Laughing Squid

President Barack Obama appeared as a guest on the June 22, 2015 episode of the WTF With Marc Maron podcast to discuss issues of race, health care, and comedy in a fascinating hour-long interview. Host Marc Maron opened the show by discussing some of the Secret Service preparations that went into making the episode happen, including […]

The reveal trailer for the upcoming video game Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 by developer PopCap Games puts the plants on the offensive after the zombies have taken over. Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is slated for a 2016 release on the Xbox One and currently available to pre-order on the game’s website. […]

Researchers at Columbia University have developed a new technology capable of generating energy from evaporating water. The technology uses a material made from bacterial spores that expand or contract based on humidity, and that motion can be harnessed to generate electricity, or even power a small machine to move across a table. Peter Fratzl, director […]

In a recent episode of MinuteEarth, host Emily Elert takes a critical look at the often-cited claim that humans share 99% of our DNA with chimps. It turns out the claim isn’t based on a simple one-to-one comparison, and a lot of factors go into weighing one species’ DNA against another’s.

It is with three heavy yet hopeful squid hearts that I bid you farewell, dearest squid readers. My whirlwind time as contributing editor at Laughing Squid has been a wonderful experience thanks to Scott Beale, tentacles past and present, and your fascinating feedback. Until our paths cross again (and after that too), please be kind. […]

A short and sweet trailer offers a look at Mass Effect: Andromeda, the next video game in the popular Mass Effect series by developer BioWare. The trailer, which was revealed at E3 2015, showcases the new protagonist romping about in the Andromeda galaxy–thus the name. While we aren’t ready to go into too many details […]

A recent episode of Vsauce explains the science of Jurassic World with the help of Chris Pratt and paleontologist Jack Horner, who served as a technical advisor on the entire Jurassic Park series. Host Michael Stevens talks to Pratt and Horner about the film’s portrayal of dinosaurs, how real scientists could bring back dinosaur-like creatures similar to those in […]

Sketch comedy group FND Films posted an unboxing video of a man opening a Walgreen’s Nice! brand chicken sandwich to parody some common tropes seen in unboxing videos. The man critiques the sandwich itself, but also its packaging as he meticulously opens the box and examines the contents. via reddit

In the latest episode of Because Science, host Kyle Hill posits whether or not the famous sonic screwdriver from Doctor Who can actually be created in real life while introducing the basics of acoustic levitation and rotational momentum as the primary forces necessary in doing so.

Photographer Marc Simon Frei has captured some striking images of tiny lightning storms sparked by a Tesla coil. The coil produces high-voltage, but low-current electricity that produces charged plasma filaments that resemble lightning. photos via Marc Simon Frei via The Awesomer

Bartesian is an easily programmable countertop machine that automatically mixes capsules of of prepared ingredients with the desired spirit to create any one of six specialized cocktails to a customizable strength. Bartesian makes delicious, authentic cocktails at the push of a button. You don’t need multiple ingredients and you don’t need complex recipes. The machine’s […]

Former Iceland basketball player and strongman competitor Hafthor “Thor” Bjornsson, who is known for playing the part of Gregor Clegane (a.k.a. “The Mountain”) on Game of Thrones, recently won the Iceland’s Strongest Man contest for the fifth year in a row. According to Bjornsson, he is the only person to complete this task. The six-foot-nine […]

Sony revealed Horizon: Zero Dawn by developer Guerrilla Games, known for the Killzone video game franchise, at their recent E3 2015 press event. The game, which is scheduled for a 2016 release on the PlayStation 4, features a female protagonist named Aloy that uses a bow and other gear to hunt robotic monsters of varying […]

“Paint” is a Sony Action Cam film short created by director Greg Hackett of Spindle Productions that features colorful footage of a BMX bike creating art with strategically placed paint capsules and cameras. Paint capsules attached to the wheels of a BMX bike feed paint onto a dark space while a rider turns and spins […]

For their latest interview, SoundWorks Collection spoke with re-recording mixer and sound editor Pete Horner as well as supervising sound editor and designer Al Nelson of Skywalker Sound about their brilliant work on the sci-fi adventure film Jurassic World.

