Laughing Squid

• Tom Scott Discusses the Longest Words in the English Language
• Various People Discuss How They Decompress From Stress in Animated NPR Video
• Two Incredibly Excited Cats Play With a Strand of Yarn Attached to a Spinning Ceiling Fan
• 'Forest Man', A Short Documentary About an Indian Man Who Planted a Forest Larger Than Central Park
• 'Handy', A Parody of Iggy Azalea's Song 'Fancy' by 'Weird Al' Yankovic
• MinuteEarth Digs Up Facts on What Makes the Earth So Hot Underground
• Big Wheel Drift Trike, A Motorized Big Wheel-Style Tricycle Built for Adults
• xkcd Figures Out How Long Humans Could Survive on Cannibalism Alone
• Boing Boing and Noise Pop to Host a Discussion About the Power of Vinyl Records in Oakland, California
• 'Emoji Among Us', A Nature Documentary Parody Exploring the Role of Emoji in the World
• Jimmy Fallon and Whoopi Goldberg Swap Mouths, Interview Each Other, and Sing 'I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)'
• A Group of Disabled Dogs in Wheelcarts Have a Blast Playing With a Stick in a Field
• A Pair of Graphs Showing the Most Efficient Amount of Underwear to Pack for a Trip
• 'The Pizza King', A Short Documentary About a Maryland Man Who Has Survived Almost Entirely on Pizza for 25 Years
• The Kloons Lip Sync & Act Out a Recorded Conversation Between Nik's Mom & Aunt in Episode 1 of 'Sisters'
• PBS Idea Channel Explores Whether We Might One Day Worry About the Well-Being of Robots
• A Video of a Man Using His Forehead to Pour Beer From a Can at Holy City Brewing in Charleston, South Carolina
• The Original 1977 Film 'Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope' Now Being Remade Entirely in 'Minecraft'
• Overstock.com Launches Program To Use Their Online Shopping Technology to Help Find Homes For Adoptable Pets
• Bella the Dog Figures How to Retrieve Treats Out of a Clever Swinging Bottle Toy Made Especially for Her

Tom Scott Discusses the Longest Words in the English Language

Host Tom Scott discusses the longest words in the English language at the Welsh village of Llanfair­pwllgwyn­gyllgo­gery­chwyrn­drobwll­llanty­silio­gogo­goch in the latest episode of “Things You Might Not Know”. The village — also known as Llanfairpwll — has the distinction of having the longest place name in the United Kingdom as well as the rest of Europe.

Various People Discuss How They Decompress From Stress in Animated NPR Video

As a part of their “Stressed Out” series, NPR interviewed a number of people about how they deal with stress and included their answers in this animated video entitled, “How We Decompress From Stress“. The methods employed were as different as the people themselves.

I’m an urban beekeeper and so I put the earphones on and if I’m not careful I lose myself I stay there for hours…Chocolate and sewing, crafting things that will take my mind off schoolwork, anything like that. Just whenever you feel down, chocolate’s there and it makes you feel happy, mostly due to all the scientific properties and stuff…Spending time at the ocean with very old high school friends…A cup of coffee and if that doesn’t work, then sometimes I just like the silence.

Two Incredibly Excited Cats Play With a Strand of Yarn Attached to a Spinning Ceiling Fan

The Mean Kitty has created an amusing video that shows two cats, Sparta and Loki, getting incredibly excited as they both play with a strand of yarn that is attached to a spinning ceiling fan.

Put a string on a ceiling fan and watch your cats go nuts!

music by Nathan Wills

via Tastefully Offensive

'Forest Man', A Short Documentary About an Indian Man Who Planted a Forest Larger Than Central Park

“Forest Man” is a short documentary directed by Canadian filmmaker William D McMaster that follows Jadav Payeng, a man living in Jorhat, India, who has been planting his own forest on Majuli Island in India's Brahmaputra River since the late 1970s. The forest, which now covers more ground than New York's Central Park, is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including rhinos, deer, tigers and 115 elephants.

