yet perfect Halloween decorations for his house. In fact, it’s the most harmless thing he could think of.

The 22-foot tall Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was left over from last year’s Ectoberfest charity event in Denver, in which donors to Children’s Hospital were delivered to various haunted houses in the Ecto-1 Ghostbusters car. This year, the event will benefit the Don’t Be A Monster anti-bullying campaign. See more pictures here.

Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.

The Beatles had more number one hit records than anyone in the history of music. Elvis, Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Madonna, the Supremes and every other music legend takes a backseat to the Fab Four. From 1962 to 1970, the Beatles had 20 official #1 records. Nineteen of the Beatles 20 #1's were written by the greatest songwriting team in musical history- John Lennon and Paul McCartney. (“Something" by George Harrison also hit the #1 spot in 1969, George's only chart-topper as a Beatle.)

John and Paul met in July of 1957- both were teenagers who loved rock 'n roll. Paul was soon asked to join John's local band, which John had dubbed "the Quarreymen". There were hundreds of teenage rock 'n roll bands in Liverpool, England, during these years. Every musician dreamed of striking it big, like every teenage guy's idol, Elvis Presley.

The special added-in factor of the "self-written songs" was soon to set the Beatles above all the other local groups. Paul's first composition was called “I Lost My Little Girl" (written, interestingly, right after the tragic death of his beloved mother to cancer). Soon thereafter, John came up with his first solo composition- “Hello Little Girl".
 
These were individually written songs, but John and Paul soon realized they preferred, both for personal enjoyment and for quality, writing together as a team. Writing songs together soon became an almost-daily ritual with the two close friends. John and Paul would play hooky from school and hop over, usually, to Paul's house, which was unoccupied during the day.

The two truants would take out Paul's father's pipe, stuff it with some Twinnings tea leaves, and "smoke" the pipe together. Then they would sit a few feet apart, each with guitar in hand, and start composing songs ("eyeball to eyeball,” John was to call their method).

The U.S. Postal Service has unveiled its set of stamps to commemorate Batman’s 75th anniversary.

For 75 years, Batman has protected Gotham City from the forces of evil. Since his debut, he has become one of the most iconic super heroes in history. This year, the U.S. Postal Service® chronicles the evolution of the character, from his origins to present day.

This new issuance showcases eight unique designs in a sheet of 20 stamps. Four versions of the iconic DC Comics super hero are depicted from four eras of comic book history. In addition, there are four incarnations of the Bat-Signal.

You can order the stamps online, or look for them at your local post office soon. -via Laughing Squid

(Images credit: WBCP/DCE/USPS/DC Comics)

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In 2009, we told you about a Star Wars Uncut, a project in which volunteer filmmakers from around the world were going to remake Star Wars, with each participant responsible for a 15-second sequence. Episode IV was completed in 2010, and we finally got to see it in 2012. But that was just one movie, the film we now know as Star Wars Episode Four: A New Hope. The folks behind Star Wars Uncut immediately began working on the next movie: The Empire Strikes Back.

With more than 480 fan-made segments culled from over 1,500 submissions, The Empire Strikes Back Uncut (also known as ESB Uncut) features a stunning mash-up of styles and filmmaking techniques, including live action, animation, and stop-motion. The project launched in 2013, with fans claiming 15-second scenes to reimagine as they saw fit – resulting in sequences created with everything from action figures to cardboard props to stunning visual effects. Helmed by Casey Pugh, who oversaw 2010’s Emmy-winning Star Wars Uncut, the new film has a wonderful homemade charm, stands as an affectionate tribute to The Empire Strikes Back, and is a testament to the talent, imagination, and dedication of Star Wars fans.

And today, The Empire Strike Back Uncut is here for all of us to enjoy. -via Boing Boing

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This clip from the BBC series Nature's Great Events is a study of animals eating other animals. Algae blooms in late summer, herring feed on algae, penguins and gulls feed on herring, but there’s more to this video. The soothing voice of Sir David Attenborough makes it all seem so normal. -via reddit

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Nick Turner had a camera set up in the family room to capture his daughter’s first steps. As you can guess, that plan meant he captured an awful lot of attempts and false steps before Lucy actually “became a biped.” He put those clips together to make a video of the process of learning to walk. And as any parent can tell you, once they start walking, they spend the next couple of decades trying to walk away from you. -via Viral Viral Videos

Toronto has a problem with raccoons. For years, the critters have been overturning garbage cans and entering people’s homes to find food, and they are good at it. Design a new garbage can lid, and the raccoons will figure out a way to get in. In fact, research shows that raccoons that live in a city are smarter than their woodland counterparts.

