Author: Matt Gilligan

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People Talk about the Spookiest Video and Audio Clips Online

We live in a world filled with danger around every corner. Sadly, it’s a fact of life. And sometimes, these incidents or phenomenons happen to be captured on video or audio.

An AskReddit thread recently asked people, “What are the spookiest audio or video clips on the Internet?”

Here are responses from AskReddit users.

Take warning: these videos are disturbing and might offend some people, so proceed with caution.

1. Kidnapping.

“A doorbell security camera picked up this footage of a suspected kidnapping in South LA in November. The video doesn’t really show anything, but the audio is horrifying.

There is a person screaming for help for the duration of the video before a car speeds away. I haven’t been able to find any newer information about this, and unless there’s an update I missed, the identity of the person screaming is still unknown.”

2. Jesus…no thanks.

“Listening to “last podcast of the left” they did a 911 call episode, there’s one where a guy calls and says his partner is stabbing her baby with scissors.

You can hear her in the background screaming DIE, DIE DIEEE! Can’t remember the episode bit it’s… yeah… a bad one.”

3. A terrible crash.

“One that personally struck me was the Queensday crash, on 29th op April 2009, in the Netherlands. On Queen’s/King’s day we celebrate the birthday of whoever sits on the throne and it’s just basically like a huge party in the Netherlands and the royals visit a new city every year.

So that year it was in Apeldoorn, and car slammed through the fences onto the square where a lot of people were gathered to see the royals, and people were just launched through the air and then filmed as they lay on the ground lifelessy. The panic and screams are also quite haunting.

It’s not necessarily as bad as the rest on here, but I watched this on live television when I was about 8. Stayed with me forever.”

4. Hacked in.

“The dude that hacked into a news broadcast in Chicago in 1987, Max Headroom.”

VIDEO

5. Wouldn’t want to hear this out in the woods.

“This terrifying mountain lion.

Listen to this.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ThatsInsane/comments/d4be86/mountain_lions_really_be_sounding_like_the_witch/

6. The exorcism.

“I’m not even a very religious person but the audio from the exorcism of Anneliese Michel chills me to the bone, you can find it on youtube.”

7. This is really weird.

“Local 58 on YouTube.

They only have a few videos, but the Contingency one is terrifying.”

VIDEO

8. Something you never want to get.

“What rabies looks like.

I watched this a long time ago. A few months ago I was bitten badly by a stray cat (injured, tried to help) and I started having flashbacks of that video.

Then the cat died (at the vet’s) and I was terrified waiting for the results.

Thankfully, she did not have rabies. Unfortunately, they believe she was poisoned with anti-freeze.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxBIJvNHZg4

9. Noises from the jungle.

“Operation Wandering Soul.

The US government was coming up with new ways of luring the Vietcong out of the jungles during the Vietnam War. They came up with this disturbing and creepy audio recording of what sounds like spirits of the undead calling out to the Viet Cong.

The US military would play this audio at night to try to bring out the Vietcong from their hiding spots and demoralize them. Just imagine being in the middle of a jungle late at night and hearing that on full blast, not knowing where its coming from or what it is.”

10. Incredibly spooky.

“3 years ago Liberty German (14) and Abigail Williams (13) were found murdered and to this day their case remains unsolved.

Police released a very short video and audio clip of who they believe the killer to be taken from one of their cell phones. Here is a mash up of the two, but note that they are two separate things. You can clearly hear the guy saying, “Guys, down the hill.” It’s an incredibly haunting video and audio clip, especially knowing that this killer is still out there.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0snT740jhtw&feature=youtu.be

11. Plane crash.

“I’m so late on this and pissed because my entry will probably be seen by no one.

In 1957 two aircraft collided above a school in Pacoima California killing 8 people. During the crash the principal was giving an assembly which was recorded. You can hear the plane approaching the school in the recording.

Spooky part: it was the school of Richie Valens but he wasn’t in that day. The event made him terrified of flying and he was famously killed alongside Buddy Holly and Big Bopper in a crash two years later.

The recording is here”

https://russellbuchanan.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/pacoima-jr-high-school-airplane-crash-of-1957-audio/

Wow…some of those are really disturbing.

What do you think?

Do you know of any particularly creepy videos or audio clips online?

Share them with us in the comments.

The post People Talk about the Spookiest Video and Audio Clips Online appeared first on UberFacts.

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Remember When Slap Bracelets Took the 1990s by Storm?

As someone who spent the 1990s in school, I have fond, nostalgia-tinged memories of slap bracelets. They were these pieces of flat metal (?) covered in poorly constructed cloth, and when you “slapped” them against your wrist they curled up like a bracelet.

And yes, sometimes the metal broke through the material and cut you, because this was the 90s and we played with toys that could injure or kill us on the regular.

