from the oh-crap,-that's-where-it-went! dept.
A slab of seal poo used for scientific research in New Zealand has led to the unlikely discovery of a USB stick full of holiday snaps.
The sample, known as scat, had been stored for over a year before being thawed out.
Researchers analyse seal faeces to assess the health and diet of seals in New Zealand waters.
The fully functioning stick contained images of sea lions and a video of a mother playing with her baby.
The sample was submitted by a vet who had been monitoring a sickly-looking leopard seal on Oreti Beach, Invercargill, on New Zealand's South Island.
The device was in good condition "considering where it had come from", the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said on its website.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47135528
(Score: 1) by shrewdsheep on Wednesday February 06 2019, @01:22PM (5 children)
if they find out they are only the second most intelligent species on earth, we are all done with.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @03:31PM (4 children)
Dolphins are the second most intelligent species, humans are third. I don't know where seals rate.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday February 06 2019, @09:11PM (2 children)
You're forgetting Whales, which puts humans at #4 in intelligence.
If you were to count rocks, humans at #5.
Why is it so difficult to break a heroine addiction?
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday February 06 2019, @09:33PM
Octopus and birds are both cleverer than Whales.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday February 06 2019, @11:27PM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1) by shrewdsheep on Wednesday February 06 2019, @09:47PM
That's the narrative put forward by the mice.
(Score: 4, Funny) by VLM on Wednesday February 06 2019, @01:28PM (1 child)
Now was this a seal seal, or a naval special operations seal seaman (well, I know they reported the sample was poop but poop, semen, whatever)?
Those seals will do anything to hide their bitcoin vault in a steagonographically secure cold vault. Look at the least significant bits of those "holiday snaps" and its probably some poor seal's bitcoin wallet.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday February 06 2019, @07:07PM
..and its probably some poor seal's bitcoin wallet.
Is that where the "Kiss from a Rose" royalties are as well?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @01:40PM
Be more worried about the kid and mother from the video. Last I checked leopard seals are cunning bastards that tend to drown humans by dragging them to the bottom of the sea before eating them.
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday February 06 2019, @02:15PM (5 children)
They used to have the very special watch. If anyone remembers watches. And they were very rough with that one -- amazing commercials for it. They said it could take a licking. And keep on running. This Stick Cyber, this USB, took a licking. It took so much more, the pooping and the everything else. And it's still running. Great job! youtu.be/_NHq3Yze6s0 [youtu.be]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @03:12PM
I think ^ swallowed a goatse flashdrive
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @04:32PM (2 children)
FFS, Donny - you could get the spiel right. Takes a lickin, and keeps on tickin. Watches didn't "run" back then - you wound up the clockwork spring, and the watch would run until the spring lost all it's energy. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Some of them said tick-tick, tick-tick, tick-tick. But watches never said tic-toc. That was for cukoo clocks and grandfather clocks.
Just think of all the trivia that almost no millenial knows about.
Try it orally - "Takes a lickin, and keeps on tickin!" Now, try it with Oral Roberts.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday February 06 2019, @05:19PM (1 child)
Well, that's a matter of dialect. We always said "tick-tock" was the sound made by clocks, watches, etc.
Note that *NONE* of them actually really sounded like tick-tock, but all of them made two separate distinctive sounds. (Though watches were, admittedly, pretty close to the same. Perhaps the difference was mainly rhythmic, i.e. the time interval between sounds, or the length of intermediate pauses.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @06:01PM
Personally, I don't recall distinctive sounds in any but large clocks. Smaller alarm clocks, like three or four inches around, maybe. Larger alarm clocks, five inches and larger, definitely. Large wall clocks, case clocks, etc, no question, very distinctive. Maybe that's just me though - my hearing wasn't really great, even as a kid.
Now, I'm trying to recall whether we ever had a wind-up wall clock. I think all of the wall-clocks were electric. As an adult, in the Navy, all the chronometers were wind-up. Someone from Communications went around each day, wound them up and set them if necessary. We didn't hear them very much - there was far too much noise at the quietest of times. I've given a thought to buying one, now and then. Never did to searching for one though. Hmmmm - Ebay, right now!
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday February 06 2019, @07:10PM
For once they'll need to "acid wash" the OUTSIDE of the drive, eh Donny?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Muad'Dave on Wednesday February 06 2019, @02:38PM (4 children)
Any metadata on the pics/videos? Date/time/location?
(Score: 5, Funny) by bob_super on Wednesday February 06 2019, @05:46PM (3 children)
To protect the photo's subjects, it was all sealed.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @06:02PM (2 children)
*groan*
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @08:49PM (1 child)
You mean "or or or..."
(Score: 2) by RandomFactor on Wednesday February 06 2019, @11:52PM
I don't think he gives a flip
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @03:10PM (4 children)
Good God! I cannot imagine the kind of kink on that fucking memory stick!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @04:17PM
2 girls 1 [seal] pup
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @04:40PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMDtibc13fc [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday February 06 2019, @05:14PM
Rule 34
https://www.google.com/search?q=rule+34+seal&oq=rule+34+seal [google.com]
But I think the legal bit is off-topic.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @06:07PM
Welcome to the internet!!! You must be new here.
In addition to the previous good answers...
Q: Why is a walrus like tupperware?
A: They both like a tight seal.
Also, I heard that it wasn't just one USB drive, but multiple...
They were strung together like ben wa balls
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @05:16PM (1 child)
The real question is ... do seals have an autoplay feature? If not, they were safe from any malware on the device. /s
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @06:02PM
Because they live in cold environments and hunt in the sea like penguins, they use linux and don't have to worry about windows viruses.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2) by nobu_the_bard on Wednesday February 06 2019, @05:51PM (2 children)
What the heck brand is that thing, to go through all of this and still function?
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Wednesday February 06 2019, @06:09PM
Well, it did get the tech industry's seal of approval
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 07 2019, @01:24PM
Intel inside – Rectium
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @06:31PM
The seal wanted to backup the data and used dump.