What do the smell of alcohol prep pads, Tyler Perry movies and orange traffic barrels all have in common? They all cause a sharp, stress-induced rise in my blood pressure. However, while my issues with getting a shot and awful filmmaking will probably never go away, I've now realized that construction around here isn't so bad - at least, by comparison to construction in Meghalaya.
Do you know how long it takes them to build a bridge in Meghalaya? Do you even know where Meghalaya is? That's ok, neither did I. But now we can both know that it's in India, and a bridge there can take up to 15 years to make.
Why? Because their bridges are made of trees. Check it out:
In this little Indian city (with a population of over 2 million people), they get over 15 meters (20,000 leagues) of rain every year, so traditional wooden bridges will rot. So the people train the roots of trees to grow across chasms and over rivers to make these "living bridges." The bad news is that these types of bridges can take 10 to 15 years to become fully ready to cross. The good news is that they get stronger with time - and they look like something out of Lord of the Rings, which is always a bonus.
We've talked about YouTube remixes on Slice of Fried Gold before. And we've mentionedcatsacoupleoftimes, too. Well, now they've come together in glorious harmony - eHarmony, that is:
Now, truth be told, "Debbie" is actually named Cara Hartmann, and she made the original video as a joke. While it does make the first video a little less funny to know that she's faking her emotions for cats, I still think the song is catchy and entertaining. I'd like to thank, alert reader, Emily for sending it in.
You know that song that goes "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands?" Well, apparently hands aren't enough for some people. If you really want to show people that you're happy, you need a pair of brain-wave-controlled kitty ears.
Sounds crazy, no? Well, a company called Neurowear has invented a new way of communicating your emotions with the Necommi. Take a look:
So, what do you think of the Necommi brain-wave-reading kitty ears? Leave a comment and let me know, or just post a picture of the current position of your ears.
Fred has no shame - and I love that. In fact, I wish we could all be a little more like Fred and unleash the elephant inside. Faithful readers, it's time to be an elephant! Run to your windows, faithful readers and trumpet through your nose as loud as you can!
I know I've mentioned Ok Go a couple of times on this blog, but this video, sent in by, alert reader, Mike, reminded me of how much I like their music.
If you've ever been house shopping, you know what a miserable experience it can be. It's not as bad as registering for a wedding, but it's up there. No matter how good a house looks on paper, there always seems to be a problem or two when you actually check it out.
It looks innocent enough, but if you're looking to purchase this single-family home at 675 W. 5000 N., you may want to watch this video first, which was originally uploaded in 2006:
That's right -- news reporting in Idaho is seriously sub-par!
And, aside from that, this house is infested with snakes! In fact, residents of Rexburg lovingly refer to it as "The Snake House." You'd think a reputation like that would deter anyone from purchasing it. I mean, all a potential buyer would have to do is stop and ask for directions and the friendly Rexburgians would say something like "Oh, you mean The Snake House?"
However, because of the invention of GPS, the Sessions family didn't ask for directions and they ended up buying the house. This video was uploaded by the Associated Press just a few months ago:
The Sessions family was even featured on the Animal Planet channel during a show called "Infested!" It's a realtor's worse nightmare. After all, a simple Google search of the address will pull up numerous articles and videos about this humble abode. Although, even without the snakes, I would have been scared off by the fact that it has five bedrooms and only one bathroom. One bathroom? Seriously? What family needs five bedrooms, but only one bathroom? Sheesh.
Dropping the price more than $60,000 didn't seem to entice anyone, either, so Chase, the bank that now owns the home, has hired some people to trap the snakes and release them into the wild. Then they're going to attempt to seal up the foundation and "install a barrier" to keep future snakes out.
However, if Hollywood has taught me anything, those snakes are going to come back with a vengeance. They will terrorize whatever family lives there next. And only Samuel L. Jackson will be able to save them.
Have you ever dreamed that you could fly? What if I told you that those dreams could become a reality? Believe it or not, a girl named Natsumi Hayashi has found out how to fly - or, at least take pictures that make it look like she's flying. Each day she posts a new photo of herself levitating in various situations. Here are a few of my favorites:
The "yowayowa camera woman diary," as it's called, originally was just a photography blog, mostly featuring Natsumi's cats. She dabbled in levitating photography, but it wasn't until September of 2010 that she really embraced the flying pictures. Slice of Fried Gold has featured flying photos before, but these were the first ones that made me remember the feeling I get from the dreams where I'm flying. . .which are much better than the dreams where I'm running away from that furry jelly bean monster and I can't run fast because my pants keep falling down. That dream sucks.