Even though my memories of the slap bracelet are fond, I doubt that anyone who was teaching at the time could say the same – much like the annoying thud that accompanies kids today flipping water bottles, the thwack of a closing snap bracelet probably got old really, really fast.

In fact, some schools banned them altogether, probably because they were annoying, but under the guise of them being dangerous, given that some of the knockoffs actually led to stitches for some.

The original product, the Slap Wrap, was invented by Stuart Anders, a substitute teacher and coach from Fort Prairie, Wisconsin.  He was using his mother’s sewing table and pulled out her self-rolling tape measure when he thought – for some reason – that it would make a cool bracelet.

As Anders didn’t have the money or resources to make anything other than a prototype, though, it didn’t go anywhere for awhile.

Then he enlisted in the National Guard, learned to fly helicopters, moved to Florida, and began working for a local apparel company – and all the while keeping his bracelet prototype in his truck. Until fortuitous day he ran into Philip Bart, who was agent for toy designers.

Anders ran to get his bracelet, snapped it around Bart’s wrist, and the man was sold.

Philip Bart didn’t get very far with the big toy companies, as they saw the bracelet as a trinket they wouldn’t be able to sell for much. Eugene Murtha, who owned Main Street Toy Company in Simsbury, CT, though, felt differently. He had been the VP of Coleco during the Cabbage Patch craze and saw potential in Anders’ Slap Wrap.

The bracelets were the talk of their first trade show, the 1990 American International Toy Fair n New York City, and Murtha received a 250,000-unit order from KB Toys. After overcoming some manufacturing and design hurdles, the bracelets arrived in the summer of 1990.

Unfortunately, some of the prototypes got into competitors’ hands at the Toy Fair, which meant several knockoffs appeared on shelves before the original Slap Wrap. The cheaper versions used carbon steel which rusted easily, employed lower-quality fabric, and therefore created opportunities for injury.

Still, by fall, everyone wanted one. Kids were grabbing them up, they’d become a fad at schools all over the country, and The New York Times had described them as “a Venetian blind with an attitude.”

Schools were less than enthusiastic, banning them on grounds of danger and distraction, with some even requiring teachers to inspect the edges to endure they weren’t frayed and others taking away the accessory at the first sound of a snap.

The State of Connecticut recalled foreign version of the bracelet due to safety concerns, as well.

The craze, like most fads, was short-lived. It flamed out by the end of the year, but with everyone involved with Slap Wraps being around $4 million richer. Even so, finger pointing began, with Bart and Murtha pointing fingers and blaming each other for all of the reasons they didn’t make more like $25 million instead.

The pair went to court, and though a judge found fault with all parties, ruled that Murtha owed Anders his royalties – to the tune of over $750k.

He never received it, as Main Street Toy Company was belly-up. Murtha went on to work at Mattel and Gund, and later reconciled with Anders after he invented a popular tool socket holder picked up by Sears.

Slap bracelets are still around, but are still controversial due to their continued risk of lacerating skin with exposed edges. The ones sold with Troll dolls in 2017 were recalled, as were a 2018 version sold at Target.

People just don’t want to give up on the fun and popular fashion, even if it’s literally cutting kids.

I suppose that’s capitalism for you, though, and maybe one day people will get the design just right!

The post Remember When Slap Bracelets Took the 1990s by Storm? appeared first on UberFacts.

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Remember When Slap Bracelets Took the 1990s by Storm?

As someone who spent the 1990s in school, I have fond, nostalgia-tinged memories of slap bracelets. They were these pieces of flat metal (?) covered in poorly constructed cloth, and when you “slapped” them against your wrist they curled up like a bracelet.

And yes, sometimes the metal broke through the material and cut you, because this was the 90s and we played with toys that could injure or kill us on the regular.

Even though my memories of the slap bracelet are fond, I doubt that anyone who was teaching at the time could say the same – much like the annoying thud that accompanies kids today flipping water bottles, the thwack of a closing snap bracelet probably got old really, really fast.

In fact, some schools banned them altogether, probably because they were annoying, but under the guise of them being dangerous, given that some of the knockoffs actually led to stitches for some.

The original product, the Slap Wrap, was invented by Stuart Anders, a substitute teacher and coach from Fort Prairie, Wisconsin.  He was using his mother’s sewing table and pulled out her self-rolling tape measure when he thought – for some reason – that it would make a cool bracelet.

As Anders didn’t have the money or resources to make anything other than a prototype, though, it didn’t go anywhere for awhile.

Then he enlisted in the National Guard, learned to fly helicopters, moved to Florida, and began working for a local apparel company – and all the while keeping his bracelet prototype in his truck. Until fortuitous day he ran into Philip Bart, who was agent for toy designers.