In “Didga Dreams Big“, the amazingly talented cat pretends to be asleep and dreaming about all of the amazing tricks that she wishes she could do, only to wake up in the arms of her human Robert only to find that she was able to do them all along. Didga dreams that she does over […]

Ukranian yarn artist Anna Mo has knitted a line of beautifully crafted super-chunky blankets, sweaters and scarves that are customizable in any one of 70 colors using giant needles and giant spools of yarn, which are also for sale on her Etsy site. images via Ohhio via Ignant, Beautiful Decay

Scotland-based graphic designer and recipe creator Heather Adamson (a.k.a. “Fresh Heather“) has created a wonderful series of healthy food dishes that are each made to look like a cute and popular emoji. Her entire collection of edible emoji designs are available to view on Instagram. And my emoji oats part two #oatart pic.twitter.com/SiP0lktlR3 — Fresh […]

In the final episode of the Language Files, host Tom Scott–with help from linguist Gretchen McCulloch–addresses the changing nature of the English language and how it redefines what a word actually is in “What Counts as a Word?“

Google recently demonstrated a series of “inceptionism” artwork created by artificial neural networks. The networks use 10 to 30 stacked layers of artificial neurons which process an image and try to interpret what is being shown. The networks attempt to recognize pieces of an image and generate a heightened version of how they interpret what […]

Independent filmmaker Henry Jun Wah Lee of Evosia Studios captures the exquisite colors and fiery flares of the Icelandic sky caused by the March 2015 solar maximum in the short time-lapse film “Apotheosis”. On March 17th, 2015, I was fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time when the solar storm […]

“Yesterday’s Lullaby” is a clever combination by the most recent mashup by the prodigious (and prolific) Wax Audio of the time-honored Beatles song “Yesterday” with the meditative classic “Lullaby” by The Cure. The original version of each song. submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

As part of their Built For It campaign, Caterpillar has turned some of their large industrial machines into an ever-changing mobile golf course and challenged twin professional golfers Erimo and Marimo Ikeuchi to hit the green. Caterpillar also posted a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the course. via The Awesomer

The new Black Hole Waterslide at the Familienbad Bremerhaven (Bremerhaven Family Water Park) in Bremerhaven, Germany is a wonderfully revamped tubular waterslide that features a colorful LED light show that illuminates the rider all the way down into the awaiting landing pool. This is the colorful Black Hole water slide at the indoor leisure pool […]

TheBackyardScientist recently poured seven different molten metals (including pewter, tin, lead, and aluminum) into an aquarium full of water. Due to each metal melting at different temperatures, they react differently as they hit the water with some continuing to flow like raindrops all the way down. Ive been pouring 7 different metals into a 24″ […]

When a young boy left his toy tiger that strongly resembles Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes behind at Tampa International Airport, the staff took the toy for an adventure around the facility. “Hobbes” got to visit different areas of the airport and had his picture taken with various staff members as he helped with a number […]

German graffiti artist Rene Turrek recently applied a unique paint job on a BMX X6 “sports activity coupe” that reveals images of Marvel‘s Hulk when hot water is poured on it. It’s pretty wild how quickly the dark blue heat-sensitive paint that he put over the top of the Hulk imagery quickly fades away. Hulk […]

Walking along Lafayette Street in NYC’s Nolita neighborhood the other day I came across this incredible geometric painting “Soho Dog” by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel. You can check out more of his amazing art on his website and Instagram. *soho dog* Lafayette 214.NYC. USA @214lafayetteproject #Lafayette214 #214lafayetteproject #aleimmagazine @aleimmagazine @wrung A photo posted by […]

Arnold Schwarzenegger recently surprised fans by going undercover in Hollywood as the Terminator for his Omaze charity auction. He walked up to strangers on the streets while reciting classic lines from The Terminator films and freaked people out by posing as a wax sculpture of himself at the Hollywood Wax Museum. The only problem that […]

In his latest recent video, NYC comedian and filmmaker Mark Malkoff asked a group of children a series of questions about Father’s Day and had them tell him what they love about their dads. As Malkoff tries to get to the bottom of what kids really think about Father’s Day, he finds out they don’t […]

The “anabolic acrobat” and weightlifter Jon Call of Acrobolix recently pulled off an impressive feat by doing the splits between two chairs while holding a 100-pound barbell over his head. Three months prior, he did the splits between two chair while holding a single 75-pound dumbbell and two 25-pound weights. Did you guys think I […]

New York City-based writer, comedian, and video editor Bryan Menegus has created a two-minute supercut video for Digg of every on-screen death in season five of Game of Thrones. We previously wrote about Bryan’s supercuts of every on-screen deaths from season one to season four of Game of Thrones. music by Tom Jones – “It’s […]

The talented music group cdza “takes a stroll down comedy music memory lane” by covering 10 hit comedy songs in two minutes. This is just a small clip from IFC and CollegeHumor’s Comedy Music Hall of Fame, an hour-long special honoring the comical form of music. The upcoming special, hosted by Paul F. Tompkins, is […]

