Nerdstalgic examined the seemingly questionable expansion of the Star Trek franchise, specifically noting how subsequent spinoffs drifted further and further away from the principles introduced in The Original Series, becoming more about quantity than quality.

For decades, Star Trek stood apart from every other sci-fi franchise. It wasn’t built on spectacle or action, it was built on big ideas, moral dilemmas, and characters solving impossible problems through curiosity and hope. So…what happened?

The narrator also spoke about how the new creative and network approaches evident in such recent series as Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks have lost sight of the original message.

Much of the modern era traded thoughtful storytelling for glossy visuals, constant action, and streaming-first “content. From Discovery and Picard to Section 31 and beyond, so much modern Star Trek has struggled to live up to the legacy Gene Roddenberry created.

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The post How ‘Star Trek’ Spinoffs Drifted Away From the Principles of ‘The Original Series’ was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Lance Geiger of The History Guy explored the long history and ingenious physics of the trebuchet, noting that this ancient siege engine was the deadliest weapon of war prior to the invention of guns and gunpowder. He examined different versions of the trebuchet, such as the counterweight trebuchet and the traction trebuchet (Mangonel), from around the world, along with the varying projectiles hurled against the enemy.

The trebuche stands as the pinnacle of mechanical artillery in the era before gunpowder. For more than a millennium, this weapon made of a simple lever dictated the outcome of major sieges across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Geiger also recounted one of the most renowned instances of trebuchet construction.

On July 24, 1304 King Edward I of England captured the last stronghold of resistance against English rule in Scotland, the formidable Stirling Castle. But he did not have to storm the castle to make the defenders surrender. He merely had to threaten them with perhaps the most terrifying siege engine in the era…

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A funny little green-cheeked conure named Mango loves to ride around on the steering wheel while his human is driving, staying there through every turn. While it appears that Mango was trained to do this, his human said that he decided to do this all on his own

One of the questions I get asked the most is, “How did you teach him to stay on the steering wheel?” The answer is simple… I didn’t.The very first time I put him there, he refused to get off. I slowly turned the wheel, and he stayed right there. From that moment on, it became our thing.

Mango’s Origin Story

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The post Funny Little Parrot Loves to Ride Around on the Steering Wheel During Car Trips was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Linguist Xiaomanyc (Arieh Smith), a practicing polyglot, shared his incredible experience of befriending his host Wareka, an indigenous Waorani hunter-gatherer, while traveling deep in the Amazon jungle of eastern Ecuador.

The Waorani people who live deep in the Amazon jungle of eastern Ecuador are one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes in the world. Having first made contact with the rest of humanity only a few decades ago, there are currently less than 5,000 of them, and many still live deep in the jungle, subsisting off wild monkeys they hunt themselves with handmade blowguns.

The pair stayed in close touch afterward, and Smith invited Wareka to visit his hometown of New York City to share his own experience. Unfortunately, Wareka was not granted a visa to the United States, so they went to the bustling metropolis of Hong Kong instead.

Because he had taken me to visit his hometown and family I knew I wanted to return the favor by inviting him to visit my hometown of New York City. So I spent 12 months helping him apply for a visa to visit the U.S., which had always been a dream of his to visit, but this was sadly denied. But I found a loophole. Apparently Hong Kong, a city even more skyscraper-packed than New York, does not require visas for Ecuadorean citizens.

Wareka was quite amazed by the modern conveniences and the variety of food available to him on demand, highlighting the stark contrast between his life deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the bustling, hyper-modern urban environment of Hong Kong.

Wareka was amazed to experience things for the first time that we take for granted that are indeed kind of miraculous when you think about it, and it gave me a new perspective as well.

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The post Linguist Takes a Waorani Man From the Remote Amazon Jungle on a Trip to Visit Bustling Hong Kong was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Swedish engineering musician Mattias Krantz, who truly enjoys experimenting with instruments, created an ingenious electric ukulele that instantly transforms into a full-size guitar with just a simple pull on the neck. Krantz employed various mechanical and hydraulic systems to ensure a seamless transition.

Ukulele that transforms into a GUITAR mid performance

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Professional cyclists Danny MacAskill and Kriss Kyle tackled an incredibly challenging Red Bull obstacle course built over water, featuring a variety of increasingly difficult challenges. While they both had some good runs, only MacAskill managed to finish the course without falling into the lake.

We built a WILD bike obstacle course for Danny MacAskill and Kriss Kyle to try and conquer. Spanning over 200m, the floating track featured seesaws, log skinnies, wall rides, a ladder bridge, and a gnarly tightrope where one slip means you’re taking a cold dip.

