It's the end of an era. Many years ago, no one knows exactly when, a new sidewalk on West Roscoe Street in Chicago was laid, and a rodent left an imprint of its body in the wet cement. In January, the rat-shaped hole went viral. Since then, people have been coming from all over to make a pilgrimage to the site of the Chicago rat hole. They leave coins in the hole, and have left flowers, photographs, signs, and other trinkets. A plaque was made. At least one wedding was staged at the site. Someone filled the hole with plaster, and others dug it out.   

This left some of the neighbors in Roscoe Village annoyed with the crowds and the garbage they left behind. The Chicago Department of Transportation had a dilemma: replace that portion of the sidewalk to please the locals, or let tourists and fans have their fun? Some of the neighbors wanted the rat hole to stay. The city finally decided to replace the sidewalk section, which happened on Wednesday, but they took pains to preserve the concrete that contained the rat hole. The square slab was successfully excavated and will be saved. Will we ever see it again? The city has not yet decided on what to do with the rat hole slab, although they are listening to those who say it belongs in a museum. After all, it is now a piece of city history. Read more on the fate of the Chicago rat hole. -via Fark

(Image credit: JunLpermode)

When we disturb the tombs of ancient mummies, we fear a curse or worse, but we also forget that they were people of their time when they were alive. They had no concept of guns. Sure, you can't kill a mummy, because they are already dead, but it can sure hurt them, and baffle them besides. This mummy has to recalibrate and ponder the possible technological innovations that have occurred since he was buried. But he's still supernatural, otherwise he wouldn't have known the date of his death was 2,600 BC. Think about it. While we marvel at the skill with which they preserved human remains so far back, they had nothing on modern morticians, not to mention plastinationists. When our civilization has ended and another arises, will they fear a resurrection of the bodies we leave behind? Probably not- they can just use their laser weapons.  

You might recognize the rotoscope technique of Joel Haver in this video. Redditor WiiFitBalanceBoard, who made this video under the name Cool Giant at YouTube, says he made this after watching Haver's animation tutorial. -via reddit

People love visiting national parks. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park in East Tennessee saw 13.29 million visitors in 2023! In fact, it's getting to the point that a park experience can be diminished by the very number of people in those parks. Like Yogi Berra once said, "Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded." However, there are some US National Parks that are quite un-crowded. The least visited is Gates of the Arctic in Alaska, which is quite scenic but has no roads, trails, or campsites. And it can get pretty cold. However, the second least visited US National Park is a tropical paradise. So why do few people visit it?

The name of the park is the National Park of American Samoa. It is our only national park south of the equator, and it's not easy to get to. First, you have to get to Hawaii, then take a plane 2,600 more miles to the island of Tutuila, and flights only happen twice a week. Despite it being American territory, you'll need a passport to prove your citizenship. There are limited hotels, and no visitor center. But once you are at the park, you'll have the solitude of a desert island while you hike, swim, snorkel, or just enjoy the scenery. Read about one intrepid traveler's experience at the National Park of American Samoa at BBC Travel.  -via Damn Interesting

(Image credit: The U.S. National Park Service)

You might or might not be familiar with the warning scale the National Weather Service uses for high temperatures, but it's pretty intuitive. Green is for no danger, yellow and orange are cautionary, and red means danger, just like other scales (blue is reserved for cold weather). But the scale has been adjusted, as 2023 was the hottest year on record. In fact, the ten hottest years since temperature recordings began to be documented have all been in the last ten years.

With temperatures getting hotter every year, the NWS and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have instituted a new category of warning, and it's purple, or officially magenta. This category warns us of "rare and/or long-duration extreme heat with little to no overnight relief." This can pose a danger to anyone who doesn't have air conditioning. The weather service will make heat risk maps available for the entire US this year, instead of just the Western US as has been the case. As we go into the summer months, you may want to make a habit of paying attention to heat risk maps, plan your outside activities accordingly, and check on your neighbors when the occasion arises.  

(Image credit: CDC)

Tom Curtis admired the drawings his six-year-old son Dom drew, and rendered them as something akin to a photograph, by adding color, contours, and backgrounds. It was so much fun he began posting these art pieces at his site Things I Have Drawn, and soon Dom's little brother Al joined in. Eventually, other people started submitting their own children's drawings to be rendered. While Dom and Al are a little old for this sort of thing now, Tom is still mining their earlier art for the site, and turning other people's submissions into colorful renders.

