Tuesday 25 December 2018

600 Surfing Santas Make A Big Splash In Cocoa Beach, Florida


Christmas is Santa Claus’ busiest day, so it makes sense that he’d want to chill by the beach beforehand.

That’s what happened in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on Christmas Eve, where 600 Santas of all ages, sizes and genders joined forces to hang 10 en masse.

Surfing Santas has been a tradition in Cocoa Beach since 2009, when surfer George Trosset saw a Honda ad featuring surfers in Santa suits.

He had his wife fashioned a wetsuit that looked like Claus’ traditional outfit, and it made a splash, according to Space Coast Daily.

Monday’s Surfing Santas event raised $40,000 for two local nonprofit organizations: Grind for Life, which helps people with cancer, and the Florida Surf Museum.

These Santas weren’t riding sleighs and were more likely to glide along with jellyfish than reindeer, but from the photos, it looks like a cool way to spend Christmas Eve.   



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/surfing-santas-cocoa-beach_us_5c2136e3e4b08aaf7a8b855a ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Monday 24 December 2018

These Gorgeous Space Images Are Making People Want To Ice Skate On Mars


Stunning images from Mars have people across the internet wanting to strap on a space helmet and a pair of skates.

On Thursday, the European Space Agency released two gorgeous pictures of the Korolev crater, which the agency called an “especially well-preserved example of a martian crater” filled with ice.

The vivid pictures were created by combining five images taken by the ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, which first entered orbit around Mars in 2003 and is still active today. The agency released the composite images this week in honor of the 15-year anniversary of the spacecraft swinging into orbit.

The crater is about 51 miles wide and, according to the ESA news release, is found “the northern lowlands of Mars, just south of a large patch of dune-filled terrain that encircles part of the planet’s northern polar cap.”

Lovely!

Of course, the images ― plus the fact that the crater is filled with ice “year-round” ― had many would-be space travelers itching to go skating on the red planet.

And if you’re still not convinced that gliding along a Martian crater would be incredible, take it from Olympic gold-medalist figure skater Scott Hamilton, who had some thoughts about how he could make use of outer space amenities.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ice-skating-mars-korolev-crater_us_5c1acdabe4b08aaf7a84b5c8 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

One Of The Best Viral Videos Of The Year Was At Least Partially Staged

Some very observant Grinches have managed to ruin one of the holiday season’s most popular viral videos by proving at least parts of it were staged.

Former NASA engineer Mark Rober’s video, posted on YouTube Monday, attracted more than 42 million views and lots of acclaim from people victimized by package-delivery thefts. The impressively produced clip shows off Rober’s invention ― a baited box that blasts glitter and fart spray on thieves when they open the package, takes video of the surprised crooks and tracks the location by GPS.

But the video also attracted the attention of internet sleuths, who noticed that one of the alleged porch bandits seemed to be a neighbor of Rober’s friend, Cici, and that a car used in a heist was parked right in front of her house in Pittsburg, California, BuzzFeed notes. 

People on Reddit and Twitter also pointed out that the thieves’ reaction to being sprayed with glitter and fart spray was a tad too laid back to be real, and that no one had called the police to report any of the package thefts.

On Thursday, Rober admitted on Twitter that portions of the video were probably staged, but insisted he had nothing to do with it.

In his admission, Rober wrote that he reached out to people willing to put a package on their porch and “a friend of a friend” volunteered.

“It appears in these two cases, the ‘thieves’ were actually acquaintances of the person helping me,” Rober said. “From the footage I received from the phones which only record at specific times, this wasn’t clear to me. I have since removed those reactions from the original video (originally 6:26-7:59).”

 

Rober then apologized for posting what was at least partially faked video, but insisted some of the crooks whose reactions were shown in the video were genuine.

“Having said that, I know my credibly [sic] is sort of shot but I encourage you to look at the types of videos I’ve been making for the past 7 years,” he wrote.

Rober added that he’s “especially gutted because so much thought, time, money and effort went into building the device and I hope this doesn’t just taint the entire effort as ‘fake.’” 

You can see Rober’s video with his new edits below.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mark-rober-glitter-fart-bomb-video-faked_us_5c1d1257e4b05c88b6f ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Alabama Police Department Blames Homicide Increase On Godlessness, Satan


A small-town Alabama police department this week alleged Beelzebub is responsible for a recent spike in homicides and it’s all thanks to nonbelievers in the rural community.

The Opp Police Department shared the bold opinion on its Facebook page Tuesday. Written in all capital letters, it read, in part:

THIS IS HAPPENING BECAUSE WE HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM GOD AND EMBRACED SATAN. WE MAY HAVE NOT MEANT TO DO SO BUT, WE HAVE. IT IS TIME TO ASK FOR GOD’S HELP TO STOP THIS.

According to the Facebook post, which has since been deleted, there have been five homicides in Opp this past year. It’s a huge jump for a small town which, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, reported only two homicides between 2007 and 2017.

The Opp Police Department, in its Facebook post, did not elaborate on the homicides or the alleged motivations behind them.

The agency provided no numbers on how many residents of the 6,500-person town it suspects of being nonbelievers or whether it plans to do anything about it beyond publicly chastising them.

The post quickly brought the ire of an organization that promotes the separation of church and state. The group pointed out it’s illegal for government entities to endorse or criticize any religious beliefs.

“The department has very directly endorsed one religious ideology to the exclusion of minority religions and atheism, and decried Satanism,” said Sam Grover, an attorney who represents the Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation.

“Neither message is permissible,” Grover added.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation on Wednesday demanded Opp police issue a retraction.

“Police officers take an oath to protect and serve all citizens, including those who practice a minority religion or no religion at all,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, the organization’s co-president. “This inappropriate post sends a chilling message to non-Christians and non-believers that they are presumed guilty.”

In addition to courting controversy, the post, which went viral, managed to attract numerous trolls to the police department’s Facebook page. Everything that has been posted since Tuesday ― from weather updates to police calls ― has resulted in comments jokingly placing the blame on Satan’s shoulders.

Still, of the many unanswered questions is whether Satan is actually working overtime in Opp. HuffPost on Friday was unable to locate the diabolical entity for comment.

Send David Lohr an email or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alabama-police-blame-satan-homicide_us_5c1d2021e4b05c88b6f847d8 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Friday 21 December 2018

Toledo Goes Crazy For Roadside Weed Decorated For Christmas


TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A few weeks ago it was just another overgrown street corner weed. Now it’s decked out with Christmas lights and ornaments and sprouting holiday goodwill.

The Christmas weed, as it’s affectionately known across Toledo, has become an overnight holiday attraction, bringing out hundreds of children and adults who have been lining up for selfies and leaving behind donations for the needy.

It all began when one family decorated the weed to spread some Christmas cheer. But the sad and scraggly weed has grown into something bigger.

“It’s a true Christmas story,” said Jimmy Izbinski, who joined the fun this week by putting on a Santa Claus suit and waving to motorists passing by with smiles on their faces. “With love, a weed can be a beautiful thing.” 

The weed, which once stood 4 feet high (1.2 meters high) and shoots out from the edge of a traffic island, started out with just a bit of tinsel and garland nearly two weeks ago.

In the past few days, others have added lights, candy canes and glass ornaments — leaving little of the weed visible — while surrounding it with canned goods, blankets, clothes and wrapped gifts.

A dead potted plant draped with Santa hats and bows has been added to the collection. At some point over the past few days, someone apparently ripped off the top of the weed, but that didn’t dampen the good cheer.

Of course, there have been jokes about whether the weed might be the variety that could get you arrested in Ohio, and there’s a Facebook page dedicated to daily updates.

So many donations have been pouring in that the city brought in bins on Wednesday to handle the overflow and warned people to be careful while stopping at the busy intersection.

All of the contributions, the city said, will be given to local charities.

“It’s awesome that the community is coming together to share the spirit like this,” said Tenley Hauser, of nearby Temperance, Michigan, who stopped by to see the weed this week. “It started out with a little weed and look what it’s turned into.”



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/christmas-weed-toledo_us_5c1bd067e4b05c88b6f616ec ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Hunter Snares A Frightfully Long Burmese Python In The Everglades

John Hammond just put the squeeze on a monster Burmese python.

Hunting for Florida’s program to combat the invasive species, Hammond spotted the snake in the Everglades on Sunday.

“I figured at that point it was either write it down and say I saw one or pick it up and say I got one,” Hammond told Spectrum News 13.

Hammond told Fox 4 in the segment above that he grabbed it by the head, and the beast constricted around him from the waist down. Then Hammond dragged it slowly to his truck and coaxed it into a bag.