Anders ran to get his bracelet, snapped it around Bart’s wrist, and the man was sold.

Philip Bart didn’t get very far with the big toy companies, as they saw the bracelet as a trinket they wouldn’t be able to sell for much. Eugene Murtha, who owned Main Street Toy Company in Simsbury, CT, though, felt differently. He had been the VP of Coleco during the Cabbage Patch craze and saw potential in Anders’ Slap Wrap.

The bracelets were the talk of their first trade show, the 1990 American International Toy Fair n New York City, and Murtha received a 250,000-unit order from KB Toys. After overcoming some manufacturing and design hurdles, the bracelets arrived in the summer of 1990.

Unfortunately, some of the prototypes got into competitors’ hands at the Toy Fair, which meant several knockoffs appeared on shelves before the original Slap Wrap. The cheaper versions used carbon steel which rusted easily, employed lower-quality fabric, and therefore created opportunities for injury.

Still, by fall, everyone wanted one. Kids were grabbing them up, they’d become a fad at schools all over the country, and The New York Times had described them as “a Venetian blind with an attitude.”

Schools were less than enthusiastic, banning them on grounds of danger and distraction, with some even requiring teachers to inspect the edges to endure they weren’t frayed and others taking away the accessory at the first sound of a snap.

The State of Connecticut recalled foreign version of the bracelet due to safety concerns, as well.

The craze, like most fads, was short-lived. It flamed out by the end of the year, but with everyone involved with Slap Wraps being around $4 million richer. Even so, finger pointing began, with Bart and Murtha pointing fingers and blaming each other for all of the reasons they didn’t make more like $25 million instead.

The pair went to court, and though a judge found fault with all parties, ruled that Murtha owed Anders his royalties – to the tune of over $750k.

He never received it, as Main Street Toy Company was belly-up. Murtha went on to work at Mattel and Gund, and later reconciled with Anders after he invented a popular tool socket holder picked up by Sears.

Slap bracelets are still around, but are still controversial due to their continued risk of lacerating skin with exposed edges. The ones sold with Troll dolls in 2017 were recalled, as were a 2018 version sold at Target.

People just don’t want to give up on the fun and popular fashion, even if it’s literally cutting kids.

I suppose that’s capitalism for you, though, and maybe one day people will get the design just right!

The post Remember When Slap Bracelets Took the 1990s by Storm? appeared first on UberFacts.

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These Solutions That Prove That ‘It’s Not Stupid If It Works’

Experts are usually the best people for the job, but sometimes, absolutely clueless people can solve problems, too. Hence the common saying: “If it’s stupid and it works, it’s not stupid.”

A Reddit user asked the site for examples of this phenomenon in action. Some of the responses are impressively stupid indeed, but hey, they all worked.

1. Fixing a car with a soda can.

“My dad fixing my car muffler with a soda can. I forgot about it until just now and I sold that car 5yrs ago. […]

He’s a welder and he’s known for fixing everything with duct tape-for real, for years our pants were hemmed with duct tape.

Whatever he did, it ran for years without a problem before I sold it. Looking at other comments, I’m thinking he either clamped it or welded it.”

2. Fixing a car with a penny.

“As college student had a shitty car.

Wouldn’t crank and found the copper tab from the solenoid to the starter had broke, leaving a gap. Thought “copper…..pennies is copper” so jammed a penny in the gap and it started right up.

For months I kept a cup holder full of pennies so I could crank the car.”

3. Fixing the Mars Rover with a shovel.

“They just sent an order for a rover on Mars to hit itself with a shovel. It worked.

Percussive maintenance.”

4. Fixing a server with a toy clown.

“Many moons ago we had a server that needed to be rebooted manually because the OS was really fucked. At 20:00 daily. Couldn’t reinstall or fix because it had a software with a license that could be lost if reinstalled. And couldn’t be reapplied because the maker had long ago left the market and no support or contact.

So our option was to be there daily at 20:00 or find out something.

We set up a toy of a fighting clown with a metal bar attached to its fist to trigger daily at 20:00. It was triggered with an integrated circuit with a timer. At 20:00 the toy was powered on, launching its fist with the attached bar against the server’s power on/power off button. First punch powered it off. At 20:10 it was triggered again, powering on the server.

We had this running for 6 months until we were able to reverse engineer the software’s functionalities and our coder made a program fully compatible with some of our scripting-foo.”

5. Using a laundry service to move.

“A friend of mine was about to move to a new apartment. Neither new nor old apartment had a washing machine and it was a trek to the coin-op laundry.

They called up a local laundry service. The service came to the old apartment and picked up almost every bit of clothing, bedding, towels, etc they owned. The service washed, dried and folded it all. And delivered it back again…. To the NEW address!!!

