Laughing Squid

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maniac Pumpkin Carvers ??? (@maniacpumpkins) on Oct 9, 2018 at 12:23pm PDT The very aptly named Maniac Pumpkin Carvers in Brooklyn, New York create incredibly intricate and highly realistic portraits into orange gourds all year round. The company also offers custom carving, branding, live carving events...The post Incredibly Intricate Portraits Carved Into Pumpkins appeared first on Laughing Squid.

French filmmaker Mathieu Stern, whose incredible work we’ve previously posted, shares how he created a unique but very temporary camera lens out of 10,000 year old glacial ice found upon the black sands of Diamond Beach in the South Region of Iceland. Stern prepared for this project with a 3D printed lens case and a...The post Photographer Creates a Unique Temporary Camera Lens Out of Glacial Ice From Iceland’s Diamond Beach appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a nostalgic video essay, Vox producer Coleman Lowndes revisits the awesome technology of the Saturn V rocket and Apollo 11 spacecraft, which took the very first astronauts to the moon. Lowndes particularly notes how the enormous rocket separated into segments, each detaching itself after accomplishing the specific task for which the section was made....The post The Incredible Technology Behind the Apollo 11 Lunar Mission That Took the First Astronauts to the Moon appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a equipoised animation, Munich design house Kurzgesagt explains, in their consistently highly informative manner, the concept of beauty and what makes humans perceive something as beautiful, even if they can’t necessarily define it upon sight. The perception of beauty is often associated with the recognition of symmetrical shapes, patterns and features. Once the human...The post Why the Symmetry of Beauty Makes Humans So Happy appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Tracy, California music teacher Tom BetGeorge and the team at Magical Light Shows decorated BetGeorg’s house with tens of thousands LED lights to put on his annual spooktacular Halloween show. The theme for Halloween 2018 is the “Best of Michael Jackson” and features a keyboard that plays real notes. Still some of the best music...The post An Extremely Elaborate Home Halloween Light Show Synchronized to a Medley of Michael Jackson Songs appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Photographer and waterfall enthusiast Abhinandan Kavale captured intense footage of a gorgeous cascade at the geothermal Kavalshet Point in Amboli, Maharashtra. The fall was wasn’t falling as much as it was blowing upwards due to the intense winds that often blow through the valley. Just as a waterfalls can fail to fall during high winds,...The post A Beautiful Waterfall Flows Upwards in Reverse Due to High Winds in the Amboli Valley of Maharashtra, India appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Dr. Gabrielle Walker of BBC Earth Lab captured a gorgeous timelapse footage of a glacier as it moved downhill, flowing like a river through a frozen valley. Dr. Walker also explained how glaciers are able to move, what forms they take and what exactly keeps them moving. It’s the phenomenal weight of this enormous ice...The post A Gorgeous Timelapse of a Powerful Glacier Flowing Downhill Like a River Through a Frozen Valley appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In the premiere episode of Wired Masterminds, the former CIA Chief of Disguise Jonna Mendez sat down with the publication to talk about how the agency uses various forms and levels of disguise including clothing,wigs, prosthetics and facial hair to protect the anonymity of their agents and the people with whom they are meeting. In...The post Former CIA Chief of Disguise Shares How the Agency Protects Its Agents With Various Levels of Disguise appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A very creative father (and uncle) who goes by the name Griddlock Cosplay built an absolutely brilliant Mechwarrior costume that requires both a child and an adult in order to make it work. There is a fully functioning fan and Arduino controlled LED lights to make the costume more realistic. The front of the costume...The post Cosplaying Father Builds a Brilliant MechWarrior Costume That Requires an Adult and Child to Operate appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Quick thinking deputies of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department lured a rather large pig who was “the size of a mini horse”, back to his pen with a trail of Poppin Jalapeños Doritos from a snack-sized bag taken from another deputy’s lunch. The porcine escapee was evidently a repeat offender, as several of the...The post Sheriff’s Deputies Lure Escaped Pig the Size of a Small Horse Back Home by Leaving a Trail of Doritos appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Vanity Fair has put together a really fun, well-researched video map of New York City that shows exactly where each event occurred within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Each location is plotted in its respective neighborhood with a film clip showing what took place at the time. Also included is information about where CGI was...The post A Lively Video Map of New York City Showing Exactly Where Each Marvel Cinematic Universe Event Occurred appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A fully costumed Steve Onotera, aka Samurai Guitarist, performed a brilliant cover of the Ozzy Osbourne song “Crazy Train” in style of a classic Spaghetti Western score. Onotero had previously played in this style with the Michael Jackson song “Billie Jean”. It’s 1880, a bandit stole your horse forcing you to ride the rail. You’re...The post A Brilliant Spaghetti Western Style Guitar Cover of the Iconic Ozzy Osbourne Song ‘Crazy Train’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

