Archive for November, 2006
Spelling with Tabs.
Neatorama reader Martin suggested this image, where favicons on tabs are used to spell a message: Link - Thanks Martin!
Why Don’t We Do It In Our Sleeves?
Dr. Ben Lounsbury (an Ear Nose and Throat physician) suggests that if we don’t have a tissue, we should cough into our sleeves instead of hands. Why? So we don’t spread diseases… (the video is a hoot!)
Link Hit Play or go to Link [Google Video] | Coughsafe website - Thanks Ben Batschelet!
Rhinoceros Party of Canada.
Here’s a "neat" political post: the Rhinoceros Party of Canada [wiki], which was an actual registered (satirical) political party from the 1960s to the 1990s:
Operating within the Canadian tradition of political satire, the Rhinoceros Party’s basic credo, their so-called primal promise, was "a promise to keep none of our promises." They then promised outlandishly impossible schemes designed to amuse and entertain the voting public.
The party claimed that the rhinoceros was an appropriate symbol for a political party since politicians, by nature, are "thick-skinned, slow-moving, dim-witted, can move fast as hell when in danger, and have large, hairy horns growing out of the middle of their faces."
The party was dissolved in 1993, but it’s trying to make a comeback today: Link | Wikipedia Entry - Thanks DJ!
Nutcracker Suite
Played entirely on bicycle parts by Johnny Random. Follow the link and listen to it.
I took the image from The Super Mario Nutcracker.
Theatres on Postcards
A really huge collection of postcards based on photos of theatres around the world. Even there’s one from Oviedo.
Toast Printer
Following the “can’t belive they’ve invented it”… Theres a gizmo called Zuse toaster that can print whatever image you like on your toasts.
The Self Stirring Mug
The Self Stirring Mug:
And The Self Stirring Mug Revealed:
Where to buy?
World’s Oldest Computer
The Antikythera mechanism was made in the first years of the first century b.C. by the Romans.
Quote:
For years, it was taken as an astronomical showpiece, a navigational instrument and a puzzle concerning astronomical and mathematical knowledge. However, now it is regarded as the ever first analogue computer. This instrument shows the sophistication and exuberance of the ancient.
Alexander Calder’s Tiny Circus.
Alexander Calder [wiki] created these fantastically detailed kinetic sculptures he called "circque de Calder."
Carlos Vilardebo’s 1961 film of Alexander Calder’s "circus," an intricately assembled performance piece played out by handmade characters including jugglers, sword swallowers, clowns, and animals. These figures, crafted from a collection of "cork, wire, wood, yarn, paper, string, and cloth," were each assigned a series of movements and manipulated by the artist to perform specific circus acts. With performances held at various locations in Paris and New York through the mid 1930s, Calder’s circus helped to establish him in avante-garde circles. Jean Cocteau, Joan Miró, Fernand Léger, Piet Mondrian, Le Corbusier, Thomas Wolfe, and André Kertész were among those who saw the celebrated Cirque Calder over the years.
Can’t see the clip? Here’re the links: clip 1, clip 2, clip 3, clip 4 [YouTube] - via haute*nature
Do Humans Have a Compass in Their Nose?
Stephen Juan, an anthropologist from the University of Sydney, wrote that Caltech scientists discovered that humans possess crystals of magnetite in the ethmoid bone, just behind the nose:
Magnetite helps orientation and direction finding in animals. It no doubtingly helps migratory species migrate successfully by allowing them to draw upon the earth’s magnetic fields. In the case, when it comes to humans, magnetite makes the ethmoid bone sensitive to the earth’s magnetic field and helps one’s sense of direction. Some have even suggested that this "compass" was helpful in human evolution as it made migration and hunting easier.
Aram Bartholl’s Giant Google Maps Marker.
I suppose it was only time before someone, like Aram Bartholl, make a giant Google Maps marker as an art project: Link via error101
Fashion Forward Mule Deer.
He made it out of an old volleyball net. Fetching, don’t you think? Via Bits & Pieces
Cooking on the edge.
Some people (myself included) think the edge of the brownie is the best part. You can have more edge with the Baker’s Edge, a pan that gives all your brownies an edge! I believe it should reduce baking time, also. Link -via Dustbury
Google Christmas card.
What do you have to do to get on Google’s Christmas card mailing list? Shawn Hogan describes the gift he received, a digital photo frame. I feel a little jealous, although I much appreciate the t-shirt I got from my boss. Link -via Arbroath
Wii have a problem.
It looks like an epidemic of busted screens for users of Nintendo’s new Wii game system, although the ratio of such incidents to Wii systems sold has not been determined at this point. The website Wii Have a Problem is collecting cases of Wii-related accidents. Under the subject of health and safety precautions, Nintendo says:
1. Wear the wrist strap.
2. Hold the Wii Remote firmly and do not let go.
Link
Guessing Game: What Is It?
This week’s What is it? and Neatorama collaboration is this strange-looking box. Guess what it is and win a Neatorama T-Shirt. More clues at What Is It?
Rules: first person who correctly identify the object wins. Please post no URL links in the comments. See last week’s guessing game winners.
Update 12/04/06: It’s a voting box (or a blackball box). Congratulations to Kevin Register for the right answer.
Uranium Glassware.
Radioactivity? What radioactivity? Before scientists understand the dangers of radioactivity, uranium was used to color glasswares glassware!
