Boing Boing, February 24, 2025
All our posts from the past 24 hours
Today's newsletter is a wild mix of wonder, absurdity, and the occasional dash of existential horror. We'll explore the mind-bending visions induced by drugs, present the latest trailer for the Star Wars series Andor, and witness a heartwarming encounter between a gentle horse and an intimidating rhino. Be warned: if you stumble upon a terrifying animal while hiking, follow the advice to keep your hands hidden. On a lighter note, we'll showcase the bibliophile's dream gadget, marvel at a remote Alaskan RadioShack nestled inside a shack, and laugh as Jim Carrey smoothly enters the Star Wars universe. We also look at the rise of Right to Repair laws, the measles outbreak in Texas, and the alarming incidents of TVs playing propaganda in government offices. As always, we are grateful for the paid subscribers who make our unique brand of journalism possible. Thank you for being part of our vibrant and curious community.
What do we see when we're on drugs? To find out, this researcher used AI to read 40,000 trip reports
Allan Rose Hill / 11:54 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
For three decades, Erowid has been the most important clearinghouse of drug information on the Internet. Among other indispensable resources, the site has a collection of around 40,000 "experience reports" submitted by users (heh, heh) documenting what happened to them while on a variety of psychoactive drugs. Now, UC Berkeley psychology researcher Sean Noah has tasked an AI with reading and analyzing all the trip reports. His goal? To "investigate the effects of different psychoactive drugs on the forms of brain activity that constrain, refine, and elaborate incoming sensory signals, in order to better understand the role these functions play in generating our perceptual world."
Essentially, Noah is looking at what people see when they're tripping to gain insight into human vision and cognition. Jane C. Hu interviewed Noah for UC Berkeley's always-excellent Microdose newsletter:
What could this work tell us about vision and cognition?
If we had a more useful tool for identifying the elemental or specific visual effects in individuals, we could use that tool to study how the brain produces visual perception in the first place. We know psychedelics are powerful tools for altering consciousness and perception but don't yet have a comprehensive understanding of all their effects, either — like how changes in brain activity are associated with their effects, or even the full realm of possible visual effects that occur. Once we have more of a handle on the taxonomy of effects — which is what this study is trying to do — we can trace them back to individual changes in brain activity. And that's actually another study we're starting right now; we'll be administering psilocybin to volunteer participants, putting them in an fMRI scanner, and giving them a visual illusion to see how psychedelics affect their brain's processing of the visual stimulus. The stimulus is basically an optical illusion, something you can perceive in two different ways — like if you remember the viral phenomenon of The Dress, where some people see it as blue and black while others see it as white and gold. Our task isn't The Dress, but it's a similar concept, where people can perceive it in different ways, and the scanner will allow us to understand how psilocybin might change that perception.'
Trailer for Andor's second season
Rob Beschizza / 11:35 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
I liked Andor a lot for the serious and understated feel it established as it gathered steam. Except for the enormous budget, it felt almost like something that might have been cooked up in the 1970s if the original movie led not to sequels but to a BBC kitchen sink drama, making the most of those expensive sets at Elstree. And now season 2 is almost upon us; the trailer is out.
This time around, it looks like it's getting straight to the action.
The critically acclaimed series returns. Watch the new trailer for season 2 of Andor, streaming April 22 on Disney+. — Andor | Season 2 Trailer | Streaming April 22 on Disney+ by Star Wars on YouTube.
Watch what happens when a sweet horse runs into a wild rhino on a trail (video)
Carla Sinclair / 10:48 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Black rhinos are known for their "nervous temperaments" and will charge any person or animal that it perceives to be a threat. So it made for a heartwarming video when a horse named Magnum ran into a wild black rhino on a trail in South Africa, and rather than either the horse running off in terror, or the rhino going in for the kill, the two curious creatures actually hit it off.
"The Rhino is totally Wild and not habituated to Horses or people," said a friend of the horse's owner, who posted the encounter to Instagram. "Anybody who knows Black Rhino will tell you they will charge first and ask questions later."
But this chill rhino did not charge, nor did it ask any questions. Instead, the two beauties simply checked each other out, respectfully greeted each other, and then, according to a subsequent post, each went on their merry way. (See video, posted by ridezimbabwe.)