Long story short: At 18 feet, it’s the longest taken in the python elimination program, according to Fox 4 and Hammond. HuffPost didn’t immediately hear back after reaching out to Florida Fish and Wildlife for confirmation.

Here’s a full-length view posted by Florida Fish and Wildlife on Tuesday.

Hammond, known by Fish and Wildlife as a “Python Removal Contractor,” euthanized and skinned the 150-pound female for the hide, Fox 4 noted.

H/T For The Win



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hunter-burmese-python-everglades_us_5c1a81b8e4b01059bfc64ad8 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Montana Man Shoots At Guy He Thinks Is Bigfoot

A Montana man who thought he was shooting at Bigfoot on Sunday ended up making a big mistake.

The supposed Sasquatch was actually a fellow human setting up targets to shoot in a forest area near Helena.

The 27-year-old victim narrowly avoided death when one bullet hit 3 feet to his left. Another bullet whizzed by him on the right, according to the Idaho Statesman.

Police said the victim tried to avoid more gunfire by running into the trees, before he was able to confront his shooter: a man in a black Ford F-150.

The alleged shooter reportedly told the victim, “I thought you were Bigfoot,” Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton told the paper.

The victim added that the suspect told him, “I don’t target practice — but if I see something that looks like Bigfoot, I just shoot at it.”

The alleged shooter then reportedly told his victim to wear orange if he didn’t want to be confused for Bigfoot.

“It seemed like a non-emotional approach to something that’s extremely serious,” Dutton told local station KTMF TV.

The alleged victim told dispatchers the incident occurred Sunday but he didn’t report it until Monday, saying he “didn’t think it was necessary,” according to the Helena Independent Record. In addition, the man was not able to provide a description of the alleged shooter or a license plate number from the truck. Deputies have not found a vehicle matching the description, but Dutton told the Idaho Statesman that a woman has come forward saying she too had been shot at by a man in a black F-150. The woman didn’t mention Bigfoot, but she was able to give a description of her alleged attacker. Dutton said authorities are working to find the man.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/montana-hunter-shoots-at-guy-he-thinks-is-bigfoot_us_5c1aac7de4 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Old Photo Of Pope Francis Sends Redditors Into Seventh Heaven


An old photograph of Pope Francis has finally sparked the “Photoshop Battle” it probably always deserved.

The November 2017 image of the pontiff blessing and signing a Lamborghini Huracan went viral again on the website this week.

It’s likely because the custom-built car, which Lamborghini donated to the pope in November 2017, is returning to auction after its earlier sale in aid of charity fell through.

Redditors reimagined the snap in a multitude of ways. And, of course, President Donald Trump made an appearance



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pope-francis-photoshop-battle-lamborghini_us_5c1a04b7e4b0432554 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

The Wild, Weird, Hilarious And Heartbreaking Christmas Wishes From Long Ago

Ever wonder what kids in decades past wanted to receive from Santa Claus? 

The R.L. Ripples “Tweets of Old” feed, which shares lines from newspaper items, has been tweeting Christmas wishes from the late 19th and early 20th century:



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/old-christmas-wishes_us_5c19edb9e4b02d2cae8e7818 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Watch Weather Reporters' Hilarious Mistakes In 'Best News Bloopers' Compilation

A fun compilation of the year’s “Best News Bloopers” posted Monday features mistakes on all fronts of live broadcasts.

But the weather reporters emerged as the true stars, including the guy who called for “drist and mizzle” and the woman whose mangling of the word “precipitation” forced her to give up and call it rain.

The weather is often hard to predict, but forecasting that reporters will make mistakes is about as easy as saying the sun will rise in the morning.

Enjoy the video above.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/news-bloopers-weather-reporters-2018_us_5c1907cce4b08db99057e77 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Ex-NASA Engineer's Fart-Laced 'Glitter Bomb' Stuns Package Thieves

All that glitters is not gold for package thieves if they run afoul of Mark Rober’s booby-trapped device.

Rober, a former NASA engineer who worked on the Curiosity rover, put his smarts to a more earthly concern recently: stopping jerks who pilfer holiday package deliveries.

Rober, himself a victim, spent six months developing a baited box that blasts glitter and fart spray on would-be thieves when they open their surprise. The device also takes cellphone video of the culprits, uploads the footage to the cloud and can be tracked by GPS. 

Rober’s viral YouTube video, posted Monday, covers the development of his clever boxes of whoop-ass, but the best part is watching them detonate on real suspects. The most common reaction was: “What the fuck!?”

“The moral of the story is, just don’t take other peoples’ stuff,” Rober said. “Not only is it not cool, but on the plus side you’ll never find yourself in this situation.”

Other ticked-off victims have used glitter-loaded theft deterrents, but the high-tech touches Rober unleashed on these grinches are a must-see.

Watch the video above. 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/glitter-bomb-package-thieves_us_5c18c976e4b02d2cae8cd646 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Missouri Judge Orders Poacher To Repeatedly Watch 'Bambi' In Jail


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri poacher has been ordered to repeatedly watch the movie “Bambi” as part of his sentence for illegally killing hundreds of deer.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that David Berry Jr. was ordered to watch the Walt Disney movie at least once each month during his year-long jail sentence in what conservation agents are calling one of the largest deer poaching cases in state history.

Prosecutors say the deer were killed for their heads, with their bodies left to rot.

Berry was convicted in southwest Missouri’s Lawrence County of illegally taking wildlife. Three relatives and another man also were caught in connection to the poaching case. They’ve paid $51,000 in fines and court costs.

Berry also was sentenced to 120 days in jail in nearby Barton County for a firearms probation violation.

___

Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/missouri-poacher-ordered-to-repeatedly-watch-bambi_us_5c17cfaae ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Southwest Passenger Says She Was Forced To Leave Pet Fish At Denver Airport


A San Diego–area college student is accusing Southwest Airlines of forcing her to leave her pet fish at Denver International Airport.

Last Wednesday, University of Colorado sophomore Lanice Powless was getting ready to fly home for the holidays with Cassie, a pink male beta fish she has owned since her freshman year.

“I’ve taken him everywhere with me,” she told San Diego station KGTV. 

Although the Transportation Security Administration website says live fish are allowed on planes as carry-on luggage, Southwest employees told Powless only small cats and dogs that fit in an under-seat carrier are allowed.

This surprised her, she said, because she has taken numerous trips on Southwest with Cassie.

“I have traveled with it. I had it in my container too. Maybe they just didn’t make a big deal out of it,” Powless told the station. 

After a gate agent refused to hold the fish at the counter for 30 minutes so a friend could pick it up, Powless was forced to ask random passengers on other airlines that allowed fish if they could care for Cassie, according to Fox News.

Although she found a willing party to take care of Cassie, she was unable to get that person’s name or other contact info.

“[Airport staffers] were not allowing us to conversate at all because they were thinking we were going to do some, like, secret exchange throughout the airport,” Powless told KGTV. “Even after I was no longer in possession with the fish, they still continued to have security around us and follow us through the airport and escorted onto our plane, as if, like, we brought something bad into the airport.”

A Southwest representative told USA Today that while fish aren’t allowed on flights, employees “offered to re-book the Customer for a later flight to allow them to make arrangements for their pet but the Customer refused that option. The Customer eventually traveled on their originally scheduled flight.”

Powless is home for the holidays but said it won’t be a happy time.

“Everyone’s laughing at me,” she told KGTV. “Yes, it’s a fish. I know. But dang, it was my pet. And just because it wasn’t a cat or dog, it wasn’t as important?”

In August, Southwest Airlines announced it was limiting passengers to one emotional support animal per person ― and only dogs and cats are permitted.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lanice-powless-fish-denver-airport-southwest-airlines_us_5c17d3 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Shirtless Vladimir Putin Calendar Is No. 1 With Japanese Women

Vladmir Putin’s rugged sex appeal may be making Japanese women all hot and bothered.

It seems a 2019 calendar featuring the 66-year-old Russia president in various states of shirtlessness is the top-selling calendar at Loft, a popular Japanese household-items chain.

Calendar photos show Putin dipping into a freezing lake in January, playing ice hockey in February, and frolicking in the snow with dogs in December, according to the Independent.

Although the Japan Times speculated many women were buying the calendar as a “practical joke,” The Guardian claimed Putin’s ”unashamed machismo” is so attractive to Japanese women that the autocrat’s calendar is outselling even the country’s top movie stars and athletes.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vladmir-putin-calendar-bestselling-japan_us_5c17e48ee4b0856e3a1 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Christmas Inflatables Duke It Out Along Oregon Highway

The so-called “war on Christmas” is mostly fictional ― except in Brookings, Oregon, where things got frosty between some holiday inflatables.

