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illustration by James McKay Scientist Linda Ivany, a Professor of Evolutionary Paleoecology and Paleoclimate at Syracuse University in upstate New York, and her team studied the remains of a now-extinct Diplomoceras maximum, a fascinating ammonoid. This pre-historic cephalopod-like creature lived about 68 million years ago. The animal was probably most...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Prehistoric Squid-Like Creature With a Paper Clip Shaped Shell Had a Remarkable Lifespan of 200 Years first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A wonderfully chilled out orange tabby cat named Tìtaiga who lives with Shiro Neko, sat upright like a human on a leopard-spotted gaming chair in order to enjoy the warmth that was being emitted by a space heater. The sheer comfort of the heat and the chair led to a...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Chilled Out Cat Sits Upright Like a Human in a Comfy Chair While Enjoying the Warmth of a Space Heater first appeared on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tanis Gray (@tanisknits) on Aug 24, 2020 at 4:05am PDT Star Wars: Knitting the Galaxy by Virginia yarn artist Tanis Gray is a beautiful hardcover book that features 25 Star Wars knitting patterns and instructions to go with them. Gray was...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post ‘Knitting the Galaxy’, An Official Star Wars Instructional Pattern Book Inspired by the Entire Film Saga first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The incredibly talented “band kid” Nathaniel Semsen of the Lyon Bros quite seamlessly performed parts of all 46 songs from the Hamilton soundtrack in less than five minutes. Semsen played each instrument and sang in a lovely voice when needed. Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, Soprano Sax, Clarinet, Oboe,...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Talented ‘Band Kid’ Performs All 46 ‘Hamilton’ Songs on 10 Different Instruments in Less Than Five Minutes first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Wolfspaw Woodworks built an amazing “Cryptic Auto-Calendar”. This kinetic calendar uses three increasingly larger rotating rings to show the date, month and day of the week in a rather cryptic font, hence the name. Wolfspaw stated that he was inspired by both a Cryptic Calendar by cfb70 and an Automated...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Clever Automated Kinetic Calendar That Uses a Cryptic Font to Show the Date, Month and Day of Week first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Video restorer Lind Had has remastered the 1896 film “New York, Broadway” by French director Alexandre Promio into a colorized 4K high definition version that runs at 60 frames per second. Had achieved this updated look through neural network learning, which smoothed out the rough edges of the original. Had...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Colorized High Definition AI Remaster of the 1896 Alexandre Promio Film ‘New York, Broadway’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In an arcade episode of The Slow Mo Guys, host Gavin Free wanted to understand how his “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” pinball game worked from both inside and out, so he removed the glass (to reduce glare) filmed himself playing a game with his Phantom Flex 4 macro...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Showing How a Pinball Machine Works in Slow Motion first appeared on Laughing Squid.

While trying to film a cute scene with her toddler nephew, a woman named Shannon was taken off guard when the little boy caught a glimpse of a dragonfly and asked if it was a baby helicopter. Shannon asked him to repeat what he said and he more firmly stated...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Toddler Adorably Asks If Dragonfly Is a Baby Helicopter first appeared on Laughing Squid.

An absolutely adorable rescued baby raccoon, whom his human hilariously named Governor, decided to herd a cooperative tribe of goats at a Sarver, Pennsylvania farm. Governor took his role as shepherd very seriously, quietly imitating the moves that a herding dog would make. I rescued a baby raccoon that we...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Baby Raccoon Efficiently Herds a Tribe of Goats first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In a timely video essay, Vox producer Liz Scheltens explains how votes are counted in the over 3,000 counties that make up the entirety of the United States. Scheltens further states that ballot verification, processing, and counting takes a great deal of time, particularly in a year when more people...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How Votes Are Counted in the United States first appeared on Laughing Squid.

