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We think we live in such modern times, with fabulous inventions that make our lives easier and provide great convenience. But some of those inventions might not be as modern as we think. Take a look at these five inventions that may have been around for thousands of years before we “invented” them.
A jet engine in the first century B.C.? Perhaps. A jet engine in the first century A.D.? Definitely. The aeolipile is a rocket style jet engine that spins when it’s heated and is the first-ever device known to use steam for a rotary motion. Although it was “invented” in 1698 by Thomas Savery, the original may have been invented in the first century B.C. Roman architect Vitruvius’ De architectura, a work on then-modern architecture written around 25 B.C., includes a device called the aeolipile. However, it has never been verified that his aeolipile (which translates to “ball of Aeolus,” who was the god of the wind, so it’s kind of a generic name that could apply to various inventions) was the aeolipile that we know existed in the first century.
That’s the aeolipile that Hero of Alexander wrote about, including a detailed description of how to construct one. The invention credit is usually given to Hero instead of Vitruvius.
That Hero was a pretty smart guy. He also invented the vending machine long before we were prying Kit Kats out of them in our office break rooms. Hero rigged it so that when a coin was dropped into a slot, it fell on a pan, and the weight of it on the pan triggered a lever that opened up a valve that let some holy water flow out to the person who dropped the coin in. The pan kept tilting until the coin fell off of it, and when that happened the valve closed and the water would no longer dispense. The first modern-day vending machine came about in the 1880s, so you could say that Hero was well ahead of his time.
We’ve long thought that the first astronomical clocks didn’t show up until the 14th century in Europe. That all changed in 1900 when a group of divers discovered shipwreck thought to date back to 150-100 BC. A lot of the loot was stuff you might expect from that era – statues, busts, instruments and utensils. But then one of the divers spotted what looked like a gear stuck in a rock, which was eventually found to be just one of many pieces of the same thing. Upon closer inspection and much analysis (decades of analysis, in fact), it was determined that the gear and its 80+ other pieces were part of a complicated mechanism that precisely calculated the position of the sun, moon, planets and other astronomical information. It was capable of predicting an eclipse right down to the hour that it would occur. Astronomer John Seiradakis has called it the “pocket calculator of its time.” Its construction was so perfect and exact that many historians and archaeologists believe that the Antikythera Mechanism was just one of many similar devices – we just haven’t discovered the other ones yet.
Here’s curator Michael Wright with his working replica of the Antikythera Mechanism – it’s pretty interesting stuff. Photo from the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project.
We’re not sure about this one – it’s just a theory. But there is some speculation that the ancient Egyptians may have understood how to harness electricity. The entire argument is based on stone reliefs inside the Dendera Temple complex in Egypt. What the etching appears to depict, to some, are bulbs, filaments and insulators. It also looks like a lotus flower and a snake. The argument could probably stop there – obviously humans are programmed to spot patterns in things and could easily see a now-everyday object in an ancient etching when it’s really not there. But English scientist J.N. Lockyer (he discovered helium) pointed out that the tombs were conspicuously soot-free – if Egyptians were using candles or torches, there would no doubt be some evidence of it on the walls or ceilings. But there is no evidence. A lot of people believe that the Egyptians used a series of mirrors to reflect the sunlight into the temple, but others say that their mirrors were too weak to do any such thing. Thus, the argument continues. What do you think? Photo from Wikipedia user Liftarn.
Along the same line as the Dendera Temple light is the Baghdad Battery. In the mid-1930s, a number of artifacts thought to date back to 200 BC were found in Khuyut Rabbou’a, a village near Baghdad. The combination of objects – a five-inch long clay jar and a copper cylinder that encased an iron rod – led researchers to believe that the ancient artifacts were actually used as batteries. Batteries for what, we still don’t know. Unlike the Dendera light though, there’s some evidence that these really were batteries – replicas have been made that did, in fact, conduct an electric current, sometimes as much as two volts. One theory is that the batteries were hidden inside of idols to give tiny little shocks to people, scaring people who didn’t understand the trick and often forcing them to give up secrets or confess to crimes. Photo from the BBC.
A bridge can be a way of getting from one place to another. A bridge can also be a work of art, a sight for sore eyes, and a way to enhance the beauty of its surroundings. These bridges are all of these things! Shown is the Tower Bridge over the River Thames in London.
