behavior
grrlscientist | June 11, 2010tags: The No Underwear Subway Ride: Uncensored, NYC, New York City, prank, humor, funny, comedy, satire, Improv Everywhere, streaming video
This is the "uncensored" version of Improv Everywhere's amazing April Fool's prank video, The No Underwear Subway Ride. This video shows how the group pulled off the hoax. Although they claimed that 1,000 people had exposed their genitals on the train, they actually just filmed 20 actors wearing skin-colored underwear, and then pixelated the footage to make them look naked. The "uncensored" version of the video embedded below will show you what they…
grrlscientist | June 10, 2010tags: Who You Gonna Call?, NYPL, NYC, New York City, prank, humor, funny, comedy, satire, parody, Ghostbusters, Improv Everywhere, streaming video
For years, as an unemployed scientist, I depended daily upon the New York Public Library (NYPL) to remain in touch with my world, to earn money and to research and write my blog and freelance pieces -- mostly due to the free internet access they provide in addition to a clean, safe workspace. So it always tears at my heart when I hear that NYPL is in dire financial straits. This time, Improv Everywhere is helping NYPL retain its funding by pranking…
grrlscientist | June 7, 2010tags: Obsession for .. Animals?, perfume, Obsession for Men, Bronx Zoo, Wildlife Conservation Society, conservation biology, behavioral ecology, animals, mammals, big cats, weird, strange, wow, streaming video
This fascinating video shows that Calvin Klein's "Obsession for Men" is NOT just for men! This is a great example of how careful observation of captive animals' behavior is directly impacting research with wild animals. When biologists at the Bronx Zoo started spritzing "Obsession for Men" cologne near heat-and-motion-sensitive cameras, the tigers, snow leopards, jaguars and cheetahs…
grrlscientist | June 6, 2010tags: Christopher Hitchens on The Ten Commandments, religion, cults, ethics, morals, catholicism, christians, Vanity Fair, streaming video
In this streaming video, Christopher Hitchens deconstructs the ten commandments and then rewrites them so they actually are an ethical code and so they mean something for everyday life.
grrlscientist | June 5, 2010tags: The Thinking Atheist, Remember The Sabbath, Jewish faith, sabbath mode, oven, humor, funny, offbeat, streaming video
When I lived in NYC, a fair number of my students were Jewish. I've always found the Jewish faith to be fascinating, especially the Jews' definition of how to keep the Sabbath. My students taught me a lot about the Sabbath and the philosophy behind "keeping it" and what the rules are regarding the keeping of the Sabbath (and yes, I had a hard time not laughing when they told me all these things -- in all seriousness!)
grrlscientist | June 4, 2010tags: Elementary Dating, humor, funny, comedy, silly, offbeat, Rowan Atkinson, streaming video
This Silly Saturday video features the brilliant actor, Rowan Atkinson, giving men a few important pointers about going out on a first date without looking like a complete moron (well, mostly).
I will share a secret: I made things easy for Mr GrrlScientist by kissing him while we were sitting on the stairwell of the youth hostel we were staying at, since he was yackyackyacking until 3am. I thought kissing him would shut him up. It did, but he turned red and almost passed out. But at least I got a…
grrlscientist | June 2, 2010tags: Pocket Piglet, pets, animals, miniature pigs, silly, cute, funny, streaming video
This video shows a "pocket piglet" .. a miniature pig as a baby. I think keeping pigs as pets ultimately ends up becoming a sad situation for both the pigs and the people, but after seeing this video, I can certainly understand the attraction that people have for keeping them in their homes -- as this pig demonstrates, they're a helluva lot cuter and smarter than either puppies or kittens!
grrlscientist | May 30, 2010tags: The Clearwater Beach Diet, Scientology, cults, diet, weight loss, satire, humor, funny, offbeat, streaming video
This satirical video offends two groups of people at the same time: Scientologists and people who are on "the diet fad of the week."
Unfortunately, Scientology does not help people: Kirstie Alley is still fat, and Lisa McPherson is still dead.
grrlscientist | May 28, 2010tags: Inside a School for Suicide Bombers, Taliban, brainwashing, mind control, suicide bombers, propaganda, religion, cults, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, TEDTalks, TED Talks, streaming video
Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy takes on a terrifying question: How does the Taliban convince children to become suicide bombers? Propaganda footage from a training camp is intercut with interviews of young camp graduates. A shocking vision.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in…
grrlscientist | May 26, 2010tags: Stevie the Professional Regurgitator, jobs, hobbies, passtimes, offbeat, strange, funny, people, The Tonight Show, streaming video
This man makes a living by swallowing strange objects, like light bulbs, and then vomiting them back up. I think at least a few of these stunts are illusions -- how did he do the sugar trick, for example? -- while other stunts (the fish trick) are really just gross.
