However, that thing standing next to him has to be a cyborg, a real life cybernetic organism, although I’m pretty sure it must be quite underpowered since it’s been constructed out of Mac parts.

In true Macborg fashion it won’t be compatible with 80% of the world, it will be impossible to fix once broken, and don’t even think  about upgrading- if you want more memory you’re just going to have to break down and buy a new one every four or five years.

But it sure is shiny, and clean looking, with lots of white and silver bits and a fruit shaped logo, that counts for something, right?

Link

Pascal Prokop, who lives in Switzerland, caused a minor internet stir when photos of his stove-car near Mettmenstetten, a town 25 kilometres south of Zurich, began to circulate on Friday. [...]

Mr. Prokop obtained an operating permit for his stove-car from the Swiss Technical Inspection Authority, making it perfectly legal to operate.

You can view larger photos at the link.

Link -via DVICE | Photo: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

If Thomas Edison were alive today, he would be celebrating his 165th birthday. Jeremiah Warren made this quick overview of his life and work, so you’ll know more than just “Edison invented the light bulb.” -Thanks, Jeremiah!

Digital artist Petros Vrellis created an interactive version of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting Starry Night. The brushstrokes movie and activate music. Vrellis tells more about the project at Creative Applications. Link -via The Daily What

See also: Starry Night is Everywhere!

This video introduced me to Jaimie Mantzel. He not only builds toys, he builds everything else! The top comment at reddit tells more about him.

This guy is a complete and total bad-ass. Seriously. (He’s also nearly constantly manic too, but I digress.)

He has this giant tree-house he built in the middle of the woods by hand which he actually lives/lived in. When he realized he needed a lumber mill to build a giant workshop to go along with his tree house in the woods, he made one himself, with two tires, a motor, and some aluminum poles (no joke).

Why did he need a giant workshop in the middle of the woods, you ask? To build a working life size version of this robot of course! And he did it using 99% junk yard scrap MacGyvered together (like everything else he does). He also wore chain-mail while doing all this to ‘stay fit’.

He has a video blog with tons of videos on YouTube. This guy is so interesting he has caused countless people to spend 10+ hours watching his videos in a single sitting (myself included!). Just look at the other comments here and you’ll see how common an occurrence this is.

P.S. Almost forgot! His “tree house” has a giant trampoline in one of the rooms integrated into the floor (one of those giant backyard ones).

P.P.S. He also somehow convinced his lady-friend to move out into the middle the woods and into his tree-house with him while he did all of this.

Anyway, this toy does not yet have a name, but he is working with a toy company to eventually produce it. -via reddit

Colin Furze takes his souped-up mobility scooter for a spin in the snow, reaching speeds up to 50 miles per hour! If this kind of thing catches on, a stroll through the local mall could become a dangerous excursion. -via BroBible

What? You're going to put your selfwinding Audemars Piguet chronograph (just don't call it a "watch") in a regular old watch winder? That just won't do!

But don't worry, Zannetti is here to save the day with this: Box of Time Dragon watch winder. If you have to ask how much, obviously you can't afford it. Now if only there's a pen that will go with that ...

Link

Thomas Edison: The Edison Doll and Concrete Homes

Edison had over 2000 patents by the time he died, so it’s not really much of a surprise that among his innovations on the phonograph, the light bulb, the kinetoscope and the telephone, he also had some utter failures as well.

Interestingly, one of his worst failures was actually a great idea that was just too far ahead of its time for the current technology. The Edison Doll was the inventor’s attempt to bring the joy of the phonograph to children. While talking dolls are common place these days and widely loved by little girls around the globe, the problems with the Edison Talking Doll were many. For one thing, phonographs of the time still had to be manually cranked at the appropriate speed in order to play correctly. That’s asking a lot for a child to do with her toy. Another problem was that even when cranked at the proper speed, the doll sounded simply terrible because voice recording still wasn’t very good at the time. In fact, Edison himself admitted “the voices of the little monsters were exceedingly unpleasant to hear.” As if those two issues weren’t bad enough, the mini phonograph inside the doll was incredibly fragile –meaning even if a little girl did manage to play the sound at the right speed and not run away from the shrieking abomination, she’d almost certainly destroy the wax record after only a short amount of play time.

