Laughing Squid

• PiggyBack, An App That Lets You Request Piggyback Rides from Strangers
• uBeam Is Developing Wireless Charging Technology That Uses Ultrasound to Charge Devices
• Photographer and Wikimedia Currently Fighting Over Whether a Monkey Owns a Selfie
• Foursquare Launches Updated App Focusing on Personalized Recommendations
• Ryan Higa Shares Tips on How to Become a Mainstream Rapper
• Gummy Peppers Made In the Shape of Jalapeño, Habanero and Ghost Peppers and Infused with Corresponding Spices
• Barack Obama Sings 'Fancy' by Iggy Azalea
• Video of a Russian Man Ordering Ducks Into Formation and Marching Them Into a Barn
• GoPro Video of Kamu the Surfing Pig Catching Waves in Oahu, Hawaii
• 'Star Wars' Yoga Pants for Women Printed to Look Like R2-D2
• A Brief History of How Eastman Kodak Founder George Eastman Transformed Photography
• Ritot, A Smartwatch That Projects Time and Message Notifications Directly Onto the Back of the Hand
• A Better Queue, A Site That Filters Netflix Movies by Year, Genre, and Rotten Tomatoes Ratings
• Slug Solos, A Blog That Replaces the Guitars of Soloing Musicians With Giant Slugs
• 'Sesame Street' Celebrates Numeric Con, A Convention for Number Lovers
• The Most Iconic Buildings in Springfield From 'The Simpsons' Rebuilt in LEGO
• SciShow Explains How Oysters Turn a Tiny Bit of Gunk Into a Valuable Pearl
• Glove and Boots Share Ten Weird Facts About Ten American Presidents
• 8-Bit Cinema – 'Se7en' Retold as an 8-Bit Animated Video Game
• The Steve 'N' Seagulls Perform a Live Bluegrass Cover of AC/DC's 1990 Rock Song 'Thunderstruck'

PiggyBack, An App That Lets You Request Piggyback Rides from Strangers

This hilarious commercial touts the benefits of PiggyBack, a hot new app that lets you request piggyback rides from strangers. The video and the (nonexistent) app are parodies of rideshare services like Uber. The video was created by Zenn Films.

via Tastefully Offensive

uBeam Is Developing Wireless Charging Technology That Uses Ultrasound to Charge Devices

Los Angeles-based startup uBeam is developing a wireless charging technology that will allow people to charge their devices without cords and without having to be right next to the charging station. The company’s technology converts electricity to ultrasound, which is then picked up by a receiver in the device, where the ultrasound is converted back into energy. The transmitters can fill a room with ultrasound, charging any devices that are equipped with receivers (much as Wi-Fi can provide connectivity to an entire room). Larger transmitters are being developed for stadiums and other large spaces. uBeam’s charging technology is expected to enter the market within the next two years. The New York Times has more on uBeam and its charging technology.

photo by Nick Bilton/The New York Times

via The New York Times

Photographer and Wikimedia Currently Fighting Over Whether a Monkey Owns a Selfie

Photographer David Slater is currently entangled with editors at Wikimedia Commons — a database featuring a large amount of “freely usable media files” — over whether a crested black macaque owns a photo it took of itself. The photo comes by way of a 2011 trip to an Indonesian national park taken by Slater. The monkey grabbed Slater’s unattended camera and proceeded to snap a number of photos. According to The Telegraph, the editors of Wikimedia Commons have argued that the copyright to the photo is owned by the monkey given that it took the picture.

photos via David Slater and Caters News Agency by way of monkey

Foursquare Launches Updated App Focusing on Personalized Recommendations

Location-based social networking company Foursquare has officially launched their updated Foursquare app that focuses on personalized recommendations. The update comes after Foursquare’s decision to “unbundle” their features into two distinct apps — one focused on recommendations and the other on checking into locations and connecting with friends. The company previously launched Swarm, their app focused on connecting with friends, in May. TechCrunch recently interviewed Foursquare’s VP of Product Experience Jon Steinback about the decision to split the two up.

"We saw two common use cases in the old foursquare app that are best encapsulated in the night of a New Yorker," said Steinback. "For dinner, you look for a place that matches your taste, and afterwards you look for a bar where your friends are. In less than two percent of app opens did we see those two behaviors overlap. No one was saying, 'I'm in the mood for chili, I wonder which of my friends are getting chili right now.’"

Foursquare is currently available on Android and iOS.

images via Foursquare

Ryan Higa Shares Tips on How to Become a Mainstream Rapper

Las Vegas-based filmmaker Ryan Higa recently shared his brilliant tips on how to become a mainstream rapper. Coming up with a simple rapper name and not speaking clearly while spitting out dope rhymes are only two of the many important rules that Higa covers. We’ve previously written about Higa’s film work.

Gummy Peppers Made In the Shape of Jalapeño, Habanero and Ghost Peppers and Infused with Corresponding Spices

Vat 19, known for their unusual gummy concoctions, has created a set of gummy candy that has been made in the shape of jalapeño, habanero and ghost peppers and infused with the corresponding flavors. Fruit flavor is also added to help alleviate the intensity of the spice.

Each pack includes three pepper-shaped gummies infused with actual jalapeño, habanero, or ghost pepper spices. But don’t fear that these treats are all heat and no sweet! The delicious flavors of green apple (jalapeño), orange (habanero), and cherry (ghost pepper) are well-balanced in each and every bite.

