The question is: Whodunit? It's possible that pointing the finger will make you look guilty, so I don't want to appear too sure about it. But the odds are that the only insane killer clown in the room might be the perpetrator. This is the latest comic from John McNamee at Pie Comic, taking the mystery out of the murder mystery.
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Brian is a single sheep farmer in an isolated area. He gets lonely, particularly when he's snowed in. During one of those winters, he built himself a robot for companionship. It's not a good-looking robot. And it's not very smart, either, but Brian now has someone to talk to. He calls his robot Charles.
As Brian and Charles go about their daily lives, you have to ask yourself: Is it better to be lonely, or to be constantly annoyed? That question could be applied to nearly every relationship, at least every now and then. This short film was produced by Jim Archer. -via io9
Sooner or later, everyone has an exercise machine of one sort or another in their home. It was that time you really, really had every intention to get into shape. The truth is, even after making a financial commitment, exercise is not as fun as it looks on TV. However, there's that period of time between giving upon exercise and finally getting rid of your expensive equipment. That's what this video is about, since that workout equipment can be used for many different things. Contains some NSFW language.
Even people who cannot or will not make a big financial investment in equipment will eventually have an exercise machine in their home, because you can get one for almost nothing at any garage sale. -via Tastefully Offensive
When Bill Murray replaced Chevy Chase in the Not Ready for Primetime Players in 1976, no one knew he would go on to movie stardom. But he took his quick wit and willingness to go the extra mile for a laugh that made Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day the classics they are. And he's had quite a few dramatic roles as well, like The Razor's Edge and Lost in Translation. And he's not slowing down at all.
You have to wonder what Coppolla would have done if her contractless leading man had decided not to do the movie when she already had the rest of the cast and crew assembled. Murray's IMDb page lists 85 acting credits, but the trivia in this illustrated list at TVOM focuses on the Bill Murray movies you've most likely seen.
The term "flash fiction" is used to describe a writing prompt in which people are challenged to write a story using very few words. It may have been inspired by the six-word story "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." ascribed to Ernest Hemingway. Still, "flash" connotes a story written quickly, while the word limit indicates brevity, and they don't always go together well. Yesterday, Richard Wiseman posted a flash fiction prompt on Twitter.
Write a happy story in just 5 words ..... go!
— Richard Wiseman (@RichardWiseman) September 28, 2017
Now, you can write "They lived happily ever after," but that's not much of a story. The challenge is to write five words that will prompt the reader into filling in the blanks according to their understanding of the world, which results in a narrative. Wiseman got a ton of responses so far. Here are some of them.
She loved him. He knew.
The test came back negative
I just won the lottery.
SELLING: Baby shoes. Too small.
There were exactly zero corrections.
She is no longer hungry.
And the dinosaurs rose again.
Rain, music, bath, dinner, fire.
Her? Now? No! Really? YES!
And it started raining Chocolate
PhD done in three years!
And it finally stopped itching!
Mommy, Daddy, Santa Claus came!!!
Once upon a time, beer
Then Richard Wiseman retweeted me
You can read more under the Tweet, or share yours with us in the comments.
The small ads in the back of magazines used to make all kinds of outlandish promises. In the 1950s, Body-Tone offered the “World’s Fastest Strength and Muscle Building System.” The image hinted that you could become a real muscleman with a course that took just four weeks. It cost $20, or $25 if you paid in installments. The materials you received are available on the internet now, so Beth Skwarecki decided to try it out to see what the folks who bought it actually got.
After you wrote to this address, you’d get an envelope in the mail with three things. (Somebody saved theirs and it’s available with original envelope on Etsy; God bless you Etsy.) First, there is a letter from Tom Buckley himself, who appears on his own letterhead, smiling and beefy. Then, nine pages of questions and answers on orange paper, slyly selling you the system. Finally, an enrollment form. You are to take fifteen body measurements, write an essay on your current exercise routine and health status, and decide whether you want to pay all at once or in installments. Translated into 2017 dollars, the program cost $169 all at once, or $42 in five installments for a total of $211.
For that kind of money, you got encouragement, a recipe for a protein shake, and a detailed course on isometric exercises in which you contracted muscles for a mere six seconds a day each. But did it work? You can follow Skwarecki's experience with the course at Lifehacker. -via Digg
September 29 is National Coffee Day! How should you celebrate? With a cup of coffee, of course!
