Cloned cats, video games and addiction, what not to do in a public restroom, a round-winged airplane, and canaries in coal mines appear among the best things to read in this mix of links, videos, galleries, and much more.
How much did a person live in 1850? What did a life expectancy of 42 years really mean?: "How long did people actually live in 1850? Did we only reach age 40, as the life expectancy of the mid-19th century suggests, or, on the contrary, did we live to about 70? The answers to both questions fuel a debate that, despite being recurrent, never reaches a unanimous conclusion."
Why my cloned cat looks nothing like the original: "The new Garlic was born on July 21, though Huang couldn't see him until August, after the company made sure the animal survived its first weeks of life. But when he saw him before his eyes, he was surprised: the cloned cat was not an exact copy of the original, the color was different, and it lacked the characteristic spot that the first Garlic had on its chin."
I played video games so much they stopped being fun: "When I was 18, I played video games. I played when I was bored and in the hours before an exam. I played whether I was happy or sad; to reward myself when I got good grades or to distract myself when things weren't going so well. I kept playing when I was on a winning streak and I played even more when my luck got worse."
This is the most common mistake in public restrooms, the 10 commandments of hygiene: "There are many myths about the diseases we can catch or not in a public restroom, but it's better not to pay attention to everything that's said because many things are, bluntly, lies. Others, on the other hand, are true. For this reason, it's important to adopt hygiene measures when we have to use a public restroom; or at least do 10 simple things that are important to reduce the risk of contagion."
The round-winged airplane: "Except for some vertical takeoff aircraft, it's normal for airplanes to have a practically similar structure, with a central axis and a surface perpendicular to it, usually formed by two wings. That is, their shape resembles that of a (flying) bird. Occasionally a revolutionary mind emerges that, not always successfully, tries to break the established model. This is where Claude Auguste Joseph Givaudan (1872-1945) comes into play."
About the use of canaries in coal mines: "Canaries, very sensitive to the presence of harmful gases in the air, have been etched into popular culture by this kind of use, and to this day we have colloquial expressions that refer to the canary as an early warning system against danger. In the May 20, 1918 issue of the Madrid magazine Alrededor del Mundo, a case of an attempt to systematize the use of canaries in American coal mines is mentioned."
The man who sold 'infernal machines': "It was within the power of dynamite to destroy capitalism, just as gunpowder and the rifle had been within it to clean the Earth of feudalism." Thus, in the mid-19th century, the German bookbinder Johann Most, known as the "apostle of Dynamite", announced what would from then on be his particular fight against the power that was germinating in the main European capitals. Dynamite, explosives, and infernal machines were giving way to a particular mystique whose power and effect they would have ample proof of.
A century ago Facebook already existed and people only read junk: "Even though Facebook's algorithms seem to have conspired to hook us and not let go, hijacking our attention, making us read, one after another, sensationalist or trivial news, memes, and other throwaway material, things were not very different a century ago."
Don't play the victim, without knowing what it means: "In an era when all identities are in crisis, or manifestly fake, being a victim provides a supplement of oneself. Only in the hollow form of the victim do we today find a plausible, albeit inverted, image of the fullness we aspire to, a 'mythological machine' that, from the empty center of a lack, deficiency, or absence, ceaselessly generates a repertoire of figures capable of satisfying a need that originates precisely in that void. The unwanted becomes desirable."
Descending an 88-meter-high spiral staircase: "Although originally a cable car was to be built like the many that exist in other sections of Taihang, it was decided to build an 88-meter-high spiral staircase. This was not a matter of trying to cut the final budget of the project by any means, since the project itself had the support of the central government of China. Rather, it was a brilliant idea to promote adventure tourism in a mountain region full of hanging viewpoints on the face of the mountain, quite steep sections, and narrow passages."
The instinct of happiness: "Let's accept that human beings are the most evolved animals we know. At least we are the only ones on this planet capable of writing and understanding this sentence. And many more things, like crying tears while watching a love scene on your Smart TV, on a Sunday afternoon, after a hearty meal and a comforting nap. Some say that all that development is because, a long, long time ago…"
The art of titling porn movies in 109 wonderful examples: "The noble work of titling porn movies. You get up and face your day's task. A pile of movies in which, basically, nothing different happens between them: sex in different positions, with different colors and flavors. You have to create a text to catalog them. A title, something that catches attention and distinguishes each one of them. In the end, it's almost inevitable that some 'accidents' happen."
Videos
The most remote place on Earth, artificial intelligences playing hide-and-seek, Marvel in school, making a sculpture of Deet (The Dark Crystal, Age of Resistance), kitchen explosion, crocodiles that look like spaceships, kayak that launches torpedoes, Mario and Luigi in anime style, kitten steals food, draws like a printer, marmot eating, the smallest horse in the world, giant anaconda, Jean-Luc Picard as Shinzon of Remus in a beautiful deepfake, painted as a Gremlin, a strange jellyfish, car jump record goes wrong, beautiful designer cakes, how to start a car without pushing, Tokyo Game Show 2019 cosplay, the terrifying melody, the Fallout animated series, dressed as a flying carpet, zombie on a Segway, large-scale nuclear war simulation, amazing radio-controlled helicopter, student roller coaster, prunes trees from a helicopter, in the middle of a school of fish, the smokers' joke, the world of art forgery, tracked his cat with a GPS, evolution of the tallest buildings (1901-2022).
Galleries
China's nail houses, the mustache cup, animal sculptures with flowers, the zombie walk of Strasbourg, Transformer Party, when different dog breeds cross, the Area 51 raid in a video, giant realistic pig foot pillow, famous cats painted, humans if they had the anatomy of different animals, the intimacy of nature with photos by Dick van Duijn, Wendy as Red Sonja (and more retro cosplay), the fantastic art of Christopher Lovell, and, as always, we close with the Vertedero Animado de la semana and the famous Tiradero, where you'll find dozens of things to make you smile.
https://old.neoteo.com/creepypasta-scp-701/