Via Outdoors
Previously: Baby rhino skips and jumps like his lamb buddy
If you run into this terrifying animal, immediately "put your hands behind your back"
Allan Rose Hill / 10:10 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
If you happen to be in Australia or New Guinea and encounter a massive black bird stomping around on two feet, beware. Known as "the world's most dangerous bird," cassowaries can be as much as six feet tall and weigh more than 150 pounds. Their dagger-like claws can easily puncture, slice, and dice any animal that threatens it.
"There's just something primeval about them," says biologist Andrew Mack, director of Cassowary Conservation & Publishing. "They look like living dinosaurs."
From CNN:
While these creatures look large and intimidating, Peter Rowles says, "Many more cassowaries die from humans than humans die from cassowaries."
Rowles is the founder of the Community for Coastal & Cassowary Conservation, shortened to "C4." He is a longtime resident of Mission Beach, a seaside community in northern Queensland near the Daintree National Park, the primary Australian habitat for cassowaries.
"If you encounter a cassowary in the wild, first thing is put your hands behind your back," he says.
"Be as boring as you can be, so you're not attracting that cassowary's attention. Move behind a tree. Just blend into the environment. Don't scream and yell and wave your arms around. If you've got food in your hand, put it in your pocket, put it behind you, put it out of sight. It's better to do that and be boring than to be seen as a potential source of more food."
According to a 2001 report in the Journal of Zoology, 75% of the cassowary attacks on people were by those birds previously fed by humans.
Every U.S. state now has introduced a Right to Repair law
Rob Beschizza / 9:53 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
iFixit reports that every U.S. state legislature has introduced a Right to Repair law requiring manufacturers to allow users to legally repair their own equipment and to provide at least some level of access to the instructions and parts that make it feasible. Such laws have passed in only seven states—and have failed to pass in many more—but nowhere in the union have legislators not confronted the issue.
"Here, there and everywhere—people just want to fix their stuff," said PIRG's Senior Right to Repair Campaign Director Nathan Proctor. "Americans are fed up with all the ways in which manufacturers of everything from toasters to tractors frustrate or block repairs, and lawmakers are hearing that frustration and taking action." … Having introduced bills in all 50 states is a massive milestone. It means more pressure on lawmakers, more attention from manufacturers, and more opportunities for all of us to demand repair-friendly products. But we're not done yet. We'll keep pushing for stronger laws, better standards, and a future where repair autonomy is a given, not a privilege.
The substantiveness of the bills is always in question (consider New York's law, which Kathy Hochul famously watered down to please lobbyists) but look at me, choosy begger.
Every bibliophile wants one of these (and no, it's not a fancy bookmark)
Allan Rose Hill / 9:41 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Nearly every book lover fantasizes about having a library in their home that is worthy of the ultimate bibliophile accoutrement: a library ladder. This architectural accessory—particularly one that rolls on rails—is not just a practical tool for accessing high shelves, it enhances the classic, scholarly ambiance of the room.
"There is—and has long been—a physical appeal to being blanketed by books," says Evan Friss, author of The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore. "The ladder is a symbol of the scale of the collection, which can be awe-inspiring—both just to look at aesthetically and to consider how much knowledge is held in those books (some, hopefully, imparted onto the reader)."
From Slate:
According to America's oldest rolling-ladder maker, the century-old Putnam Rolling Ladders, whose customers have included George W. Bush, credit for the first dedicated book ladder goes to a French furniture designer named Étienne Avril. In the mid-18th century, Avril created a ladder that rested on two rails attached to the bookcase and could be moved along the shelves as needed[…]
For now, unfortunately, most of us are limited to books on shelves that we can too easily reach. So if you've neither the space nor budget to bring a book ladder into your life, there is one other way to magnificently demonstrate the breadth of your supposed reading: the book wheel. Designed by Agostino Ramelli in the 16th century, the giant vertical wheel lets one have multiple books open at a time and read each of them in one spot with ease.
Federal workers tell Elon to take his DOGE and shove it
Jason Weisberger / 9:15 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Since Unconstituional Co-President Elon "Pedo Guy" Musk sent one of his famous "I am an incredible manager" emails to the Federal workforce, the Federal workforce has told him to f*** off.