Learn about the chemistry and physics behind the perfect cup of coffee at Smithsonian. Or see some coffee statistics. You'll learn a lot about coffee in the Neatorama archives, like 5 Fun Facts About Coffee For National Coffee Day. Read about the beverage's history, like the role coffee played in the Civil War and the story behind Starbucks.
There are a few coffee chains that are offering a free cup of coffee, and even more that have discounts or deals today on coffee. See the list at Buzzfeed.
(Image credit: The NeatoShop)
Sometimes knowing more about a horror film just makes it scarier. It's enough to make you believe that these films were cursed. For example,
9. While filming Poltergeist, Oliver Robins, aka Robbie, truly got choked by the robot clown doll — it wasn't until he turned purple that Spielberg realized what was happening.
10. The actor who played a radiologist's assistant in The Exorcist was a convicted murderer who dismembered and killed gay men in the late '70s.
Paul Bateson murdered and dismembered six men in New York City, while also training to be an X-ray tech (which landed him his spot in the movie)
11. An actual human skull was used in the first model of the iconic Alien creature.
The late artist H.R. Giger was in charge of the design. When asked about the skull, he once said, "Don't ask me where I got it."
Readers submitted movie trivia, and Buzzfeed found sources to see how accurate they are. You can check out all 18 pieces of terrifying trivia plus links to read more about them.
Prince Harry, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, was in Toronto to attend the Invictus Games, which he founded. In this video, his attention is split between the sports and a conversation with the man to his left. Meanwhile, a toddler is helping herself to his popcorn!
By the time Harry noticed her and offered her a kernel, she'd already eaten about half of his box. A good time was had by all. -via Laughing Squid
Last October, Tom Hanks starred in a Saturday Night Live skit called "Haunted Elevator" as a character named David S. Pumpkins. It was exceedingly silly, made no sense at all, and starred Tom Hanks, so of course it became an instant meme, and one of the more popular Halloween costumes last year, despite airing only a week before Halloween. This year, David S. Pumpkins returns with his own Halloween special. The half-hour show will be animated, and will feature the voice of Tom Hanks and special guest Peter Dinklage. It will be a parody of other Halloween specials.
Set in a small suburban town on All Hallows’ Eve, the special centers on David Pumpkins and his skeleton sidekicks who show a young boy and his sister the true meaning of Halloween, answering none of their questions along the way.
In case you need a reminder, here's the original sketch.
The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special will air on October 28. Any questions?
The Star Trek franchise had a well-known open-submission policy. This meant that writers were allowed, even encouraged, to submit scripts for the show. If the series' producers liked your script enough to use it, you suddenly had a writing credit on your resume. Some really successful writers got their start pitching ideas for Star Trek, although maybe not the first time they tried. There's even a catalog of episodes that were never aired and filed as "undeveloped." Vulture talked to eight screenwriters about scripts they had submitted for Star Trek. Jose Molina, who has written scripts for Firefly, The Tick, Agent Carter, and Sleepy Hollow, tells about one he wrote for Star Trek: TNG.
The spec was called “Endangered Species” and was written near the end of TNG’s sixth season. It features the return of Lore, who seeks out Data with a dual purpose. First, he wants to return the emotions chip he stole in the season-four episode “Brothers,” and second, he wants Data to deactivate him. Yes, the “issue of the week” was assisted suicide. In returning the emotions chip to Data, Lore cautions him about the human feelings he so desperately wants. He explains that it was the overwhelming torrent of emotion from his own chip that once made Lore so dangerously unbalanced, and that now makes him want to end his life. Because just like the twin androids can process millions of calculations in a second, they can also feel millions of emotions in that time. The androids can experience lifetimes of human anguish in minutes. Data has an opportunity to reflect on his brother’s crisis as he mounts a holodeck presentation of “Frankenstein.” The Monster’s Promethean rant against his maker, and the sheer agony of his solitary existence, help Data arrive at a better understanding of his long-suffering brother. In the end, Data helps Lore find a new lease on life; he tasks his big brother with acting as caretaker to a species as unique and misunderstood — and endangered — as himself. Alone in his quarters after dropping Lore off at his new home, Data faces his own dilemma: Does he install his long-lost emotions chip? Heeding his brother’s warning, he crushes it under his boot instead.
