Laughing Squid

In the decade spanning teaser trailer for the third season of the HBO series True Detective, an aging Arkansas investigator named Wayne Hays (Mahershala Ali) tries to recall the details of the biggest case of his career despite the fact that his “whole brain’s a bunch of missing pieces.” Decades ago, Hays and another detective...The post Aging Investigator Tries to Recall the Details of His Biggest Case in ‘True Detective’ Season 3 Teaser appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A little tortoise sitting outside on a straw mat watched closely as a feline friend easily entered into the house through a flap in the door and decided to do the very same. While flap was a bit high and wide for squat little legs to negotiate, it was a combination of determination and desire...The post Determined Little Tortoise Adorably Follows a Feline Friend Inside the House Through the Cat Door appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Video editor Sutherland has put together an incredible compilation of the most popular song each year in the United States, beginning with the year 1940 (Tommy Dorsey – “I’ll Never Smile Again“) and culminating with 2017 (Luis Fonsi FT Daddy Yankee – “Despacito“). The list was originally compiled by Natalie Morin. If you’re wondering why...The post An Incredible Compilation of the Most Popular Song in the U.S.A. Each Year From 1940 Through 2017 appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In December 2017, some members of R.E.M. sat down with the Dutch NTR station Top 2000 a gogo to discuss the meaning behind one of the bands most iconic songs, “Losing My Religion“. Frontman Michael Stipe explained from where the title and theme of the song came, how he first recorded the lyrics (almost naked)...The post Michael Stipe and Mike Mills of R.E.M. Explain the Meaning of Their Iconic Song ‘Losing My Religion’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Filmmaker Michael Tucker of Lessons from the Screenplay took a look at the sublime now-classic Coen Brothers film No Country for Old Men, specifically noting that the film uses behavior rather than dialogue to establish character and reveal plot points. Tucker also pointed out the film exemplifies filmmaker Andrew Stanton‘s “unifying theory of 2 +...The post How ‘No Country For Old Men’ Uses Behavior Rather Than Dialogue to Establish Character and Plot appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Swedish designer and motion graphics artist Andreas Wannerstedt has filled his Instagram feed with an amazing array of very clever, continuously looping, virtual contraptions. These contraptions fall into different categories; Oddly Satisfying – Volumes One, Two, Three and Four, Pendulums and Marble Madness. … a series of different short loops, each one based upon the...The post An Amazing Array of Cleverly Animated, Endlessly Looping Colorful Virtual Contraptions appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In the beautifully rotoscoped animation entitled “Flash Flood“, filmmaker Alli Mackay interviews three transgender people who share their stories about how and where they grew up, their words bumping against unrelenting images of two-dimensional deluges waning and waxing as they speak. The title and the theme came from the first narrator (perhaps Mackay) who made...The post Three Transgender People Share Their Stories Against a Beautifully Rotoscoped ‘Flash Flood’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In the third installment of his beautiful aerial films shot over Scotland, filmmaker John Duncan flew his DJI Inspire 2 over 21 different locations in the less traveled, more ancient parts of the country. The resulting stunning film is aptly titled “Ancient Scotland“. So for this third installment I had to look deeper at what...The post Ancient Scotland, A Stunning Aerial Film Taken Over the Older, More Remote Parts of the Country appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Pioneering engineer, inventor, philanthropist, former Facebook/Google executive and MIT professor Mary Lou Jepsen gave a truly enlightening TED talk in April 2018 about how directed light of holography can be used to see deep inside the translucent human body to diagnose aberrations much in the way that an MRI would, but without the claustrophobic process....The post How Holographic Directed Light Can Work With Human Translucency to See Deep Inside the Body appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Framestore, the British production house that created the visual effects for the Marvel MCU film Avengers: Infinity War, provided a marvelous behind-the-scenes look at how the the different characters were brought into action. The team that was animating the members of Cull Obsidian (Black Order) had some difficulty with developing character traits, so they created...The post A Marvelous Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Visual Effects Used in Avengers: Infinity War appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Great Big Story traveled to the western coast of Madagascar to visit the incredible Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, a stunning 230 mile dry deciduous forest made up of limestone towers that rise up over 200 feet in the air to razor sharp jagged peaks. The towers are difficult to traverse, as denoted by...The post A Stunning Dry Forest in Madagascar Made Entirely of Jagged Peaked Limestone Towers appeared first on Laughing Squid.

