Kermit the Frog covers "Gin & Juice" by Snoop Dogg
Thom Dunn / 11:12 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
This delightful mashup combines the melody of "The Rainbow Connection" with the words to Snoop Dogg's "Gin & Juice," sung in Kermit the Frog's iconic voice. It's the mad brainchild of There I Ruined It, a Texas-based producer who does, well, stuff exactly like this.
You can follow the There I Ruined it on Instagram or YouTube, if you want more wonderfully ruined tunes.
How fast can you click? Fun test for gamers and click enthusiasts alike
Popkin / 10:30 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
How fast can you click? Take the CPS test.
This site allows you to take a CPS (clicks per second) test and try to beat your own record. To start the test, all one must do is start clicking their pointer in the designated typing rectangle.
Users can choose between a 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, or 100-second timeframe to test their clicking speed. The 100 seconds option was a fantastic thumb workout.
From the CPS tests site: "CPS tests offer a fun way to measure your clicking speed and also help gamers enhance performance in click-intensive games like Minecraft. Whether you're a competitive gamer or just curious about your clicking capabilities, a CPS test offers an engaging way to challenge yourself and your friends."
See also: Can you tell the difference? Take this superfake designer handbag quiz
In unhinged Truth Social post, an infuriated Trump accuses Biden of being angry
Mark Frauenfelder / 10:21 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
Boing Boing/Midjourney
When Donald gets really mad about screwing up, he pretends to be happy about it. Take a look at this mess of a diatribe he posted to Truth Social:
I watched Joe Biden Monday night, and was amazed at his ANGER at being humiliated by the Democrats. I was happy to have played a part in his demise in that it all began on the evening of June 27, 2024, THE DEBATE, which I think was heavily pushed and promoted by Comrade Kamala Harris. She knew what was going to happen, and so did everyone else. It led to a first ever COUP of the President of the United States, who is now unhappily sunbathing on a Beach in California, watching the waves, and thinking how much he hates Barack Hussein Obama, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, and Lightweight Movie "Star" George Clooney, who failed to come to Crooked Joe's defense. The good news is that I believe Joe Biden, the Worst President in the History of the United States, who served with the Worst Vice President in the History of the United States, is now seething. I don't know why he gave up, I don't know why he quit. He got 14 Million Votes, she got NONE. He's an angry man now, and he should be!
Look at the words he used: ANGER, happy, unhappily, seething, angry. He's using the negative emotion words (ANGER, unhappily, seething, angry) to describe Biden and the one positive word (happy) to describe himself. I don't think
Donald is happy, though. If he was being honest, here's what he would have written:
I watched Joe Biden Monday night, and was FURIOUS at how he OUTSMARTED me. I'm HUMILIATED that I played right into the Democrats' trap. They knew exactly what they were doing, and I fell for it like an amateur. It led to my own DOWNFALL as the next President of the United States, while Biden is now TRIUMPHANTLY relaxing on a Beach in California, and Kamala is LAUGHING at how easily she PUNKED me. The painful truth is that Joe Biden, who I desperately claimed was the Worst President in the History of the United States, has proven to be SMARTER and more strategic than me. I don't know how I didn't see it coming, I don't know how I let the Democrat party OUTMANEUVER me so easily. I got PLAYED. I'm a JOKE man now, and I can't stand that they BEAT me at my own game!
Practice touch typing by retyping classic novels
Popkin / 9:35 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
Entertrained: Practice touch typing by retyping famous novels.
The free and somewhat mysterious website Entertrained combines the joy of reading with an educational tool to practice typing.
Once you choose a novel — like Dracula, Les Misérables, The Great Gatsby, and more — you can type along to the words of the book, which change colors as you progress. The site tracks your typing speed, consistency, and spelling.
Typing practice feels much less painful when you're being entertained by a book. I recommend Cory Doctorow's Little Brother as a great one to start with!
See also: The LOL verifier is a gadget that prevents you from posting "LOL" if you have not laughed out loud
Missing scissors cause massive flight cancellations and delays at Japan airport
Allan Rose Hill / 9:07 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
image: romiri/Shutterstock
A pair of scissors went missing in a shop at the New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan on Saturday, leading to the cancellation of 36 flights and 201 delays. Authorities spent the day scouring the airport looking for the shears out of safety concerns.
