TIME Newsfeed Food & Drink

This Exists: Cat Marshmallows for Your Drinks

Cat marshmallows
Courtesy of Yawahada Marshmallow Shop

The Yawahada marshmallow shop in Japan makes these kitty-shaped puffs

Is there anything better on a cold winter day than curling up with a mug of hot chocolate? Yes there is. And it involves curling up with a mug of liquid chocolate filled with marshmallows shaped like kittens. (Ignore for a second that they’re drowning.) The Yawahada marshmallow shop in Japan that makes these kitty-shaped puffs recently launched international shipping, so if you or someone you know melts every time you see a cat you should order these right now.

The carefully-crafted marshmallows cost about $6.80, plus shipping, for a box of four.

Timing is cutting it close for stocking stuffers, but you should be able to have these sugar kittens in time for all your #cozyscenarios come January (and Valentine’s Day). You can order them on the Yawahada website; information is translated into English here.

With America finally getting some cat cafés of its own, we see a bright future for the cat-shaped confection business.

This article originally appeared on Food & Wine.

More from Food & Wine:

TIME Entertainment Books

J.K. Rowling’s Christmas Present to You Is More Harry Potter Stories

Author J.K. Rowling attends a photocall ahead of her reading from 'The Casual Vacancy' at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Sept. 27, 2012 in London. Ben Pruchnie—Getty Images

'Tis the season to be Harry

On the first day of Christmas, J.K. Rowling will give to you: new Harry Potter material. On the second day of Christmas, she’ll give you some more. And so on, through the 12 days leading up to Christmas Eve.

The author announced the new stories in a newsletter to Pottermore members, explaining that each new installment would be posted at 1 pm GMT (8am ET) every day beginning Dec. 12. The email promises “wonderful writing by J.K. Rowling in Moments from Half-Blood Prince, shiny gold Galleons and even a new potion or two.”

MORE: The Top 10 YA Books of 2014

One story will reportedly center on Draco Malfoy, Harry’s nemesis. In the spirit of the holiday season, maybe he’ll get a little redemption, Ebenezer Scrooge-style.

[Daily Telegraph]

Read next: J.K. Rowling Reveals Her Dream Job If She Weren’t A Writer

TIME Newsfeed celebrity

Taylor Swift Understands Why Some People Hate ‘Welcome to New York’

Yahoo Taping With Taylor Swift
Dimitrios Kambouris/LP5—Getty Images

And she thinks they're simply "asking a little much of a piece of a music"

Taylor Swift knows better than anyone that the haters are always gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. In particular, they’ve been hating on the fact that she was named NYC’s global tourism ambassador, and they’ve also been hating on her new song “Welcome to New York.”

Okay, they haven’t exactly been “hating” on it as much as some have offered measured critiques. Critics have said the tune lacks “the sophistication, or substance, of Gotham-themed hits” by other artists; others said it “speaks only in empty cliches about big city life.” More generally, people who’ve lived in a New York much more gritty and challenging and crime-ridden (and much, much less luxurious) than the one recently inhabited by Swift simply scoffed at her depiction of the city and her apparent love for it.

Well, Tay-Tay understands why people feel that way. In a recent interview with Billboard (as the magazine’s Woman of the Year) she said the criticism has “absolutely” made her think differently. “But when you write a song, you’re writing about a momentary emotion,” she said. “If you can capture that and turn it into three-and-half minutes that feel like that emotion, that’s all you’re trying to do as a songwriter.”

Basically, she thinks maybe we all put too much pressure on her. “To take a song and try to apply it to every situation everyone is going through — economically, politically, in an entire metropolitan area — is asking a little much of a piece of a music,” she said.

Swift also made sure to debunk the idea that her relationship with New York is new. She grew up in Pennsylvania, just a few hours away, and would often come into New York as a kid for auditions and singing lessons. She also went to her first Knicks game at age 12 — for a halftime talent competition. “But I didn’t win because the kid who won sang ‘New York, New York,’ and I was like, ‘Here’s a song I wrote about a boy in my class …'”

 

TIME Newsfeed viral

Watch an Adorable Girl Start an Impromptu Dance Party at a Subway Station

Ah, the pure joy of youth

The underground music scene in New York City — underground as in the subway system, not secret clubs — is characterized by a wide range of quality. Sometimes it seems like all it has to offer are mariachi bands that insist on playing only on those days when you have a splitting headache, got caught in the rain and just found out that your dog died. But occasionally you stumble upon a gem. This video from a Brooklyn station is precious not as much for the band’s rollicking version of the Grateful Dead’s “Me and My Uncle,” but for a small, bespectacled child’s joyful dancing.

