“Long Legged Larry” is an amusing song by Aesop Rock about a carefree frog with lengthy limbs.

Aesop Rock – Long Legged Larry 

The music video, which was animated by Rob Shaw, was released in 2021 in conjunction with the “Long Legged Larry” video game.

Play the story of Long Legged Larry in this retro style arcade game.

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post ‘Long Legged Larry’ — An Amusing Song by Aesop Rock About a Carefree Frog was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Brandon Toews of Drumeo dove into the genius of Stewart Copeland‘s groundbreaking groove on The Police song “Walking on the Moon”, noting that even though the song is from 1979, this unique drum phrase still feels incredibly novel.

We break down how Stewart fused global rhythmic influences with cutting-edge technology to create a drum part that still sounds decades ahead of its time.

Toews looked at the gear and effects Copeland used to create this sound.

Before recording the album, Stuart had just bought a Roland Space Echo, a device guitar and keyboard players use to echo and repeat sounds. …Without the Space Echo, you lose that futuristic sound. …After experimenting with the space echo, Stuart discovered a one-repeat delay that worked perfectly for his high hat [music] patterns. He also used the space echo to create a wobble effect, repeating two notes back instead of one.

He also invited commentary from legendary drummers such as Mike Portnoy, Brooks Wackerman, and Chad Smith, all of whom had very nice things to say about Copeland.

You know, after the drummers of the 70s, Stewart might have been like my next drumming crush. His high hat work was very influential on me, and he had such a personality on the drum set. So yeah, that’s a perfect example.

The Multi-Faceted Genius of Stewart Copeland

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post The Enduring Genius of Stewart Copeland’s Groundbreaking Groove on ‘Walking on the Moon’ was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Legendary actor Andy Griffith, best known as the kindly sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, and as a clever Atlanta lawyer in Matlock, released Andy Griffith Shouts the Blues and Old Timey Songs in 1959, which included a lively version of “The House of the Rising Sun”.

From the album Andy Griffith Shouts the Blues and Old Timey Songs (1959)
I must say Andy was quite the Blues man

Griffith’s cover of this classic song was recorded five years before The Animals made it a hit.

via Weird Universe

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Andy Griffith Sings a Lively Cover of ‘The House of the Rising Sun’ in 1959 was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Nat Geo Kids compiled a list of five of the strangest ocean creatures, expanding on each animal’s remarkable features, how they protect themselves, and how long they’ve been around.

From a fish armed with 18 venomous spines to a color-changing cuttlefish, an octopus with three hearts, and a jellyfish that’s drifted the ocean for 500 million years, these are some of the strangest, most amazing real animals on Earth.

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Five of the Strangest Ocean Creatures was originally published on Laughing Squid.

David Goldenberg of MinuteEarth, who previously created a detailed illustration of the canine family tree and a subsequent feline family tree, followed up with a new family tree featuring apes and their primatial descendants.

When we made videos about the canine and feline family trees and released these accompanying beautiful posters, one follow-up request rose to the top. Apes.

He first noted the primary difference between apes and monkeys.

Apes split off from monkeys around 25 to 30 million years ago. The simplest way to tell the difference between apes and monkeys is that apes are generally bigger and don’t have tails.

Goldenberg also explored the evolutionary history of primates, distinguishing between great and lesser apes while detailing unique physical adaptations and behaviors. This includes extinct ancient species, the diverse range of current family members, and the human connection.

The ape family is a hugely diverse group of gibbons, gorillas, orangutans, chimps, and – yes – humans.

This Ape Family Tree is available for purchase as a lovely wall print.

From the ridiculously athletic agile gibbon to the Minecraft-playing bonobo, this poster is a beautifully illustrated, extensively researched dive into all our cousins, including the other human species that Homo sapiens once shared the Earth with.

Dog Family Tree

Cat Family Tree

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post A Beautifully Illustrated Ape Family Tree Connecting Humans to Their Primate Descendants was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Gothamist spoke with model Isabella Carr, who calls her lengthy strolls across New York City “psychotically long walks” that take hours and cover a lot of ground. Her walks have taken her from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to Washington Heights in upper Manhattan, to Rockaway Beach in Queens, and across the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey.

She’s walked from North Brooklyn to the Rockaways, the Met and even to New Jersey.

Carr told reporter Elizabeth Shwe why she believes that walking is such a good activity.

It doesn’t harm anyone, it doesn’t cost anything, and when you’re walking you’re not only connecting with yourself, which is good for yourself, but you’re also forcing yourself to go out and experience and embrace the city around you.

Carr also explained how these walks help her embrace the city around her.