My dream is to fill up Majuli Iland and Jorhat with forest again. I will continue to plant until my last breath.

via Gizmodo

'Handy', A Parody of Iggy Azalea's Song 'Fancy' by 'Weird Al' Yankovic

“Weird Al” Yankovic has released a music video for his song “Handy”, a parody of the song “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea. The video follows Yankovic as he attempts to market his impressive skills as a handyman.

The song is off Yankovic’s new album, Mandatory Fun, which released on July 15th. The album is currently available via Amazon.

MinuteEarth Digs Up Facts on What Makes the Earth So Hot Underground

Henry Reich digs up facts on why the Earth is so hot underground in the latest MinuteEarth video narrated by Emily Elert and animated by Omkar Bhagat.

music by Nathaniel Schroeder – “Understanding Hashbrown and Eggs“

Big Wheel Drift Trike, A Motorized Big Wheel-Style Tricycle Built for Adults

The Big Wheel Drift Trike by SFD Industries is an adult-size motorized Big Wheel-style tricycle designed for the increasingly popular world of stunt trike drifting. The model features a 26-inch front wheel that adds stability to the motorized vehicle.

images via SFD Industries

via Gizmag, Mikeshouts, The Awesomer

xkcd Figures Out How Long Humans Could Survive on Cannibalism Alone

Randall Munroe answers a reader who asks how long our species would be able to survive just by eating one another in the latest edition of "What If" by xkcd. Munroe begins with the 500 trillion calories that comprise the human population and takes his cautionary tale from there.

Eating people who have eaten other people is a bad idea. For starters, it’s a bad idea because you’re eating people. Why are you eating people!? But it’s also bad because it’s an effective way to transmit prion diseases.

image via xkcd

Boing Boing and Noise Pop to Host a Discussion About the Power of Vinyl Records in Oakland, California

In partnership with Bay Area music festival promotor Noise Pop, longtime Boing Boing editor David Pescovitz will be discussing the vinyl resurgence with Death Cab for Cutie bassist Nick Harmer, record designer Lawrence Azerrad and Dead Kennedys artist Winston Smith. The event begins at 7PM on July 18th, 2014 at the Oakland Museum of California and is part of the museum's ongoing Vinyl: The Sound and Culture of Records exhibit.

image via Boing Boing

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

'Emoji Among Us', A Nature Documentary Parody Exploring the Role of Emoji in the World

“Emoji Among Us” is a nature documentary parody by stock footage company Dissolve that explores the role of emoji in the world. The parody was inspired by the work of Sir David Attenborough, and features stock footage from Dissolve’s library. We previously wrote about Dissolve’s promotional video parody.

Emoji have become an inescapable part of our daily lives. This short film examines the far-reaching impact of these very special characters.

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

Jimmy Fallon and Whoopi Goldberg Swap Mouths, Interview Each Other, and Sing 'I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)'

Host Jimmy Fallon and Whoopi Goldberg swapped mouths and had a lot of fun while interviewing each other and singing a duet of “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” on a recent episode of The Tonight Show. The song was originally performed by Aretha Franklin and George Michael in 1987.

A Group of Disabled Dogs in Wheelcarts Have a Blast Playing With a Stick in a Field

A group of disabled dogs in wheelcarts have a blast playing with a stick in a field in this video from Gritta Götz. The dogs waste no time speeding through the field after a lady repeatedly throws the stick for them.

via The Dodo

A Pair of Graphs Showing the Most Efficient Amount of Underwear to Pack for a Trip

Medium travel writer Reed Kennedy has created a pair of graphs that best demonstrate the proper amount of underwear to bring on a trip so as to pack light while minimizing the number of laundry loads.

