Women, amirite? Who could possibly flip out at free king cobra left as a surprise in the bathtub? Well, Andre du Preez, a hobbyist snakecatcher in South Africa, married someone who doesn't appreciate a random romantic gesture. After rescuing the freezing, hibernating snake from construction site, he brought the cobra home to warm up in his bathtub.

Du Preez then stepped out to set up a terrarium for the snake when his wife discovered what her husband had been up to. The Daily Star reports:

But he didn't know his wife Tossie, 55, had returned early from a shopping trip – only realising when he heard her screams and the slamming of the bathroom door. [...]

He said: "When I heard all the screaming I knew I was in for it but I had only planned to give the snake a few minutes to warm up and I thought she would be gone half an hour.

"She may not be very tall but she has a temper and can be more dangerous than a cobra!

Du Preez was able to avoid getting bitten, though.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Silverfox Snake Rescues

“I’ve been keeping bees since 1976, and this is the first time I’ve seen anything like it” https://t.co/5r5cHvfq3t

— National Geographic (@NatGeo) August 7, 2020

Beekeeper Joseph Zgurzynski found a very odd bee with big yellow eyes a couple of months ago. Photographer Annie O’Neill was there to document the bee, which showed features of both male and female bees. Scientists who studied the pictures determined this bee shows mosaic gynandromorphism, meaning it has both male DNA and female DNA throughout its body. How does that happen? You probably know a bit about genetics, reproduction, and mutations in humans and other mammals, but you can throw all that out the window when it comes to honeybees. Entomologist Natalie Boyle of Pennsylvania State University explains.

When a queen and a drone mate, their fertilized eggs only ever generate female bees. That’s because males are created from unfertilized eggs, which means they only have one set of chromosomes—those of the queen. As a result, male bees have no fathers or sons, but they do have grandfathers and grandsons.

“If you think about it for too long, you just wind up in a little bit of a mind pretzel,” says Boyle.

While the development of this particular bee has not yet been determined, there are some possibilities you can read about at National Geographic. -via Damn Interesting

The Batwoman (La mujer murcielago) is a 1968 Mexican superhero wrestling film that harnesses a gender-swapped DC character we all know. Batwoman wears full tights while wrestling, but fights crime in a bikini. If this idea intrigues you, get this- she is fighting mad scientists who are kidnapping wrestlers in order to create a sea monster. It's all explained in another video on the next page.  

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Thanks for all the love on this #IndianSnackSeries 😫💕 The snack will be quite difficult to guess. It’s less of a snack and more of a refreshment! Also it’s sweet in taste! . . #naturalmakeup #makeupaddict #hudabeauty #shophudabeauty #eyemakeup #nyxcosmetics #urbandecay #milanicosmetics #indianblogger #sponjac #narcissist #morphebrushes #kyliejenner #rollerlash #bollywood #smokeyeye #dubaiblogger #dubaimakeupblogger #mydubai #amritasingh #bollywoodactress #hijabi #anastasiabeverlyhills #maryhadalittleglam #mumbai #bollywood #lays.

A post shared by Divya Premchand (@divsglam) on Jul 20, 2020 at 6:50am PDT

Divya Premchard, a resident of Dubai, recently launched a series on Instagram wherein she recreates popular Indian snacks as eye makeup. Honestly, I have no idea what these snacks are, but they look as delicious as the makeup looks lovely.

-via Danielle Baskin

The Japanese festival Tanabata is based on the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi, literal star-crossed lovers who are separated across the Milky Way and can only see each other on the seventh day of the seventh month each year. It is celebrated at different times in July and August in different cities of Japan. The biggest festival, in Sendai, was cancelled this year, but while gatherings didn't happen, confectioners in Japan made seasonal treats anyway.

近江屋の上生菓子【天の川】
錦玉制
レモン果汁入り
天の川を手の平に表現するイメージで作りました^o^
星雲を表すために色々と工夫しております！
まずは目で小さな天の川を堪能して
最後は口の中でほんのりレモン味の織姫、彦星の恋愛模様をご堪能下さい。#天の川 #和菓子 #近江屋 pic.twitter.com/HewLdp22R7

— 菓舗 近江屋 (@oumiya_toyota) June 30, 2020

The sweet shop Ōmiya in Toyota produced Tanabata-themed wagashi representing the Milky Way itself!

