Have you ever wondered about the song "15 Men on a Dead Man's Chest"? The chorus originated in Robert Louis Stevenson's story Treasure Island.

Fifteen men on the dead man's chest
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

But how could you fit that many men on a chest, whether the torso of a corpse or the luggage that belonged to him? Because the dead man's chest is an island in the Caribbean! Dead Chest Island {wiki} has no fresh water or trees, and little vegetation. The story is that pirate Edward Teach (also known as Blackbeard) marooned a mutinous crew on the island, with only a cutlass and a bottle of rum each. Thinking they would kill each other, he was surprised to find fifteen survivors when he returned a month later! Link -via Dark Roasted Blend

Before the 1972 TV show In Search of Dracula, few people outside of Romania had heard of Vlad the Impaler. Even now, many think of the 15th century ruler as the inspiration for the Dracula character. He wasn’t a vampire, but he was a horror.

When political envoys refused to remove their customary skullcaps in Vlad’s presence, he said “In all fairness, I want to strengthen and recognize your customs” and had the hats nailed to their heads. The forests of Transylvania were growing thick with the impaled, and the unnerved turks dubbed him "Kazikli Voyvoda", the Impaler Prince.

Curious Expeditions has many more examples of his cruelty and iron hand in the story of the real Vlad Tepes. Link

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This ad from Hewlitt Packard features a group of office workers performing Mozart on coffee cups and office equipment. I waited in vain for someone to spill water on a laptop. -Thanks, Jan!

The volunteer's face muscles contract, and his body begins to convulse. His breathing becomes spasmodic, and he makes a series of involuntary, repeated vocalizations. For one informative moment, the EEG's mechanical scribblings flap rapidly from margin to margin, providing a nugget of neurological gold.

The affliction under study is surprisingly common among humans. Though the episodes are usually transitory, they will occasionally erupt as intense, prolonged outbursts where bodily fluid containment is placed in jeopardy as the hapless victim collapses into a moist, quivering, rhythmically-vocalizing mass. Alarmingly, the phenomenon is highly contagious, and in extreme cases, it can even lead to death.

What dreaded syndrome could this describe? It’s laughter! Damn Interesting takes a look at the scientific study of gelotology, the physiological response to humor, and the things that makes us laugh.

A: "Did you hear about that series of illogical events that occurred involving a duck? They turned out to be congruent in some unexpected way!"
B: "Har har! Please excuse me while I breathe spasmodically and become moist!"

Link

Today kicked off a year of 50th anniversary celebrations for the little blue creatures called Smurfs. The Smurfs originated in Brussels, Belgium.

The late cartoonist Pierre Culliford, best known by his pen name, "Peyo," first introduced the tiny blue figures in a comic strip in October 1958. He called them Schtroumpf and they became known worldwide as the Smurfs.

The Smurfs, forest dwellers who live in little white-capped mushroom homes, developed their own "Smurf" language in which nouns and verbs were interchanged.

Their debut on U.S. television in 1981 launched their global rise to stardom and made the Smurfs a household name. A Smurf is a Pitufo in Spanish, a Schlumpf in German, Nam Ching Ling to the Chinese, a Sumafa in Japan and Dardassim in Hebrew.

You can expect a year of re-released Smurf entertainment and merchandise, plus a new feature film planned for next year. Link -via Fark

Reina Mia Brill creates strange but loveable knitted wire sculptures of all kinds of fantastic creatures. This one is titled “If You Keep Making Faces”. From the artist’s statement:

I begin with drawings that are translated into a wood skeleton, constructed to convey a posturing as well as offer gravitational support. A process of wrapping and layering with foil over the frame provides shape and density to the figures. They are then completely covered with a stuffed nylon skin. Using old-fashioned knitting machines, I create a flexible mesh wire fabric that is meticulously stitched onto the skin--layer by layer--over faces, horns, and even the crevices of toes until the essence of each creature breathes life.

Link -via Everlasting Blort

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100 people, arranged in order of their ages from one to 100, all play a drum. It’s much more fascinating than it sounds. The film was produced by Lenka Clayton and James Price. -via Arbroath

mental_floss also has a video by the same folks with people in order of the length of their love relationship. Link

This Japanese site sells happy little cat costumes that are guaranteed to make your kitty sad. Link -via Cynical-C

There are laws that say mattresses, pillows, and other bedding must have a tag stating its composition. This pillow had the tag, and the manufacturer was honest in saying they just don't know what's in there! This was submitted to Consumerist.

I had a pillow that says 'contains textiles of 100% unknown kind' on that tag that says 'Do not remove under penalty of law'. Kind of defeats the purpose of the tag, and I'm wondering what is in my pillow. Used underpants? Human hair? It does say 'all new materials' but that might just be 'new to me.'

Link

Sirius and Pitou had lived in a 20 foot cage in a Monaco zoo for the past ten years. But after a five year campaign, they were set free last week to live in a wildlife reserve in South Africa. The leopards were given to the late Prince Ranier by a circus owner. Prince Albert of Monaco freed them for release and said:

"The leopards are quite old now but if they can have a nice last few years, then hopefully they will appreciate that we can do that for them.

"It's time to rethink the mission of zoos, particularly when we can now see the wonder of animal life in documentaries."

76-year-old Virginia McKenna of the Born Free Foundation, star of the 1966 film Born Free, spearheaded the campaign. Link -via Fark

Venus, Carmen and Pablo were born without front legs due to a genetic defect. The North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, New York took custody of the three chihuahuas from a shelter in Virginia, and outfitted them with front wheels!

"The three have been practicing getting about and eating using their new, custom-built, aluminum carts," the shelter said. The carts are fastened to the dogs with "Velcro-held polar fleece padding for comfortable body support and lightweight foam wheels."

The contraptions were made by Eddie’s Wheels of Massachusetts, and are designed to be used for ten minutes at a time. The wheels alleviate stress on the puppies' lower backs. The three have been adopted by a veterinary technician at the League, and are also learning to balance themselves on their back legs. Link (with video) -via Arbroath

In the game Crazy Cat Scan, you have to keep your eyed peeled during the scan to see what crazy objects the patient has swallowed. Also, be aware that the patient probably swallowed two or more things! Link -via Ursi’s Blog

Score one for apathy. It's a clock for people who really don’t care what time it is. Link -via Gearfuse

Louis the octopus has a favorite toy -a Mr. Potato Head! Louis is an 18-month-old giant Pacific octopus at Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium in Cornwall, England.

"We wanted an octopus-friendly toy which had a compartment to hide food in," said the aquarium's Matt Slater.

He says Louis gets very excited when sees the toy, which he plays with for an hour at a time.

"Its bright colours, strange shape and moveable parts make it fascinating for Louis," said Mr Slater.

The giant Pacific octopus is the largest octopus species, with a world record length of 33 feet. Young Louis is about six feet long, stretched out. Link -via Reddit

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VonSkippy thought that the Duck Herding video could be improved with a musical soundtrack. Since he’s such a sweet guy, I went right to work and talked my brother into remixing it.