When you think of the power of sound in war, the first thing that comes to mind is Joshua's Hebrew army blowing their horns until the walls of Jericho fell. There are many more examples from better-documented wars of sound used against an enemy. The Greeks brought elephants into battle against the Romans, and the trumpeting of the elephants frightened the Roman's horses so much they threw their riders. So the Romans came back, bringing squealing pigs, which frightened the elephants. An advancing army is only as good as what they are riding on. Then there's the case of the escaped prisoner who trained pipers to play music that would make the enemy's horses dance. Asian marauders from the northern steppes designed arrows that would scream as they flew to terrified their targets. Oh yeah, and there's the intimidating Maori haka. Read a rundown of the creative ways sound has been used in war at The Conversation. -via Damn Interesting      

(Image source: The British Library)

Thank you so much @NPR and @wynneellyn for sharing this poorly drawn cats love story with the world! @GrantSchroeder and @emmaf1878 I wish you all the best! And please send me Cheddar pictures as soon as you find your orange cat!! https://t.co/8WRPc94JQE

— poorly drawn cats (@poorlycatdraw) August 4, 2022

Poorly Drawn Cats is a Twitter account in which Brazilian artist Heloísa Nora draws other people's cats. The pictures aren't poorly drawn, just minimalist and often funny. In 2019, Grant Schroeder commissioned Nora to draw his kitten Luna. When the picture was posted, Emma Ferguson of Liverpool, UK, noticed it because she had a kitten named Luna as well. She went to Shroeder's Twitter account and saw a picture of him with Luna. So she followed him. He noticed, and followed her. Soon they were messaging each other and began a long-distance relationship. They met once when Schroeder flew to England, but then were separated by the pandemic for a year. They finally got married a couple of weeks ago. Nora made another drawing in honor of the occasion.

poorly drawn cats made this for emma and i and it’s truly the most gorgeous beautiful piece of art i’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/vrcoaITBFE

— grant (@GrantSchroeder) July 28, 2022

The couple now live in Liverpool with two cats. Schroeder's Luna stayed in Oregon with his parents and Ferguson's Luna has passed on. They are looking forward to getting another cat. -via Fark

How much do you know about amoebas? Not nearly as much as you're about to find out from Ze Frank. This video was shot completely under a microscope, and it will blow your mind. The amoeba Dictyostelium act like normal single-celled microbes as long as there is plenty of food to eat and no sexy amoebas around they aren't related to. But under the right circumstances, amoebas will form colonies and turn into a slug and then into a plant or fungus or something. Or at least that's how they act. It's very weird, and very well worth dealing with an in-video ad plus YouTube ads. At the end, we get a frightening scenario that only happens when two amoebas love each other very much and decide to take over the world. Plus all the double entendres you'd expect from Ze Frank.

For thousands of years, Australians have avoided swimming off the northern coast between November and May because of Irukandji syndrome. It's the sting of a creature then unknown, which leads to prolonged pain so severe that the victims often beg for the sweet release of death. And sometimes death comes anyway.

Australia has more than its share of deadly creatures, and a jellyfish was suspected of delivering Irukandji syndrome. The box jellyfish and the Portuguese man o' war have painful stings, but nothing like this. The creature responsible for such misery wasn't identified until 1961 by Dr. Jack Handyside Barnes. He managed to capture some tiny transparent jellies that had never been studied before.

But was this tiny creature really the cause of Irukandji Syndrome? While most scientists would have started by analyzing the venom’s chemical composition or testing the creature’s sting on an animal, Barnes had other ideas, skipping straight to human experimentation. As for the test subjects, this included Barnes himself, of course, along with local lifeguard Chilla Ross and, controversially, Barnes’ own 9-year-old son, Nick.

The experience of being stung by the jellyfish that was eventually named Carukia barnesi in his honor caused Barnes to spend the rest of his life trying to mitigate its effects. We don't know what lasting trauma the experiment had on his son. Read about the jellyfish and the doctor who found it at Today I Found Out.  

