Wednesday Night ONT - July 8, 2026 [TRex]

How do you do, fellow kids? Good evening Horde. The time has come for mid-week shenanigans. The bar is open and freshly re-stocked. Free refills!

Welcome to the Wednesday night ONT which means another edition of random overnight fun and games. Pull up a chair and join the fun. Good will offerings of amusing puns are encouraged. Pants are optional. Be nice to your fellow commenters and AoS contributors. This is a Tucker, Candace, Megyn and Bill Kristol free zone. Please.

Will reading the content help the sun come up tomorrow? Don't know but why take chances. Read on.

[Top photo: no dogs, but fine art]

Science News

Researchers Built a Scuba Suit for Cyborg Cockroaches

Scientists in Singapore and Japan have developed a tiny 3D-printed scuba suit for cyborg cockroaches, allowing them to survive and move underwater and other low-oxygen environments for up to three hours.

The suit can transform a regular cockroach, and potentially other insects, into "an amphibious cyborg robot capable of operation across land and water," according to a new research paper published this week in Nature Communications.

So, why do researchers want half-robot cockroaches to breathe underwater anyway?

Apparently, they hope to one day be able to use cyborg cockroaches in search and rescue missions, pipeline inspection, and other complex tasks.

What could possibly go wrong?

Horde Shopping News

I know what you're thinking. "My plans for a 39 foot tall animatronic T-Rex dinosaur have not materialized. I'm interested in exploring alternative avenues. Any suggestions?"

Sotheby's is planning to sell one of the largest and most complete T-Rex skeletons ever found on July 14. It was found on private land in Harding County, South Dakota and took years to fully excavate and assemble. His name is Gus. He seems nice.

The auction estimate is $20 to $30 million, so better shake those couch cushions hard.

More background here:

If that's a little pricey for you, other items in the Natural History auction might be interesting. It is a fascinating mix of fossils, meteorites, petrified wood, minerals and precious metals in their natural form, prehistoric handaxes, and more.

I know what you're thinking: "Cyborg cockroaches? T-Rex skeletons? How about some class and elegance?"

Sure. This isn't a fashion thread, but here you go:

Where are the Iron Maiden fans?

Related: Fear of the Chickens

Niche YouTube Channel of the Week

Tonight's feature is Jason and his channel called Epic UpCycling. Jason takes scraps (think in terms of wood pallets) and makes things. He makes cabinets, chests, and even a globe. He mostly works with wood, but occasionally strays into metal. He shows each step and most of his project involve a huge number of simple cuts. He uses power tools but often prefers hand planes, chisels and saws. His channel has over 417,000 subscribers.

I know what you're thinking. Do people really watch 30 to 40 minute videos of a guy making stuff in his workshop by himself with no commentary, subtitles or music? Yes. His videos regularly attract several million views.

His videos are good examples of story telling. Simple camera work, angles and editing. No artificial drama. No highly polished graphics or editing. No clickbait.

The Pittsburgh police scanner keeps giving. Thank you people of Pittsburgh and thank you Pittsburgh scanner!

Never thought about it before, but I learned today that both alligators and crocodiles sneeze. Isn't this the type of life-enriching knowledge that makes reading the ONT worthwhile? Isn't it? You're welcome.

They Might be Giants for the big ONT finish:

T-Rex appreciates the groundswell of totally organic and genuine interest but is not currently a candidate in Maine for the US Senate. Media requests for comment can be sent to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com where they will be promptly ignored. Are you lurking ????

posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 PM

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