Last week Nazi saluting, great replacement theory spreading, unelected Co-President of the United States Elon "Pedo Guy" Musk sent an email, and followed it up on social media, demanding Federal employees tell him "5 things they achieved this week." During Elon's acquisition and subsequent foundering of his ever-shrinking, yet unable to service its debt, social media company ,these same tactics were employed. Employees of the US Government got the message:
While slightly unrelated, this social share explains it all. Musk appears to be a drug-addled, paranoid conspiracy theory lover:
One of the last RadioShacks is inside a literal shack in remote Alaska
Lux Sparks-Pescovitz / 9:03 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
In 2017, RadioShack filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, for the second time, and shut down the vast majority of its stores. The chain, a long standing mecca for DIY electronics enthusiasts, had unfortunately fallen victim to the Amazonification of shopping.
A few hundred independently owned Radio Shack franchises remain with one of the most interesting located in the northern part of the Alaska Panhandle, specifically the census-designated place of Haines (population approx. 1781). The building, looking more like a storage shack (rather than, er, one built for radios), still sports the RadioShack sign above its door, and, as of 2019, featured a smaller 80s style logo sign on its left side.
In the Facebook group "I Take Pictures of Electronics Parts," Freddy Castrop posted photos of the remote location. Yes, they still maintain a selection of individual electronic components for the tinkerers in the Haines area. The site also houses a cable TV dealer, aptly named Haines Cable TV.
Be advised though that if you need a TiVo or pack of resistors on a Sunday, you'll have to venture beyond Haines… far beyond. This particular RadioShack is closed Sunday and has shortened Saturday hours as well.
For more, visit the store's official Facebook page!
Jim Carrey fits into Star Wars pretty well (video)
Jason Weisberger / 8:30 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
YouTuber Your_Kryptonite7 has done a fantastic, perhaps awful, thing: editing Jim Carrey into Star Wars.
My favorite all-time Star Wars fan edits will remain Auralnauts, however.
h/t MissCellania
Texas is hosting its largest measles outbreak in 30 years
Jason Weisberger / 8:10 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
An under-vaccinated county in Texas has measles, and they are sharing with their neighbors.
Welcome to 2025: the measles are back. An outbreak has been spreading in Texas for a few weeks and has reached New Mexico, and at least one carrier has been known to have visited several highly populated areas. Originating in an under-vaccinated Mennonite community, this outbreak differs from recent "Disney"-based ones as the spread has been faster and is more isolated. This is the largest Texas outbreak in 30 years.
The largest measles outbreak in decades has reached San Antonio, New Braunfels and San Marcos, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Officials say an individual who tested positive for the virus in West Texas traveled to two major universities and one of the nation's busiest tourist attractions — the San Antonio River Walk.
Remeber kids, this is wholly preventable. The Measles Mumps Rubella vaccine is safe and effective.
Measles was declared eradicated in the United States in 2000. This was achieved through a successful vaccination program that ensured high levels of immunity in the population.
"Individuals who have not been vaccinated are at greater risk of infection. We urge everyone to ensure they are up to date on their vaccinations to protect themselves and those around them," Dr. Kurian said.
"Protecting our community from measles starts with staying informed and taking the necessary precautions," she said. "We encourage everyone to review their vaccination status and seek medical advice if they suspect exposure. Early detection and vaccination are key to preventing the spread of this preventable disease."
TVs in the Dept of Housing and Urban Development played AI video of Trump sucking Elon's feet
Rob Beschizza / 7:17 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
The AI-generated video depicts President Donald Trump writhing as he licks and sucks at Elon Musk's feet. Superimposed are the words "LONG LIVE THE REAL KING." Government employees returning to the office enjoyed (?) this remarkable presentation Monday morning, as it was playing on TVs throughout the building on a loop. "Building staff couldn't figure out how to turn it off so sent people to every floor to unplug TVs," reports Marisa Kabas.
I'd say it belongs in a museum, but those are next for the chop. It seems important that no-one could be found that knew how the broadcast system works. There'll be a lot of incidents like this, and we might not find out about the ones that don't want to be seen.
Here's the original. Strong stomach required!
Life-size Lenin painting up for auction
Rob Beschizza / 6:38 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Who would not want to own a life-size portrait of a rosy-cheeked, grandfatherly Lenin? The painting, among others of Soviet origin and vintage, are up for grabs this week at the Wotton Auction Rooms in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England.