Click on any of the pictures at the main website to bring up an entire category of pictures, or go to Instagram to see the latest artworks submitted by children from all over. Some are presented as humorous videos. You can buy many of these drawings as posters and other gifts. -via Nag on the Lake

There are those who believe that the great architectural marvels of the past were not designed in their time, but are the remnants of a lost civilization called the Tartarian Empire. This theory is akin to that of ancient aliens, since no one in, say, ancient Egypt was smart enough to build the pyramids (fact check: they were). All the great technology that popped up in different parts of the earth were influenced by this empire, which was somewhere in Central Asia. But it was destroyed by the powers that came after it, and erased from history so that others could take the credit. In some versions of the conspiracy theory, Marco Polo was in on the suppression of the knowledge of Tartaria, and in others, Napoleon and the Russian Tsar made sure that Tartaria never made it into our history books.

The secret of the fictional Tartarian Empire is that they had harnessed the production of unlimited free energy. How they did this is lost to civilization, or was a secret kept so well no other nation knew about it, like Wakanda. While the theory arose in Russia in the 1970s, those who believe point to the 1915 World's Fair in San Francisco as proof of the existence of Tartaria. Read about this really weird conspiracy theory at Messy Nessy Chic.   

A horror dance from an Indian reality show
byu/Euglena_fucks_amoeba innextfuckinglevel

B Unique Crew is an Indian dance crew with three dancers and one genuine contortionist. They achieved notoriety with this horror dance on the Indian competition TV show Hunarbaaz: Desh ki shaan (Pride of the Country) a few years ago. They are using modified traditional dance moves to illustrate a classic story that was retold in the horror comedy movie Bhool Bhulaiyaa, just in case you want to check out the plot. The dance is replete with scary moves from the one guy who can turn his head completely backwards, so be warned.

The judges were properly horrified, but the act didn't win. Since then, B Unique Crew has appeared on various version of the Got Talent franchise in different countries. See more of their dance routines at YouTube. If you dare. -via Digg

We think of Australians as a tough bunch, because it takes guts to live in a place with so many deadly animals, like snakes. It indeed requires a tough person to catch a snake right after it bit them. But hospitals in Queensland are asking that snake bite patients refrain from bringing those snakes into the hospital for identification. Live, venomous snakes in poorly-secured containers are unnecessary, and pose a danger to hospital staff and other people. Besides, trying to capture it risks you being bitten again. Yet people bring those snakes in more frequently than is comfortable.  

It's true that Australia has many species of venomous snakes, but they also have polyvalent antivenom that works on bites from multiple Australian snake species. Hospital staff can tell what kind of snake bite you have by the bite marks and symptoms, much better than they can identify a snake. The same is true for emergency rooms in the US, although the CDC says it may help to take a photograph of the snake from a safe distance if you can. However, hospitals do not want to host the snake itself. -via Boing Boing

(Image credit: John Wombey, CSIRO)

"I was human once" begins a soliloquy from a successful alchemist who developed an elixir that gave him immortality and magical powers. What would you sacrifice for immortality and magical powers? We find that the price was quite high, and he wouldn't do it again if he had a choice. The lesson was learned, but it's too late to back out. You can't appreciate the value of time when it's unlimited, and all the power in the world doesn't help you in your relationships with other people if you are no longer human.

Cory Williams of Daydream Studios made this animation in just five days with the help of various modern animation tools, including Unreal Engine. You can see a behind the scenes video here. It will give you a new appreciation for the technology that puts such power in the hands of animators, and you will surely appreciate Williams' voice work. -via Laughing Squid

Imagine being a Jewish soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War, in what would later become West Virginia where no one knew how to celebrate Passover. There were 21 Jewish soldiers in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment under the command of future president Rutherford B. Hayes in 1862. Most were young men who had celebrated, but had never organized a Passover Seder before. Private Joseph A. Joel obtained permission for the soldiers to take a day off for the Seder, and it was granted.