Stormy conditions along the Oregon Coast Highway on Thursday made it look as if two blow-up snowmen were duking it out in front of a local business.

As the video above shows, it was a pretty fair fight, though the snowman in the red hat ultimately came out on top. 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/inflatable-snowman-duke-it-out-oregon_us_5c181683e4b0432554c338 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Monkey Selfies And Robot Brothels Among 2018's Weirdest Stories


NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - A hive of honeybees in the heart of New York City, a monkey with a photographer’s eye, a brothel full featuring robotic sex dolls and a political candidate who carried the day from his grave were among the characters featured in the strangest stories of 2018.

One of the most inexplicable animal stories of the year unfolded on a hot August afternoon, when a menacing horde of honeybees descended on a hot dog vendor’s umbrella, bringing Times Square to a standstill and drawing swarms of gawking tourists.

After a brief flurry of excitement, the buzzing interlopers were apprehended by a police officer armed with a vacuum cleaner-like device that sucked them up. The bees were then whisked away to safety.

Clearly, bees do not enjoy the right of free assembly in New York City. In April, a California court ruled that the animal kingdom does not have much in the way of property rights, either, in a case involving a Celebes crested macaque who took a selfie using a nature photographer’s camera.

The court rejected a lawsuit filed on the monkey’s behalf by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which argued the primate was the legal owner of all photos he took.

In a decision that likely left the plaintiffs crestfallen, the court ruled that monkeys cannot sue for copyright protection.

Animal antics and weird human behavior met up in New Hampshire in January, when a man bit a police dog whose team was investigating a reported shooting.

Authorities were attempting to arrest the man on an outstanding warrant when he bit a state police dog, who bit back and then watched while the man was Tasered.

In July, in a tourist section of Miami Beach, Florida, a homeless man with no arms was charged with stabbing a Chicago man with a pair of scissors, using his feet.

The assailant claimed self-defense, but the victim said he was only asking for directions when he was attacked.

A list of annual oddities would not be complete without a Texas entry, and Houston obliged as its City Council moved quickly in October to derail the prospect of becoming the first U.S. city to host a brothel featuring robotic sex dolls.

Upon learning of the plan by Toronto-based KinkySdollS to open in the city, local laws were altered accordingly. Henceforth, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said, “you cannot engage in sexual activities with any inanimate objects at the business.”

Low-tech brothels also made the news a month later, when a Nevada Republican who owned multiple houses of prostitution and strip clubs won election to the state legislature thanks to support from evangelical Christian voters, who overlooked both his sex business and the fact that he had died a month earlier.

In December, four months after a swarm of bees descended on Times Square, a British couple visited the famed Manhattan crossroads where the man had asked his beloved for her hand in marriage.

The woman, who had promptly answered “Yes!” to the marriage proposal, gasped “No!” as her engagement ring tumbled down a subway grate.

After contacting New York police, who searched unsuccessfully for the ring, the devastated couple returned to Britain without leaving their names with the officers.

Days later, police managed to locate the ring in the bowels of Manhattan and then - putting Twitter to the test - were able to track the unnamed lovebirds across an ocean and reunite them with the ring. 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/2018-weird-stories-reuters_us_5c184086e4b02d2cae8c65e8 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Tensions Flare When Neighbors Breathe Fire Over Dragon Christmas Display

A Louisiana woman’s choice of Christmas decorations has led one of her nosy neighbors to question whether she may be involved “in a demonic cult.”

In what has become a holiday tradition, author Diana Rowland decorates her front yard each Halloween and Christmas with festive dragons ― but this year, one grinch neighbor has taken offense. 

“Your dragon display is only marginally acceptable at Halloween,” a note left for Rowland read. “It is totally inappropriate at Christmas. It makes your neighbors wonder if you are involved in a demonic cult.”

Speaking to BuzzFeed News, Rowland said she “chortled” when receiving the “hate mail” ― and then responded by adding more halo-wearing dragons to the display. 

“I did consider removing them for about a nanosecond, and then went, ‘Nope,’” she said.

Rowland’s neighbor may think she needs help from God in knowing “the true meaning of Christmas,” but she thinks she’s already got it down pat: spreading joy. 

“Christmas is about joy. That’s what it boils down to,” she said. “If you’re a Christian, you’re feeling joy about the birth of Christ. We should all be looking for things to be joyful about.”

There’s no denying that the dragons have brightened up the holiday season for many ― including the thousands on Twitter who have caused Rowland’s display to go viral. 

“It’s got more reactions than I ever expected,” she said. “I think this obviously resonated with a lot of people. I think there are a lot of people who have experiences with bad neighbors.” 

H/T BuzzFeed



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dragon-christmas-display-louisiana_us_5c184340e4b02d2cae8c69e3 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Cat Mistakenly Shipped More Than 700 Miles From Home After Sneaking Into Box

A curious cat named Baloo was mistakenly shipped more than 700 miles away from his home in Nova Scotia, Canada after crawling into a parcel destined for Alberta.

The tabby’s owner, Jacqueline Lake, told CTV News that the mischievous, 1-year-old cat had secretly sneaked into the bottom of a package containing tire rims. The day after the parcel had been sent, Lake began searching for the missing family pet. 

“We knocked door-to-door, we searched the woods, we searched under decks, in garages, under steps ... he was gone,” she said. 

Baloo was later discovered by a delivery driver in Montreal, 17-hours into his cross-country road trip. 

A local SPCA shelter managed to track down the feline stowaway’s owners using the parcel’s tracking code. 

Baloo returned to his family, safe and sound, on Saturday evening. 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cat-mistakenly-shipped-cross-canada_us_5c171b07e4b05d7e5d835472 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

How A Beloved Christmas Tradition Was Almost Lost Forever

One of the most beloved Christmas traditions was almost lost forever.

Yule Logs are everywhere these days, on television, on YouTube and on streaming services. But the one that started it all ― the WPIX Yule Log that was originally broadcast in New York starting in 1966 ― actually vanished for years. 

“After the station discontinued the program, the original film was put in a mislabeled canister and lost/forgotten for many years,” said Brian Earl, host of Christmas Past, a podcast focusing on Christmas nostalgia. 

The only thing the station had to air on Christmas Eve in 1966 was roller derby, Earl said. So general manager Fred Thrower sent a camera crew to Gracie Mansion to film the fireplace, or what Earl called the “television equivalent of a Christmas card.” 

“It was an idea that could’ve been seen as strange, risky, bold, silly,” Earl said. “But nobody could’ve predicted that it would catch on the way it did.” 

The 17-second loop aired for three hours, with a soundtrack of Christmas music from what was, at the time, the TV station’s sister radio station. But by 1970, the recording had started to degrade and a new version was taped in California. That film aired annually on WPIX until 1989. 

But it too disappeared. 

Chip Arcuri, a Yule Log fan who runs a website dedicated to it, said on the podcast that the second version was found mislabelled in a canister in New Jersey as a “Honeymooners” episode. 

“The program was in a miserable state,” Arcuri said. “They diced, they sliced, they chopped, they pureed.” 

It was cut from three hours to two and missing its beloved music. The station that had provided the soundtrack was defunct. Even worse, most of the songs were rare and out-of-print. 

That’s where Arcuri’s Yule Log fandom paid off. 

“I had every record in my collection,” he said. “If it wasn’t for my collection, the program could not have been fully restored.” 

Arcuri and a friend restored the program for WPIX. 

In July 2016, the original 1966 Yule Log recording was found during a hunt for archival footage of Donald Trump, then a presidential candidate. 

“It was like Christmas in July,” digital director Rolando Pujol, who found the footage, told Parade at the time. 

That footage was also restored and re-aired. 

“To me, it has tremendous value as a piece of TV history,” Pujol told NorthJersey.com. “The Yule Log is high-concept TV ― which, in the face of it, sounds like a ratings disaster and a very bad decision. But it draws people in and compels them. And they keep it on as a sort of friend that you have over to your house every holiday. You turn it on and it’s there.”

Of course, WPIX is no longer the only Yule Log around. Copycat logs have popped up around the country and online, including HD, 3D and VR logs. There are also plenty of novelty Yule Logs online: 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/yule-log-lost-then-found_us_5c17275ee4b009b8aea89fa2 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Sunday 16 December 2018

Rocco The Cheeky Parrot Keeps Using Amazon's Alexa To Order Snacks


A mischievous parrot who was booted from an animal sanctuary for his foul mouth has found a friend in Amazon’s Alexa device. 

Rocco, an African grey, was caught using the virtual assistant to play his favorite music, tell jokes and even order snacks, The Times of London reports. 