With the premiere of the second season of The Mandalorian, online retailer Firebox (previously) if selling an absolutely adorable 3D ceramic mug that shaped just like Baby Yoda‘s precious little head. The Child’s big eyes and big ears are prominently featured. Sip hot beverages from Baby Yoda’s welcoming cranium. Grab...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Adorable 3D Baby Yoda Head Ceramic Mug first appeared on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Timur Zagirov (@zagirovart) on Mar 11, 2020 at 6:30am PDT Russian artist Timur Zagirov created an absolutely stunning, deliberately blurry replica of a self-portrait by legendarily troubled artist Vincent Van Gogh using 425 colorful wooden pine blocks of different sizes. Each...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Stunning Deliberately Blurry Replica of a Vincent Van Gogh ‘Self Portrait’ Made From Colored Blocks first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Jonathan Hiller of Throughline created a beautiful visual video essay studying the way in which musician Gregory Alan Isakov writes a song. The song Hiller focuses on is “Master and a Hound”, noting how Isakov shrugs off conventional lyrical structure for a more poetic style. Until we look at the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How Musician Gregory Alan Isakov Writes a Song first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In his ongoing quest to create the perfect softbody game of Tetris, German computer animator Chris of C4D4U has released his 19th iteration of the game. Rather than the gummy shapes of his previous games, this version features very soft looking, fuzzy animated tiles that appear snuggly enough to hug....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Animated Tetris With Fuzzy Softbody Stacking Pieces first appeared on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tori Boggs WorldJumpRopeChamp (@snorib) on Aug 23, 2020 at 7:39am PDT World Jump Rope champion Tori Boggs performs some truly mind-blowing tricks. Along with her multiple award-winning competition talent, Boggs also likes to teach others to perform some of her wonderfully...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post World Jump Rope Champion Teaches Cool Rope Tricks first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A very silly human persistently tickled the fuzzy belly of a rescued baby pet squirrel named Rocky, just to hear the Sciurus youngster laugh out loud. Rocky didn’t mind it at all and even went back for more. According to his human, Rocky needs a lot of attention at this...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Human Persistently Tickles Squirrel to Make Him Laugh first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Inventor Hans Forsberg created a wonderfully efficient machine that encourages wild birds to trade in found bottle caps for treats. Forsberg has taken the time to train the birds to put the bottle caps into a receptacle on one side of the machine and then pick up a delicious morsel...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Clever Magpie Trades Bottle Caps for Treats first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A local commuter train in the suburban Rotterdam in The Netherlands was narrowly stopped from going completely off the rails at the De Akkers metro station and dropping 10 meters (32.8 feet) to the ground below by a conveniently placed “Whale Tail” art installation sculpture. The sculpture was created by...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Whale Tail Sculpture Conveniently Stops a Wayward Rotterdam Train From Going Completely off the Rails first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Natalie Sideserf of Sideserf Cakes in Austin, Texas showed how to make a cake in the image of a rather ugly “Mutant Toad” from the film Love and Monsters. Sideserf shares how to create the toad’s unique color as well all of its grotesque lumps, bumps and warts. The inside...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Lifelike ‘Mutant Toad’ Cake From ‘Love and Monsters’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Burl, the creative luthier of Burls Art appeared to be feeling rather reflective and decided to build an incredibly sleek Infinity Mirror Guitar. Like his other guitars, Burl first formed a mold that would give the initial shape. he then built a special frame that would hold the mirrors in...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Reflective Electric Guitar Built With Infinity Mirrors first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Bradley Montesi of Unsportsmanlike Content created an adorably spooky video about “reverse trick-or-treaters” that come to a boy’s front door. The filmmaker stated that he was inspired by a 2009 comic by Doc Pop, a talented artist, musician, performer, and very good friend of Laughing Squid. Back in 2013, the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Amusing Short Film About Reverse Trick-or-Treating With a Portable Door Inspired by a Doc Pop Comic first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Dominic of ViralVideoLab (previously) silently demonstrated how to make a 9-volt battery walk like a human with the use of two small magnets. Attach the magnets on each side of the battery next to the terminals and place the battery terminal side down onto a steel plate. Once in place,...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How to Make a 9-Volt Battery Walk Like a Human first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Puddles Pity Party (previously), the honey-voiced clown, and fellow Rain Dog, performed a new wave cover of the Lorde song “Royals”, complete with his very own “keytar”. While Puddles challenged himself in a previous video to perform many different covers of the song, this specific version was performed in honor...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Puddles Pity Party Performs a New Wave Cover of the Lorde Song ‘Royals’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

An adorably curious Shiba Inu named Yuki thoroughly investigated a new bed that her humans placed upon the floor for her. The cover of the bed was colorfully decorated like a bag of chips. It didn’t take long for Yuki to deem the bed acceptable. Being that she was tired,...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Shiba Inu Adorably Sleeps in a Bag of Potato Chips Bed first appeared on Laughing Squid.