Mr Trinder explained they came from a "rather remarkable" single-owner collection. "They are essentially works of propaganda that were put together to communicate the ideas and principles of the Soviet era and to promote Lenin and his vision," he said.
Here are the other paintings on offer:
UK lawmaker jailed for punching constituent
Rob Beschizza / 6:26 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Mike Amesbury is the member of parliament for Runcorn and Helsby in England, serving as an independent since his suspension from the governing Labour Party. Why was he suspended? Because he punched one of his constituents in an act of "unprovoked drunken behaviour," as the magistrate put it—a crime for which he will also serve 10 weeks in jail.
Amesbury, 55, who represents Runcorn and Helsby as an independent MP, pleaded guilty to assaulting 45-year-old Paul Fellows after video footage emerged showing the confrontation. Sitting at Chester Magistrates' Court, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said a pre-sentence report showed Amesbury's actions were the result of a "anger and loss of emotional control".
Here's the video:
The magistrate was not at all happy with Amesbury's conduct.
"I note that you, Mr Amesbury, continued to punch Mr Fellows when he was on the ground and continued to shout at Mr Fellows. I consider this more culpable. You continued to attack when he was on the ground and it may have continued further had a bystander not intervened. You continued to rant."
Men violently zip-tie and remove woman from Idaho Republican town hall: "Speak up" and you will "suffer the consequences" (video)
Carla Sinclair / 6:09 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
In Trump 2.0, "free speech" only applies to those who agree with the new regime. Everyone else will "suffer the consequences," as warned by the host of Idaho's Republican town hall, where a woman who disagreed with Saturday's talking points was dragged out in zip ties by several unidentified men.
"This gentleman is assaulting me!" town hall attendee Teresa Borrenpohl screamed to Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, who stood by as the men began to pull her out of her chair. "Who the f*ck are you!?" she asked the men repeatedly. But the manhandlers did not answer the question. They did, however, proceed to pull her from her chair, push her to the ground, and zip tie her before carrying her out of the venue.
Meanwhile, town hall host Ed Bejarana piled on in with taunting remarks. "Just look at this. This little girl is afraid to leave. She spoke up and now she doesn't want to suffer the consequences," he said. "That is shameful." He continued to narrate the dramatic scene with snide quips, even imitating Borrenpohl in his best "little girl" voice. (See video, posted by tonyajean81.)
"Nobody was telling people cheering to stop cheering, but any time there was a negative reaction, we were scolded," said Borrenpohl, who unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic candidate for Idaho's State House of Representatives, according to Post Falls' Coeur d'Aline Press. "I felt comfortable expressing displeasure because people were very openly expressing their appreciation for the legislators there."
"I screamed — out of turn, admittedly — 'Phil Hart stole timber from public land,'" Borrenpohl said. "That's when they seized on me."
"It was really violent and really traumatic," she continued. "They had grabbed my wrists. They contorted my body. They lifted me up and dropped me down. My only thought was to maintain my airway. They were forcing me down on the ground. I just wanted to make sure I could still breathe."
"I was so confused and I didn't know if I was being arrested by the sheriff's office or if I was being kidnapped."
From Couer d'Alene Press:
Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White confirmed Sunday that the men who dragged Teresa Borrenpohl from the meeting worked for the private security firm LEAR Asset Management. …
[Police Chief] White said it's not appropriate for law enforcement to forcefully remove a person from a town hall for speaking out of turn or shouting.
"I don't care what your message is, especially in an open town hall like this," White said. "We have to respect everybody's First Amendment rights, regardless of what side of the aisle you happen to sit on. I know there's some people up here who probably disagree with me and would like us to take action and maybe try to silence a voice that's in opposition to theirs at a town hall, but there's very little we can do with regard to First Amendment protections. We have to make sure people have the protections afforded them under the Constitution." …
Coeur d'Alene city code requires security agents to wear uniforms "clearly marked" with the word "security" in letters no less than 1 inch tall on the front and no less than four inches tall on the back. The security personnel at Saturday's town hall were in plainclothes, with no visible sign they were security.
