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This fishbowl was designed by glassblower Richard Bell. It makes me nervous. Does it make you nervous? I wonder if the fish is nervous.
The ‘Bubble Tank Project’ is a series hand-blown glass bowls which have been counterbalanced to create the illusion that they are hanging precariously over the edge of a surface. Every tank is completely unique therefore is available in many different shapes and sizes. Simply pick the one that you like best.
The game Labyrinth looks really difficult, but Alon Moss of New York completed it -with two balls- in world record time, just 2 minutes, 37.8 seconds. Link -Thanks, David!
This adorable corgi has some serious skills when it comes to balancing things on its head. In fact, this isn’t the only video he stars in, BuzzFeed has five more for your dog-viewing pleasure.
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I’m having trouble finding any information about this video. It appears to show a performer balancing sticks, one on top of another, without dropping a single one. At the very end, he must balance the entire assembly on one remaining, upright stick. How does he do it?
via reddit
(Image credit: Flickr user Mini Mookiy. This is not “Esther”)
by Fiorella Gambale, Ph.D.
Institute for Feline Research
Milano, Italy
Cats have excellent balance, and are remarkably acrobatic. When turned upside down and dropped from a height, a cat generally has the ability to land on its feet. Until now, no one has systematically investigated the limits of this phenomenon. In this study, I dropped a cat upside down from various heights, and observed whether the cat landed on its feet.
I dropped the cat from a height of six feet. I did this one hundred times. The cat always landed on its feet.
I dropped the cat from a height of five feet. I did this one hundred times. The cat always landed on its feet.
I dropped the cat from a height of four feet. I did this one hundred times. The cat always landed on its feet.
I dropped the cat from a height of three feet. I did this one hundred times. The cat always landed on its feet.
I dropped the cat from a height of two feet. I did this one hundred times. The cat always landed on its feet.
I dropped the cat from a height of one foot. I did this one hundred times. The cat never landed on its feet.
| Drop Height | Attempts | Landed on feet | Did not land on feet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft. | 100 | 100 | 0 |
| 5 ft. | 100 | 100 | 0 |
| 4 ft. | 100 | 100 | 0 |
| 3 ft. | 100 | 100 | 0 |
| 2 ft. | 100 | 100 | 0 |
| 1 ft. | 100 | 0 | 100 |
Popular belief is that “a cat will always land on its feet.” My experiments show this to be true for drop heights ranging from six feet down to two feet. It is not true at a drop height of one foot.Does a cat land on its feet when dropped from a height of less than one foot? This preliminary study indicates that the answer may be no. However, further experiments, preferably with the same cat, are needed to settle the question.
I want to thank the cat, “Esther,” for her initial cooperation in this experiment. Thank you, also, to Esther’s owner, M.R. Young. And special thanks to the organization PFTAR (People For the Tarring-and-Feathering of Animal Researchers), whose indiscriminate yacketing inspired this project.
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This classic article is republished with permission from the July-August 1998 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. You can download or purchase back issues of the magazine, or subscribe to receive future issues. Or get a subscription for someone as a gift!
Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.
Canadian photographer Peter Riedel balances rocks atop each other as art. It’s not easy, and the results are fascinating. The precarious sculptures don’t last long at the seashore, but are captured in photographs. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Laura Dove)
The Balancing Cube is a robot that can remain balanced on any one of its corners, even when pushed. Six motorized weights quickly move to keep the robot’s weight balanced whenever it is in danger of falling over:
The Balancing Cube is an example of a distributed control platform. Each module….is a self-contained unit with a computer, battery, motor, and inertial sensors (a tri-axis accelerometer and tri-axis rate gyro). So instead of relying on a centralized controller, the modules share their inertial data through a bus network. Then each module combines its own data with the shared data to determine the orientation of the cube — and command its motor accordingly.
Researchers at Tohoku Gakuin University in Japan have developed a robot that stays balanced on a ball, even when it’s pushed or heavy loads are placed on top.
Three independent rotors spin to keep the robot’s balance atop the ball, and it can move in any direction, using an “omniwheel” akin to the one under Honda’s U3-X.[...]
Dynamically stable robots like this one are better than static bots, which use three or more wheels, researchers say.
They can have smaller bases, allowing them to navigate tight corners. And their omnidirectional abilities allow them to quickly go in any direction without having to turn around.
via Popular Science
Relax, take a deep breath, and give puzzle game Perfect Balance a go. As the name implies, you need to try to get a collection of shapes to balance perfectly on a base structure.
There are 80 levels in total. Prepare for frustration.
Link – via onelargeprawn
This is the tallest pyramid of glasses I have ever seen – when the camera pans down, it just keeps panning and panning… it’s amazing. Watch as the guy puts the very last glass on top… will he make it? I was nervous for him.
Pyramid Of Glasses – Amazing videos are here