The girl’s roof-raising jig gradually inspires a small hootenanny of strangers coming together in unfettered joy. At one point, her glee escapes from her in the kind of scream reserved only for the highest moments of elation.

Five minutes later, surely, all those people smashed themselves shoulder-to-shoulder into the human equivalent of a cattle truck. But for those two minutes, her joy was the center of the universe.

TIME Newsfeed Internet

Get In the Christmas Spirit by Knocking Over Some Inflatable Santas

Tis the season!

“Prepare to be mildly thrilled and as excited as is reasonable to expect…”

So reads the preamble for the most lukewarm video game of the holiday season: The Christmas Shopper Simulator. In case navigating through the crowded aisles of a mall in the weeks before Christmas isn’t enough, you can now relive the experience on your computer screen!

But don’t let video retailer GAME, which created the simulator, undersell it with a lackluster description. The interactive game has some serious perks. Rather than taking out your holiday anxiety out on real-life fellow shoppers (don’t get a criminal record for Christmas!) you can unleash your rage on fake shoppers and inflatable Santas in the game.

The only thing more stressful than an impending zombie invasion is holiday shopping — so it makes sense that there are video games simulating both daunting events.

GAME previously released a Goat Simulator game, in case you’re looking for another way to kill time during the holiday season.

TIME Newsfeed Television

The Simpsons Christmas Couch Gag Is Here

Complete with an obvious Frozen reference

Twas almost the night before The Simpsons holiday show, and Springfield is covered in mountains of snow. At long last, the preview is here, filled with yetis, Smithers and some tiny reindeer.

The Simpsons are headed straight for their couch, and every creature is stirring including reindeer, a yeti and maybe a mouse.

The children aren’t nestled anywhere near their beds, stuck in detention and jazz band instead.
Marge is headed to the check-out lane, while Otto is taking a hit off a candy cane.

Homer is working in a dashing elf cap, but he wants to go home for a long winter’s nap. Patty and Selma face off in town square and, yes, an obligatory Frozen reference is there.

The stockings are hung, a Festivus pole is there, and Groundskeeper Willie flies through the air, volleyed by polar bears drawn with great care.

Tune in to The Simpsons this Sunday at eight, if you set your clock now you won’t be late.

TIME Newsfeed Sports

Watch a Hockey Player Casually Slip the Word ‘Meow’ Into an Interview Seven Times

He pulls off the game from Super Troopers flawlessly

Kalamazoo Wings hockey player Ray Kaunisto decided to spice up an otherwise mundane interview by playing the “meow game” from the comedy Super Troopers. (For the uninitiated: the game comes from a scene in which a cop pulls over a driver and proceeds to sneak the word “meow” into the conversation as many times as possible. That’s it.)

Kaunisto does a respectable job, managing to meow seven times in a 40-second interview. As ESPN points out, reporter Ben Garrod seems to get the joke, but remains composed and doesn’t crack a smile until the interview’s over.

Watch the original Super Troopers meow scene here:

 

TIME Newsfeed Bizarre

Man Arrested After Allegedly Using McChicken Sandwich as Weapon

McDonald's To Alter Dollar Menu With Higher Priced Items
A McChicken sandwich sits with typical Dollar Menu items sold at a McDonald's restaurant. Scott Olson—Getty Images

He didn't like the sandwich

One man’s picky eating habits have landed him behind bars.

Marvin Tramaine Hill II of Des Moines, Iowa, was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly using a McChicken sandwich from McDonald’s as a weapon against his pregnant wife, reports The Des Moines Register.

The 21-year-old reportedly chucked the fast food item at his wife (after she woke him up around 1 p.m. and offered him a McChicken) because he didn’t like the sandwich.