Of course, all the new technology didn’t come cheap and the doll would cost between $10 and $25 depending on the outfit she came in. That’s the equivalent of between $240 and $600 these days, which is a whole lot to spend on a doll that terrifies your daughter and breaks without any effort. Of 2,500 made, only 500 were sold and most of the dolls were returned. With all of these failures, it’s no wonder the doll was only sold for a few short weeks in early 1890. Of course, the rarity of the failure has only increased the doll’s value over the last century. These days, an Edison doll in good condition can easily go for over $15,000 –and that’s without the original phonograph, since most of the excess inventory was sold off without a sound device inside.

The terrible toy doll wasn’t Edison’s only failure though. In fact, his best-known failure was in his push for concrete housing complete with concrete furniture, even concrete pianos. Edison believed these cheap creations would be a good way to solve the housing crisis and allow low-income families to enjoy the finer things in life without spending a fortune. In 1917, he and Charles Ingersoll offered 11 concrete homes (that’s them above) up for sale for only $1,200 –a third of the cost of an average home. Even so, they didn’t manage to sell a single one.

In many ways, this suffered from the same problem as his doll –it was too ahead of its time. After all, concrete is a common element in modern architectural design. Of course, even if concrete homes have become more widely accepted in modern times, the idea of a concrete couch is still not very popular. To be fair, the furniture was constructed of special concrete foam, so it was as light as typical wood furniture and it was shaped and painted to look rather nice. Still, no one talks about the warm glow of concrete like they do about wood.

As for a concrete piano, well, only the outside would be made with his concrete foam, the rest would still be the typical wood and metal guts of ordinary pianos. While it might sound like a terrible idea, Judy Wearing, author of Edison’s Concrete Piano (if you like this article BTW, you really ought to check it out), actually encased her own home piano with concrete only to discover that the sound was actually improved, coming out clearer. As it turns out, maybe Edison was even more ahead of his time than we realize and concrete pianos have yet to find their hay day.

Sources: Neatorama, Edison Tin Foil, Sott

Leonardo Da Vinci: Water-Walking Shoes

(Video Link)

You already know Da Vinci was a brilliant man who invented everything from primitive flying machines to tanks and more, but while you probably already know that many of these concepts, particularly his airplanes and helicopters, you might not have heard of some of his less famous failures –for example, his water-walking shoes. The basic idea was to use inflated shoes that look sort of like water skis and a set of ski poles with inflated tips to walk across the water in order to invade enemy ships or cross over enemy moats. While tanks and planes have since become a reality, the need to walk on water has become less and less important over the centuries.

Regardless of the functionality, the shoes have a serious problem, even when they do actually keep the water-walker afloat. Namely, it’s near impossible to actually walk across water on these things no matter how good your balance and even if you can get going, you’re still going to look pretty darn silly. The shoes certainly aren’t silent or stealthy enough to be useful in a surprise invasion nor are they steady enough to use while fighting, rendering them useless as a military apparatus as Da Vinci intended.

Source: Museo di Leonardo Da Vinci

Gunpei Yokoi: The Virtual Boy

If you enjoyed mobile gaming back in the nineties, then you probably had a Game Boy and if you loved your portable Nintendo system, then you had one man to thank – Gunpei Yokoi, the Nintendo employee who created the device and helped Mario evolve from a lowly plumber to a fire-ball-shooting hero. Yokoi also worked on the beloved Metroid and Kid Icarus franchises.

While the game designer and inventor was responsible for some of the most legendary Nintendo creations, he was also at fault for what is still largely considered the company’s biggest failure to date –The Virtual Boy. The console was intended to be the first system that offered 3D graphics out of the box, but users were just not into the idea of strapping a screen to their face just to play their favorite game. The device was also considered to be utterly hideous and even after price cut after price cut, users still refused to buy the item. Nintendo blamed Yokoi for the failure and he left the company shortly after although some argue that it was unrelated to the Virtual Boy disaster.

Sources: Wikipedia #1, #2

Clive Sinclair: Mini Television

Sir Clive Sinclair may not be as famous as some of the other names on this list, but he actually had a huge impact on modern technology. He invented the first slim-line electronic pocket calculator, the first mass market computer sold in the UK for under £100, a fold-up bicycle and more. While his electronic vehicle released in 1985 was considered a commercial failure, it was at least an innovation in the right direction. His miniature television released in 1977 was a different story in failure.