While out one day in the Irish countryside, Martin Stanton captured footage of his favourite donkey, who’s name is Harriet, as she sweetly serenaded the humans who passed by in a gorgeous, operatic soprano voice. According what Stanton posted on the Facebook group Ireland From the Roadside, his Harriet never learned to vocalize properly. I...The post A Friendly Donkey Sweetly Serenades Humans Who Pass By In a Gorgeous Operatic Soprano Voice appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A nostalgic Leonard Solomon, the incredibly creative instrument builder and musician, performed a wonderfully jovial cover of the classic Looking Glass song “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” on his majestic Bellowphone. The song was released in 1972 and is one of Solomon’s favorites. “Brandy, you’re a fine girl; what a good wife you would be.”...The post Leonard Solomon Plays a Jovial Cover of the Classic Looking Glass Song ‘Brandy’ on His Bellowphone appeared first on Laughing Squid.

She’s practically glowing! via Miss Cellania Related Laughing Squid PostsWho’s Your Favourite?, Adorable Baby Humorously Grilled by Her DadDogs vs CatsFreshly Washed BallerinasThe post Marie Curie Is Looking Radiant appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Five talented graduate students at the French animation school Ecole MoPA created a short powerful entitled “Hybrids” for their final project. This film imagines marine life adapting to ocean pollution, incorporating the items of trash into their physical beings and evolving into dangerously self-serving hybrids looking to rule the sea. When marine wildlife suffer the...The post Hybrids, A Powerful Animation About Marine Life Incorporating Ocean Pollution Into Their Bodies appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dave Buchanan (@davebuchanan90) on Oct 17, 2018 at 9:50am PDT On October 5, 2018, Sotheby’s in London sold an original piece of Banksy artwork called “Girl With Balloon”, which fetched £1,042,000 ($1.4 million). The artwork instantly shredded itself and earned itself the new name “Love is...The post How to Make the Infamous Banksy Shredding Frame appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Debra Minoff and Susannah McCullough of the television and film analysis site ScreenPrism take an animated look at how the enchantment of banal, everyday, natural and deified objects in Disney films reflect the human condition in the real world. As they explain, these objects can offer hope, limit authoritarian tendencies and even act as a...The post How Enchanted Objects in Disney Films Offer Hope, Limit Evil and Reveal Truths That Cannot Be Seen appeared first on Laughing Squid.

As they’ve done for the past few years, the elephants of the Oregon Zoo celebrated the arrival of the autumn season by squishing an assortment of giant pumpkins, which had been set out by caretakers. The elegant pachyderms gleefully performed their job without hesitation, goring the stubborn gourds until they got to the yummy sweet...The post The Elephants at the Oregon Zoo Gleefully Squish Giant Pumpkins to Celebrate the Arrival of Autumn appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Oregon Zoo (@oregonzoo) on Oct 18, 2018 at 12:15pm PDT During the annual checkups of their resident animals, the Oregon Zoo took x-rays of each and in doing so, realized how remarkable the resulting images looked. Wanting to share this unusual beauty with the world, they...The post Oddly Beautiful X-Ray Images of Animals Taken During Their Annual Checkups at the Oregon Zoo appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Filmmaker Catherine Crowse has created a powerful music video that brilliantly uses colorful sets and anthropomorphic marionettes to narrate the lyrics of the beautiful Tom Rosenthal song “Asleep on the Train“. A music video for Tom Rosenthal’s new single, ‘Asleep on the Train’, from his latest album. The film follows our protagonist waiting for the...The post Anthropomorphic Marionettes Powerfully Narrate the Music Video for ‘Asleep on the Train’ by Tom Rosenthal appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In an amusing unintentional optical illusion, a seemingly giant spider appeared to cross a street towards the Fulshear, Texas police officer who was outside of his car during a traffic stop. In actuality, the spider was of a normal size and was just making a way across the officer’s dashcam. Dash cam video makes it...The post A Seemingly Giant Spider Appears to Cross a Street Towards a Texas Police Officer During a Traffic Stop appeared first on Laughing Squid.

