Laughing Squid

In a nuanced episode of one of his insightful video essays, from the series Now You See It, host Jack Nugent explains through the use of interviews with directors and actors, why certain films are perceived to have specific subtexts (or conspiracy theories) even when they weren’t intended to be interpreted that way and asks...The post Why Films Are Perceived to Have Certain Subtexts Even Though the Director Didn’t Intend it That Way appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Motion artist Derek Hugger, who created the breathtaking hummingbird kinetic sculpture “Colibri”, has followed up with another exquisite kinetic sculpture he calls “Carapace“. This wooden single-cranked, tilting sculpture mimics the smooth, graceful and deliberate movements of a sea turtle swimming through the ocean. Carapace is my most complex kinetic sculpture yet. …it is comprised of...The post An Exquisite Wooden Kinetic Sculpture That Mimics the Graceful Movements of a Swimming Sea Turtle appeared first on Laughing Squid.

While on a deep sea mission within the Monterey Bay, researchers from MBARI discovered a brand new species of deep water sea squirts (tunicate) that they’ve named Culeolus barryi, in honor of fellow researcher Dr. James P. Barry. This previously undiscovered species of translucent invertebrates live on stalks, which lift them off the seafloor and...The post The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Discovers a New Species of Deep Water Sea Squirts appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a portentous video essay for Vox, producer Coleman Lowndes explains why the highly decorated, overly trimmed Victorian mansions (McMansions of their time) of the Gilded Age went from being a symbol of wealth and comfort to a frightening symbol of impending danger and doom. Critics of the time began to associate the houses with...The post How Abandoned and Eroding Victorian Mansions of the Gilded Age Came to Symbolize Impending Doom appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Half as Interesting shares the bizarre story of Sir Alfred Mehran, an Iranian national who was rendered stateless due to his participation in protests against the monarchy. He was eventually granted refugee status in Belgium, but desired to gain citizenship within the United Kingdom after learning that his biological mother was Scottish. He travelled to...The post The Bizarre Story of Sir Alfred, The Stateless Man Who Lived at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris for 18 Years appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Director Charlie Todd and the NYC comedy collective Improv Everywhere hilariously took a disgusting pair of unusable pay phone booths at 24th Street and 6th Avenue and transformed them into very usable outdoor coworking spaces. A faux WeWork representative who was played by Agent Addie Weyrich, greeted interested pedestrians who were fascinated by the concept...The post Improv Everywhere Transforms a Pair of Unused NYC Pay Phone Booths Into Outdoor Coworking Spaces appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In August 1972, renowned Italian designer Massimo Vignelli created a beautifully modern streamlined map of the New York city subway that matched the forward thinking attitude of the city, but was eventually cast aside in favor for a more traditional approach. The issue was that Vignelli’s map didn’t pay enough attention to distance between stops...The post Why New Yorkers Preferred a Less Attractive But Properly Scaled Subway Map Over a Modern Redesign appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Speaking of Stan Lee’s cameos… Related Laughing Squid PostsStan Lee Cameo Appearances in Marvel MoviesMTV Points Out and Explains Nearly Every Hidden Easter Egg Found in Marvel FilmsStan Lee Rants About Admirers Calling Themselves His ‘Biggest Fan’The post Stan Lee Thanks His Fans appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a fascinating BBC Earth video, nature host Liz Bonnin joined a team that traveled down deep into the waters of the Galápagos Islands and captured the rare sight of an absolutely enormous Mola Mola (ocean sunfish). This particular species is the largest bony fish in the world, with some weighing up to over 2,000...The post An Enormous Ocean Sunfish Gets a Full Body Cleaning Using Fish That Happily Nibble Parasites Off Its Skin appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jeff Victor (@jeffvictorart) on Nov 12, 2018 at 11:17am PST The Evolution of Stan Lee by Jeff Victor (previously), a couple of wonderful tributes to a Marvelous man. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jeff Victor (@jeffvictorart) on May 29, 2018 at 11:24am...The post The Evolution of Stan Lee appeared first on Laughing Squid.