Hill admitted to police that after throwing the McChicken the first time, he picked up the sandwich’s bun and continued to throw pieces of it at his wife. The woman eventually fled to the bathroom to avoid Hill’s attack and clean herself up.

The husband followed his wife into the bathroom and filmed her with his cellphone, according to the The Des Moines Register, capturing her trying to knock the phone out of his hand. Hill later shared this video with the police.

When officials arrived on the scene, they found Hill’s wife with mayonnaise on her face and a swollen nose. Police said Hill claimed it was his wife who attacked him and showed the video from the bathroom as proof, but officers believe Hill used the video to entice his wife into appearing aggressive to cover up his own attack.

Hill was arrested for domestic assault and taken to Polk County Jail.

This article originally appeared on People.com

TIME Newsfeed animals

The 11 Most Influential Animals of 2014

Here are the animal stories that defined the year and sparked the most discussion and debate.

1 of 11

  • 11. Giant Green Anaconda

    Discovery Channel
    Paul Rosolie is seen with an anaconda. Discovery Channel

    Eaten Alive doesn’t air on the Discovery Channel until Dec. 7, but PETA already started protesting it a month ago. For the special, naturalist and author Paul Rosolie is supposed to be “consumed” in some way by a giant green anaconda while wearing a “snake-proof” suit built to withstand the anaconda’s natural constriction. In a statement, PETA argued Discovery “tormented” the reptile for ratings. Rosolie told EW he hopes the stunt, which took 60 days to film over the summer, will raise awareness about conserving the Amazon rainforest.

  • 10. Westminster Best in Show Winner

    The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show - 2014
    Sky the Wire Fox Terrier is seen at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Monday, February 11, 2014. Ben Hider—USA Network/NBC/Getty Images

    Sky, a wire fox terrier, was named “best in show” at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Feb. 11. The victory speaks to the pedigree of the breed, which has won the honor 14 times, more than any other breed.

  • 9. Tortoises With iPads

    On Aug. 9, the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado premiered “Moving Ghost Towns,” an exhibit by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang featuring three African sulcata tortoises with iPads mounted on their backs that played video footage of abandoned areas. While the curators said the tortoises are supposed to symbolize longevity in Chinese culture, animal rights advocates said the iPads attached to their backs were symbols of animal cruelty and in “bad taste.” A petition racking up more than 18,000 signatures, plus inclement weather, forced the museum to transfer the reptiles to a conservation area.

  • 8. World Cup Animals

    The armadillo called Norman, Germany's World Cup oracle, approaches the soccer ball representing Germany as he makes his prediction for the team's opening World Cup match against Portugal on June 16, at the zoo in the western city of Muenster
    This armadillo named Norman, Germany's World Cup oracle, approaches the soccer ball representing Germany as he makes his prediction for the team's opening World Cup match against Portugal on June 16, at the zoo in Muenster, Germany on June 13, 2014. Ina Fassbender—Reuters

    “Psychic” animals at zoos and aquariums worldwide “predicted” 2014 World Cup games by gravitating toward a ball or box of food with stickers of different countries’ flags. Oracles included an elephant, lions, donkeys, penguins, an armadillo, a loggerhead turtle and dolphin. Bob, a sloth at the Toronto zoo, correctly “predicted” Germany would beat Portugal in the final, but no single animal became a household name as the late Paul the Octopus did for his 2010 World Cup predictions.

  • 7. Tara the ‘Hero Cat’

    Surveillance video shows a cat named Tara chasing off a dog that was harassing her human, four-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo, in Bakersfield, Calif., on May 13. The story went viral after the boy’s family uploaded the footage to YouTube (more than 23 million views to date), and Scrappy, the eight-month-old labrador-chow mix, was put down. Lauded as “The Hero Cat,” the feline was invited to “throw” the first pitch during a minor league baseball game, and Kern County declared June 3, 2014, as “Tara ‘The Hero Cat’ Day.”

  • 6. Jiff

    Guinness World Records

    Jiff, a Pomeranian known for his cameo in Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” music video and for being Kesha’s “new boyfriend,” became the fastest dog on two paws. He set world records for fastest 10 meters on hind legs (6.56 seconds) and fastest 5 meters on front paws (7.76 seconds) at an Illinois kennel in September.