While Simon’s Cat is in the yard playing with his ball, it rolls over the “borderline that separates the yard next door from his”. As he’s attempting to retrieve the ball, Simon’s Cat encounters an irascible, but somewhat dim neighboring feline bully named Jazz, who has no intention of returning the ball nor allowing Simon’s...The post Simon’s Cat Wages War on Feline Bully Next Door appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A post shared by Obvious Plant (@obviousplant) on Aug 17, 2018 at 10:47am PDT Comedian Jeff Wysaski of Obvious Plant is back with another store prank – this time with a hilarious faux bottle of Wendy’s Meat soda (with a hint of ketchup) that he “found” in a grocery store cooler. After his discovery, Wysaski...The post A Mysterious Bottle of Wendy’s Meat Soda (With a Hint of Ketchup) Is Found in a Grocery Drink Cooler appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A post shared by Andrew Fuller (@guymeetscake) on Aug 7, 2018 at 3:05pm PDT Earlier this month we wrote about Ashley Newman‘s pot pies which featured fabulously disconcerting anthropomorphic human faces baked right into the top crust. Since then, custom baker Andrew Fuller of Guy Meets Cake in Iowa, decided to whip up one of...The post Baker Inspired by the Anthropomorphic Human Face Pot Pies Makes a Creepy Edible Version of His Own appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A post shared by Ryo Minemizu (@seacam1970) on Aug 4, 2017 at 6:42pm PDT Deep sea photographer Ryo Minemizu has captured absolutely gorgeous shots of luminous plankton floating through the dark waters of the nighttime Osezaki Sea in Japan. These and other stunning images are part of his “Phenomenons” series, which focuses on the delicate...The post Gorgeous Deep Sea Photography of Luminous Plankton Floating Through Dark Japanese Waters appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a chimeric Ted-Ed lesson written by educator Elizabeth Cox and animated by Nerdo, narrator Susan Zimmerman explains what causes hallucinations, what happens when hallucinations occur, the medical and pharmacological effects upon the brain that cause hallucinations and the specific syndrome that causes those who are blind to see hallucinations and those who are deaf...The post An Animated Explanation of the Medical and Pharmacological Causes of Hallucinations appeared first on Laughing Squid.

On an adorable 2012 episode of the PBS series NOVAScience, popular astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson challenged Chaser, the amazing border collie who understands over 1,000 words to a memory game. Tyson took several items from Chaser’s enormous pile of toys without the dog’s knowledge and then asked her to retrieve each item as he named...The post Neil deGrasse Tyson Challenges Chaser the Border Collie to Retrieve a Doll She’d Never Seen Before appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Contortionist Moses Lanham aka Mr. Elastic Man, who set the Guinness World Record for “Fastest time to walk 20 meters with feet facing backwards” in 2011, demonstrated for The Wizard Of Odd TV exactly how he is able to perform this incredible feat. Lanham’s elastic ability appeared after he fell 18 feet from a rope...The post Contortionist Shows How He Can Walk Forward With His Feet Turned Completely Backwards appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Better Call Saul actors Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut) and Rhea Seehorn (Kim Wexler) sat down with New York Magazine for an interview during which they spoke about some of the more interesting fans with whom they’ve had interaction. Banks shared that people thought that he was scary, while Seehorn noted how much appreciation her character...The post Jonathan Banks and Rhea Seehorn of ‘Better Call Saul’ Discuss Some Interesting Fan Interactions appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a wonderfully personable TED Talk, renowned artist, New York Times columnist and author Christoph Niemann explains rather humorously how the language of images can often transcend the limits of spoken/written language. He also talks about his wonderful “Sunday Sketching” series for which he is fully conscious of his efforts to communicate the message of...The post Artist Christoph Niemann Humorously Explains How Images Can Transcend the Limits of Language appeared first on Laughing Squid.