The folks at the Metropolitan Transit Authority partnered up with the Transit Unit of the NYPD to turn the Union Square subway station on the 4 line into an elaborately decorated, truly haunted Halloween experience for their riders on October 18th and 19th. Amongst the scary sights were costumed friends and family of the officers...The post MTA Partners With NYPD Transit to Give NYC Subway Riders an Elaborate Haunted Halloween Experience appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Filmmaker Austin Green of HydrogenGreen and actress Brittney Rae created a very faithful shot-by-shot recreation of Thumper‘s famous “Twitterpated” scene from the classic Disney animation Bambi, paying amusingly specific detail to the heartstruck bunny’s thumping leg. It’s a shot by shot recreation of a scene from Bambi. Here’s the original animated scene. submitted via Laughing...The post A Shot-by-Shot Recreation of Thumper’s ‘Twitterpated’ Scene From ‘Bambi’ Performed Faithfully by Humans appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Jamie Dupuis is a remarkably talented musician who performs absolutely gorgeous cover versions of classic rock songs such as “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, ‘Sounds of Silence’ by Simon and Garfunkel, “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes, “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas and “Field of Gold” by Sting....The post Gorgeous Acoustic Versions of Classic Rock Songs Performed on a Beautiful Harp Guitar appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Crochetverse (@crochetverse) on Oct 15, 2018 at 3:26pm PDT Yarn artist Stephanie Pokorny of Crochetverse, who has previously crocheted an ET costume and a Predator costume, pulled out all the stops with an amazing bright green Ghostbusters Slimer costume that glows in the dark for her...The post Talented Mother Crochets a Freehand Bright Green Ghostbusters Slimer Costume for Her Youngest Son appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Linda Bouderbala (@linda_bouderbala) on Apr 29, 2018 at 10:49am PDT French art director Linda Bouderbala has created a wonderfully whimsical illustration series featuring pop culture characters that are color coded together as teams. There’s Purple Team (Thanos, Ursula and Dino), Black Team (Darth Vader, Catwoman and...The post Incredible Illustrations of Color Coded Pop Culture Icons appeared first on Laughing Squid.

During the 2018 Aspen Ideas Festival, the very affable Brian Hare, who is canine expert and Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University, spoke with The Atlantic about what he sees as the genius of domesticated dogs. He specifically shared what he sees as their remarkable genius in garnering affection from humans that’s usually reserved...The post Canine Expert Explains the Genius Behind the Ability of Domesticated Dogs to Garner Affection From Humans appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In an amusingly informative essay, the knowledgeable music writer Polyphonic explains the unique way in which Disney uses songs to introduce the film’s antagonist to the audience. The songwriters typically employ darker minor keys in songs that are often written alongside the film to seamlessly communicate how villainous the film’s villain actually is. And these...The post The Unique Way Disney Uses Highly Memorable Songs in Minor Keys to Introduce Their Villains to the Audience appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Neil Mendoza, an artist-in-residence at Recology SF, has created “House Party”, an artistic video installation featuring a fully furnished living room made up of recycled items that come alive to collaborate on a danceable electronic music piece. Mendoza also used recycled and found electronic items to create the soundtrack. House Party is a musical installation...The post Recycled Living Room Objects in Their Native Habitat Come Alive to Create Danceable Electronic Music appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Great Big Story visited with Ross MacDonald, a talented illustrator and prop master of all things paper. For the last 25 years, MacDonald has been creating era-appropriate items such as maps, diaries, wanted posters, government reports, match/cigarette boxes and newspapers. MacDonald is extremely skilled at his craft, but remains humbled by the role he plays...The post The Fascinating Art of Making Paper Props, Maps, Posters, Reports and Newspapers for Film and TV appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Journalist Scott McCartney, who writes the Middle Seat column for the Wall Street Journal, boarded a nonstop 18 hour flight from Newark, New Jersey to Singapore aka the longest flight in the world. His purpose for taking this flight was to offer helpful tips for such a long flight such as hydrating your throat, your...The post Helpful Tips for Surviving the Longest Flight in the World appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In the fourth episode of the Vox series The Goods, host Carlos Walters talks about the “Gruen Effect” which is the psychology behind using store design to encourage customer impulse buys, a concept fully embraced by the furniture giant IKEA. The company’s strategy includes a circular path that goes past fully decorated rooms, specific lighting,...The post How IKEA’s Store Design Encourages Customers to Purchase Much More Than They Originally Planned appeared first on Laughing Squid.