When an irregularly shaped, five-story primary school from 1935 became too unwieldy for a downtown Shanghai construction project, the architects decided against tearing the classic building down. Instead, workers set the historic building upon 200 sturdy mechanical supports with robotic legs and literally walked it 65 meters to its new...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Historic Primary School Building ‘Walks’ Using Robotic Feet to New Location Outside the Shanghai City Center first appeared on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Josh Sundquist (@joshsundquist) on Oct 30, 2020 at 1:50pm PDT Each Halloween Josh Sundquist, comedian, author, and motivational speaker, who lost one of his legs to cancer when he was young, creates fabulous custom costumes that specifically highlight his missing limb....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post One Legged Motivational Speaker Dresses Up as Baby Groot From ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ For Halloween first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Michael Tucker of Lessons From the Screenplay takes a deeper look into the 2009 stop-motion animated film Coraline. Tucker explains how the narrative of the plot borrows from classic fairy tales, grotesques, and ghost stories, each of which has a specific storytelling structure that begins with envy, involves a struggle,...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How the Stop-Motion Animated Film ‘Coraline’ Borrows Narratives From Classic Fairy Tales and Ghost Stories first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In the fourth episode of the brilliantly animated series Goreytelling, by photographer and filmmaker Christopher Seufert (previously), famed artist Edward Gorey talks about his experience designing a set and costumes for a summer theater production of Dracula. The artist explains that he didn’t consider it to be his best work...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Edward Gorey Talks About When He Designed Sets and Costumes for ‘Dracula’ in a Brilliantly Animated Short first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In the spirit of Halloween, filmmaker David Friedman of AARP had the opportunity to speak with legendary production designer Claude Paré about how the decade of the 1980s was so believably recreated for modern audiences in the 2017 reboot of the Stephen King film It. It is challenging to make...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How the 1980s Were Recreated In the 2017 Film ‘It’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In the music video for his song “Happy”, a disembodied digital head of the great Danny Elfman appeared against a black background with a sinister look. As he sang about the joys in life, his face (and subsequent body) underwent a series of creepy changes that became even darker with...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Disembodied Digital Head of Danny Elfman Sings About Being ‘Happy’ in a Really Spooky Music Video first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In honor of Halloween, talented woodcarver and artist Bobby Duke (previously) created a humorous tutorial in which a spooky voice explains how to carve a simple but really scary face into a pumpkin. In this video I show you how to make a really simple but super scary pumpkin for...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Humorously Spooky Tutorial Showing How to Carve a Simple But Super Scary Face Into a Pumpkin first appeared on Laughing Squid.

British architect Suzanne Brewer and her son Jarvis have designed a truly inspired height-adjustable “Walking Wheelchair” that allows users to come up to eye level height without compromising their balance. The wheelbase design is based upon a Segway mover and the design for the body is on an original idea...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Architect and Son Design Height Adjustable Segway Style ‘Walking Wheelchair’ For Eye Level Conversation first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A team at DisneyResearch in Los Angeles used a proprietary Audio-Animatronics humanoid bust that had responsive cameras in its eyes and subjected it to interactive situations. The goal of this experiment was to learn how to create highly realistic gaze engagement for true character believability in films. The categories of...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Disney Uses an Animatronic Bust With Cameras In Its Eyes to Create Realistic Interactive Humanlike Gazes first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In a toothsome episode of the Mental Floss series Food History (previously), host Justin Dodd shares the history of candy corn, the origins of corn syrup, and how its inventor George Renninger tested out how realistic his candy was by feeding it to his chickens. During his initial tinkering, Renninger...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How Candy Corn Became Associated With Halloween first appeared on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Obscurest Vinyl (@obscurestvinyl) on Jun 27, 2020 at 6:35am PDT Obscurest Vinyl creates amusing parodies of vintage album covers. The parodied titles can refer to what appears to be happening on the cover itself or perhaps, it’s just some made up...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Amusing Parodies of Vintage Album Covers first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The marble run enthusiasts of Murmiland built a miniature wooden replica of the Great Wall of China. This petite scale version measured 15 meters long and was the perfect length for a mesmerizing marble run. The marble run “The Great Wall of China” is a project of MURMILAND. via The...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Mesmerizing Marathon Marble Run Over a Miniature Wooden Replica of the Great Wall of China first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Artist Paul Jones of DIY Horror and Props shared a rough idea of how to build a giant and really creepy giant spider for Halloween (or any time it seems appropriate to scare the neighbors.). DIY giant spider halloween prop tutorial a rough guide. One person actually made a really...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How to Make a Giant Spider for Halloween first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Barefoot: The Mark Baumer Story is a feature documentary by filmmaker Julie Sokolow (previously) about an idealistic young man named Mark Baumer who was determined to walk barefoot across the United States by himself to raise awareness around climate change. The film offers a touching glimpse into who Mark Baumer...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Touching Film About an Idealistic Young Man Who Attempted to Walk Barefoot Across the United States first appeared on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pet Portraits By Hercule (@portraitsbyhercule) on Oct 21, 2020 at 11:50am PDT A father in West Sussex, England, who goes by the name Hercule Van Wolfwinkle creates hilariously crude, amateurish pet portraits that he sells online in order to raise funds...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post British Dad Draws Hilariously Crude Pet Portraits on Commission to Raise Funds for Ending Homelessness first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Director Alex Winter, who played Bill in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, has realized his dream of preserving the very precious memory of the late, greatly missed Frank Zappa. The result of all Winter’s hard work is a definitive documentary about Zappa’s life appropriately entitled Zappa. The film focuses on...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Exceptional Musical Genius of Frank Zappa Explored in a Definitive Biographical Documentary first appeared on Laughing Squid.