The incredibly imaginative folks at The New York Public Library partnered with the independent creative company Mother New York to create and promote their wonderful new reading initiative called “Insta Novels“. This clever idea uses the power and reach of Instagram Stories to share such classic tales as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll,...The post New York Public Library Offers Access to Classic Tales Through Instagram Stories With ‘Insta Novels’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

An helpless little sheep who became stuck inside a tire swing, tried in vain to run towards the rest of the flock. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any traction to be had. Whenever the animal ran forward, the tire would lift all four feet off the ground. The same happened whenever the sheep moved backwards as well,...The post A Hapless Sheep Stuck in a Tire Swing Goes for an Unexpected Ride While Trying to Run Away appeared first on Laughing Squid.

An oddly adorable pet crab with a fondness for all sorts of human food, such as potato chips, watermelon and banana, became a bit confused when she was presented with a bowl of cooked noodles. The hungry crab attempted several different ways to access the noodles and finally settled on holding them in her claws...The post An Adorably Confused Pet Crab Attempts To Figure Out How to Best Eat a Bowl of Noodles appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Myad has created a hilariously irreverent fireproof demon skull gas log designed to be used in a gas fireplace or fire pit. Like the fireproof human skull logs we previously posted, this creepy little fiend is more than happy to keep burning for hours and may occasionally spit flames out of its eyes. Flame can...The post A Hilariously Irreverent Demon Skull Fireplace Log appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A post shared by Iantha Naicker (Deaf) (@ianthaartlife) on Aug 22, 2018 at 2:20am PDT Artist Iantha Naiker has taken the very unique step of incorporating live ants into her skillfully drawn wildlife portraits. Naiker explained on Bored Panda that she bribes the ants with sugar to make them temporarily succumb to her will. Leaving...The post Artist Completes Wildlife Portraits Using Live Ants appeared first on Laughing Squid.

DIY crafter TheCrafsMan of Steadycraftin gathered up his collection of 1980s action figures and introduced each and every one to the camera in a fabulously velvet voice. Included in the introductions were members of Action Force, Playmobil characters, GI Joe, Star Wars and Micronauts. Here are some action figures from the 1980s, and one from...The post DIY Crafter Introduces Each of His 1980s Action Figures by Name in a Fabulous Velvet Voice appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In 2015, we wrote about a original acoustic instrument called the Yaybahar, which can create a wonderful array of ethereally musical sounds. More recently, the designer of the instrument Görkem Sen performed a beautiful improvisational piece on the beach with a restless dog and the rolling sea as his audience. The vibrations from the strings...The post Musician Performs Beautiful Seaside Improvisation on a Yaybahar Instrument That He Designed appeared first on Laughing Squid.

The fast talking doodling music theorist and musician 12tone explains the origins of the Bebop scales and how they incorporated chromaticism and chord scales (modes) to give a whole new color, flavor and sound to modern jazz. Bebop transformed the face of jazz forever, and it brought with it lots of new ideas and devices,...The post How Bebop Musicians Used Chromatic and Chord Scales to Give Jazz a Whole New Sound appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Everyone wants to be Don Draper, but the sad truth is we’re all Pete Campbell. As part of their ongoing analysis of the well-defined, flawed characters of Mad Men, Debra Minoff and Susannah McCullough of ScreenPrism dove into the seemingly shallow character of Pete Campbell, only to realize that there was so much more to...The post How Pete Campbell of ‘Mad Men’ Garnered Respect and Approval Only When He Stopped Expecting It appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In the beautifully poetic short film “Letters of Fire“, filmmaker Glen Milner visually retraces the ill-fated steps ofSir Ernest Shackleton along his relentless drive to explore the Antarctic and his disappointment of not doing so due to thick ice that left heand his crew stranded for 28 days. Actor Dominic West (The Wire, The Affair)...The post A Poetic Retracing of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Ill-Fated Steps in His Relentless Drive to Explore Antarctica appeared first on Laughing Squid.

