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.

A rather athletic hedgehog named Pepper, who previously ran an obstacle course inspired by ‘American Ninja Warrior’, and her little brother Tuck competed against one another in the first tournament of The American Hedgehog Bowling Association. Their human offered a humorous play-by-play recitation of their adorable attempts to knock down...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Two Little Hedgehogs Try to Knock Down as Many Pins as They Can in an Adorable Bowling Tournament first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Los Angeles filmmaker Aaron Benitez of Aaron’s Animals created a wonderful online series that features a gray cat named Prince Michael and a playful group of ducklings that adopted him as their mother. The first episode shows how Prince Michael met the ducklings by helping them across a busy road....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Worried Cat Searches For an Adopted Duckling Who Ran Away After Returning Home From Winter Migration first appeared on Laughing Squid.

San Francisco artist Alexis Arnold has created a fascinating project in which she crystallizes books of all types and sizes so that they appear to be solidifying and rearranging atoms much like a geologic structure. The shape of the book remains, but the text and illustrations bleed together with the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Artist Crystalizes Books to Imbue a Long Sense of Frozen History Like an Ancient Geologic Specimen first appeared on Laughing Squid.

James of The Action Lab (previously) explained and demonstrated the Gömböc, a particular homogenous shape that relies on only two equilibrium points to automatically right itself. The design is so ingenious that three varieties of turtles have evolved their shells to a Gömböc shape. … some turtles have evolved the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Gömböc, A Remarkable Shape That Automatically Rights Itself With Only Two Equilibrium Points first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Singer Alvin Chea of the a capella band Take 6, shared original footage of himself (“I want my baby back, baby back”), Louis Price of The Temptations (“barbecue sauce”), and Willie McCoy aka Wolf Johnson (bass) performing the tasty iconic jingle for Chili’s Baby Back Ribs. After the first take,...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Chili’s Baby Back Ribs Jingle Recording Session first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Musician Davidlap, who makes very creative use of his talent, recreated some very familiar game console sounds with his acoustic and electric guitars. He replicated sounds from various PlayStation models, Nintendo DS, Sega Genesis, Nintendo Game Boy and Nintendo Wii. I tried to recreate some game console startup sounds with...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Musician Makes His Guitars Sound Like Different Video Game Consoles Using Several Creative Techniques first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Rush album Permanent Waves, the band released an absolutely incredible animated music video for iconic song “The Spirit of Radio”. The video, which was directed by David Calcano and Alberto Hadyar of Fantoons Animation Studio, pays beautiful tribute to the history of...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Incredible Animated Video for the 1980 Rush Song ‘The Spirit of Radio’ That Pays Tribute to FM Radio first appeared on Laughing Squid.

While at home due to the quarantine, French color artist Thomas Blanchard (previously) thought about what the Coronavirus does to the body. He then created a wonderfully profound visual composition that imagines fresh and rotting produce, flowers, and melting frozen novelties as pairs of lungs visibly breathing in and out....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Profound Visual Composition That Imagines Rotting Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers as Breathing Lungs first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Filmmaker Donato Sansone, who previously created “Concatenation”, an experimental film in which a single individual set off a surreal sequence of events, has followed up with the equally surreal “Concatenation 2”. This second installment of the series features a dizzying mashup of Olympic athletes in the midst of an airborne...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Dizzying Mashup of Olympic Athletes Connected Together in an Endless Reach for a Landing first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A resident in Asheville, North Carolina captured absolutely adorable footage of a mama bear and three cubs as they enjoyed themselves on the backyard playground set on a sunny day. The mother mostly stayed in the background as the little ones gleefully cavorted about, exploring every inch of the set....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Family of Bears Gleefully Enjoy Themselves on a Children’s Playground Set in a North Carolina Backyard first appeared on Laughing Squid.