The late, great legendary comic creator Stan Lee sat down with the New York Times in 2017 and opened up about his early inspirations (including a bottle of ketchup), his voracious reading habits as a kid and how how he started in comics despite the fact it was everything his mother hated. He also talked...The post Stan Lee Opens Up About the Voracious Childhood Reading Habits That Led to His Marvel Storytelling appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Musician Nathan Mills of Beyond The Guitar who has performed amazing acoustic covers of songs from television and film performed a stunning classical guitar cover of the iconic Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody”, brilliantly making it look easy when it absolutely isn’t. Bohemian Rhapsody Meets Classical Guitar! Full video: https://t.co/qvVxP6HT6u#BohemianRhapsody? ? pic.twitter.com/iFXEMzyspR — Nathan Mills (@beyondtheguitar)...The post An Absolutely Stunning Classical Guitar Cover of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Performed in Its Entirety appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sabine Timm (@virgin_honey) on Nov 1, 2018 at 6:12am PDT Artist Sabine Timm has created a wonderfully whimsical series of adorable faces made out of different types of bread, crackers and rolls. Timm creates different textures and different looks by tearing, toasting or ripping the bread...The post Wonderfully Whimsical Faces Made Out of Bread appeared first on Laughing Squid.

After a flood in 2015 that put a great deal of their archive at risk, The New York Times decided to digitize over a century’s worth of photographs which were housed in an underground room called “The Morgue”. They worked with Google Cloud in order to facilitate the process of converting the photos into high...The post The New York Times Digitizes Over a Century’s Worth of Archival Photographs Into High Resolution Images appeared first on Laughing Squid.

It is with great sadness we share the heartbreaking news that Taki Zaru, the beloved feline co-worker of Laughing Squid passed away on Friday, November 9, 2018 due to complications from cancer. When his sister Ika Zaru passed away, Taki stepped up to help out wherever he could, especially when a new camera needed testing....The post Taki Zaru (2004-2018), Beloved Laughing Squid Co-Worker Known For His Good Looks and Shy Nature appeared first on Laughing Squid.

During the 2018 XOXO Festival in Portland, OR, illustrator Matt Furie took to the stage to talk about his most iconic character, Pepe the Frog. Furie shared the origins of Pepe, what Pepe meant to him and how he felt about his original character being co-opted as a symbol of hate within a certain sector...The post Illustrator Matt Furie Talks About the Origins of Pepe the Frog Which Didn’t Include Becoming a Symbol of Hate appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a penumbral episode of Wired Masterminds, artistic directors Matt Kent and Renee Jaworski of Pilobolus Dance Theater share how they used shadow and light to create wonderful illusory images out of the strategic positioning of the dancers’ bodies. Wired set out three challenges for the group, which they met with flying colors. Pilobolus artistic...The post How Pilobolus Dance Theater Creates Illusory Images From the Strategic Positioning of Dancers in Shadow appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Jeff Seal, a comedian, filmmaker, urban explorer and self-described idiot partnered with the Libbey Brothers, to create a hilarious montage of tenacious New Yorkers attempting to cross the street during the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon and set the footage to the dramatic instrumental theme from the film Chariots of Fire. While some had...The post A Montage of Tenacious New Yorkers Attempting to Cross the Street During the 2018 NYC Marathon appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A pair of children, who emigrated to Canada with their family from their native Eritrea, joyously danced outside in their winter coats while flurries started to fall from the sky. This was their first winter in Toronto and the very first snowfall they had ever seen in their lives. The family had been in a...The post Newly Arrived Children From Eritrea Joyously Dance Outside During Their Very First Canadian Snowfall appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sketching Science (@sketchingscience) on Jan 7, 2017 at 9:49am PST Sketching Science provides a definitive answer to the endlessly debated, age-old question: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” via Johannes Grenzfurthner Related Laughing Squid PostsWhich Came First – The Chicken or the Egg? by...The post Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg? appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In an adorable clip from the PBS special A Squirrel’s Guide to Success, some very determined little sciuromorph logically figure out how to navigate a difficult obstacle course after making several valiant but failed attempts at reaching the waiting hazelnuts on the other side. With each failed attempt, however, the squirrels learned something new and...The post Determined Squirrels Figure Out How to Navigate a Difficult Obstacle Course After Several Failed Attempts appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In September 2018, the sweetly determined animated arachnid Lucas the Spider spun a homemade web with a tinkly bell attached in the hopes of making some friends. Sadly bell remained unrung for weeks. Then, while Lucas was outside a sunny day lamenting his lack of companionship, the bell sounded. Lucas went running back into the...The post Lucas the Spider Runs Into the House to See if He Has a New Friend When the Bell on His Web Starts Ringing appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Musician and astrophysicist Matt Russo spoke at the University of Toronto for TED talk about how the basic foundations of music are directly correlated with those of the universe and how the pitch and tone of the stars can be musically interpreted. In 2017, Russo was part of the team that created “Trappist Sounds”, music...The post Guitar Playing Astrophysicist Explains How the Foundations of Music Are Correlated to the Universe appeared first on Laughing Squid.

