Laughing Squid

Two years ago, pastor Kyle Gilbert built an awesome custom Millennium Falcon playhouse for his kids. Gilbert refined the build since then and released a great new tutorial on how to build a much improved Star Wars playhouse for children to take over the galaxy in. Unlike my previous build where I used pvc board...

Vox video editor Christophe Haubursin in partnership with 99% Invisible, took a look at the concept of biomimicry – an unique approach to sustainable design that uses insight from nature – as first recognized by Janine Benyus of the Biomimicry Institute. One such example of biomimicry that Haubursin gave was the case of the Japanese...

Phil Jones, a talented artist in Minneapolis, found himself passing by a bicycle rack that resembled the interior springs that push the product forward in a vending machine and came up with a clever idea to paint a giant, very detailed bag of potato chips. He put his “bag of chips” in between two of...

BlueHands created a surprise cardboard box, featuring a cute face, that blasts open when money is put into its mouth. After exploding, the sprawled out cardboard pieces show off the boxes innards. Anatomy Box, Paper Art Children’s Book Guides Reader Through Human AnatomyParents Recreate Famous Movie Scenes with Their Cute Baby Boy & Household ObjectsThe...

A post shared by Dog Parker (@dogparker) on Jan 14, 2017 at 2:34pm PST Dog Parker is a membership-based network of safe, sanitized, temperature-controlled enclosed structures located in Brooklyn, New York that give dogs a comfortable place to relax while their humans go out shopping or for a bite to eat, a modern alternative to...

In the 2017 version of their wonderfully creative annual holiday adverts for British department store John Lewis, a little boy named Joe noticed one night that there was a snoring monster named Moz sleeping under his bed. At first the little boy was frightened, but the two quickly became friends and dedicated the all time...

To celebrate the second season of Stranger Things being released on Netflix, Seattle artist and humorist Iain Heath (a.k.a. “Ochre Jelly“) used LEGO to recreate a memorable scene from season one where Barb sits at the pool outside of Steve‘s house. The pool was created using rare transparent baseplates layered in transparent blue pieces, then...

On the latest episode of Ride with Norman Reedus, comedian Dave Chappelle and Reedus talked history and went oystering on the coast of South Carolina. Norman Reedus Tells Jimmy Fallon About Accidentally Becoming a Model Before Killing Zombies on ‘The Walking Dead’The Walking Dead Star Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) Reads Romantic Text Messages on ‘The...

During an October 2016 family trip to Yosemite National Park, a mother attempted to take a cute photo of her husband and their daughter on a bridge. As the father kneeled down next to his little girl, she began to fall backward over the bridge. Thankfully for the dad’s amazing reflexes, he caught her with...

A post shared by Star Wars (@starwars) on Nov 9, 2017 at 1:58pm PST Disney and Lucasfilm have announced that Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer and director Rian Johnson will be creating an all new trilogy of Star Wars films. Johnson’s trilogy, which will be produced by Ram Bergman, will introduce new characters, a...

A post shared by sol kesseler (@bugambilo) on Nov 3, 2016 at 8:30am PDT Argentinian textile artist Sol Kessler creates really beautiful embroidered pieces that originate with her own hand drawn illustrations. The image is then outlined in black thread, before Kessler adds color, texture and shade with a variety of threads and yarns. The...

Sony Pictures Imageworks released three videos where they go behind the scenes of their powerful visual effects work in Spider-Man: Homecoming. They explain how they animated Spider-Man (Tom Holland), the Vulture (Michael Keaton), and brought the epic plane battle sequence to life. A Super Weird Re-Edit of the First Spider-Man: Homecoming TrailerPeter Parker Accidentally Reveals...

A post shared by ebenism (@ebenism) on Mar 17, 2017 at 2:37pm PDT Australian digital artist Eben (a.k.a. “ebenism“) used his digital manipulation skills to create a wonderful collection of photos that imagine a beautiful world where giant animals coexist with tiny humans. Prints of Eben’s images are available to purchase from his online store....

In a fascinating physiological Ted Ed Lesson animated by Vivian Leezer and narrated by Pen-Pen Chen, educator Emma Bryce explains the amazing muscular mechanics behind every movement made by the human body, noting that even the smallest twitch requires the coordination of number of muscles. Each time you take a step, 200 muscles work in...

Weta Workshop posted a video featuring a stunning behind the scenes look at how their incredible team built all of the massive miniatures for director Denis Villeneuve‘s neo-noir sci-fi film, Blade Runner 2049. Weta Workshop was honoured to contribute practical miniatures, selected cinematography, and concept design work to Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve....

London animator Ross Plaskow released the pilot for Meat Mysteries, an animated series about a detective made of meat who haphazardly solves crimes alongside his sidekick named Rookie. Back in 2013 Plaskow made a wonderful animated version of the Laughing Squid logo. via reddit The Banana & Poop Show, A Quirky Cartoon by Ross PlaskowAnimated...

Domino artist Lily Hevesh (a.k.a. “Hevesh5“), with help from Sprice Machines and Dynamic Domino, created a hypnotizing domino run using her technique called “soniverse.” Her amazing setup, which combines both “sonimod” and “reverminos” techniques, made it appear as if 7,500 dominoes were toppling over forward and backwards all at once. A post shared by Lily...