Thankfully the device’s parental lock system prevented the clever boy from actually purchasing any items ― which included strawberries, ice cream and even a kettle. 

Owner Marion Wischnewski told The Times she took the parrot in after he was removed from a sanctuary operated by the UK’s National Animal Welfare Trust for swearing too much.  

Rocco, who was taught to curse by a previous owner, is evidently loving his new home, interacting with Alexa up to 40 times a day and mastering countless household sounds. 

“He knows the telephone and can make different mobile ringtones,” Wischnewski said. “He can do the microwave or the squeaking door on my fridge. He can do the ice cream van in the summer, and a truck reversing so loud you think it’s in your living room.”

 

 

 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/parrot-alexa-amazon-shopping_us_5c159050e4b05d7e5d8290ee ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

The Most Profound ’Shower Thoughts’ On Reddit This Week

The shower isn’t just a place to sing. Separated from our cellphones, standing under running water often allows people’s minds to run free.

Reddit has an entire “Shower Thoughts” subreddit dedicated to “the miniature epiphanies you have that highlight the oddities within the familiar.” In honor of those weird, wonderful and sometimes profound musings, here are some of the best posts from the last week:



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/reddit-shower-thoughts-december-2018-15_us_5c14fcc1e4b05d7e5d82 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Motorist Tells Angry Cyclist He Can Use Cellphone Safely, Then Hits Another Car

A Scottish bicyclist who filmed a motorist using a cellphone while driving, then confronted him about it, watched the driver crash into another car moments later ― after the man seems to claim he can safely drive while fiddling with the phone.

No one appears to have been hurt in the fender-bender crash, but some might say karma was served.

In an edited viral video of the encounter posted last week, the cyclist, Dr. Dave Brennan, pulls next to the driver in traffic and chastises him for claiming he can safely use his phone while commuting.

“It’s people like you that kill people like me,” Brennan says in the clip, above.

The driver soon pulls away ― and later plows into a car that stops in front of him.

Brennan offered the video evidence to the motorist whose car was struck by the phone-wielding driver, but the two motorists decided to settle the matter themselves, he told The Scotsman. 

Brennan, a safety advocate, said he has previously used footage from his helmet cam to help convict other distracted drivers.

“Cameras are absolutely critical,” he told the outlet. “Had I gone to the police in these cases without a camera, it would have been my word against the drivers’.”



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cyclist-driver-cellphone-accident_us_5c13aca3e4b0f60cfa28485a ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Blue Scorpion Venom Is Popular Pain Medicine In Cuba

(Reuters) - Once a month for the last decade, Pepe Casanas, a 78-year-old Cuban farmer, has hunted down a scorpion to sting himself with, vowing that the venom wards off his rheumatism pains.

His natural remedy is no longer seen as very unusual here. Researchers in Cuba have found that the venom of the blue scorpion, whose scientific name is Rhopalurus junceus, endemic to the Caribbean island, appears to have anti-inflammatory and pain relief properties, and may be able to delay tumor growth in some cancer patients.

While some oncologists abroad say more research is needed to be able to properly back up such a claim, Cuban pharmaceutical firm Labiofam has been using scorpion venom since 2011 to manufacture the homeopathic medicine Vidatox.

The remedy has proven popular. Labiofam Business Director Carlos Alberto Delgado told Reuters sales were climbing 10 percent annually. Vidatox already sells in around 15 countries worldwide and is currently in talks with China to sell the remedy there.

In Cuba, where tens of thousands of patients have been treated with Vidatox, each vial costs under a dollar. On the black market abroad it can cost hundred times that - retailers on Amazon.com are seen selling them for up to $140.

“I put the scorpion where I feel pain,” Casanas said while demonstrating his homemade pain relief with a scorpion that he found under a pile of debris on the patch of land he cultivates in Cuba’s western province of Pinar del Rio.

After squeezing it long enough, it stung him and he winced.

“It hurts for a while, but then it calms and goes and I don’t have any more pain,” he said.

Casanas, a leathery-skinned former tobacco farmer who now primarily grows beans for his own consumption, said he sometimes keeps a scorpion under his straw hat like a lucky charm. It likes the shade and humidity, he says, so just curls up and sleeps.

FROM FARM TO LAB

In a Labiofam laboratory in the southern Cuban city of Cienfuegos, workers dressed in scrubs and hairnets tend to nearly 6,000 scorpions housed in plastic containers lined up on rows of metal racks.

Every few days they feed and water the arachnids that sit on a bed of small stones. Once a month, they apply an 18V electrical jolt to their tails using a handcrafted machine in order to trigger the release of a few drops of venom.

The venom is then diluted with distilled water and shaken vigorously, which homeopathic practitioners believe activates its “vital energy.”

The scorpions are caught in the wild as Labiofam workers believe their venom - which is not dangerous - is not as potent when raised in captivity. 

After two years of exploitation in the “escorpionario,” they are released back into the wild.

Dr. Fabio Linares, the head of Labiofam’s homeopathic medicine laboratory who developed the medicine, said Vidatox stimulates the body’s natural defense mechanisms.

“After four to five years (of taking it), the doctor whose care I was in told me that my cancer hadn’t advanced,” said Cuban patient Jose Manuel Alvarez Acosta, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008.

Still, Labiofam recommends Vidatox as a supplemental treatment and says it should not replace conventional ones. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh, editing by G Crosse)



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/blue-scorpion-venom-pain-meds_us_5c1421eae4b009b8aea7466e ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

A Child ‘Teleported’ Into A BBC News Report And Everyone Freaked Out

BBC viewers were left puzzled this week when a child appeared to teleport into a news report.

Twitter user @realTewkesburyBC shared video of the bizarre incident online Wednesday: 

“WTF... does anyone else see the child teleport?” the person asked in a tweet.

The clip prompted various pop culture references in response: 

So, has the BBC developed some kind of “Star Trek”-level transportation technology?

Not quite.

According to this thread from Tom Richell, the head of video at British news website The Independent, the strange video clip resulted from the editing process:

Mystery solved! 

 

 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/child-teleported-bbc-news-viral-video-twitter_us_5c139467e4b0f6 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Santa Horrifies Parents In England By Yelling 'Get The F**k Out!' At Event

Ho! Ho! No!

The organizers of a Christmas event that took place this past Sunday in St. Ives, England, are apologizing for the behavior of the Santa Claus they hired. 

It seems this Santa got a little naughty with his language while trying to do a nice thing: evacuate people from what he thought was a burning building.

At some point during the Father Christmas Grotto event, smoke machines from a separate event being held one floor below caused the fire alarm to go off.

The man hired to be Santa reportedly immediately ripped off his hat and beard and told the crowd of around 50 people to “get the fuck out!” according to Cambridgeshire Live.

Although Claus’ directive was a sensible thing to do when there is a fire, his coarse language left some parent fuming.

“People were in the process of vacating the building and in came angry Santa swearing using the most vile language, ripping off his hat and beard with steam literally coming from his ears, not too sure why he was so cross?” one parent told the Sun. “He was shouting at people to leave, which is exactly what we were doing. Very strange behavior.”

But one parent, Sharon Bavister, came to Santa’s defense.

“Surely evacuating the children was his main priority,” she told the paper. “Yes it was probably the smoke machine but imagine if it wasn’t?”

The organizers, Festival Events St Ives, or FESt, used that line in their own apology:

“Last Sunday during a family rave event (not a FESt event) in the Corn Exchange, St Ives, the fire alarms were activated by smoke in the Charter Hall. “Santa was upstairs in his grotto, an event organised by Festival Events St Ives (a voluntary organisation) and immediately assisted in the evacuation of the building. “FESt wish to apologise for any offence or distress caused to parents and children by the attempts to ensure all visitors and staff had exited the building and were safe.”

Organizers will hold the same event this weekend. HuffPost reached out to see if the same Santa would be on the job, but the message was not immediately returned.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/foul-mouthed-bad-santa-england_us_5c12a7d9e4b002a46c156fa8 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Students Make Professor The Punchline After He Challenges Them To Go Viral

When a media professor handed students an assignment challenging them to go viral online, he suspected they would never pull it off. But they passed with flying colors by making him the butt of the joke.

Missouri State University student Sydney Arlt, along with several other classmates, posted a video on Twitter, claiming that the professor, Andrew Cline, “threw a party instead of having a final and no one showed up.”

Next to the text are sad face and broken heart emoji, taking a jab at the purportedly unpopular professor.

The clip quickly gained momentum online, receiving well over 7 million views within days.

But in reality, there was no party. The class staged the scene in response to Cline’s challenge, and while he appears in the video, it’s all an act.

Cline told HuffPost he never expected the video to spread like wildfire.