Done in kingyoku style and flavored with lemon juice, we created a rendition of the Milky Way that can fit into the cusp of your palm! We used multiple colors to imitate the heavenly clouds. First, be sure to enjoy the gorgeous colors with your eyes, and then lastly, enjoy the subtle taste of lemon representing Orihime and Hikoboshi’s bittersweet love with your mouth.”

The transparent sweets are made of agar colored to resemble the heavens, with flecks of gold for the stars. We don't know whether the flecks are actual edible gold, but they sure look nice! Read more about Tanabata and see more artistic treats made for the festival at SoraNews24.  -via Everlasting Blort

We've seen version of the classic plague doctor's mask, shaped like a bird's beak and filled with aromatics to prevent inhaling the deadly miasma. While those did exist during the 17th century, they weren't universal. They were kind of expensive, so doctors and others who were charged with treating plague victims were more likely to wear something akin to what you see above, which resembles a cross between modern medical hazmat suits and Ku Klux Klan robes.  

The sleeves on this get-up are tight to the wrist like modern protective gear, which fits the admonition above to not wear fancy sleeves (Ruisinger questions the 1656 engraving on this basis; the man has voluminous sleeves and may not even be wearing gloves. To this I would suggest that views on miasma were a matter of opinion, not science). The most interesting aspect for me is that the hood has a long bib at the front; a feature shared with two of the Italian beaked masks that I featured in my other article. Perhaps those were the ‘Gucci’ option, or just an alternative view on what would work best?

Read more about the features and variety of the PPE of centuries past at the BS Historian. -via Strange Company

Practically anything can be used for an exchange medium, as long as the community recognizes and agrees on its worth. It also helps if the item used is hard to counterfeit. Seashells have filled that job in all parts of the world throughout history, even into 20th-century California.

When the America’s banks closed during the Great Depression, communities strapped for cash began circulating their own temporary currency. In 1933, Leiter’s Pharmacy in Pismo Beach, California, issued a clamshell as change, which was signed as it changed hands and redeemed when cash became available again. That shell (pictured top) is now on display at the National Museum of American History.

Read an overview of how seashells have been used as currency in different places at Messy Messy Chic.

(Image credit: Chase Manhattan Bank)

As you may recall, Yogi Bear and his sidekick Boo Boo were always looking for unaccompanied pic-a-nic baskets belonging to tourists at Jellystone Park. That concept was based on real bear behavior, which you can see is still the modus operandi any time bears and humans are in the same place. This bear has no use for a cooler full of ice, except as a stepping stool, but he found the bag of lunch right away and made a quick getaway. -via Digg

Well, sort of. Russian artist Roman Booteen modified a 1921 U.S. dollar coin to feature a glove, a sword, and a surprising mechanism. His carving on the coin is exceptional, as the coin now features a metal armor glove with decorative, hand-engraved details. The additional charm in this piece of art is from a hidden mechanism when a hidden button is pressed, as My Modern Met detailed: 

The glove is holding onto a sword that seems to be plunged into the side of the coin. The piece is already impressive as a still sculpture; however, once the hidden button on the outer edge of the coin is pressed, the metal components come to life. An integrated spring allows the fingers of the glove to move, as if it’s gasping the sword’s handle.

image via My Modern Met

In order to reduce the digging up of precious metals like gold, and silver, which would also reduce the amount of electronic waste that we have, sustainable fashion brand Vollebak has created this watch made up of this type of waste. The company has appropriately named its analog device the “Garbage Watch.”

As its name suggests, the upcycled timepiece is constructed with old motherboards, microchips, and computer parts, utilizing bright electrical cords as the strap with an open face and exposed mechanisms. “We’ve taken an ‘inside-out’ design approach with the Garbage Watch, making the functional inner workings highly visible,” said Vollebak co-founder Nick Tidball in a statement to Inhabitat. “Our aim was to reframe an often invisible and hazardous end of the supply chain, and make people think deeply about the impact of treating their wearables in a disposable manner.”

While the watch does not seem to be water-resistant (and its mechanical parts are also exposed), it looks pretty cool and somewhat cyberpunk.

What do you think?

(Image Credit: Vollebak/ Colossal)

Panasonic may be known for their electronics, but that’s not the only thing that they make. They also manufacture kitchens, toilets, and other housing stuff. It is a surprise indeed.