The following day, the lost scissors turned up… inside the shop that reported them missing. An employee had found them.
"We recognise that this occurred as a result of insufficient storage and management systems at the store," Hokkaido Airport said in a statement. "We are aware that this is also an incident that could be linked to hijacking or terrorism, and will once again work to ensure thorough management awareness."
According to the BBC News, "New Chitose is one of Japan's busiest airports, serving the world's second-most travelled domestic air route – between Tokyo and Sapporo – according to aviation analytics company OAG. More than 15 million travellers used the airport in 2022."
(Thanks, Chanté McCormick!)
Previously:
• Dance your layover away at Frankfurt airport's raves
• California lawmakers introduce bill to stop letting wealthy people skip airport security lines
• What's the story behind airport chapels?
Victorian ingenuity: The radiator that keeps you toasty and your buns even toastier
Popkin / 9:01 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
Rigsby Photo / Shutterstock
This Victorian cast iron radiator is the house appliance I never knew I needed until seeing this photo. Not only does the radiator keep you nice and toasty in the winter, but it also warms your bread.
The radiator has two beautiful little metal doors in the center. They open up to reveal a compartment where bread can be laid flat on three perforated shelves.
Toasting/warming my morning bread here seems like way more fun than using a typical toaster. I bet it makes the house smell wonderful, too. Why in the world did they stop making these? If I ever have the chance to remodel my kitchen, obtaining an appliance like this will be a must.
See also: 1896's The House of the Devil was the first horror film
Incredible photo shows $1 million car burned to a crisp inside its trailer
Allan Rose Hill / 8:50 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
image: Monterey Fire Department/Shutterstock
That charred hunk of metal seen in the photo was once a futuristic Ford Ghia Probe, a concept car created in 1979 by Ford chief designer Don F. Kopka and Carrozzeria Ghia. It is one-of-a-kind. Unfortunately, it is now burned to a crisp.
The car was inside a tractor trailer on the way back to its home in Arroya Grande, California after delighting crowds in Monterey at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. You can see it in its original beautiful form below.
"It is with utter sadness and a heavy heart that we have lost our 1979 Ford Ghia Probe I Prototype in an accident on the highway late in the day on Sunday after showing the car at the Pebble Beach Concoursd'Elegance," states an Instagram post from the auto's owners Scott Grundfor Company, a collectible car restoration firm. "We are a family oriented company, and it feels like we have lost a member of our family today. We are incredibly grateful that our team member driving the trailer at the time this accident occurred was unharmed, and his immediate action prevented this tragic loss of our car from spreading to local foliage and of course to other people who were driving on the highway in Monterey at the time."
According to the Monterey Fire Department, "the cause of the fire is currently under investigation."
Previously:
• Cool book of old school car renderings
• Braille Hot Wheels cars
• Wedged Wonders: pointy concept cars of the seventies
New trailer to Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis insists upon itself
Rob Beschizza / 8:48 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
Megalopolis
Francis Ford Coppola could make almost any movie he likes, but this one is so ambitious it took him a long time to get it together. Megalopolis, a science fiction drama starring Adam Driver and Giancarlo Esposito, hits the screens next month
MEGALOPOLIS is a Roman Epic set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor's daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.
I like that the high concept of it didn't pass muster with almost anyone but himself. I like the impression it gives that he's unfamiliar with science fiction yet has a perfect command of the contemporary aesthetics of mainstream sci-fi cinema. I like that it's poisoned by camp right down to the first 45 seconds of the trailer being a pre-emptive attack on movie critics. I love how it insists upon itself.
Customs agents find $5 million in meth disguised as watermelons
Allan Rose Hill / 8:33 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
image: U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Last week, a gentleman was driving a tractor trailer of watermelons across the border from Mexico to San Diego. US Customs and Border Protection officers were suspicious so they triggered a closer examination of the load. Turns out the 1,220 watermelons were faux fruit.
"The contents of the packages were tested and identified as methamphetamine, with a total weight 4587 pounds," CBP stated. "The estimated street value of the drugs exceeds $5 million dollars."
The week prior, agents intercepted 629 pounds of meth disguised as celery.
(Thanks, Chanté McCormick!)
