Author: Caitlin Schneider

Famed TV painter and personality Bob Ross is known the world over for being one of history’s sweetest, gentlest souls, and thankfully, that attitude extended well beyond his 18-by-24-inch canvasses. Ross was an ardent animal lover, a passion which often made its way onto The Joy of Painting. His crew of animal companions was a big hit among the fans, and showcased Ross’s particular tastes in the creatures of the world. In lieu of cats, dogs, or guinea pigs, Ross took a liking to the very creatures you might expect to see in his happy little landscapes. Our list contains as many of those animals as we could find, and could also serve as lyrics to a Ross-themed revamp of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

Many of the clips below are full episodes and you’ll have to skim through a lot of them to get to the critters—or just watch the entire thing. Let’s face it: You were probably going to anyway.

1. PEAPOD THE POCKET SQUIRREL

No single animal got more airtime on The Joy of Painting than Peapod—a tiny little squirrel that, according to Ross, liked to sit in his pocket. While viewers never got a glimpse of that particular bonding experience, we did get to see the painter feed his rodent friend with a bottle (“Aren’t they the most precious characters you’ve ever seen?”), and hold him in the palm of his hand while the furry friend slumbered away (“I like to just watch him sleep”). The “peekaboo squirrel” made a handful of appearances on the show, and was so beloved, he even inspired a successor (see #2).

2. PEAPOD JR.

While the original Peapod might’ve been a special rodent, he was part of a long tradition of Ross being absolutely nuts for squirrels. He often owned several at a time, caring for them in the early stages of life before releasing them out into his backyard. A rotating scurry of squirrels did guest spots on the series, and were a favorite among fans.

3. HOOT THE OWL

Ross’s love of birds was second only to squirrels. One of the avians who got airtime was Hoot the Owl, who appeared on The Joy of Painting when he was only a few weeks old. “He’s nothing but down,” Ross says in the clip above. “As I mentioned earlier, him and I both have the same hairdresser. We’ve both got the fuzz top up here.”

The cute “little devil” (Ross referred to animals almost exclusively as little “rascals” or “devils”), also appeared later on as a full grown bird. Ross had several friends who cared for rescues, including Diana Schaffer (or as he called her, the “bird lady”). On a visit to her home, Ross spent time with sparrows, a hawk, a wild turkey, a baby groundhog, and even whispered some of his sweet nothings to a blind robin, which you can see above.

As for Hoot, Ross reflected: “Old Hoot though, he’s grown. By the time you see this show, he will have been turned loose and he’ll be long gone. By the time you see this he’ll probably have a little condo in Miami and house payments, a BMW in the driveway … he’ll be like the rest of us. All trapped with responsibilities. He may even have children of his own.”

4. A PAIR OF BABY ROBINS

When these fine feathered friends appeared on the show, Ross named them Richard and Cathy after a couple of the show’s camera people. The hungry “little rascals” earned their names because of their similarities to their human counterparts: Richard’s hair was thinning and Cathy was chatty.

5. CHIMNEY SWIFTS

In the clip above, four of these cute “little devils” hang onto Ross’s shirt like we all would if given the opportunity.

6. LITTLE BIT, THE SHERMAN’S FOX SQUIRREL

What’s better than a squirrel? A giant squirrel of course. On one episode, Ross’s friend Cindy introduced him to a Sherman’s fox squirrel named Little Bit, and the rodent lover nearly lost his mind.

7. A GREAT HORNED OWL

Cindy also gave Ross the opportunity to spend some time with a great horned owl, who inspired this lovely reflection: “I like animals so much. I’m tellin’ you, I could just about make a career out of taking care of these little rascals. They’re so beautiful. Isn’t that something?”

8. A SANDHILL CRANE

Another one of Cindy’s creatures was a rescue crane that was born with a twisted neck—a possible result of an abnormality that occurred in the egg. In addition to that encounter, there’s more footage of Ross with the Sherman’s fox squirrel.

9. DEER

While visiting another friend with rescue animals named Carmen Shaw, Ross met a pair of deer (“I love these little characters, I want to take them all home with me”) and a baby raccoon. In another episode, he cradled a baby deer and fawned over the fawn in those signature dulcet tones and all was right with the world. (He mentioned on both occasions that he couldn’t imagine shooting Bambi.)

10. A BABY RACCOON

In a baby raccoon appearance, Ross fed one of the primarily nocturnal beasts with a bottle and said maybe his most disparaging animal comment ever, about how the mammals are sweet as babies, but grow up to be “pretty tough little characters.” He also references burping the little guy, which tragically wasn’t captured for posterity on film.

