What would the internet look like in 1975? Can you picture scrolling through Instagram in 1984, or tweeting in 1991?
Graphic designer Future Punk reimagined sites like Reddit, Amazon, and SoundCloud as retro logos from the 1970s to the mid-1990s. Complete with classic title music and animations that look like they’re straight off your grandma’s favorite VHS tape, Future Punk’s logos will bring you back a few decades.
Redditors commented on the video, noting that it felt like “being a kid watching late night shows” and that the nostalgic vibes were comforting. The logos even went viral on Tumblr.
Considering flare jeans and fanny packs are back in style, the video fits right in with today’s trends.
Apparently Drake gives Millie Bobby Brown boy advice.
During a red carpet interview for the Emmys, the 14-year-old Stranger Things star told Access that she and Drake have gotten close since first meeting in Australia.
“We just texted each other the other day and he was like, ‘I miss you so much’ and I was like, ‘I miss you more!” Brown gushed.
She admitted that Drake helps her navigate the terrifying world of dating teen boys, but wouldn’t reveal any details.
“You know, that stays in the text messages,” she laughed.
Despite Brown’s affection for her 31-year-old BFF, Some were put off by their friendship, considering Drake’s alleged girlfriend turned 18 just this year.
Calling him a “great friend and a great role model,” Brown said she plans to see Drake when he performs in Atlanta.
“He’s great, he’s wonderful, I love him,” she said.
It’s not just the hacks and outright scams that make cryptocurrency a risky investment.
According to a report from the office of the New York state attorney general, the exchanges themselves — the places where would-be investors go to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether — are not doing enough to protect their customers. And that should concern you.
The in-depth look at 13 exchanges, released today, details all the ways in which major exchanges fail to guard their customers against fraud, manipulation, and abuse. It’s not a pretty picture.
“[Virtual] asset trading platforms now in operation have not registered under state or federal securities or commodities laws,” reads the report. “Nor have they implemented common standards for security, internal controls, market surveillance protocols, disclosures, or other investor and consumer protections. Accordingly, customers of virtual asset trading platforms face significant risks.”
That those risks are varied and wide-ranging was perhaps to be expected. That they are not limited to some of, shall we say, the less scrupulous exchanges was perhaps not.
The New York State attorney general sent voluntary questionnaires out to 13 exchanges, and nine decided it was in their best interest to respond. The exchanges that did play ball include major names like Bitfinex, Bittrex, Coinbase, and Gemini Trust Company. Binance Limited, Gate.io, Huobi Global Limited, and Kraken all essentially told the AG to buzz off.
Which didn’t go over so well.
“Based on the results of our report,” wrote the official Twitter account of New York state attorney general Barbara Underwood’s office, “we have also referred three platforms — Binance, Gate.io, and Kraken — to the New York State Department of Financial Services for possibly operating unlawfully in New York.”
Based on the results of our report, we have also referred three platforms – Binance, https://t.co/UEMbx5VSWm, and Kraken – to the New York State Department of Financial Services for possibly operating unlawfully in New York.
The report looked at the possibility of market manipulation and insider trading at each exchange, in addition to the prevalence of automated and algorithmic trading. Many of the companies running the exchanges, the report shows, buy and sell cryptocurrencies on their own exchange — perhaps in an effort to maintain liquidity.
Coinbase, for example, told the AG that close to 20 percent of its “executed volume” was its own trading. Why is this a potential problem?
“[When] a significant percentage of the volume in one or more assets on a venue is attributable to one source,” the report explains, “customers face the risk that the availability of liquidity in those assets could change, without notice and at any time, including when liquidity is needed most — namely, in times of market volatility or rapid price movement.”
In other words, if the market suddenly tanks and Coinbase stops buying and selling on its own exchange, those mom and pop investors looking to offload their crypto before it hits rock bottom may not be able to find buyers. And then they’d be left holding some rapidly shrinking bags.
Coinbase, need we remind you, is one of the better regulated exchanges.
Kraken, which declined to answer the AG’s questions, appeared to dismiss the very notion that scams even matter at all when it comes to trading cryptocurrency.
“In announcing the company’s decision not to participate in the Initiative,” notes the report, “Kraken declared that market manipulation ‘doesn’t matter to most crypto traders,’ even while admitting that ‘scams are rampant’ in the industry.”