The so-called “pocket television” was revolutionary for the time, given that ordinary televisions would often weigh more than 100 pounds. Upon announcement of its release, the public was thrilled about the concept of a portable television. Even so, Sinclair’s brick-sized invention was hardly practical and didn’t even fit in most people’s pockets. The screen was so tiny it was nearly impossible to see what was actually happening on your favorite show. As if that weren’t bad enough, reception for the tiny television set wasn’t exactly great, even when sitting in one place at your own home.  Sure a lot of people still complain about the tiny screens on their smart phones, but at least the video looks clean and the reception generally is good and that’s more than anyone could say about their pocket TV.

Source: Wikipedia, BBC

There are plenty of bad inventions out there, but let’s face it, most of them aren’t exactly made by the top minds of their time. That being said, even the best inventors have to fail here and there and I certainly didn’t have enough room to include all the terrible inventions by clever innovators, so if you have any other stories of terrible inventions by people known for their great creations, feel free to share them in the comments.

Now this is advertising so clever it's criminal: Y&R agency in Amsterdam, The Netherlands came up with an unusual ad to feature the slim LG's new TV. Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Ads of the World

If you can’t stop hitting the snooze button in the morning, then you might want to look in to getting one of these water powered alarm clocks, which was created by Austrian design studio Vera Wiedermann to help wake up chronic snoozers.

The water clock uses a drip system to count down the time until the hammer is released and a loud chime sounds, and the only way to get some more time in the sack is to fill it up with water all over again.

So, unless you figure out how to refill this sucker while sleepwalking, it should get you up and going better than anything with a snooze button. And it’s nice looking too, made out of glass, copper and cord, so it won’t clash with your style or reset itself when the power goes out.

Link

Joanna Montgomery invented Pillow Talk, a system for lovers who are far apart. Each person wears a chest belt that measures his/her heartbeat. A transmitter sends that rhythm to a pillow. Just hold it close to feel, in a small way, together.

Link -via The Mary Sue

Master case modder Brian Carter made this amazing case. It includes rollbars, a USB-powered beverage cooler disguised as a first aid kit, and a spinning imitation minigun. Yes, that is a fake minigun. But we’ll probably see real ones on the next generation of super case mods. Look at more pictures and a video at the link.

Link

Swap-o-matic is a vending machine that doesn’t use money. Instead, you swap something you have for something you want! It’s also an art project that makes a statement about consumption and recycling, designed by Lina Fenequito with Rick Cassidy and Ray Mancini. It’s a cool idea, but where I live, it would either stay empty or would become filled with old tires and obsolete electronics -things you have to pay to get rid of. Link -via Laughing Squid

With the wave of portable gaming consoles coming out, it’s not surprising that SNK has jumped on board and revealed their Neo-Geo Portable Device (hopefully tentative title), which will come pre-loaded with 20 classic titles like Metal Slug, King Of Monsters and Fatal Fury, has 2gb internal memory and an SD card slot for loading emulator ROMs, and even has an AV output for playing on the bigger screen.

What is surprising is how little we’ve heard about anything Neo-Geo over the years, considering their fan following and the fact that I still see Neo-Geo arcade units all the time in bars and taco shops all over town.

I guess the ridiculously high $600 price tag really did put this otherwise awesome console to bed, so hopefully the release of this Portable Device, and a more affordable price tag, will help resurrect the arcade gaming giant.

Link

On March 21, 1920, the Sandusky Register reported on an astonishing invention in which W. W. Macfarlane, traveling in a car (driven by a chauffeur), held a conversation with his wife back at the garage -500 yards down the road! The article is reprinted at Paleofuture. Link

Man, with all the innovative ways people have come up with to destroy zombies, humanity should be well prepared if we ever end up in neck deep in the walking dead!

The latest innovation comes in the form of the Doublestar Zombie X Chainsaw rail attachment-just attach it to your favorite assault rifle and get to chopping if the rotten buggers start to close in on you! Perfect for channeling your inner Gear or Space Marine, badass suit of armor not included.