The peppers are sold as a 3-pack, including one of each pepper, and available for for $9.99

via Fooddiggity

Barack Obama Sings 'Fancy' by Iggy Azalea

Barack Obama sings the lyrics to “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea in the latest video edit by baracksdubs. Previously, we wrote about Barack Obama singing "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk and “Made in the USA” by Demi Lovato.

via Tastefully Offensive

Video of a Russian Man Ordering Ducks Into Formation and Marching Them Into a Barn

YouTube user serun berkus has uploaded a video of a Russian man bringing a large flock of ducks into a military-style formation by shouting orders at them before marching them into a barn.

via reddit

GoPro Video of Kamu the Surfing Pig Catching Waves in Oahu, Hawaii

Hawaiian surfer Kai Holt captured video of his pig companion Kama going for a surf in Oahu, Hawaii, attaching GoPros to Kama's board and a harness attached to the piglet himself. Holt adopted Kama last year when the pig wandered into his cabana. We previously posted about Kama and Holt in February 2014.

'Star Wars' Yoga Pants for Women Printed to Look Like R2-D2

ThinkGeek has released Star Wars yoga pants for women printed to look like the friendly astromech droid R2-D2. This is a great piece of apparel for all of the Star Wars fans and yoga enthusiasts located in galaxies far, far away. The pants are available to purchase online.

images via ThinkGeek

A Brief History of How Eastman Kodak Founder George Eastman Transformed Photography

Engineer Guy Bill Hammack recently examined the life of George Eastman, the Eastman Kodak founder who transformed photography when he helped to invent film. Released in 1900, Eastman's Brownie camera helped bring photography to the masses with a retail cost of $1.

The Brownie camera was the brainchild of George Eastman. In 1871, this 17-year-old bank clerk took up photography. It wasn't a simple thing in those days. In Eastman's own words, it took a "pack-horse" load of equipment, including a sink, because making photos was messy business.

Ritot, A Smartwatch That Projects Time and Message Notifications Directly Onto the Back of the Hand

Ritot is unique watch with built-in pico projector technology that displays the time of day in digital format directly onto the back of the hand. The band is also a smart wearable that can connect to a phone, vibrating and projecting notifications when users receive incoming calls, emails, Facebook and Twitter messages, and more. The project is currently seeking funding on Indiegogo.

images via Ritot

via Mikeshouts, The Awesomer

A Better Queue, A Site That Filters Netflix Movies by Year, Genre, and Rotten Tomatoes Ratings

A Better Queue is a clean and easy to use site designed by Massachusetts-based software developer Dave Jachimiak that offers Netflix users a streamlined and more comprehensive method for finding movies based on genre, year, customer reviews, and Rotten Tomatoes freshness ratings. Once a movie has been located, it can be added directly to a Netflix queue.

via swissmiss

Slug Solos, A Blog That Replaces the Guitars of Soloing Musicians With Giant Slugs

Slug Solos is a blog curated by Glasgow-based writer Michael M that uses Photoshop magic to replace the guitars of musicians mid-solo with giant slugs. The self-described "esoteric" Tumblr blog is, among other things, a tribute to the terrified/repulsed faces guitarists like Bruce Springsteen, BB King, and Rivers Cuomo adopt while soloing.

images via Slug Solos

'Sesame Street' Celebrates Numeric Con, A Convention for Number Lovers

Sesame Street has posted a preview of an upcoming episode where the gang celebrates Numeric Con, a convention for number lovers. The clip features a number of pop culture references, including one puppet that’s clearly a take on William Shatner and another that’s a version of The Simpsons‘ Comic Book Guy.

The greatest number lover’s convention is coming to Sesame Street this year! Big Fan of the number 5? number 2? The dark number 9? Well then come on down to Sesame Street to join the fun at Numericon!

The Most Iconic Buildings in Springfield From 'The Simpsons' Rebuilt in LEGO

Illinois-based graphic designer Matt De Lanoy took it upon himself to recreate all of the most iconic buildings from Springfield — the geographically enigmatic hometown of The Simpsons — in LEGO. De Lanoy's plastic brick Springfield includes such familiar locales as Moe's Tavern, the Kwik-E-Mart, and the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, which has employed Homer since the series debuted in the late 1980s. For its part, LEGO unveiled its own take on the Simpsons home earlier this year.

images via Matt De Lanoy

via Kotaku

SciShow Explains How Oysters Turn a Tiny Bit of Gunk Into a Valuable Pearl

SciShow host Michael Aranda explains the process of “how oysters turn a tiny bit of gunk into a valuable pearl.” It must be quite an irritable job for the oysters.

Glove and Boots Share Ten Weird Facts About Ten American Presidents

Internet puppets Fafa the Groundhog and Mario shared ten weird facts about ten American presidents on a recent episode of Glove and Boots. They dig up information on Abraham Lincoln actually being a licensed bartender and much more.

Well, technically 9 presidents. We have 2 facts for Teddy Roosevelt.

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

8-Bit Cinema – 'Se7en' Retold as an 8-Bit Animated Video Game

CineFix has released a new episode of 8-Bit Cinema that retells the 1995 neo-noir thriller film Se7en in the form of an 8-bit animated video game. It was written and animated by David Dutton of Dutton Films with music by Henry Dutton.

Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Ways to Die… Or is that Seven boss fights??

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

The Steve 'N' Seagulls Perform a Live Bluegrass Cover of AC/DC's 1990 Rock Song 'Thunderstruck'

The Finnish five-man band Steve ‘N’ Seagulls recently performed a live bluegrass cover of the 1990 rock song “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC.

Here is the original music video:

via reddit, Daily Picks and Flicks

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