This should not inspire confidence. But hey, it gets worse.
In a section titled “Protections for Customer Funds Are Often Limited or Illusory,” the report helpfully informs us that “Generally accepted methods for auditing virtual assets do not exist.” What’s more, it continues that “several [tracking platforms] do not claim to do any independent auditing of their virtual currency holdings at all.”
So, in conclusion, many cryptocurrency exchanges appear to be vulnerable to large-scale price manipulation via bots and fail to appropriately protect investors’ funds.
That’s something to keep in mind the next time your friend passionately attempts to convince you to put your savings into cryptocurrency.
To head off the potentially bad optics of older white men questioning a woman about alleged sexual assault, Republicans are considering having an independent outside lawyer question Christine Blasey Ford alongside senators. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo
The specter of Anita Hill looms over next week’s hearing on Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegation.
Senate Republicans are taking aggressive measures to avoid an Anita Hill redux as the Judiciary Committee prepares for a hearing on the sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
They’re off to a shaky start, if the past 24 hours is any indication.
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Already, Republicans supportive of Kavanaugh have downplayed the severity of Christine Blasey Ford’s story. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) questioned Ford’s motives. Others are frustrated that she has yet to agree to testify before the panel after asking for a chance to be heard, and wonder if she shows up whether the committee will be left with enough information to make a decision.
“The question is 36 years after the alleged incident. This is why, in criminal cases, we have statute of limitations,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). “You’re simply not going to have enough witnesses or documents or other evidence to be able to, I think, reach a conclusive decision about the allegations.”
When Hill testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee 27 years ago, its members tore at her credibility in terms so deeply personal that the hearing is now regarded as an embarrassment for the chamber. This time, their conduct could determine not just the public’s perception of their party but whether Kavanaugh wins the 50 votes needed to sit on the high court.
Exacerbating their challenge is the fact that every Republican on the panel is male — an echo of the all-male dais that questioned Hill in 1991. And all of the committee’s Republicans except for Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) have been die-hard Kavanaugh supporters, raising questions about how seriously they’ll take her testimony.
To head off the potentially bad optics of older white men questioning a woman about alleged sexual assault, Republicans are considering having an independent outside lawyer question Ford alongside senators. They’re also carefully controlling the hearing, allowing testimony from no witnesses other than Kavanaugh and Ford, and declining Democratic calls for the FBI to investigate Ford’s claim further.
Cornyn, a senior Judiciary member, said his party would “treat [Ford] with respect and dignity” to avoid a repeat of the Hill hearing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he expects the committee will be “fair” to Ford.
Democrats have a different expectation.
“It’s going to be a shit-show,” said one Democratic senator.
Asked about the potential for a GOP pile-on if Ford testifies, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) would only say: “That’s the Republicans’ problem.”
Republicans are already taking shots at Ford. Graham questioned why she waited months after contacting The Washington Post and her Democratic representative in Congress to go public. He also expressed skepticism about some of the details of her story, including why she took a lie detector test administered by a former FBI agent.
“I don’t know when she took the polygraph. I don’t know who paid for it. I don’t know when she hired the lawyer. I don’t know who paid for it,” Graham said. “But if you didn’t want to go public why are you buying a polygraph and why are you hiring a lawyer? All those things will come out.”
Graham made similar comments about Ford on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, a favorite forum for conservatives.
“I don’t know what’s caused her to” come forward, said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who defended Thomas at the Hill hearings. “But there are those who do question her motivation.”
A top outside surrogate for Kavanaugh, meanwhile, was dubious of what sort of behavior Ford is actually alleging. Ford told the Post that Kavanaugh groped her and covered her mouth while forcing himself on her.
“Her allegations cover a whole range of conduct, from boorishness to rough horseplay to actual attempted rape,” Judicial Crisis Network chief counsel Carrie Severino said on CNN. “There’s 35 years of memory that we’re trying to play with here. But the behavior she describes could describe a whole range of things.”
Few other Republicans have joined them, training their fire instead on Senate Democrats and charging they are merely trying to disrupt the nomination at the last minute.
All 10 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee warned the GOP Tuesday that pushing ahead with a hearing before Ford has agreed to appear “repeat[s] mistakes of the past,” a nod to Hill.
