Makes wiping a pleasure!

This pretty lace toilet paper is sure—USELESS! Sheesh, it turns out not to be absorbent at all. And the voodoo butter squishes right through it. Now I have to wash my hands! (Via.)

And the Slime Mold "Style Award" goes to...

By Nick Cantle

The Stemonitis fusca is a slime mold that's somewhere between gross and amazing. It keeps its its jelly-like body (that's where the spores are!) elevated on stilts. Oh, and it can move. (Yikes!)  

Peaceful Place of Pooping

Some Japanese architects came up with this tranquil bathroom garden so that you can bust your grumpies in peace.

"What's with the glass wall and open layout?" you ask. Please! Only barbarians need privacy!

Stare at this blog post for good luck!

Keep staring. Don't look away. 

Hey, what are you doing reading this? You're supposed to be staring at the gold-plated poop!

According to crapsouvenirs.com, it's considered good luck in Japan to stare at gold-plated grumpies. So . . . has anything good happened to you yet? (If not, read the post below this and call it a day!)

Photo by Doug Lansky.

"One jellyfish, sunny-side up!"

Caters News

So what do scientists do when they discover an amazing jellyfish with a yellow center? They call it the fried-egg jellyfish (Phacellophora camtschatica) and they turn back to their microscopes.

I understand that the fried-egg jellyfish is good with hash browns. But don't use ketchup...it just make the stings from the jellyfish tentacles hurt that much more!

Hey, if you illegally caught these animals, you'd be poaching fried-egg jellyfish! (Oh, snap!)

From the Telegraph.

Learning About Art (gross, gross, art!)

From here.

I was wondering about art this morning after seeing a website called the SpeedOfArt.com.

Wait, that looks like it says Speedo fart. Yuck!

Trying again, I checked the BBC arts site. There I learned that a London artist named Ben Wilson makes paintings out of the old gum people spit out on sidewalks.

Wilson says, "I can make something special out of something that people find disgusting." (Video here.)

One thing that people often say about art they don't like is that, "A monkey could have done that."

But I'd never heard of anyone saying a maggot could make art until I saw this article about Erin Watson. She's a forensic entomologist. That means Watson investigates murder scenes and looks at maggots to figure out how long the body's been dead.

And Watson ALSO uses maggots and children to make art:

"Maggot art is made by gently dropping the larvae into blobs of non-toxic, water-based paint. As the maggots crawl across paper using their hook-like mouths, they drag streams of paint behind them creating what Watson calls 'Maggot Monets.' After a little [help], children become enthralled with the project, says Watson, which has caused throngs of eager youngsters to crowd around her table at past exhibits."

The Gum Wall: ALMOST the Most Germy Spot in the World!

The Market Theater Gum Wall (aka, the Wall of Gum) was chosen by CNN as the second-most germy tourist attraction in the world. Disgusting!

So of course, you must see it. Go to Seattle —specifically, Pike Place Market— and look around for a multi-colored wall covered with dried spit and chewing gum.

That's the one!

It’s about 15 feet high and runs 50 feet long, and man, is it colorful! The Gum Wall got its start in 1993. As a film-goer stood in line, he or she stuck his or her gum on the wall. This inspired another gum chewer to stick gum on the wall…and now here we are with a LOT OF GUM STUCK TO THE WALL!

Today, the Wall of Gum is home to perhaps millions of wadded, chewed, rubbery bits of saliva-soaked gumminess. It’s nasty and it’s beautiful…kind of like this blog!

Photos from NPR and SeattleTales.com.

Garden Toilet!

I don't know about you, but parsley helps give me good breath. So when I need some, I just pluck it from the toilet bowl.

Photo by John E. Robertson.

That Spider's Got SPRINGS

Thomas Shahan is a photographer who gets up-close-and-personal with a variety of fierce-looking invertebrates.

Some of his subjects are scary, but in a weird way, once you're looking right into a spider's eye (eye-yai-yai!), it's actually pretty cool. Ooh, and Shahan does videos too! Check out this jumping spider:

So Gross... So Beautiful?

There are lots of different kinds of sea cucumbers. Usually, you can't see them, but the transparent sea cucumber offers a nice 360 degree view of its digestive system.

But amazingly, I'm not that revolted! Maybe it's because this sea cucumber has to make a living thousands of feet underwater. The poor little feller never sees the sun!

Ooh, here's another animal that was photographed in deep waters: An unusual octopus that scientists have named "Dumbo." (Sheesh, have a little respect, huh?)

Photos from the Census of Marine Life.