In every film production, a lot more was filmed than ever makes it into the final production. A lot of that editing is for time, some for pacing, and some to make a simpler narrative. Often, all three are involved in what gets dropped. Picking and choosing what is discarded and what is kept shapes the film in ways the writers and actors, and even the directors don't see coming. It is only long afterward that we might see how the inclusion of some deleted scenes might have changed the plot. Some deleted scenes could have changed the entire universe of that story, including sequels. If we had known Pepper Potts was pregnant during Captain America: Civil War, would it have changed everything? Well, no, actually, as she eventually married Tony Stark and they had a child anyway. But it would have shifted the story chronologically. Another deleted scene could have changed quite a few movies.

If Palpatine were considered to be Anakin's father, then Kylo Ren would have been his direct descendant, a great grandson. That would have made the entire "Rey is my granddaughter" plot line unnecessary (which it was anyway) in The Rise of Skywalker. After all, "manipulating the Force" was how Palpatine got a clone son anyway. Plus, that would have made Rey and Ren cousins. Ew. Read of 13 more deleted scenes and how they would have changed movies (or TV series) at Cracked.   

Here is a list without context. Can you figure out what these things have in common? In other words, what is this a list of?

    the formula for the making of Wrigley's chewing gum
    the recipe for Purina Dog Chow
    the city records of Chicago and Los Angeles
    most of the Walt Disney films, including all of the original prints from the Mickey Mouse Club
    109,000 old MGM movies
    the wedding dress of a lady from Wichita
    fur pelts
    a collection of antique newspapers dating back to 1659
    copies of Bibles in 1700 languages and dialects
    a couple of jars of pickled frogs

After the first two items, you think "corporate secrets!" But no, Bibles and fur pelts wouldn't work. Things that have been lost? If the city records of Chicago and L.A. has been lost, we would have heard about it. No matter what I came up with, the fur pelts and the frogs kept stumping me. The answer is revealed at Weird Universe, along with some extra information on the subject. -via Nag on the Lake

The annual Crufts dog show was held last weekend in Birmingham, UK. While the show was full of very good dogs, the most viral of all the performances was that of a tiny chihuahua named Joya who performed the Swan Lake ballet with handler Karin Baumann in the Heelwork To Music competition. Who knew chihuahuas could be ballerinas? This little dog memorized thousands of moves for a three-minute performance.

Baumann and Joya's actual performance at Crufts is in this video, which was taken from quite some distance. The video above is of the same routine at a show from last fall, because it is much easier to see. Joya didn't win the ribbon at Crufts, but she won our hearts -and the internet- with her perfect yet hilarious dance. That's a good dog. -via reddit

See the winner of that competition and more Crufts results at Supa Fluffy.

History repeats itself, almost exactly a year later. You might recall that in March of 2021, the Evergreen container ship Ever Given became stuck in the Suez Canal for a week and backed up shipping traffic from everywhere on earth.

Now another container ship owned by Evergreen Marine has run aground in Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore. The ship named Ever Forward was departing when it became stuck on Sunday night.

2/ Looking at charts, #EVERFORWARD may have slightly deviated from dredged navigation channel into shallower waters after departing Baltimore.

And got stuck.

She's apparently not blocking the navigation channel, but is quite close to it. pic.twitter.com/K6obJIzXr0

— John Scott-Railton (@jsrailton) March 15, 2022

High tide was earlier this evening, but it doesn't rise enough in that area to float a stuck ship. If this kind of thing keeps up, someone will eventually need to look into Evergreen's pilot training program. You can keep up with the Ever Forward's predicament and current location at Marine Traffic. -via Fark  

(Image credit: US Coast Guard)

In the early 19th century, hieroglyphics inscribed on the walls of the Temple of Karnak near Luxor, Egypt, were translated and found to be a peace treaty between Pharaoh Ramesses II and the "Great King of Khatti," later identified as Hattušiliš III. Another copy of the same treaty is inscribed on the temple of Ramesses II in Thebes. The treaty was ratified in 1258 BC, making it the world's oldest treaty discovered so far. It's become known as the Treaty of Kadesh.

Archaeologists determined that Khatti meant the Hittites, from modern-day Turkey. The treaty was quite an accomplishment, as the Egyptians had been battling the Hittites over the lands of the eastern Mediterranean for two centuries. In 1906, excavations in the Hittite capital of Hattusa revealed 10,000 clay tablets with cuneiform writing. Three of those tablets contained the exact wording of the treaty with Egypt, in the Akkadian language. This was a profound discovery of an ancient document between two nations in two written languages that agreed with each other in the most  important details.     