Democrats don’t have the issue of an all-male Judiciary membership. Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, both former prosecutors, are among the party’s four women who sit on the panel.
“It obviously would be better if there were some Republican women. But I’m not a member of the committee, so I do not expect to be sitting with the committee,” added Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, one of three current Judiciary members who sat on the committee during the Hill hearings, dismissed questions about the potential political risk of 11 Republican men grilling Ford.
“You’re talking about history,” Grassley said. “We’re not looking back, we’re looking forward.”
His Republican colleagues concurred.
“You all are enjoying that story[line] quite a bit,” Cornyn told reporters, but “in the end we’re going to have a job to do and we’re going to do it.”
One GOP senator said the entire purpose of the Monday hearing is to satisfy three undecided Republicans, including Collins and Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Jeff Flake of Arizona — as well as four undecided Democrats whom Republicans believe could vote for Kavanaugh.
“My hope is that all will be respectful, respectful of Dr. Ford and respectful of Judge Kavanaugh,” Murkowski said Tuesday.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee has a chance to redeem itself from the circus-like atmosphere of a couple weeks ago,” said Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), referring to days of disruptive protests by liberal activists. He added: “If I believe that these allegations are true, then I think it would be a disqualifying factor.”
Although both Ford and Hill’s stories weren’t aired publicly until after the initial round of Supreme Court confirmation hearings concluded, the Kavanaugh flap is playing out differently from the 1991 sexual harassment allegations against now-Justice Clarence Thomas in several important ways.
Hill’s hearings included 22 outside witnesses and an FBI investigation in advance of her testimony, which Democrats have pointed to in lamenting the FBI move to add the Ford allegation to Kavanaugh’s background file rather than conduct a separate inquiry.
One key witness, Mark Judge, who Ford said was in the room at the time of the alleged assault, is refusing to testify before the panel. Grassley’s spokesman said Tuesday, however, that aides have “made contact with other alleged witnesses based on the Washington Post’s reporting.” Grassley’s office would not say late Tuesday which other individuals that Republicans have contacted.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the FBI should be devoting more resources to the decades-old Kavanaugh charges than it did to Hill’s allegations against Thomas. “The Hill case involved a two-day FBI investigation,” he said. “They asked for two weeks, but the committee went ahead anyway.”
The Justice Department said in a Monday night statement, however, that the FBI’s handling of the issue comports with a 2010 memo that governs background checks. “The allegation does not involve any potential federal crime,” a DOJ spokesperson said.
Democrats’ frustration over the FBI’s handling of Ford’s allegation isn’t deterring at least some of them from participating in Monday’s planned hearing. Both Durbin and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said they expect to attend, even if it’s just Kavanaugh testifying, though they prefer more witnesses and an FBI investigation.
“I do think there are now questions that are appropriate for us to ask Judge Kavanaugh,” Coons said.
In a blog post today, YouTube announced that it’s dedicated YouTube Gaming app will soon cease to exist. The app will officially be retired In March 2019.
But, don’t be mistaken. The shutdown of the YouTube Gaming app has more to do with the inability of the dedicated outlet to take off than anything concerning the success of video game livestreaming on YouTube.
On the contrary, according to YouTube’s Global Head of Gaming, Ryan Wyatt, gaming is bigger than ever on YouTube. “50 billion hours of Gaming content watched on YouTube in the last 12 months and 200M daily logged-in users watch Gaming every single day on YouTube,” Wyatt said in a tweet.
Gaming is having its biggest year ever on YouTube! 50 billion hours of Gaming content watched on YouTube in the last 12 months and 200M daily logged-in users watch Gaming every single day on YouTube. That’s why we’re excited to announce we are moving YouTube Gaming into YouTube!! pic.twitter.com/owQk2mZVVF
Which is why it’s all not bad news. YouTube Gaming will live on as part of the main YouTube platform.
Back in 2014, Amazon spent nearly $1 billion on Twitch, the video game livestreaming platform. This move spurred YouTube to give gaming videos a harder look. This resulted in YouTube’s release of a separate YouTube Gaming app in 2015. Unfortunately, if anything, the dedicated app just made choosing between watching gaming content on there versus YouTube in general more confusing.
YouTube Gaming will now live on the main site at “youtube.com/gaming.” It will also be featured on the left hand sidebar along with other sections of the website such as Trending and YouTube Premium.
