Laughing Squid

Music writer Polyphonic, who creates incredibly informative video essays on an ongoing basis, takes a deep look at the classic Simon and Garfunkel song “Scarborough Fair/Canticle”. He notes how the musical duo took a traditional Elizabethan era tune and matched it with a musically harmonious original song written by Paul Simon. The resulting counterpoint simultaneously...The post How Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Scarborough Fair/Canticle’ Tells Two Musically Harmonious Stories at One Time appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A determined little bunny who grew very concerned about a feline friend who was stuck behind a corrugated wall, tenaciously dug at the dirt and pushed it back so that the little white cat could exit with ease. Per their human, the cat had gotten trapped when she covered up the hole. The place where...The post A Determined Bunny Tenaciously Digs at the Dirt in an Effort to Free a Kitten Trapped Behind a Wall appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sony Pictures (@sonypictures) on Sep 27, 2018 at 11:54am PDT In advance of the upcoming Mister Rogers biopic You Are My Friend, Sony Pictures posted a wonderful picture of a smiling Tom Hanks sitting outside on the stairs to his trailer, clad in a red sweater...The post Tom Hanks Debuts an Iconic Mister Rogers Sweater and Sneakers for the Film ‘You Are My Friend’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

When a severely injured box turtle who was found wandering around Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, employees at the Maryland Zoo stepped in to help. Unfortunately, the turtle’s injuries included fractures for which the treatment would hinder the terrapin’s walking ability but with some LEGO bricks and plumbers putty, the team was able make a...The post Maryland Zoo Builds a Custom LEGO Wheelchair for an Injured Rescued Box Turtle Allowing Him to Heal appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alicja Zmys?owska (@alicjazmyslowska) on Nov 13, 2016 at 3:52am PST Polish photographer Alicja Zmyslowska has captured absolutely gorgeous photos of her two beloved dogs Kiara and Cirilla interacting with beautifully lit, magical natural surroundings from all over the world. While travelling, Zmyslowska has also snapped gorgeous...The post Photographer Captures Stunning Photos of Dogs Interacting With Beautifully Lit Natural Surroundings appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A group of absolutely adorable rescued dogs outfitted with custom wheelchairs at the SFT Animal Sanctuary in Tangier, Morocco, gleefully ran around in circles outside on the pavement. A couple of dogs without wheelchairs tagged along as well. Wheelchair dogs at animal rescue enjoying playtime. Related Laughing Squid PostsA Friendly Rescued Prairie Dog Freezes in...The post A Group of Adorable Rescued Dogs In Wheelchairs Gleefully Run Around Outside During Playtime appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In Dark Phoenix, the twelfth installment of the X-Men franchise, a young Jean Grey unleashes a powerful personality after surviving a disruptive cosmic force while on a rescue mission in space that instills her with a dangerous personality over whom Jean has no control. When she returns to Earth, this new power causes a fracture...The post Jean Grey Unleashes a Powerful Personality After a Cosmic Force Hits Her in the X-Men Film ‘Dark Phoenix’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

While kayaking in Kaikora, New Zealand, a group of GoPro photographers were loudly traversing the waters when a cheeky seal unexpectedly jumped out of the water and slapped photographer Kyle Te Kiwi in the face with an octopus. This surprising scene was caught on camera by fellow kayaker Taiyo Masuda. More than likely, the seal...The post A Cheeky Seal Unexpectedly Slaps a Noisy Kayaker Across the Face With the Feisty Octopus In Its Mouth appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A beautiful paper animation by Elisa Chee entitled “Lucy, The Chimp Who Believed She Was Human” tells the initially sad story of a chimpanzee named Lucy who was adopted by a human couple in an odd psychological experiment. The couple received Lucy at two days old, but as she grew older and bigger, she began...The post A Beautiful Paper Animated Film About How a Chimp Raised as a Human Eventually Returned to the Wild appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A grieving father in Ufa, Russia is believed to have placed a five foot iPhone replica as a headstone at the grave of his beloved daughter Rita Shameeva, who died at the age of 25 in 2016. Little else is known about Shameeva, but the headstone itself is carved out of black basalt, which has...The post Russian Father Creates Custom Five Foot iPhone Headstone For the Grave of His 25 Year Old Daughter appeared first on Laughing Squid.