The treaties laid out the points of agreement from each kingdom to stop fighting, return political refugees and criminals to their home country, and assist each other in suppressing rebellions. Furthermore they pledged to support each other militarily in case of attack from other nations going forward. The treaty ends with a curse upon anyone breaking the treaty. Read about the war between Egypt and the Hittites and the amazing treaty that ended it at Amusing Planet. -via Strange Company 

(Image credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg))

March 13 was the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (as you well know by now), and March 15 is the Ides of March. In between, we celebrate Pi Day! March the 14th is celebrated as such because the American way of writing the date is 3/14, which is as close as we'll get to 3.14159265359...∞ as a date notation. The British method doesn't work because there aren't enough months. Pi Day is a day to appreciate the mathematical constant that defines a circle. Coincidentally, it's also Albert Einstein's birthday. But most people will only celebrate by enjoying some pie.

The key lime pie above was posted at reddit specifically for Pi Day, as you can see from the price and the sell-by date. I am sure someone bought it by Sunday. Who am I kidding- the person who took the picture bought the pie!

Don't forget to wear your Pi Day shirt from the NeatoShop today. If you don't already have one, what better time to order one for next year, because they are 20% off for a limited time!

For your traditional Pi Day feast, get a pizza pie and rearrange the toppings into the π symbol. Follow that with a sweet dessert pie, as long as it's round. If you make your own, you can use the π symbol on the crust, but if you buy one, you may find them on sale today. Here's a list of Pi Day pizza and pie bargains and discounts. Most are only good today, so hurry and get yours! But be assured that Pi Day will come "round" again next year.

At the turn of the 20th century, most Americans didn't eat fish if it could be avoided. Eating meat was a symbol of prosperity, and fish (seafood, too) was food for poor people. In 1909, the average American ate 150 pounds of meat per year, and only 10 pounds of seafood. Then World War I began, and the government encouraged people to cut back on meat consumption in order to feed the troops. It wasn't enough to ask for sacrifice, they needed to make fish popular.

In 1915, the United States Bureau of Fisheries (which later became the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) hired a restaurant owner named Evelene Spencer and gave her the title of Fish Cookery Expert. Spencer took the job to heart, and participated in the government's push to promote fish in every way possible. She appeared on posters, in cooking demonstrations, in film, in newspapers, and became the celebrity chef of her time. Spencer wrote a book with the ungainly title Fish Cookery: six hundred recipes for the preparation of fish, shellfish and other aquatic animals, including fish soups, salads and entrees, with accompanying sauces, seasonings, dressings and forcemeats.

Housewives were eager to receive Spencer's advice, because eating fish was not only deemed patriotic at the time, but it was a lot cheaper than serving meat. Her book helped those who had never prepared fish to clean, cook, and preserve fish and seafood and make it more palatable than ever before. Spencer was America's Fish Cookery Expert until 1922, but her influence lasted much longer. Read about the Fish Evangelist and how she changed the American diet at Atlas Obscura.

(Image source: National Archives)

A video that starts out talking about set dressing on TV sitcoms turns out to be a deep dive into the work of French painter Jean-François Millet. Millet didn't have much success in his career, and quite a few setbacks and tragedies. His works were never appreciated in his lifetime, but bring millions today. That was because Millet painted everyday people, mostly farmers, who were considered a lower class. But even as Millet's story is quite interesting, that's not really what this video is about, either. The painting that adorned the wall of Sheriff Andy Taylor's home is not what we see on the canvas, but has a secret detail that gives the painting a whole new meaning. -via Kottke

In 1928, microbiologist Alexander Fleming noticed that "mold juice" tended to kill off staphylococcal bacteria. That was the discovery of penicillin, but it was only the beginning of the research into it. It took another decade to extract and purify the mold juice, and then tests on mice began, which showed promise in killing bacterial infections. Would it work in humans? Who wanted to the be the first test case?

Albert Alexander of Oxford, England, was suffering from sepsis, a virulent blood infection caused by his infected facial scratches, and was near death when doctors decided there was no hope for recovery with standard treatment. Fletcher knew he would be the perfect candidate for the experimental penicillin serum. Alexander received his first dose of penicillin on Feb. 12, 1941. And over the course of a ten-day treatment, the infection improved! Sadly, there was not enough prepared penicillin to save Alexander's life in the long run. But the treatment was proven to be safe and effective for human use.

However, the story illustrates how awful infections were before the age of antibiotics. It is horrifying to think that a man who had been scratched on his face by the rose bushes in his garden could suffer and die that way. The way Albert Alexander's story is told in microbiology classes is designed to elicit that reaction, but it isn't quite so. Read the real reason behind his painful injury and death at the Conversation. -via Damn Interesting

In a list of the strangest animals on earth, the sarcastic fringehead swims in its own lane. The species is Neoclinus blanchardi, named after Dr. S. B. Blanchard, who collected the first described specimen, but you really want to know how it got its common name. So do I. The "fringehead" most likely came from the fish's enormous and flexible mouth, which it uses in fights. Watch two sarcastic fringeheads do battle in this video. Swallow whatever it is you're drinking first. 