My dad saw that viral video of the guy who cut holes in his fence for his nosey dog so he decided to test it out and the results did not disappoint pic.twitter.com/MatcopjKmL — lindsay (@ptvlinds) August 18, 2018 Inspired by the California firefighter who cut dog face shaped holes in her fence so her...The post Surprised Daughter Comes Home to Find Her Dogs Peeking Through Strategic Holes Cut in the Fence appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In an interview somewhat reminiscent of the 73 Questions series, Great Big Story visited with Dr. Jacques Bailly, a foremost expert phonologist, and tossed out random words from the dictionary for him to pronounce. Dr. Bailly, who has acted as the Official Word Pronouncer for the iconic Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2003, has a...The post Former Champion Speller Grows Up to Become the Official Word Pronouncer For Scripps Spelling Bee appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A very vocal rescued bear named Maddie at the Orphaned Wildlife Center in Otisville, New York, was moaning in the summer sun, welcomed sight of Susan, her human keeper, who was armed with a big brush. Maddie immediately succumbed the the relief of the stiff tines running through her shedding coat and readily rolled over...The post A Vocally Appreciative Rescued Bear Gets a Very Thorough Summer Brushing by Her Human Keeper appeared first on Laughing Squid.

While cleaning out the trap in her backyard pool, a kind woman noticed a tiny mouse and a tiny frog sitting on the very top of the trap handle, waiting patiently right next to each other. With a great sense of compassion, the woman went over to the grassy part of her yard and gently...The post Kind Woman Rescues a Mouse and Frog That Were Stuck Next to Each Other in Her Swimming Pool Trap appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In 2016, Stuart Hilton‘s son Stanley had his brain scanned in slices for some scientific reason. Being the creative filmmaker he is, Hilton animated theses scans in a wonderfully surreal manner, set them to original music and very cleverly titled the result “Stanley Scanley“. I made some music to help. If you’ve ever sliced through...The post Filmmaker Creates Surreal Animation of Son’s Brain Scan Slices With a Soundtrack of Original Music appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In the absolutely brilliant stop-motion animation “Fabricated” which took filmmaker Brett Foxwell ten years to create, features a gorgeous mechanical world brought to life. As seen through the eyes of Oto, a creature made of metal and bone who wanders through a rusty jungle. As Oto makes his way, he encounters a robotic brass being...The post A Fabricated Robotic Creature Searches a Gorgeous Mechanical World to Find Its Own Sense of Self appeared first on Laughing Squid.

An absolutely adorable, long-legged, big-eared Oriental Shorthair cat named Teddy quite generously employed his unique honking meow in order alert his human to open the dryer door so he could climb in and take a nap on the nice warm sheets inside. After a couple of protestations, Teddy’s human complied, particularly since each of of...The post An Adorably Impatient Cat Loudly Honks at His Human to Open the Dryer Door for Him appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A post shared by Leslie Vigil (@_leslie_vigil_) on Aug 17, 2018 at 10:52am PDT The very talented Leslie Vigil of Tasteful Cakes in Corona, California, creates absolutely beautiful cakes, cupcakes and other desserts that feature highly realistic flowers, plants and succulents all made out of buttercream. eternal optimist – flour child – buttercream enthusiast A...The post Beautiful Desserts Decorated With Realistic Buttercream Plants, Flowers and Succulents appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Back in May 2016 while visiting Vienna, Scott and I took the Twin City Liner down the Danube to Bratislava, Slovakia. While exploring the city we came across a wonderful bronze sculpture of a man in a hard hat resting his head on his arms while poking out of a manhole cover at our feet....The post Amusing Brass Statue of Man in a Hard Hat Poking His Head Out of a Sewer in Bratislava, Slovakia appeared first on Laughing Squid.