“I was surprised to the extent that it went viral,” he said. “I thought the group had a good idea — meaning their justification for the choices they were making fit with our class discussions. When they told me the idea, I thought it was possible to get maybe 50,000 views. That would have been on the high side of typical for most groups over the past six years I’ve been giving this assignment.”

A major point of the assignment, he explained, was “to show them that making something go viral on purpose is very difficult,” but the students left him stunned.

While it is clear now that the sad-looking party depicted in the clip never actually occurred, some Twitter users had no idea, sending their sympathies to the professor and accusing students of engaging in nasty behavior.

“Omg he even sprung for caramel delights. This professor deserves better!” one user lamented.

But Cline said that even in today’s era of misinformation and claims of fake news, the staged festivities didn’t bother him.

“This video was not fake news. It was simply fake,” he said. “And it wasn’t information, by any definition of that word I understand. There’s a large difference between a trifle such as this video and actual fake news meant to fool the public about important civic situations.”

The upside of fooling people, he added, was that it might cause “a few of them to question their consumption habits” when it comes to the media.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/professor-missouri-state-university-viral-video_us_5c113977e4b0 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

102-Year-Old May Be World's Oldest Skydiver After Jumping For Charity

Irene O’Shea may have just started skydiving two years ago at the age of 100, but she is showing no signs of stopping now.

The 102-year-old great-grandmother of 11 attempted to break the record for the world’s oldest skydiver after she leapt from a plane in South Australia on Sunday. O’Shea completed the milestone jump to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease Association of SA, or MNDSA, a nonprofit organization that supports those who suffer from motor neuron disease.

O’Shea, whose daughter died of the disease at the age of 67, was able to raise nearly $12,000 for the organization, according to the Adelaide-based newspaper The Advertiser.

She is still raising money for the cause on GoFundMe. 

SA Skydiving, a skydiving shop based in Wellington, assisted O’Shea with her jump Sunday. The 102-year-old was challenging a previous record held by Kenny Meyers, a New Jersey man who set the latest record in 2017 after completing his jump in Sussex County. 

When she set the record this weekend, O’Shea was 21 days older than Meyers was when he set the record in 2017, The Advertiser reported.

This marks the third time O’Shea took the sky-high leap with SA Skydiving. She completed her first jump with the company in 2016 on her 100th birthday. She returned again in 2017 for another jump, but used it to raise funds for MND South Australia.

Matt “Teags” Teager of SA Skydiving told HuffPost that the company is submitting O’Shea’s jump to Guinness World Records officials for consideration.

“It’s a fantastic achievement by an incredible lady,” Teager said in an email.

O’Shea is already thinking of doing the jump again ― and again.

“Possibly I will jump next year, and, if I live long enough, I’ll jump at 105,” she told The Advertiser.

Check out photos of O’Shea’s impressive jump below.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oldest-skydiver-charity-australia_us_5c107e36e4b0ac537179ccfb ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Better Watch Out: Krampus Is Back To Spread Holiday Fear

In some European countries, naughty kids face something a whole lot worse than a lump of coal in their stocking at Christmas. 

Krampus is a counterpart to Santa Claus, and he’s the opposite of jolly and merry. According to tradition, the half-demon, half-goat creature punishes bad children by beating them with a bundle of birch sticks. Then, he hauls them off in a basket on his back. 

Some communities celebrate with parades featuring costumed Krampuses dancing, marching and mockingly threatening the spectators. One such event was held in Munich over the weekend: 

The costumes were elaborate. Some even featured hand-carved masks:

“Krampusnacht,” or Krampus night, is often held on Dec. 5, the night before the Dec. 6 feast day for St. Nicholas. But many communities schedule Krampus events at other times. Munich plans to hold another Krampus run on Dec. 23.

Some cities in the United States also hold Krampus events on various dates. 

See more images from this year’s Krampus celebrations below: 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/krampus-night-parade-run-2018_us_5c10b872e4b084b082fdf157 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Watch The Heart-Stopping Moment A Woman Saves Her Baby From An Out-Of-Control Truck

A frightening scene was caught on camera in Vietnam earlier this week when a tractor-trailer drove over a divider and smashed into several cars. Then, it headed right for a woman clutching a baby. 

The woman and child barely managed to escape both the truck and one of the cars that it knocked across the road. 

It’s not clear what caused the accident. 

See the crash in the video above.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-baby-truck_us_5c109d8ce4b0ac537179d640 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

835 Tuba Players Set World Record By Playing 'Silent Night' All At Once

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A massive tuba ensemble has smashed a Guinness World Record in Kansas City and spread some Christmas cheer.

KSHB-TV reports that 835 tuba players performed “Silent Night” on Friday at a downtown arena, setting a new Guinness World Records. The previous record of 502 tuba players in California in 2007.

A Guinness official was on hand to verify the feat. The concert was part of the annual TubaChristmas event organized by the Kansas City Symphony.

Symphony executive director Frank Byrne says the musicians ranged in age from 11 to 86.

A few performed on a tenor version of the tuba, called a euphonium.

___ Information from: KSHB-TV, http://www.kshb.com



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/largest-tuba-ensemble-kansas-city_us_5c0fe1ede4b06484c9ff3e7e ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Jack Sparrow Impersonator Claims To Have Divorced A 300-Year-Old Ghost Pirate

An Irish woman who says she married a 300-year-old pirate ghost apparently got spooked and has left the marriage.

“So I feel it’s time to let everyone know that my marriage is over,” Amanda Sparrow Teague wrote on social media this week. “I will explain all in due course but for now all I want to say is be VERY careful when dabbling in spirituality, it’s not something to mess with.”

Teague, who works as a Jack Sparrow impersonator, says she got married to a Haitian pirate from the 1700s who was executed for thieving, according to the Irish Mirror. The ceremony apparently took place on a boat in international waters and was carried out by a shaman priest. (Fact-checking site Snopes.com investigated the partnership and determined it was not, in fact, a legal marriage.)

“Growing up in Ireland in my era, you were taught that if a man bedded you, he should wed you,” Teague told People.com. “I knew from my research that spiritual marriage was a thing, so it was more me that wanted to get married than him — he would have been happy like most men with just sex.”

Teague’s apparition affair began on a happier note in 2014, when she says she suddenly felt the spirit’s energy with her in bed. She told the Daily Star the spirit sat with her while she watched TV and drove her car, and that she started developing “strong loving feelings” toward it.

It’s worth noting that, in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, the character of Edward Teague (played by guitarist Keith Richards in “Dead Men Tell No Tales”) is the father of the character Jack Sparrow, whose full name would be ... Jack Teague. Newsweek reports it was unable to verify the existence of a person so named when it looked in January.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/amanda-teague-split-pirate-ghost_us_5c10257de4b00e17a533c8ae ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Squirrel Is So Excited For UPS Delivery That He Can't Keeps His Paws To Himself

Everyone gets excited for packages... even squirrels.

A UPS worker was startled by a curious squirrel during a delivery in Chicago last week ― and he handled it like a pro.

“I was just there bobbing my head jamming to music, and all of a sudden I felt a tug. It startled me,” UPS driver Oscar Luciano told CBS 2 in Chicago. “I felt like Snow White with all her animal friends.” 

Luciano said he didn’t think anyone would believe him, but as it turns out, the entire encounter was caught on camera.

Check it out above. 

 

(h/t Boing Boing)



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/squirrel-ups-delivery_us_5c0f5f30e4b08bcb27ebd4cf ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Finish-Line Slide Goes ‘Horribly Wrong’ As Runner Face-Plants His Way To Victory


Well, at least he won. 

French runner Jimmy Gressier attempted to win with flair as he crossed the finish line in the under-23 men’s title at the European Cross-Country Championships in the Netherlands over the weekend. Instead, he finished first with a face-plant. 

Gressier appeared to be trying to slide ― while waving French flags ― but fell. His face first hit the tape, then he collapsed into the mud. 

“I am just very happy to win for the second time,” he later told European Athletics, according to Runners World. “The conditions were difficult, but the course was still really nice despite the weather.”

Here’s the unforgettable sequence, caught by Getty photographers:



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/runner-finish-line-face-plant_us_5c0f6d64e4b0edf5a3a81c93 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Cockroaches Are Becoming Big Business In China

(Reuters) - In the near pitch-dark, you can hear them before you see them - millions of cockroaches scuttling and fluttering across stacks of wooden boards as they devour food scraps by the tonne in a novel form of urban waste disposal.

The air is warm and humid - just as cockroaches like it - to ensure the colonies keep their health and voracious appetites.