Friend saved a bunch of effort moving it all, a ton of time doing the laundry and the total cost of the service wasn’t much more than the cost of all the quarters for the coin-op machines and the detergent. And it made moving so much less stressful too.

This was in a big city with a lot of these laundry services. So YMMV. But it was beautiful and brilliant.”

6. Keeping track of the remote with a spatula.

“We kept losing our stupid little Apple TV remote in the cushions of our living room furniture so I took a small rubber spatula and duct taped it to the remote.

Haven’t lost it since.”

7. Eating kids vitamins.

“I struggled for years with anemia no one could find the cause for. Kept getting really sick, and every iron supplement caused severe side effects. (Extreme constipation and gi bleeds)

After YEARS of trying to figure it out, the best solution was to take two children’s Flintstones with Iron. Works perfectly. After so many attempts at medical intervention about it, it turns out the thing that fixed it was a couple cheap kids vitamins that can be found at any drugstore.”

8. Preventing crimes with empty cars.

“In the Florida keys, they have old cop cars on the side of the road to prevent speeding. Most of them don’t have cops inside them, or engines for that matter.

One of them actually had a mannequin dressed as a cop inside.”

9. Preventing crimes with fake cameras.

“Fake security cameras for a fraction of the cost of real security cameras but with a huge decrease in theft or vandalism.”

10. Fixing a toilet with a wine cork.

“I’ve got a sailboat, and we switched out the conventional style head (toilet) that had a holding tank to a composting head that’s like a fancy bucket that makes dirt. We had removed the holding tank, and were out sailing, when I hear my dad call for help down below.

It turns out that when we have heavy wind coming over the left side of the boat, the vent for our holding tank goes underwater, and it was just letting in lots of water. Dad’s there plugging it with his finger, but we need something to stop it up so he can get back above deck so we can actually sail.

Fortunately, we had drank some wine aboard a few nights prior, and the cork was still on the corkscrew. It fit the hole perfectly, and we figured “that’s good enough to get us back home so we can make a proper repair.”

That was 3 years ago, the cork’s still working great!”

11. Play football like a child at recess.

“In American football, there’s an offensive method/system called the “Run ‘n’ Shoot.” It was inspired by a high school football coach watching younger kids play football at recess. He watched them as they simply ran everywhere, just trying to get open, with no set routes (the pattern or path a receiver runs to catch a pass). Normally, routes are very rigid and coached with a lot of detail. He noticed that whoever was playing QB would often be running side to side to get away from the other kids chasing him, then would throw the ball when he found someone open. Another observation is that before the play began, kids would line up all over the yard, side to side, to get as open as possible. He also noticed that the kids were having a lot of fun doing it!

He wanted to have an offense that was fun for his players…so he built an offense based on spreading his players across the field, and having one or more players running “routes on the fly,” where a player would have anywhere from one to potentially four routes they could run after the play began. On almost every snap, his QB would run to the left or the right before throwing the ball, so he could run the ball away from the defense if no one was open.

It fucking worked, and it became one of the most influential pass-first offenses in the game’s history.

TL;DR: An American football coach built an entire offensive system based on observations he made watching a bunch of kids playing football at recess.”

12. Use a tire as a bumper.

“Placing used tires against your garage wall to cushion your front bumper from making potential impact in tight quarters.”

13. Buying 30 bottle openers.

“My friend and I were roommates – single guys. We owned one or two bottle openers and could never find them to open beer bottles, so next time we were at the liquor store we bought about 30 of them for 10c each and literally just threw them all over the apartment.

That way if you were looking for one, there was always one right next to you. It actually worked out so fucking perfectly I can’t even describe it in words to make you understand and to this day even thinking about it relieves me of stress.

There is something about being handed a beer and knowing there is a bottle opener within 2ft of you no matter where you are in the apartment that is calming on a deep emotional level.”

Lesson learned: no matter how stupid it sounds, it’s worth a try. It might just turn into the best solution ever.

What do you think? Got any “so stupid, but it worked” stories?

Share them in the comments!

The post These Solutions That Prove That ‘It’s Not Stupid If It Works’ appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Share How They Landed a Job They Genuinely Love

A lot of us really hate our jobs (not me, of course). However, there are apparently a select few individuals who actually really, really enjoy going to work every day.

It might sound crazy, but it’s true. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to find and land a job you love, you might be interested in this Reddit thread, which asks Redditors to share jobs they genuinely love and the story behind how they got into the field.

As you might have guessed, people had a lot to say on this topic. Below are some of our favorite answers that just might inspire you.

1. Some people were just trying to save a few bucks.

“I’m a private chef on a superyacht.