On the island nation of Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, sit the ruins of a 17th century chapel. It was originally erected by a knight named Fra Giorgio Nibbia in 1619, and might’ve been largely forgotten to this day were it not for its macabre subterranean contents.

You see, Nibbia Chapel was built near a cemetery where the dead from the nearby Sacra Infermeria hospital were laid to rest. In 1852, a crypt was constructed below the chapel (which had been rebuilt in 1731 in the Baroque style by architect Romano Carapecchia) and bones from the cemetery were used to adorn the space. The decorating choice earned it the nickname the “Chapel of Bones,” though it was also commonly referred to as Taz-Zuntier, a old Maltese word meaning “cemetery.”

By the early 20th century, the Nibbia Chapel was somewhat well-known as a tourist attraction, and even had postcards and other souvenirs featuring the unique interior, but aerial bombardments during World War II nearly leveled the Roman Catholic structure. Whatever was left was later demolished in the 1970s, and today, overgrown foundations are all that remain. Aboveground, anyway.

It’s believed that Nibbia’s elaborate, 19th century subsurface crypt is still intact underneath the world of modern Malta. The exact location is unknown, but it’s believed to be close to the ruins, near a recently constructed building. Despite being classified as a Class B national monument, the ruins are somewhat neglected. Currently, there don’t seem to be any initiatives to further preserve the area, or to explore the historical site beneath it, which includes the sarcophagus of Nibbia himself.

Inside the long-sealed ossuary, there’s reportedly a Latin inscription on the altar that bemoans the ephemerality of life and petitions for prayers for the dead. There among the mosaic of human remains, the space presumably manages to stay safeguarded and intact indefinitely.

[h/t howtomalta.com]

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The spookiest month of the year has arrived, and with it, a calendar full of offbeat holidays. Between your autumnal walks, horror movie marathons, and oh, NATIONAL CAT DAY (October 29—basically the most important holiday here at mental_floss) see if you can squeeze in a few of these unconventional celebrations.

1. OCTOBER 1: BAKING DAY

Even if you don’t eat vegan, we can probably all agree on honoring baked goods.

2. OCTOBER 4: NATIONAL SHIPS-IN-BOTTLES DAY

Someone spent a lot of time making this art happen, so let’s take a little time to appreciate it.

3. OCTOBER 7: WORLD SMILE DAY

If the calendar says you have to do it, you have to do it.

4. OCTOBER 11: SOUTHERN FOOD HERITAGE DAY

Sorry, but if you’re not eating this on October 11, you’re doing life wrong.

5. OCTOBER 12: INTERNATIONAL TOP SPINNING DAY

A good day to head to the toy store and take a spin.

6. OCTOBER 15: NATIONAL CAKE DECORATING DAY

Making a boxed cake recipe and applying the frosting with a butter knife definitely counts.

7. OCTOBER 15: SWEETEST DAY

Traditionally celebrated in the Midwest and Northeastern United States, Sweetest Day is a lot like Valentine’s Day, which, depending on your outlook, is either a very good thing or a very bad thing.

8. OCTOBER 19: HAGFISH DAY

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These eel-shaped, slime-producing fish are fairly disgusting (seriously), but they’re also kind of awesome. They have four hearts, have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and can feed through their skin. So while it might not be beautiful, the humble hagfish does deserve a little love and respect.

9. OCTOBER 20: GET SMART ABOUT CREDIT DAY

This American Bankers Association holiday is all about educating the public on credit—and if that stresses you out, you should probably be observing this quirky commemoration.

10. OCTOBER 23: CANNING DAY

Nicolas Appert—the inventor of hermetically sealed food preservation and the “father of canning”—was born around this time circa 1750, and this day celebrates all things that come in jars. So, you know, put a lid on it.

11. OCTOBER 28: FRANKENSTEIN FRIDAY

Held annually on the last Friday of October, this holiday celebrate Frankenstein’s monster, its creator, and the woman who created it all, Mary Shelley.

12. OCTOBER 30: CHECKLISTS DAY

Put this one on your to-do list!

13. OCTOBER 30: CREATE A GREAT FUNERAL DAY

Much of October is spent focused on ghouls and goblins, but this day is all about confronting the scariest thing of all: mortality. Between your apple orchard outings and haunted house trips, make sure you and your loved ones have a plan for after you’ve shuffled off this mortal coil. Happy October?

14. OCTOBER 30: HAUNTED REFRIGERATOR NIGHT

This offbeat holi-night is about exploring the darker corners and containers of your fridge. After all, we’ve all got some metaphorical skeletons lurking in there.

15. OCTOBER 31: NATIONAL KNOCK-KNOCK DAY

There’s no better time than the spookiest day of the year to tell some good (or bad) jokes.