Link  –via Geekosystem

The problem is popularly known as the Hot Pocket Conundrum, and it has vexed gamers for generations. Here it is: you need food, but that requires stopping the game. As this is obviously an unacceptable option, many gamers have starved to death on their couches.

Thankfully, Ben Heckendorn has now solved that problem by designing a Hot Pocket delivery device and mounting it on the back of a controller. Never again need anyone die from in-game malnutrition — provided that some kindly soul will periodically reload the dispenser. Thank you, Mr. Heckendorn. You are a true hero.

Video Link -via DVICE

Previously by Heckendorn: See-Through Shirt

If you need me, I’ll be downstairs with the shop vac. You can call but I probably won’t hear you because it’s loud with the shop vac on. And this speaker built by Art Pentry into a toolbox probably won’t help you any. Watch a step-by-step instructional video at the link.

Link | Pentry’s Website

Tobias Sonne, a student at Carnegie Mellon University, developed a pair of suspenders that encourage the user to sit up straight. He attached a strip of conductive fabric to one side. When it’s compacted, a buzzer activates. It’s not bad. But, as Lauren McCarthy’s Happiness Hat demonstrates, an electric shock would probably be more effective.

Link -via DVICE

Don’t run away, Meat Shield. It’s a hundred experience points, yours for the taking. Just keep his attention while we slip around behind him.

-via Super Punch | Artist’s Website

(YouTube Link)

Man, the dragons in the video game Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim sure are colorful these days! With the recent invasion of a Macho Man Randy Savage dragon, and now these scaly beasts that look suspiciously like characters from My Little Pony, I don’t know whether to shoot the buggers down, or open my arms wide and wait for a big old hug!

–via Topless Robot

From our pal Dan Piraro of Bizarro, here's a reminder to update the Ten Commandments to include "Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's iPad?"

“Why doesn’t every car have a flybridge?” That was a question posed to custom carmaker Randy Grubb. You’ll ask it, too, after taking a spin in the Decoliner — Grubb’s monument to the majesty of both the Art Deco era and the open road. You can steer it from the roof, which is built like a motorboat console. Or you can peek inside and witness what a craftsman of vision and dedication can accomplish.

Link -via Jalopnik (where there’s a video)

Etsy seller Daniel McLeod writes “I had an old Atari 2600 that had stopped working and I couldn’t just get rid of it.” Well, of course not! That’d be like getting rid of your own mother because she got old. Classic Ataris should be cherished and repurposed, and that’s what he did. McLeod’s is now an audio dock.

Link -via Technabob

(YouTube Link)

If you’re worried about a dystopian future where the view from your window is obscured by zombies, rubble piles and the occasional group of bandits, then you’ll want to invest in Samsung’s new  transparent Smart Window-a computer screen/window that can make the world outside look like anything you want, even the terrifying real world, if that’s how you get your kicks.

You can make it look like still photos, video footage, a computer desktop, even television, if you prefer to imagine a sitcom taking place outside your window over an otherwise bleak reality. It’s large, shiny, and eliminates the need to actually go outside, so what’s not to like?

–via Geekosystem

These VHS tape inspired notebooks ooze retro charm, and will probably get shoved into the nearest VCR by a curious senior citizen if you’re not careful.

Created by Peleg Design, they even come with a plastic slipcover and adhesive labels, to complete the old school cool. Label them as something sick like Faces Of Death or Snuff Film and you have a journal even your nosiest family members won’t want to crack open.

Link  –via JazJaz

A while back I posted an article about a urinal which doubles as a video game, and this invention was actually well received, even though I still don’t understand the allure.

But this concept design for an e-Urinal really makes sense to me–a unit which is able to scan your urine and report possible health issues to you while you wait. And, while this particular model may still be in the conceptual stage of development, I can see this kind of thing catching on and changing the way our health issues are diagnosed.

Let’s just hope you don’t have to show proof of  health insurance in order to use this urinal, or I predict a lot of wet floors surrounding these things!

