(YouTube link)

“Firefox has encountered an unexpected problem with windows.” is the obvious comment at YouTube. -via The Daily What

National Geographic News talks about Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil, and the weather. They include a look at the origins of February 2nd forecasting, which began with the Roman Empire, when folks considered the weather on Candlemas to predict future weather.

Legend has it that the Romans also believed that conditions during the first days of February were good predictors of future weather, but the empire looked to hedgehogs for their forecasts.

These two traditions melded in Germany and were brought over to the United States by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania. Lacking hedgehogs, the German settlers substituted native groundhogs in the ritual, and Groundhog Day was born.

So have we've been using the wrong animal all these years? Should we instead say "Happy Hedgehog Day"? Link

(Image credit: Melissa Farlow/National Geographic)

In the French village of Allouville-Bellefosse, an oak tree stands. No one knows for sure how old the tree is, but it is considered the oldest tree in France -botanists estimate 800 years. A fire hollowed out the tree in the late 1600s, yet it survived and sprouted leaves afterward. The people of  Allouville-Bellefosse considered it a miracle and built a chapel and a staircase inside! Read all about it and see more pictures at Kuriositas. Link

(YouTube link)

This may look like the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but this girl is unlike any Red Riding Hood you've seen before. Would this concept make a good full-length film? There's also a video on how the wolves were created. -Thanks, Patrick A. Prejusa!

Transport yourself back to grade school -to 30 years ago when this Super Friends Valentine package hit the stores. Pages from the 11 x 17" book of valentines are scanned big so you can print, cut, and put these simple paper crafts together, such as putting wheels on Batgirl's Batcycle. Pages and pages are available at Andertoons. Link -Thanks, Mark Anderson!

It is once again time for our collaboration with the always amusing What Is It? Blog. Can you guess what the pictured item is? Do you know what it is?

Place your guess in the comment section below. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many as you'd like. Post no URLs or weblinks, as doing so will forfeit your entry. Two winners: the first correct guess and the funniest (albeit ultimately wrong) guess will win T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your guess. If you don't include a selection, you forfeit the prize, okay? May we suggest the Science T-Shirt, Funny T-Shirt and Artist-Designed T-Shirts?

For more clues, check out the What Is It? Blog. Good luck!

Update: The very first answer was the correct one. Berhard said it was a nutcracker, and he's right. Among many funny answers, the winner is The Professor, who claimed that due to budget cuts, this is the new Times Square New Year Ball Drop! Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop.

"Refreshing" head wipes for bald guys? This strange product is real, although it's not something guys would admit using ...so of course it would make a horrible gift.

Don't worry ladies, there are plenty of ways for you to passive aggressively tell your man he isn't attractive enough. This great product can remind him that he's not only bald, but that he's disgustingly sweaty too. Hooray for destroying your lover's self confidence!

This is just one of a dozen gifts that say, "I have no idea how to shop for Valentines Day." Link

Dave Fields explains how the rash of internet infographics from the past couple of years differs from ...well, from what they should be.

A well done infographic has the power to capture one’s acute attention span and convey information that would have taken longer to simply read (oh no, not reading!). However, for every brilliantly thought out and well executed mashup of art and data, there now seems to be an influx of mundane and formulaic counterparts infesting the very internet that we hold so near and dear.

Here we have an infographic that explores commonalities between the seemingly vast expanse of contrived infographics that appear to have spawned in mass over the past year. If you’re an infographic purest, view at your own risk.

Yep, the rest is in the form of an infographic that manages to be more entertaining than most. Link -via Rue the Day

See also: Infographic

Eunice Sanborn, who outlived three husbands, was 114 years old when she passed away Monday at her home in Texas, according to caretaker David French. Or was she 115?

Census records show Sanborn was born on July 20, 1896, in Lake Charles, La., according to the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group, which listed Sanborn as the world's oldest person.

But French said Sanborn always maintained the Census Bureau had made a mistake and she was really born in 1895. She celebrated what she believed was her 115th birthday on July 20, Agence France-Presse reported.

Either way, with Sanborn's death, the oldest person in the world is now 114-year-old Besse Cooper of Georgia. Link

(YouTube link)

The BBC has a TV program called Fast and Loose. It's a game show with a segment called Interpretive Dance, featuring David Armand, whom you might remember as the guy behind the hilarious interpretation of "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia. Now he has a regular job doing what he does so well. -via Arbroath

How true are these stereotypes? I have accounts at a half-dozen of these networks, but since I don't spend much time at any of them, it's hard to keep up with trends. Found, of course, at a Tumblr blog. http://-inthemourning.tumblr.com/post/2746308602 -via Buzzfeed

(YouTube link)

Allie Brosh of Hyperbole and a Half made this video in support of her friends at the Huemul Conservation Project who are raising funds to study and protect the Humemul with the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race. http://www.patagonianexpeditionrace.com/en/donate.php

The folks at Urlesque have been busy making ads for Facebook. No, not to sell anything; these are just for laughs!

Anyone with a Facebook Account can create advertisements on Facebook. You could legitimately advertise your business or perhaps a waterproof blow dryer. I decided to use the feature to create ads for things that could really use more exposure like potatoes, VHS tapes, and Reddit. If your budget is under $30,000 you can post an ad for anything you want, as long as you meet the strict guidelines. Sorry everyone, "Images of unrealistic body changes, such as extreme weight loss or muscle gain, are not allowed."

Then again, you have to admite they get your attention. I mean, I really want a cheesburger now! See all 30 fake ads at Urlesque. Link

Yan Fortin, the webmaster at Geeks Are Sexy, has been working on a secret project for the past nine months and today unveiled ...his new clone! No, we can't leave it at that, because his mama deserves credit as well. Here's the little storm trooper coming home in that big helmet he's going to grow into. Congratulations from your friends at Neatorama! Link

(YouTube link)

Skaters at New York's Bryant Park were asked to clear the rink for ice resurfacing, but Kenny Moir had a little trouble just getting around, much less getting out of the way. The crowd gathered to watch his embarrasment. It turns out that it takes a lot of talent to skate this badly! Link -via Cynical-C