On October 5, 2018, Sotheby’s Auction House in London sold an original piece of Banksy artwork called “Girl With Balloon”, which fetched a cool £1,042,000 GBP ($1.4 million USD). Unbeknownst to auctioneers, however, the artist had created this piece several years ago with a built-in shredder, which was activated as soon as the gavel dropped....The post Banksy’s Original Plan Was For His Painting to Completely Self-Shred But the Frame Malfunctioned appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Great Big Story traveled to Postojna, Slovenia to explore the incredible Predjama Castle, which sits a precarious 400 feet above the ground on a rocky cliffside but is anchored into place by the ancient caves that sit below. The castle was built in the 13th century, but had to be reconstructed again in the 16th...The post A 13th Century Slovenian Castle That Sits on a Rocky Cliffside Is Anchored Into Place by Ancient Caves appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by É?nn? Cristin ? moon baby (@eanna_cristin) on Aug 28, 2018 at 3:59am PDT De Poezenboot is a wonderful sanctuary houseboat for homeless cats that floats upon the waters of the historic Herengracht canal in Amsterdam. This floating sanctuary was first started by locally renowned “cat lady”...The post De Poezenboot, A Houseboat on an Amsterdam Canal That Provides a Floating Sanctuary to Homeless Cats appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Japanese culture is known for their amazing variety of colorful characters in their midst. One such character is Nyango Star, a costumed hybrid cat-apple mascot for the city of Kuroishi in the apple growing Aomori Prefecture. Nyango Star is not only entertaining to watch because of his his adorable antics, but is also a master...The post Nyango Star, A Popular Japanese Hybrid Cat-Apple Mascot Who Plays Drums Like Namesake Ringo Starr appeared first on Laughing Squid.

British doctor and experienced diver Ben Burville, who has gotten very friendly with a colony of affectionate grey seals, sat very still while a concerned pinniped carefully inspected his face mask for any flaws. Burville, who has been doing this for a long time, loves the attention but warns against getting close to these animals...The post A Concerned Grey Seal Double Checks a Diver’s Face Mask to Make Sure It’s Securely Fastened appeared first on Laughing Squid.