Link

Stephen J. Anderson wired up electronics and everyday objects to make his own kitchen synthesizer. It looks a little dangerous, don’t you think? This music starts at 2:20. -via Buzzfeed

Six daleks, labeled as “Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne engines” from the space shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis are invading being shipped to Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to be refurbished for use in NASA’s new project, the Space Launch System (SLS). Link -via io9

(Image credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis)

Do you remember chess boxing — the sport consisting of alternating rounds of chess and boxing? Well, just imagine what you could do with this bag, allegedly built by researchers at the UK’s Open University. If you could put these sensors on a human body, then boxers might be challenged to perform music while simultaneously beating each other senseless.

-via Boing Boing

The future of portable gaming looks pretty sweet, thanks to Razer’s newest innovation Project Fiona, which looks like a tablet but has a gaming PC worth of power under the hood.

With Intel’s Core i7 processors, both game controllers and a touch screen, and no issues with compatibility when running PC games (it will come with Windows 8 installed), this isn’t just a tablet-it’s a way to take your favorite PC games with you wherever you go, and have them look as good as they do on your monitor at home.

Now, the fact that the projected launch price is “under $1,000″ may make this unit too pricey for all but the wealthiest and most diehard gamers, but to me it’s all about what this unit represents-the future of portable gaming, and it’s looking good!

Link

In today’s fast paced world, sometimes we aren’t walking fast enough to keep up with everyone else, or we simply don’t have to energy to walk but still have places to go.

That’s where the spnKiX come in-they’re motorized shoes which are operated via remote control, and can race along at speeds up to 10 mph. And, all kidding aside, they look like a lot of fun to roll around in, if your bones mend easily and/or you have really good health insurance.

They’re like Heelys 2.0, but the first batch is sorely lacking in many ways-way too expensive (over $600/pr.), battery that can only go about 3 miles before it needs to be recharged for a whopping 3 hours, and a design that can only support up to 180 lbs.

But think of the effect motorized shoes will have on the future-drunks being wheeled home via remote control, dance crews wheeling about the city streets battling until their batteries run out, and roving packs of tweens trying not to get beat up by skateboarders while still looking cooler than rollerbladers.

Link

(YouTube Link)

When hacks and mods are created for video games, they are typically created to enhance the gaming experience, and nothing says “experience enhanced” like giant pink dragons wearing Macho Man style gear and facial hair.

This wacky mod by FancyPantz brings the pain to the fantasy world of the video game Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, all while fondly remembering the pro wrestler/Slim Jim spokesman/fashion pioneer Macho Man Randy Savage.

If you’re playing Skyrim on a PC, you can download this crazy mod here and add some showmanship to y0ur game! Guaranteed to make you say “Ooooooooh Yeah!” during your next epic gaming session.

–via Geekosystem

Etsy seller Steven Shaver turns old car parts into cufflinks, belt buckles and clocks. Here’s a desk clock that is built into a piston from an old Volvo engine. Don’t worry — you won’t have to change the oil in this clock.

Link -via Recyclart

If you thought only Steampunk enthusiasts used wood in their creations guess again, and if you’re a woodworker/DIYer like myself, here’s the inspiration for your next project!

This gorgeous wooden modded computer tower case by Jeffrey Stephenson looks like tech from the Mad Men era, something they probably would have mistaken for an intercom or radio in the 1960s.

This case mod makes my boring old metal case look like crap, and is guaranteed to make all other computers in your house jealous of it’s retro charm and sophisticated cool.

Link  –via Geekosystem

(YouTube Link)

Never has an instrument used to play a cover song been more appropriate than this-using five floppy drives, and a bit of software, to cover the Daft Punk hit Derezzed.

It’s a crunchy, minimalist sound that’s sure to make robots of all types bob their heads to the beat, which will probably put most humans on edge. Glowing helmet not included.

–via Topless Robot

The Hexa Pot is a collapsible cooking pot made from biodegradable paper.The idea is that you don’t need to lug around an metal pot when you go camping. Just take one of these. If you need to boil water to make it potable, such as during a natural disaster, whip this out of your bug-out bag and start heating up the water. You can bring the pot to a full boil, even though it’s made out of paper.

Link -via Tech Crunch

If you love playing old school games via emulators, yet you have a stack of Sega Genesis and/or Super Nintendo cartridges just sitting around gathering dust, then you might want to look into purchasing a Retrode-a USB device that allows you to play your cartridge games through any emulator, and has ports for all your old controllers.

