This image of the Crater Galle, the "happy face" on Mars, was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft.

Link (via digg)

The awesome Make: Blog has this crazy Rube Goldbergian contraption to make ramen, made by (who else?) the Japanese.

Link

This is just so sad: 6-year-old boy Robert Turner called 911 for help when he found his mother Sherel Turner lying unconscious on the kitchen floor.

Instead of sending help, the 911 operator chided Robert for prank calling and the mother, unfortunately, died.

"Then I had felt her tummy. She wasn’t breathing. Then I had called 911," said Robert. "I told them to send an emergency truck right now."

911 Operator: "911. What’s the problem?"

Robert: "My mom has passed out."

The 911 operator, however, did not take him seriously and told him to stop playing on the phone, the station reported.

911 Operator: "Where’s the grownups at?"

Robert: (Inaudible)

911 Operator: "Let me speak to her before I send the police over there."

"I tried to tell them she wouldn’t talk," said Robert.

Robert: (Inaudible)

911 Operator: "I don’t care. You shouldn’t be playing on the phone. Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble."

Robert: "Ugh!" (Hangs up.)

…

Officials said the 911 operator will be disciplined, but because of her years of service she will not be fired.

Just a tragedy. Link

If you need an authentic vintage vampire slaying kit, there’s one for sale on eBay right now! From the website:

The items enclosed in the box are as followed: one wooden hammer (6.5 inches long), four stakes 6 inches-each) — the wooden hammer has applied a small holy cross, same as the stakes; the lower side containing: prayer book, crucifix, knife and eight bottles with Pamant (holy soil), Agheazma (holy water), Mir (anointing oil), Tamaie (holy incense), Usturoi (garlic), red serum, blue serum and secret potion. We believe a romanian monk from Transylvania has created this box during the period of 1870-1890 .

The old Prayer Book is old romanian language (chirilica), 19th century-hard covers. There is a mith saying whoever is able to read from this Book, he will be able to win the fight with the dark forces, demons, vampires and other demonic creatures.

Some vampire experts claim that kits such as the present lot were very common in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries among travelers to Eastern Europe, particularly the Carpathians, and could be requested from the concierge desk of their hotels. Others claim that the kits originated in twentieth century America and are nothing more than romantic curiosities.

Link (via Boing Boing)

Checkout Lockwasher’s Flickr photostream of cute robots made from junks. Link (via Metafilter)

Take a look at Nathan’s funny "art": Link

This is Rachel Plefger’s Psy-Shirt. It is a witty shirt, indeed – found at MadeinDesign (via diabless5)

From the website:

In January 2000 an oil spill near Phillip Island, Australia, threatened the tiny penguins who live there….

Rescue workers at the Phillip Island Nature Park tried different ways to keep the penguins warm and to stop them from swallowing the deadly oil. Dressing the penguins in doll sweaters proved to be the most successful technique.

Soon, news of the penguins’ need for sweaters spread via the Internet. Knitters in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States downloaded penguin sweater patterns and set to work. Some got very excited, adding special touches, like little bows. Others knitted sweaters in the colors of their favorite sports teams.

Link | See also: Link

Take a look at the team’s snow (and sand) sculptures – very cool. Link (Thanks Peter Vogelaar!)

Many intriguing photos at James’ website: Link (via Jaf Project)

Popaganda, the Art and Subversion of Ron English, is worth a look see: Link

From the website:

In an unusual alliance, the makers of Wonder Bread and the Conservative Conservation Coalition (CCC) unveiled plans for a project the two groups claim will one day revolutionize energy production in the United States.

The novel approach is based on two common but previously unexploited natural laws. One is a well-known form of Murphy’s Law which states that when toast is dropped, it always lands buttered side down. The other law states that when a cat falls, it always lands on its feet. These two laws are set in opposition to each other by attaching a buttered piece of toast to a cat’s back, buttered side up. If the cat is then suspended in the air, the two laws cause the cat to perpetually rotate. By building a device to hold the cat and capture this rotating energy, enough force is harnessed to drive an electric generator.

Link (via Fastback)