AUBO Robotics, a company founded by three Phd professors from the United States and China, created the Zibo Tea Brewing Machine. This highly intelligent collaborative dual-arm robot gracefully prepares, steeps, pours and serves four perfect cups of Chinese tea. Zibo tea brewing robots can be used as display or unmanned retail machines in certain places...The post A Brilliant Dual Arm Robot That Gracefully Prepares, Pours and Serves Four Perfect Cups of Chinese Tea appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a gently consoling animation, the consistently insightful and thoughtful School of Life, explains the importance of continuing to live your life while honoring the memory of a loved one who has died. Moving forward is not moving on from that person, rather it’s something that this person would want for you, as they wanted...The post The Importance of Appreciating Life While Continuing to Honor the Memory of Someone You Love Who’s Died appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by the baptman (@the_baptman) on Oct 11, 2018 at 3:51pm PDT French illustrator Baptiste Drausin aka the baptman has created a truly thought-provoking, if not terrifying, series that imagines how beloved fictional characters from stories, comics and television shows would be affected by an ecological disaster and...The post Thought Provoking Illustrations Imaging How Beloved Fictional Characters Would Handle Ecological Disasters appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A person who was seemingly trying to capture overhead footage of their beautiful tropical surroundings, somehow lost control of their drone, which crash landed in a nearby lake. The resident fish were curious, turning themselves sideways to check out this strange invader. Their curiosity was very brief, however as the fish moved on shortly afterwards,...The post Curious Fish Turn Sideways to Check Out at a Wayward Drone That Crashed Right Into Their Underwater Path appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a hilarious episode of “Funny or Die Presents IMDb Me“, an uncensored Jack Black dramatically explains everything that’s listed on his IMDB page, including his first television appearance with Lee Majors on The Fall Guy, his breakout film School of Rock and the surprising fun of playing a popular girl in Jumanji: Welcome to...The post An Uncensored Jack Black Hilariously Explains Everything That’s Listed on His Own IMDB Page appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In the very touching short animation “One Small Step” by Taiko Studios, a little girl named Luna dreams of becoming an astronaut when she grows up. By Luna’s side is her loving father, who always made sure that Luna ate well, fixed her torn shoes and believed in her, particularly during the hard times when...The post One Small Step, A Touching Animation About a Girl Who Dreams of Becoming an Astronaut Someday appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Talented students on the award-winning PAC dance team at Walden Grove High School in Sahuarita, Arizona performed a brilliant Harry Potter themed six-minute halftime homecoming show. The routine faithfully incorporated the story with original hip hop routines put into the mix. https://t.co/3FtHfyA0lQHere is our ‘Harry Potter’ Homecoming Dance!!!! Had a blast performing with Advanced!!! —...The post Students Perform a Brilliant ‘Harry Potter’ Themed 2018 Homecoming Show at a Southern Arizona High School appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Boston Dynamics has really been upping their game lately. First with a parkour performing Atlas and now a dancing Spot. Their talented four-legged robot showed off some fancy gyrating moves in perfect rythm with the Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars collaboration “UpTown Funk“. Related Laughing Squid PostsBoston Dynamics Introduces Spot, A Highly Mobile Four-Legged Robot the Size...The post Boston Dynamics’ Four Legged Spot Robot Gracefully Gyrates and Twerks While Dancing to ‘Uptown Funk’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Norwegian economist, marketer and history reenactor Ola Onsrud demonstrated with a friend how 14th Century knights were able to efficiently fight despite being highly encumbered by the full dressing of armor required at the time. Onsrud created this video in response to viewers questions about a previous video about dressing in 14th century armor. Onsrud...The post Norwegian History Reenactor Shows How 14th Century Knights Fought While Fully Dressed in Armor appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Barnaby Dixon, the highly creative puppeteer, has revealed another one of his ingenious designs. Calling it the “Creepy Face Puppet“, Getting his inspiration from Manu, Dixon gave the puppet a skeletal body, LED eyes and cleverly projected his own mouth onto its face in manner similar to the facade he gave to his bug puppet...The post Barnaby Dixon Reveals a Glow-in-the-Dark ‘Creepy Face Puppet’ With LED Eyes and a Projected Mouth appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In 1969, the baby-faced members of the band Chicago performed the song “Questions 67 & 68” while perched upon a scaffold in a Paris warehouse, surrounded by models sitting on and around the stage. There were also a number of beautiful people dancing on the floor. While it appears to be a live performance, according...The post An Oddly Staged But Incredible Performance of the Band Chicago Playing ‘Questions 67 & 68’ in 1969 appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Debra Minoff and Susannah McCullough of the television and film analysis site ScreenPrism took a crucial look at fan favorite Omar Little of the superb 2005 series The Wire. From the start Omar is a contradiction in so many ways, he robs, steals and kills, but the thing that makes him different from all the...The post How Omar of ‘The Wire’ Lived Honorably by His Own Code by Ensuring the Rules of the Game Were Upheld appeared first on Laughing Squid.