Because people might be working from home longer than expected, this Japanese company decided to create this DIY furniture that could be a great help for those people.

Their latest offering, Komoru [which translates as ‘seclude oneself’], is a result [of] the prolonged pandemic-induced work-from-home environment. According to a company survey, 70% of people, if given a choice, prefer some form of working from home. At the same time, 50% of respondents also say that their primary work station at home is their living room.

Office cubicles, with their dull appearances and association with corporate mediocrity, have long been the butt of jokes. But there’s something to be said for semi-private space, partitioned or not, and their ability to foster concentration.

The DIY cubicle, however, will be a bit expensive, as Panasonic plans to sell it in September for ¥88,000 (around $831).

One commenter remarked that IKEA could sell something similar to the product at only around ¥20,000 (around $190).

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Panasonic/ Spoon & Tamago)

Everyone of us has had at least one of our plans ruined due to things that are beyond our control. Some plans are just ruined worse than others.

A man named Albert Ndreu decided to fill his apartment with candles and balloons. His plan was to pick up his girlfriend Valerija Madevic, surprise her with the romantic set-up in their studio flat, and then propose to her.

But when he went out to pick up his girlfriend to bring her home for the surprise, the flat caught fire. Fire crews rushed to the scene in Sheffield, South Yorks, at about 8.30pm on Monday.

The studio flat was gutted by flames and smoke damage.

Despite the setback, Mr Ndreu got down on one knee in the charred room and asked Miss Madevic to marry him – and she said yes.

Mr Ndreu said: “Valerija always says the most important thing is the small gestures every day – but I wanted to do something special for the proposal.

“It didn’t go exactly as I thought it would but she said yes, so I think the day took an unexpected turn but ended up exactly how I wanted it to.”

Now that’s love right there.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: SWNS/ The Telegraph)

The question “how old is the universe?” has been pondered for decades. Thanks to our ever-improving science, our estimates of the age of the universe have become more and more accurate as time goes by. Astronomers before 1999 estimated the age of the universe between 7 billion to 20 billion years. In 2013, another calculation was made, and astronomers stated that the universe is around 13.7 billion years old. Fast forward to this day, where a new team has decided to take a shot at computing the age of the universe.

Using known distances of 50 galaxies from Earth to refine calculations in Hubble's constant, a research team led by a University of Oregon astronomer estimates the age of the universe at 12.6 billion years.

Learn more about this calculation, and how the age of the universe is determined, over at ScienceDaily.

(Image Credit: geralt/ Pixabay)

We know that pollution can affect our health negatively. It can increase risk of heart attacks, as well as cause lung diseases such as asthma. But those are not the only things that pollution can do: it can also affect brain development as well. These recent studies from USC show how air pollution affects the brains of children and older women.

The first study, published in Environment International, found that these fine particles — known as PM2.5 — may alter the size of a child’s developing brain, which may ultimately increase the risk for cognitive and emotional problems later in adolescence.

“At this young age, the neurons in children’s brains are expanding and pruning at an incredible rate. As your brain develops, it wants to create efficient pathways,” said lead author Megan Herting, an assistant professor at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “If these pathways are altered by PM2.5 exposure, and different parts of the brain are maturing and making connections at different rates, that might set you up for individual differences later on.”

The other research, on the other hand, shows that older women who are more exposed to pollution have smaller white matter in their brain, which could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease.

Learn more details about these studies over at Neuroscience News.

(Image Credit: SD-Pictures/ Pixabay)

It’s good to reuse old items in order to reduce waste! These old shipping containers were turned into a luxurious hotel. The Geneseo Inn was a collaboration between architecture firm Ecotech Design, winery owners Steve Crass and Ted Plemons, and CRATE Modular. Each room in the hotel is made of two shipping containers joined at the center, as Euronews detailed: 

“The design was inspired by the vineyard itself,” says Walter Scott Perry, founder of Ecotech Design. “The most compelling attribute of this project is the use of modular components, in combination with recycled materials.”

“The structures become truly integrated with their environment. Both container units and the vineyard itself have been recycled.”

All of the other materials have been locally sourced and are either recycled or environmentally friendly. A green roof and solar panels will also be added in the future..

Inside, the ceilings and floors are made from wood and agricultural materials that were previously used by the winery.

image via Euronews