I’d rather die as the devil than live as Matt Murdock. In very provocative split screen teaser trailer for the third season of Daredevil features on one side a Wilson Fisk as he dons a shiny white suit in preparation for his newly freed existence. On the other side, a determined, bleeding Matt Murdock burns...The post Wilson Fisk Prepares For a New Civilian Life While Matt Murdock Burns Away His in Third Season of ‘Daredevil’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Animators Rachel Larsen, Adam Reid and Ozi Oshiro have created The Tiny Chef Show, a wonderful stop-motion series that features a tiny green chef who makes tiny plant-based dishes in a custom tiny kitchen. In his first video, the Chef prepares a beautiful apple pie using a bottle cap as a pie tin. Impossibly tiny...The post A Tiny Chef Makes a Tiny Apple Pie Inside a Bottle Cap appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Filmmaker Kyle Frager of NeverStopExploring journeyed inland from his Southern California home to the Salton Sea, a human-made saline lake that sits in between the Imperial Valley and Coachella Valley on the San Andreas Fault. This whole area was once considered a successful golf resort in the 1950s, with luminaries such as Frank Sinatra making...The post Touring the Noxious Sulphurous Remains of the Once Celebrated Resort Area at California’s Salton Sea appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In an natatory episode of The New York Times series ScienceTake, host James Gorman shares fascinating footage of the wonderfully shape shifting garden eels, who pop out of their hiding places in the seafloor to catch food that’s floating by. When the current is low, the eels bend to reach the plankton in the water...The post Shape Shifting Garden Eels Pop Up From Anchored Holes in the Sea Floor to Feed Then Slide Back Down appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a spiring episode of “Things You Might Not Know“, host Tom Scott takes to the sky, strapped to the top of a small propeller plane. While Scott was soaring through the sky, the proprietors and employees of Aerosuperbatics Wingwalking explain how much wing walking safety has evolved from the very dangerous nascent years of...The post How Wing Walking Safety Has Evolved Over the Years appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A beautiful cat named Kiko temporarily tolerated a battery powered severed hand Halloween toy to rub her backside for a little while, perhaps even enjoying the vibrations from the prop, but once Kiko was done, she was done. Kiko is getting into the Halloween spirit. Related Laughing Squid PostsA Tiny Cockatiel Happily Beatboxes In Rhythm...The post A Tolerant Cat Allows a Battery Powered Severed Hand Halloween Prop to Massage Her Butt for a Little While appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Freelance writer Christie Dietz who lives in Wiesbaden, Germany, was very pleasantly surprised when she saw that a thoughtful stranger had hung a custom reserved parking sticker with a picture of her son’s bike on the very same lamppost where he parks just about every day. My son has parked his bike by this lamppost...The post Thoughtful Stranger Hangs a Custom Parking Sticker on the Lamppost Where a Boy Parks His Bike Every Day appeared first on Laughing Squid.

As part of their ongoing analysis of the dystopian world of The Handmaid’s Tale, Debra Minoff and Susannah McCullough of ScreenPrism take a hard look at the extreme amount of violence used against women in the series and poses the question, “Why are we still watching?” It’s not that the violence is titillating or enjoyable....The post How Violence Against Women In ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Awakens an Important Awareness to Current Events appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ?? Mel's Food & Travel log (@girleatworld) on Aug 26, 2018 at 8:05pm PDT The adventurous Melissa Hie of “Girl Eat World” writes about her travels all over the world. At each stop, Hie cleverly takes a photo of a local tasty treat against a distinct...The post Adventurous Woman Travels Around the World Documenting Tasty Treats From Each Place She Visited appeared first on Laughing Squid.