Microsoft announced Gears of War 4 by developer The Coalition and released a gameplay trailer that showcases the next chapter in the war for humanity at their recent E3 2015 press event. Information about the new video game is sparse, though it’s been revealed that it is scheduled to launch Holiday 2016 on the Xbox […]

In “Leaves 3D”, British artist Susanna Bauer combines the definitive lines of crocheted thread with the delicate texture of found leaves to create beautiful 3-Dimensional sculptures that take on their own personalities when the two are combined. Bauer says on her site that her work is a matter of of balance. I work with found […]

“Chords Tunnel” by sound artist Rubén D’Hers is a compelling soundscape of 40 acoustic guitars being simultaneously strummed by motorized rotating fan blades and vibrating wires playing different chords inside a short, echoing hallway. The soundscape was part of a group exhibition at the Netwerk, Center for contemporary Art that ended in early June.

Documentary Now! is a new IFC series starring Fred Armisen and Bill Hader that inserts the two former Saturday Night Live stars into a variety of mock documentary stories set in different decades. The show was created by Armisen and Hader along with fellow SNL alum Seth Meyers. IFC recently released a trailer for Documentary Now!, and the […]

How It Should Have Ended recently featured the work of brilliant animator Leigh Lahav with “The Five Stages of Watching a Pixar Movie.” Lahav’s fangirl character acts out the emotional roller coaster of seeing a new Pixar movie for the first time from denial all the way to “Pixar Nirvana.”

Hank the Beer Tank is a very clever, fully portable kegerator that can travel easily around town for parties, tailgating, camping etc. and can operate off of 110-240V AC, or 12-24V DC. You can plug me into just about anything. And while I am plugged in I use less power than a 60W light bulb. […]

“The Safety Truck” is an initiative by Samsung‘s Argentinian corporate office to promote road safety. The trucks use built-in cameras and large rear-mounted displays to provide drivers with a clear view of what’s in front of the truck so they know if it is safe to try to pass. The trucks were created by the […]

A couple of new trailers for Halo 5: Guardians from E3 2015 showcase both the campaign and multiplayer for the next video game in the Halo franchise. Halo 5: Guardians is scheduled to release on October 27, 2015 and is available to pre-order on Amazon.

Ben Krasnow of Applied Science has posted an extremely close slow-motion look at a needle moving across a vinyl record taken with an electron microscope. The microscope gives an incredibly detailed look at the individual grooves of the record as well as the motion of the needle. via Ufunk

In Ultimate Travel Photography Tips by The Cooperative of Photography, photographer Ray Demski, on location in Venice, Italy, demonstrates how to best pack camera and equipment for travel, how to get the best possible shot, the best way to back up photos and the best time to capture the light. The video, shot in Venice, […]

Approximately 15 years ago, Australian artist Peter Pound contributed over 950 amazing storyboards and concept art for George Miller‘s hit film Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s interesting to see how little things changed from the time that Pound created the artwork and when the movie actually released this year. More illustrations from the collection are […]

“Water Cops” is a parody by Nacho Punch of the television show Cops based on the current California drought. The sketch replaces the actual crimes as seen on Cops with people committing wasteful water infractions.

In the most recent episode of Anglophenia, host Kate Arnell cheerily demonstrates how to make the perfect cuppa, whether milk or tea go in first, and what types of tea are most traditional. After all, tea plays a very important part in British tradition.

Game of Thrones fan M&M put together an ironic compilation of the tender moments offered by a reimagined kinder, gentler version of the normally nefarious Ramsay Bolton. via Time

Dave Hax recently teamed up with Holiday Inn Express to share a series of useful traveling tips that might help make trips a little bit simpler. He demonstrates how to make a laptop protector out of a hoodie, use a sandwich bag as a smart phone holder for watching movies on the plane, and more. […]

George Lucas Barcelona-based illustrator and architect Federico Babina has created Archidirector, a series of illustrations that imagine famous movie director as architectural structures. Prints are available to purchase online from Society6. We previously wrote about Babina and his ongoing series of architectural designs. Stanley Kubrick David Lynch Tim Burton Wes Anderson Coen brothers images via […]

A tiny two-pound papillon/chihuahua mix named Konjo in Tustin, California has broken the Guinness World Record of “Fastest 5 metres on front paws by a dog“, a record previously held by Jiff the Pomeranian. Konjo beat Jiff’s record by over five seconds in the five-meter race. Konjo has claimed the title of fastest 5 metres […]