The Gaming page for YouTube, which is now live, features top livestreams, top videos, as well as the top games currently being livestreamed on the platform. The new YouTube Gaming section will also put a spotlight on new, rising creators every week in an effort to help the community grow. The first recommended gamer, called Gaming Creator on the Rise, has also already been unveiled with Erin Plays taking the first spot. Currently, YouTubers from the United States with over 1,000 subscribers are eligible.
The The YouTube Gaming app was often a testing ground for features, like Super Chat where users can pay to highlight their comment in the live chat feed, that later crossed over to the main YouTube platform. As YouTube points out on Twitter, there are a few YouTube Gaming features and settings, like Channel Memberships that are live on certain channels on the app but not on the main site, that still need to be ported over — hence the app lives until March of next year.
YouTube is clearly still struggling a bit to find its direction with one of the most popular categories on its site. YouTube may be the premiere online video destination for nearly every other niche, but they have extremely popular competitor out there in Twitch that specifically caters to gamers. YouTube needs to give gamers a reason to keep coming to them. While the reaction online to the changes seem to be mixed, it looks as if YouTube is taking the right steps to stay in the game.
A hotshot electric vehicle company in Silicon Valley just got a $1 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
No, not Tesla. We’re talking about its eventual competitor, Lucid Motors, which is based right next door to Tesla’s Fremont headquarters in Newark, California.
The luxury electric vehicle brand announced the cash infusion this week, saying it would use the funding to move forward with its Tesla Model S “killer,” the Lucid Air, expected to launch in 2020, and to build out its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Sound reminiscent of Tesla? It’s because it is. After Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about securing funding to take the company private last month, it was revealed that Saudi Arabia had bought 5 percent of the publicly traded company, or invested almost $2 billion. A deal was nearly struck with the Saudi fund to buy out Tesla from the public market. But that didn’t happen.
The Model S is on the road.
Image: tesla
The Lucid Air is supposed to arrive in 2020.
Image: Lucid motors
Tesla and Musk have been running into issues, in particular, production problems with the more affordably priced Model 3 sedan. Saudi Arabia seems intent to be on the cutting-edge of electric vehicles, no matter where it takes them.
Lucid’s been around for a decade, and the Lucid Air debuted at the Los Angeles auto show almost two years ago. The prototype vehicle features a powerful battery, high-tech features, a glass canopy, and an autonomous-capable design. Even former Tesla employees have moved over to Lucid.
Now Saudi Arabia is giving the notably private company almost as much as it invested in Tesla. Is there enough space on the road for the two EVs? Lucid, unlike Tesla, has yet to put anything in customers’ garages. But that $1 billion will certainly help.
Lionel Messi was in record-setting form as he hit a hat-trick to help Barcelona thrash PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in Group B of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
Barca won on a night when Roberto Firmino came off the bench to score the late winner for Liverpool over Paris Saint-Germain by the odd goal in five at Anfield. Daniel Sturridge and James Milner were also on the scoresheet for the Reds before Les Parisiens drew level after being 2-0 down, with Kylian Mbappe finding the net.
The Premier League’s other representative, Tottenham Hotspur, had a tougher night as the north London club blew a lead late to lose against Inter Milan at the San Siro.
Meanwhile, 2016 finalists Atletico Madrid came from a goal down to win in Monaco. Borussia Dortmund were also winners after Christian Pulisic scored late to see off Club Brugge.
Tuesday’s scores:
Inter Milan 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Barcelona 4-0 PSV Eindhoven
AS Monaco 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Club Brugge 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Red Star Belgrade 0-0 Napoli
Liverpool 3-2 Paris Saint-Germain
Schalke 04 1-1 FC Porto
Galatasaray 3-0 Lokomotiv Moscow
Group A (Matches, Won, Goal Difference and Points)
1. Borussia Dortmund: 1, 1, +1, 3
2. Atletico Madrid: 1, 1, +1, 3
3. AS Monaco: 1, 0, -1, 0
4. Club Brugge: 1, 0, -1, 0
Group B (Matches, Won, Goal Difference and Points)
1. Barcelona: 1, 1, +4, 3
2. Inter Milan: 1, 1, +1, 3
3. PSV Eindhoven: 1, 0, -4, 0
4. Tottenham Hotspur: 1, 0, -1, 0
Group C (Matches, Won, Goal Difference and Points)
1. Liverpool: 1, 1, +1, 3
2. Red Star Belgrade: 1, 0, 0, 1
3. Napoli: 1, 0, 0, 1
4. Paris Saint-Germain: 1, 0, -1, 0
Group D (Matches, Won, Goal Difference and Points)
1. Galatasaray: 1, 1, +3, 3
2. Porto: 1, 0, 0, 1
3. Schalke: 1, 0, 0, 1
4. Lokomotiv Moscow: 1, 0, -3, 0
Full standings available, per the tournament’s official website.