The men had to enlist help from their provisions supplier and the local residents to get what they needed for the feast. Cider was a substitute for wine, and whatever they substituted for the usual horseradish and parsley as the bitter herb was so bitter that it caused the men to drink all the cider and the Seder got quite lively, or even rowdy. Joel published an account of that Seder in 1866 in the Jewish Messenger. While it wasn't the only Passover celebration on the battlefield, it was the one best documented for posterity, and you can read about it at Smithsonian.  

(Image source: Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum)

Warning: this video contains lots of NSFW language. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is crossing its fingers that bringing back two of its more popular superheroes in the R-rated Deadpool & Wolverine will reverse its fortunes after a slew of disappointing movies with lesser-known comic book characters. Maybe a young teen audience isn't all that necessary when you've got sass, action, blood, humor, and two proven stars in Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. In this film, a disruption of the timeline is on the line, so to speak, so Deadpool and Wolverine must team up to set things right. The villain is Cassandra Nova, played by Emma Corrin, the evil twin sister of Charles Xavier. So, do Deadpool and Wolverine hate each other like it seems in this film, or is that just the way guy friends act sometimes? We will find out when Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26.

The International Space Station was launched 25 years ago and has hosted nearly 300 astronauts from around the world. Each of those astronauts carries their own natural biome into space. There have been many experiments on the effects of space on bacteria, which show the effects of microgravity, radiation, air quality, and other conditions on their rate of mutation. But there are also bacteria that just go along for the ride, and a sampling of those bacteria show evidence of mutation as well. A survey of environmental bacteria on the ISS was conducted in 2019, and further research was done on 13 strains of Enterobacter bugandensis, which can cause gastrointestinal infections.

They say what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, and that has proven to be the case for this bacteria. Scientists found that the E. bugandensis on the space station has mutated to be more resistant to antimicrobial treatment. We don't know what danger this may pose to astronauts, or the people they come home to after their mission. Read more about this discovery at Gizmodo.  -via Fark

(Image credit:NASA)

It begins with the atoms in your morning coffee, then take a detour through your body, or maybe just your imagination, and then somehow leads us into an alternative version of nature. That's when things really get weird. The animated short film Cosmohedron by Duncan Hatch is disorienting because you never know where it will go next, but the bright colors and range of images is enough to keep you watching. It's altogether baffling. At the very end, it all comes together, but that doesn't mean it makes any more sense. Does it have a message? I doubt it. One commenter says, "Themes of interconnection, fractal scales, and humorous jabs at work culture all hit home." I have to wonder where he lives. -via The Awesomer

Many of us are familiar with the idea that coffee makes you poop. There are substances in coffee that contribute to this, and not just caffeine. But it could also be that coffee is usually a stable part of one's normal morning routine. And there is also the psychological association of coffee with one's morning routine, so much that the smell of a coffee shop can make you run to the bathroom. How much each of these factors contribute to the effect is arguable, but the effect is real.

However, there are variations. The urge to poop can arise from the experience of being in a book store. This is called the Mariko Aoki phenomenon, named for a woman in Japan who wrote about her experiences in 1985. Since then, many folks have admitted that bookstores have this effect on them. While there has been little scientific interest in experimenting with the Mariko Aoki phenomenon, there have been several theories suggested for why it occurs, from scientists and non-scientists alike. And some folks get this urge at more general locations, like shopping malls. -via Nag on the Lake

(Image credit: Ryan Abel)

What would Darth Vader put on his barbecue sandwich?

In the run up to Star Wars Day on May 4, the hot sauce company Truff has partnered with Lucasfilm to offer a special limited edition hot sauce styled after Darth Vader. It's called Dark Side Hot Sauce, and it comes in a bottle with Darth Vader's head, er, helmet as the bottle cap. It will be shipped in a "collectible gift box" featuring Star Wars imagery, resembling the volcanic hellscape of the planet Mustafar. They call it their hottest hot sauce so far, but also extol the virtues of its flavor. Does it taste good? Who knows? It sounds downright evil. Dark Side Hot Sauce won't go on sale until April 24, but you can sign up for the wait list at the Truff site. If you get your order in early, you could be enjoying some really spicy snacks for Star Wars Day.   -via Boing Boing