The burning question everyone (or at least those who have seen the movie) asks: how long does Bill Murray spend trapped in a time loop in the movie Groundhog Day? Wolf Gnards took clues from the film to come up with a definitive answer of 8 years, 8 months, and 16 days. I'm glad they figured that one out. Follow the link to find out how they did it. Link -via Digg
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Love is hard when you're a little robot in a big world. A little bit creepy and a whole lot of cute, Little Big Love is a bittersweet short film from Tomas Mankovsky. Link
10-year old Kyle and 8-year old Bryce Billingslea found a kitten along a country road in Michigan. The kitten was missing his front paws! The 10-week old cat's injuries were rotting and full of maggots, but he still managed to purr. The boys called animal control, and the responding officer called a veterinarian. The kitten was taken to MSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where he's had two rounds of surgery on his amputated limbs, with more to come. Veterinarians think that Howard may have been injured by farm machinery, which is where he got the nickname "the combine kitty". Costs to save and rehabilitate Howard are expected to run from one to two thousand dollars, but donations are coming in to Ingham County Animal Control & Shelter. Howard is recovering well, eating a lot, and is even able to stand and use his litter box, despite the bandages. http://www.ingham.org/ac/ -via Arbroath, where you can see a video report.
When Stand Up Frank's in Minneapolis closed it's doors ealier this year, no one could foresee the undead rising in it's place. Donny Dirk's Zombie Den in Minneapolis is a zombie bar!
No word on whether brains are on the menu. Link -via Pajiba
(image credit: Tom Wallace, Star Tribune)
In the corner, a small chainsaw sits inside a glass case that reads "In case of zombie attack, break glass." The bartenders all dress like Simon Pegg in "Shaun of the Dead" -- white button-up, red tie and blood stains. The friendly female servers wear long black gowns. Again: This is a classy zombie joint.
No word on whether brains are on the menu. Link -via Pajiba
(image credit: Tom Wallace, Star Tribune)
Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss is for heavy metal fans and spelling buffs. An umlaut is those two dots above a letter that find their way into a lot of band names. Can you pick out the correct placement of the world’s heaviest diacritic in each band name? Difficulty: Some names don't even have an umlaut. I scored 40%, which involved mostly guessing. Link
It's a rain cap! No, It's an umbrella! No, it's both! The advantages of the UFO Cap Umbrella design is that it doesn't have a handle, so you can fold it up and keep it in your purse or backpack. Since your head holds it up, both of your hands are free. The downside is the multitude of people who point and laugh at you. Link -via Everlasting Blort
(vimeo link)
Who knows how much is paper and how much is special effects in this ad made in response to a challenge from Hewlett-Packard. The finished product, named "Invent" is impressive! Created by Matt Robinson and Tom Wrigglesworth. Music by Round Table Knights. -via I Am Bored
An advertising mistake will costs thousands of euros for the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Venice, Italy. An online advertisement posted a room price as one-hundredth of a euro per night instead of 150 euros ($213). Before the ad was changed, 230 people booked 1,400 room nights at that price.
The total cost of the mistake could be 90,000 euros (or $128,000). Link -via Digg
The company say the mistake was made at the offices of IHG in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States.
"Although a pricing error, IHG is committed to honouring the 1-cent rate for guests who have a valid confirmation," the hotel group's Monica Smith said.
The total cost of the mistake could be 90,000 euros (or $128,000). Link -via Digg
I've had some fun today with this generator that marries random Twitter updates with the graphics from Dinosaur Comics. The generator was created by Idefex, who enlarged upon an idea from Bing. Hit the link, then refresh to get new text with your dinosaurs. Link -via Metafilter
Legendary musician Bob Dylan had a brush with the police last month in New Jersey. Long Branch police officer Kristie Buble responded to a call about an "eccentric-looking old man" in a residential neighborhood. Buble approached the man and questioned him. He had no ID, and said he was Bob Dylan and was checking out a house that had a "for sale" sign. Buble later said,
Buble decided to humor the old man who didn't know the address of where he was staying, and gave him a ride to the hotel he described. There were tour buses parked there, and entourage members vouched for Dylan's identity. They went so far as to produce his passport for the officer.
Link -via Boing Boing
"Now, I've seen pictures of Bob Dylan from a long time ago and he didn't look like Bob Dylan to me at all. He was wearing black sweatpants tucked into black rain boots, and two raincoats with the hood pulled down over his head.
Buble decided to humor the old man who didn't know the address of where he was staying, and gave him a ride to the hotel he described. There were tour buses parked there, and entourage members vouched for Dylan's identity. They went so far as to produce his passport for the officer.
A police department source said Buble had taken her share of good-natured ribbing from some of the older officers.
"To really appreciate the story from our end, you have to see Kristie," one cop said. "She looks like a 16-year-old kid, next to this living legend. It was unbelievable."
Link -via Boing Boing
Invasive Asian carp are populating the Great Lakes and forcing native species out of their traditional habitats. Scientists are taking steps to contain the invaders without affecting other species. They've developed an underwater "wall of sound" that takes advantage of the physical differences between Asian carp and native fish.
Link
In a tributary near Havana, about 200 miles from Chicago, ecologist Greg Sass is testing a barrier that injects beeping sounds into an effervescent wall, which captures and magnifies the noise. The chirping bothers only the carp because it hears higher frequencies than native species do; a series of tiny bones connecting the carp's swim bladder to its auditory system amplifies sound. In hatchery trials, the acoustic "fence" stopped 95 percent of the invasive fish.
Link
Leaving is a video game based on a true story.
William David, a developer for Ubisoft, decided the best way for him to quit would be through the same medium, but in a rather different style. The combination of style, music and message make this an entertaining experience and by the time I had walked my way through it, I myself was willing William on to do great things. His plans are to continue work as an independent developer.
You don't accrue points, you don't compete against anyone, and there are no advancing levels, but the music is awesome. Use the arrow keys to advance and quit your job. Link to story. Link to game. -via reddit
A sign of a tightened economy, ramen noodles are more popular than ever. Still, they can get boring after a while. From Rasmussen College, here are 50 ways to dress up ramen noodles in salads, soups, main dishes, breakfast, and even desserts. Link -via Geek Like Me
In this Lunchtime Quiz from mental_floss, you'll be given eight musical artists on the left and eight titles of recorded-live albums on the right. Cam you match them all up? Most of these albums were really big hits. My score?
Good luck! Link
Oh, I want one of these! Sit down in a shark's open mouth to enjoy the latest marine nature documentary on TV. $19.95, beans not included. http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/shark-bean-bag-cover/ -via Unique Daily
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