Expanding Chinese cities are generating more food waste than they can accommodate in landfills, and cockroaches could be a way to get rid of hills of food scraps, providing nutritious food for livestock when the bugs eventually die and, some say, cures for stomach illness and beauty treatments.

On the outskirts of Jinan, capital of eastern Shandong province, a billion cockroaches are being fed with 50 tonnes of kitchen waste a day - the equivalent in weight to seven adult elephants.

The waste arrives before daybreak at the plant run by Shandong Qiaobin Agricultural Technology Co, where it is fed through pipes to cockroaches in their cells.

Shandong Qiaobin plans to set up three more such plants next year, aiming to process a third of the kitchen waste produced by Jinan, home to about seven million people.

A nationwide ban on using food waste as pig feed due to African swine fever outbreaks is also spurring the growth of the cockroach industry.

“Cockroaches are a bio-technological pathway for the converting and processing of kitchen waste,” said Liu Yusheng, president of Shandong Insect Industry Association.

Cockroaches are also a good source of protein for pigs and other livestock.

“It’s like turning trash into resources,” said Shandong Qiaobin chairwoman Li Hongyi. “ESSENCE OF COCKROACH”

In a remote village in Sichuan, Li Bingcai, 47, has similar ideas. Li, formerly a mobile phone vendor, has invested a million yuan ($146,300) in cockroaches, which he sells to pig farms and fisheries as feed and to drug companies as medicinal ingredients.

His farm now has 3.4 million cockroaches.

“People think it’s strange that I do this kind of business,” Li said. “It has great economic value, and my goal is to lead other villagers to prosperity if they follow my lead.”

His village has two farms. Li’s goal is to create 20.

Elsewhere in Sichuan, a company called Gooddoctor is rearing six billion cockroaches.

“The essence of cockroach is good for curing oral and peptic ulcers, skin wounds and even stomach cancer,” said Wen Jianguo, manager of Gooddoctor’s cockroach facility.

Researchers are also looking into using cockroach extract in beauty masks, diet pills and even hair-loss treatments.

At Gooddoctor, when cockroaches reach the end of their lifespan of about six months, they are blasted by steam, washed and dried, before being sent to a huge nutrient extraction tank.

Asked about the chance of the cockroaches escaping, Wen said that would be worthy of a disaster movie but that he has taken precautions.

“We have a moat filled with water and fish,” he said. “If the cockroaches escape, they will fall into the moat and the fish will eat them all.” 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cockroaches-china_us_5c0eea61e4b06484c9fdb2c4 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Police Dog Shows These Boots Are Not Made For Walking

South Dakota winters can be brutal, with an average annual snowfall of 41 inches. So, the Rapid City Police Department decided to provide some protection for its Belgian Malinois police dog, Jary, in the form of winter boots, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page.

But when a K-9 officer put the boots on Jary for the first time, it was immediately obvious the dog was not a fan of the protective gear. Even though he tried on the boots indoors, his gait looked as if he were trudging through big snow drifts.

And after the police department posted video of the dog’s first tentative steps on social media, it’s fair to wonder if Jary was more chagrined by having to wear the boots or by the national notoriety that followed.

Check out the entire police department video below:

 

 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/police-dog-boots_us_5c0e4d7ce4b0ab8cf6955876 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Monday 10 December 2018

Egypt Authorities Investigate X-Rated Photos On Top Of Great Pyramid


Egyptian authorities are investigating after explicit images and video apparently showing two people naked on top of The Great Pyramid of Giza appeared online.

The country’s minister of antiquities, Khaled el Anany, has referred the case to a prosecutor for investigation, state news agency Ahram Online reported.

The images and footage were posted in the name of Danish photographer Andreas Hvid and appear to depict a naked man and woman striking intimate poses a top of the 4,500-year-old wonder of the world.

Some of the videos and pictures have since been taken down, Sky News reported, but at least one image remains on Hvid’s website.

That image shows two unidentified people laying naked on stones towards the peak of the 455ft monument. 

Climbing the ancient pyramids beyond carefully assessed paths is forbidden, and majority-Muslim Egypt considers the site at Giza to be a treasured asset.

The whole area is out of bounds after 5pm and is patrolled by security and local police.

Giza archaeological director, Ashraf Mohi, previously said he believed the video was fake because of unexplained lighting.

Hvid, whose website carries other images of nude models posing on monuments, skyscrapers and bridges, has yet to respond to HuffPost UK’s request for comment.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/egypt-authorities-investigating-photos-of-naked-people-atop-the ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Alaskan Couple Catches Moose Playing 'Ding-Dong, Ditch' At Their Door

Kyle Stultz and Allie Johnstone were shocked early Wednesday morning when the doorbell to their home in Anchorage, Alaska, started ringing up a storm.

Stultz checked on his dogs and looked out the door but saw no signs of anything.

“We were thinking kids coming through playing ding dong ditch or maybe a neighbor coming through. We had no idea,” Stultz told local station KTVA.

But security footage didn’t show the presence of teenage pranksters, missionaries, or even a lost pizza driver.

“We had this nice moose behind waiting for us right here,” Stultz said. “And he decided to back up right into it and that’s how he got our doorbell.”

Considering the couple is still reeling from the Nov. 30 earthquake, the moose visit was a bit of an aftershock of its own.

“I was in bed when the earthquake happened so I ran out of bed and we’re getting kind of our way back into life right now after still hearing all these aftershocks,” Johnstone said, according to WILX 10. “So at that point of night, it was like what now?”

The couple told KTVA they are happy the security camera caught something positive for once.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/moose-doorbell-ditch-anchorage_us_5c0aa24ae4b04046345bf180 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

The Most Profound ’Shower Thoughts’ On Reddit This Week

The shower isn’t just a place to sing. Separated from our cellphones, standing under running water often allows people’s minds to run free.

Reddit has an entire “Shower Thoughts” subreddit dedicated to “the miniature epiphanies you have that highlight the oddities within the familiar.” In honor of those weird, wonderful and sometimes profound musings, here are some of the best posts from the last week:



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/reddit-shower-thoughts-december-2018-7_us_5c0a5972e4b0b6cdaf5e0 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Hawaiian Monk Seal Gets Eel Stuck Up Its Nose

A tissue won’t get this out.

A Hawaiian monk seal got an eel caught in its nose ― and it wasn’t the first time for these endangered creatures.

The Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program posted a startling pic of the poor pup on Monday, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries provided more details in a post on Wednesday.

The administration said it has seen the same “eels in noses” phenomenon nearly a handful of times in the last few years. “We don’t know if this is just some strange statistical anomaly or something we will see more of in the future,” the NOAA wrote.

The agency has two theories on why it happened in this case: A cornered eel was trying to defend itself or escape, and wound up in the seal’s nose. Or the seal could have swallowed the eel first and regurgitated its prey out the wrong way.

Either way, ick.

Good news, though, at least for the seal. “All of the seals that we have encountered in this slippery situation have been quickly caught by our response teams and the eel gently and successfully removed,” the agency said. “All the seals were released and haven’t shown any issues from the incidents.”

According to National Geographic, Hawaiian monk seals’ average lifespan is 25 to 30 years in the wild.

Now if they could just keep their noses clean.

H/T For the Win



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hawaiian-monk-seal-eel-nose_us_5c093315e4b0bf813ef4cf63 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Chinese Fighters Combining Kung Fu With Bullfighting


By Xihao Jiang and Martin Quin Pollard

BEIJING/JIAXING, China, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Several times a week, kung fu teacher Ren Ruzhi enters a ring to spar with a bovine opponent around five times his weight and capable of killing him.

Ren’s mixing of martial arts and bullfighting worries his mother, but the 24-year-old has never been hurt. Besides, he says, grappling with a snorting bull is exciting.

“It symbolizes the bravery of a man,” Ren told Reuters in Jiaxing in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang.

Unlike Spain’s more famous sport, the Chinese variant of bullfighting involves no swords or gore but instead fuses the moves of wrestling with the skill and speed of kung fu to bring down beasts weighing up to 400 kg (882 lb).

“Spanish bullfighting is more like a performance or a show,” said Hua Yang, a 41-year-old enthusiast who watched a bullfight during a visit to Spain.

“This (the Chinese variety) is truly a contest pitting a human’s strength against a bull. There are a lot of skills involved and it can be dangerous.”

The physically demanding sport requires fighters to train intensively and they typically have short careers, said Han Haihua, a former pro wrestler who coaches bullfighters at his Haihua Kung fu School in Jiaxing.

Han calls the bullfighting style he teaches “the explosive power of hard ‘qigong’,” saying it combines the skill and speed of martial arts with traditional wrestling techniques.

Typically, a fighter approaches the bull head on, grabs its horns and twists, turning its head until the bull topples over.