Previously:
• This fellow is the first person to be busted smuggling greenhouse gases into the US
• Man busted at airport smuggling two otters and a prairie dog in his underwear
• Six people arrested for smuggling goose guts hidden under rattlesnakes into the US
Shop worker awarded 40 sausage rolls for 40 years of service
Rob Beschizza / 6:45 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
Rigsby Photo / Shutterstock
Guernsey shop worker Kevin Parsons, 56, was given 40 sausage rolls to honor his 40 years of service to the Alliance supermarket there. Parsons was also awarded "a tropical-themed mural" for his home and an unframed certificate. "Words can't express my appreciation," said Parsons.
He started helping with deliveries but moved to the supermarket's freezer section 38 years ago and said he kept warm by "running".
"You need roller skates to keep up with me," he said.
Chris Fish, the chairman of Alliance, said Mr Parsons was a great member of the island community.
He said: "He's been exemplary all the time. He will always turn his hand and help you out.
Of all the things I miss about the U.K. in America, it's the sausage rolls. First thing I do landing at Heathrow is head to Greggs or Pret to consume numerous sausage rolls. You can get a decent approximation at the Pub Chip Shop in Pittsburgh but they don't quite nail it.
Online retailers Shein and Temu go to war
Rob Beschizza / 6:21 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
The Shein Experience
Chinese retailers Shein and Temu sell inexpensive items at massive scale, and they hate one another. The Verge's Elizabeth Lopatto explores the law war erupting between the two companies, starting with the latest lawsuit filed by Shein [PDF].
Temu isn't a marketplace at all. "It controls every aspect of its seller's activity," the complaint says. "It directs what products they can list and the prices for which they can sell; encourages them to infringe the intellectual property rights of others; and even prevents them from removing their products from Temu's website after they have admitted to infringement." I would like to be clear: I am still in the first paragraph of this complaint. This is just the latest sally in the ongoing legal wrangling between the two bargain retailers. They've sent each other legal nastygrams before: Temu accused Shein of browbeating manufacturers to cut Temu off, Shein claimed Temu told influencers to say "false and deceptive statements" about Shein in promotional material. Those two suits were dropped in October. Then, in December, Temu sued Shein again, alleging that Shein had "gone so far as to falsely imprison merchants doing business with Temu."
Pretty intense beef over who can sell $5 skirts, if you ask me.
These two accusing one another of counterfeiting! Break out the Spiderman GIF.
I bought one thing from Shein, a denim jacket, and what I found interesting about it is that everything bad about it was intentional, from cut to stitch. They dialed in the lowest-possible quality without there being any actual flaws. Everything wrong with it optimized it. Wearing it felt like being a character in a near-future science fiction short story by an AI trained on post-2000 William Gibson novels.
Previously: Study: people who buy counterfeit bags likely to buy real ones later
Barack Obama on Trump's crowd size obsession
Rob Beschizza / 5:46 am PT Wed Aug 21, 2024
Obama at the DNC
The Obamas headlined the Democratic National Convention last night, and the funniest moment was the former president wisecracking about the other former president's insecurities. Embedded below, the long and short of it.
Previously:
• Republican news camera calls Donald Trump's bluff when he brags about crowd size (video)
• Crowd-size envy: Trump obsesses over his limp crowds while Harris crowds explode (video)
• White House insiders: Trump ordered Sean Spicer to lie about crowd sizes because he was 'demoralized'
Wildlife photographer snaps image of mysterious hairy beast that turned out to be something even odder
Allan Rose Hill / 1:14 pm PT Tue Aug 20, 2024
illustrative image: encierro/Shutterstock
Wildlife photographer Carl Bovis has an incredible talent for capturing stunning images of birds. But while he was wandering with his camera near his Bridgwater, Somerset home, he had a rather strange sighting on the road.
"Being unable to investigate what it was due to it being on private land and the setting sun being in his eyes, the 53-year-old says he spent a couple of minutes watching it to see if it would move before taking a single photo of it and heading home," reports BristoLive.
Unable to identify the hairy mystery beast, Bovis posted it to X. See below.
"At the time I thought I was photographing some kind of animal….The question I'm struggling with though, and I've asked all my family…. but what is it actually??"
Turns out that they "mystery animal" was a runaway wig. No word on whose head it escaped from.
Previously:
• Mystery beast photographed in Texas backyard raises concern of chupacabra
• What is this mystery beast photographed in Maine?
• Bizarre mystery mermaid-like creature washed up in Papua New Guinea