Borrenpohl was hospitalized after leaving the town hall, according to Newsweek, but no other details on that were provided.
Previously: Trump lovin' Congressman belittles his own constituents at town hall — gets jeered in return (video)
Can you see what is in this image?
Mark Frauenfelder / 6:04 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
What do you see in this image?
From The Ape That Spoke : Language and the Evolution of the Human Mind, by John McCrone.
At first sight this is an unintelligible jumble of lines, but when told what the picture represents, most people find it clicks into place with almost photographic reality. The brain supplies the missing information to flesh out the raw image.
See page 66 for the answer.
[Via Futility Closet]
TikTokers are dropping heavy objects on their feet for views
Ellsworth Toohey / 5:25 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
A bunch of extremely smart people on TikTok have discovered that dropping heavy objects on their feet gets them thousands of views.
Leading this parade of mangled metatarsals is 19-year-old Luke Pilling, who decided that dropping toasters, air fryers, and computer monitors on his tootsies was just the ticket to TikTok stardom. When asked why he joined this totally-not-stupid #droppingthingsonmyfoot trend, Luke told My London News, it was "curiosity and just because it was funny." Walking pain-free for the rest of your life is so overrated.
Dr. Benjamin Bullen, some boring podiatrist who hates fun and viral content, said dropping heavy things on your bare feet can lead to "a lifetime of pain and disability." Whatever, Doc! Have you seen how many views these videos get? There's dozens of dollars to be made in them there broken bones!
Ketamine's neurotoxicity suddenly in the spotlight
Rob Beschizza / 5:10 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Here's a timely question, given established facts and recent events: Is Ketamine Neurotoxic? Desmolysium, M.D., a former user of the dissociative and hallucinogenic anesthetic, seems quite convinced.
At recreational doses, ketamine is addictive, destroys the bladder, and is toxic to the central nervous system. Microscopic lesions (including but not limited to so-called "Olney's lesions") in both grey and white matter are evident already after three months of high-dose ketamine use. By year three of heavy use, MRI scans of ketamine users often reveal a brain that looks like a mix between multiple sclerosis (white matter lesions) and Alzheimer's disease (grey matter atrophy). Ketamine abuse is well known to cause widespread cognitive and neurological impairment. However, the average ketamine "user" consumes 500-1000mg of ketamine per day, which is 100-300x as much as therapeutic use (0.5mg/kg). One glass of wine per week is surely different from a gallon of vodka per day.
If the medical question of whether it's is safe to use ketamine at "low therapeutic doses at reasonable frequencies for a couple of weeks or months" has been answered positively, the question of "sprinkling it on breakfast like confectioner's sugar forever" remains outstanding!
Watch a real cat's hilarious reaction to its lego doppelgänger
Popkin / 4:50 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Watch a real cat's bewilderment when it meets a look-alike cat built out of Lego. The Tuxedo cat in the video pounces around the lego cat when it first sees it, as if to challenge it to a duel. As one might suspect, The Lego cat sits there, stiff as a board, unbothered.
The real cat, clearly trying to figure out if the lego cat is friend, foe, or an imposter from a parallel universe, grows increasingly rambunctious throughout the video as it begins to attack the Lego cat. Its buttons have been pushed a bit too far. I'd be jealous too if I thought my parents had replaced me with a Lego imposter.
This video would be a great advertisement for this Lego set. I hope the cat eventually made peace with its imposter. I fear that an eventual friendship between the two wasn't the case, though.
Hi everyone! I wasn't able to upload for the last two months, because I still only have parts of my Lego in my new home. If it goes as planned, I can continue in the middle of January. But for christmas, I have a small cat video to share with you :) I hope you enjoy, 2in1 — Tuxedo Cat vs. LEGO Tuxedo Cat by 2in1 Bricking on YouTube.
See also: This cat plays the keyboard really well
Project 2025 Tracker documents rapid implementation of authoritarian Christian government
Jennifer Sandlin / 4:48 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
We've been sounding alarm bells about The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025—what the Center for Progressive Reform calls "the conservative movement's blueprint for weakening our government and building an authoritarian presidency"—for almost a year now. If you're paying attention to what's currently happening in the Trump/Musk Regime, you're already oh-too-aware that the plan is being implemented rapidly.
