Boing Boing

A fellow in Maine lit a firework that he had "strapped to his head." He was killed instantly, reports WCSH. Local officials stress that fireworks are dangerous, "especially if they are not used properly."

I asked Amy Parness, the co-founder of Sparkle Labs, maker of fantastic educational electronics kits, to write a Medium post about gender and the business of being a maker business person. Her terrific essay calls out the problems with "pink girly engineering kits." From Medium: Read the rest

WhAIRrgarbl [via. Previously.]

Looking for a fun, geeky DIY project to smarten your favorite sink? How about some colorful Thing, Batman, Tardis and Hans Solo soaps? Read the rest

For eight years in a row 31-year-old Joey Chestnut was the champ of Nathan's Famous annual hot dog eating contest in Coney Island, New York. Read the rest

In Fantasy Sports No. 1, a berzerker adventurer and his spellslinging, underappreciated apprentice go on a dungeon crawl that takes them into an eldritch game of basketball -- for the highest stakes imaginable. Read the rest

“Dream Recollection Inducer (GIF Format)—To gaze at shortly after waking.” By ZBAGS.

“Enjoy the parabolic envelopes that form while those bright, sparkling, parabolic curves are etched into the sky tonight.” Read the rest

Never gets old, even though these TV ad viral videos first came out in 2007-8, if I recall correctly.I neither know nor care whether this is, or ever was, a real business. Read the rest

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A stunning capture of the ISS in front of Earth's moon, by Dylan O'Donnell. Read the rest

People smart enough to pay $99.99 a year to subscribe to the Sarah Palin Channel learned that their winking maverick hero has solved the California drought crisis. Read the rest

Donald Gould became a viral celebrity after this video of him performing a classic rock anthem exploded on Facebook. He is homeless. Read the rest

Although recreational marijuana is legal to grow and smoke in Oregon, it's not yet legal to sell. But that doesn't mean you can't give it away to 2,000 people, which is what Portland's Weed the People event did yesterday. Read the rest

After owners of a Southeast Texas marina spotted an 11-plus foot alligator, they put up a warning sign: "No swimming alligators." But that didn't seem to faze 28-year-old Tommie Woodward, who was hell-bent on taking a night swim. Read the rest

"Fireworks," a classic from 2009 by PES. Happy Independence Day! (more…)

1" x 1", $6 at LA's Secret Headquarters, who note, "Anyone who gets it really gets it, ya know?"

UC Berkeley Political Scientist Wendy Brown came to the London School of Economics last week to discuss her book Undoing the Demos, and her lecture (MP3) is literally the best discussion of how and why human rights are being taken away from humans and given to corporations. Read the rest

Matt writes, "This is awesomeness beyond awesome. Magic swords, barbarians, crazy, nausea-inducing camera angles, pterodactyls... If 'Heavy Metal' needed a personal scent, it would be this."

Alexis Davidson, 11, is losing a tooth. So to speed matters along, she ties a slingbow to the tooth, and fires the bow, and poof, the tooth is pulled out of her mouth. Read the rest

The thing positively oozes mystery and the promise of an exciting intellectual adventure. Alas. Read the rest

Although the word "cocktail" wasn't coined until the 1800s, mixed drinks were all the rage when America got its independence. Many were made with rum or whiskey, and punch was the term du jour. Both refreshing and timeless, why not toast the weekend with these 3 smashing cocktails of yesteryear? Read the rest

Adafruit Industries has been stripped of revenues from its Youtube channel after Rumblefish -- a notorious music-rights agency -- claimed to own the copyright on a public domain, taxpayer-funded rendition of "America the Beautiful." Read the rest

Bocce ball is my favorite game to play on a long summer evening. A simple lawn game that is at least 7,000 years old, bocce ball has no set up, takes a second to learn, and is a competitively addictive game. Read the rest

Bye Doug. (more…)

Announced on Twitter, the Colonel's Adventures will be offered exclusively at the San Diego Comic Con (and therefore eBay within minutes of the doors opening.) You can have it signed at any branch of KFC by rubbing it on a greasy mass of their finest poultryform crude protein.

I ordered this for our kitchen. We keep an iPad on the counter (great for recipes) and my wife likes to listen to podcasts on her iPhone when she's in the kitchen. Read the rest

A number of Reddit communities were effectively shut down last night to protest the unexpected departure of staffer Victoria Taylor, an important liaison between Reddit's employees and its army of volunteer moderators.

Megyn Kelly was prepared to argue with a moron when she invited the Satanic Temple’s Lucien Greaves on her Fox News program, The Kelly File. Read the rest

Sony's classic console was originally envisaged as part of a collaboration with then-market leader Nintendo. It went its own way, and the rest is history. Here's a look at a rarely-pictured prototype, though, thanks to imgur user DanDiebold. [via]

It's basically a Herschell Gordon Lewis movie with the boring parts removed.

With the lead-up to the Magic Mike XXL movie, Cosmo sex writer Frank Kobola felt like he could use a makeover, from lightweight writer physique to the ripped body of a male stripper. Read the rest

Take Your Pick from Among 5 of Today's Hottest Big-Screen Android Phones Read the rest

A 21-year-old California woman died from an amoeba that settles in the brain and destroys its tissue. The disease she contracted is called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Read the rest

In 2009 Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak announced that the government was taking over a private investment fund called 1MDB. When a parliament member asked why, Najib replied in a letter, “By doing this, the country’s wealth can be distributed evenly among the people irrespective of race.”Apparenty, Najib's idea of wealth distribution is wiring $700 million of the funds into his personal accounts, according to the Wall Street Journal. Read the rest

Written, played, and recorded by Andy Rehfeldt.

A baby raccoon is called a kit. [via]

Here's a fun puzzle from the NY Times. Try it then discuss your experience in the comments.

Miami-Dade Eleventh Judicial Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer pauses to look closely at Arthur Booth, in court on a burglary charge: "Did you go to Nautilus Middle School?" (more…)

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission just released a very dry safety video about not blowing yourself up with fireworks for the holidays, so we made a peppier patriotic supercut. Read the rest

YouTuber Mathologer shares his technique for reassembling a Rubik's Cube inside a glass container. The secret? Magnets! Read the rest

I've just watched all three new episodes of Wil's new show, which features performers and writers playing an exhilarating RPG campaign with Wil as DM, set in a lavishly illustrated techno-primitive society. Read the rest

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is a secret EU/US trade agreement that "puts the right to profit above all other rights," in the words of one MEP. Read the rest