The very knowledgeable music essayist Polyphonic takes a look at the iconic Johnny Cash live album At Folson Prison, which was recorded live in 1968 at the prison itself. Cash’s performance at that show was so honest, real and raw that translated onto the album and played very well with his new audience. The album’s...The post How Johnny Cash’s Raw 1968 Performance at Folsom Prison Reinvigorated His Flailing Music Career appeared first on Laughing Squid.

The NASA team working with the Juno probe have captured absolutely stunning ongoing photos of the swirling cloudscape that surround the planet of Jupiter. On October 29, 2018 during its 16th flyby of the planet, the cameras captured an amazing close up shot of an anticyclonic storm, which appears as a white oval, which had...The post NASA Juno Probe Captures a Stunning Close Up Image of a White Oval Shaped Anticyclonic Storm on Jupiter appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A very playful and clever border collie named Archie hilariously fooled his waiting human, who wanted him to fetch a shiny rock that was kicked up during their daily walk. After his first attempt to pick it up, however Archie decided that he’d prefer to skate around the slippery parking lot on that rock instead....The post Playful Border Collie Prefers to Skate On a Shiny Rock Around a Slippery Parking Lot Instead of Fetching It appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Industrial artist Kolja Kugler of The Wild Waste Gallery in Berlin, creates amazing anthropomorphic robots made of upcycled and recycled metal parts. Several of Kugler’s robots, specifically “Rubble”, “Afreakin bassplayer” and “Sir Elton Junk” play real instruments for “One Love Machine”, a truly unique punk rock band. The One Love Machine band are a scrappy...The post Amazing Anthropomorphic Robots Made of Recycled Metal That Play Real Instruments in a Punk Rock Band appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Said the Whale, a California-inspired band in Vancouver, B.C. has created a brilliant stop motion music video for their single “UnAmerican” that was completely made by hand. Using over 2,250 sheets of paper, the band painstakingly printed and reprinted each shot to achieve the amazing effect of movement occurring on paper, rather than in real...The post A Brilliant Stop Motion Video for the Said the Whale Song ‘UnAmerican’ Made Using 2,250 Pieces of Paper appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In the upcoming Netflix series Our Planet, Sir David Attenborough does what he does best – narrating a beautiful documentary about the planet upon which we live. This series, which will be available to stream on April 5, 2019, puts a fine point on the incredible natural habitats that still exist in the world, at...The post David Attenborough Goes on a Fascinating Journey of Endangered Natural Habitats in Netflix’s ‘Our Planet’ appeared first on Laughing Squid.