“Trapped Summer” by 3D artist and motion designer Peter Tomaszewicz is a whimsical animated ode to that feeling of being stuck in the city during the stifling, suffocating heat of summer without relief. Making things even worse is the fact that everyone else has escaped to the seaside. The idea for this animation came from...The post Trapped Summer, A Whimsical Animated Ode to the Feeling of Being Stuck in the Suffocating City Heat appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London decided to replace the London Bridge that was built in 1831 that crossed the River Thames with a newer, wider version that would be more friendly to automobiles. So they put the old one up for sale. In 1968, American businessman Robert P. McCulloch placed...The post How the Original 1831 London Bridge Crossed the Atlantic to Become a Lake Havasu, Arizona Attraction appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a banded episode of one of his insightful video essays, host Jack Nugent of the series Now You See It explains how stripes have been used throughout history to convey a sense of nonconformity with the way things are. This nonconformity can either be positive (childlike, jester) or negative (gangster, prison), but the interruptive...The post How Stripes Have Been Historically Used to Convey a Character’s Nonconformity Within the Status Quo appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a fascinating behind-the-scenes interview, the wardrobe team for Saturday Night Live, which is comprised of Dale Richards, Tom Broecker, Eric Justian and Donna Richards, open up about the wonderfully high paced, quick change world in which they constantly live, what their schedules are like, the creative solutions they find to ensure the character is...The post The High Paced, Quick-Change Lives of the Talented People on the Saturday Night Live Wardrobe Team appeared first on Laughing Squid.

The wonderful fast talking, doodling music vlogger 12tone went back in time to the songs he learned as a child and like any good music theorist, decided to look at the core musical structure of these nostalgic songs. What he learned was that while these songs sound simple there’s a quite bit of musical and...The post The Complex Simplicity of Songs Written for Children appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by BioBioChile (@biobiochile) on Sep 21, 2018 at 9:18am PDT A wonderfully compassionate 75 year old man named Terry Lauerman came into the Safe Haven Shelter/Cat Cafe in Green Bay, Wisconsin one day and offered to volunteer with the special needs cats whom the shelter serves. Terry’s...The post Compassionate 75 Year Old ‘Cat Grandpa’ Raises Money by Napping With Special Needs Shelter Cats appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Musician, actor and comedian Jack Black joined Rhett & Link on Good Mythical More to help them determine which album cover is the most metal of them all. Among their choices were Surtur Rising by Aman Armath , Holy Diver by Ronnie James Dio, The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden, The Triumph of...The post Jack Black Helps Rhett and Link Determine Which Album Cover is the Most Metal One of Them All appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In 2012, we wrote about British artist Tim Davies who created a wonderful 16 foot tall air-powered inflatable spider puppet with fully articulating legs. More recently, Davies created another multi-legged creature named Ocho the Octopus. Similar to its predecessor, Ocho has eight fully articulating legs and is operated by single puppeteer. Ocho the Octopus is...The post A Giant Inflatable Octopus Puppet Named Ocho appeared first on Laughing Squid.

An Asheville, North Carolina woman, who was visiting family in a wooded area, had accidentally left the door open on her minivan while bringing her kids inside the house. When she ran out to close the door a few moments later, she unknowingly trapped a wayward bear who had climbed inside. When they were ready...The post Wayward Bear Accidentally Locked Inside a Minivan Smashes Driver’s Side Window to Make an Escape appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Keith Smith, a dedicated groundsman at the Edgbaston Golf Club in Birmingham, England, shares his process for creating award-winning intricate lawn patterns with his vintage lawn mowers. This particular design won the Creative Stripes Competition in 2017. A garden wizard has spent 273 hours mowing an amazing geometric pattern into his front lawn – using...The post Dedicated Groundsman Cuts His Grass Three Times Per Day to Create an Intricate Pattern on His Lawn appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In short historical essay, the knowledgeable music writer Polyphonic took a look at how modern distortion-creating fuzz boxes and pedals for electric guitar originated from either intentionally or unintentionally destroyed amplifiers and other equipment. …Rocket 88, a song that some qualify as the first rock-and-roll recording. That song featured Willie Khazar ripping a wicked distorted...The post How Destroyed Amplifiers With Bad Connections Led to Modern Advances in Distortion for the Electric Guitar appeared first on Laughing Squid.

