Archive for January 9th, 2007
Got Electricity...?
Get an eyeful of this 230,000-volt six-story-tall electrical discharge!
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]
(UDATE: Commenter Mike informs us that this is a 94-mile, 500,000-volt line running between Hoover Dam and the Lugo substation near LA. Apparently a circuit failed, and, well…he also used some very complicated electrical engineering-type words but I just couldn’t get past that whole “500,000 volts” thing…sorry, Mike…*grin* Wow!)
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Robot Face Manhole Cover.
We’ve featured Frangipani’s manhole cover photo collection before, but Norwood Matt from Stuff on Fire pointed us to this fantastic one on the left – a robot face manhole cover at Studio Ghibli Museum.
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Boring Postcards.
A Flickr pool of Boring Postcards: Link – via iZ reloaded
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Sweet 'n' Sour Pork Flavoured Stamps
New stamps to celebrate the Chinese year of the pig not only show the animals but also taste of them.
When you scratch the front of the porcine postage stamps, the ‘tasty aroma’ of sweet and sour pork is released. Lick the back and you can taste the famous Chinese dish, too.
The stamps have gone on sale in China ahead of their New Year, which falls on February 18. Link
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Ouija Mouse Pad.
Communicate with the "other side" while browsing the web with this Ouija mouse pad!
Found at Coolest Gadgets, but I think many people got the same idea.
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The Greatest Medical Breakthrough of All Time.
The British Medical Journal is launching a competition to decide the greatest medical breakthrough of all time. Here’s the shortlist:
Anaesthesia, Antibiotics, Chlorpromazine, Computers, DNA, Evidence based medicine, Germ theory, Imaging, Immunology, Oral rehydration therapy, The Pill, Risks of smoking, Sanitation, Tissue culture, Vaccines
The device to the left is an 1850s invention by John Snow: a chloroform inhaler.
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Zapping a CD in a Microwave.
What do you get when you microwave a CD? Apparently this (don’t you try it at home, kids): Link
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RIP Inventor of Instant Noodle.
Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant noodles, has died.
He developed his first instant noodles, Chicken Ramen, in 1958.
The product came out as Japan recovered from the ravages of World War II and began a long period of economic expansion.
It was the masterstroke of providing a waterproof polystyrene container for the noodles that made his Cup Noodle an instant success in 1971.
Nissin has led the global instant noodle industry since then, selling 85.7 billion servings every year, according to Agence France Presse.
His firm also developed a version of Cup Noodle for Japanese astronauts to eat on the space shuttle Discovery in 2005.
Link – via Boing Boing
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A Cute Lion Cub.
Take a breather … here’s a cute lion club chaser for w.y.’s Lion-Faced Man post
That’s Koza, who was a 10-week-old lion cub at the San Diego Wild Animal Park when this pic was taken. The lion cub was actually a twin, but the other one died and because lions are social animals and there was no other lion cubs at the park for Koza to play with, they introduced an Italian mastiff puppy to be its lunch, er playmate.
Link | Gallery – via Cute Overload
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"Lion-faced" Man.
Yang Huimin, a 28-year-old man from Central China’s Henan Province, had what he thought was a pimple on face when he was 4. But during the next 24 years, the small swelling grew bigger and bigger, eventually covering the entire left side of his face.
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For the benefit of all mankind.
Japanese scientists tackle the problem of smelly farts. This video is ten minutes long, but it gets funnier along the way. Would someone please add subtitles to this?! Push play or go to YouTube. -via TV in Japan
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Japan in a Nutshell.
Professor Solomon told us about his free e-book "Japan in a Nutshell." I had fun reading parts of it, like this: what *not* to do in Japan:
Don’t ask for a substitute beverage at the Tea Ceremony
You may NOT request iced tea, decaf, coffee, diet soda, mineral water, or anything else! Tradition demands that each guest be served the same thing: green tea that has been prepared – in the ancient manner – from a powder. Accept this tradition. The tea hut is not a snack bar.Don’t do any of the following with chopsticks
1) spear food with a single chopstick
2) leave chopsticks sticking upright in a bowl of rice (this is done only when offering rice to the spirits of the dead)
3) lay them directly on the table (instead, take the package they came in and fold it into a makeshift rest)
4) hold them behind someone’s head to simulate horns (such antics are acceptable only if a large quantity of sake has been drunk by all)Don’t pour soy sauce on your rice
The illustrator of this book did so, and was gently chided by his host. It was explained to him that a bowlful of rice is complete – is noble in its unadorned state.Don’t use soap in a public bath
A major gaffe.
Don’t mistake lockers at the train station for a capsule hotel
These coin-operated receptacles are for stowing away your luggage – not for spending the night.
Link – Thanks Professor Solomon!
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Tobacco Through The Ages: A Timeline.
1492: Columbus, having sailed the ocean blue, notices Indians smoking and thus becomes the first known European to encounter tobacco. Indians take pains to look "cool" while smoking so as to exact a small measure of revenge for their coming annihilation.
1556: The fashion-forward French become the first Europeans to take to smoking.
1557: By now, European doctors are recommending smoking to combat bad breath and cancer. That’s right: bad breath and cancer.