I got it because I used to work in Michelin star restaurants in London. I was tired of working so hard and then seeing so much of my salary get wasted on rent and cost of living in London. I figured out that you get to keep 100% of your salary if you live on the yacht. A bonus right now is that we’re moored up on an island that has no cases of coronavirus at all. The pay is way more than what you would get as head chef in a restaurant as well. The crew I work with are all great and I get to cook with the best ingredients with almost an unlimited budget.

I couldn’t be happier.”

— skinMARKdraws

2. While others just wanted to be like Indiana Jones.

“Archaeologist. I’m back in school right now to get a master’s so I can hopefully lead my own digs one day but even shovel bum jobs are amazingly rewarding.

Sure, the days are long and you’re out in the hot sun, but when you find something old and cool you really feel like a treasure hunter.”

— snaresamn

3. Others are fulfilling their childhood Hot Wheels fantasies.

“I build and work on racecars. It’s the coolest job in the world to me. I work for a team and do stuff on the side as well.

I helped on race teams for years just for fun, and as I learned more and got better at it it slowly morphed into a paying deal.”

— randomemu

4. Some people really know how to network.

“I’m a carpenter who works on mansions on a private island.

I kinda just fell into this job tbh. My girlfriend has a cousin whose father has some money and owns a custom carpentry company. We moved to their area and the father offered me a job. At the time I was working at Papa John’s and shit had been rough for a while. I have fallen in love with the job since. It’s incredibly hard work but at the end of the day, the satisfaction of being able to physically see the results of my efforts at the end of the day has worked wonders on my job motivation and mental health at work. Every morning I watch the sunrise come over the ocean driving to work and at lunch, I sit on the beach and watch the waves. I couldn’t ask for a better location, better pay, or a better trade.

Saying I’m in love with my job is an understatement. My work is becoming who I am and a big part of myself and for the first time in my life I’m alright with it.”

— erviniumd

5. Teaching adults new skills can be really rewarding.

“I’m the chairperson of a culinary school.

I love my work. No day is ever the same, we see students go from not knowing how to pick up a knife to real skills within a couple of years, graduates get jobs quickly and go on to do all kinds of things.

I started apprenticing as a cook in 1998, completed the apprenticeship in 2002, went to university to study history, graduated PhD in food history in 2015, was a professor at a culinary school and am now the chairperson.”

— ryguy_1

6. Turns out, becoming YouTube famous is actually super hard.

“I get to do YouTube full-time building and engineering my dream cars.

The best part about it, the crazier and more noteworthy, the more successful the video. It’s like getting to be a car mechanic and only work on your own cars. So thankful for getting to this point. It took years of making videos for fun as an outlet for being in a dead-end town.”

— rdahm

7. Do you believe in magic? This guy still does.

“I’m a magician for a living.

I mostly specialize in performing at corporate events all over the world. It had been a hobby since I was little. Throughout my childhood, I always had a passion for theater, and eventually minored in it in college. I was working in sales after 8 years in the army, and decided to give it a shot. So, I went out and pitched a bunch of restaurants on the idea of having me come bounce around, performing for people at their tables while they waited for their dinner. It was really well received!

Eventually, I started booking bigger and bigger clients.”

— zombioptic

8. Helping people through their worst moments is incredibly exhausting, but also rewarding.

“I’m a crisis counselor for a hotline for a non-profit that serves folks impacted by specific kinds of abuse. I do direct care while also providing leadership and training as well.

It’s difficult work and it wears me down some days BUT I couldn’t imagine having a job that didn’t feel as meaningful and important. I love helping people; I love listening to people.

It’s scary calling somewhere and asking for help or asking for support. But, sometimes you get people like me on the other end who will do their best to make sure when the call is over you’re feeling a little better, a little more hopeful and feeling a little safer.”

— yrexloverisdead

9. Playing with puppies all day, where do we sign up?

“I’m a dog groomer and love my job.

I started out at grooming school and then ended up working there afterward. I now run my own business and am extremely passionate about what I do.

It can be a harder job than people realize but it makes it all worth it when the dogs leave my salon looking and feeling great, and seeing the owners reactions.”

— jammersbout

10. Who didn’t dream of becoming a pilot as a kid?

“Piloting!

Childhood dream come true and views are great … worked hard and lucked into a sponsored program by an airline.”

— sdweed1

11. For some, work is a calling.

“Neuroscience researcher: I just knew from when I was a little kid that I wanted to be a scientist, and I was lucky enough to have parents who would encourage that kind of thing and access to good educational opportunities.

So I studied psychology in college, then went to grad school for behavioral neuroscience (that was a slightly rough 7 years), got my PhD and started a postdoctoral fellowship a year ago in behavioral/computational neuroscience.

If I were independently wealthy I would seriously pay money to be allowed to do this job.”