While furniture maker Geoff Collard of Model Makers was stuck at home, he decided to finish up a project he had started years before, an incredible miniature recreation of the entire bridge of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D as it appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek The Next...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Incredible Miniature Recreation of the Bridge From the USS Enterprise in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

While she was in New York City, illusionary makeup artist Dain Yoon (previously) visited the offices of Insider to speak with Kara Chin about her unique art. Yoon explained that she enjoys using her face as a canvas, as it provides a unique way to express herself. My face is...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Talented Illusionary Makeup Artist Talks About Why She Regards Her Face as a Unique Canvas for Her Work first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Steve Doner and his son Richard Doner of Doner Designs created a incredible Back To the Future themed Time Machine Bass. This badass bass guitar is a beautiful metallic grey with a flux capacitor, a destination year display, and other features similar to those on the original DeLorean time machine....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Incredible ‘Back to the Future’ Time Machine Bass first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In a transportive episode of the video series Off the Cuf, host Harris Dirnberger pays a visit to Iowa 80 Truck Stop, the largest truck stop in the world. This amazing place not only tends to the basic needs of those driving big rigs, but also features a trucking museum...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Visiting the World’s Largest Truck Stop in Walcott, Iowa first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Kevin Cwalina and Rebecca Flowers, two very creative people who live in Charlottesville, Virginia, have created a novel bird feeder that looks like a library. This wonderful “Bird Library” features a main desk along with shelves of tiny, custom painted books. There is a constant livestream of the feeder and...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Livestream of Wonderful Library Themed Bird Feeder first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Vlogger BLACKHAND very patiently printed out 1,400 different images from a music video, carefully cut each and every piece of paper and then sorted them in a particular order. The result is an amazing 24-frame stop-motion animation of a tiny dancer on a tiny stage. To create a 24-frame stop...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Amazing Stop-Motion Animation of a Dance Video Made From 1,400 Hand Cut Pieces of Paper first appeared on Laughing Squid.

French-Canadian filmmaker Frédérick Tremblay has created a powerfully meta environment in the stop-motion animated short “Dolls Don’t Cry”. The subjects of the film are an emotionally distant couple working on a stop-motion animation. The man makes films by day and the woman creates and fixes the sets by night. The...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Very Meta Stop-Motion Film About an Emotionally Distant Couple Working on a Stop-Motion Animation first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team captured an absolutely magnificent satellite photo of the northwestern coast of Madagascar where the saline waters of the Mozambique Channel join with the freshwater running through the Betsiboka River to make Bombetoka Bay. This amazing water composition appears from space as a giant purple octopus...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Magnificent Satellite Photo of Bombetoka Bay in Madagascar That Looks Like a Giant Octopus first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A tiny monkey adorably took a running start and climbed onto the great horns of a goat. The incredibly patient animal just stood in place while the nimble primate performed all sorts of gymnastic moves. via Karen MarceloFollow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Monkey Does Gymnastics on the Horns of a Goat first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Danielle Baskin, a designer in San Francisco who previously created a line of unique N95 respiratory masks that worked with facial recognition software and along with other “trendy dystopian items”. Since that time, Baskin has updated this line to include a protective cotton face mask that is machine-washable. These masks...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Clever Masks Custom Printed With Your Own Face first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The folks behind the Cardboard Movie Co. have remade the iconic 1979 Ridley Scott film Alien with a very small budget and lots of recycled cardboard. Propmaster Enrique Piñeros expertly fashioned an incredible Xenomorph and Facehugger out of cardboard and there was lots and lots of fake blood. Were you...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Fantastic Low Budget Cardboard Remake of ‘Alien’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A really stylish canary named Barry Birb sports a unique feathery coif that is incredibly reminiscent of the styles worn by members of the The Beatles during the early 1960s. Barry is a sweet bird who likes to sit inside rainbows, snuggle with his human, and help share relevant messages...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Stylish Canary With a Groovy Beatlesque Bowl Cut first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Faith C. creates absolutely amazing 3D sculptures of animals and fictional creatures out of cleverly folded strips of paper. Each piece is adorably realistic and very detailed on both the front and the back. Related PostsBrilliantly Lifelike Sculptures Created From CardboardA Look Inside the National Audio Company, One of the...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Amazing 3D Origami Paper Animal Sculptures first appeared on Laughing Squid.