During a 1987 speech at Tempelhof U.S. Air Base in West Berlin, Germany, President Ronald Reagan heard the sound of a popping balloon that sounded like gunfire and without missing a beat, he cleverly quipped “Missed Me”. President Reagan was there to help celebrate the city’s 750th anniversary, for which thousands of balloons were inflated....The post Ronald Reagan Quips ‘Missed Me’ in West Berlin Speech When a Popped Balloon Sounds Like Gunfire appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a 1952 episode of the classic television show Four Star Revue, legendary musician Spike Jones and his talented orchestra, offered a hilarious history of music. This melodic timeline culminated in a brilliant and rather amusing live orchestral performance that featured a rotating cast of funny characters. Commenter garnerjazz58 provided a great deal of insight...The post A Hilarious History of Music According to Spike Jones appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Luisa Azevedo (@hey.luisa) on Sep 16, 2018 at 10:39am PDT Portuguese art student Luisa Azevedo creates mesmerizing digital composite photos that evoke a wonderful sense of fantastic realism by merging together animals of both land and sea with a surreal interpretation of their respective natural environments....The post Mesmerizing Composite Photos Merging Animals With Surreal Interpretations of Their Natural Environments appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In 1982, the late great Freddie Mercury of Queen sat down with Entertainment Tonight for a rare one on one interview during which he spoke about his love of performing, his elaborate costumes and the balance he keeps between moving and staying still. Mercury also stated that he hoped that his humor and joy was...The post Queen’s Freddie Mercury Opens Up About His Love of Performing For an Audience in a Rare 1982 Interview appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a comforting animation, the consistently insightful and thoughtful School of Life gently addresses the idea of feeling comfortable dining alone in public without worrying about what other diners think of a person dining alone. It’s in the nature of the anxiety around eating alone that we feel we are the only ones to suffer...The post How to Dine Alone in Public Without Worrying About What Other Diners Think About Someone Dining Alone appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Artist Noah Deledda creates dented beverage can sculptures that feature gorgeously intricate designs made entirely by a “thumb driven process”. The process is labor intensive as Deledda first scrubs the cans of any markings and/or designs. Once prepped, Deledda then bends, folds, creases and rubs the metal to uniformly press a predetermined pattern into the...The post Shiny Aluminum Can Sculptures That Feature Gorgeous Geometric Designs Pressed In by Hand appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lauren Ko (@lokokitchen) on Oct 23, 2018 at 10:30am PDT In December 2017 we wrote about the very talented Seattle pastry chef Lauren Ko and her beautifully designed handmade pies and tarts with clever punny names. Since that time, Ko has continued to create these gorgeous...The post Gorgeous Handmade Pies With Intricate Geometric Designs That Have a Punny Caption to Go With Them appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A concerned little dog in Yala, Thailand jumped up and down out of concern for his canine friend who was perched upon the examination table at the veterinarian’s office. As it turns out, the other dog was just there to get his nails trimmed. A dog can’t contain his curiosity and worry as a vet...The post A Tiny Dog Jumps Up and Down In Order to Find Out What’s Going On With His Friend at the Vet appeared first on Laughing Squid.

The HBO series Boardwalk Empire featured in its first few seasons, an unusual character named Richard Harrow (played by Jack Huston), who wore a sculpted facial prosthetic held in place by glasses and hid the horrific facial injuries he suffered as a soldier in World War I. This portrayal appears fairly accurate and in accordance...The post A History of the Sculpted Facial Prosthetics Used to Disguise Soldiers’ Horrific Facial Injuries in WWI appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Stephan Brusche (@isteef) on Mar 21, 2018 at 7:36am PDT Dutch artist Stephan Brusche has added to his collection of appealing banana art with a round of amazing 3D sculptures carved into banana peels. Included in this group is a gnome reading a book in a...The post Amazing 3D Sculptures Carved Into Banana Peels appeared first on Laughing Squid.

3D Artist Martín Salfity has created a wonderful animation that features colorful squishy squidgies loudly interacting with all sorts of hard surfaces. Particularly satisfying are the “splats”, “splashes” and “splooges” that are emitted by the squidgies while being pulled ever downward by gravity. The idea behind this experimental project is to simply observe the contrasting...The post Animated Squishy Squidgies Loudly Interact With Hard Surfaces While Being Pulled Downward by Gravity appeared first on Laughing Squid.