Concerned about the proliferation of manipulated data and propaganda found on twitter, Ash Bhat and Rohan Phadte, a pair of 20 year old UC Berkeley students decided to put their computer science skills to use and created a Google Chrome extension called Botcheck.me. The app interacts with Twitter, giving users a clear option to identify...

Richard Browning, British inventor and founder of Gravity Industries, set a brand new Guinness World Record for the fastest speed flown in a body controlled jet engine powered suit, reaching 32.02 MPH. A post shared by Guinness World Records (@guinnessworldrecords) on Nov 9, 2017 at 3:03am PST A post shared by Gravity (@takeongravity) on Jul...

A post shared by Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) on Nov 9, 2017 at 5:00am PST In July 2017, we wrote about the grand BBC announcement revealing that actress Jodie Whittaker would be portraying the 13th iteration of Doctor Who and succeeding the great Peter Capaldi. Today, the BBC revealed the look of the new Doctor....

On an episode of The Late Late Show, the cast of Thor: Ragnarok (Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeff Goldblum) and host James Corden crashed a theater in Los Angeles to act out a live 4D performance of the new Marvel superhero film for a surprised audience. A Gritty...

Lincoln, California inventor Les Cookson and artist Ken Higginson are working together to create The Animation Dome, a spectacular zeotrope that will be able to create 2D and 3D animations from drawings, claymations, and toys. They are raising funds on Kickstarter to help with production costs. The Animation Dome is a creative new toy that...

A post shared by Beat Mumenthaler (@beatmumenthaler) on May 9, 2017 at 7:08am PDT Swiss photographer Beat Mumenthaler in partnership with the Gamaraal Foundation, has created an absolutely haunting photo series entitled “The Last Swiss Holocaust Survivors“, which captures the quiet dignity of those who survived the Holocaust and made Switzerland their home. The images...

Nickelodeon associate writer and producer Kevin Carroll spent a few weeks creating a SpongeBob SquarePants rap song for the You Bring the Color event where the greedy Mr. Krabs sings about wanting some of that “Green Stuff.” For the past couple of months, you’ve been busy BRINGING the color. Now we’re showing off your work...

Fred & Friends have created a baby pacifier featuring an analog volume knob on the front that goes to 11. The wonderful This Is Spinal Tap themed pacifier is available to purchase from the Fred & Friends shop. Fred’s CHILL, BABY volume pacifier is designed to provide the comfort babies crave while providing parents with...

Portland, Oregon stop-motion animator Kevin Parry of LAIKA (The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings) created an amusing video that features him performing miniature action sports with his hand. Parry filmed his stunts with a Nikon KeyMission 170 camera. Incredible Optical Illusions Performed by Kevin ParryAnimator Demonstrates 100 Different Types of Walks While on a...

With the short timelapse montage “Zenith: Chasing Light in the Icelandic Highlands“, independent filmmaker Henry Jun Wah Lee of Evosia Studios has once again captured the gorgeous landscape of the Icelandic Highlands as illuminated by the midnight sun. Lee stated that he endlessly chased the light so that he could capture the most vivid images....

A post shared by Handicat that walk'n'rolls ? (@rexiecat) on Oct 10, 2017 at 2:43am PDT An extremely photogenic cat named Rexie has a unique ability to roll his tongue and will often do so while modeling handmade kitty apparel for his human’s camera. Rexie was born without the use of his back legs, but...

Filmmaker Julian Tryba has created “NYC Skyline“, a gorgeous timelapse montage capturing the iconic Manhattan skyline from different vantage points around the city. This project took Tryba almost three years to complete, but by partnering with 929Media on commercial shoots, he was able to gain access to some of the most exclusive real estate in...

An adorable seafaring French bulldog named Bosun hilariously jumped at the sight of his own reflection in a mirror that reached down to the floor. Bosun was just going about his own business walking down the hall, when suddenly another dog appeared from nowhere. As soon as the little Frenchie realized the other dog was...

In November 2016, comedian Dana Carvey appeared as a guest on The Howard Stern Show to promote his Netflix special Straight White Male, 60. During the interview, Carvey did several impressions including a rather humorous one in which Paul McCartney explained about life in 2016 to a ghostly John Lennon. Dana Carvey’s interview …was jam-packed...

Cartoonist Brian Fies shared the heartbreaking story of completely losing his Santa Rosa, California home and everything in it to the October 2017 Tubbs fire. Fies and his wife Karen awoke in the middle of the night to the smell of smoke. Acting quickly and calmly, the Fies’ packed those items most important to them...

Animator Tim Searfoss created “The Working Man,” an animated short about a miserable man stuck in a very bad job with untrustworthy machinery and angry bosses. Got so fed up with work and dealing with my boss, I spent a year and half making this hand drawn animation to show what it’s like to be...

