Archive for March 9th, 2007
Create Your Own Amazing Wooden Clock.
Clayton Boyer designs and builds unique custom clocks, such as the Nautilus above, and sells plans to over ten of them. Each clock is handmade almost entirely from wood, including the gears. He typically tries to inject some fun and personality into the clocks, as is apparent from his description of the Nautilus:
“This beautiful clock beats about 90 times a minute, and ‘tinkles’ the hour by lifting, and then dropping the curved, horizontal arm, thus causing the chimes to sound. I wanted to create a striking clock that didn’t intrude upon ones conciousness, where the hourly strike is more of a happy afterthought.”
More pictures, and plans for the DIYer types, are available at Clayton Boyer’s Clocks.
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Bizarro: Old Testament Cards.
Here’s this week’s collaboration with Bizarro comic – for more, check out Dan Piraro’s website: Bizarro
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Toronto Zoo's Bugzibitz.
Here’s a funny short clip about "bugzibitz," an exhibit about the world’s most talented bugs at the Toronto Zoo.
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Rats Know That They Don't Know.
Jonathon Crystal, a psychologist at the University of Georgia, found out that rats are capable of a form of complex thinking previously attributed only to humans and primates: they can think about what they know or do not know:
Humans are often aware of what knowledge they possess or lack and what they are or are not capable of.
"Imagine, for instance, that you’re a student going into a classroom to take an exam," Crystal said. "You will often have some idea how well you’re going to do on the test. You know before you answer the questions whether you know or don’t know the answers. This pretty complex form of cognition, known as metacognition, is at the heart of the human condition."
Here’s the experiment:
Rats were given a choice to take a test. If they bailed out of the test by poking their noses into one hole, they received a small reward of food pellets. If they opted in by nudging their snouts into another hole, passing the test resulted in a large reward of pellets, while failure yielded nothing.
The test played the rats noises that were either short (between 2 and 3.6 seconds) or long (between 4.4 and 8 seconds). The rodents then had to classify the recent noise as either long or short by pressing one of two levers. This choice was relatively easy if the noise was either very short or very long—for instance, 2 seconds or 8 seconds. However, the decision was far harder if the noise was easily confused as either short or long—for instance, 4.4 seconds.
The scientists found the rats appeared capable of judging whether they had enough information to pass the test. The more difficult the test was, the more often rodents opted to decline the test.
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Bonk, the Headbutting Caveman.
Bonk, the headbutting cave dude from the defunct console system TurboGrafx-16, is making a comeback to Nintendo’s Wii.
Buzznett has dug up a 90’s ad for the bald caveman with an unusually large weapon (that’s his head, you perv!) Link
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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 |
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Take the Elevator to Talk to God!
Neatorama reader Alex wrote:
The priests of Epiphany cathedral (Yelohovo church in Moscow) have been taking the lift to go up to God for several years, since the architectural monument of 18 century has been modernized.
Link | The lift company’s website [in Russian] – Thanks Alex!
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R2D2 Postal Mailbox.
The US Postal Service will help Star Wars celebrate its 30th anniversary by rolling out a cool R2D2 mailboxes! Link – via Boing Boing and OhGizmo
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The Optimus Prime Voice Changer Helmet.
The Optimus Prime Voice Changer Helmet. It does great things for your voice, but you can forget about invincibility, or turning into a truck. Coming soon from Hasbro, to a comic shop near you, but no price as yet.
As seen on Gizmodo.
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South Pole Telescope.
The largest telescope ever is up at the South Pole, funded by the National Science Foundation. The South Pole Telescope is designed to measure the properties of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) light that was originally created billions of years ago in the infant universe. It will search for galaxy clusters in order to try to confirm the existence of Dark Energy and find out something about its properties. Scientists hope this may lead to new understanding of the age, nature, and future of the universe.
Why put a telescope at the South Pole? Because 1. the dry conditions make the atmosphere extremely clear, 2. the altitude is two miles high, putting the South Pole above the sea’s vapor level, and 3. the lack of sunlight in the polar winter makes it easier to search the sky. Link -via Metafilter
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K-I-S-S-I-N-G: Tidbits from the History of Kissing.
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No one really knows where the first smooch came from. One less-than-romantic theory suggests it began with ancient mothers passing chewed-up food to babies, which is 1) not sexy, and 2) gross. And kissing isn’t universal: People in Japan and Siberia only started kissing relatively recently, and some sub-Saharan African societies still don’t do it. *** A thousand years ago, ceremonial kisses were much more common than today. There was the holy kiss of peace, exchanged to symbolize unity in Christ; the kiss of veneration, bestowed on holy objects; you even got a kiss when you received an academic degree. By 18th century, however, much of that ceremonial pecking had been replaced by handshakes, oaths, and written documents. One ritual kiss is still as popular as ever: that of couples sealing their marriage vows. *** The erotic significance of the kiss didn’t come dominant in Europe until the 17th century. Not coincidentally, that was around the same time that dentists in France first promoted the use of toothbrushes. (Yes, the French were on the cutting edge of dental hygiene!) Before toothbrushes, the average European mouth was such a grim place that 16th-century maids often carried clove-studded apples when courting, insisting their suitors take a bite before attempting a kiss. *** German psychology professor Onur Güntürkün spent two years watching people make out in public parks and airports, eventually observing 124 “scientifically valid” kisses. He concluded that people are twice as likely to tilt their heads to the right when kissing than to the left. What’s the deal? Turns out our kissing proclivities are determined way in advance of the junior prom: According to Güntürkün, the direction you turn your head while in the womb will likely be the direction you tilt your head when kissing. ***
In 2004, Indonesia passed laws that ban not only public nudity, erotic dancing, and “sex parties,” but also punish public kissing with up to five years in prison. Flashing carries a stiff penalty, too: “I see London, I see France …” but if Indonesian police see your underpants, you could be fined up to $25,000 … *** Behind the Kiss: Famous Silver Screen Smooches Revealed
You’re in the Army Now *** At 48 minutes, Andy Warhol’s experimental film is easily the longest picture about kissing: It consists of one static shot, twelve real-life couples, four minutes each. And while Warhol’s weird, obsessive focus is almost unwatchable, we’re still waiting for his sequel, Second Base. |
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The article above, from mental_floss’ book Scatterbrained. is published in Neatorama with permission. Be sure to visit mental_floss‘ extremely entertaining website and blog!
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Kissing has been banned repeatedly. Roman emperor Tiberius outlawed kissing in public ceremonies, hoping it would help curb the spread of herpes. In 16th-century Naples kissing was punishable by death, and in 1439 Henry VI banned it to combat the plague. 
Gone with the Wind
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VideoSift: Viral Videos Channel.
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We’ve checked out VideoSift’s geek, politics, cute, and comedy channels before – today, let’s go with the viral video channel:
For more the web’s most interesting videos, check out: VideoSift. |
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Scott Rench's Ceramic Artwork.
Scott Rench prints computer generated images using ceramic glaze (instead of ink) onto the canvas of a slab of clay, which is then fired in a kiln. The result? A beautiful work of art that will stand the test of time both indoor and out! Link – Thanks Scott!
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Marc Sky's Dollar Origami.
Dollar artist Marc Sky has created dozens of cool origami sculptures of dollar bills! This one above is titled "March of the Penguins." Link – Thanks Rob!
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Samuel L. Jackson Pulp Fiction Dialogue Represented Using Typography
Is it possible to represent a complete dialogue of Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction using only typography?
Hit the Play button to find out or follow the link to a higher resolution video.
Link [Quicktime HR video] – via Chaosware Unlimited (warning: strong language).
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