An absolutely adorable little cocker spaniel named Charlie defiantly challenged an active leaf blower as it was dispersing the fallen foliage across the lawn. As the blower blew, a determined Charlie tried to bark back at it. Unfortunately for Charlie, however, the machine had a great deal more power than...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Little Dog Defiantly Challenges a Leaf Blower first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In the final installment of the 2020 reboot of the “Thursday Mashups in October” series, Aaron Brink and Steve Reidell of The Hood Internet found themselves chasing “Waterfalls” to create a “Juicy” 3½ minute dance track of 60 popular songs from 1994. This “Sure Shot” remix won’t easily become “Undone”....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A ‘Juicy’ ‘Sure Shot’ Remix of 60 Songs From 1994 That Can’t Easily Be ‘Undone’ While ‘Chasing Waterfalls’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The House of Ghosts (“La Maison Ensorcelée”) is a spooky film made in 1908 that features a number of modern techniques for the time period, including jump cuts and stop-motion animation. The film was directed by Segundo de Chomón, an incredibly inventive and pioneering Spanish filmmaker who worked for Pathé...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post ‘The House of Ghosts’, A Spooky Silent French Film Made in 1908 That Features Modern Film Techniques first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Members of the Martin Miller Session Band performed an absolutely remarkable, pitch-perfect cover of the iconic Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. This includes each of the songs, the instrumentals, and the incidentals that made the original album so unique. Guitarist Martin Miller and keyboardist...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post German Band Performs a Remarkable Studio Cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ in Its Entirety first appeared on Laughing Squid.

German musician Carolina Eyck, who previously played an absolutely gorgeous theremin cover of “The Ecstasy of Gold”, performed a glowing cover of “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. For further effect, Eyck dimmed the lights and tossed around an illuminated object to make it look like a random bee...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Glowing Theremin Cover of ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In the animated short “IN_BOX” by filmmaker Michael Marczewski (previously) commissioned by Adult Swim, a couple of office workers start chatting with each other through email. In this world, emails are personified beings that crawl over to the recipient’s computer, climb inside and then send an alert for new mail....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Personified Email Creatures Accidentally Start a War Between Co-Workers in the Animated Short ‘IN_BOX’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by OMATCHA SALON (@omatchasalon) on Oct 11, 2020 at 4:57am PDT Omatcha Salon, which has several different locations in Japan, creates beautiful food with Uji matcha tea. Among their specialties is an edible zen garden that uses green matcha powder where sand...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Japanese Specialty Tea House Creates Calming Edible Zen Gardens Using Green Matcha Powder first appeared on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adrian Wilson (@plannedalism) on Oct 15, 2020 at 5:44pm PDT NYC artist Adrian Wilson, aka plannedalism, who temporarily altered the mosaic at the Van Siclen Avenue stop in East New York, Brooklyn to read “Van Halen Avenue” in memory of the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post NYC Artist Pays Tribute to Eddie Van Halen With Heartfelt ‘Frankenstrat’ Guitar Garage Door Mural first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Musicians Jack Black and Kyle Gass, collectively known as Tenacious D, played an absolutely incredible cover of the iconic song “Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture in an effort to “Rock-y the Vote”. It’s astounding… time is fleeting… and the 2020 election is here. Time to ROCK-Y THE VOTE!...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Tenacious D Does Incredible Cover of ‘Time Warp’ from ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ to ‘ROCK-Y the Vote’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Maymo the Lemon Beagle and his little sister Penny wanted to vote early, so Maymo packed her up in a shopping cart and pushed around and about the town. The pair stopped in at several locations along the way, making their presence clearly known. When they finally reached their destination,...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Maymo the Beagle Takes Sister Penny on a Shopping Cart Adventure Around Town on Their Way to Vote first appeared on Laughing Squid.