Okay, how the heck did he do the sugar trick? And the fish trick? [and tell me, what does HSUS say about this fish trick?? or are they too busy writing legislation to outlaw people's pets to…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2010tags: This Man and His Marbles Are Rarely Parted, marble racing, hobbies, passtimes, offbeat, strange, funny, people, Belgian Television News, streaming video
This Belgian Television News video documents a man whom some of you might think is very strange. I don't think he's strange, though. Of course, I am probably telling you too much about myself, but I did this, too! Like this guy, I had a collection of hundreds of marbles that I'd race for hours at a time through intricate obstacle courses that I had constructed. I not only recognized each individual marble, but yes, I named each one, too…
grrlscientist | May 21, 2010tags: ABC Nightline Twittercast, legalization of marijuana, NORML, Allen St. Pierre, Heritage Foundation, Brian Darling, weed, pot, drugs, twittercast, streaming video
Let's kick off Silly Saturday with an interesting ABC twittercast debate about legalization of marijuana. This video is amusing because, as one person observed, it's like watching a scientist argue with a 9-year-old about the existence of Santa Claus. [Despite the moron guest on this twittercast, I find this interesting because it suggests an alternate medium for future news casts to utilize -- twitter -- and these so-called "…
grrlscientist | May 19, 2010tags: Why I'm a Weekday Vegetarian, environment, global warming, meat, vegetarianism, ethics, climate change, Graham Hill, TEDTalks, TED Talks, streaming video
We all know the arguments that being vegetarian is better for the environment and for the animals -- but in a carnivorous culture, it can be hard to make the change. Graham Hill has a powerful, pragmatic suggestion ...
The video following the TEDTalk is more interesting than the actual talk itself.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2010tags: High Five Etiquette, social observation, humor, funny, silly, Tripp and Tyler, Herb Tankersleigh, streaming video
Tripp and Tyler, with the help of mentor Herb Tankersleigh, discuss the do's and don'ts of proper high-five execution.
laelaps | May 17, 2010
The tail of a thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus). From Wikipedia.
Thanks to sensational documentaries and summer blockbusters, we are all familiar with the anatomy of a shark attack. The victim, unaware that they are in peril, is struck from below and behind with such speed and violence that, if they are not actually killed during the first strike, they soon find themselves a few pounds lighter in the middle of a billowing red cloud. The trouble is that this stereotyped scenario does not hold for all sharks, particularly one peculiar group of deepwater sharks which has long puzzled…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2010tags: The Free Hugs Campaign in Finland, Helsinki, free hugs, silly, humor, funny, offbeat, weird, life, Finland, Helsinki, streaming video
The Finnish winter is long, dark and difficult for many people. So a group of Helsinki residents started a free hugs campaign to cheer people up. A group calling themselves, "FreeHugs Finland" had been promoting for this day on the internet and over 30 huggers showed up! During a couple of hours over 1000 people in Helsinki got a hug and one woman told me it saved her day! [Music: "Lonely" by Unity]
This video was taken in Helsinki, Finland on 2 December…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2010tags: Housecat eats with Fork and Chopsticks, tablemanners, silly, humor, funny, offbeat, weird, pets, cats, animals, streaming video
Continuing this silly Saturday's housecat theme, this cat was raised by a woman who is batshiat crazy, teaching her to eats with a fork and chopsticks.
grrlscientist | May 14, 2010tags: Cat Disappointed by Own Failure, Cat Fail, silly, humor, funny, pets, cats, animals, streaming video
Just in time for silly Saturday, even housecats are getting into the act. This amusing video is a contribution from one cat and her least favorite bird friend. The caption for this video reads: " It's all been downhill since he dropped out of cat high school."
laelaps | May 14, 2010
Image via Discovery Press Web.
In his monumental 1945 monograph on mammal classification, paleontologist G.G. Simpson appraised the living species of elephants to be "relicts of a dying group." The living African (Loxodonta) and Asian (Elephas) elephants were all that remained of the past diversity of proboscideans, and human activities put even these large mammals at risk of extinction. Poaching and human development on land bordering game preserves continue to put elephants at risk, and the two-hour BBC special The Secret Life of Elephants, airing this Sunday on Animal Planet in the US,…
grrlscientist | May 13, 2010tags: Mouse Agility Course, animal training, clicker training, target stick, behavior, behavioral modification, streaming video
Training animals (and people) to do what you wish them to do is a vanishing art. However, there is a training method that is gaining popularity for teaching animals, ranging from rodents to whales, to perform certain behaviors on command. This training method is clicker training. Here is one example of clicker training with a common ordinary pet mouse, where it has been trained to follow an obstacle course that is truly epic in its size.
How the heck did this mouse…