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Tech NewsFormer NASA Engineer Builds Mission Impossible-Style Obstacle Course to Protect His Nuts From Thieving Squirrels
One of the most popular YouTube videos of 2020 was from former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Mark Rober who attempted to build a squirrel-proof obstacle course. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t, so a year later he’s trying again, and this time taking inspiration from movies like Mission Impossible and Ocean’s Eleven with laser rooms, trap … Continued
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Tech NewsFormer NASA Engineer Builds a Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course to Stop Nut-Stealing Backyard Squirrels
If you’ve ever installed a backyard bird feeder in hopes of peacefully observing your fine feathered friends, you’re probably aware that it quickly becomes a target for your local squirrel population. Now, if anyone can stop a squirrel from breaching a bird feeder you’d assume a former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer could, but as … Continued
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Tech NewsCrimeIt’s a Good Week for Animals Doing Crimes
Animals are just like us—deep down, they all want to do crimes and fight against structural oppression. And this week a lot of animals seem to be acting on their darkest impulses. While everything may not be working out for the animals, they are certainly accomplishing the crimes. We’re not sure why so many animals … Continued
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ScienceBiologyFive Baby Squirrels Who Got Their Tails Tangled in a Knot Are Fine Now, Thanks
A family of Eastern grey squirrels in Wisconsin got a little too close-knit this weekend after five juveniles got their tails tangled together. The squirrels are fine, we PROMISE, so don’t feel too bad for gawking at them. As the Guardian reports, the mother of these squirrels likely used plastic and long grasses to build … Continued
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ScienceBiologyHere’s How an Absurd Primate Ended Up With Squirrel Teeth
The aye-aye is about as ridiculous looking as a primate can get: beady yellow eyes, bat-like ears, and hands like horrible spiders. But perhaps its most interesting feature is its teeth. Over millions of years, species on Earth have developed seemingly unique adaptations that help them survive in challenging environments. But sometimes, totally different species … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Genetic Analysis Suggests Squirrels Contributed to the Global Spread of Leprosy
Leprosy is one of the oldest known diseases to afflict humans, yet its origin is mired in controversy. A new study, in which 10 strains of the disease were detected in the remains medieval Europeans, is now complicating the picture even further by pointing to western Europe as a potential launching point for leprosy. What’s … Continued
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io9Toys & Collectibles
These New Magic: The Gathering Cards Are Nuts, Literally
We’re heading into the 25th anniversary of Magic: The Gathering, and Wizards of the Coast are kicking off the celebrations in style with Unstable, one of the strangest expansions Magic has seen in years. We’ve got an exclusive look at some of the craziness within. Unstable is an homage to the legendary Unhinged and Unglued … Continued
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ScienceBiology
Squirrels Organize Their Nuts Better Than Some Humans Organize Their Closets
Ah, the simple pleasure of a perfectly stacked soda display or an impeccably organized closet. Who doesn’t feel at least a little reenergized after a bout of over-the-top arranging? Turns out, our squirrelly friends might feel the same way about neatly-organized nuts. In a new study in Royal Society Open Science, scientists from University of … Continued
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Tech NewsSploidSquirrel Steals GoPro, Records Harrowing Escape
After a squirrel mistook it for a tasty nut, YouTuber Viva Frei wasn’t sure if he’d ever see his GoPro camera again. But he did it eventually get it back—and more. The GoPro was actually recording from the squirrel’s perspective as it raced through the branches of a tree, and the footage is amazing. Strapping … Continued
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Tech News
This Map Shows Power Outages Caused by Cyber-Terrorist Squirrels
There’s a dark and mysterious force out there that’s intent on attacking the country’s power lines, and this map shows exactly where the culprits strike. The culprits are, of course… squirrels. The site that provides these maps, called Cyber Squirrel 1, is exquisitely tongue-in-cheek, as you might imagine. From its ‘About’ section: This map lists … Continued
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io9
Everything You Need To Know About Cyberterrorism In One Chart
I don’t know how we missed this chart on its first go-around (it was created by Eli Dourado in May 2014, using data extrapolated from a 2013 op-ed by Jon Mooallem, who spent the summer of that year keeping track of power outages caused by squirrels), but it is everything, and you deserve to know … Continued
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io9This Cyberman Feeder Turns Squirrels Into The Doctor’s Deadly Foes
Doctor Who fan Emma Young made this Cyberman feeder for her backyard. Forget any other plan the baddies have ever had in canon, the Cybersquirrel is by far the scariest. Where would you even hide from a hundreds of upgraded squirrels? Young said, “My whole family love Doctor Who so I decided to create a … Continued
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io9Please Explain How This Squirrel Made a Jack O’ Lantern
No, seriously, tell me how they did this. Not to get all squirrel truther on you, but there was clearly something put on the pumpkin to make the squirrel do this, right? Is there a catnip equivalent for squirrels? Did they smear a nut scent on the pumpkin? Are the squirrels trained? I DEMAND ANSWERS! … Continued
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ScienceBiologyThe Squirrels Are Watching You
Squirrels are among the most recognizable, easy to find kinds of urban wildlife. And, as it turns out, they’re watching us. In a non-parody blog post that Scicurious wrote in advance of the video above (which is clearly a parody), she explains that squirrels pay attention to humans – in particular, they pay attention to … Continued
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Tech News
The Best Squirrel Feeder Is a Horse-Head Squirrel Feeder
It’s a goddamn beautiful thing when internet memes and nature collide into one glorious split-screen of a squirrel eating out of a Horse Head feeder. It just doesn’t get much better than this, people. Photographer Jim Zielinski snapped these, the first pics of this product in the wild, but you, too, can humiliate the little … Continued
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ScienceBiology
A Landfill Park Is Leaking Toxic Waste Thanks to Burrowing Gophers
Let this be your cautionary tale against building a pretty waterfront park on a landfill. At Cesar Chavez Park on the Berkeley Marina, squirrels and gophers are burrowing through old trash, turning the ground into toxin-leaching swiss cheese. Poison from the estimated 1.9 million tons of residential, commercial, and industrial waste is now leaching into … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
Tech News
Miami’s starchitect magnet, “Super Zips” for the rich, the real story behind our city-dwelling squirrels, and why Americans are driving less. Plus, a chilling portrait of homelessness in gentrified New York City—all in today’s urban reads. Once an urban punchline, Miami has become a hotbed for luxury, culture and dozens of starchitect-helmed projects dotting the … Continued
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ScienceBiology
The Fascinating Story of Why U.S. Parks Are Full of Squirrels
In most American cities, it’s hard to walk through a park without spotting a gray squirrel. Those bushy-tailed little buggers are everywhere, chomping on nuts and climbing up trees—but not thanks to nature. No sir. They’re there because we put them there to entertain us—among other things. As a new paper published the Journal of … Continued
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io9Timur Bekmambetov is making a movie about flesh-eating squirrels
Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter director Timur Bekmambetov is turning his sights on the fluffy menace that is squirrel-kind. And although there’s no word on production starting, the movie apparently already has a promo trailer. In May, Red Sea Media announced that it was partnering with Timur Bekmambetov on Squirrels, a horror film about, … Continued
By Lauren Davis