(Image credit: GondwanaGirl)

Guns 'n' Roses released their first album, Appetite for Destruction, in July of 1987, making it 35 years old. You might think it couldn't have been that long ago, and your memory is somewhat correct. The album sat in stores for a year before it took off and became #1 and stayed on the charts for six more months. Radio wouldn't play it because most of the songs contained f-bombs, stores wrapped the offensive original cover art in brown paper, and MTV wouldn't play the video for "Welcome to the Jungle." Geffen records founder David Geffen had to negotiate with the channel to get a single play.

Geffen and the network came to a compromise: They’d play the video at 4 a.m. EST and 1 a.m. PST, when they thought no one would be watching. However, the opposite happened: MTV’s switchboard lit up. “Every kid in America is calling them requesting this video,” Al Coury, Geffen’s head of promotion at the time, told Zutaut. From that point on, MTV added the video to their regular rotation, which helped increase record sales.

Read the story behind the iconic album and some of the hit songs it spawned at Mental Floss. Yeah, there are videos.

Dave Larson loves his dad. Orville Larson of Rosholt, Wisconsin, is 90 years old and in hospice care. Dave posted an invitation at a community Facebook group for people to come by and give his dad an experience he'd really appreciate.

He had a love of old cars and motorcycles. In his younger years he raced motorcycles and has many trophies.  Him and his late wife, Mona, traveled all over the States on a bike even. We were wondering if we could get some riders together to meet this coming Sunday downtown Rosholt at 3 pm this Sunday July 31st and go past his place in town slowly. We will have him up and sitting at the end of his driveway for him to watch.  Please help us make this a great day for our Dad. Ha also loves old cars, so if you have one please feel free to join in.

Larson expected maybe 20 people to come by, but almost 400 vintage motorcycles and cars showed up!




Orville Larson was very moved by the parade, and even got to ride in a sidecar before it was over. A good time was had by all. -via Fark

(Image credit: Dave Larson)

The small, quiet, Hungarian village of Nagyrev had no doctor or clinic or even a midwife. In 1911, Zsuzsanna Fazekas arrived and offered midwife services, and so she became the village's only medical practitioner. No one knew much about her, but she ministered to the women of Nagyrev for years, and gained their trust. Fazekas listened to their problems with their husbands, and she knew how to perform abortions. In a time and place in which marriages were arranged and divorce was almost impossible, she could help the women of Nagyrev with a supply of arsenic.

Fazekas' reputation quietly spread until women from the surrounding villages began coming to seek her advice. When Fazekas' activities came to the attention of authorities in 1929, the extent of her crimes was astonishing. There may have been as many as 300 deaths. Read about Zsuzsanna Fazekas and the Angel Makers of Nagyrev at Amusing Planet.

Four native speakers allow us to compare words in English, German, Dutch, and Afrikaans, all languages that descended from old German. Yes, Afrikaans is an offshoot of Dutch, but it's still in the same family. The words are very similar, but that doesn't mean that you'll be able to follow a string of them in conversation outside of a language you know. It seems to me that English is the outlier in these words, but that may be because I am a native English speaker and do not know any of the other languages. Or it may be because English has incorporated so many words from other language families. As it is, the biggest complaint about this video is the use of an American flag for the English language. Do you think they should have used the Canadian flag or the New Zealand flag? The speaker is definitely American. -via reddit

Fancy Feast canned cat food is like crack for cats. It has taught my cats how to tell time. And now Fancy Feast wants us humans to experience the joy its products give our feline friends. The cat food company is teaming up with New York City trattoria Gatto Bianco to serve a special Fancy Feast-inspired dinner for two nights. To people. But only a few people, as the trattoria only has four tables, and only eight couples will be served on August 11 and 12. The promotion is to introduce the company's new line of cat food flavors called "Medleys."   

But since the restaurant is so limited, Fancy Feast has released the recipes for the dinner for everyone to try at home. The options are salmon and vegetables, beef short ribs and mashed potatoes, and two desserts. The recipes were developed by Fancy Feast's in-house chef Amanda Hassner and restaurateur Casare Casella. Spoiler: cat food will not be found among the ingredients in these recipes. -via Metafilter

Well, whaddaya know, Tom Scott is in the United States, which means a lot more videos to come that will feature some Neatoramanaut's home town. He sends us a report of a strange geyser in Soda Springs, Idaho. It's not a natural geyser, but an accidental side effect of drilling a well to supply a city pool. And it shoots seltzer water into the air! I guess you've have to expect that kind of thing in a town named Soda Springs, which sits on top of a reservoir of carbonated water. No one there feels the need to buy a SodaStream. At any rate, the geyser at Soda Springs erupts more regularly than Old Faithful, but that's not natural, either. The story of Soda Springs is a strange tale of a natural wonder regulated by human intervention.