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Australian builder Jazza collaborated with Lumen’s Workshop to engineer and construct an enormous, rollable D20 die. The team utilized 3D-printed components and specialized foam techniques to break the current Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Die.

We’re not going to just build any giant D20. We’re going to build a world record-breaking giant D20. And that’s not hyperbole….Not only are we going to beat a world record, we’re also going to do it twice. We’re making it bigger and rollable. 

The team also collaborated on a giant D20 dice kit.

Super beginner-friendly, no prior knowledge, skills or glue required! This kit contains everything you need to build your very own Large, Very Large or GARGANTUAN D20. Each kit comes with 4 font options too.

via The Awesomer

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Gavin Free and Dan Gruchy of The Slow Mo Guys captured slow-motion footage of the six-foot Gruchy inside a massive water-filled six-foot balloon as it rolled down a three-foot (one-meter) high ramp.

It’s Julyant Balloon! Gav gives you a sneak peek at Dan’s commute. Don’t try this at home. Drowning in a balloon will cause embarrassment to your loved ones.

The camera filmed the action at 2,200 frames per second, allowing the laughing pair to examine how the shifting water and the balloon’s rotation affected Gruchy’s stability during the descent.

Gruchy seems to be okay with experimenting with six-foot balloons.

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The post Slow-Motion Footage of Man Inside a Water Balloon Rolling Down a Ramp was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Tyler Fever of Prop Department transformed a bright yellow 1988 Ford Festiva into an ultra-thin street-legal vehicle. After cutting it down to size with a handheld laser cutter, Fever fabricated custom parts and reassembled the frame.

I took an old Ford Festiva, cut it in half, and made the thinnest street legal car!

Once completed, he took the final result for a cruise around the city to test traffic performance and gauge passersby’s reactions.

I’m blown away at everyone’s love for this car, it’s so funny! It actually drives really well on the street.

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A sweet pit bull named Opie, who was raised by six very doting cats, made an adorable attempt to become feline by imitating their habits and acting more like a cat than a dog.

From loafing like a cat to sharing naps with his best friend Mochi, his story is a heartwarming reminder that family isn’t defined by species.

According to their human, Diana, Opie grooms himself like a cat, rubs against her legs, and even sits in a loaf position just like his kitty siblings.

Part Cat, Part Dog

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The post Pit Bull Raised by Six Cats Acts More Like a Cat Than a Dog was originally published on Laughing Squid.

The music channel Bandsplaining took a look at glam rock of the 1970s, which was the screaming antithesis to the revolutionary hippie culture of the late 1960s, noting how this hard-rocking, highly decorated, and androgynous genre led the way for the punk and alternative music of the future.

In the early 70s, a new cohort of musicians turned away from the counterculture ethos, and instead embraced an absurd, hypersexual, plastic-y futuristic vision of rock and roll. Glam rock not only revived rock music for a new generation, but it bridged the gap to punk, new wave and the myriad alternative genres enjoyed today.

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The post How 1970s Glam Rock Became the Screaming Antithesis of 1960s Hippie Culture was originally published on Laughing Squid.

The very talented Punch Brothers played a cover of John Williams‘ instantly recognizable theme from Jaws as a twangy bluegrass song on a boat en route to the 2026 Newport Folk Festival, after an amusing discussion about what could be in the water below them.

That’s the open sea y’all – you don’t have a lot of shark control. …Keep an eye out.

They also performed this cover on dry land at the show.

Another ‘Jaws’ Performance in Atlanta

A Bluegrass Cover of ‘The Imperial March’

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Fitness expert Kae Rose shared a reel of her adorable jumping spiders in the hope of helping people overcome their arachnophobia through exposure therapy.

Exposure therapy works because fear feeds on avoidance. The more you avoid something, the scarier it feels. but when you see something over and over again, your brain starts realizing, maybe, that this isn’t actually dangerous.

She further reiterates that thes spiders are harmless to humans and even have traits that are similar to a cat’s.

So maybe you start noticing the tiny feet, the curious head tilts, and the way they clean themselve like little cats. Your brain stops seeing “monster” and starts seeing “animal”.

Spider Exposure Therapy Actually Works

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The post How to Overcome Arachnophobia Through Exposure to Adorable Spiders was originally published on Laughing Squid.

The Rat Shack is a public installation on Federal Hill in Baltimore. Its creator, Meg Murray, told the Baltimore Sun that she needed time away from her phone, so she took up needle-felting rats as a hobby. 

She started needle felting rats this year to “keep from doomscrolling on my phone.”

