Laughing Squid

a daily dose of unique and curious things

History of Pumpkins

How Pumpkins Outlived the Mastodons Through Domestication

October 28, 2026

Playing for Change With a Little Help From My Friends

Musicians From Nine Commonwealth Nations Perform ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’ by The Beatles

October 28, 2026

Engraving of a crowned, bearded Thor raising a hammer amid lightning, under the word Thursday and a Thor's Day banner

Common Words That Were Inspired by Mythological Gods and Goddesses

October 28, 2026

Hope sits on straw and hugs Rodney, a young miniature donkey lying across her lap in a fenced paddock

Miniature Donkey Enjoys Snuggling With His Favorite Human as an Integral Part of His Training

October 28, 2026

A hyperrealistic red octopus cake with tentacles coiled around a woman's outstretched arm against a dark background

Cake Artist Creates a Hyperrealistic Life-Sized Octopus Cake With Tentacles That Grip Her Arm

October 27, 2026

Wanda the donkey up close, and backstage in a red pointed hat and saddle blanket beside a performer in a top hat

An ‘Interview’ with a Donkey Named Wanda Who Performs in ‘La Bohème’ at the Metropolitan Opera

October 27, 2026

Auggie the African gray parrot nuzzles the chin of a woman in a maroon hooded sweatshirt

Paralyzed Elder African Gray Parrot Finds Loving New Home Where He Gets All the Care He Wants

October 27, 2026

Pidge the pigeon peeks out of a black purse while street pigeons eat off cardboard in a city park

New Yorker Shares How She Ended Up With a Snobby Pet Purse Pigeon

October 27, 2026

Sea otter at the Oregon Zoo reaches over a stone hoop as a small orange pumpkin drops through it into the water

Playful Oregon Zoo Sea Otters Dunk Mini-Pumpkins Like Basketballs

October 26, 2026

Giant black rat sculpture crawls down a red brick West Village townhouse toward an oversized slice of pizza

A Giant Memorial ‘Pizza Rat’ Crawls Down the Side of a West Village Townhouse for Halloween

October 26, 2026