The cast of BoJack Horseman sings A Tribe Called Quest‘s song “Find A Way” in an amusing mashup by Adam Schleichkorn (a.k.a. “Mylo the Cat“). Here is the original music video. The Sesame Street Cast Reenacts the Beastie Boys Song ‘Sabotage’ in a Mashup by Mylo the CatBert, Ernie, and the Cast of Sesame Street...

Over 90 kids teamed up with artist Shing Yin Khor (a.k.a. “sawdustbear“) deep in the woods of New Hampshire at Beam Camp to build Salvage Station No. 8, an incredible abandoned space salvage station. The immersive installation was brought to life to “create a sci-fi narrative of an abandoned space salvage station lost in the...

While she was out and about, an adorable basset hound named Lady unknowingly acted a skilled herder when dozens of sheep at a South Cambridgeshire, England farm began following her around the yard. According to her human, Lady’s skill was discovered quite by accident. Michael Jobson, 29, adopted three-year-old Lady three years ago before discovering...

“Insider’s Guide to New York City” by comedian and filmmaker Ryan Mazer is a rather absurd stock footage film short that hilariously warns visitors to avoid typical tourist traps and provides safe alternatives in their place. According to Mazer, the film “goes off the rails” pretty quickly. @alanresnicks do u like this guide to NYC...

Funko created a life-size Rick & Morty Portal Gun Toy. The interactive replica, which discharges a variety of lights and sounds, is available for pre-order from Amazon with a release date of December 15th, 2017. This full-size roleplay Portal Gun is primarily used for travel, but don’t be afraid to use it offensively or defensively...

German company, Volkner Mobil, released a dreamy new luxury Performance S motorhome so large that it comes with a built-in garage underneath the vehicle to store a car. The 40-foot behemoth also comes equipped with a double bed, a kitchen, a large lounge area, and a heated bathroom. images via Volkner Mobil via Bored Panda...

A post shared by Nobel Truong (@nobeltruong) on Sep 23, 2016 at 7:44am PDT Artist Nobel Truong has created a beautiful line of fluorescent green cactus and monstera leaf sculptures that are expertly laser cut out of translucent acrylic. Many of the cacti also fit into a lighted base that makes the acrylic softly glow...

On an interesting episode of his Homemade Science series, Pennsylvania physical science teacher Bruce Yeany shows off a collection of marble tracks that he built to introduce his students to motion, acceleration, and inertia. via reddit A Mexico City Science Teacher Dresses up as Spiderman to Capture the Attention of His StudentsKinetic Marble Track That...

Employing the old adage that bigger is better, Hidden Valley is offering a wonderfully decadent five liter mini-keg filled with their signature ranch dressing for the 2017 holidays. The $50 keg can be pre-ordered through the Hidden Valley Ranch Flavour Gallery for delivery beginning on December 11. It isn’t a party unless the Hidden Valley®...

Sony Pictures Animation and Frederator Studios has released their first GO! Cartoons short, titled “The Summoning“. The creepy cute short, created by Brisbane, Australia tattoo artist and taxidermist Elyse Castro, follows a witch named Claire, accompanied by her cat Edgar, who is missing one key ingredient for her summoning spell. The Summoning is available to...

Illustrator Jenni Sparks, whose work we have written about in the past, was commissioned by Evermade.com to create a series of 10 Hometowns prints celebrating different unique boroughs in London. She also made city prints for Bristol and Brighton. Sparks’ prints are available to purchase from Evermade.com. images via Jenni Sparks submitted via Laughing Squid...

Determined Scottish YouTuber Mike Boyd of the Learn Quick series challenged himself to shake the dust off of his downhill biking skills by learning to go faster than ever before. With help from British downhill champion Ben Cathro, Boyd was able to shave 23 seconds off of his original time. A post shared by Mike...

A remarkable Jacobean re-emergence after 200 years of yellowing varnish 1/2 pic.twitter.com/yBGNGDcNd7 — Philip Mould (@philipmould) November 6, 2017 Philip Mould, an art dealer and host of the BBC One show Fake or Fortune, live tweeted an incredible project in which he was removing over 200 years of yellowing varnish from a 400 year old...

A post shared by Brian Goldfarb (@briangophoto) on Jan 30, 2017 at 10:43pm PST Brooklyn photographer Brian Goldfarb creates amazing images that have a whimsical sense of the surreal with just a hint of hilarity just below the surface. This can be seen in a photo of a woman flying away with her balloons, reading...

A post shared by Andy Seliverstoff (@andyseliverstoff) on Aug 30, 2017 at 8:00am PDT As with his wonderful photo series and book “Little Kids and Their Big Dogs“, Russian photographer Andy Seliverstoff has once again captured that truly special bond that exists between a little ballerina in a tutu and a couple of doting standard...

Going through our archives recently, I came across the June 1998 issue of the Japanese internet culture magazine Konpeito, that interviewed me almost two decades ago for a feature story on Laughing Squid. The article includes a screenshot of what the Laughing Squid website looked like in 1998, as well as mentioning our coverage of...

Artist and filmmaker Eric Dyer gave a wonderful TED talk about his love of the zoetrope, sharing a number of stories about what inspired him to create such beautiful but complicated kinetic works of art, how he was able to soothe the hours he put in on the computer by building these animations and his...