I have spent more time trying to derive the optimal number of pair of socks and underwear to bring than anyone ever should.

images via Medium

via FlowingData

'The Pizza King', A Short Documentary About a Maryland Man Who Has Survived Almost Entirely on Pizza for 25 Years

“The Pizza King” by Vice is a short documentary about Dan Janssen, a Maryland man who made news earlier this year when it was revealed that he has survived on a diet made up almost exclusively of pizza for 25 years.

Yeah, we're all gonna die. I'm gonna die with pizza in my stomach. Gonna be gooood.

The video follows Janssen around Baltimore and his hometown of Ellicott City, Maryland, including a stop a Domino's, where he used to be employed.

via Viral Viral Videos

The Kloons Lip Sync & Act Out a Recorded Conversation Between Nik's Mom & Aunt in Episode 1 of 'Sisters'

The Kloons are a trio of friends, writers, and comedians (Mitch Lewis, Nik Kazoura, and Greg Washburn) who work together to create hilarious sketch comedies, music videos, and more. In episode 1 of their new comedy series Sisters titled “Strawberries“, Mitch and Nik lip sync and act out a recorded conversation that took place between Nik’s mother and aunt.

via reddit

PBS Idea Channel Explores Whether We Might One Day Worry About the Well-Being of Robots

PBS Idea Channel host Mike Rugnetta explores whether we might one day worry about the well-being of robots. Specifically, Rugnetta argues that robots might eventually become subjects of moral patiency.

Do you worry about your vacuum? Not in the way where you’re concerned about breaking a valuable object – but in an emotional, empathetic concern for its being? If so, then you’re primed for today’s discussion about the wellbeing of robots! We can personify objects, assigning them human qualities, but will technology get to a point where it DESERVES these moral concerns? Can you imagine a day when you will empathize with your computer or care if it lives or dies?

A Video of a Man Using His Forehead to Pour Beer From a Can at Holy City Brewing in Charleston, South Carolina

Holy City Brewing has uploaded a video of a man named William demonstrating the ability to pour a can of Chucktown Follicle Brown ale into a pint glass using his forehead and a little suction during a visit to the Charleston, South Carolina brewery.

via reddit

The Original 1977 Film 'Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope' Now Being Remade Entirely in 'Minecraft'

Paradise Decay is in the process of remaking the original 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope entirely in the video game world of Minecraft. So far, they have completed one hour and ten minutes of the film with forty minutes to go. They plan to have the entire project finished and available to download for free from their website in 2015.

This is a fan-film project ONLY. It will be FREE to view! This project has been 3 years in the making and some of the individual sets have taken upto 6 months just to build. No mods have been used, just custom textures and art. All video footage is from the game itself and any characters featured are parodies of the original characters. These are depicted by 'testificates' and simple custom textures and skins.

To watch the final film with sound you will need the original 1977 version of the film in your DVD/Blu-ray player.

Here is a 30-minute promo of the fan-film:

via Nerdcore

Overstock.com Launches Program To Use Their Online Shopping Technology to Help Find Homes For Adoptable Pets

The popular online retailer Overstock.com has launched a new program in which they use their shopping technology to help homeless pets get adopted through local agencies on a nationwide basis. The site also provides useful pet care and adoption information and of course, discounted pet supplies.

At Overstock.com, we believe every life is valuable. That’s why we’ve figured out how to use our technology to help the lives of homeless and abandoned pets. We’re providing this as a public service because a world where there are no homeless pets is a better place to be.

images via Pet Adoptions by Overstock

Bella the Dog Figures How to Retrieve Treats Out of a Clever Swinging Bottle Toy Made Especially for Her

A gorgeous Belgian Malinois named Bella figures out how to retrieve treats from a clever swinging bottle toy that her human Eveline Poot had made especially for Bella’s big appetite and highly inquisitive nature.

I’ve had this toy made for Bella because she eats to fast when I just put the food in her bowl. But also because she has a lot of energy, her breed is extremely intelligent, has a big will to please and she wants to play all the time!

via Nothing To Do With Arbroath

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