If you want a deeper dive into exactly how much of Project 2025 has already been put in place or is in progress, this new resource, Project 2025 Tracker, is incredibly helpful (and terrifying).
According to Heatmap, as of February 17, 2025, 32 percent of Project 2025's suggestions have been implemented or are in progress. And when I looked at the Tracker again today, Sunday February 23rd, the percentage had increased to 36. We know these details thanks to Adrienne Cobb (aka Redditor /u/rusticgorilla) who, with colleague /u/mollynaquafina) have been hard at work on the Project 2025 Tracker. The project started as a spreadsheet which, according to their website, "has grown into a community-driven resource, powered by people like you who believe in the importance of transparent, detailed analysis."
In a conversation with Heatmap, Adrienne Cobb provides a quick overview of some of the trends they've observed in Project 2025's implementation thus far:
They're going after what they see as the easiest targets first, like LGBTQ rights and DEI initiatives — which are very easy to implement through executive action and about which they don't think people will complain or speak up.
Most of the energy objectives that have been enacted are ones that roll back key Biden-era initiatives, like Biden's pause on LNG exports and Biden's prioritization of climate change mitigation in policy-making. Trump also managed to enact the Project 2025 goal of limiting subsidized renewables by illegally suspending the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding, which went to various clean energy projects across the country.
Even though a judge has ordered IRA and IIJA funding reinstated, Pennsylvania has alleged in a lawsuit that Trump's administration still has not released the funding. Project 2025 called on Congress to repeal the IRA and IIJA, yet Trump is going farther than even Project 2025 imagined by straight up withholding the funding in defiance of Congressional appropriations and court orders.
On the website you can get a quick overview of all changes that have been made or in progress, or you can sort by agency, subject, or status.
Check out the Project 2025 Tracker here.
Tiny EMTs: mice innately try to revive passed out pals
Gail Sherman / 4:33 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
According to a study published in the journal Science, mice innately aid other mice when they fall unconscious. Humans, elephants, chimps, and dolphins all recognize when a companion requires life-saving assistance, but this behavior has not been seen before in mice.
In the study, mice began grooming the faces of anesthetized mice, pulling at or biting the tongues of their lifeless comrades. When a ball was placed in the mouth of the "patient," the bystander mouse removed the ball 80% of the time, clearing the airway as humans are taught to do in CPR class. The mice rarely exhibited face-grooming behavior with conscious mice or mice experiencing non-anesthetized sleep. Mice who received aid from their companions woke more quickly than mice who were left alone.
The study found that neurons in two areas of the brain showed different patterns when mice encountered an incapacitated mouse. In addition, inhibiting or activating these areas changed how the mice responded to a mouse requiring aid. As to why two different regions of the brain contribute to the behavior, the authors theorize that the release of oxytocin might improve information processing in the amygdala, enhancing their response to a life-threatening situation.
People who witness someone collapse and who subsequently perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) report that they intervene because they intuitively understand that the person would otherwise die (1). Humans are not alone in this instinct. Animals as diverse as elephants [Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis (2)], chimpanzees [Pan troglodytes (3)], and dolphins [Tursiops truncatus (4)] can recognize and intervene by touching, nudging, and even carrying an incapacitated individual. On pages 843 and 842 of this issue, Sun et al. (5) and Sun et al. (6), respectively, provide information on the neurobiology underlying this impulse. They report that mice (Mus musculus) have an instinct to revive an unresponsive mouse and identify two distinct brain regions that are crucial for this behavior. These findings add to the evidence that an impulse to help others in states of extreme distress is shared by many species and highlight neural mechanisms that drive instinctive rescue.
Man removes shoes, climbs onto airplane wing at Las Vegas airport (video)
Ellsworth Toohey / 4:21 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
A gentleman's creative approach to air travel was cut short at Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport when police interrupted his attempt to claim a spot on an aircraft's wing.
A video of the incident shows the man scaling the wing of a commercial aircraft preparing for departure. In what appeared to be a nod to proper climbing technique, he removed his shoes and socks to improve traction.
His ascent attempt came to an abrupt conclusion when, while attempting to reach the winglet, two police officers walked onto the wing in an attempt to persuade him to consider a safer alternative to air travel than clinging to the outside of the plane at 35,000 feet. Unfortunately, the arrival of the cops broke the wing-walker's concentration and he fell to the tarmac, where officers on the ground ran to his assistance.