From the Upcoming 
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Web Urbanist has a great post of case mods on their recent post. The most awesome is disputably this beer dispenser mod. Even non-beer drinkers (like myself) can still appreciate the genius behind this creation.
These two photos are from the latest Space Shuttle Atlantis mission (STS-129), which seemed to come and go much faster than the one before it. At left, Atlantis prepares to dock at the International Space Station. At right, the sunset through Earth’s thin blue atmosphere (photos by NASA). These and ten more can be blown up to satisfyingly gorgeous proportions at ChamorroBible.
This Christmas, forget Santa. There’s a mythical creature that’s making a big comeback: the Krampus.
Popular in Alpine villages centuries ago, Krampus scared kids straight—his long red tongue upped the fear factor—and taught them that evil bows before good. He served Santa’s forerunner, kindly St. Nicholas, who had “the power to send Krampus back to hell,” says Austrian ethnologist Ulrike Kammerhofer-Aggermann. [...]
But by the 1800s, church leaders had marginalized Krampus. Now he’s enjoying a mini-revival, mainly for the fun of it. The Austrian state of Salzburg alone has 180 Krampus clubs, more than half set up since 1990, says Josef Moser, Jr., chairman of Austria’s Krampus Museum. Revelers roam streets in Krampus garb, rattle bells, and roar. “It feels good!” says Moser.
So. Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know by now that Tiger Woods got into a car accident on Friday morning. A media frenzy followed, fueled by a rumor of Tiger’s infidelity and his silence over the whole thing. Today, he announced that he wouldn’t play in his own golf tournament.
Talking heads proclaim that the public is due an explanation, and that the story simply isn’t going to go away without a public accounting of who (Tiger) had done what (or whom, as it were implied).
No, this post isn’t about Tiger, his accident, alleged affair, or whatnot. I don’t care about that – but what is interesting to me is why people care about such matters. If you follow this kind of news, let me ask you: what is it about celebrities that capture your fancy? What is so interesting about Jon and Kate, or Brad and Angelina or whomever.
Jaye L. Derrick and Shira Gabriel of the Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, published a study that "connections" to celebrities or parasocial relationships, allow people with low self-esteem to view themselves more positively:
The current research demonstrates that parasocial relationships can have self-enhancing benefits for low self-esteem people that they do not receive in real relationships. These parasocial relationships, which have very low risk of rejection, offer low self-esteem people an opportunity to reduce their self-discrepancies and feel closer to their ideal selves.
“Even ‘fake’ relationships with celebrities, relationships without any actual contact, can have benefits for the self,” the authors conclude. “We found that parasocial relationships can sometimes have benefits for people with low-self esteem that ‘real’ relationships do not.”
Or is it genetics? Duke University Medical Center neurobiologist Michael Platt found that adult rhesus macaque monkeys would pay (by giving up their favorite drink, Juicy Juice cheery juice) to look at images of dominant "celebrity" monkey of their pack.
So here’s my question to you again: What’s so captivating about celebrities?
(Photo: Jim Epler [Flickr])
Oh, boy. College today sure is different than when I went to school. Case in point: Med Grow Cannabis College, a school in Michigan that teaches students on how to grow medical marijuana (legalized there by a referendum in 2008).
Med Grow opened Sept. 14. Students pay $475 for a six-week night-school course that includes classes in marijuana history, marijuana law, the basics of business and, of course, several courses in how to grow and cook marijuana — one taught by an anonymous professor who goes by the name "Nature." Two groups, each comprising 20 students, have graduated, and several other groups are on their way.
"The students are a mixed bag," says attorney Paul Youngs, who teaches Med Grow’s law class. "We have patients who want to grow for themselves. We have people who want to be caregivers and who approach it as a business opportunity. We even had a priest who works with AIDS patients. It’s a mix of races and a mix of ages from the 20s to the 60s. And I believe some of the students are not even users."
Peter Carlson of WaPo has the scoop on this different kind of "higher" education: Link (Photo: Gary Malerba for The Washington Post)
Minneapolis-based illustrator Brock Davis painted Expressionist screenshots of classic arcade games, such as the above Donkey Kong. Two more at the link.