DIY engineer Human Controller has built a very clever, fully robotic Rubik’s Cube that can easily solve itself in minutes, whether being held upright or on a flat surface. Just be sure that it doesn’t wander off too far. Full instructions are available to recreate this fun machine. The creator also disassembled one of the...The post A Very Clever Robotic Rubik’s Cube That Solves Itself appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Several months after Weezer premiered their version of the Toto classic ““Africa” aka “the internet’s favorite song” at the behest of a teenage fan with a clever Twitter campaign, the group played a live version to an excited audience. In the middle of the song, special guest ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic jumped in on accordion. Since...The post ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Looks Just Like ‘Buddy Holly’ as He Fronts Weezer’s Music Video of the Toto Song ‘Africa’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

After making a rather dramatic entrance onto the stage of The Tonight Show, the very funny Jack Black spoke with host Jimmy Fallon about the new Tenacious D album and subsequent tour. After a bit of discussion, Black suddenly took out his a his legendary toy Sax-A-Boom jammed with The Roots. Jack Black gives The...The post Jack Black Plays His Toy Sax-A-Boom With The Roots After an Elaborate Entrance on The Tonight Show appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Super Deluxe remixed an October 2010 60 Minutes interview between Eminem and host Anderson Cooper during which the rapper talked about words rhyming with “orange”. They then combined it with some live footage and created a catchy song using the very distinct style of the iconic art pop band Talking Heads. Here's what @Eminem would...The post An Eminem Interview About Words That Rhyme With Orange Remixed in the Style of the Talking Heads appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Filmmaker Dan Mace has created “HUMANKIND (see the world in 4 minutes)”, a short but beautifully poetic montage, which features 100 filmmakers from all over the world, each capturing footage of the connections to which they bear witness along with those they make themselves. With this project, Mace thoughtfully put a spotlight on an often...The post A Poetic Montage Featuring 100 Filmmakers Around the World Capturing Connections They See Around Them appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Laura Jenkins of the Ember Candle Company in Glasgow, Scotland, has created a wonderful line of skull candles that come in a variety of soft pastel colors. The colors include pink, baby blue, yellow, lavender and soft green. Every candle from Jenkins’ shop 100% soy, completely vegan and is available in custom scents. Jenkins quite...The post Wonderfully Paradoxical Pastel Colored Skull Candles appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Lucas the Spider, the adorable animated arachnid by Joshua Slice, proudly shows off his newly spun web. Lucas is particularly proud because someone once told him that he would never be able to do so. Lucas is also really excited for when his web catches someone, because he’ll have a new friend. I can totally...The post Lucas the Spider Proudly Shows Off the Web He Made appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sleepypod (@sleepypod) on Nov 7, 2017 at 10:54am PST The Sleepypod Mobile Pet Bed is a very cleverly designed soft pet crate that not only allows a human to carry their small pets from point A to point B, but when zipped up also acts as...The post A Cleverly Designed Soft Pet Carrier That Easily Transforms Into a Car Safety Seat or a Comfy Bed appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In February 2018 we wrote about the Rube Goldberg inspired pinball game “The Blue Marble” by the very mechanically talented vlogger Kaplamino. In the second version of this same game, Kaplamino explains how he creates the mesmerizing chain reactions that keep the ball in play at all times. Here is episode 2 of the blue...The post An Ingenious Tabletop Rube Goldberg Inspired Game That Keeps a Bright Blue Marble in Play at All Times appeared first on Laughing Squid.