Uranium was first used to color glass in the 1830s and it has continued to be used for this purpose with the exception of a fifteen year (or so) period beginning in World War II. Prior to World War II, natural uranium was used, but when Vaseline glass production resumed in 1959, the switch was made to depleted uranium (DU). All of the items shown here contain natural uranium except the tube on the right which contains depleted uranium. At present (2004), a few companies in the U.S. are still making Vaseline glass (e.g., Boyd Crystal Art Glass, Mosser, Summit Glass and Fenton Glass), but it is exclusively of the decorative variety. No dinnerware is being made.
Buckley et al (1980) estimated that there were at least 4,160,000 pieces of decorative uranium glass produced in the US between 1958 and 1978 and 15,000 drinking glasses from 1968 to 1972.
"Truth is Constant," the Periodic Table of Elements of Kansas.
Found at the reDiscovery Institute, a tongue-in-cheek spoof of Discovery Institute (which espouses Intelligent Design [wiki]).
Snowman Light Bulb Ornament.
When your light bulb die, don’t throw it out - make it into a cute snowman ornament instead! Link - via Craftzine
Dunkleosteus terrelli: Fish with the Meanest Bite Ever.
Scientists who studied the fossilized skulls of Dunkleosteus terrelli said that this fish, which grew to 33 feet long, weighed 4 tons and lived 400 million years ago, has the most powerful jaw of any fish that ever lived:
They found that the voracious predator’s jaws snapped shut with 11,000 lbs of biting power. Channelled into the four bladed fang tips, the force was concentrated to exert an incredible 80,000 lbs per square inch.
A Civil War by Any Other Name …
What’s the definition of a civil war? According this article in the New York Times, the "scholarly" definition of a civil war has 2 main criteria:
The first says that the warring groups must be from the same country and fighting for control of the political center, control over a separatist state or to force a major change in policy. The second says that at least 1,000 people must have been killed in total, with at least 100 from each side.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said that Iraq is, indeed, in a civil war. President Bush said no, and in a rare agreement, former President Jimmy Carter agreed with him (or at least he said "not yet").
Iraqis, on the other hand, said "whatever you call it, we’re scared." What do you think?
Another UPA Classic: Gerald McBoing-Boing (1951)
Like that Christopher Crumpet clip? Check this one out: Gerald McBoing-Boing [wiki], an animated cartoon based on a story by Dr. Seuss. This clip won UPA an Academy Award in 1951.
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]
Classic UPA Cartoon: Christopher Crumpet (1953).
This rare short cartoon clip, produced by United Productions of America (UPA) [wiki], was drawn by Bill Melendez, one of the illustrators of Charlie Brown cartoon series.
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Sandbox
The all-chrome BMW.
If you don’t like the look of your car, you can have it redone, IF you can afford it. A BMW owner in Canada had his E46 M3 tricked out in many ways, including an all-chrome finish. I’d bet he has a covered garage to store it in, too. Link |more chrome cars on Neatorama
Comment (5)
email
this 
+digg 
+del.icio.us 
+reddit 
+SUGravity chair.
This chair is called the Stokke Gravity™ balans®. From the website:
From a comfortable working position to a reclined position and a feeling of almost weightless. The sloping seat allows wider space between the thigh and the upper part of the body, while the leg cushions prevent sliding forward when working at a table. When leaning back your legs will be lifted higher than your head providing you with the best position for relaxation and well-being!
After seeing the “functionality†demonstration, I want to try this out! Link
Heifer Intl: Give the Gift of … Livestock!
Give a man a fish, you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you’ll feed him for a lifetime. So, how about if you give a man a cow? Sheep? Bees? Or other farm animals?
That, in fact, is the premise of Heifer International. This charitable organization provides livestock (and training) to small-scale farmers and communities worldwide.
The Liberal Avenger is organizing a drive to buy an "Ark":
So - between LA and some activities my family and friends are engaging in here locally, we are collecting money to donate en masse to Heifer International. The gift we’re shooting for is called the “Ark” which at $5000 buys cows, oxen, beehives, sheep, water buffalo, goats, camels, llamas, donkeys, ducks, guinea pigs, pork-pigs, rabbits, geese and chickens for poor rural people around the world - including Appalachian regions in the United States.
Links: Liberal Avenger’s Heifer Fundraiser | Heifer Intl. Website - Thanks Adam!
Jaren Goh’s ROLLERtoaster.
Singaporean designer Jaren Goh said:
… we have evolved from cumbersome cellphones to the slim and chic cellphones. Bulky set top box television to the desirable slender plasma screen. We have leaped tremendous folds in pursuing better design for these products and yet why products like the toasters have not progressed much in the past 80 years? Could we perhaps design a toaster that is sleek, compact and modern? Or perhaps new ways of toasting bread?
So, Jaren created his award-winning toaster: the ROLLERtoaster. Link - via Core77 Design Studio Bullitts - Thanks Shihui!
Howls Moving Castle
The little monster even has a tongue in his mouth.
World’s Biggest Chocolate Egg
After it was done it was hardly eatable because it was made outside. It was made out of 50000 bars.
Paris by Night Panoramic Image
Huge image with a lot of detail showing Paris city by night.
It’s 15000 pixels wide and the server may be a bit slow.
Link - Via Metafilter