As an aside, there's a shot at one minute into the video of some buildings, and one building in the middle has an extention that looks like a cartoon chicken to me. Can you see it? Or is that just me?

Conjoined twins separated with the help of virtual reality https://t.co/70NcZQNi4w

— BBC News Technology (@BBCTech) August 1, 2022

Bernardo and Arthur Lima are three-year-old craniopagus conjoined twins, meaning they were joined at their heads. They have never been able to stand, walk, or look directly at each other until now. The Brazilian boys have been completely separated after a 27-hour operation headed by surgeon Noor ul Owase Jeelani and assisted by a team of nearly 100 people, including surgeons from the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London via virtual reality. Bernardo and Arthur have been living at Instituto Estadual do Cerebro Paulo Niemeyer for more than two years preparing for separation, and surgeons have been practicing by virtual reality.

The Lima twins are now the oldest twins with fused brains to have ever been successfully separated. That they survived the surgery is remarkable, but their heart rates and blood pressure surged after the operation, and only returned to normal when the boys were reunited with each other days later. They are now recovering together, and face at least six months of medical therapy. Read more about this case at BBC Tech.

Jonathan Dickerson shared a VHS home movie of his family's bluegrass band playing at a restaurant in Houston more than a quarter century ago. On one particular night, some strangers from the audience were invited to perform for the crowd. Dickerson told the story when he posted the video to reddit.

This was 1994 or 1995 at a place called Hickory Hollow Bbq in Houston, TX. Tootsie was the lead singer/string bass and throughout the night she noticed a group of guys that seemed to really be into the show. She guessed they were musicians and invited them up, having no idea who they were. Even when Dean Felber (I think?) told her they were Hootie and the Blowfish it meant nothing to her or to anyone there except maybe one or two in the audience.

Fast forward a week or so later. My aunt, uncle, and cousin came home for a visit. We were all sitting around my grandparents' house when they put this tape in the VCR. I grew up around bluegrass, old country, and folk music. Practically everyone in the family is musical, something us kids took for granted. So when the video started we rolled our eyes and made fun of their flame outfits. Everyone else mostly talked over it when suddenly there's that unmistakable voice of Darius Rucker (who we all assumed was named Hootie at the time).

This was a time when you couldn't go anywhere without hearing them and it blew my mind that my uncle and cousin didn't understand how big this band was. It's not that we were fans, but we certainly knew them and probably had their songs memorized just from them getting constant airplay. My cousin is the goofy one who backs them up with the mandolin. If I remember correctly, he felt they weren't getting a good reception at first so he thought he'd help them out. My uncle is the one who loans his guitar to Darius.

That's about it. I'd nearly forgotten about it but was at my parents this weekend digitizing some of their old home movies and I thought it was interesting enough to share.

Yeah, a brush with fame like that is way more interesting when it's almost purely accidental. Rucker and Felber were just having supper before performing at another Houston venue. It also says something about the fleetingness of fame that some of the commenters at reddit are too young to know who Hootie & the Blowfish are.   -via reddit

Why go to the vending machine when it can come to you? https://t.co/gl75Xh9Xsb

— SoraNews24 (@RocketNews24En) July 30, 2022

It's the convergence of three modern innovations: self-driving vehicles, temperature-controlled vending machines, and food delivery. Kyocera Communication Systems has launched an automated snack vending vehicle in Chiba City, Japan. The small automobile carries neither driver nor passengers, but machines full of hot and cold beverages and snacks such as candy and gelatin through the city that already loves the convenience of vending machines. So far, it is moving during business hours around shopping centers, office parks, and condominium complexes in Chiba City, ready to take your money via smartphone. The vending machine on wheels travels at nine miles an hour, and does not yet have a specified schedule, because you never know when a large crowd of people will want to get something to drink, and the little robot car will have to go restock. Read more about the innovative vending car and see more pictures at SoraNews24.  -via Fark

