In 2009, artist Jean-Michel Rubio designed a 6 feet tall giraffe made out of 3000 paperbacks and had it installed on the Canebière in Marseille, France. In 2010, the giraffe was used as a terminal book exchange. After surviving the winter in 2010, however, the giraffe made of books was burned down to ashes by vandals.

Still, it's awesome this existed. I wonder how long it would have survived if not for the vandalism.

Link (Translated) via Le Chat Mots | Photographer: Ange

I wish I had a TARDIS play tent when I was a kid! However, since this tent is 61" tall and I'm a fairly short adult, I could still get one today and be just as satisfied now as I would have been then. Even better, This canvas tent folds open to reveal the 11th Doctor's control room.

Link via Geekologie

What's better than baking cute little dinosaur cookies? Baking the separate parts of the dinosaur so that you can connect the pieces and build an edible 3D dinosaur! Here are the details from Suck UK:

Cookie cutters in the shape of dinosaur body parts. Cut out cookie dough, bake in the oven, then slot the cookies together to make edible dinosaurs that will stand up your plate. Create the tastiest treats this side of the Jurassic period... then eat them into extinction. Each pack includes cutters for the body parts required to bake a whole dinosaur, with 4 to collect (Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus and T-Rex).

If you order more than one we will send you different dinosaurs.

Of course, depending on how creative you are and how good you are at cooking, there's so much more you can do with these 3D dino treats than just bake the cookies and put them together.

Link via Geyser of Awesome

This is a pretty interesting picture, and it spawned all types of speculation and fanfiction about Dexter's Laboratory being a prelude to The Big Bang Theory. I was going to mention the questionability of Dexter being Leonard and Dee Dee being Penny, but Wickfield, the Deviant Art creator of the Dexter's Laboratory image, had this to say about the incest implications:

AND NO IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE INCEST, PUH-LEASE. I just put Dexter as Leonard because he's the main character (and shortest), and Dee Dee is Penny because she's the sole blond girl. It's not supposed to be an exact copy, but everyone on Tumblr is freaking out about that and THAT'S THE JOKE. THAT IS WHY DEXTER IS 0.0. Read the description, that's why it's there.

Dexter: "Dee Dee, this is not the Big Bang theory I thought you were talking about!"
Dee Dee: "Oh well - a little dress-up's always fun!"
Mandark: "Yeah right, especially when your own brother gets to date you before I do...."
Dexter: 0_0

The picture to the right is a promo picture for the complete second season of The Big Bang Theory. The Dexter's Laboratory comparison was drawn by Wickfield.

Link | Artist: Nina S. (Wickfield)

You see that beetle on her eye? That's a Longhorn Beetle, and, though it's dead, that's still a real beetle glued to her face. Pixie Cold is an artist who focuses mainly on eye and face art. This picture, called Toxic Meet, is just the first part of her new butterfly and bug series.

Link via Obvious Winner | Artist: Svenja Jödicke (Pixie Cold)

There are plenty of companies out there that specialize in creating Cinderella-themed carriages for married couples and families. Of all the carriages I've seen, this is hands down my favorite.

via I Love Creative Designs and Unusual Ideas

According to Brand Licensing Europe, Nickelodeon has interesting plans in store for Spongebob Squarepants sometime in 2013:

For SpongeBob, a humorous adult-targeted clothing line is on the way, including ‘Keep Calm and Gary On’ T-shirts. The ‘Dare to be Square’ marketing initiative will be ramped up in 2013, and ‘It’s a SpongeBob Christmas’ special movie will arrive in Christmas 2013, complete with computer generated imagery and its own marketing campaign, as well as a range of consumer products.

Can you see yourself in an adult-targeted Spongebob Squarepants outfit?

Link via NickALive!

To promote the premier of the new CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle show that appeared on Nickelodeon September 29, 2012, NickALive created TMNT 3D street art on the Riverside Walkway by St Gabriel’s Wharf in London.

I love 3D street art. At first, the art looks so realistic that it's terrifying, but once you get over the fact that it's not real, you almost wish it was. Well, that's my thinking process at least.

Link via I Love Creative Designs and Unusual Ideas | Designer: NickALive!

Admittedly, if this were in my house, I'd use the TV to figure out what time it is, but this clock made of clocks is such a beautiful, creative idea! When designer Ron Benshoshan and his girlfriend moved into their first apartment, the place definitely needed work. It was messy, like the previous people who moved there frantically move out, and the design scheme was inconsistent. The clock made of clocks was only part of the major, beautiful changes Benshoshan made. You can see the before and after images at Desire to Inspire.