I think a large issue of major cities, and especially New York, is people come to these cities and they don’t get exposure. If you’re only existing in the small area you’re in a 20-block radius, you’re really not embracing that city.

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Woman Takes ‘Psychotically Long Walks’ Across New York City was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Kai Psychology explained the concept of infantile amnesia, the inability of the adult brain to retrieve memories before age four. This is mostly due to neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons in the hippocampus, the center where memories are stored.

You cried, fell in love with a voice, felt grass for the first time — and none of it survived. Your brain didn’t lose those first three years. It erased them on purpose…

When children are young, these neurons are still forming, so the structures needed to keep these memories intact are not yet in place, and new memories will override old ones.

Now, hold that up against what’s happening in a human toddler’s hippocampus. It is one of the fastest periods of neurogenesis a human brain will ever experience. …That flood is at the same time bulldozing the memory circuits laid downjust months before. The brain isn’t failing to save your first three years. It’s spending them, burning them as raw material to build the very architecture your later self will use to remember everything that comes after. 

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Why the Human Brain Struggles to Retrieve Memories Before Age Four was originally published on Laughing Squid.

While Stefano Ascanio was playing guitar, a little bird perched on the fretboard intently watched his right hand move up and down as he strummed the strings.

Quality Control has just landed

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Little Bird Intently Watches a Guitar Being Strummed was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Comedian Jonathan Kite does absolutely spot-on impressions of the late, great Anthony Bourdain reviewing commonplace restaurants and stores found across the United States.

These locations include Costco, 7-Eleven, Chili’s, Outback Steakhouse, and Halloween Spirit stores. To enhance believability, Kite wears outfits similar to Bourdan’s.

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Comedian Does Impressions of Anthony Bourdain Reviewing Common Restaurants and Stores was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Inventor Jake Laser turned an advanced quadruped robot from Unitree into a custom walking wheelchair to help his father, Mark, who is living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), overcome mobility issues.

I built robot legs for my dad. He has a disease called MS that has caused him to be in a wheelchair for the last decade. This makes it hard to get around so today I’m upgrading it and giving him the ultimate wheelchair with legs. Now we can go anywhere! Love you dad.

Laser enabled the chair to navigate stairs and rough terrain, and after a great deal of testing with his friends, he revealed it to his very proud father, who took it for a test run on a hiking trail.

It definitely takes some getting used to and is a bit scary, but my dad said he was getting comfortable and wanted to go climb a trail. 

via The Awesomer

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Inventive Son Turns a Quadruped Robot Into a Walking Wheelchair for His Father With Multiple Sclerosis was originally published on Laughing Squid.

In a hilarious sketch from a 1967 episode of the British series At Last The 1948 Show, comedian Marty Feldman played an incredibly pesky customer who drove the bookseller, played by John Cleese, absolutely mad with his very odd homophonic requests. The straight-faced banter between Feldman and Cleese is one for the ages

John Cleese & Marty Feldman – Bookshop (1967)

Thanks Chip Beale!

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Pesky Customer Drives Bookseller Mad in a Hilarious 1967 Sketch With Marty Feldman and John Cleese was originally published on Laughing Squid.

The very thoughtful Sweet P came across an old forgotten Fire Department of New York fire call box and painstakingly restored its facade to its original grandeur.

This used to save lives, but it’s kind of been forgotten about. So, let’s fix it. Give it a good wipe down. Time for some paint.

….Here we go.

The process involved stripping off stickers, using a wire brush to remove rust and other detritus, applying primer, and giving it a good overall coat of firehouse red paint. When it was dry, he then carefully hand-painted the remaining details.

Day 42: restoring FDNY fire call box

He Also Restores Public Mailboxes in New York City

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Thoughtful Man Restores a Forgotten New York City Fire Call Box to Its Original Grandeur was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Slovenian artist Vlado Plateis turns discarded car engine cylinder heads into truly unique, stunning electric guitars.

Plateis guitars are handcrafted from reclaimed automotive engine parts — discarded by machines, reborn through music …These parts once helped engines roar on the road. Now they roar in a different way: through strings, pickups and amplifiers.

Plateis shared that he likes to keep the industrial character of the original part while creating an instrument that pays homage to the engine itself.

I keep the original industrial character of the engine head visible, so every instrument carries the shape, marks and history of the part it came from. But these are not just wall pieces or decorative objects. They are built to be played.

He also explained that these guitars are not for everyone due to their size and weight.

The project sits somewhere between car culture, guitar making, metalwork and upcycling. It is called Plateis Guitars, with the slogan “Not for everyone,” which feels accurate. They are heavy, unusual, loud, and definitely not designed to disappear politely into the background.

