The Daily What

The Daily What

New Fairy Tales of the Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 12:32 PM PDT

New Fairy Tales of the Day

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (Germany), 500 previously unpublished fairy tales were discovered. The tales, which date to the 1800s, originally were collected by a historian named Franz Xaver von Schonwerth, "a contemporary of the Grimm brothers.” Now selected tales have been introduced to the world in a book published by Erika Eichenseer, a cultural curator in the Bavarian region of Oberpfalz.

Eichenseer says the fairy tales aren’t just for kids: “Their main purpose was to help young adults on their path to adulthood, showing them that dangers and challenges can be overcome through virtue, prudence and courage.”

Clearly, as evidenced by one tale of a maiden who escapes a witch by transforming herself into a pond. The witch then lies on her stomach and drinks all the water, swallowing the young girl, who uses a knife to cut her way out of the witch.

[aggregate]

Marketing Campaign of the Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 12:22 PM PDT

Gorgeous. And only in the U.K.

[buzzfeed]


Tagged: video

PSA of the Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 12:13 PM PDT

Just in case you aren’t quite hip to CISPA — which is being debated in the House this week and could be up for a vote as soon as Friday — a “congressional committee” has created this helpful video. OR, just click here.

[thanks, todd!]


Tagged: video

Lunchtime Links

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:53 AM PDT

Lunchtime Links

Today on The Daily What Geek: Pixar unveils its movie lineup through 2015

Elsewhere on the Internets:

  • Found: The best police scanner you aren’t following
  • Created: A parody Twitter account of Pinterest, with words-only descriptions of pins
  • Broken down: The disastrous rescue attempt during the Iranian Hostage Crisis
  • Crowned: Beyonce, as People’s Most Beautiful Woman 2012

Lunchtime Leisure: Memento XII (via)
Lunchtime List: 21 Mind-Blowing Photos That Capture The Exact Moment Of Impact
[image: thanks, gia!]

African Stereotype of the Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:40 AM PDT

Gabriel, Benard, Brian, and Derrik, who live in Kenya, were inspired to poke fun at the way African men are portrayed by Hollywood: “If people believed only what they saw in movies,” they said, “they would think we are all warlords who love violence.” Mama Hope — an organization that partners with African organizations to help transform their communities — was more than happy to hand them a mic as part of a video campaign to “Stop the Pity, Unlock the Potential.”

Good stuff.

[boingboing]


Tagged: video

Alcoholism Treatment of the Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:16 AM PDT

Alcoholism Advance of the Day

In one small step for the pharmaceutical industry, but one giant step for alcohol dependents everywhere, the French have approved a pill that treats alcoholism. Baclofen — which goes by Kemstro, Lioresal, and Gablofen — isn’t quite definitively efficient in all cases of alcoholism, but it has provided “clinical benefits in some patients,” so France is forging ahead. In a study of 132 heavy drinkers, the drug — originally developed to treat epilepsy — succeeded in making 80 percent either become abstinent or moderate drinkers. The best any other anti-alcoholism drug has ever managed is fewer than 25 percent.

Side effects include fatigue, drowsiness, insomnia, dizziness, and digestive troubles. Also the financial burden of a round-trip flight to France.

[gizmodo]

Edible Advances of the Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Edible Advances of the Day

Introducing the Sriracha lollipop, invented by fanatics of the ridiculously spicy Thai hot sauce who reason: “You may hurt our mouths, but we cannot quit you.” A dozen sets you back $24, or stock up with a case of 36 for $58.

In other consumer news, Anheuser-Busch has launched the Bud Lite Lime-A-Rita just in time for Cinco de Mayo. It’s an 8 percent ABV malt beverage inspired by drinkers' existing habits of mixing Bud Light Lime into margaritas, available in 8-ounce and 24-ounce cans or 12-ounce bottles.

[gizmodo / dailymeal]

Single-Serving Site of the Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:31 AM PDT

Single-Serving Site of the Day

If your house were burning, you’d no doubt be faced with the toughest question ever: What to take with you? As The Burning House project — whose best submissions arrive in book form in July — helpfully points out: “It’s a conflict between what’s practical, valuable and sentimental.”

So? What would you take?

[twistedsifter]

TMNT Original Sketch of the Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:12 AM PDT

TMNT Original Sketch of the Day

Quite possibly the very first sketch of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — drawn by co-creator Kevin Eastman — is up for auction. From Eastman:

"Late in November 1983, (co-creator) Peter Laird and I were sharing a studio (our living room) in Dover, New Hampshire. One work night, in an effort to make Peter laugh, I drew a sketch of this character I called a 'Ninja Turtle' and threw it onto Peter's desk. He did laugh, and did a version of his own — to which I needed to take it one step further, and did a pencil sketch of four different Turtles, each holding a different weapon — and gave it to Peter, who wanted to ink it in — and when he did, he added 'Teenage Mutant' to the 'Ninja Turtle' part of the logo, and we both fell off our chairs!

The next day, we both looked at the drawing, and decided that we really needed to come up with a story about how these characters came to be — and began to hammer out the story details. Deciding to make it an homage/parody to some of our heroes and inspirations (and dedicating it to them) we worked through the winter of 1983-84 and, after finding a local New England printer, we borrowed money from my Uncle Quentin and we printed the first 3,000 copies — premiering the book at a local Portsmouth comic convention May 5, 1984.

"From that day forward, and for the next 30 years, the TMNTs became a worldwide phenomenon (cartoons, toys, and movies) that even to this day we still try to completely understand — and it all started with this drawing."

Bidding, which starts at $6,000, ends May 10.

[bestweekever]

Film Debuts of the Day

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:01 AM PDT

Round two of famous faces’ film debuts, starring (in order of appearance): Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Jeff Goldblum, Drew Barrymore, William Hurt, Clint Eastwood, Harvey Keitel, Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Zooey Deschanel, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Kate Bosworth, Steve Carell, Alison Brie, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bryan Cranston, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Jason Bateman, Michael Keaton, Jamie Foxx, Kate Beckinsale, Edward Norton, James Earl Jones, and Chevy Chase.

[flavorwire]