Link via I Love Creative Designs and Unusual Ideas | Designer: Ron Benshoshan

This looks like something right out of a fantasy book. Somewhere in Vermont, a couple of kids had not just one tree house to share, but three separate houses of their own that they could go to and from with a ladder and a bridge. If I had one of these tree houses, I'm sure I'd only ever go home in the winter time or to stock up on food and clean clothes.

Via Fairies, Dragons, and Other Mythological Creatures

If there's anything I know for sure about the internet, it's that people online love cats. In spite of that, cats don't much like computers - especially when you're pecking away at the keyboard and not petting or feeding them. Stay on a computer for too long with a bored cat by your side and they'll soon behave just like the kitty in this picture.

Do you have any funny stories about how a cat has reacted to you being on a computer?

Link via Absolutely Madness | Artist: missqueenmob

Though this performance happened two years ago, it's still extremely interesting to look at. Choreographed by Willi Dorner, "Bodies in Urban Space" consisted of multiple performers finding spaces throughout the Financial District in lower Manhattan to fit into and fill in. The Wall Street Journal has many more pictures.

Link via Absolutely Madness | Photographer: Bryan Derballa for The Wall Street Journal

Mikeasaurus, an Instructables member, has been featured on Neatorama for both his Beer Advent Calendar and his DIY Magnetic Silly Putty. It's safe to say that if you need a creative, amusing way to tell someone you miss them, an "I miss you" card created by Mikeasaurus is definitely a great idea. You can download a PDF scaled to A4 (8.5" x 11") and the template at the card's page, where you can find more cool images of the card. It's up to you whether you actually take the card to the shooting range or just poke the gunholes in with a pen.

Link via No Hope For the Human Race (NSFW)

My childhood would have been so much better if I could wait at the park for my parents to pick me up and check out a book there at the same time. The stand, officially called Paradero ParaLibros ParaParques (Whereabouts For Books, For Parks) is part of a program ran by Fundalectura to promote literacy across South America. 

I'm all for trying this in America.

Link via Le Chat Mots

Bookmobiles are awesome. There's an amazing sense of adventure in seeing a truck roll down the street full of books and wondering what you can get inside. While a paper bookmobile doesn't have that same sense of adventure, having a papercraft bookmobile to spice up your desk's design would still be amazing.  Over at illustrator Bob Staake's website, you can download the print file explaining how you can go about creating your own 3-D paper bookmobile.

Link via Le Chat Mots

When I was a kid, I really wanted a tree house for me and my friends. It would be the ultimate hideout. I knew my parents couldn't afford to make or buy one, but I didn't let that stop me. Instead, I told all eight of the neighborhood kids to go scouring through their house for wood and logs. I looked in alleyways and in people's yards, feeling like a spy on a top mission. When we all met together about a half hour later, meaning our search couldn't have possibly been that fruitful, I went into a long speech about how I wanted our dream tree house to look.

This pioneer log home of British Columbia is exactly what I dreamed about that day!

It's no wonder me and my friends gave up on making the tree house after the adults busted us and made us put the wood back where we found it.

Link via Fairies, Dragons, and Other Mythological Creatures

[Youtube Link]

That's about about 156 ounces (9.75 pounds) of food and drink and 8610 calories! As part of a food challenge, Jamie McDonald ate and drank all ten items listed on the Hobbit menu in 20 minutes with no breaks. Heck, it would have taken me 20 minutes just to eat that huge Ring Burger. 

Via Geekologie

I hate to make a bad joke, but the joke just can't be contained. Looks like Bazinga, a catchphrase used by Sheldon Cooper on the Big Bang Theory, is officially a 'buzz word.' Instead of naming the brand new orchid bee species after himself or the species' appearance, Andre Nemesio and his team named the bee Euglossa bazinga. Why, you may ask?

The specific epithet honors the clever, funny, captivating “nerd” character Sheldon Cooper, brilliantly portrayed by the North American actor James Joseph “Jim” Parsons on the CBS TV show “The Big Bang Theory”. Sheldon Cooper’s favorite comic word “bazinga”, used by him when tricking somebody, was here chosen to represent the character. Euglossa bazinga sp. n. has tricked us for some time due to its similarity to E. ignita, what led us to use “bazinga”. Sheldon Cooper has also an asteroid named after him (246247 Sheldoncooper).

Link via Quite Interesting | Photographer: Andre Nemesio

For all you avid readers out there, would you say that this is just about true? It definitely is for me. Whenever I'm 'lost to reality,' interrupting me from the scene I'm reading is tantamount to tempting a hungry wolf. In fact, people rarely see me angry until they interrupt me from reading.