Link via Geekologie | Artist’s Website | Flickr Stream | Interview with the Artist
This door by the architectural firm Matharaoo Associates is designed to resemble a sine wave. Now in the home of a diamond merchant in Surat, India, the door measures 5.2m high and 1.7m wide and is made from 40 blocks of teak. Thanks to 160 pulleys and 80 ball bearings, it pushes open easily, despite its weight. More pictures at the link.
Link via Fast Company | Photo: Dinesh Mehta
Researchers at Eindhoven University in the Netherlands have recently grown synthetic pork meat in a laboratory setting. Lois Rogers writes for The Times:
The advent of so-called “in-vitro” or cultured meat could reduce the billions of tons of greenhouse gases emitted each year by farm animals — if people are willing to eat it.
So far the scientists have not tasted it, but they believe the breakthrough could lead to sausages and other processed products being made from laboratory meat in as little as five years’ time.
They initially extracted cells from the muscle of a live pig. Called myoblasts, these cells are programmed to grow into muscle and repair damage in animals.
The cells were then incubated in a solution containing nutrients to encourage them to multiply indefinitely. This nutritious “broth” is derived from the blood products of animal foetuses, although the intention is to come up with a synthetic solution.
Link via Popular Science | Image: US Department of the Interior
After Mussolini was executed, his body was strung up before being brought to the hospital for autopsy and eventually returned to the family members. So, when an eBay auction started for the brain and some blood samples of the deceased dictator, it was entirely possible that the remains (which started at around $22,000) were authentic. Fortunately, eBay has a policy of not allowing these sorts of things, so the auction was canceled a few hours in, before his granddaughter had even heard about the auction.
Link Image Via Euskalanato [Flickr]
ABC Cookie Cutters – $8.95
What’s better than a warm and yummy gingerbread man cookie for Christmas? How about ones that are funny to boot? Here’s the ABC (Already Been Chewed) Cookie Cutters, from the Neatorama Shop: Link
Get a free Mystery Bonus with every purchase (while supplies last), part of Neatorama’s Christmas Special.
Mary and Holly are Michigan librarians who are really into “weeding,” meaning they strive to keep their books relevant and “weed” out dated, damaged, and just plain wrong titles. Recently featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the two bibliophiles created a submitter-based blog from library-goers all over.
These books are just odd, outdated or maybe should be reconsidered under a current interpretation of collection policies. In no way should the opinions of Mary and Holly be interpreted as a standard for every library. We just want to have a few chuckles and talk about library collections.
There are lots of curiosities besides the one I chose above. I really got a kick out of this one, as well as this one. All around, a fun site! Link.
It always bugs me when I see someone press on the glass portion of a door to open it (this is probably due to years in a job that required my cleaning such doors), so this footage from sometime in the 20th century is like justice. via YepYep
The week before Thanksgiving, a woman named Michelle Deferio stood on a street corner on Syracuse University campus holding a sign proclaiming that homosexuality is a sin. That required a response, thought Chris Pesto, a junior drama major, who mounted a counterprotest of sorts:
Today (Wednesday, November 18th) I left my voice lesson and noticed two adults on campus holding signs that said “Homosexuality is a sin”. First, I would just like to say that I support people with their own opinions. I think that everyone is entitled to their right to think what they want. However, when someone comes on my campus, where I pay tuition to live, I don’t think it’s appropriate to rub such a hateful sign in someone’s face. I decided that because this woman thought it was okay to make me feel uncomfortable in my home, I would retaliate and make her feel just as uncomfortable, if not more.
This woman was wearing a ankle-length corduroy skirt, which, as we all know, is a fashion nono. So, in order to make her feel uncomfortable, I stood next to her and held a sign that said Corduroy skirts are a sin! I don’t think I have ever drawn so much attention in my life. SO many people asked to take a picture with me, I got laughs, high fives and there were the few that even cursed off the woman standing behind me.
fbomb blog has the story: Link - via Miss Cellania
Forget
the namby-pamby cigarette warning label we have here in the United States.
Here's a very graphic warning label from cartons of Malaysian clove cigarettes.
Alas, even these warning labels do not have much effect on smokers. From World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Western Pacific's smoking statistics:
- About half of all Malaysian men smoke.
- Every day about 50 teenagers below the age of 18 start smoking
- Studies show about 30% of adolescent boys (aged 12 to 18) smoke.