The Scientific Visual Studio at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has gorgeously combined the quiet, moving lull of Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” with stunning visualizations of the path of the sun as it crossed over the moon. The visualizations were developed with the use of 3D global elevation maps and images by the Lunar...The post A Stunning NASA Visualization of the Sun Crossing Over the Moon Set to Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Japanese artist Takayuki Todo has created SEER (Simulative Emotional Expression Robot), a wonderfully expressive robot that can simulate emotion with intentionally large eyes inside a face that is recognizably human. The SEER also has a set of functioning eyebrows that convey a sense of compassion and empathy. If we understand and identify with robots which...The post SEER, An Emotionally Expressive Robot With Big Eyes and Functioning Eyebrows appeared first on Laughing Squid.

While on holiday with his family at Walvis Bay Lagoon in Namibia, 18 year old wildlife photographer Juan van den Heever intentionally put his head inside the giant biting beaks of the feisty great white pelicans who landed on their boat. While Juan was having fun with the pelicans, the birds appeared less than enthralled...The post Photographer Intentionally Puts His Head Inside a Biting Pelican’s Beak During a Selfie appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Video artist Angel Nene, who created a really wonderful video series in which photos of celebrities are seamlessly morphed into live 3D timelapses and accompanied by time appropriate soundtracks, did the same for the long running Rolling Stones. The aging process begins in 1962 and goes through present day. Along the way there were some...The post The Rolling Stones Age Together From 1962-2018 to a Soundtrack of Their Songs in a Brilliant Timelapse appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A goofy Rottweiler named Bruno who was wearing a GoPro Fetch Harness, paced restlessly around the house while his humans had gone out for a little while. The wearable camera caught every move the dog made as he explored the house in an unsuccessful search for his companions, stopping a few times to drink from...The post Dog Wearing GoPro Fetch Harness Documents What He Does in the House While His Humans Are Away appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a brilliant student animation by Amy J. Xu entitled “Melt Down“, an agoraphobic boy who lacks a body, is sent out to the store to buy more paint after he spills a whole can on the floor. Along the way, he encounters all sorts of people who are just as anxious or self-loathing as...The post An Agoraphobic Boy Without a Body Tries to Comfort People Literally Melting Down From Stress appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Body modification expert and self-described cyborg Russ Foxx who has had an NFC (Near-field communication) implanted into his left wrist and an RFID (radio-frequency identification) chip implanted into the index finger of his right hand, shows how these tiny pieces of body technology help make things more convenient for him. Foxx demonstrated how he locks...The post Body Modification Expert Lives a Key-Free Life With the NFC and RFID Chips Implanted in His Hands appeared first on Laughing Squid.

With the sad news of the great Aretha Franklin’s death on August 16, 2018 at the age of 76, Vox put together a beautiful tribute showing how her distinctively brilliant style was formed. Forever known to all as the “Queen of Soul“, Franklin incorporated her strong gospel roots into songs that weren’t necessarily originally written...The post How Aretha Franklin Fully Incorporated Her Gospel Roots Into a Distinctive Sound of Her Own appeared first on Laughing Squid.

An enormous flock of pink flamingos decided take a much needed rest after flying for so long and landed along the banks of a salty lagoon. While the birds were peacefully feeding, cleaning and perhaps mating, they were disturbed by the thunderous sound of a herd of stallions stampeding towards the shore. The thousands of...The post A Flock of Peacefully Feeding Flamingos Take Quick Flight to Avoid a Herd of Galloping Wild Stallions appeared first on Laughing Squid.

When a panda gives birth to more than one cub in the wild, she will usually only attend to one and leave the remaining cubs to perish. So when a giant panda gave birth to twins at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a vigilant team took extraordinary steps to make the new...The post Newborn Panda Twins Are Switched Out With Each Other to Make Their Mother Believe There’s Only One appeared first on Laughing Squid.

BBC Earth Unplugged has put together a fascinatingly detailed slow motion compilation of mammal, birds, reptiles and insects going about their respective daily business in order to ensure their comfort, satiate their hunger, travel safely and accomplish whatever task is most important at that moment. Watch some of the most stunning slow motion footage of...The post A Wonderful Compilation Animals in Slow Motion appeared first on Laughing Squid.