JUST.BECAUSE.
Cat Bounce is a little corner of the internet where you can go to see cats bounce up and down, and make them rain down for your own entertainment. Drag them around, drop them, and watch them fly. It looks like this is what little kitties do for fun, when they’re not planning to kill you, that is.
I came across this gem in this post on Yes and Yes dedicated to Web Time Wasters. The little guy you see is Tommy Tucker, a squirrel from the 1940’s that a woman adopted and dressed up in adorable little (most likely homemade) outfits. Hop on over to his page on The Retronaut, and check out his portfolio. He looks very distinguished in a medical uniform.
The Washington Post had to go and tell the world my secret to productivity all of these years. My whole life, I’ve been accomplishing a lot at a fast pace. When people inquire about how I get so much done, I just chalk it up to my natural impatience, and craving to just get it done and over with already. I’ve left out my secret weapon (though anyone who reads this may have already guessed): cute animals. I have a calendar with them on it, and follow a couple blogs that update their posts daily. I find it improves my day and my mood to take a couple minutes to look at a soft, adorable, baby creature, and now research confirms that it improves my productivity too (who knew?).
A study conducted by a research team at Hiroshima University had students look at images of baby animals before attempting a variety of tasks. In comparison with students who viewed a picture of an adult animal or a pleasing food, the baby animal group outperformed. Productivity was better for both genders, across all image viewing groups. What causes this effect you might ask? Well, as of now, researchers are not exactly sure, but they have a few theories. First, seeing baby animals invokes reflexes of communicating with or caring for baby animals. This can lead to increased vigilance, slower, more methodical movements, and increased attentiveness to protect against potential threats. These results combined = better productivity.
So, there you have it, a daily excuse to check out my collection of cute things here, or to peruse others here and here and here and here. You’re welcome.
It seems like everyone wants a piece of the animals doing cute things game these days, and can you blame them? No, of course not. The latest website I found collecting videos of pets adorable shenanigans came to me through Self magazine. At this site, you can watch four of the cutest things going right now, and vote on your favorite. Spoiler alert: my favorite, Norman riding a bike is above. Though, the little rolly-polly French Bulldog trying to get up off his back was a close second.
I’m pretty sure this is exactly how I would react if presented with an adorable little sloth all of my own for an evening. Best. Birthday. Present. Ever.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I nearly exclusively use youtube to watch videos of animals doing cute stuff. You too?
Sometimes I though I don’t have time to troll the website for the latest adorable thing, I just want to see something adorable that everyone will be talking and tweeting about. Enter The Huffington Post. They have an entire news category devoted to exclusively cute animal videos.
Now, I don’t usually go in for rodents as being cute, but this Two Hampsters-One Wheel video is just too much to handle. Just wait until they start spinning out of control.
Life with Dogs is an entire website devoted to touching stories about your favorite pet (although there is a link to Life with Cats for those feline lovers out there). It has feature stories on pet news from breed bans to regulations on retail pet sales. There’s a healthy section of fan photos, an area to adopt, and a place where you can submit photos of your own favorite pup. Best of all there’s heartwarming posts about dogs rescuing pups from a fire, police officers adopting “vicious” dogs and strangers coming together to rescue a stranded dog. Be prepared to spend hours.
Do you ever get made fun of when people stop by your desk, for how many “cute things” you have laying around? No? That’s just me?
Some people choose to decorate their work spaces with diplomas, photos of family or significant others, inspirational quotes. Not I. I don’t see any better way to ensure a cheerful workday that being greeted by not one, but several cute things every morning.
First you see there a tear away calendar. It’s the Cute Overload Page a Day that features photos of puppies, kitties, and other adorable creatures with witty little captions. More than one co-worker has breathed a sigh of relief that it’s not just a kitten calendar (which would make me a crazy cat lady?) when I tell them about the assortment of cute it contains. Good for a laugh and an aww all in one.
Then you see the little owl. That my friends is fully functioning lip gloss I received as a gift from a bestie who knows that ordinary things are much more fun in a cute package. You can get yours in various colors here.
Finally there’s a tiny bobble head snail and turtle who tacitly agree with nods to every brilliant idea I have, some cards, little bear magnets (not pictured) and my favorite Klimt post card. On the other half of my desk I keep my professionally useful belongings- file organizer, calendars, phone, computer, etc., but its this little corner I turn to when I need something to brighten my day. Now don’t you want to cuten up your workspace?
Have you ever wanted a little animal friend you could keep in your pocked to pull-out when you need to be cheered up? No? It’s just me?
Well, Su Ami has a whole Etsy shop devoted to just that. The store peddles tiny animals of all kinds from the little bird family shown above to the miniature pugs. She’ll even make custom sizes for those with more particular tastes. Check them out and get your own here.
Because anytime something really tiny is juxtaposed against something way too big for them, it’s probably cute. Photographer Christopher Boffoli artfully poses miniature humans with food that is giant for them, in funny little situations, and takes pictures of it. Check out a few more of his photos where ice cream cones become teepees, and peas are soccer balls here. The exhibition is on display in NYC now!
Glass Half Full 