- Smoking among female teens is rising. According to two studies on teens conducted in 1996 and 1999, the numbers of female teens smoking rose from 4.8% to 8%. Overall, the 1999 study found nearly one in five teens smokes.
- Some studies have shown that lung cancer is rising at a rate of 17% a year.
- Although there are restrictions on advertising, tobacco companies have found ways to bypass these laws through using brand names and remain the top advertisers. Heavily advertised products include the Benson and Hedges bistro, Dunhill accessories, Marlboro clothing, Kent Horizon Tours and Salem Cool Planet concerts.
- Malaysia has been dubbed the "indirect advertising capital" of the world. Some of the tobacco industry's most blatant efforts to target young people can be seen here.
- Spending on tobacco advertising is extremely high. In 1997, the industry spent about $90 million, while in the year 2000, two tobacco firms alone reportedly spent more than US$40 million.
TYWKIWDBI has the larger pic: Link (as you'd imagine, the pictures are quite graphic - you've been warned)
Pic: chantastic [Flickr]
Interbent blog has a fantastic collection of street art inspired by Star Wars. This one above, a fictional lost dog flier, is surely a performance piece in Venice, California.
Check out the rest: Link – via Rue The Day
J of Jsalvadordesign is one very cool dude (case in point: name is "J" – how much cooler can you get?). I had a chuckle at his latest creations: a series of paintings of emo superheroes (sold out on Etsy, sadly).
Super Punch has the complete list: Link – via The Zeray Gazette
Ever got into trouble for forgetting your absence note? I betcha it’s not as big as this: Edward Natapei, the Prime Minister of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu lost his job because he didn’t have an absence note for missing Parliament sessions three times in a row:
Natapei was fired for attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) currently taking place at the Hyatt regency hotel in Port of Spain.
According to the standing orders, Natapei forfeited his seat in Parliament after missing three consecutive sittings without notifying the Speaker.
Natapei missed the extraordinary sessions of parliament being held in Vanuata to debate the budget, because of his trip to this country to attend CHOGM. On Friday, CHOGM was officially opened in this country by Queen Elizabeth II.
On that very day, Vanuata’s Speaker, Maxime Carlot Korman, told Vanuata’s Parliament that MPs will need to elect a new Prime Minister by next week.
Link (Photo: LIFE/Getty)
Otters enjoy sledding and skiing, and they don’t even need expensive equipment to do it! -via Unique Daily
Points for you if you already understand this physics-based bumper sticker. The effect is called blue shift. From Wikipedia:
Blue shift is the shortening of a transmitted signal’s wavelength, and/or an increase in its frequency, due to the Doppler Effect, which indicates that the object is moving toward the observer. The name comes from the fact that the shorter-wavelength end of the optical spectrum is the blue (or violet) end, hence, when visible light is compacted in wavelength, it is shifted towards the “blue” end of the spectrum. Since the longer-wavelength end of the visible electromagnetic spectrum is red, the opposite effect, of a lengthening of a signal’s wavelength, is referred to as redshifting.
While the terms “redshifting” and “blueshifting” imply significantly redder or bluer light, only the most distant galaxies and those moving at speeds far above average emit light that arrives with perceptible red or blue tinges. For the most part, shifting is not a visible phenomenon.[1]
It’s a simple and elegant concept: saw a coconut in two, then reattach the halves with a zipper. The result is an instant handbag. These are popular crafts for sale to tourists on Lamu Island off the coast of Kenya.
Link via Make | Photo: AfricaGadget
The Medium Awards is an annual materials sciences recognition program in the UK. Cliff Kuang of Fast Company has a slideshow of seven winners, including a carbon fiber alternative made from carrots, a sponge that absorbs oil but not water, and a very lightweight substitute for kevlar. Pictured above is an inflatable tent made from concrete-embedded cloth. Just add water, and it turns into a hardened structure.
Link | Photo: Concrete Canvas
As a British soldier in World War II, Denis Avey was captured by the Germans and sent to a prison camp, which was connected to the Auschwitz camp. While most inmates were concerned with getting out, Avey was trying to get in to the death camp to find out about the conditions. He made friends with Auschwitz prisoner Ernst Lobethall and swapped uniforms with him for overnight visits to each other’s camps. Lobethall got needed rest and food in the POW camp, and Avey gathered information from the death camp.
