Laughing Squid

The great Steve Martin along with the talented musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra played a truly rousing version of Martin’s original banjo song “Office Supplies”. The song is from Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers’ long-awaited album entitled The Long-Awaited Album. I was honored to play with members of...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Steve Martin Performs His Rousing Original Banjo Song ‘Office Supplies’ With The Philadelphia Orchestra first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Things Made of Cardboard, who previously built a harmonograph with a robotic arm that draws Lissajous curves with an attached pen, created a simple, but ingenious cardboard sculpture that demonstrates the principle of tensegrity (floating compression) through an optical illusion. I made a sculpture out of cardboard based on the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Simple Yet Ingenious Cardboard Sculpture That Provides the Illusion of Floating Structural Compression first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A tiny orphaned baby wombat named Elsie adorably fell asleep as her adopted human Lindy gave her a nice little rub on her pudgy belly. In March 2020, Elsie was brought to ACT Wildlife in Canberra, Australia after being rescued from her dead mother’s pouch. She was extremely underweight, unable...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Tiny Orphaned Baby Wombat Adorably Falls Asleep While Her Human Caretaker Rubs Her Pudgy Belly first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The Ikorudu Bois, a group of three “future filmmakers” in Lagos, Nigeria quite hilariously and meticulously recreate incredibly big budget scenes from films and music videos using low budget household items. Each mimicked scene is performed to near perfection. In fact, Extraction directors the Russo Brothers loved their recreation so...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Three Nigerian Boys Meticulously Recreate Big Budget Film Scenes Using Household Items first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In a terrapine clip narrated by David Tennant from the PBS/BBC series ‘The Tropics: Spy in the Wild 2’, an incredibly realistic robotic spy sea turtle joins thousands of other olive ridley sea turtles to climb the sandy beach of Ostional, Costa Rica in order to lay their eggs. This...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Robotic Spy Sea Turtle Crawls Up Costa Rican Beach to Lay Camera Eggs For Vultures to Steal first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Schoolhouse Rock! was an incredible series of educational animated shorts that were shown during television breaks between 1973 and 1984 and then from 1993 to 1996, addressing such issues as history, government, multiplication, grammar, and current events, each with a catchy song. The idea originally came to advertising executive David...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Original Episodes of ‘Schoolhouse Rock!’ on Disney+ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Filmmaker Devin Graham (previously) captured the stunning natural beauty of Iceland in a super high-definition documentary film. Graham and crew traveled to different geographical areas within the country, finding glaciers, waterfalls, and the otherworldly sights that make Iceland so unique. Filmed on the Red Dragon in 6K with all drone...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Stunning Natural Beauty of Iceland Captured in a Short High Definition Documentary Film first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Swedish artist Fynn Jackson makes absolutely gorgeous miniature origami masks using free-folding techniques and a little paint to capture exquisite details within each face. Jackson also offers folding tutorials through his YouTube channel and sells folding patterns through his Etsy store. I’ve been enjoying the art of paper folding for...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Exquisitely Detailed Miniature Origami Masks first appeared on Laughing Squid.

“Bugged” by filmmaker Doug Alberts is a wonderful clay stop-motion animated short about tiny insects that are free to express themselves however they wish. Unfortunately, their dangerous predators also have that very same freedom. A newly explored place where bugs can be bugs. This animation was Alberts’ senior thesis for...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Tiny Insects Freely Express Themselves Within a World of Dangerous Predators in the Animated Short ‘Bugged’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

When special effects makeup artist JIRO was temporarily made unemployed due to the countrywide quarantine, he found that he, like others, still needed to be creative. Using his incredible skills and a few small props, JIRO turned one of his hands into a series of “gloom-eating one-handed monsters”. He then...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Special Effects Makeup Artist Draws Unique Monsters Onto His Own Hand ‘That Eat the Gloom of Quarantine’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Great Big Story visited with the musical duo of Boris Blank and Stan Lee look-alike Dieter Meier of the band Yello. The pair wrote and performed the now-iconic song “Oh Yeah”, which became wildly popular with the release of the 1986 comedy film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The song was...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Composers of ‘Oh Yeah’ Share the Origins of the Song That Became Popular With ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