— optrode

12. Cleaning up messes = audiobook time.

“I’m a Janitor and I can say it’s the fucking best every time friends or family ask how’s work I reply with: “What work? I don’t work.”

Every day is different someday something breaks and you go and repair it, somedays you clean, somedays you do some garden work. And everything is calm, I don’t need to stress.

I can listen to audiobooks all day long, and I can plan the day myself.”

— themrkablamo

13. You’re never too old to love an amusement park.

“I work at an amusement park, it was my favorite first job, I worked in the games department as an attendant.

I would operate a single game for a whole shift, with how busy the park was, I had the chance to meet and talk to so many different people throughout the day, everyone had fun and each day was different, I have been there for 5 years now and I had the amazing chance to become apart of the management team.

I love the people I work with but I have only maybe 5 bad days throughout the entire season. 10/10 would recommend.”

— salemdevonshire

14. That feeling when your work helps other people escape into a steamy book.

“I write romance novels and sell them on Amazon. I actually got into it through writing erotica, which I still do.

It’s really nice. It’s a job, obviously, and some days you really don’t want to sit down and put the hours in, but you have to in order to keep the lights on just like any other gig; waiting for inspiration to strike isn’t really an option. There’s also the fact that when you self-publish, you have to do all of the things that a publishing house would do on top of writing.

That means you have to figure out marketing, editing, cover design, social media… or at least, be willing to hire someone who can do that stuff for you.”

— portarossa

15. When you live in a beautiful place, nothing really feels like work.

“I milk goats on a goat dairy in Hawai’i. I love being around goats all day and working on the farm.”

— dr_bigbutt

What job have you loved the most? Anything that really stands out?

Let us know in the comments and give us the whole story!

Please and thank you!

The post People Share How They Landed a Job They Genuinely Love appeared first on UberFacts.

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These Plants Will Keep Pests out of Your Garden

One of the most disheartening things about gardens for me is watching your much-loved, oft-tended plants get decimated by insects and other pests. What’s worse is that it’s often a guessing game to figure out what’s doing it and how to get rid of them before it’s too late.

I’ve taken cuttings to nurseries, scoured pictures online, and still lost whole seasons’ crops to the little pests – so I’m pretty thrilled to have this quick resource of 7 plants that could keep pests out of your garden before they even have a chance to set up their destructive shop.

7. Mint

Humans love the smell of mint, but pests like ants, mosquitoes, slugs, snails, and mice usually so not.

It prefers well-drained but moist ground, can tolerate some shade, and needs minimal care – plus, mimosas!

6. Geraniums

These garden classics thrive in pots with drain holes, planted in potting soil mixture and where they can get 4-6 hours of sunlight a day.

Take care of them and they’ll take care of Japanese beetles, mosquitos, leafhoppers, and corn earworms for you!

5. Petunias

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#petunia #petunias #sol #belleza #jardineria #jardín

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Petunias are okay with partial shade, but they aren’t fond of wind.

They also need a 1-foot distance between plants if they’re going to do their duty of repelling leafhoppers, aphids, tomato hornworms, and asparagus beetles.

4. Basil

We use basil in the kitchen all the time, so not only will it repel mosquitoes, mosquito eggs, and houseflies in your garden, it will liven up your dinner, as well.

Make sure to choose a place with well-drained soil, as its roots don’t like to be wet.

3. Chrysanthemum

These flowers need space – they can grow to heights of a foot, and to three feet wide – and they also prefer sun and well-drained soil.

They’ll help you out in return with ants, ticks, lice, spider mites, and silverfish.

2. Calendula

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Flowers…one of the most important things for a vegetable garden! Who knew?!? When I first started gardening I never thought to add flowers other than marigolds. I always knew marigolds were great for pest control especially with tomatoes and cucumbers which prior to this garden were the only veggies I had ever really grown…fast forward to now (a year and a half after starting my dream garden) I have flowers in every single bed and am gaining more knowledge of the importance of flowers to #growingfood Flowers help ensure pollination by the bees but also have so many other added benefits to any garden. This year I am growing #calendula for its medicinal benefits; #nasturtium for its beauty and edible options; #marigold for said purpose above; #sunflower because they just need to be in every garden and my husband loves the seeds; #dahlia because Instagram influenced me ? and because I absolutely loved the ones I grew last year; #pansies for their cuteness and they are edible; #borage because the bees go crazy for it and the flowers are gorgeous in summer drinks; #zinnia for their medicinal options and they are beautiful; #sweetpea because they smell incredible and just look stunning on a trellis; and then some #camomile and #lavendar because how could I not ?‍♀️ what flowers are you growing? #growingflowers #flowers #flower #garden #gardening #gardentips #gardenlove #gardenlife #flowerpower #gardentime

A post shared by Julie Schreiner (@this_bountiful_life) on

Aside from being bright and cheerful, calendulas repel asparagus beetles and tomato hornworm.