Suzanne MacDonald, a comparative psychologist who studies raccoon behavior at York University in Toronto, has compared the problem-solving skills of rural and city raccoons. The result? Urbanites trump their country cousins in both intelligence and ability. For the past few summers, she videotaped rural and urban racoons toying with containers baited with cat food. While both rural and city racoons readily approached familiar containers, they dealt differently with unfamiliar ones. Where rural raccoons took a long time to approach novel containers, city raccoons would attack them the moment she turned her back.

One particularly persistent urban raccoon even learned to open doors leading into MacDonald’s garage, where she keeps her garbage bins. It stood up on an overturned flowerpot, and kept pulling and pushing on the round knob of the door handle with its five-digit paws until it turned. “Normally, they can’t do that, they can’t grasp and turn things very easily,” MacDonald says. “Raccoons in the city are extraordinary, not only in their ability to approach things, but they have no fear, and they stick with it, they will spend hours trying to get food out of something.”

I dunno, is that intelligence or desperation? It’s possible that rural raccoons may be less interested in solving a difficult problem because they have other food sources that are easier to deal with and they aren’t as hungry as a city raccoon anyway. Nevertheless, the urban raccoon’s persistence results in learning. And Toronto is having a hard time staying ahead of them. Read about the city’s effort to outsmart the urban raccoon at Nautilus. -via Metafilter

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To launch the new service BBC Music, the British Broadcasting Corporation commissioned a music video with an “impossible orchestra,” featuring diverse and sundry music stars who’ve appeared on BBC programs over the years, along with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The song is the Beach Boys’ 1966 hit “God Only Knows.” Can you identify who’s in the video? I bet you know at least a third of them, whoever you are. I recognize all of those above a certain age, and a few newer acts.

BBC has a rundown of all 32 musical acts, with a description of each so you can get to know those you don’t already. You can also see a behind-the-scenes video showing how they did it. -via Tastefully Offensive

We've read their comics, watched their movies, TV shows and cartoons, and dressed like them for Halloween. But where did our favorite superheroes come from?

1. Superman

Arguably America's first superhero, the Son of Krypton made his debut in June of 1938 in Action Comics. Being, as he was: faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive (we're confused by that metaphor, too) and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, Superman represented an entirely new kind of American hero. No longer satisfied with idolizing self-made men, pioneers, and various and sundry presidents, American kids suddenly seemed to need a hero who was incredibly powerful and, with his easy sense of right and wrong, deeply not human.

2. Lex Luthor

Every hero needs a nemesis and that role in Superman's life was soon filled by mad scientist, wealthy businessman, and occasional presidential hopeful Lex Luthor. Of course, the Lex of the 1930s looked nothing like the slick tycoon you're accustomed to, largely because, at the time, he sported a clown-esque shock of red hair. It wasn't until 1941 that Lex acquired the smooth pate we've all come to know and love. However, later editors would revise what was originally a simple fashion decision into something much deeper.

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It’s been a long time since we last saw the characters from The Walking Dead. To refresh your memory as we get ready for for season five starting Sunday night, you can watch the marathon that’s on AMC all this week, or you can catch up on the entire series with the Fine Brothers, who tell us everything of importance that’s happened so far. Four years of mayhem, misery, fear, and death are condensed into a mere nine minutes, which makes it seem all so …awful. Well, the world is a pretty awful place after the zombie apocalypse. Fans may find this funny. -Thanks, Benny!

To get you ready for the return of The Walking Dead, how about some stories of the undead from the news? And maybe a cannibal or two? These are what you call "ripped from the headlines," because truth is stranger than fiction. An inordinate number of them come from China.

Not all of China’s zombie occurrences are vicious bloody attacks, though, sometimes they involve sweet old ladies who just want to cook you a homemade meal. Li Xiufeng was 95 when she fell and suffered a head injury that left her laying in bed. The elderly woman was found by a neighbor who couldn’t wake her up and apparently thought “I’m not a doctor, but this lady’s obviously dead.” The neighbor had the woman’s body placed in a coffin where she was to remain for several days before burial in order to abide by local Chinese customs. Thankfully, the woman came to just one day before her funeral and climbed out of her casket when nobody was around. The woman was later found cooking because she was feeling hungry — as being dead for several days will do to a person. “After waking up, I felt so hungry, and wanted to cook something to eat,” said Xiufeng. If being declared dead and shoved into a coffin wasn’t bad enough, the poor lady woke up to find that her neighbor had destroyed or given away all of her stuff because that’s what the tradition called for. Worst. Neighbor. Ever.

Read the rest of the stories all together at Uproxx. Then you can tell them to your loved ones one at a time. Right before bed.