Messi got a thrilling night started by hammering a trademark free-kick into the top corner:
Squawka Football @Squawka
Just four of Lionel Messi’s 101 Champions League goals have been scored from direct free-kicks.
In the process, Messi matched a record set by an attacking talisman who thrived for Barca’s great rival:
OptaJose @OptaJose
14 – Lionel Messi is the second player in the Champions League history to score in 14 consecutive seasons, after Raul Gonzalez. Infallible. https://t.co/BxHDYmmVnN
Another milestone awaited the Blaugrana’s magnificent No. 10 once he wrapped up the scoring and completed his hat-trick:
Ousmane Dembele had doubled Barca’s lead before Messi added his second and third goals. The Frenchman was plagued by an injury bug a season ago, but the former Dortmund ace brings a lot to this Barca forward line.
Dembele’s pace, technique and eye for goal are assets alongside Messi, particularly with centre-forward Luis Suarez starting to slow down.
Barca’s attacking reserves are something Spurs can only dream of. Even so, Tottenham appeared to be coasting in Milan after Christian Eriksen had opened the scoring eight minutes after the break.
A Spurs victory appeared inevitable until Mauro Icardi swung his boot to connect with a terrific volley five minutes from time. There was enough time for Matias Vecino to net the late winner.
Icardi’s sensational hit broke Tottenham hearts.ANDREAS SOLARO/Getty Images
Spurs can take heart from most of their performance. Yet manager Mauricio Pochettino will want more cutting edge and greater resolve when Barcelona visit Wembley Stadium on October 3.
Liverpool started without Firmino, who suffered an eye injury on Saturday against Spurs, at the heart of a dynamic front three, but Sturridge proved his worth by heading the Reds into a 30th-minute lead. The advantage was doubled by Milner from the penalty spot six minutes later.
PSG responded through right-back Thomas Meunier five minutes before the break.
Liverpool dominated most of the second half and had a goal disallowed after Sturridge clashed with goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. However, PSG hit back when Mbappe found the net seven minutes from time.
The goal meant PSG’s star teenager continues to boss this competition despite his tender years:
bet365 @bet365
Kylian Mbappé now has 11 Champions League goals at just 19.
At 19, Lionel Messi had two CL goals and Cristiano Ronaldo had none.
His latest goal was merely the cue for Firmino to be the hero with a fine solo finish in stoppage time.
Atleti were trailing after just 18 minutes when Samuel Grandsir gave Monaco the lead. Diego Costa hit back 13 minutes later before Jose Gimenez put the visitors in front during the first-half stoppage time.
Costa had been teed up by Antoine Griezmann, who was the creative fulcrum for Atletico:
WhoScored.com @WhoScored
GOAL! Monaco 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Diego Costa draws Atletico level with Antoine Griezmann the provider — Griezmann has now had a direct hand in 4 goals (1 goal, 3 assists) in his last 5 Atletico appearances
It was fitting Pulisic struck Dortmund’s late winner. The United States forward was making his 100th appearance for the Bundesliga club on his 20th birthday.
There was an element of fortune about the precocious attacker’s decisive contribution:
DW Sports @dw_sports
Christian Pulisic blocks the Brugge defender’s clearance and it loops in.
Galatasaray got off to a positive start in Group D thanks to Garry Mendes Rodrigues, who breached the Lokomotiv Moscow defence after nine minutes. Eren Derdiyok added a goal, while Selcuk Inan struck a penalty to see off last season’s Russian Premier League champions.
Schalke took 64 minutes to break the deadlock against Porto in Group D’s other match. The goal came courtesy of the lively Breel Embolo, continuing a prolific recent run for the forward:
Scouted Football @ScoutedFtbl
Breel Embolo (21) had never scored in successive matches for Schalke 04 before tonight.