They love sunshine and well-drained soil, and can also attract “good” insects like hoverflies.

1. Lavender

Lavender is a big plant that needs space – the seeds should be 2-3 feet apart – and it also likes evenly-drained soil, but can grow in “bad” soil as well as good.

There are tons of ways to use it at home, and house flies, moths, and fleas all avoid it.

Definitely going to be putting this information to good use as soon as Mother Nature decides to let spring out of time out this year!

Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve for keeping out pests? Share them with us in the comments!

The post These Plants Will Keep Pests out of Your Garden appeared first on UberFacts.

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These Plants Will Keep Pests out of Your Garden

One of the most disheartening things about gardens for me is watching your much-loved, oft-tended plants get decimated by insects and other pests. What’s worse is that it’s often a guessing game to figure out what’s doing it and how to get rid of them before it’s too late.

I’ve taken cuttings to nurseries, scoured pictures online, and still lost whole seasons’ crops to the little pests – so I’m pretty thrilled to have this quick resource of 7 plants that could keep pests out of your garden before they even have a chance to set up their destructive shop.

7. Mint

Humans love the smell of mint, but pests like ants, mosquitoes, slugs, snails, and mice usually so not.

It prefers well-drained but moist ground, can tolerate some shade, and needs minimal care – plus, mimosas!

6. Geraniums

These garden classics thrive in pots with drain holes, planted in potting soil mixture and where they can get 4-6 hours of sunlight a day.

Take care of them and they’ll take care of Japanese beetles, mosquitos, leafhoppers, and corn earworms for you!

5. Petunias

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#petunia #petunias #sol #belleza #jardineria #jardín

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Petunias are okay with partial shade, but they aren’t fond of wind.

They also need a 1-foot distance between plants if they’re going to do their duty of repelling leafhoppers, aphids, tomato hornworms, and asparagus beetles.

4. Basil

We use basil in the kitchen all the time, so not only will it repel mosquitoes, mosquito eggs, and houseflies in your garden, it will liven up your dinner, as well.

Make sure to choose a place with well-drained soil, as its roots don’t like to be wet.

3. Chrysanthemum

These flowers need space – they can grow to heights of a foot, and to three feet wide – and they also prefer sun and well-drained soil.

They’ll help you out in return with ants, ticks, lice, spider mites, and silverfish.

2. Calendula

View this post on Instagram

Flowers…one of the most important things for a vegetable garden! Who knew?!? When I first started gardening I never thought to add flowers other than marigolds. I always knew marigolds were great for pest control especially with tomatoes and cucumbers which prior to this garden were the only veggies I had ever really grown…fast forward to now (a year and a half after starting my dream garden) I have flowers in every single bed and am gaining more knowledge of the importance of flowers to #growingfood Flowers help ensure pollination by the bees but also have so many other added benefits to any garden. This year I am growing #calendula for its medicinal benefits; #nasturtium for its beauty and edible options; #marigold for said purpose above; #sunflower because they just need to be in every garden and my husband loves the seeds; #dahlia because Instagram influenced me ? and because I absolutely loved the ones I grew last year; #pansies for their cuteness and they are edible; #borage because the bees go crazy for it and the flowers are gorgeous in summer drinks; #zinnia for their medicinal options and they are beautiful; #sweetpea because they smell incredible and just look stunning on a trellis; and then some #camomile and #lavendar because how could I not ?‍♀️ what flowers are you growing? #growingflowers #flowers #flower #garden #gardening #gardentips #gardenlove #gardenlife #flowerpower #gardentime

A post shared by Julie Schreiner (@this_bountiful_life) on

Aside from being bright and cheerful, calendulas repel asparagus beetles and tomato hornworm.

They love sunshine and well-drained soil, and can also attract “good” insects like hoverflies.

1. Lavender

Lavender is a big plant that needs space – the seeds should be 2-3 feet apart – and it also likes evenly-drained soil, but can grow in “bad” soil as well as good.

There are tons of ways to use it at home, and house flies, moths, and fleas all avoid it.

Definitely going to be putting this information to good use as soon as Mother Nature decides to let spring out of time out this year!

Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve for keeping out pests? Share them with us in the comments!

The post These Plants Will Keep Pests out of Your Garden appeared first on UberFacts.

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‘Harry Potter At Home’ Brings the Magic Into Your House

Harry Potter is proving to be an enduring treasure. The world continues to warm our hearts, raise our spirits, and make us wish (no matter how old we are now) that our Hogwarts letter would have come.

Now, J.K. Rowling is letting us have just a bit more of her magical world for our own – Harry Potter At Home is as close as your closest computer with internet access.

