Ronda Rousey gets taken by a fan, 3D gifs, when your truck is your home, how bowling balls are made, the NFL pro who lives on $25,000 a year, why the King of England isn't actually the king, and more. |
We featured a diverse bunch of Reddit communities in this issue. Before this week, I didn’t even know some of them existed (I’m looking at you, r/confusing_perspective—or wait… am I?), but I’m glad I do now. Today’s newsletter is all about these pleasant surprises.
Most people don’t look forward to serving on a jury, but one redditor’s friend changed his tune when he found out he might be sitting in the jury box with none other than President George W. Bush. I guess they really do make everyone come in for jury duty.
The serendipitous connections continued in the comments section on a post about the “Inner Light” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. When the child actor who played Captain Picard’s grandson showed up, it led to a spontaneous reunion between him and the man who wrote that episode—23 years after the original airdate. This stuff happens every week and it still blows my mind every time.
Of all the great things on Reddit that didn’t make the cut for this week’s newsletter, the one I’m most disappointed about is this post by u/whatamidoingwrongno1. Why? Because cats are jerks. Hilarious jerks. Who like to roll around in spaghetti.
Now on to the best stuff you missed this week from across the Reddit network!
I won’t say how many times I watched this trying to understand everything. That would be embarrassing. In related news, watch out for this bird. And this baby.
Or what about ShotgunPaul, who threw a spear at an old woman, or HanamiOwl87, who wouldn’t stop eating a stick of butter and throwing it up until someone took it away?
Yes, laughter is contagious, and this video of two guys playing Portal 2 is definitely proof of that. By the end I couldn’t stop.
If you’re on mobile the video won’t jump ahead automatically, so go to timestamp 5:55, then enjoy.
Not only was he taking college calculus classes at age 12, he now teaches at Penn State and writes a football-math crossover column in his off-the-field time. And he lives on just $25,000 a year, drives a tiny used car, and has a roommate.
There’s also another NFL player driving a beloved 1991 Mazda. Oh, and the MLB player who lives in a van behind Wal-Mart. Because he wants to.
After Ronda beat her opponent in an amazing 34 seconds in her UFC fight last week, we all kind of developed a bit of a fangirl crush on her. Because, well, she’s pretty awesome. Here she is talking about her love for World of Warcraft, destroying gender roles one household cleaning object at a time, and discussing body image and her purpose in life (or, rather, her not-purpose in life). Please come do an AMA, Ronda??
Learn why Wal-Mart and church parking lots are both bad sleeping locations and where to go instead, how to order your priorities, and the most important tool to have.
The one part you won’t see in this gif? Drilling the finger holes. Turns out they don’t do that part until the ball is purchased, so they know what size to drill them.
If you want to see how more things are made, the crayon-making process is even more fascinating.
And if you’re a fan of trees and nature, you’ll also be pleased to hear that you can get free entrance to all US national parks on August 25.
And make sure you don’t miss these pretty mind-blowing gifs featuring AustinBrock’s pets. They’re old, but they’re also some of the most upvoted this community has ever seen.
This community, dedicated to probably the world’s worst and lamest superhero, Florida Man, pulls in real news reports of his activities so we can all keep up. Here’s what happened this week:
Don’t miss out on all his other shenanigans (and those of his counterpart, Florida Woman) by following r/FloridaMan.
The Queen of England is married, but not to the King of England. Here’s why the would-be Kind of England is actually just the Duke of Edinburgh and you’ve never heard of him, even though when Prince William becomes king, Kate Middleton will become queen. Also, this picture of Her Majesty and her husband that prompted the discussion is totally adorable.