“What do I mean by explosive power?” Han asked. “In a flash! Pow! Concentrate all your power on one point. All of a sudden, in a flash, wrestle it to the ground.”

If the first fighter gets tired, another one can step into the ring, but they have just three minutes in which to wrestle the bull to the ground or lose the bout.

The bulls, too, are trained before entering the ring, Han said, and learn themselves how to spread their legs or find a corner to brace against being taken down.

“A bull can also think like a human, they are smart,” Han added.

Although he says his bulls get better treatment than the animals involved in the Spanish sport, animal rights activists believe Chinese bullfighting is still painful for the animals and cruel as a form of entertainment.

“In Chinese bullfighting, we cannot deny the bulls experience pain,” said Layli Li, a spokeswoman for animal welfare group PETA. “As long as it exists, that means there is suffering.” ($1=6.9153 Chinese yuan renminbi)



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/update-1-enter-the-bull-fighters-mix-kung-fu-and-bullfighting-i ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Thursday 6 December 2018

Otter Wanted For Devouring Koi At Formal Garden May Have Made A Clean Getaway

A river otter in British Columbia wanted for scarfing down numerous beloved koi from Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden might have fled the scene for good.

“We think it has left the garden,” the garden’s communications director, Debbie Cheung, told HuffPost in an email.

But that wasn’t before eating the majority of the pond’s adult koi. Last week the garden moved the remaining three adult fish to the Vancouver Aquarium to keep them safe from the otter, she said.

The garden also moved 344 juvenile koi, which had been largely hidden near the bottom of the pond by a layer of clay.

Cheung added that the koi are “in good hands” at the aquarium and that the garden is “monitoring the situation before putting any koi back in the pond.”

The otter was first spotted in the park late last month, and park officials began setting humane traps in hopes of catching and relocating the predator so the koi wouldn’t be on the menu.

The long-lived koi are cherished by garden staff and visitors and hold important cultural significance for Vancouver’s Chinese community.

“We see the koi when we walk around the garden during the summer and we have the gong that we ring to call the koi for lunchtime,” garden spokeswoman Deanna Chan told CBC. “So it’s been tough to be finding their remains around the garden.”

One particularly well-known fish, named Madonna, was believed to be 50 years old before becoming one of the otter’s victims.

Despite efforts to catch and relocate the otter, the clever critter evaded the traps for days, managing to eat the bait in the traps without triggering them. It also continued snacking on koi. The decision to remove the remaining fish to their temporary refuge at the aquarium came after the otter ate at least 10 of the garden’s 14 adult koi.

No one has spotted the otter since the day staffers moved the fish, said Cheung. And while only time will tell if the otter will reappear ― especially after the fish are returned ― for now, it seems the otter has been able to make a getaway.

The otter-koi conflict led to people in Vancouver and beyond to start declaring loyalty to one animal or the other, pronouncing themselves as either Team Otter or Team Koi.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/otter-koi-vancouver-chinese-garden_us_5c07e6f8e4b0fc2361124b0d ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Man Barrels 120 MPH Down Side Of Swiss Cliff In A Wingsuit

It’s all downhill from here.

That’s what happens when you barrel down the side of a cliff at 120 mph.

An unidentified man did that in October off the highest exit point on the west ridge of the famous Eiger Mountain in Switzerland.

The man described the freefall on a YouTube page containing the video:

“After climbing through sub-freezing temperatures, I radioed down to my friend waiting on the lower ‘mushroom’ exit point for a planned flyby. I spotted my other friend Robin’s colorful suit and flew in as tight as I could before breaking away from the terrain to open my parachute over a big grassy field.”

The video, recently released by Viral Hog, is not for the faint of heart, as it shows what it looks like to freefall down the side of a cliff. 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/man-freefalls-swiss-cliff-wingsuit_us_5c084654e4b0844cda4f9cb4 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Scientists Discover Giant Leopard-Spotted Salamander Living In Florida


Need proof Florida is truly the weirdest state of the Union?

Just look at one of its latest discoveries: A giant salamander that is spotted like a leopard and has fronds resembling a Christmas tree on its head.

The scientific journal PLOS One published a study about the supersized salamander on Wednesday.

The salamander, officially called the “reticulated siren,” measures up to 2 feet in length when fully grown, and are completely aquatic, according to National Geographic.

David Steen, a wildlife ecologist at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center who discovered the creature said its existence has been rumored for decades.

“It was basically this mythical beast,” Steen told National Geographic.

He first saw the creature in 2009, but his team wasn’t able to find other samples for another five years. An official study was finally completed in 2018 and just published in PLOS ONE.

Some locals have called the animal a leopard eel, though it is neither a leopard nor an eel.

So far, researchers said the reticulated siren lives in northwest Florida and southern Alabama and has two forelegs, no back legs, and a set of gills just behind its head.

Steen told the Revelator there were a variety of reasons why a 2-foot salamander might escape scientific discovery for so long.

“One, this creature is completely aquatic. It lives in swamps and mud. These are not really places where people spend a lot of their time,” he said. “It’s also superficially similar to another species, the greater siren, so unless you knew what you were looking for you would probably assume it was something we already knew.”



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/reticulated-siren-salamander-weird-florida_us_5c0853b3e4b0bf813 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Marines Who Drew Sky Penis Over Southern California Get To Keep Flying

Two Marine pilots have been disciplined for making a penis-shaped flight path over the skies of Southern California in October.

But officials said the two pilots, whose names were not released, will be allowed to keep their wings, according to the Marine Corps Times.

“Two Marine Corps aviators were administratively disciplined following the completion of an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding an October 23 irregular flight pattern that resulted in an obscene image,” Maj. Josef Patterson, a spokesman with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, told Marine Corps Times.

The Marines did not release details of the punishment given to the pilots because the discipline was administrative in nature, according to The Hill. 

The pilots, based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, first aroused controversy after they flew the phallic flight pattern in their T-34C.

The flight pattern went viral after it was picked up by radar and shared by the Twitter account Aircraft Spots.

The pilots were disciplined in early November, pending an investigation into the incident, according to the Marine Corps Times.

But they aren’t the first military pilots to go off half-cocked. In November 2017, a Navy crew was disciplined after it made giant sky drawings of penises while flying over Okanogan County, Washington.

Mother Nature has also been known to do some ballsy things in the sky, as the gallery below demonstrates.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sky-penis-marine-pilots-disciplined_us_5c086116e4b0bf813ef3da1d ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Dog Pulls Off Spectacular Save During Argentina Soccer Match

This is the best doggone soccer goalkeeper you ever will see.

A pooch invaded the pitch during a Federal A league match between Juventud Unida and Defensores de Belgrano over the weekend.

And it inadvertently became the star of the game with this incredible save:

Juventud ran out 3-0 winners.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dog-goalkeeper-soccer-juventud-unida-and-defensores-de-belgrano ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

We Regret To Inform You The '2-Foot Tall' Squirrel Is Not Actually That Tall


A story about an outrageously large squirrel turned out to be mostly a tall tail.

Last week, numerous news outlets wrote about a photo of a rather hefty-looking squirrel in Robeson County, North Carolina. But it wasn’t the photo alone that was attracting so much attention, it was the squirrel’s alleged size: 2 feet tall, just a few inches shorter than an average 1-year-old human child.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at the prospect of massive squirrels), the squirrel isn’t quite that big.

“The squirrel is NOT 2 feet tall,” a spokesperson for North Carolina’s Candid Critters, the group that originally posted the image on Facebook, told HuffPost in an email. “That is way out of range for the species.”

North Carolina’s Candid Critters ― a collaboration between multiple science and research organizations ― runs a survey of North Carolina wildlife via motion sensor cameras. The group posted the photo of the squirrel, which had come from one of its cameras, on Nov. 16. Candid Critters identified the animal on Facebook as an eastern fox squirrel, but the post didn’t mention its height.

However, the spokesperson did offer some insight about how all the confusion may have started, telling HuffPost, “The animal is likely around 2 feet LONG, nose to tail.”

In other words, while the squirrel ― tail included ― might reach 2 feet when stretched out on the ground on all fours, it would not reach 2 feet in height standing on its back legs.  

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission lists similar measurements for fox squirrels, stating that the average length is between 20 and 26 inches.

Multiple resources on squirrel length, including guides from the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Cornell University, specify that these length measurements include the tail.

So how tall is the squirrel? University of Arizona professor and squirrel expert John Koprowski weighed in.

“Even standing on the tip toes of the hind feet [a fox squirrel is] not going to quite hit 1.5 feet,” he told HuffPost in an email.

