Photo credit: Reddit via Bored Panda
For those who haven’t heard about pareidolia, it’s a psychological phenomenon where the mind responds to an image or a sound by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists. Those familiar patterns could take the form of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations, water, or even hidden messages in recordings. In the image above we see what appears to be a dog-shaped cloud in a sitting position. Read more to see additional examples of pareidolia in everyday objects.
Photo credit: 9GAG via Twisted Sifter
Since the holidays are here, people may not be as responsive to your emails as they normally are, and that’s when you may see some of these common phrases. To kick things off, we have “just checking in,” which may sound harmless, but after numerous messages without receiving a response, you might actually mean “I’m going to keep sending you emails about this until you respond.” Read more to see a compilation of brutally honest meanings of common email phrases by 9GAG.
Photo credit: Bored Panda
Ever wonder what a modern “Home Alone” movie would be like? If so, then wonder no more as this Google Assistant commercial shows us just that with Macaulay Culkin playing an adult Kevin McCallister who is “Home Alone Again” with a house full of modern technology. One a side note, did you know that after its release, Home Alone became the highest-grossing live-action comedy film of all time in the United States, and also held the record worldwide, that is until…it was overtaken by The Hangover Part II in 2011? Read more to see the full video and the side-by-side comparisons with the 1990 film.
Photo credit: Bored Panda
Did you know that NASA has createed expedition posters for every ISS mission since 2000? The one you see above was for Expedition 45, in which astronauts Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko transferred from Expedition 44 as part of their year-long stay aboard the ISS. Expedition 45 began with the arrival of Soyuz TMA-18M at the ISS on September 11, 2015, and concluded with the departure of Soyuz TMA-17M on December 11, 2015. Read more to see additional posters.
Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer-turned-YouTube star, has designed a booby trap to deter doorstep delivery thieves. That’s right, he spent six months combining GPS tracking, cameras, fart spray and glitter, all into one elaborate and amusing mechanism after discovering thieves had stolen an Amazon delivery from his doorstep. To be more specific, he connected four phones to a GPS-connected circuit board inside an Apple box, and once the package was removed from a home by a would-be thief, the geo-tracking would alert Rober while also triggering the phones to begin recording and uploading footage to the cloud. “If anyone was going to make a revenge…package and over-engineer the crap out of it, it was going to be me,” said Rober, who spent nine years with NASA. Read more for the video to see the chaos that ensued.
A bewildered woman attempted to fill up a Tesla Model S with petrol, and the people behind her vehicle happened to capture the entire ordeal on video. She may have confused this EV for a plug-in hybrid, and after about 45-seconds of searching, the electric charging port opens, which prompted her to slide a credit card into the machine to activate the pump. Read more to watch the video.
Russia24, a major news channel, touted “Boris” as “the country’s most modern robot,” but all is not as it seems. While it may look similar to Honda’s Asimo, internet users were quick to point out a few irregularities, like how its head seemed to only have LED lights for eyes / mouth, without any noticeable sensors. Or, how it didn’t have any speakers or even a microphone anywhere close to it when speaking, despite a robotic voice booming from the venue’s speakers. Why? Well, the real reason is because the robot is actually the Alesha Robot Costume, which can be purchased for $3,765. Read more for another video and a picture of the actual costume.
Photo credit: Kotalu
In 1988, Nintendo of America launched Nintendo Power, a monthly news and strategy magazine that served to advertise new games. The first issue of Nintendo Power was published in July/August, which showcased the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2. So, it was only fitting for Sears to include some video game-themed products in their Wish Book catalog the following year. Unfortunately, a pair of ski pajamas would have cost you $12 ($24 today) back then. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Ashley Evans | Facebook via PetaPixel
Photographer Ashley Evans started the “Babies with Teeth”, or infants with grown-up teeth ‘Photoshopped’ into their mouths, after playing around with an app called YouApp. Photoshop was required to edit some of the babies, while the rest were touched up directly in the app. “I had an app and wanted to see what my son looked like with teeth. It was hilarious so I did it to my daughter. I then posted in a Facebook group and it just blew up from there,” Evans told PetaPixel. Read more for some of the most popular images from the series.
Vitaminwater says they’ll pay you $100,000 to ditch your smartphone /tablet for a year, and it does requires entrants to go a full 365 days without using their device(s), as well as anyone else’s. The selected person will have to sign a contract committing to no smartphone usage for the duration of the contest, and if they are discovered to have followed this strict rule, the prize money will be rewarded. To enter, entrants are required to post a photo on Twitter or Instagram telling Vitamin Water why you need a break from your smartphone by January 8, 2019, with the hashtags #nophoneforayear and #contest – the winner will be selected on January 22nd. Read more for another news report and additional information, including “the catch”.