When outdoor travel writer and photographer Erin Sullivan found herself having to stay indoors, she used what she had at hand to create an ingenious photo series entitled “Our Great Indoors”. Using what was in her refrigerator, Sullivan took a stroll through “Mushroom Gardens”, a refreshing dip in the waters...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Grounded Travel Photographer Creates Tiny Outdoor Scenes in Her Home Using Items From Her Refrigerator first appeared on Laughing Squid.

A rather aggressive red-wing blackbird has evidently made a home at the Liberty Village condominium complex in Toronto, Canada. The territorial bird repeatedly attacks anyone who passes on the sidewalk in front. The bird was given the very appropriate nickname of “Dive Bomber Dave”. via Justin Jenkins Related PostsA Look...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Territorial Red-Wing Blackbird Repeatedly Dive Bombs People Who Walk Past a Toronto Condo Complex first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Stray is an amazing, long-awaited video game, in which you play a lost and lonely cat wearing a backpack who navigates a bustling futuristic city to solve an ancient mystery in order to find the way home. In this city, humans have gone extinct and robots have taken their place....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Video Game Where You Play a Stray Cat Navigating a Futuristic Robot City in Order to Find Way Your Home first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Self-described “bird nut” Spencer Staley who evidently loves hummingbirds, ingeniously took a bright red hard hat and attached seven full-sized feeders using sturdy wire. Staley put the helmet on his head and stood very still. It didn’t take long for the birds to find him. Like others who have made...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Ingenious Hard Hat With Seven Full Sized Hummingbird Feeders Attached With Sturdy Wire first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Scott and Gabriel of Sandy Leaf Farm in Oxfordshire, England have put together a wonderful DIY kit to make five batches of gin that glows in the dark. The ingredients that both infuse the gin and make it glow under a blacklight are all completely natural. With this kit you’ll...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Handy Infusion Kit That Makes Gin Glow in the Dark first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Danny Lyons of Trash Metal Fabrications builds wonderfully clever wood-burning stoves and barbecues in the shape of pop culture characters and nostalgic items. Each hand-welded item is made completely out of recycled materials. Bespoke Patio heaters, BBQs and furniture created from recycled material submitted via Laughing Squid Tips Related PostsA...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Clever Pop Culture Wood-Burning Stoves and Barbecues Made Out of Recycled Materials first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In an incredibly powerful music video for an updated version of the very prescient 1970 Yusuf / Cat Stevens song “Where Do the Children Play” directed by Chris Hopewell (previously), two boys named Timmy and Grady and a doggedly persistent feline named Mooncat witness the utter destruction of their world...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Yusuf/Cat Stevens Releases Updated Version of ‘Where Do the Children Play’ With a Powerful Animated Video first appeared on Laughing Squid.

While at the Sasso Art Residency, filmmaker William Crook created “Stickmatch”, a wonderful stop-motion animated short of a wooden stick that becomese as a match and several autumn leaves act as the flame. Fellow filmmaker Antonia Meile provided the sound. via Colossal Related PostsA Dinosaur Invades a Wooden Mannequin’s Home...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Autumn Leaves Become the Flames For a Stick Acting As a Match in a Wonderful Stop-Motion Animated Short first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Great Big Story visited with legendary television and film composer Michael A. Levine to talk about one of the most iconic pieces he’s ever written – the infamous KitKat jingle. Levine explains that the song was originally a “throwaway piece”. It would, however, eventually become one of the most famous...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Kit Kat Jingle Composer Talks About the Song’s Origins first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In a procyonid episode of SciShow, host Olivia Gordon explains the real reason that raccoons dunk their food in water. Let’s just say that cleanliness is not particularly high on a raccoon’s list. Raccoons are famous for “washing” their food, but this behavior, called dousing, isn’t really about cleanliness. …but...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post The Real Reason Raccoons Dip Their Food in Water first appeared on Laughing Squid.

