At the Humane Society of Missouri, a unique and incredible experiment is underway. Called the Shelter Buddies Reading Program, the project’s goal is to help antisocial and hyperactive dogs develop the social skills they need to get adopted. By enlisting the help of young children who love reading, the Humane Society hopes that these sessions will help animals come out of their shells. When you see how the pups respond, you’ll realize that this program is a home run. The method shown here helps dogs learn to come to the front of their cages when potential adopters walk by. If they meet people and interact, they’re far more likely to find forever homes. It’s ingenuity like this that has the potential to help thousands of animals in need. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/humane-society-kids/
College freshman Charles Brockman III is praising his dad for his commitment to walk him through life’s numerous journeys. He commemorated one momentous occasion by sharing images online that are melting hearts all over the country. Taking to social media to share his appreciation for his pops, he posted a pair of photos of his father walking him to school on his first day of kindergarten and again on his first day of freshman year at Mississippi State. And while the photos may have been taken over a decade apart, there’s no denying that the love between the two has remained the same. Brockman shared the photos on Twitter with this caption: “From the first day of kindergarten to college move in. Thank you dad.” Twitter / Charles Brockman III While the post was originally intended for close family and friends, this ode to Dad has quickly taken the internet by storm. Twitter / Charles Brockman III The photos have been shared over 60,000 times. Learn more about this simple but touching bond in the video below. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/walking-through-life/
Video-sharing platform Vimeo launched on Wednesday a new iPhone app with the ability to uploaded recorded videos faster and easily share them to social networking sites. The free app — now available in the Apple App Store — allows users to record videos and upload them directly from the app. Users can pause uploads and start them again when needed. Social sharing is a major focus in the redesign, making it simple to share clips with others via Facebook, Twitter, email or iMessage. The platform carried over some existing features to its new look, such as the option to like, comment and add videos to a Watch Later queue. A nice new perk is that now you can watch clips while uploading your own at the same time. “We redesigned it to be smarter and more intuitive so you can do what you want, when you want, really easily,” Vimeo said in an official blog post. “You can take your feed on a road trip (just not while you’re driving), relax in the park with your Watch Later queue or catch a Staff Pick or a friend’s video while in line for lunch.” Although the update is only for iPhone users now, the company is reportedly working on new iPad and Android apps, according to VentureBeat. To coincide with the launch, the company released a quirky video to demonstrate why one might want such an app. Be sure to check it out above. The news comes just two months after Vimeo announced a program called Tip Jar, which gives creators the ability to monetize their films and videos. Instead of enabling ads on videos, viewers can “tip this video” by donating anywhere between $0.99 to $500 after watching a clip. Image via Flickr, roland Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/28/vimeo-app-iphone/
Usually when you see a smartphone involved in a life or death situation, it’s the cause of the problem — but this time it was the solution. At a dance shop in Spokane, WA, clerk Leslie Reckord was told an infant was unable to breath and had started turning blue. A former lifeguard, she immediately called 911 and began attempting CPR. Two blocks away, volunteer EMT Jeff Olson was working on cars in his day job as a mechanic when his phone sent him a notification about the emergency taking place nearby. So he dropped everything, ran over, and saved the little boy’s life. Olson still seemed rattled while talking about his heroism to the local news afterward. Take a look. (via Business Insider.) I guess smartphones are more useful than just beating your high score on Candy Crush after all. Read more: http://viralnova.com/baby-saved-app/
Pretty much everything that can exist does exist in some form online. While this is exciting at some level, it’s also a terrifying prospect. Most of use aren’t disturbed enough to think of all the weird, crazy things that we sometimes encounter on the internet, but the many creeps who call the web home certainly are. And some sickos are a cut above the rest. Take, for example, a YouTuber who goes by Jake. Jake’s channel consists solely of disturbing black and white video sketches that seem to incorporate a dead body wrapped in a garbage bag. Saying that this footage is disturbing is putting it mildly. All of the short flickers of text that come across the screen in these videos don’t make them any better. One enterprising Redditor was able to piece together all of these texts. The result is actually a poem. Here’s a transcript: There was a lady all skin and bone; Sure such a lady was never known. It happened upon a certain day, this lady went to the church to pray. When she came to the church stile, there she did rest a little while; When she came to the church yard, there the bells so loud she heard. When she came to the church door, she stopped to rest a little more; When she came to the church within, the parson prayed ‘gainst pride and sin. On looking up, on looking down, she saw a dead man on the ground; And from his nose unto his chin, the worms crawled out, the worms crawled in. Then she unto the parson said, “Shall I be so when I am dead?” “Oh yes! Oh yes,” the parson said, “You will be so when you are dead.” Here the lady screams. This one might be the freakiest of all. (via Reddit) Well, I’m never sleeping again. I’d really like to know what exactly is happening in these videos and why, but I would settle for knowing whether or not that’s a real body. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/dead-body-youtube/