He has now.
Great to see the Swiss international finding some rhythm and consistency for Die Königsblauen. https://t.co/0zD4XVQJ2N
Otavio drew Porto level from the penalty spot with 15 minutes to go.
Napoli couldn’t break down Red Star Belgrade’s defence, leaving Carlo Ancelotti, who has won this tournament three times as a manager, with a tame start in Group C.
Wednesday will see Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus head to Valencia in Group H, while Young Boys host Manchester United. Meanwhile, holders Real Madrid host AS Roma in Group G, and Manchester City start in Group F by welcoming Lyon to the Etihad Stadium.
Brett Kavanaugh gave no other context for the joke, but it gained attention anyway after it first surfaced on MSNBC because the judge has recently been accused of misconduct while he was a high school student. | Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Georgetown Prep’s unofficial saying, according to Brett Kavanaugh: What happens there, stays there.
The Supreme Court nominee made the crack in a 2015 speech at Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, which he said was the alma mater of three of his friends. Kavanaugh said the trio had also been classmates when he attended Catholic high school at Georgetown Prep.
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“But fortunately, we had a good saying that we’ve held firm to to this day … which is: What happens at Georgetown Prep, stays at Georgetown Prep,” Kavanaugh said, according to a video of the speech. “I think that’s been a good thing for all of us.”
Kavanaugh gave no other context for the joke, but it gained attention anyway after it first surfaced on MSNBC because the judge has recently been accused of misconduct while he was a high school student.
Christine Blasey Ford on Sunday came forward as the woman who had anonymously alleged that when they were both in high school, Kavanaugh had drunkenly groped her and pinned her down on a bed while a friend watched. Kavanaugh has denied the allegation.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted the clip of Kavanaugh joking about Georgetown Prep, adding: “I can’t imagine any parent accepting this view. Is this really what America wants in its next Supreme Court Justice?”
Kavanaugh and Ford have been asked to testify at a hearing slated for Monday, but Ford has yet to say whether she will attend.
The 2015 talk in which the high-school joke arose was part of a lecture series in which Kavanugh was asked to talk about partisanship.
“Judges need to follow the law, not make the law,” Kavanaugh said during the speech. “That has to be our aspiration in a system of evenhanded justice. You have to check political allegiances at the door when you become a judge.”
Welp, it looks like a restaurant in Maine is trying to get lobsters high before cooking them.
The owner of Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound restaurant, Charlotte Gill, recently revealed the restaurant has attempted to get their lobsters stoned in an effort to make their deaths at her eatery more humane, according to the Mount Desert Islander.
“The animal is already going to be killed,” Gill told the Islander. “It is far more humane to make it a kinder passage.”
Gill concocted a, uh, interesting method of getting her lobsters high. Here’s an excerpt from the Islander that details her first attempt at smoking up a crustacean — a lobster she calls Roscoe:
In an experiment to test the affect of cannabis on lobsters, Roscoe the lobster was placed for a few minutes in a covered box with about two inches of water at the bottom. Marijuana smoke was then blown into the water at the bottom of the box.
Roscoe was later returned to the ocean “as a thank you for being the experimental crustacean.”
Though Gill, a licensed marijuana caregiver, told the Islander that Roscoe seemed more relaxed after his tank had been “infused: with cannabis smoke, it unclear that the lobster actually got stoned.
THC, the compound in cannabis responsible for getting you high is fat-soluble, not water-soluble, according to the Cannabist. This means it binds to fats not water, making it unlikely that the marijuana-infused water had any effect on Roscoe. This is why drinking bong water won’t get you stoned.
Considering lobsters can remove oxygen (and probably weed smoke) with their gills from the air, it’s possible they can get high from the smoke in the tank, but it’s unclear whether or not lobsters even have cannabinoid receptors.
Gill has set up special tanks dedicated to “sedating” lobsters before their prepared for her customers, but only upon their request. And Gill has made it clear that the lobsters aren’t going to get her diners stoned — but she does insist that the lobsters who’ve been exposed to a little THC are tastier.
While the most humane way to cook lobsters has been a popular debate recently, Gill reportedly steams them alive after hotboxing them. Others insist on killing them with a knife before cooking.
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