In a historical episode of Things You Might Not Know, host Tom Scott (previously) explained the history of The Icknield Way, the oldest known road in Britain. It consists of various footpaths that run continuously through southeast England and have been open to the public for hundreds of years. Yet...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How a Crowdfunding Project Is Trying to Save the Footpaths of the Oldest Road in Britain first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Ryan Powell of Ryan’s Cinematics, who previously integrated blooper footage from Star Trek: The Next Generation into the original scenes, has created another supercut from the same series, but through a different lens. Instead of using outtakes, he edited together footage showing every time a character said “some kind of…”...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Supercut of Characters From ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Using the Phrase ‘Some Kind Of…’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Alex Dodson of Burned by Design has again added to his incredible Star Wars inspired collection with amazing TIE Fighter and X-Wing candlesticks. Like his other work, Dodson hand cuts and welds each piece himself. The battle-ready candlesticks are perfectly content to stay at home with warming tealight candles to...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Hand-Welded TIE Fighter and X-Wing Candlesticks first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Brian Ignaut, a talented engineer who previously designed unfolding solar arrays for SpaceX, has designed an absolutely ingenious kinetic chess set that is based upon a specific origami folding pattern that allows for easy transport and portability. The walnut chessboard folds out flat to reveal magnetic playing pieces, which easily...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post An Ingenious Kinetic Chess Set Based on the Folding Principles of Origami for Easy Portability first appeared on Laughing Squid.

We previously wrote about Hot 8 Brass Band from New Orleans performing a truly badass marching band version of the Joy Division song “Love Will Tear Us Apart” in 2018. The band reprised the song with a jazz twist to it in order to raise money for the Jazz Foundation...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Hot 8 Brass Band Performs a Jazz Cover of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ to Raise Money for Musicians first appeared on Laughing Squid.

The very talented Becky Sánchez of VioDance performed an absolutely gorgeous medley showing how the Star Trek theme has evolved over the years with every series of the franchise. She begins with the original 1966 series and moves chronologically down the line, concluding with the theme from Picard in 2020....Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Gorgeous Violin Medley Showing How the ‘Star Trek’ Theme Has Evolved From 1966 Through 2020 first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Doc Pop, an artist, musician, performer and good friend of Laughing Squid edited together classic clips of Legion of Doom cartoons that show the supervillians attempting to conduct their business through video chat in order to maintain social distancing guidelines. This humorous video was made to accompany Doc Pop’s original...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Supervillains Attempt to Use Video Chat to Plan Their Evil Schemes in Doc Pop’s Song ‘The Legion of Zoom’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Johannes Grenzfurthner, founder of the Austrian art and technology group monochrom (previously) and longtime friend of Laughing Squid, is featured in a short film by Hadas Emma Kedar where he tells a rather elaborate, but incredible story involving one of monochrom’s earlier projects. In 2002, the group was invited to...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post How a Nonexistent Austrian Artist Conducted a Quiet Political Protest at the São Paulo Biennial in 2002 first appeared on Laughing Squid.

OwlKitty, the beautiful black cat who previously stood loyally by Walter White in a Breaking Bad parody, inserted herself into the opening sequence of The Office. This playful kitty happily perched upon Michael’s shoulders, sat upon the photocopier, annoyed an already annoyed Dwight, added up some numbers, tangled up in...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Playful Black Cat Interacts With All the Characters In the Opening Sequence of ‘The Office’ first appeared on Laughing Squid.

Moonpie Starbox is an adorable little dachshund who is also a very talented percussionist who strikes a rhythmic beat with her happily swinging tail against the trash can. Moonpie makes drum beat sound with her tail hitting the trashcan. She’s also very happy using her front paws on a more...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Funny Little Dachshund With a Great Sense of Rhythm Plays Drums With Her Tail on the Trash Can first appeared on Laughing Squid.

During the evenings, Armin Küpper likes to play his saxophone into a giant piece of pipeline pipe near his home. The echo from playing directly into the pipe allows him to accompany himself in perfect pitch. (translated) This sound on the tube, in this loneliness always gives me the feeling:...Follow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post Saxophonist Cleverly Plays Into Giant Piece of Pipeline to Accompany Himself With an Echo in Perfect Pitch first appeared on Laughing Squid.

DJ Cummerbund (previously) has seamlessly stitched together “Weird Betty”, a fantastic mashup that combines the classic Ram Jam song “Black Betty” withFollow Laughing Squid on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe by Email.The post A Fantastic Mashup of the Classic Ram Jam Song ‘Black Betty’ With a Variety of Songs and Characters first appeared on Laughing Squid.