Read about unused scripts pitched for The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager at Vulture.
Most dogs swim using the dog paddle method. This Afghan hound might be doing the dog paddle, but you wouldn't know it through all that hair. He looks more like a ghost floating through the ether.
This underwater afghan hound is the funniest thing I've seen in my life via @klarna pic.twitter.com/ORKEeV9oLx
— Spooky Dogfriend (@GrrlGhost) September 27, 2017
To be honest, the dog resembles a sloth dressed up in a Chewbacca or Cousin It costume. -via Digg
How a group of 20th-century suffragettes fought the man.
Had the police known there was barbed wire hidden in the floral arrangements, things might have gone a little differently. As it stood, in March of 1914, officers in Glasgow, Scotland, were expecting to make easy work of Emmeline Pankhurst, one of the loudest voices in Britain's suffrage movement.
Pankhurst, who had traveled from London to rally support for her cause, declared that women deserved the right to vote, to ask for a divorce, and to inherit land. Since her demonstrations often incited anger and unrest, public officials dispatched cops to drag protesters away. But Pankhurst wasn't about to kowtow to authorities. Anticipating a fight, she arrived in Glasgow with an army of roughly 25 women collectively known as the Bodyguard. These “Amazons,” as the press breathlessly reported, were trained in the art of jiujitsu, club-fighting, and sabotage. The police had pummeled them before -and wouldn’t hesitate to do so again.
Pankhurst made the police look foolish by evading arrest at the entrance: She simply bought a ticket and walked in. But as she held court, the officers agressively advanced until, suddenly, a woman pulled out a pistol and fired. The bullets were blanks, but the officers were stunned -they hadn't prepared for a firefight. Using that brief moment of confusion to their advantage, the Bodyguard began tossing poicemen like rag dolls, using martial arts to throw them into the razor-sharp bouquets decorating the hall. The woman also pulled Indian clubs from their dresses to protect themselves from the hail of police batons. Pankhurst was arrested, but the event made an impression: The bloody scuffle was dubbed the “Battle of Glasgow,” and the public began to sympathize with the suffragettes.
As the cops licked their wounds, the question arose: Where did a group of British feminists learn the Japanese martial art in the first place? It was all thanks to Edith Garrud, a jujitsu instructor who stood just 4 feet 11 inches tall.
When she was a teenager, Garrud had trouble fitting in at school and took to athletics to busy herself. She fell in love with exercise, and in 1893 she married fellow fitness enthusiast William Garrud. In 1899, the couple saw a demonstration by Edward Barton-Wright, a compact man who had developed his own martial art called Bartitsu. A blend of grappling and striking that offered solutions to vitually any attack, the style was so well publicized that Arthur Conan Doyle name-checked it in a 1903 Sherlock Holmes story.
Remember back when you never heard of a new movie until you saw the trailer? Things have changed, and studios will let us in on plans for movie releases years in advance, although those plans are subject to change. The publicity surrounding a film in production can get people excited far ahead of time. By now, many of those plans for 2019 are set, and you can find what you'll be enjoying two years from now. We'll see sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, comic book characters coming to the silver screen, and a few classic characters going back almost a century. And, believe it or not, a couple of brand new ideas! Check out the slate of movies coming in 2019 at TVOM.
Scientists announced the discovery of 15 new species of spiders this week. They are native to the Caribbean, and were given taxonomical names that referenced several famous people, including Bernie Sanders, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Michelle Obama. Okay, if you had to come up with names for 15 new creatures at once, would you be more, um, scientific about it?
Spider expert Ingi Agnarsson is a biology professor at the University of Vermont and lead researcher of the study, published in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. He told me that scientists who discover a new species can basically name it whatever they want. For example, lots of scientists name new species after either a past scientist or a loved one, although it's frowned upon to name it after themselves.
"You have absolute freedom when you discover a new species. As long as you have the genus name right, you can name it whatever you want," Agnarsson said. The only real problem, he said, would be if a scientist was going to receive any sort of potential benefit from it. So don't expect any newly discovered species to be named walmarti anytime soon.
Often it comes down to the fact that so many new species are being discovered, classified, and written about that the only way to draw attention to yours is a stunt that will get the species a round of publicity. Read more about species naming in the modern era at Motherboard. -via Digg
(Image credit: Glynnis Fawkes)
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