When Murray discovered she had a huge surplus of felted rats, she decorated a repurposed cabinet, hung it on her stoop railing, and invited visitors to adopt them.

Rat Shack is a public art installation in the heart of Federal Hill. Swing by to adopt a handmade rat!

Murray replaces the rats as they get adopted; however, they do go quickly.

Rise and shine, it’s time to rat! A new set of rats is ready for adoption — come and save one before it rains today!

Visitors to the Rat Shack

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The post An Adorable ‘Rat Shack’ Full of Adoptable Needle-Felted Rats on Baltimore’s Federal Hill was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Artist Yohei Kisanuki created an incredible Phenakistoscope featuring hand-drawn ants on a spinning turntable that uses the stroboscopic effect to make them look like they’re moving across the surface.

(translated) Ant-Man making of video (fast-forward)

The Full Video

Other Phenakistoscopes by Yohei Kisanuki

via The Awesomer

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The post Hand-Drawn Ants Crawl Across a Spinning Turntable was originally published on Laughing Squid.

The adorable ducks of Cheese and Quackers Homestead gathered around a margarita glass to enjoy a hydrating watermelon and pea “duck-arita” prepared by their doting human, Emily, to help them withstand a hot summer day in New York.

It’s been brutal out here the last few days.stay cool everyone! 

Emily had experimented with different “duck-arita” recipes until she found the one they love best.

Still in a heat wave, has to get creative with the duckarita recipes to keep everyone hydrated

The ducks are very fond of both watermelon and peas, especially when they are mixed together.

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The post Pet Ducks Cool Off With a Watermelon and Pea ‘Margarita’ on a Hot Summer Day was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Brandon Hardesty of The Back Focus explored the wide and diverse range of talent that appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation, highlighting how these memorable guest performances helped solidify the show’s legacy within the expansive Star Trek universe.

This is a celebration of TNG guest stars, Star Trek actors, acting craft, classic science fiction, and a bygone era of television that still feels impossible to replicate.

Guests included the inimitable Star Trek: TOS cast members, legendary performers, regular character actors, a widely renowned scientist, and even a groundbreaking NASA astronaut.

From DeForest Kelley, Leonard Nimoy, and James Doohan passing the torch to Mark Lenard’s Sarek, to character actors such as Stephen Root, Diedrich Bader, Ray Wise, James Cromwell, and Christopher McDonald, these stories reveal the working actors behind TNG’s aliens, Klingons, Romulans, and Starfleet officers. We also revisit wonderfully strange Star Trek cameos from Mick Fleetwood, John Tesh, James Worthy, Stephen Hawking, and astronaut Mae Jemison.

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The post The Diverse Range of Guest Stars Who Appeared on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ was originally published on Laughing Squid.

The Process explored the history and engineering behind how Crayola Crayons are made by the billions every year, using a combination of old and new technology, and noted how the brand patented its memorable signature crayon scents.

Crayola makes 3 billion crayons a year, but the most powerful thing in the box may be the smell.we reveal how Crayola crayons are made from paraffin wax, pigment, rotary molds, paper labels, and old factory machines still running today.

The narrator also discussed how the brand navigated modern cultural shifts in the United States as the box grew in size.

The box grew. Eight colors became forty-eight, then sixty-four. … Inside the Crayola box was a color  called “Flesh.” Skin color. One skin color – and it was white. In 1962, with the  Civil Rights movement sweeping the country, Crayola changed “Flesh” to “Peach.” Not just a name swap. It was the first time a crayon company acknowledged what the nation was confronting  – that human skin doesn’t come in one shade. 

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The post How Crayola Crayons Are Made was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Father Dionisios Tabakis, a bearded Greek Orthodox priest in the Peloponnesian coastal town of Nafplio, Greece, removed the frets from his 8-string Harley Benton electric guitar and tuned it like an oud. This clever combination gave the traditional instrument a bit of a metal boost as he played.

The Sound of an Oud

via The Awesomer

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The post Greek Orthodox Priest Plays His Fretless Electric Guitar Like a Heavy Metal Oud was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Video editor Bill McClintock created an unlikely yet seamless mashup that combines “Get Ready” by The Temptations with Ratt‘s heavy metal song “Lack of Communication”. As with his previous mashups, McClintock used another song, specifically Pantera‘s “I’m Broken”, to fill in the blanks.

Ratt – Lack of Communication
The Temptations – Get Ready
Pantera – I’m Broken (Dimebag Darrell)

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The post An Unlikely Mashup of The Temptations’ ‘Get Ready’ and Ratt’s ‘Lack of Communication’ was originally published on Laughing Squid.