Perhaps sensing that World Lion Day is coming up on August 10th, lions Tau and Napoleon decided to speak up when their trainer, "lion whisperer" Kevin Richards, recorded a video. Richards' wildlife sanctuary is located about an hour northeast of Johannesburg, South Africa. Talk about putting the pressure on to prompt donations! Roar! Via Tastefully Offensive.
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Typical behavior of the hognose snake is to play dead when threatened. Knowing this, two men encountered this snake and tested its resolution to play dead. Snake 1, men 0. Via i09.
Stan Lee has made so many entertaining cameo appearances in media presentations that it's hard to pick favorites. However, in this video produced by Watch Mojo, a valiant effort is made to do just that. From security guard to Hugh Hefner, comic book writer to publishing executive — Lee has quite the range! Via Geeks Are Sexy.
Biomimicry is a term that describes the use of natural and biological information toward advances in the industry of robotics. Shown here are mechanical animal models that are helping German industrial control and automation company Festo gather information as to the movement and energy expenditure of animals. In this case, the focus is on the kangaroo, from which there is much to be learned with regard to the biomechanics of jumping.
Andrea Minini is an Italian artist and graphic designer who uses Adobe Illustrator to produce these playful minimalist vector images. Minini calls this series Animals in Moiré. Moiré is defined as s visual effect that appears when a series of lines or dots is superimposed over another such set of differing size, angle or spacing.
Prints by Minini are available at her Behance site, as well as at My Modern Met.
I've often called stores like Target to check stock on a item in an effort to reduce my time spent trying to procure it. Here, Jack Vale makes calls to check stock, only to find what he suspected was true: the employees who handled his calls weren't actually checking stock. While I've had the feeling the same thing was happening to me in the past, I never verified that, choosing instead to look in another store.
What has happened to me more than once is an employee quickly telling me that the store is fully stocked on an item, only to get there 15 minutes later and learn they've been waiting on stock for days. Perhaps calling ahead to certain stores doesn't really save time after all. Via Viral Viral Videos.
Internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer Marina Cano's work has a unique quality; the animals' camaraderie and vitality really shines. Their bonds are strikingly evident to the point of being moving. Cano, based in Cantabria, Spain, does the photo shoots in natural environments all over the world, often at national parks and on wildlife safaris.
Photos that appear to have a black background are achieved by shooting against man-made shelters built for the animals' refuge in times of inclement weather
See more of this series here. Visit Cano's website, 500px site and Facebook page to see much more of her work.
Are you familiar with George Eastman's contributions with regard to the history of photography? Do you know the circumstances of his death? This video offers a brief yet interesting explanation. Via Unique Daily.
Chinese fishing boat captain Cai Chengzhu caught a two-ton whale shark, bound it to the top of his truck with rope, and headed to the market to sell it, despite it being an endangered, protected species. The massive creature attracted a crowd of onlookers in Yangzhi county, Fujian province, which took pictures and posted them on the Chinese equivalent to Twitter.
The fishermen first encountered the whale shark when it broke their net in an attempt to eat the fish trapped within. Chengzhu claims the creature died while trying to escape, so he and his crew took it to shore with them, planning to sell it. Before they could carry out the sale, government officials put a stop to it.
The lifespan of a whale shark is approximately 100 years. This particular whale shark was thought to be a juvenile. Via Unique Daily.
Michael the pygmy goat at My Petting Zoo in Cave Creek, Arizona had a crush on a sheep. It was a secret for a while, until his ewe girlfriend gave birth to a geep. Then the jig was up. Everyone forgave Michael his crossbreeding ways when Butterfly the geep was born. That much cuteness wins over any silly goat grudge all day long.
Butterfly was named after her black markings. She has the face and hooves of a goat, and the wool and fuzzy tail of a sheep. Her keeper Priscilla says she's active, friendly and smart. She is often featured on the zoo's Facebook page, as most stars are. Stop by and leave a message for smiling Butterfly (or to tell Michael you're not one to judge).
Images Credit: My Petting Zoo on Facebook
It's really too bad for Dr. Spock that Katy Perry (and possibly her mom) were just sparkles in the eyes of their ancestors when he wrote his legendary baby book. Now is the golden age, with the magical knowledge that Katy Perry is the apparent answer to baby tears. Life with children will now be a relative breeze (except for people like me, who have a strict Katy Perry ban on all stereo equipment). Via Viral Viral Videos.
YouTube, Facebook and other sites for which you may have passwords do not know your password. How, then, do they verify it? Internet magic! Tom Scott explains in this video.
The beauty of nature stuns and keeps us humble in these photographs of vast expanses of wilderness in relation to the human form.
Is someone in your life having a narcissistic moment? Show him or her a few of these beauties. If the person has any sense at all, that should put things into perspective. See more of these amazing photos here.
Lucas, shown in the top photo above at 300 pounds, decided to get healthy. For over a year, he followed a sensible diet of 1,350 calories per day. He explains his program,
"No foods were off limit, but I survived mostly on tuna salad, chicken with salsa, frozen vegetables, beans and rice, turkey/roast beef sandwiches, spinach, and eggs. After I lost 100 pounds I started walking to work (5 miles) for about 2 months until it got too cold outside. The "fat" picture was taken may of 2012, but I didn't actually start losing until December 27th."
Photo number two shows Lucas after his amazing 130-pound weight loss. The young man decided to surprise his parents with his accomplishment. After a post about his weight loss on Reddit, other Redditors encouraged Lucas to film his parents' reaction to seeing him at his new weight for the first time. Lucas liked the idea and took the suggestion. That footage is below. Lucas also linked to a document containing seven months of his daily food logs. What a wonderful inspiration to everyone who would like to get healthier by taking off a few (or more) pounds! Via 22 Words.
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, British artist Lucy Sparrow took over an abandoned corner space in Bethnal Green, east London, and transformed it into an art installation called The Corner Shop. On display is Sparrow's fabulous handiwork in the form of 4,000 felt items, all hand-sewn. Recognizable brands of quick shop fare are "merchandised" similar to the way they would be in an actual store. The colorful inventory consists of likenesses so well done that from a distance, they might fool the eye. (I wonder if felt canned spaghetti tastes better than the real thing?)
Sparrow's Corner Shop items are all available for purchase online. See more of Sparrow's work at her website. Via Colossal.
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