While being a mortician is an unsettling profession, you rarely hear morticians talk about their work and not say that they love it. Take, for example, this woman in the video below. She’s a mortician by the name of Yolanda Milligan, and she really does love her job. Her speciality is embalming. In the clip below, Milligan explains the embalming process and lets us know what she thinks about it. It’s both morbid and intriguing. (source: Benson Family Funeral Home of Chicago) Even though I have my issues with the death industry, I certainly see the beauty in what Milligan and other people like her do for a living. I wonder if she’s still embalming today. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/embalming/
I’m no expert on boats or helicopters, but I imagine it’s difficult to operate them even under the best conditions. After all, if it were easy we would all be able to do it! Recently, though, the Royal Danish Air Force had a chance to show off just how skilled they are during a harrowing landing that could have gone very wrong. During a storm in the Atlantic Ocean, the pilot of a Seahawk MH-60R helicopter made the landing of a lifetime on a boat as both the ship and the helicopter were tossed around by wind and waves. This landing must have had the pilot and the boat captain on edge the whole time. Read More: Watching This Plane Trying To Land With Extreme Crosswinds Will Give You Anxiety Wow! They make it look easy, but I’m wishing them only clear skies from here on out. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/helicopter-landing-storm/
Cord-cutting startup Aereo got an early win Wednesday in its on-going lawsuits with major broadcasters including ABC, NBC and CBS. A federal judge in the Second District of New York denied broadcasters’ request for a preliminary injunction against the New York-based startup. Aereo argued that such an injunction would essentially put it out of business. In his decision, Judge Alison Nathan writes of the litigious broadcasters that, “although [the plaintiffs] have demonstrated that they face irreparable harm, they have not demonstrated that the balance of hardships decidedly tips in their favor. “As such”, Nathan says, “the Court denies Plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction.” In a statement, Aereo CEO and Founder Chet Kanojia said: “Today’s decision shows that when you are on the right side of the law, you can stand up, fight the Goliath and win. This isn’t just a win for Aereo, it’s also a significant win for consumers who are demanding more choice and flexibility in the way they watch television. We said from the start that we believed that a full and fair airing of the issues would reveal that Aereo’s groundbreaking technology falls squarely within the law. We are grateful to the court for its thoughtful and measured approach to this matter. Today’s decision should serve as a signal to the public that control and choice are moving back into the hands of the consumer – that’s a powerful statement.” Aereo is a startup that offers users access to over-the-air television from their computers, phones, tablets and connected TV devices. The beauty of Aereo is that it works outside of the house. Users just have to login to the service and they can access live television, as well as any programs they have recorded from a cloud-based DVR. To get around some of the potential legal challenges involved with sharing broadcast signals, Aereo has employed a unique technical solution: each user has access to an individual micro-antenna that acts just like the type of antenna you might put in your own home or apartment. By limiting the antennas to one per user, Aereo has a legal argument against the local and major broadcast networks that want to shut the service down. Still, the broadcasters are suing Aereo. And despite the preliminary injunction, this battle isn’t going to end any time soon. We’re still in the very early stages of this case. What makes the Aereo case important is that it has the potential to get hard answers for a number of important legal issues facing the future of broadcasting. Whether Aereo wins or loses, it’s a case worth following. As a fan (and subscriber) of Aereo’s service (I am also a cable subscriber), I’m relieved that for now I can continue to access live TV from my iPad. Let us know your thoughts on the Aereo lawsuit in the comments. Aereo Ruling Preliminary Injunction Denied Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/11/aereo-injunction-denied/
Gordon Ramsay has earned himself a reputation as a celebrity chef and with an adventurous palate. While this makes for great entertainment for us viewers, it doesn’t always look so pleasant for Ramsay. Take this clip from the 2011 season of his show, “Gordon’s Great Escape.” In it, the chef pays a visit to Vietnam and is served a rare delicacy: the beating heart of a snake… Here’s our mild NSFW warning if you don’t have a strong stomach… Well, I’ll be honest…that looks like a very stressful eating situation. And that poor snake! Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/snake-heart/