Link via The Official Neil Gaiman Tumblr | Artist: Reenin

The place above is Le Cafe de L'Enfer, or the Cafe from Hell. This is what Curious History has to say about it:

This cavern of writhing demon statues is Le Cafe de L’Enfer (The Cafe from Hell) in Paris’ red light district (aka Pigalle, the neighborhood of the Moulin Rouge). It opened in the late 19th century and operated until the middle of the 20th century. It is the world’s first theme restaurant. The cafe featured waiters dressed as devils and a doorman who screamed damnation at customers as they came in to be seated.

Too bad Le Cafe de L'Enfer is no longer open. I would have loved to go there, both to see what types of food they'd serve and who I would meet. To see more images of the cafe, check out the pictures over at Retronaut.

Link via Curious History

This picture of a Winnie the Pooh flash mob may be Photoshopped, but that doesn't make it any less surreal, amusing, and/or terrifying. I feel sorry for the woman in the black skirt in the middle of this picture. Doesn't it look like six or seven Pooh's are coming toward her?

Via The Official Neil Gaiman Tumblr

Back when Hostess wasn't having all the issues they're having now, comic artists used to draw scenes featuring a Hostess product in some shape or form for advertising. As a farewell to Hostess, The Comics Should Be Good! blog over at the Comic Book Resources website featured an art challenge with the following theme:

In honor of the sad news of Hostess Brands going out of business, the theme (which was suggested by a lot of people) is to pick a comic book character that you’d like to see our artists do an old school Hostess ad for. You can also name which Hostess product you’d like to see the character sell, but that’s optional.

The pictures above are the sketches artists drew in reponse to the challenge. View many more images over at The Comics Should Be Good! Blog: Link - via The Official Neil Gaiman Tumblr

[Youtube Link]

Nick Bertke, more widely known as Pogo, is the type of skilled person who can visit a country, record people talking and living life, and then turn those recordings into a song. In the video above, he made a song out of his trip to Bhutan. Some of his songs and videos are amusing, while others are enlightening. His remixes for countries and cities are a great way to open people up to other cultures. For instance, I never thought about Bhutan before this video, but now I would love to visit and learn more. To learn more about his videos and what he does, you can visit his website and watch the video on his homepage.

(Youtube Link)

Link breaks out of bounds! Of course, YouTube commenters got wrapped up in arguing about Apple products, since all the objects Link travels through belongs to Apple, but that doesn't make this video any less awesome or skilled. Even better, the people who put this video together did it all in one continuous shot! You can watch the making of the video here.

 

[Youtube Link]

There's a lot to love about this video just from the title alone. Not only do you get to see cute kittens flying in slow motion, but you also get to see cute kittens as the stars of an amusing hip hop dubstep. What more can you ask for? This video is just a small preview focused on the cats. You can watch the full video here.

In case you're wondering if any cats were harmed, here is a message from Scott & Brendo, the creators:

Before you go all crazy on me for "hurting" cats, you should know that the cats were handled with GREAT care. We decided to keep the shot tight on the cats so that they did not need to be airborne very long. The cats were tossed a few feet into an enormous and ultra soft sheepskin blanket. The cats were treated like royalty. They were fed gourmet cat food and lots of water. We took many breaks where the kittens rested and played in the shade. They were full of energy the entire shoot which lasted a mere one hour. This video was shot six months ago and the cats are alive and in perfect health today. I love cats and would never even consider harming them...so please stop sending me death threats.

There are a lot of creative objects you can create based off of the TARDIS from Doctor Who. A bookshelf is a perfect idea! Even the way it's made does a great job imitating the TARDIS. When the doors are closed, it looks like you can only hold a few books in there. However, the bookshelf is a lot larger once you open the doors. Morgan even has a photo post showing how it was built.

The Batman chess set is a whopping $795.00, but it looks as fun to play chess with as it would be just to look at. Can you imagine how intense a game of chess would be with that board and those pieces?

Can you identify all the princesses? What Pokemon do you think each would have? This picture by DeviantART artist Hapuriainen is awesome for many reasons. Both the outfit selection and the poses really bring the princesses to life. I can actually imagine them being Pokemon trainers now, which is something I definitely wouldn't have thought to imagine before. Even better, Hapurianen created a Pokemon Trainer Creator!

Usually, the most interesting and questionable vending machines are in Japan. Now Canada has the Biblio-mat. While the Biblio-mat isn't widely distributed, it certainly should be. The Biblio-mat is a used-book vending machine that was created by Craig Small, co-founder of an animation studio in Toronto called The Juggernaut. It's currently inside The Monkey's Paw, a second-hand bookshop owned by Stephen Fowler. Adopting a nice, old book is as simple as putting in $2 and waiting to be surprised. Seriously, wouldn't you want one of these in your house, right by your fridge?