"We were just about to start takeoff when the pilot noticed him running towards the plane," one passenger reported on Reddit. "Good thing he shut down the engines quickly." The unorthodox boarding attempt resulted in a delay as maintenance crews conducted mandatory inspections of the aircraft.
Police took the creative thinker into custody.
See Reddit post here.
New FBI deputy director Dan Bongino on liberals: "They're not ready for what comes next"
Carla Sinclair / 3:46 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Far-right podcaster Dan Bongino will be the FBI's new deputy director, Donald Trump announced yesterday via The Washington Post. This is the same former Secret Service agent who says that power "is the only thing that matters," checks and balances be damned. And the same Kash Patel-pick who says liberals are "not ready for what comes next."
"What matters? Anyone?" Bongino asked his viewers on a recent episode of his podcast, before answering, "Power, power," with a clenched fist. "Power! That is all that matters."
"No it doesn't, Dan. We have a system of checks and balances," Bongino then responded to himself, mocking those who still believe that justice prevails in the United States. But he couldn't keep the gag going, immediately bursting into laughter at his own joke. "That's a good one! That's really funny." (See video, posted by Yashar Ali.)
This is also the same hate-mongering 2020 election denier who last May threatened Democrats in a social media post, calling them "scumbag commie libs" and predicting that "things will end really badly for them" before issuing an ominous warning. "Libs are the biggest pussies I've ever seen…But they're not ready for what comes next." (See full post here, reposted by Yashar Ali.)
Previously: Florida congressional candidate losing his temper with a reporter
Spanish soccer league breaks Internet to stop people from watching their precious futbol matches for free
Ellsworth Toohey / 3:15 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Spanish soccer league LaLiga broke a large portion of the Spanish internet because some naughty websites were letting 400,000 monthly viewers watch men chase balls around without paying the proper viewing tax to their corporate overlords.
LaLiga's Chief Internet Breaking Officer sprang into action and convinced Spanish ISPs to block these sites' IP addresses, conveniently forgetting to mention these addresses were shared by approximately eleventy billion other legitimate websites.
Cloudflare, a tech company that helps keep the internet running, is now suing LaLiga. They're all, "LaLiga's actions pose a clear threat to the open Internet" and "rightsholders cannot prioritise their commercial interests over the fundamental right of millions of consumers."
Yadda yadda yadda. Really, what's a functioning internet compared to ensuring billionaires don't have to settle for just two helipads on their next mega-yacht? Priorities, people!
Norovirus outbreak on the cruise ship Iona sounds like real-life vomiting scene from "Triangle of Sadness"
Jennifer Sandlin / 3:07 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
To nobody's surprise, there's another norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship. This time, the lucky passengers are onboard the MS Iona, an "Excellence-class" (also called "Excel-class," described in this article) cruise ship operated by P&O Cruises (a Carnival subsidiary) that can can carry over 5,000 passengers and 1,800 crew members. The Iona set sail on February 15 from Southampton, England, for a seven-day cruise across northern Europe. Shortly into the journey, passengers began to, as News18 reports, "drop like flies" from what's suspected to be norovirus.
One passenger on board painted a vivid picture of the vomitous scene unfolding: "People [were] throwing up in restaurants, on decks, outside cabins." Another passenger recounted their difficulties with getting help or medicine:
"What was also incredulous was the inability to buy or get hold of any medication onboard to help with the symptoms. Not one shop or medical centre onboard could supply guests with gastrointestinal suspension medication or replacement salts/fluid sachets."
Norovirus is also running rampant across England. Last week, a record number of patients were admitted to English hospitals with norovirus. BBC reports that NHS England recorded 1,160 patients a day on average in the hospital with norovirus last week, which is twice the number from the same time period last year.
The descriptions of this horror remind me exactly of the absurdly grotesque vomit scene from Director Ruben Östlund's Triangle of Sadness, which Variety describes:
The film's second act takes place aboard a luxury yacht, culminating with the Captain's Dinner. Ill-timed with a raging storm that violently rocks the boat, the dinner causes nearly everyone on board to succumb to seasickness, namely projectile vomiting. It begins slowly at first, but the increasingly chaotic scene spans 15 minutes and ends in a swirl of vomit, diarrhea and raw sewage.