Rowling announced recently the free resource for “parents, teachers, and carers working to keep children amused and interested while we’re on lockdown might need a bit of magic.”

A bit of an understatement, really.

The website offers kids (or whoever) opportunities to dig deeper into the wonderful world of Hogwarts as they get sorted into houses, test their Hogwarts knowledge with a bunch of fun quizzes, and try to solve some themed word searches and puzzles.

The site even includes a free listen to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone through Audible (for a limited time).

Rowling is also temporarily relaxing her copyright license and allowing teachers to read the books aloud to students at home during the quarantine.

In April, Harry Potter At Home plans to feature different activities for kids and information for parents, caregivers, and teachers. There will be regular content updates like “Wizarding Wednesdays,” which will provide creative crafts and more quizzes once each week.

Rowling said in an interview that she hopes “these initiatives will give children and even adults a happy distraction during their enforced stay-at-home time.”

Despite criticisms, J.K. Rowling proves to be the gift that keeps on giving – as is the world she created, one that so many of us visit every chance that we get.

So go ahead, friends. Spend some of your free time at Hogwarts.

You’ve never regretted it before, and you definitely won’t now.

The post ‘Harry Potter At Home’ Brings the Magic Into Your House appeared first on UberFacts.

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Here’s How to Crochet Your Very Own Joe Exotic from ‘Tiger King’

A lot of people are obsessed with Netflix’s bizarre documentary, Tiger King, and it’s star, Joe Exotic.

Obsessed, of course, could mean many different things – most of us are like, stunned that those are actual human beings who exist – but some folks out there just really can’t get enough details, background, memes, pictures, whatever, of Joe and his batsh*t world.

If that last sentence describes you at all, I’ve got good news – your obsession and love can continue right into your own home with a crocheted version of Joe Exotic. Truly.

And I mean a really good one, with the mullet and the dangling eyebrow ring and everything. This Etsy pattern has it all (including a tiny tiger at his side).

The pattern was created by Allison Hoffman, the proprietor of Crafty Is Cool, who clearly spent many hours watching this mad tiger world go down, jaw agape, as the rest of us did.

If you’re worried that your crochet skills aren’t up to the challenge, Hoffman promises the pattern is simple enough for anyone to bring Joe and his identifiable style to life.

“The Oklahoman measures 12.5″ and the tiger cub sits at 3.25″ tall. This pattern is 21 pages long and includes 57 photos. It has lots of details so beginners might like the challenge, intermediates might breeze through, and advanced crocheters will laugh at its simplicity.”

The instructions also include a materials list and a full list of yarns with links, so ordering them online should be simple, too, and the whole kit and kaboodle is only $7.

I’m going to need all of you crocheters out there to get on this right away.

For one thing, I know you don’t have anything else to do. For another…you know you want to.

What the world needs right now are just a few more (tiny) Joe Exotics.

The post Here’s How to Crochet Your Very Own Joe Exotic from ‘Tiger King’ appeared first on UberFacts.

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You Can Enroll in Hogwarts Potions, Herbology, and Other Classes Online

If you’ve ever wanted to know what it feels like to attend classes at Hogwarts, well, now is as good a time to start remote schooling from the castle, too.

And you guys – I know that you spent half of your time in actual school wishing you were sitting in Potions or Defense Against the Dark Arts instead.

There are seven online classes offered through Hogwarts Is Here, an online social network created in 2014. It’s sort of a cross between an open online course and a role-playing game as you enroll as a first year student, sort yourself into a house, and begin virtual classes.

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Ayy petey teyo dyen. #hogwartsishere

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You can even compete to be Head Boy or Head Girl, if that’s your thing.

An aside about the sorting process – there’s no hat, sadly, so you sort yourself into the house of your choice. That said, most everyone who is signing up for classes on Hogwarts Is Here is likely already a big enough Potterhead to know exactly where they belong. You do get to hang out in the common room with fellow students, though!

After enrolling and being sorted, you’ll need books (time to visit Flourish and Blotts!) before deciding whether you want to enroll in all of the courses, fill up your schedule, complete assignments, and get your grades or basically mess around in the castle, read books in the library, and do your own thing.

If you want to help your house earn points that go toward the House Cup, though, you’ll have to actually earn your grades.

The online “school” offers Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology. Every course contains 9 lessons that consist of reading, writing essays, and taking quizzes and exams.

You can actually continue to Year Two, Three, and so on until you graduate from Hogwarts at the end of your 7-year tenure.

If you’re a Harry Potter fan who has some time on their hands, Hogwarts Is Here is the place to be, whether you’re into school like Hermione or more into goofing off with your friends, like the Weasley twins.

See you at school!

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