It is with great sorrow that we report the passing on the legendary icon Nichelle Nichols. No words. #roddenberry #RIPNichelle #StarTrek pic.twitter.com/wQkB0OZ9t5

— 𝚃𝚑𝚎 ❤ 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛 𝚃𝚛𝚎𝚔 (@roddenberry) July 31, 2022

Trailblazing actress Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed communications officer Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek, passed away Saturday of natural causes.

When “Star Trek” began in 1966, Nichols was a television rarity: a Black woman in a notable role on a prime-time television series. There had been African-American women on TV before, but they often played domestic workers and had small roles; Nichols’ Uhura was an integral part of the multicultural “Star Trek” crew.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called it “the first non-stereotypical role portrayed by a Black woman in television history.”

In fact, it was King who convinced Nichols of the importance of her work on Star Trek. Nichols also broke ground for television's first scripted interracial kiss. After Star Trek, Nichols worked for NASA to recruit women and minorities as astronauts, engineers, and administrators.

We lived long and prospered together. pic.twitter.com/MgLjOeZ98X

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) July 31, 2022

Y’all, @nichelleisuhuru.
Heartbroken at the news of her passing, however, I am comforted in the knowledge that she illuminated the way for so of us many with her grace, beauty, talent, intelligence and her commitment to humanity going boldly to the stars! #godess #queen
🙏🏾♥️🌹🖖🏾 pic.twitter.com/ye08mXzs3B

— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) July 31, 2022

We celebrate the life of Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek actor, trailblazer, and role model, who symbolized to so many what was possible. She partnered with us to recruit some of the first women and minority astronauts, and inspired generations to reach for the stars. pic.twitter.com/pmQaKDb5zw

— NASA (@NASA) July 31, 2022

Nichelle Nichols was The First. She was a trailblazer who navigated a very challenging trail with grit, grace, and a gorgeous fire we are not likely to see again.

May she Rest In Peace. #NichelleNichols pic.twitter.com/DONSz6IV2b

— Kate Mulgrew (@TheKateMulgrew) July 31, 2022

Many actors become stars, but few stars can move a nation. Nichelle Nichols showed us the extraordinary power of Black women and paved the way for a better future for all women in media. Thank you, Nichelle. We will miss you. pic.twitter.com/KhUf4YM6pX

— Lynda Carter (@RealLyndaCarter) July 31, 2022

One of my most treasured photos - Godspeed to Nichelle Nichols, champion, warrior and tremendous actor. Her kindness and bravery lit the path for many. May she forever dwell among the stars. #RIPNichelle #Uhura pic.twitter.com/nFXHif8HEC

— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) July 31, 2022

Nichelle Nichols lived.

I like to remember her delivering the greatest comeback in Star Trek history.

Sulu: I'll protect you, fair maiden!

Uhura: pic.twitter.com/Hs6jshduA8

— Alexandra Erin (She/Her) (@AlexandraErin) July 31, 2022

Nichelle Nichols was 89.

Anyone who was around in 1982 will remember the Tylenol murders. It was terrifying to think that someone was tampering with products on store shelves that might affect anyone at random. But 40 years later, how much of that case do you recall? In September of 1982, seemingly healthy people in the Chicago area began suddenly falling dead. Most had no connection to each other, although three people in the same family were killed. They had taken Tylenol from the same bottle. Seven people died of cyanide poisoning after taking Tylenol, which set off nationwide warnings about the product, a recall of all Tylenol, and a massive police investigation. A break came when a letter demanding a million dollars was sent to Tylenol's parent company, Johnson & Johnson.  

The Chicago Tylenol murders are the reason we have tamper-proof packaging on all kinds of products today, but no one was ever charged with the murders. The number one suspect was sentenced to ten years for extortion, and he's been out of prison since 1995. Read the story of how police tracked down James William Lewis and how he avoided murder convictions in two different cases at Truly Adventurous.

(Image credit: Mrbeastmodeallday)