Holidays found in Chase’s Calendar of Events 2016. All photos courtesy of iStock unless otherwise noted.

Today, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is known for capturing incredible images of the cosmos, but 20 years ago, the project was struggling to validate its own existence. One astonishing photo changed that—and our view of the early universe—as Vox explains in a new video (below).

The vessel launched in early 1990 and had a big issue immediately: a flaw in the 94.5-inch primary mirror, which meant that Hubble was taking blurry photos. It would take until 1993 before the issue was fixed, but once the telescope was in tip-top shape, Space Telescope Science Institute director Robert Williams started thinking big.

While Hubble was generally used for documenting specific targets in space, Williams wanted to see whether there was any value in taking a broader snapshot. The resulting image of a small “keyhole” portion of the sky above the Big Dipper became an icon. Over the course of 10 days in December 1995, Hubble took 342 frames at four different wavelengths of light—light that had been traveling for billions of years, showing at least 1500 galaxies as they were near the beginning of the universe, and in various stages of evolution. The Hubble Deep Field photo proved that the telescope was capable of seeing far more than previously believed, helped to solidify public interest in the project, provided valuable information for researchers, and changed the culture around releasing data to both the wider scientific community and the public, as Vox explains.

The landmark image is now more than 20 years old. Check out the video from Vox for an even deeper dive into the Hubble Deep Field.

[h/t Vox]

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Humankind’s relationship with alcohol may be thousands (or even millions) of years old, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t on an ongoing quest to push things forward. Especially when it comes to the hangover.

David Nutt, a professor at Imperial College London in England, has patented 90 different synthetic alcohols, Esquire reports. The so-called “alcosynths” are an alternative to traditional booze, and Nutt claims they mimic the effects of the regular stuff, but don’t come with the dreaded headaches and nausea that often accompany overindulgence.

Nutt told The Independent that he believes alcosynth could replace alcohol as we know it by 2050. In addition to being a “healthier” option for your liver and heart, Nutt says the alcosynths have a built-in limit—the buzz hits its max point at around four or five drinks and then plateaus. The specifics of Nutt’s formula are still a secret, but he is currently in the process of testing two of the drinks.

While the idea seems to hint at the promise of a hangover-free future, the product is still in its infancy and hasn’t received any funding or support from the Department of Health. (Nutt served as a government drugs advisor until he was reportedly fired for saying ecstasy was less dangerous than horseback riding.)

Still, a Department of Health spokesperson told The Independent, “It would be great for producing better workforce efficiency if no one was hungover.”

This isn’t the first time a hangover-free booze has been introduced: Earlier this year North Korea claimed to have invented one using ginseng and glutinous rice.

[h/t Esquire]

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In 1977, NASA sent the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes off into the cosmos with no particular destination in mind. Their objective was to travel and explore, relay messages back to us on Earth, and, perhaps, deliver a message from us, should they encounter any extraterrestrial life.

Nearly 40 years later, Voyager 1 is now in interstellar space. Both probes are still in communication with us back at home, and they still carry those carefully curated sounds of life here on Earth on the Golden Records. Now you too can listen to—and own—the only government-authorized alien playlist in history.

The Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition is a Kickstarter campaign that has more than doubled its fundraising goal in just a few days’ time. The box set is a reproduction of the original phonograph records, which were selected by a team headed by Carl Sagan, and include audio of the human experience that ranges from Beethoven to birds. (As The New York Times reports, not even Sagan himself got a copy.) The audio—about two hours in all—is even being remastered by the original producer, Timothy Ferris, for optimal sound preservation and quality.

For $98 you can get a copy of the set, which includes three heavyweight translucent gold vinyl LPs, a hardbound book with images from the original Golden Records, along with photos taken by the probes, essays, and other project-related material. There’s also a digital download card and a lithograph of the iconic Golden Record cover diagram, printed with gold metallic ink on archival paper.

You have until October 20 to contribute to the campaign and secure one of the box sets for yourself. As you can imagine, production costs for the reissue are high, and the team writes on the Kickstarter page that the “overwhelming majority” of funds raised will go to that, along with licensing and royalties incurred.

For a better look at the set, and to learn more, check out the video below.

[h/t The New York Times]

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At-home drone technology might be a 21st-century invention, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make one yourself with 20th-century toys.

Flybrix sells kits that let you turn LEGOs (along with some key electrical components) into a fully functioning drone. While not affiliated with the legendary toymaker itself, the Flybrix flying robots are compatible with all your old bricks and minifigs, so you can put your own distinctive spin on a design—over and over again after each spectacular crash. You can also add motors to create a quadcopter, hexacopter, or octocopter, depending on your aviation aspirations.