While promoting their brand new show Muppets Now on Disney+, several members of The Muppets joined James Corden and Reggie Watts of The Late Late Show for a lovely uplifting cover of Joe Cocker‘s iconic version of The Beatles song “With A Little Help From My Friends”. Sing along with...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Muppets, James Corden and Reggie Watts Perform Uplifting Cover of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Dan Harmon, the wonderfully irreverant co-creator of the multi-faceted animated series Rick and Morty, explained the distinct steps of his often-referenced story circle and then applied it to several of the show’s primary characters. Dan Harmon shares the circular journey characters often take during a Rick and Morty episode. Related...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Dan Harmon Applies His Often-Referenced Story Circle to the Primary Characters of ‘Rick and Morty’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Bebop (previously) has created a tasty stop-motion animation showing all the preparations involved in making an extra-large homemade LEGO pizza. The dough was expertly thrown, rolled out, and shaped, a sprinkling of olive oil and canned tomatoes were then spread on top along with slices of pepperoni, onion, and olives....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Tasty Stop Motion Animation of an Extra Large Homemade LEGO Pizza Being Made first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Spanish engineer Ivan Miranda, who previously created a self-propelled, 3D printed, programmable robot that writes letters onto the sand, shared his process for updating and improving his brilliant invention. Miranda upgraded the robot much to be faster than the previous one, although he admits that the previous one was a...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Newer, Faster 3D Printed Self-Propelled Robot That Writes Letters and Phrases Onto the Sand first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In a now classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation entitled “Deja Q”, the enigmatic character Q (John Delancie) who, upon parting the USS Enterprise, gifted to Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) the ability to laugh for a few moments. Because Data is an android, he did not have...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Origins of Data’s Infectious Laugh in the Iconic ‘Deja Q’ Episode of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The auto enthusiasts at Garage 54 decided to replace the rear wheels of an old red Lada sedan with sturdy metal legs, just to see what would happen. Unlike their previous automotive experiments, this one didn’t go very far due to broken axle shafts. But it did work, if only...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Russian Automotive Engineer Replaces the Rear Wheels of a Car With Sturdy Metal Walking Legs first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The Statue of Liberty is known all over the world for many things – her beautiful neoclassical design, her incredible history, and her specific message of hope to all those who come to the United States. Lesser known, but equally as powerful is the bronze statue of “Minerva: The Altar...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Minerva Statue in Green-Wood Cemetery Waves to the Statue of Liberty From the Highest Point in Brooklyn first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Researchers at the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering have partnered with the Atlanta Botanical Garden to deploy an incredibly slow-moving robotic sloth (SlothBot) within their leafy midst. The Slothbot moves along 100 feet of cable to monitor temperature, weather, carbon dioxide levels, sunlight, and other conservation efforts....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Georgia Tech Deploys Slow-Moving SlothBot in Atlanta Botanical Garden to Monitor Conservation Efforts first appeared on Laughing Squid.

James Blackwood, a wonderfully self-described “Raccoon Whisperer” and retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) constable, hauled out a giant bucket of frankfurters and gleefully distributed them to the hungry group of 17 raccoons that had gathered on his back porch in Nova Scotia, Canada over the course of a single...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Generous Man Happily Feeds a Group of 17 Hungry Raccoons Gathered on His Back Porch in Nova Scotia first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Vlogger N.T. Jordan of the cinematic series Behind the Curtain takes a look at how the sublime animated series Rick and Morty is written. Jordan gathered clips of interviews with showrunners Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon and put it into a compilation video that shows how the series is written....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland and Staff Writers Come Up With New Ideas for ‘Rick and Morty’ Episodes first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In the amusing animated short “B is For Ben” by Rok Andic, an astronaut named Ben finds himself stranded on an unknown planet far from home. He desperately tries to board his lofty ship and leave by using any and everything at his disposal but to no avail. Unfortunately for...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Stranded Astronaut Desperately Tries Board His Ship in the Amusing Animated Short “B Is For Ben” first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Artist Lucy Jean Green creates wonderfully realistic kinetic birds out of paper. These gorgeous sculptures have an incredible lightness of being – a desire to fly away but for whatever weight may be holding them down. Green captures this sense of flight through wires that stimulate reticulated wings to flap...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Gorgeous Kinetic Bird Sculptures Made Out of Paper first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Designer Alexi McCarthy and his son built a really amusing, very functional bookshelf that looks like the smiling face of a cartoon character. Finding that this Face Shelving became really popular online, he decided to share the plans so admirers can build one for themselves. Shortly after we made it,...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How to Build a DIY Bookshelf That Looks Like the Smiling Face of a Cartoon Character first appeared on Laughing Squid.

