Video: Beluga Whale Jams to Mariachi Music

Beluga whales are the only species in the world that don't run away in terror from or avoid eye contact with approaching mariachi bands.

[via Cute Overload]

Gigantic German Lady is More Than Just A Sight

In Hamburg, Germany, the British beauty products company Soap & Glory has installed Die Badende: a 13-foot high, 67-foot long sculpture of a bathing lady in the waters of Alster Lake. The company did this out of a sense of duty, it seems.

"[W]e've been looking for a way to say, 'Thank you!' to everyone for embracing our products, and making us a real success there," says company founder Marcia Kilgore. "At Soap & Glory, we consider it our calling to bring more beauty to the world, and have fun doing it." A calling.

Designed by Oliver Voss—who's described here as an "art creator," which is somehow different from an "artist," maybe because he heads up an advertising school?—Die Sculpture's made out of steel, styrofoam, and vision, and weighs more than two tons. Her purpose in life is to "promote the 'art' of bathing" to the citizens of Hamburg—whose adherence to standard rules of personal hygiene has always seemed pretty intact, but maybe living in the capital of unruly Facebook parties has distracted them from their showering schedule? At the very least, Die Badende's supposedly been good for the local paddleboating industry.

Not every Hamburger in Hamburg's fallen in love with the two-ton lady. Mayor Markus Schreiber, for one, says she's "sullying the beloved lake." He doesn't explain how, though, so let's dismiss his opinions outright. Schreiber won't have to look at the sullying lady much longer; on August 12 she'll be lifted from the lake and then eventually make her way to some other place where the locals need companies to help them identify the transcendental aspects of normal everyday activities. Maybe Tulsa?

[TIME, CNN, Image via Getty]

Gunman Kills Eight in Ohio

Eight people, including an eleven-year-old, were killed today in the Copley, Ohio in what was apparently a domestic dispute that got out of hand.

According to a neighbor, the gunman shot and wounded his girlfriend, and killed her brother, following an argument. (All three lived together.) He then shot a neighbor who had come to investigate; and soon after that the neighbor's wife, son, granddaughter and a family friend. The neighbor, Kim Dietz, says she sheltered another victim:

Dietz knew all this because another of the man's sons arrived at her home after the shooter chased him through another neighbor's home and shot a child there. The son arrived safely at Dietz's home after wading through a swamp, she said.

The shooter was killed by police.

[Plain-Dealer, image, of Copley resident helping police search his property, via AP]

Video: A Day In California Timelapse

A time lapse video that’s been 18 months and 10,000 photos in the making.

A Day in California from Ryan Killackey on Vimeo.

Man Fires Round of Bullets in his Pants

A Phoenix local accidentally shot his own groin in a parking lot … and that's all we know. The crack reporters at ABC15 didn't uncover any other info as to why the man was locked and loaded (granted, he wasn't breaking the law), but thankfully they managed to interview a bunch of non-witnesses and make bad puns. Go journalism!



Found via ABC15.com

Video: Ducks Crossing Street in Single File

If you think you get to this any day, think again. Oh, and you have to wait a while before they ALL can cross. Sorry drivers.

Apple Finally Cracking Down on Fake Stores

It's been a wild couple of weeks for fake Apple retail outlets. After a blogger broke news of a slew of copycat Apple Stores that had popped up in her neighborhood in China, copyright sleuths from around the globe began exposing other not-so-legitimate Apple shops, including some right here in the United States. Once such retailer is New York's "Apple Story," a store located in Queens which caught the eye of the real Apple, prompting a lawsuit to be filed.

As of now, the suit remains sealed, so the specific allegations — as well as the full list of defendants — remains a bit of a mystery, but it's possible that China's ridiculously bold Apple Store clones are also being targeted. According to Apple Insider, dozens of unnamed defendants also appear on the lawsuit, which could be a clue that more than just Apple Story will see the wrath of the California-based electronics giant.

Two of Kunming, China's five fake Apple outlets were ordered to close by city officials, but only because they failed to hold legitimate business permits, and no copyright allegations have been brought against any of the fake stores or their owners. China is notorious as a hotbed of copyright infringement, where international laws are sometimes blurry and unenforceable, though if any company can make a case for its fakers to be shut down, it's Apple.

[Image credit: BirdAbroad]

(Source)

Riots Erupt in London

A candlelight vigil held for Mark Duggan, who was killed by police on Thursday, erupted into riots in Tottenham, London last night after riot cops on the scene allegedly beat a 16-year-old girl who had thrown a stone at them.

Cars were set on fire; shop windows were broken and stores looted; eight police officers were reportedly hospitalized and at least 42 rioters arrested. Tottenham, a lower-income neighborhood with a large black population, was the site of riots in 1985 in not too dissimilar circumstances, in that case the death of a woman during a police search of her home. Former Gawker editor Ravi Somaiya, at the Wood Green shopping miles a few miles away, described the scene as "Complete anarchy, no authority in sight."

Rioters were dispersed early Sunday morning; cleanup of the damage (which, as the photos show, was extensive) has already begun. The Prime Minister's Office issued a terse statement:

The rioting in Tottenham last night was utterly unacceptable.

There is no justification for the aggression the police and the public faced, or for the damage to property.

There is now a police investigation into the rioting and we should let that process happen.

[above image via Getty, AFP, Nico Hogg]

Video: Guinness World Record For Tightest Parallel Parking

The Guinness World Record for Tightest Parallel Parking was achieved by Ronny Wechselberger, a.k.a. “Ronny C-Rock,” in Berlin, Germany. The parking job measured at 26 cm (10.24 in) from its adjacent cars.