Yep – that’s what working for the man feels like! See more of Michael’s cool illustrations at his website: Link (via Cthulhu ITP)

BuckyBalls Magnetic Toys are 216 rare earth magnet balls that can be shaped and molded into virtually any shape.

Tear 'em apart and snap 'em back together in unlimited ways for hours of fun! Watch the video for a quick demo of what BuckyBalls can do.

Remember to get two for twice the fun! Link

I can’t say it any better:

A textbook used at schools in the Indian state of Rajasthan compares housewives to donkeys, and suggests the animals make better companions as they complain less and are more loyal to their "masters," The Times of India reported Tuesday.

"A donkey is like a housewife … In fact, the donkey is a shade better, for while the housewife may sometimes complain and walk off to her parents’ home, you’ll never catch the donkey being disloyal to his master," the newspaper reported, quoting a Hindi-language primer meant for 14-year-olds.

The textbook was approved by the government – predictably, controversy ensued.

Link

Mark Jenkins creates sculptures out of … packing tape! Check out his artwork here: Link (via Belhoste)

Ryan Brooks made this fantastic clock with large Nixie tubes.

What’s a nixie tube? Wikipedia explains:

"A nixie tube is an electronic device for displaying numerals or other information, in the form of a glass tube containing multiple cathodes and a wire mesh anode, filled with neon and often a little mercury and/or argon (a Penning mixture, for lower striking voltage) at a small fraction of atmospheric pressure. Although it resembles a vacuum tube in appearance, its operation does not depend on heating of a cathode to cause it to emit electrons (the thermionic effect). It is therefore called a cold-cathode tube, a form of gas filled tube, a variant of neon lamp."

Link

Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) was a German biologist who drew beautiful illustrations of weird animals, plants, and micro-organisms in his work Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature).

Haeckel’s a flamboyant and interesting man: he promoted Charles Darwin’s work in Germany, but at the same time he often fudged the details of his work to fit many of his hare-brained theories.

Unfortunately, Haeckel also promoted the idea of "biogenic theory", where he postulated that there are "primitive races" that require the supervision and protection of a more "mature" societies.

Link: Art Forms of Nature | Wikipedia entry on Haeckel (via Mad Professor)

David Maisel took these haunting photos of copper canisters containing the forgotten cremated remains of mental patients at the Oregon State Insany Asylum who died at the hospital from 1883 to the 1970s.

As I was setting up to photograph in a storage building that houses the cremated remains, prisoners from the local penitentiary were called in to clean up some of the mess in the adjacent hallway, crematorium, and autopsy room. A young male prisoner leaned into the room lined with the copper cans, scanned the room, and said in a low tone, "The library of dust.”

Link (via Boing Boing)

A couple highlights from Science-A-Go-Go’s List:

1. He Liked His Feet Naked
"When I was young, I found out that the big toe always ends up making a hole in the sock," he once said. "So I stopped wearing socks." Einstein was also a fanatical slob, refusing to "dress properly" for anyone. Either people knew him or they didn’t, he reasoned – so it didn’t matter either way

3. He Was A Rotten Speller
Although he lived for many years in the United States and was fully bilingual, Einstein claimed never to be able to write in English because of "the treacherous spelling". He never lost his distinctive German accent either, summed up by his catch-phrase "I vill a little t’ink".

10. His Cat Suffered Depression
Fond of animals, Einstein kept a housecat which tended to get depressed whenever it rained. Ernst Straus recalls him saying to the melancholy cat: "I know what’s wrong, dear fellow, but I don’t know how to turn it off."

Check out the complete list: Link (via RyanDavis.Net)

Ann makes awesome animal robot sculptures from broken electronics. See more of her work here: Link (via Cthulhu ITP)