While artist Marta Grossi was on assignment in Milan, Italy, she found herself having to stay there for an extended period of time due to the country’s quarantine. As she contemplated her own situation of being away from her family, Grossi found comfort in her craft. When she ran out...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Ephemeral Watercolor Sink Art That Reinforces the Importance of Washing Hands and Staying Creative first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute captured absolutely fascinating ROV footage of a bloody-belly comb jelly (Lampocteis cruentiventer), a fascinating deep-sea creatures that possess a self-descriptive red belly. These comb jellies live in the mesopelagic zone of the ocean where only 1% of the sun’s light reaches, so...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Fascinating ROV Footage of a Deep Sea Bloody-Belly Comb Jelly Camouflaging a Bioluminescent Dinner first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In an unseasonable but incredibly informative video essay, Tom Scott (previously) explains an interesting experiment that he conducted regarding the verbiage used in the children’s parody song “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells”. Scott surveyed over 64,000 people and discovered that there were multiple versions of the songs. The next line of...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How ‘The Simpsons’ May Have Changed Regional Variations of the Song ‘Jingle Bells, Batman Smells’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Dani Connor, an “aspiring pro wildlife photographer” in Northern Sweden very cleverly placed a microphone next to a tiny baby red squirrel. Using the utmost care, Connor captured the adorable yummy sounds that the 7 week old Sciurus vulgaris made while chomping away on a delicious treat. I put my...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Photographer Places a Microphone Next to Baby Red Squirrel Who Was Making Adorable Eating Sounds first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Blackberries have cool stages of life, no? pic.twitter.com/RL5xREoJCv — Re: Alfie (@AlfieDaye) June 16, 2020 It all started on Twitter when Alfie Day shared a photo visually representing the lifecycle of a blackberry. He arranged each stage of life into a semicircle beginning with the bud and ending with the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Visualizing the Lifecycles of Fruit first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In the beautifully animated short film “A Mind Sang” by filmmaker Vier Nev visually explores the concept of Pareidolia, the common psychological phenomenon in which the mind incorrectly perceives an unfamiliar image to be a recognizable object. One such example of this phenomenon is seeing faces in inanimate objects. The...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Mesmerizing Animated Optical Illusions Showing How Images Are Not Exactly What They First Appear to Be first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The Epic Symphonic Orchestra performed an amazing live medley of songs from the soundtrack of Mario Bros. while a film of the classic video game was playing in the background. Conductor and symphony founder Mickey Tejado skillfully directed the musicians to the rises and falls in sequence with the action...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Orchestra Performs Amazing Medley of Mario Bros. Music With the Classic Game Playing in the Background first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Vlogger MrMash shared a handy tutorial showing how to make a wooden thumb piano (kalimba) using strategically-placed popsicle sticks, a few screws and a wooden base. When Mash found that his first version wasn’t musical enough for him, he made a new kalimba with longer popsicle sticks. He also elevated...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How to Make a Thumb Piano Out of Popsicle Sticks first appeared on Laughing Squid.

When he’s not trying to sell his house in Felton, California, the great Bigfoot can be found in the woods of Chapel Hill, North Carolina playing his saxophone. This “Saxquatch”, aka Dean Mitchell, sticks to mainly to classic rock songs, but has been known to throw in a few other...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Bigfoot ‘Saxsquatch’ Plays Saxophone in the Woods first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The Vince Guaraldi Trio is known for composing much of the music for the “Peanuts” animated specials featuring such iconic comic strip figures as Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, and of course, Snoopy. While the sound of Guaraldi’s piano became very well known, his singing voice was rarely heard by the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Cheerful Animated Music Video for the Song ‘Little Birdie’ by ‘Peanuts’ Composer Vince Guaraldi first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The Liceu Opera Barcelona partnered with visual artist Eugenio Ampudia and the Max Estrella Gallery to present a unique live-streamed event for the reopening of the theater. This “inaugural” performance featured an incredibly talented string quartet who played Puccini’s “Crisantemi” to a lively audience of 2,292 donated green houseplants. After...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post String Quartet Performs Puccini for an Audience of 2,292 Green Plants at the Liceu Opera Barcelona first appeared on Laughing Squid.

An incredibly amiable male iguana named Igu Senpai, who lives with three dogs, a cat, a milk snake, several tortoises, a few birds and a busy human, sat incredibly still while the resident tabby cat affectionately rubbed a furry orange noggin against his solid scaly head. ???????? ?????????(?´?`?)???? pic.twitter.com/1gCOIiW4yw —...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Affectionate Orange Cat Rubs His Furry Head Against the Scales of an Incredibly Amiable Iguana first appeared on Laughing Squid.