Mr Lobethall told him he had a sister Susana who had escaped to England as a child, on the eve of war. Back in his own camp, Mr Avey contacted her via a coded letter to his mother.
He arranged for cigarettes, chocolate and a letter from Susana to be sent to him and smuggled them to his friend. Cigarettes were more valuable than gold in the camp and he hoped he would be able to trade them for favours to ease his plight – and he was right.
Mr Lobethall traded two packs of Players cigarettes in return for getting his shoes resoled. It helped save his life when thousands perished or were murdered on the notorious death marches out of the camps in winter in 1945.
Avey never spoke of his Auschwitz experience after the war, and didn’t know what became of Lobethall until recently. Lobethall moved to the US and lived a long life.
But before he died Mr Lobethall recorded his survival story on video for the Shoah Foundation, which video the testimonies of Holocaust survivors and witnesses. In it he spoke of his friendship with a British soldier in Auschwitz who he simply called “Ginger”. It was Denis.
The BBC brought the 91-year-old Avey and Lobethall’s sister Susana Timms together to watch Lobethall’s testimony and captured their meeting on video. Link -via Arbroath
This protective mask, designed by Michel Bussien and Erik Sjödin, was not designed to protect the user from the H1N1 virus. Instead, it will improve the user’s odds of getting infected. A small battery-powered fan in the INFLU mask sucks in air, increasing the possibility of infection several hundred percent. Supposedly, this device can be used to strengthen one’s immune system.
Link via NerdCore | Photo: Michel Bussien and Erik Sjödin
This video shows four different levels of Super Mario Bros. in which the sound effects were synchronized to play four different musical parts in the Queen song “Don’t Stop Me Now.” If that explanation doesn’t make sense, it will about a minute into the video. Its origin is a little unclear, as the information is in Japanese. I’ll update as I learn more.
via Geekologie
This Christmas, skip the long lines and hassles of going to the mall. Neatorama’s got your covered: you’ll get a free Mystery Bonus with every purchase of select items in our Christmas Special (while supplies last, no rainchecks). New items are added regularly ’til Christmas, so check back often!
Your purchase helps support the blog. Thank you! Link
Both Christmas and National Poinsettia Day (December 12) are coming up soon, which brings up some interesting questions you may never have considered before. For example, why is a flower indigenous to Mexico commonly recognized as an international symbol of Christmas? Or why is it so darn hard to keep your poinsettias alive and blooming once you’ve bought them at the store? You may have never thought too hard about the most popular potted plant in America, but here’s your chance to learn about these fascinating blossoms.
Most people consider the bright red (or occasionally pale green, white, orange, cream, pink or marbled) areas on the plants to be the blooms, but in reality, these are just groupings of colored leaves called bracts. The actual flowers are those tiny little buds inside of the bracts (seen above) and these are called cyathias.
While we’re at it, most people think of poinsettias as red flowers, but as mentioned above, they can come in all the colors listed above. Still, over 74% of Americans prefer their poinsettias red, while 8% prefer white and 6% prefer pink.
Image Via Martin Heigan [Flickr]
In Aztec times though, it was called “Cuetlaxochitl,” which means skin flower. In Chile and the Andes, it was known as the “Crown of the Andes.” According to legend, King Montezuma would have the flowers carried up to Mexico City because the flowers would not grow in such a high altitude.
Later on, German botanist Wilenow gave the plant its Latin name, Euphorbia pulcherrima, meaning “very beautiful.” Soon after, it was introduced into the U.S. in 1828 by the first U.S. Minister to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett. Years later, historian and horticulturalist William Prescott was asked to give the plant a new name. Having just written a book about Mexican history, he recalled Poinsett’s role in bringing the flowers into America. Prescott named the plant in Poinsett’s honor. In modern Egypt, they still call the plant “Bent El Consul,” meaning “the consul’s daughter” after Mr. Poinsett.
In Spain, the flower is known as “flor de Pascua” or Easter flower. In Mexico and Guatemala, it is commonly called “Noche Buena” or “Christmas’ Eve.”
Speaking of Christmas, it seems rather strange that these New World plants would become synonymous with a holiday celebrating the birth of a Middle Eastern carpenter. Still, they are in fact the most popular holiday plant around, representing over 85% of all potted plant sales in the holiday season.
