Word on the street

A young cat finds itself in what looks to be a bit of a jam, but goes full-on ninja kitty rather than accept assistance from a would-be rescuer.


And Mashable compiled these 25 unusual happenings caught on Google Street View, sourced in part from the /r/googlemapshenanigans Reddit.

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness." -- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Light the path

Two great things that go great together -- dominoes and fire -- in a chain-reaction featuring matches, sparklers, candles, fireworks, and open flames.


And what good is this MacBook Air entirely from Legos?

レゴでパソコンつくりました pic.twitter.com/HQa9IqiThS

— しゃなぎ (@877dance) August 7, 2017

"How is it that one match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box of matches to start a campfire?" -- Christy Whitehead

Undeserving

I've got nothing against Muppets but it's not all tears and sorrow watching Elmo vs. Sulfuric Acid.


And in the take-it-literally category, Pop Tarts replaces model's eyes with mouths in its latest ad.

Feast your eyes on new #JollyRancherPopTarts @Jolly_Rancher pic.twitter.com/gL3YGheA0x

— Pop-Tarts (@PopTartsUS) July 26, 2017

"Vice and virtue are to the artist materials of his art." -- Oscar Wilde

Final approach

Oh, what a lucky man he was... you never know when lightning might strike. Next time, maybe use a selfie stick. (Thanks mr. g)


And on the flip, this slow and never-ending descent into the infinite fractal city is a bit of a maddening mind-bend.

"The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it." -- Patrick Young

Grand theft repo

Wacky video of a car "repossession" gone awry, captured by a lucky bystander (motorist, actually), is yet another sterling entry in the annals of SoCal car culture.


And street artist Tom Bob (@tombobnyc) has a mission to turn drab urban spaces into charming and whimsical bright spots.

"The world is full of cactus, but we don't have to sit on it." -- Will Foley

Good on paper

Check out a trippy stop-motion music video for "Explosions in the Sky" by the Ecstatics that pretty well captures the electronica vibe using thousands of papercraft sculptures.


And over 100 years of stop-motion animation history in 3 minutes by way of 39 movies. How many can you name?

"When life gives you scraps, make something with them." -- Unknown

Happy little trees

A match made in heaven... thankfully the folks at Chia HQ wised up, embraced the obvious, and created a Bob Ross Chia Pet.


All they need is sunlight, water, and some serious attitude -- check out these badass trees that refused to quit, no matter what.

"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason." -- Jack Handey

Wheels down

Proof positive that you shouldn't look at your phone while driving... watch this imbecile ride his scooter into a giant sinkhole, luckily captured on CCTV as a pungent reminder.


And if you're going to get something indelibly printed on your body, it might as well be something like this trucker's tattoo that makes him look like you're a tiny person driving another human(oid).

"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves." -- Viktor E. Frankl

Soc-car style

Don't ask me why they play this game similar to a real-life version of the video game Rocket League, with an eight-foot ball and excavators as goalies, but it looks like fun.


And one reason to buy a particular car... a good pun is its own reward. (thanks mr. g)

"There are only three sports: mountain climbing, bull fighting, and motor racing. All the rest are merely games." -- Ernest Hemingway

Sudden movement

This video of a leg cramp in action is tough-to-watch can't-look-away bad/good.


Though not quite as grotesque, these two-sentence horror stories from the subreddit /TwoSentenceHorror might tersely creep you out.

"I don't deserve this award, but I have arthritis and I don't deserve that either." -- Jack Benny

Carp diem

Large, possibly camera-shy carp escapes fisherman's grasp and finds its way to freedom.


And you can't get rid of 'em... Unalaska, Alaska (pop. 4,376) is a small island with an inordinate number of bald eagles. Patriotic, sure, but apparently also annoying.

"Liberty doesn’t work as well in practice as it does in speeches." -- Will Rogers

Bad lie

This is definitely the most interesting thing I've seen done with a golf cart in a while. Not PGA-sanctioned, I'm sure.


And take a 3-minute vacation with surfer Mitch Parkinson via this montage of beaches and barrels from all spots around the Pacific.

"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf." -- Jon Kabat-Zinn

Brave new whirl

Sure, he's trying his best, but this klutzy worker-robot's day quickly goes from bad to worse.


And you can be Henry David Thoreau in his quest for solitude and mental clarity in the Walden simulator video game from the USC Game Innovation Lab, a refreshing change from GTA, WOW, and others of their ilk.

"We should distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes." -- Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Globetrot

Bit of a melancholy tone to this frantic and dizzying race across the planet comprising an assembly of 4,000 Google Earth photos.


And a quiz: How well can you draw all 50 United States?

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." -- American Indian proverb

Snack attack

Lion mistakes hippo for a quick take-out meal and immediately regrets it.


And this pup is head over heels for his dinner. (Thanks Mr. G)

"Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are God. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are God." -- Christopher Hitchens

Gripping drama

Maybe inspired by this fellow's successful try, a brave man one-ups him with his own attempt to punch a bear trap before it closes on his arm. Maybe next time he should try headbutting it to make sure he doesn't injure anything important.


And this hiker gets followed down a trail by a family bears, creating more than a little tension.

"What would be left of our tragedies if an insect were to present us his?" -- Emile M. Cioran

As cluck would have it

Watch as this chicken is outwitted by a piece of bread not once but twice, all the while being filmed by a guy who sounds a lot like a chicken himself.


And an interesting creative exercise, artist Gregory Darroll made an animation a day for a month and put together this charming montage.

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." -- John Lennon

Loco motive

Ain't no stoppin' it, apparently... watch this train plows into a candy-carrying semi that got stuck on the tracks.


And a timelapse turns LA's (in)famed traffic into a thing of beauty. The energy of the music makes this one a refreshing departure from the usual ethereal new-age-y stuff, and feels like the heart of the city is pumping cars through those arteries.




Somewhere in between those two sits this striking long exposure photo of a departing train.

"The only way of catching a train I ever discovered is to miss the train before." -- G.K. Chesterton