While tucked away, safely at home, the wonderful Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performed an absolutely purr-fect cover of “The Lovecats” by The Cure. Some members even dressed up as a feline of their choice given the theme of the song, while others had their feline (and canine) companions close...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Performs a Purr-fect Cover of The Cure’s Iconic Song ‘The Lovecats’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In an illustrative report for Vox, video producer Estelle Caswell (previously) consulted with legendary art director Steven Heller and typeface expert Bethany Heck to talk about the widespread appeal of the Cooper Black font. They each explained how the curvy letters offered a particular fluidity to effectively communicate messages in...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How the Fluid Curvy Letters of Cooper Black Made It the Font of Choice for Pop Culture and Advertising first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Filmmakers Wylie Overstreet and Alex Gorosh of the series To Scale: brought a high-powered telescope to the streets of Los Angeles and allowed passersby to take a look at the moon above. The men captured each proclamation of wonder emitted from each person who had just peered through the eyepiece...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Beautiful Compilation of People’s Reactions to Viewing the Moon Through a High Power Telescope first appeared on Laughing Squid.

On the 12th episode of the Saturday Apartment Requests show, host and talented musician Ben Folds debuted an original song that offers an honest look at the absolute mess that 2020 has brought to the world. While the song notes that we’re almost halfway done, it’s important to note that...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Ben Folds Debuts a Painfully Honest Song About the Absolute Mess the Year 2020 Has Been So Far first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Vlogger Louis Rossman of the computer repair company Rossman Repair Group, quite hilariously described a real estate listing for a “beautiful” singe-family home in the Fresh Meadows/Flushing section of the borough of Queens in New York City. Upon first inspection, the home was quite lovely, if not a bit overgrown....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Man Humorously Describes a ‘Beautiful’ $800,000 Single Family Home Listing in Fresh Meadows, Queens first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Legendary musician Rick Astley, of “Rickroll” fame, performed an absolutely brilliant acoustic cover of the classic Foo Fighters song “Everlong”. The song perfectly matches Astley’s vocal timbre and his guitar playing is spot on. Singing ‘Everlong’ by the Foo’s always puts me in a good mood! Hope it does you...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Legendary Rick Astley Performs a Brilliant Acoustic Cover of the Foo Fighters Classic Song ‘Everlong’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A very playful rescued juvenile bear named Tom happily chased after his human Sergey Karsanov in order to get a hold of the melting vanilla ice cream cone in Karsonov’s left hand. Tom caught up with Karsonov and gobbled the cone in less than a minute. While the scene was...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Playful Rescued Bear Chases After His Human to Get a Hold of a Yummy Melting Cone of Ice Cream first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In an immersing episode of The Slow Mo Guys, host Gavin Free wanted to understand how the Apple Watch ejects water in order to continue working. A fully-clothed Free first drenched himself in the bathtub to ensure that the watch was sufficiently saturated and then set up a macro camera...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Fascinating Process of How the Apple Watch Ejects Water Captured in Slow Motion Macro Footage first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Raphael from Epic Cardboard Props quite jovially demonstrated how to build a detailed model of the Death Star II from Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi out of recycled cardboard boxes. In this DIY I teach you how to build a cardboard Death Star from Star Wars Return Of The...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How to Build the Death Star II Out of Cardboard first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In celebration of the graduating eighth grade class of 2020 at the Chicago Waldorf School, musician and music teacher Brendan Finucane performed a touching cello cover of the song “Pure Imagination”. There is no life I know To compare with pure imagination Living there, you’ll be free, if you truly...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Talented Music Teacher Performs Touching Cello Cover of ‘Pure Imagination’ for Graduating Eighth Grade Class first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Scientifics Online has created the “Drawmaton” a wonderful hand-powered drawing arm kit that takes its inspiration from the iconic 15th century Robot Knight by Leonardo da Vinci. The machine features different patterns (petals) that can be interchanged for various designs and gears that engage a rotating wheel to power the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Clever Mechanical Drawing Arm Kit Inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s 15th Century ‘Robot Knight’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A very well mannered mini-dachshund named Dixie wiped her wet feet on the doormat before coming inside after watching her human do the same. Dixie had been outside in the wet grass with her canine siblings and was pretty messy when she entered. Our dogs love to run around in...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Well Mannered Dachshund Wipes Her Wet Feet Before Coming Inside After Seeing Her Human Do the Same first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In an informational episode of Off the Cuf, hosts Chris Parr and Harris Dirnberger consulted with computer historian, archivist, documentary filmmaker and longtime friend of Laughing Squid Jason Scott (BBS: The Documentary, Get Lamp) to learn more about the history of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). Scott explained how the development...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How the Great Blizzard of 1978 in Chicago Led to the Development of the First Bulletin Board System (BBS) first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In 2016, Great Big Story visited with the wonderful Vegetable Orchestra, a group of talented musicians in Vienna, Austria who play biodegradable instruments that are made completely out of vegetables from local markets and make them into soup afterwards. When Great Big Story visited with them again in 2020, the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Members of The Vegetable Orchestra Perform an Original Composition From Home via Video Chat first appeared on Laughing Squid.