Introductory kits are available for $149, and include everything you need to build a craft: bricks, motors, boom-arms, propellers, a pre-programmed flightboard, cables, a battery, and, of course, a pilot. While the minifig can’t actually steer the craft himself, you can with your smartphone using the Flybrix app (available for iOS and Android), or you can spring for the $189 deluxe version, which comes with a controller.

Maybe the most exciting thing about Flybrix’s kits is that they’re endlessly customizable. If you’re someone who likes to look under the hood and tweak the mechanics, physical properties, or even the software of a product, the Flybrix code is all open-source, so you’re free to run wild in (technically unsanctioned) LEGO Mania. Just like when you were a kid.

[h/t Gizmodo]

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To become an astronaut, one has to meet an extraordinary set of standards and excel physically, mentally, and emotionally. They also need to have a firm handshake.

That’s according to YouTube’s SciShow Space, which recently did an installment on the rarely discussed astronaut ability that’s all in the wrist—and the forearm, and the hands. You see, in zero gravity, space travelers don’t have much use for their legs, especially when performing extravehicular activities (EVAs), a.k.a. spacewalks. As SciShow host Caitlin Hofmeister explains, these outings require a ton of strength and agility, and because of friction, sometimes even result in a lost fingernail. In a 2005 NASA study, nearly half of all EVA training-related injuries were in the hands.

To prepare for the grueling nature of EVAs, astronauts train underwater leading up to the mission. They spend hours in a pool with their spacesuits on to simulate the experience of weightlessness, and to help get their muscles ready. They’re not totally without help, though—for one, they’re tethered to the ship. Also, NASA and General Motors have developed a “Robo-Glove” (officially called the Human Grasp Assist device) which, when responding to pressure from an astronaut hand, can double or even triple the user’s grip strength. (It’s now being applied to factory work as well.)

The Robo-Glove technology could one day even become a complete space suit. So yeah, while astronauts are currently engaged in exhausting, hours-long physical feats, they’re paving the way for a future where superhero-like spacesuits could help us explore the final frontier.

Check out more in the SciShow video below.

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Hybrid foods are all the rage these days, but Australian Mark Murray was way ahead of the trend. Back in 2004, he came up with the idea of the Hamdog—a hamburger with a hot dog nested inside of it, all encased in a one-of-a-kind bun—and 14 years later, it’s finally available for purchase.

“I had the idea on holiday when I was leaving a bar in Nashville. I grabbed a burger and a hot dog as I was really hungry. I was sitting in the car eating them both at the same time and my wife was looking at me like I was an idiot,” Murray told CNBC.

Murray patented his meaty masterpiece in 2009 and presented it to judges on Australia’s Shark Tank in 2015. However, he failed to secure funding for the venture after the investors literally laughed in his face. (To be fair, the “party in your mouth” concoction does look a bit insane.)

Australians can now find the Hamdog at sporting events and markets, and according to CNBC, Murray is looking to bring it to the U.S. in 2017. The culinary creation comes with lettuce, tomato, pickles, cheese, ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, and costs about $6 U.S.

It’s over folks, shut it all down. The #Hamdog is here. pic.twitter.com/JFxFd2Z6DV

— Jess Wheeler (@wheelswordsmith) September 20, 2016

The Hamdog empire is still in its infancy, and Murray told news.com.au that a company is currently developing a way to semi-automate the bun-making process; as of now, all the bread is baked by hand. He’s also looking for “resellers” (much like a franchisee), so if you’ve got $10,000 and a passion for newfangled meat delivery systems, your future is calling.

[h/t BBC Newsbeat]

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Plants play a key role in our mental and physical health—from helping us focus and beautifying indoor spaces, to maybe helping us live longer. And you can breathe a little easier knowing they actually help us breathe easier.

In the 1980s, NASA, along with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA), sought to figure out exactly which plants were most effective at keeping the air clean—a relevant study for an agency whose astronauts were spending more and more time aboard space stations. The results of that Clean Air study are detailed in the infographic below from Love the Garden.

As you’ll see, not all indoor plants are created equal. Florist’s chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) and the Peace lily (Spathiphyllum) take top honors as natural air filtration systems, removing benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, and ammonia from your home or office space, all of which could cause negative health effects. (You probably didn’t even know those things were floating around, did you?)

Earlier this year, a team of researchers presented new research on the purifying power of plants at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society. They identified the dracaena plant and the bromeliad plant as highly effective at removing pollutants and toxins, which means you have a lot of options when it comes to multitasking greenery.

To get the best results, the Clean Air Study recommends one plant per 100 square feet. And while they may help you live better, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to keep them alive, so be sure to work on that green thumb, too.

[h/t Lifehacker]

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