If it were possible to crossbreed actual cattle with plush toy cows, you might end up with something like this. These awesome cows are completely real. They aren’t wearing fuzzy pajamas or photoshopped. They also aren’t one specific breed of cow. They’re fancy show calves:

“They are show calves, a cross between two different high-quality breeds, bred for bovine show-business. That means that apart from their genetic characteristics, owners go out of their way to make sure the cows look their best. Special feeding, basic manners training and grooming are all part of the show calf world, and believe me when I tell you a lot of effort goes into styling cattle…. Show calf trimming is also considered an art form among cattle enthusiasts, as it gives the animals that Photoshop-like boxy shape.”

There you have it. These cows are bred, fed, groomed, primped, and preened to look fluffy and fabulous. We sure would like to pet one.

Photos via Lautner Farms

[via Oddity Central]

Who’s ready for another Geyser of Awesome field trip? This time we want to go to the Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaidō, Japan. And to get there we want to ride the Asahiyama Zoo train because the seats are furry and shaped like animals - two-headed animals with wide, staring eyes. It’s just the right combination of cute and creepy.

[via Neatorama]

British photographer Tom Broadbent has been working on an awesome on-going series of portraits, entitled At Home With the Furries, for which he photographs members of the Furry subculture as they go about their daily lives. Dragons do their laundry, gryphons eat cereal for breakfast, gargoyles take showers and so on. 

“Broadbent captures some of these “furries” at home, engaging in the same mundane tasks we’re all familiar with — just a little bit more fuzzily.”

The photos you see here are just some of our favourites. Head over to Flavorwire to view more and then visit Tom Broadbent’s website to check out the rest.

The love of a child for their favourite stuffed animal is a pretty awesome thing. 

For a touching series entitled MuchLoved, photographer Mark Nixon shot portraits of stuffed animals that have clearly been just that, very well loved. So much so that they are showing signs of wear if not outright falling apart. Here you see Flopsie the rabbit, Gerry the giraffe, and teddy bears Louis and Ted.

There are thirty animals in the series and each one is accompanied by an interesting backstory which you can read on Mark Nixon’s website. The MuchLoved series is on exhibit at the Mark Nixon / STUDIO in Dublin, Ireland through December 1, 2012.

[via Laughing Squid]

Aren’t these some of the most darling hostile extraterrestrial cyborgs you’ve ever seen? They probably even say, “Exterminate!” in an adorable manner.

These plush Dalek baby toys are made by Fassbaby who uses 100% acrylic baby yarn, and then stuffs them with fiberfill and two jingle bells that sound when shaken. (Now we’re wondering what it would sound like if you could shake a life-size Dalek. Probably not nearly as pleasant.) Fassbaby’s Dalek toys are 8 inches tall and cute enough to charm even the fussiest future Time Lord.

These Dalek plushies are available via Dorrit’s Dollhouse on Etsy. Price varies depending on their size. “Grab ‘em up before Davros rises from the ashes of the Crucible, and commands them to exterminate us all.”

[via Technabob]

German designer Silvia Wald runs an unusual sort of butcher shop, both online and in Berlin, Germany, called Aufschnitt, which is the term German for cold cuts. Aufschnitt offers an assortment of “meats” that are all made out of fabric:

“The series mimics everyday slicing meat and meat products in traditional sewing techniques. The attractive range of products ranging from small Ansteckwürstchen to elaborately crafted cuts and ham cushions. The textile sausages are a tactile pleasure. Each specialty fabric is specially selected to handle its properties to the “illusion of flesh” to make it perfect. Slicing wants a plush shopping experience.”

Silvia, who happens to be vegetarian, handmakes all of the products herself using traditional sewing techniques and a variety of materials such as cotton stretch velvet, lycra, wool, and microfibre. Everything looks good enough to eat, but none of it is actually edible. However many of the fake meats work well as comfy pillows, cushions, and neck-rests. Silvia also makes an assortment of aprons and even a plush butcher shop scale.

An engineer of clothing technology, Silvia began creating her faux-meat wares as a small project back in 2009. After discovering how popular her sausages were she branched out into other sorts of textile foods such as ham shanks, salami, cured serrano ham, and even mouthwatering mortadela. With a vastly expanded range of products, Silvia opened her awesome little butcher shop in Berlin where she sells her plush meat creations to carnivores, omnivores, and vegetarians alike.

According to Silvia, her most popular product is the large ham, “which people like to use as clubs in pillow fights.” She also says her favourite clients are children who can’t resist trying to take a bite out of her products just to make sure they aren’t actually edible. They do look awfully tasty, so we can hardly blame them for trying.

[via Oddity Central]