1607: King James I publishes a scathing indictment of smoking, calling it a "vile custom" and a "filthy novelty" that is "dangerous to the lungs." Tobacco company executives promptly swear before the king’s court that there is absolutely no proof that smoking is vile, filthy, a custom, or a novelty, let alone dangerous to the lungs.
1610: Sir Francis Bacon notes that it is kind of hard to quit smoking.
We’re just going to skip ahead here 384 years to:
Photo: Stephen Crowley
1994: Seven tobacco executives swear before the United States Congress that nicotine is not addictive.
Now, back to our timeline:
1624: Pope Urban VII threatens to excommunicate those who snort snuff because sneezing is too similar to orgasm. (Really.)
1724: Pope Benedict XIII, a smoker, overturns Urban’s ban on tobacco.
1761: British scientist John Hill publishes the first study to point out that ever since people started snorting snuff, there seems to be a lot of nose cancer floating around.
1776: American tobacco is used as collateral for French loans, helping to pay for the American Revolution.
1890: Per capita, American adults chew three pounds of tobacco annually.
1912: Dr. Isaac Adler publishes research that, for the first time, argues strongly that smoking may cause lung cancer. Tobacco company executives race to Dr. Adler’s house and swear on a stack of Bibles that smoking does no such thing.
From: Tobacco Documents
1921: Tobacco marketing has kicked into high gear: R. J. Reynolds spends $8 million on advertising, promoting their slogan "I’d Walk a Mile for a Camel" (And, Boy, Would I Be Out of Breath).
1940: Per capita, American adults smoke 2,558 cigarettes per year (more than 7 per day).
1950: Three major studies definitely prove that smoking causes lung cancer.
1963: After trying out a tattooed sailor, Philip Morris settles on a cowboy as the Marlboro Man. Beginning in 1975, the Marlboro Man is played by Wayne McLaren, who dies in 1992 at the age of 51 from lung cancer.
1966: First Surgeon General’s Warnings appear on cigarette packages in the United States.
1971: TV and radio tobacco ads for cigarettes disappear as a result of 1969 legislation.
2004: Despite extensive anti smoking efforts, tobacco smoke still kills about 440,000 Americans every year.
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From mental_floss’ book Scatterbrained, published in Neatorama with permission.
Be sure to visit mental_floss‘ extremely entertaining website and blog!
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Matrix Bathrobe, Inspired by the Twirling Dervishes.
Takashi Yamada of Yanko Design wrote about this new "Matrix" bathrobe designed by Bart Lens:
The pattern is based on the movement of dancing Dervishes, or the fighting
matrix: when you pirouette you get the same effect. The collar is one large,
rolled-up bath towel. The belt is attached so that there is no chance of
misplacing it. Everything is a little oversized, even the sleeves, which you
can double back completely. The result is a dashing, hussar-like appearance.
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Nuclear Shadows in Hiroshima.
This bridge, located about 900 meters from the nuclear explosion in Hiroshima, Japan, got a permanent “nuclear shadow” of the handrails.
Wikipedia explains why:
Since thermal radiation travels in straight lines from the fireball (unless scattered) any opaque object will produce a protective shadow. If fog or haze scatters the light, it will heat things from all directions and shielding will be less effective. Massive spread of radiation would also occur, which would be at the mercy of the wind.
It seems that they have also found shadows of people but not their bodies (which were instantly vaporized by the heat of the explosion.)
Nukeworker tells us more about the nuclear effects, with some more images of this great human loss in Hiroshima.
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About as Close to The Jetsons Car as You Can Currently Get.
It’s called the Cri-Cri (That’s French for “cricket”, folks,)–and at all of about 13 feet long and boasting a whopping 16-foot wingspan, it’s also the World’s Smallest Twin-Engine Airplane! Not surprisingly, the Cri-Cri is exceptionally acrobatic, capable of performing a full roll in less than a second. Alas, it seats only one (brave, somewhat crazy and undeniably skilled) person…so no taking your buddies up for flights over the local nudist colony…
Even more impressive, is the fact that French pilot Nicholas Charmont decided to up the ante–by refitting his Cri-Cri with jet engines!
Link to the YouTube clip above: Link
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PopSci Science Predictions for 2007.
From Popular Science, an article about science in 2007. Here’s their entry on the next generation nuclear reaction design:
This May, however, the Department of Energy will select one of three new designs for a truly next-generation nuclear plant, with the goal of building a commercially viable version by 2021. Each of the
proposed designs would generate temperatures in excess of 1,650°F—hot enough for efficient hydrogen production and, potentially, to ignite a hydrogen economy.
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When Theme Park Character Attacks ...
From the website:
Home video of a costumed Tigger character apparently punching a boy in the face and knocking him back at a Walt Disney World theme park has prompted an Orange County Sheriff’s investigation into the incident and led to the suspension of the cast member, according to a Local 6 News report.
The Monaco family of New Hampshire said they were visiting a Disney theme park and posing for a photo with Tigger when the character landed a hard punch.
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Flying Spaghetti Monster Appears on Busted LCD Screen.
Neatorama reader Pam Drouin sent in this pic:
My iBook’s LCD screen broke, and the result appears to bear the image of the Flying Spaghetti Monster!
Link [Flickr] – Thanks Pam!
If you don’t know what FSM is all about, you must have been living under a rock. Check it out here: Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster | Wikipedia Article.
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