Five Things You Had to See Online This Week

This week in “Thanks, Internet” — When Hercules fell for Aladdin, a giant billboard for secret confessions, the rise and fall of Pizza Rat, the silver screen sensation that was "Mad Max: Fury Road," and one "New Yorker" cartoon caption to rule them all. 

1. How Esmeralda Got Her Groove Back

Disney has done better lately with their female lead characters, yet the relationships at the heart of their films are looking increasingly unimaginative. Luckily, Tumblr blogger Dopey Beauty has dreamed up a whole new world for unexplored, poignantly surreal relationships to bloom among characters across the Disney universe. Pocahontas and Belle, Esmeralda and Belle, Bella and…. I mean, hey Belle, you do you. It’s a whole new world.

2. Hello. Is Anybody Out There?

The Waiting Wall gives you a discreet place to share your deepest secrets with a rush-hour audience.

(The Waiting Wall)

Facebook and Twitter are great for sharing stuff you want people to know. You go to Yik Yak, Whisper, and (formerly) Secret to share things you don't want others to know about you. But what if you want to confess your deepest regrets and fears in the middle of a major commuter railway station? Developer Alan Donohoe’s Waiting Wall in London's Brixton Station has you covered. It's comforting, in a way, to know others are wracked with the same self-doubts as you are. But maybe it'd be better if everyone who submits a message got a free ice cream cone?

3. The Life Cycle of the Pizza Rat

We do not endorse this Halloween costume.

(Mashable)

Are we living in year of the sheep or the week of the Pizza Rat? The viral boom-and-bust cycle of the pizza-loving rodent meme seemed to run its course even faster than usual. Luckily the Washington Post was kind enough to slow things down for a play-by-play. 

4. Mad Max Ophuls 

We noticed a brief revival in black-and-white indie films a few years ago. Why not black-and-white summer blockbusters? George Miller’s feminist masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road got the monochrome treatment this week, and golly, it looks sensational. Can the call from the Criterion Collection be far off? 

5. The Last Caption You'll Ever Need

A robot that pairs random New Yorker captions with a single cartoon is a beautiful use of the internet. Conversely, there are some phrases that seem to work for every New Yorker cartoon, like "What a misunderstanding!" This week, Frank Chimero discovered the best generic New Yorker cartoon caption of them all. And the answer is always no.

pic.twitter.com/9r6KdvoKPL

— Frank Chimero (@frank_chimero) September 22, 2015

Thanks, Jules!