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Unique Electric Guitars Made From Discarded Car Engine Cylinder Heads was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Otto the Dachshund seriously reflected on his life under human guardianship, balancing his ancestral hunting instincts with the realities of spoiled pet existence in a darkly comedic short film by Sparky Jones.

Confessions of a Dachshund is a dark comedy told through the eyes of a dachshund who has one simple belief…Humans have completely lost their minds.

Otto’s deadpan narration (provided by Tony Ingram) conveyed his disdain for the indignity of tiny outfits and constant social media documentation. Yet when faced with the unexpected challenges of freedom, Otto determined that he preferred the pampered lifestyle his doting human provided.

After years of captivity, there it was, the outside world. I dreamt of this exact moment for so long. Freedom at last. …Oh, I’d made a terrible mistake. The outside world was cold, damp, and frankly underwhelming. It was at this moment that I remembered I was a dachshund, a hunter by design, and a remarkably thin-coated one. Perhaps freedom is overrated after all. Besides, somebody has to supervise him. The human remains… for now.

via Nag on the Lake

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Deadpan Dachshund Struggles to Balance Ancestral Hunting Instincts With Life as a Spoiled House Pet was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Jack Coyne of Track Star*, who challenges famous musicians and the great people of New York City about their knowledge of recorded music, pitted actors John Slattery and Jon Hamm, both Mad Men alumni, against one another in a head-to-head music trivia battle.

Pitting the long-time friends against each other, Jack got to know more about their friendship, the work they have done together, and their upcoming movie, “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass”. 

As the pair playfully competed, they also talked about their friendship and working together.

The two Jo(h)ns break down how their friendship has grown and developed over the course of the movies they have done together and why they like working together so much.

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post John Slattery and Jon Hamm Playfully Compete in a Head-to-Head Music Trivia Battle was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Map expert Matt Forrest shared his admiration for linguist Rick Aschmann‘s famous map of North American English Dialects, Based on Pronunciation Patterns, which can identify the specific area where someone was born by the way they pronounce five words. Forrest also explains each region as described by Aschmann, while also acknowledging the singularity of this work.

So this map can tell you where you grew up based on how you pronounce five words. It’s actually one of my favorite maps on the internet

More About Aschmann’s Dialect Map

Aschmann’s Map of North American English Dialects

Thanks Chip Beale!

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post How Aschmann’s North American Dialect Map Identifies a Person’s Birthplace by the Pronunciation of Five Words was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Musician JER (Jeremy Hunter) of Ska Tune Network performed a spirited ska-core cover of Twisted Sister‘s prescient 1984 anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. As with his other covers, JER played every instrument on the song, including trumpet, saxophone, keyboard, bass, and guitar, as well as vocals. Also, like his previous videos, this was a request from his loyal viewers.

This video was requested on Patreon, and this channel is only made possible because of my patrons!

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post A Spirited Ska Cover of Twisted Sister’s 1984 Anthem ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Loop is a wordless animated short by Pablo Polledri that presents a world centered on the constant repetition of the same actions along a seemingly endless path, without variation. This changes when a dark force reveals itself to as the ones who keep these infinitely looping actions continuing.

In this society each human being repeats the same action over and over again, in this society each human being repeats the same action over and over again, in this society each human being repeats the same action over and over again, in this society each human being repeats the same action over and over again.

via Miss Cellania

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post A Clever Wordless Animation About the Dark Forces Behind Seemingly Endless Repetition was originally published on Laughing Squid.

Our Neighbors, The Peacocks is a charming documentary by Callie Barlow about the feral peacocks of Arcadia, California, and the people who live there, highlighting residents grappling with the challenges and wonders of coexisting with a large bird population.

A bird’s-eye view of Arcadia, California’s official symbol—the peacock—beloved by some, blamed by others, and impossible to ignore in this once-idyllic suburb.

The film explores the complex relationships among neighbors, animal advocates, and the birds themselves, highlighting the tensions that arise when human development meets a unique wildlife presence in the suburbs.

via Nag on the Lake

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post A Charming Documentary About Coexisting With the Feral Peacocks of Arcadia, California was originally published on Laughing Squid.

A perky pet pigeon named Wilson plucked a sweet song on a guitar with his beak after his human showed him the strings. With his interest piqued, Wilson took a brief test run before continuing with his lovely acoustic composition.

POV: Wilson serenades you with his guitar playing

subscribe to the Laughing Squid Newsletter

The post Perky Pet Pigeon Plucks a Sweet Song on Guitar was originally published on Laughing Squid.