After watching Saturday Night Live’s 40th Anniversary Special, reporter Geoff Edgers, who covers national arts for the The Washington Post, contacted legendary comedian/actor Chevy Chase to find out how he was doing. Edger made six visits to Chase’s home in Bedford, New York, each time learning more about Chase’s history, his career, his public controversies...The post Chevy Chase Reflects on His Career, His Controversies and His Newly Found Sobriety in a Candid Interview appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Luke Jerram (@lukejerramartist) on Jul 6, 2018 at 7:38am PDT British artist Luke Jerram has created The Museum of the Moon, a stunning ethereal sculpture of the Earth’s Moon measures seven meters in diameter and is lit internally for a soft, comforting glow. The realistic appearance...The post The Museum of the Moon, A Beautifully Ethereal Lighted Sculpture of the Earth’s Moon in Miniature appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Musician, writer and comedian Demi Adejuyigbe celebrated the 21st of September by joyously dancing to the fabulous Earth, Wind and Fire song “September”. The wonderful West Los Angeles Children’s Choir joined in for the chorus at the end. Every year Adejuyigbe does a dance on September 21st and this year he’s raising money for RAINN,...The post Performer Joyously Celebrates the 21st of September With a Unique Dance to the Earth, Wind and Fire Song appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a vintage episode of the Australian science program The Curiosity Show, host Dr. Deane Hutton demonstrated the incredible Ames Window illusion, an optical illusion that makes it appear as if a window is rotating back and forth. Hutton slowly broke down how the illusion works. The first component relies on what’s generally understood to...The post The Incredible Ames Window Optical Illusion Explained appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Engineer Ted Tieken has created Sated, a keto-based, ready-to-drink meal replacement shake that’s high in fiber, high in protein and low in carbohydrates, a formula believed to help the body reach ketosis, a metabolic state induced through carbohydrate restriction. The shake is also naturally flavored with added calcium. In other words, Sated is a keto-friendly...The post Sated, A Low Carbohydrate, High Protein, Keto-Friendly Ready-to-Drink Meal Replacement Shake appeared first on Laughing Squid.

While exploring the waters of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument of Hawai’i, the ROV Hercules, launched from the E/V Nautilus captured the sight of an odd large-headed creature floating just above the sea floor. The creature became so disturbed by the presence of the ROV that its cheeks ballooned out and revealed a massive jaw. As...The post A Ballooning Gulper Eel Reveals Its Massive Jaws appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Google partnered with Fred Rogers Productions, the Fred Rogers Center and BixPix Entertainment to create a wonderfully nostalgic, colorful stop-motion animation to celebrate the 51st anniversary of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood national television debut on PBS. The animation perfectly captures the immeasurable kindness, compassion and warmth exuded by everyone’s favorite sweater-clad neighbor whom many of us...The post Anniversary of ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ Honored With a Colorful Stop-Motion Animated Google Doodle appeared first on Laughing Squid.

While performing at the Santander Arts Center in Reading, Pennsylvania in 2013, the incredibly talented Chris Cornell performed an usual cover of the Metallica song “One” while playing the melody to the classic U2 song “One” in a live mashup of the two songs. The resulting song is absolutely heartbreaking, particularly in light of his...The post Chris Cornell Combines the Lyrics From Metallica’s ‘One’ With the Melody of U2’s ‘One’ in a Live Mashup appeared first on Laughing Squid.

For week 33 of their rebooted ongoing project Dial-A-Song project, the band They Might Be Giants wrote the song “Lake Monsters” and enlisted Hiné Mizushima, the talented slow crafting materials artist, to direct the accompanying music video. Using a traditional hand embroidered style background, Mizushima’s animation appears to offer a sense of home for these...The post A Hand Embroidered Animated Music Video For the They Might Be Giants Dial-A-Song ‘Lake Monsters’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Scott Bradlee of Postmodern Jukebox teamed up with musicians Casey Abrams and Snuffy Walden for a rousing, upbeat 1950s style cover of the internet’s favorite song, the now iconic “Africa” by Toto. This lively performance was presented as a short film directed by Abraham Roofeh. We’re kicking off Season 2 with our second PMJ short...The post Postmodern Jukebox Performs an Upbeat 1950s Cover of Toto’s ‘Africa’ With Casey Abrams and Snuffy Walden appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Russian animator Dmitry Grozov (aka Ahriman) created a fantastic anime style trailer for Star Wars: A New Hope. It’s not clear if he’s going to recreate the entire film, but hopefully that’s the plan. Related Laughing Squid PostsA Movie Trailer for the Original ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy Edited in the Style of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’A...The post A Fantastic Anime Trailer For ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.