All that said, fox squirrels are still big, relative to the gray or red squirrels most people in the U.S. are used to seeing. Gray squirrels average between 15 and 20 inches in length, while red squirrels are generally between 11 and 14 inches long.

This story has been updated to include an estimate of the squirrel’s height.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/2-foot-tall-squirrel-not-really_us_5c030304e4b0606a15b5e044 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

PETA Gets Dogged For Tweet Demanding End To 'Anti-Animal Language'

The activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a bone to pick with phrases it says are anti-animal.

But rather than beat a dead horse, PETA offered alternative more-animal-friendly phrases on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.

For instance, PETA suggests saying “feed two birds with one scone” instead of “kill two birds with one stone” and “feed a fed horse” rather than “beat a dead horse.”

You can see other examples below:

In another tweet, PETA took the bull by the horns, er, “took the flower by the thorns” and explained its reasoning.

As you might expect, the posts attracted lots of attention, including a few catty comments.

HuffPost reporter Nick Wing also addressed the elephant in the room, or actually the gorilla.

And others piled on as well.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/peta-anti-animal-language-tweet_us_5c071400e4b0a6e4ebd97522 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Watch This Plucky Little Mouse Win An Epic 5-Hour Battle For A Snack

This just might be the world’s most persistent little mouse. 

Footage from a wildlife cam captured last month shows the rodent attempting to leap onto a bird feeder for the treats inside, but falling short. 

Again... and again... and again. 

Eventually the mouse managed a leap to the feeder. 

But it took a while: Based on the time stamp of the footage, it took more than five hours before the little mouse finally reached the prize. 

 

(h/t Digg)



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mouse-5-hour-snack-battle_us_5c061cd5e4b066b5cfa50992 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Tuesday 4 December 2018

Dutch Court Rules 69-Year-Old Man Can't Legally Declare Himself 20 Years Younger

A 69-year-old Dutch man has failed in his attempt to legally declare himself 20 years younger.

Last month, motivational speaker Emile Ratelband filed a lawsuit against the Dutch government requesting that his date of birth be switched from March 11, 1949, to March 11, 1969.

On Monday, a court in the Netherlands city of Arnhem rejected his age-changing application, saying that while Ratelband “is at liberty to feel 20 years younger than his real age and to act accordingly,” actually changing the birth certificate is not possible.

“Amending his date of birth would cause 20 years of records to vanish from the register of births, deaths, marriages and registered partnerships. This would have a variety of undesirable legal and societal implications,” the court said, according to the New York Post.

Ratelband initially wanted to drop two decades off his age in order to improve his chances on Tinder.

“I feel much younger than my age, I am a young god, I can have all the girls I want but not after I tell them that I am 69,” Ratelband told AFP. “I feel young, I am in great shape and I want this to be legally recognized because I feel abused, aggrieved and discriminated against because of my age.”

He compared his attempt to turn back the clock to identifying as transgender.

“We live in a time when you can change your name and change your gender. Why can’t I decide my own age?” he asked, according to the BBC.

In its ruling, the court said that the changes to the law that allow a person to change their gender took place after the issue was debated globally, and noted Ratelband is the only person advocating for legal age change, according to the BBC.

The court ruling said Ratelband had other legal means at his disposal if he truly felt he was a victim of age discrimination.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/emile-ratelband-loses-age-change-suit_us_5c0556dee4b07aec57512a ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Cat Freaks Out In Front Of A Christmas Tree And You Have To See It Right Meow

On first glance, it appears to be another salvo in the annual war between cats and Christmas trees.

Instagram user @yayoi89, known for cat videos out of Japan, shared this priceless feline reaction in front of a tree, which is being passed around on Facebook:  

But the cat, Tara-chan, isn’t considering new and creative ways to wreck a tree. 

She’s looking past the tree and outside, where a new garden hose is in use, which her owner speculates could possibly look like a snake to the cat. 



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cat-standing-up-christmas-tree_us_5c049395e4b0606a15b6904d ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Hugh Hefner's Typewriter Brings $162,500 At Auction


Personal possessions of Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine who died in September 2017, went up for auction over the weekend and the item that brought the highest price was his typewriter.

The Underwood Standard Portable typewriter that he used to write articles for the first issue of the magazine in 1953 brought a top bid of $162,500, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Hefner’s copy of that issue, which featured nude photos of Marilyn Monroe, sold for $31,250, Reuters said.

Proceeds from the sale, conducted by Julien’s Auctions, will go to the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation, which supports organizations that advocate for and defend civil rights and civil liberties.

One of Hefner’s trademark red silk smoking jackets sold for $41,600, the Daily Mail said. And a gold and onyx ring with a compartment in which he kept a Viagra pill brought $22,400.

Among the bidders at the auction was Jim Belushi, who paid $3,125 for a leather-bound script from the episode of “Saturday Night Live” that Hefner hosted in 1977. Belushi’s brother, John, was a member of the cast for that episode.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hugh-hefners-typewriter-auction_us_5c04c7e5e4b0a173c0245bfc ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Robert Mueller Dances His Way Into Trump's Nightmares In 'Weapon Of Choice' Parody

Special counsel Robert Mueller is known more for his complex legal maneuvers than his slick dance moves. But a digital tweak to Fatboy Slim’s 2000 hit “Weapon of Choice” video has Mueller dancing his way into President Donald Trump’s nightmares. 

The original video, directed by Spike Jonze, featured a dancing Christopher Walken. 

The update by Twitter user Chunk places Mueller’s face over Walken’s:

Watch for a few Easter eggs including Trump associates in prison jumpsuits and even a quick appearance by the president himself. 

Check it out above. 

 

(h/t Digg)



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/robert-mueller-dancing-video-weapon-of-choice_us_5c04eb30e4b0a1 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

DC Clerk Nixes Marriage Of Man Because Of His 'Foreign' New Mexico ID Card


LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A District of Columbia clerk and a supervisor refused to accept a New Mexico man’s state driver’s license as he sought a marriage license because she and her supervisor believed New Mexico was a foreign country.

Gavin Clarkson told the Las Cruces Sun-News it happened Nov. 20 at the District of Columbia Courts Marriage Bureau as he tried to apply for a marriage license.

After approaching the clerk for a license and showing his New Mexico ID, Clarkson said the clerk told him he needed an international passport to get the marriage license.

Clarkson said he protested to a supervisor, who also told him that he needed a foreign passport.

The clerk finally concluded New Mexico was a state after Clarkson objected three times. The clerk granted the license to Clarkson and his fiancée.

“She thought New Mexico was a foreign country,” Clarkson said of the clerk. “All the couples behind us waiting in line were laughing.”

Clarkson, who is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation, said if he’d had his tribal identification card he might have had an easier time than showing his New Mexico driver’s license.

In a statement, the D.C. courts system acknowledged the staff error to the Sun-News.

“We understand that a clerk in our Marriage Bureau made a mistake regarding New Mexico’s 106-year history as a state,” Leah H. Gurowitz, spokeswoman for D.C. Courts, said in an email. “We very much regret the error and the slight delay it caused a New Mexico resident in applying for a D.C. marriage license.”

New Mexico became a U.S. state in 1912.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dc-clerk-stalls-marriage-over-foreign-new-mexico-id-card_us_5c0 ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com

Friday 30 November 2018

Spanish Man Builds 60-Foot Spaceship To Visit Planet From His Novels

A man in Spain definitely has the travel bug, but he’s not looking to take a plane or RV.

No, a self-constructed spaceship is the ride favored by Lucio Ballesteros, an 87-year-old writer, musician and YouTuber from Montoedo, Spain.

The impressive craft, visible in the video from Ruptly above, measures about 60 feet in diameter and weighs nearly 2,600 pounds. It’s even captured the attention of documentary filmmaker Xoel Méndez, who is making a film about Ballesteros and his work.

Ballesteros estimates he’s spent more than 100,000 euros building the spaceship out of aluminum and methacrylate, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

He said the craft won’t be operational until he installs some motors, and he doesn’t imagine it will be used until sometime far in the future. He told Spanish newspaper El Ideal Gallego that humanity will have to “evolve psychically and spiritually” before people can figure out how the technology that powers the craft works.

Someday, Ballesteros hopes the ship will be used to travel to “10/7,” a planet that comes from a series of novels written by ― you guessed it ― Ballesteros himself.

The writer described the planet as inhabited by “beings very similar to human beings, but with a higher stature.” Explaining the planet’s name, Ballesteros said said the number 10 represents the unity of God while 7 represents the seven dimensions of the human being.

Learn more about Ballesteros and his spaceship on his website, in Spanish.



Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lucio-ballesteros-spaceship-planet_us_5c003818e4b0864f4f6b7a0b ... and provided by video-cutter-online.com