They are not really trying to kiss each other to death; it's more of a measuring contest. The fish that has the largest mouth always "wins." If they were talking, we can imagine they would be saying something sarcastic. Still, the name seems like a stretch. If I were coining its common name, I would call it hairtrigger bigmouth. Read more about the sarcastic fringehead and 16 other of the world's most bizarre animals in a list at Science Focus. -via Digg

(Image credit: Evan Baldonado)

Beth Ann Malow is a Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University, and is the director of the university's sleep research division. She is a proponent of keeping standard time all year long, instead of switching to Daylight Saving Time, as we will do this weekend. It's not so much of a problem in the fall, when we set our clocks back one hour, but setting them ahead in the springtime causes all kinds of problems. While everyone has anecdotal complaints in the spring, Malow has the numbers to back up her opinion. There is evidence that the time shift leads to increased strokes, heart attacks and sleep deprivation.  

This effect may be due to the balance between cortisol, a stress hormone, and melatonin, a hormone that promotes drowsiness. It might also have to do with the amount of light and its effect on the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotions. Young people are especially affected by the time change, from the onset of puberty through the mid-20s, when the correct amount of sleep is crucial to the body's efficiency. And it makes a difference whether you live on the eastern edge or the western edge of a time zone. Read about the effects of springing forward to Daylight Saving Time at the Conversation. -via Damn Interesting

The postage stamp named "Russian warship, go f**k yourself!" will appear in🇺🇦. The sketch by artist Boris Groh received the most votes and will soon be published by Ukraine's state postal company.
🇺🇦✌️#StandWithUkraine#StopRussianAgression pic.twitter.com/ByYAzw2tYq

— Emine Dzheppar (@EmineDzheppar) March 12, 2022

If you haven't heard of the February 24th attack on Snake Island in Ukraine, Wikipedia has a recap. The audio is on YouTube, with NSFW subtitles. We didn't post it here because it was first believed that all the Ukranian military guards were killed, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The operant phrase has become a rallying cry for Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, the business of government goes on in Ukraine, despite the attacks from the Russian military. The Ukraine postal service held a contest for a new postage stamp design, and the above image by artist Boris Groh garnered the most votes from the public. We don't yet know when the stamp will be available for sale. Read more about the project at the Guardian. The article contains NSFW text. -via reddit

Theodosia Burr Alston was the daughter of Aaron Burr, Vice-President of the United States and the man who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Theodosia led a tragic life, with the loss of her health due to a complicated childbirth, her father a pariah after that fateful duel, the death of her young son, and a probable case of cancer. Her husband, Joseph Alston, was elected governor of South Carolina in 1812, so he could not accompany her on her annual migration to her father's home in New York. Aaron Burr arranged for her to travel on a boat named the Patriot. The schooner launched from Georgetown in February of 1813, and was never seen again.

There were many theories about what happened to the Patriot, most having to do with pirates. Theodosia was said to have been forced to walk the plank to her death. The Patriot may have been attacked by the British. Or it could have been a storm that sunk the ship. Other tales had the young woman surviving the ship's demise. Some men have even confessed to witnessing the end of the Patriot. And there have been some intriguing clues unearthed over the years. Read about the life and mysterious death of Theodosia Burr Alston at Atlas Obscura.

One of the few things I recall from being in the Girl Scouts in the 1960s was reading about how young children, such as we were, could perform a blood transfusion in case of a nuclear attack or other wartime emergency. It didn't seem all that absurd to me at the time, but it drove home how precarious we thought our lives were. I memorized all the steps and probably earned some kind of badge for it. But Girl Scout badges come and go, and some are better left in the dustbin of history.

Girl Scouting has been around for 110 years as of March 12th, and in that time, there have been badges for grooming, laundry, and invalid cooking (which is preparing food for invalids, not cooking from your bed). There were also badges called Gypsy and "Oil-up," which were both for skills that had nothing to do with the title. Read what these and other erstwhile Girl Scout badges required as accomplishments at Mental Floss.

(Image: Library of Congress)

Thursday, KTLA reporter Gene Kang was on Hoover Street in Los Angeles reporting on a fatal hit-and-run crash that had occurred on February 26. No sooner did he utter the words "It's one of the most dangerous street in all Los Angeles...." when two sedans collided behind him, in full view of the camera. That's not a good time to flee the scene of an accident, but one car did. The TV crew called 911, since it was not an illustration for the story. No one appeared to be injured from this crash, which may be solved fairly soon, since the license plate fell off the car that fled the scene. That and the video evidence mean this hit-and-run driver will not get away with it.

Police are still looking for the perpetrator of the February 26 crash, which killed a 42-year-old pedestrian who pushed his wife and 2-year-old son out of he way. -via Digg