The reasons go all the way back to the 16th century, where a Mexican legend began spreading about a young girl who couldn’t afford a gift for Jesus’ birthday. She was said to be told by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Soon after, crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became poinsettias. Starting in the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico began to include the plants in the Christmas celebrations.
Image Via Southern Pixel [Flickr]
Fast forward into America during the sixties and this Mexican tradition started spreading across the U.S. thanks to Paul Ecke Jr. This young man was a marketing genius who started sending television networks free poinsettias for display on air between Thanksgiving and Christmas. He also appeared on programs like “The Tonight Show” and Bob Hope’s Christmas specials to help promote the plant. His efforts were highly successful and largely responsible for the association of poinsettias with Christmas outside of Mexico.
Lest you think Paul was simply an overly enthusiastic supporter of the flower, his intentions were mostly monetary. Paul was an heir of the Ecke family, owners of a virtual monopoly on our modern day idea of poinsettia flowers.
His German immigrant grandfather, Albert Ecke, started selling the plants from street stands after 1900. Paul Ecke the first, Albert’s son, developed a grafting method that resulted in a fuller, more compact plant than the wild plants (seen to the left). He additionally discovered a phytoplasma infection to the plant would induce it to produce far more flowers than its natural, weed-like cousin. The family held the secret to these techniques up until the 1990’s, giving them a monopoly on the poinsettia market up to that point.
In the nineties, a researcher discovered the Ecke’s method and published it, allowing for competitors to the company. These days, many companies in Latin America sell the flowers all over the world, but the Ecke’s family (who now exclusively uses farms outside the U.S.) still controls about 50% of the worldwide market.
Image Via Jiggs Images [Flickr]
In 1919, a completely unfounded story began to circulate that a two year-old child died after she ate a poinsettia leaf. Researchers who looked into the story found that it is all hearsay and about as truthful as the razors in candy apple stories that circulate around Halloween. Ohio State University researchers found that a 50 pound child would have to eat 500 bracts to even get a sore tummy. Despite this, the rumor continues to circulate that poinsettias are poisonous and should not be kept around pets or children.
On the other hand, the sap from poinsettias can cause temporary blindness when introduced directly in the eye and some people with latex allergies will have an allergic reaction to the plants. So the only people who need to be wary of the plants are those that have a latex allergy or anyone with a habit of putting things in their eyes for no reason.
Image Via distopiandreamgirl [Flickr]
If you’ve ever bought poinsettias during the holiday season, you may have noticed just how finicky these beautiful plants can be. Even if you live in an area with a warmer climate that is suitable for the tropical buds, you still may not be able to get your plants to reflower the way they did when you bought them.
The reason for this is encoded in the plant’s genes. In order to produce the vibrant, thick blooms the plant is known for, the plant needs to have two months of completely dark nights in the autumn. Even minor exposure to houselights can hamper flower production. If you really want your plants to reflower, you need to cover the plant with a light-proof bag between 5 pm and 8 am starting early October and stopping when the bracts begin to show colors –usually around mid-December. To make gardening the plant even more complex, you also have to be sure the nighttime temperatures are below 75 degrees Fahrenheit, but also not too cold. Failure to keep the plant in the right temperature can also result in decay or lack of flowers.
Personally, I love gardening and I love poinsettias, but the effort involved with trying to keep them reflowering is just way too much for me. Have any of you had better luck?
Image Via Property#1 [Flickr]
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) affects many computer users, and can be frequently associated with conventional mouse usage. Now there is a new version of Mouse Click available for those who may need the relief.
MouseClick waits until the mouse stops moving and sends a click. The application supports left, right and double clicks and when Smart Drag is selected MouseClick can drag windows, scrollbars and other elements.
MouseClick supports Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. Click the screenshot to enlarge them.
I assume it’s equipped to discern between a Link, and a link with a hover option. via Minimal. (Photo from jen_gingerich’s Photobucket album.)
Inspired by this scene from the BBC show The Young Ones, the how-to blog Instructables turned an old VCR into a functional toaster. It even prints “VHS” on the face of every piece of bread toasted. Video at the link.
Link via Geek Crafts | Image: Instructables
