Author Archives: James

Woodland Ants Spray Acid

Nature Is Scary posted this video to Twitter showing what happens when the woodland ant perceives you as a threat:

They squirt formic acid from their abdomens, which smells like vinegar, to ward off hungry birds such as woodpeckers and jays.

RIP Tom Petty

Rocker Tom Petty died Monday after being rushed to a Los Angeles hospital, according to Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Dimitriades confirmed Petty’s death on behalf of the performer’s family.

He was 66.

“He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40pm PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends,” Dimitriades said in a statement.

Tom Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017)

With his nasally voice and chiming guitar, Petty and his longtime band, the Heartbreakers, churned out an instantly recognizable brand of sturdy, heartland rock that made them a classic-radio staple for decades. Petty, along with the band, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Tunnel Truck Machine

Ghost Trees

They’re known as “ghost trees,” and for good reason: Albino redwoods are extremely rare and nearly impossible to spot. There may be as few as 25 of these trees in the world, yet eight of them are at Henry Cowell Redwood State Park in Northern California. They lack chlorophyll and suck energy from their parent tree.

Read the rest of the story on NPR.

How Does a Glass Top Pool Table Work?

The End was behind door #3! RIP Monty Hall

Monty Hall (August 25, 1921 – September 30, 2017)

Monty Hall, best known as the cheerful and friendly host of the game show ‘Let’s Make a Deal,’ died Saturday morning in Los Angeles, his daughter Sharon Hall said.

He was 96 and had been ill since suffering a heart attack shortly after his wife of almost 70 years died in June.

September 30, 1954: USS Nautilus commissioned

The USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine, is commissioned by the U.S. Navy.

The Nautilus was constructed under the direction of U.S. Navy Captain Hyman G. Rickover, a brilliant Russian-born engineer who joined the U.S. atomic program in 1946. In 1947, he was put in charge of the navy’s nuclear-propulsion program and began work on an atomic submarine. Regarded as a fanatic by his detractors, Rickover succeeded in developing and delivering the world’s first nuclear submarine years ahead of schedule. In 1952, theNautilus‘ keel was laid by President Harry S. Truman, and on January 21, 1954, first lady Mamie Eisenhower broke a bottle of champagne across its bow as it was launched into the Thames River at Groton, Connecticut. Commissioned on September 30, 1954, it first ran under nuclear power on the morning of January 17, 1955.

Anniversary of The Flintstones

The Flintstones

The Flintstones is an animated American television sitcom that ran from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966 on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones is about a working class Stone Age man’s life with his family and his next door neighbor and best friend. It has since been re-released on both DVD and VHS.

Critics and fans alike agree that the show was an animated imitation of The Honeymooners with rock puns thrown in. William Hanna admitted that “At that time “The Honeymooners” was the most popular show on the air, and for my bill, it was the funniest show on the air. The characters, I thought, were terrific. Now, that influenced greatly what we did with “The Flintstones”… “The Honeymooners” was there, and we used that as a kind of basis for the concept.” However Joseph Barbera disavowed these claims in a separate interview, stating that “I don’t remember mentioning “The Honeymooners” when I sold the show, but if people want to compare “The Flintstones” to “The Honeymooners,” then great. It’s a total compliment. “The Honeymooners” was one of the greatest shows ever written.” Its popularity rested heavily on its juxtaposition of modern-day concerns in the Stone Age setting

Custom Built ‘Surf Seeker’ Volkswagen Microbus

The End of an Era – RIP Hugh Hefner

What needs to be said?

Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017)

Hefner died at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, on September 27, 2017, at the age of 91. His ashes will be buried in the crypt beside Marilyn Monroe. “Spending eternity next to Marilyn is an opportunity too sweet to pass up,” Hefner told the Los Angeles Times in 2009.

Smallest Working Train-Set

Ghostly, Translucent Lobster Hauled from Ocean Off Maine

CUMBERLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine lobstermen Alex Todd has hauled in blue lobsters and even some lobsters that were half blue, or half orange. But he says those don’t compare on the scale of weirdness to the translucent crustacean that he recently pulled up in a trap.

The lobster that Todd caught on Aug. 24 is a ghostly, pale blue. It almost looks to be transparent.

Todd, from Chebeague Island, said he knew when he saw the translucent lobster in his trap alongside mottled green and brown lobsters that this was “definitely weird.”

His photos have made the rounds on social media.

As for the lobster, he tossed it back into the ocean because its tail had been notched, flagging the lobster as an egg-bearing female. Those lobsters are off-limits for conservation reasons.

Abbey Road

Minecraft Abbey Road

Minecraft Abbey Road

Beatles Abbey Road

Beatles Abbey Road

Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on September 26, 1969 in the United Kingdom and on October 1, 1969 in the United States. The recording sessions for the album were the last in which all four Beatles participated. Although Let It Be was the final album that the Beatles completed before the band’s dissolution in April 1970, most of that album had been recorded before the Abbey Road sessions began.

Wikipedia Link

Alejandro Villanueva is a KICK ASS Steeler!

Alejandro Villanueva was the only Steelers player to appear outside the tunnel during the national anthem at Soldier Field on Sunday (9/24/17).

Here, here Alejandro!  I tip my figurative hat to you.  You are AWESOME!  Thanks for having a pair and doing the right thing!

The national anthem is not a time for a protest, of ANYTHING!  You are making a mockery of one of the things that allows you knuckleheads to make stupid money for playing a game… a GAME.

Somebody b!tch-slap the idiot that started this (no names mentioned)!

 

The Ultimeatum

Snowflake vs. Spider

Bugatti Chiron 0 – 249MPH – 0 in 42 SECONDS!

Anniversary of The Jetsons

Jetsons

On September 23, 1962, the Jetsons premiered on ABC.

The Jetsons is a prime-time animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing from 1962–63 and again from 1985–87. It was Hanna-Barbera’s Space Age counterpart to The Flintstones, a half-hour family sitcom projecting contemporary American culture and lifestyle into another time period. While the Flintstones live in a world with machines powered by birds and dinosaurs, the Jetsons live in a futuristic utopia in the year 2062 of elaborate robotic contraptions, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions.

The original incarnation of the series aired Sunday nights on ABC from September 23, 1962, to March 3, 1963. It comprised 24 episodes, and was re-run on Saturday morning for decades. At the time of its debut, it was the first program ever to be broadcast in color on ABC-TV (as The Flintstones, while always produced in color, was broadcast in black-and-white for its first two seasons). Its continuing popularity led to further episodes being produced for syndication between 1985 and 1987.

 Wikipedia Link

‘Practically perfect in every way’: Mary Poppins crosswalk lights

Well, this is certainly supercallifragilisticexpialidocious.

The city of Maryborough in Queensland, Australia, birthplace of Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers, have turned on some new crosswalk lights. These pedestrian lights feature the silhouettes of the magical nanny, umbrella and all: Umbrella up/green light = “Cross with care,” and Umbrella down/red light = “Do not cross.”

 

Kia Stinger!