If you're a fan of Triangle of Sadness (I personally loved the film!), and want to know more about how director of photography Fredrik Wenzel and production designer Josefin Åsberg actually created the infamous vomiting scene—which was the culmination of two years of planning—Variety published a fascinating (and revolting) deep dive into its production. Here's a short gem from the article:
In order to build to a crescendo that includes exploding toilets, flooded staterooms, and people sliding in vomit along corridors, the action needed to start slowly. The actors were outfitted with tubes attached to their faces through which the SFX team could spew realistic-looking materials and create the desired effect. Åsberg remembers the many conversations she had with Östlund about color and consistency, including pieces of octopus for one passenger and bits of shrimp for another, as well as the right shades for the raw sewage that would burst from the toilets.
I truly wish all passengers on board the MS Iona who were affected by norovirus a full and speedy recovery. And I am now even more fully convinced that I will never again step foot on a cruise ship. My advice? Skip the cruise (and the accompanying norovirus!), and just watch Triangle of Sadness instead.
The Meyers brothers' family trip to a podcast festival
Ruben Bolling / 3:02 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
Comedians Seth and Josh Meyers recorded an episode of their popular podcast "Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers" on Friday at the On Air Fest podcast conference in Brooklyn, NY. Their guest was fellow podcaster Dan Taberski, and as always it was a casual but very funny conversation on the topic of traveling with family.
I dearly love the "Family Trips" podcast — I've heard every episode, and I devour to each new one as soon as it is released. In the podcast medium, Seth's warmth and convivial humor come out in ways that can't be conveyed through his excellent sketch comedy, stand-up, and late night talk show hosting. Seth and Josh talk so frankly and extensively about their own family that I feel I could go on a family trip with them and be in on every inside joke that's cracked.
And they employ their improv training and experience by carefully listening to their guests' family travel stories, and then hilariously playing with and building out the humor that they mine from them. It's about the only interview podcast for which I don't base my decision on whether to listen based on who the guest is — I know it will the brothers will make the show entertaining and fun no matter who they're talking to.
Another TV personality who has found a new home in podcasting, Anderson Cooper, also appeared at the festival, interviewed by Audie Cornish. His podcast "All There Is" is about grieving, and like Seth Meyers, he uses the unique attributes of the podcast medium to reveal another, extremely genuine, side of himself. Cooper speaks movingly about his own grieving process for deceased family members, and engages empathetically with listeners who are dealing with grief. He said that listeners leave voice mails for him, and he has listened to about 6,000 of them.
Cooper said at the festival that grieving is an intimate subject, and the intimacy of podcasting makes it a medium that feels appropriate for it.
Also at the festival was another TV broadcaster who has found a home in podcasting, Mehdi Hasan. Hasan conducted a fantastic interview with journalist Jemele Hill in a taping of his podcast "We're Not Kidding." Referring to the darker side of podcast influence, Hasan referred to podcasts like Joe Rogan's, and joked that we can't have another election unless it's podcast-led.
The haunting 'Kiss of Death' sculpture in Barcelona, Spain
Popkin / 3:00 am PT Mon Feb 24, 2025
At the Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona, Spain, you can visit a macabre sculpture like no other. The "Kiss of Death" is a striking funerary sculpture that depicts a winged skeleton kissing a man as he takes his last breath. Both beautiful and eerie, this sculpture seems like it would be breathtaking to see in person.
From Atlas Obscura: "Known as el Petó de la Mort (the Kiss of Death), the sculpture was created in 1930 for the tomb of textile manufacturer Josep Llaudet Soler. The tomb is inscribed with a line verse by the Catalan poet Jacinto Verdaguer that translates to: "His young heart is thus extinguished. The blood in his veins grows cold. And all strength has gone. Faith has been extolled by his fall into the arms of death. Amen.""
This haunting and expressive masterpiece of funerary art definitely seems like worth a visit if you're in Spain. There is some debate about who created it. The sculpture was likely created by Jaume Barba, although some attribute it to Joan Fontbernat. For more details about other interesting things to see in this cemetery, visit Atlas Obscura here.
See also: Self Righting Domino Sculpture