So, you get that old school “blow on the cartridge before you slot it in” feeling, without fretting over how jacked up your old console has become over the years. Retro gamer completists rejoice!

Link  –via Joystiq

It takes two hours on a sunny day, but this solar heater built by engineering students at Humboldt State University in California works. It’s made from waste materials, specifically can lids. These are held together by vines from Himalaya blackberry plants, which are an invasive species in their area. You can find in-process photos and descriptions at the link.

Link -via Make

We’ve all been in a situation when a bathroom experience would only be enhanced if there were realistic representations of supervillains trying to break through the wall and kill us. Probably daily. So rileyreplicas, a forum user at The PF, made one for a friend’s husband. The site is currently down, so I can make no guarantee about what you’ll find at the link. But you can also visit Geekologie to see more pictures. That’s a good idea, because this one photo doesn’t do justice to the extensive modifications to the entire bathroom.

Link -via Geekologie

Autopia forums user AkamaiDetailing’s DeLorean is a thing of beauty. As long as it can still reach 88 MPH, it’ll be just fine.

Link -via Boing Boing

These custom made heel springs, like the ones worn by the protagonist Chell in the Portal video game franchise, don’t seem like a very useful creation in real life, but who needs function when the form is so cool, and they’re an integral part of a wicked Chell costume? Scifi femme fatale prisoner cosplay FTW!

If only they actually allowed you to survive a long fall, like they do in the game, the creator Harrison Krix would become a very rich man indeed!

Link  –via Geekosystem

The Tweeting Cat Toy is handy for keeping up with your cat’s activities while you’re gone, but wouldn’t it be nice to pet your cat or even groom him from a remote location? Taylor Veltrop hooked together a Nao robot, a Kinect sensor bar, two Wii remotes, a head-mounted display, and a treadmill for the purpose of brushing his cat. Rube Goldberg himself would have been proud! And all this technology only worked because the cat is extremely tolerant. But Veltrop shows that it can be done, even though it took a year to perfect the procedure. Link

You can buy a pen like this, but the more ambitious tinkerers among you may try to make their own. Instructables user Mrballeng shows you how to make a reliable click ballpoint pen with two .30-06 cases. Find photos, written instructions and a lengthy video at the link.

Link -via Make | Maker’s Website

The greatest problem with using a puncture-based weapon against zombies is that it may become lodged in the skull of your undead foe. That’s a problem that Jörge Sprave, maker of the sawblade-firing slingshot, the pump-action slingshot, and the Gatling-gun slingshot has now solved. His weapon includes a standard slingshot on one end, and a mace on the other that’s paired with a heavy spike. If your spike gets stuck in a skull, pull the lever to push it out.

-via Make

(YouTube Link)

One of the great things about this hi-tech world we live in is the fact that most software applications have a multitude of other uses that have yet to be discovered, and even the programmers that created the software don’t know the full extent of what their software can do.

Case in point-this mod of SwapNote, a Nintendo 3DS chatting program that was modded by game design student Ben Gray and turned into a fully customizable text based roleplaying game.

Ben’s hacked version is so cool that each session can be custom created, and Ben even created a Dungeon Master template, to help with encounters and map creation. Dungeons and Dragons for the portable gaming crowd, now that’s an innovation I can get behind!

–via Destructoid

Batman would have been proud. In 1942, California’s state defense force experimented with bat-like wingsuits for soldiers. The ultimate goal, as explained by the magazine Mechanix Illustrated, was to create an airborne unit that could be deployed with them.

Link -via io9

It was recently discovered that if you use Google Earth to view the Salford Lads Club in the UK you will find an image of the Mozster hanging out in front of the club, just like in this iconic photo of the Smiths from their The Queen Is Dead LP.

Now that’s what I call a dedicated Morrissey fan! I wonder who will have their image hacked into Google Earth next? My prediction- Elvis at Graceland.

Link

The depressing thing is that the feline is much more adept at playing the fun iPad game than me. See it at Ubergizmo: Link [embedded YouTube clip]

YouTube user Kanaal Van Ronorozco makes TV display centers in the front or back ends of classic vehicles, such as this 2005 Porsche 996. It’s not a fabrication, but the actual rear of the car, right down to the brake calipers. With a push of a button, the brake lights flash and the screen opens or closes.

Link -via DVICE