  • 5. California Chrome

    california chrome kentucky derby
    Victor Espinoza rides California Chrome to a victory during the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky, May 3, 2014 Morry Gash—AP

    On May 3, California Chrome became the first California-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby since Decidedly in 1962. Bred off a $10,000 investment, Chrome was off to the races, set to become the first horse to win the Triple Crown since 1978, but he finished tied for fourth at the Belmont Stakes in June.

  • 4. Giant Panda Triplets

    Panda triplet cubs on display to celebrate their 100-day milestone at the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong province, November 5, 2014 AP

    Rare giant panda triplets born July 29 at China’s Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou made their public debut at the beginning of November after reaching a 100-day milestone. Their mother Ju Xiao, impregnated with sperm from a panda at a Guangzhou zoo in March, gave birth to the two male and one female cubs — reportedly the fourth set of panda triplets born through an artificial breeding program. This set is believed to be the first known to survive.

  • 3. Marius the Giraffe

    DENMARK-ANIMAL-GIRAFFE-OFFBEAT
    Marius the Giraffe is seen at the Copenhagen Zoo in Copenhagen, Denmark on Feb. 7, 2014. Keld Navntoft—AFP/Getty Images

    The Copenhagen Zoo outraged animal lovers when it euthanized a two-year-old giraffe named Marius on Feb. 9, performing the autopsy and feeding his remains to lions as children looked on. While it’s not uncommon for culls to take place at zoos to prevent inbreeding, doing it so publicly may have been uncharacteristic, arguably sparking numerous petitions to save Marius, death threats and calls for boycotts of the zoo, TIME reported. Defending the decision, the zoo’s scientific director Bengt Holst told TIME, “If we’re serious about science, we can’t be led by emotion.”

  • 2. Marnie the Dog

    Small Business Saturday Night
    Marnie the dog attends Small Business Saturday Night at Warm Boutique on November 29, 2014 in New York City. Craig Barritt—Getty Images

    Marnie, a 12-year-old Shih Tzu rescue with a tilted head and an outstretched tongue, only pounced onto the viral scene six months ago, but already boasts nearly 700,000 Instagram followers and photo ops with James Franco, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey and Demi Lovato. Based in New York City, this rising star is the Internet celebrity to watch in 2015.

  • 1. Grumpy Cat

    Today - Season 63
    Grumpy Cat appears on NBC News' "Today" show on Nov. 24, 2014. Peter Kramer—NBC/Getty Images

    Grumpy Cat (real name Tardar Sauce) tops the list for the second year in a row. While most of the animals on this list have already had their 15 minutes of fame, Grumpy Cat’s permanent frown (caused by feline dwarfism) is still making the Internet smile two years after her photo went viral. With the help of Ben Lashes (aka, the ‘world’s first meme manager’) she has gone from Reddit to red carpet—hamming it up at the MTV Movie Awards with a miniature version of Pharrell’s infamous brown hat (ironically, of course), posing with Ryan Seacrest and Jennifer Lopez on American Idol, and “hosting” an episode of WWE Raw. Now boasting corporate sponsorship, two books, a toy line, coffee brand (“Grumppuchino”), a Lifetime movie, and a possible Hollywood movie deal, she won’t be going away anytime soon. After all, she’s supposed to have nine lives, right?

TIME Newsfeed politics

Watch Obama Break Out His Best Dad Dance Moves With Santa

Clearly the President is being a good sport to make sure he gets on Santa's "nice" list

During the National Christmas Tree Lighting at the White House Thursday night, President Barack Obama attempted to keep things light by breaking it down with Santa Claus. He gave ‘ol Saint Nick an enthusiastic high-five, and then the President started grooving, basically moving his hands, which were in a thumbs-up position, from side to side, before dancing his way off the stage.

At one point, you can even see Santa saying something to the President. Maybe it was in response to Obama’s Christmas list, which we imagine is made up of requests like more bipartisan cooperation in Congress, or coal in the stockings of those who have challenged his authority.

MORE: So You Think You Can Dance? Washington Edition:

 

 

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