While exploring off the Davidson Seamount in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the ROV Hercules, launched from the E/V Nautilus captured the extremely rare sight of a massive number of deep sea female octopus protecting their eggs upon while curled upon rocks alongside “shimmering fluid seeps” (natural gas or volcanic liquid) billowing from the...The post ROV Hercules Captures the Rare Sight of a Massive Number of Curled Octopus Protecting Their Eggs appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A luminous episode of the Yan Liang series Envisioning Chemistry, entitled “The Beauty of Flames”, captures in 4K resolution, the incredible personalities that reveal themselves as a flame burns brightly at different levels of gas flow. This video captures many beautiful and extraordinary flames … By studying these flames, the researchers want to get a...The post A Gorgeous 4K Film Capturing the Fiery Personalities That Reveal Themselves Within a Heat Varying Flame appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A boreal episode of the British educational series The Magic of Making quite cheerfully shows how ice cream is made. They first start with the very important job of jersey cows to make the milk that goes into the ice cream, how the cows are milked and what’s done to make sure that milk is...The post The Big Role Cows Play in the Making of Ice Cream appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A very silly but well-mannered dog who lives with the Kendall family in Santa Rosa, California very patiently waits at the door for one of his humans come and open the screen door to let him in. Hilariously, the dog doesn’t realize that there is no screen door and that his beloved humans are just...The post A Silly Dog Waits Outside Until a Human Pretends to Open an Invisible Screen Door to Let Him In appeared first on Laughing Squid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by KRISSY ELISABETH?? (@krissyelisabeth) on Nov 5, 2018 at 9:11am PST Dutch artist and model Krissy Elisabeth has created a wonderful series of flat lay portraits for which she her long, thick hair is spread out in creative designs and entwined with all sorts of beautiful flowers...The post Dutch Artist Captures Beautiful Portraits That Feature Her Long Thick Hair Laid Out Entwined With Flowers appeared first on Laughing Squid.

In a viniculous episode of the TED original series Small Things, Big Idea, product design expert Margaret Gould Stewart explains why the innovation of the clickable hyperlink was indeed a very big deal even though its existence is taken for granted in current times. She also shares the history of the hyperlink and its various...The post Why the Collaborative Innovation of the Clickable Hyperlink Is Such an Important Yet Underrated Tool appeared first on Laughing Squid.

A 2015 episode of the British series How It’s Made took a look at the exacting process behind making regulation weight bowling pins. They took their cameras onto the factory floor to document how carefully weighed blocks of wood are transformed into the iconically familiar shape in such a very short period of time. The...The post How Regulation Weight Bowling Pins Are Made appeared first on Laughing Squid.

An inquisitive cat in the Luxembourg city of Esch-sur-Alzette, saw something move across the street and immediately trotted over to investigate. Upon discovering it was a rat, the cat began the chase. This tough little rat, however, turned right around and instead became the chaser instead of the one being chased, nipping at the poor...The post A Tough Little Street Rat Chases the Boldly Inquisitive Cat Who Started the Chase in the First Place appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Elections and Bitching: A Helpful Chart by Cyanide & Happiness Related Laughing Squid PostsA Helpful Chart That Explains the Chemicals That Give Autumn Leaves Their ColorThe Definitive Chart of Evil Video Game MustachesA Helpful Visualization of the Seemingly Arbitrary Divisions of Imperial Units of VolumeThe post Elections and Bitching: A Helpful Chart appeared first on Laughing Squid.

Jim DelCioppo hilariously provides a deep voice for his daughter Sadie Jae, who does not find this to be funny at all and just wants Mommy to stop him now. Mommyyyyyy! Sadie Jae also does a really great impression of BB-8 from Star Wars. Related Laughing Squid PostsA Father Makes His Happy Baby Daughter Do...The post Father Hilariously Provides a Deep Voice For His Baby Daughter Who Just Wants Mommy To Stop Him Now appeared first on Laughing Squid.