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Someone got into the trash! The homeowners have two dogs, so how can they determine which one is the guilty party? -via Arbroath
Orata at Feather and Fan made this knit dalek with a zippered compartment in the front, where the dalek can stash a knitted Kaled mutant (or some other other freakish being). The knitting pattern is included in the post. Link -via Rue The Day
John F. Ptak came across an 1908 newspaper photo essay entitled "The Pleasant Lot of the Inebriate in Captivity: The comfortable quarters of the inmates of a state reformatory for inebriates."
The life in the state reformatory as an alcoholic British woman was hardly "pleasant" as the title states, though we don't know what the author was comparing this to. I suspect it was a general prison that was the benchmark for pleasantness, though perhaps it could have been an insane asylum , assuming of course that they didn't seem nearly as pleasant as the "pleasant" scenes in these pictures. The reformatory for alcoholics in Great Britain was established more along the lines of an almshouse or mental institution and seemed not terribly coercive--though given the border decorations for the photos on these pages--keys--there is no doubt that these people were incarcerated "for their own and the community's good."
Although the photographs are obviously posed, they are worth a look for their historic value. Link -via Everlasting Blort
It's a ridiculous game of one-upmanship between Michael Jackson and Mr. Bean! Patrick Boivin directed this stop-motion animation from Pascal Blais Studios. -via Laughing Squid
Does this camera look like a million bucks to you? How about $2 million? This Leica O-series is just one of 25 ever made to "test the market" in 1923, two years before the camera's A-Series debuted, according to the auctioneer's description. That was enough to make the winning bidder pay $1,890,000 for it just last weekend, making it the most expensive camera ever sold.
Link via the Daily What
[caption id="attachment_46990" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="(C) Antti Kemppainen"][/caption]
Sometimes nature is more amazing than whatever we can dream up. Though the photo above looks like some sort of special-effects shot from a movie about alien invasion on the Fourth of July, it's really just a beach in Perth, Australia.
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Sometimes nature is more amazing than whatever we can dream up. Though the photo above looks like some sort of special-effects shot from a movie about alien invasion on the Fourth of July, it's really just a beach in Perth, Australia.
That's where photographer Antti Kemppainen took this photo, back in January 2007. It was Australia Day and people gathered on the beach to see the fireworks show over the harbor. Meanwhile, lightning was exploding far away, over the ocean. And in the middle of it all, so bright that it would be seen despite the flashes of light, there was Comet McNaught.
Antti just took three photographs and composed them together in a single panorama, so you could see the 180-degree scene that the people sitting there were seeing that day.
Link
On paper, it looks a lot like something from a video game. In actuality, it looks even more so. David Brown, a cameraman, editor and producer, has won a PopSci 2011 Invention Award for his BodyGuard design--an armored glove with a built-in stun gun, laser pointer, video camera and flashlight. Not only is the design lightweight and adaptable, it's also fully endorsed by Kevin Costner, a friend of Brown's who invested in BodyGuard (get it?). Get more details (and a video of Costner and Brown) on PopSci.
http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2011-05/2011-invention-awards-stunning-development
Star Wars Lightsaber Flashlight (Darth Vader) - $25.95
Are you a Star Wars fanatic in need of a new flashlight? Behold the Star Wars Lightsaber Flashlight (Darth Vader) from the NeatoShop. This fabulous red LED flashlight has lightsaber sound effects when you turn it on/off. Get one of these flashlights and a light source force will always be with you! Star Wars Lightsaber Flashlight (Anakin Skywalker) is also available.Be sure to check out all the fabulous Star Wars items available at the NeatoShop.
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This is just the latest in a line of crazy PR stunts Hot Wheels has been pulling lately. Top Gear host (and pro stunt driver) Tanner Foust drove down a steep, bright orange ramp to gather speed for the record-breaking 332-foot jump he successfully completed at the Indy 500 to set a new world record.
Link via AdWeek
Like many soon-to-be graduates, two seniors of Westfield High School in Westfield, Mass., decided to pull a little senior prank during lunch in their high school's cafeteria. The two staged a mock lightsaber fight, "battling" for about 30 seconds in front of a packed lunchroom before ending to a standing ovation from the crowd. The principal didn't find the homage to Star Wars as impressive as the students did, however, and suspended the two seniors from school, adding that they won't be able to walk in their graduation next week. The incident is currently under review and the decision may be reversed after a hearing next week. There's a Facebook group petitioning the school to allow the pair to walk, if you care to add your support.
Link via Geekologie
I can't say that it's been a pressing question for me, but obviously someone wondered what would happen if you put Lady Gaga's Bad Romance vocals over a Sonic the Hedgehog game track. This is the result.
Link
Flavorwire has assembled a cool slideshow of people with artist-inspired tattoos, from the pop art of Andy Warhol to Banksy's graffiti work. Other artists represented include Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Gustav Klimt, Georgia O'Keeffe and Frida Kahlo. I think the colors in the Starry Night-inspired sleeve above are just gorgeous.
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The following is an article from the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research.
Figure 1. Battle between Lapiths and Centaurs (Centauromachy) at the wedding of Perithoos with Hippodameia (Vase 5th century b. Chr.)
by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. H.C. Reinhard V. Putz Institute of Anatomy, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich/Germany
This study concerns itself with the systematics of Centaurean anatomical conditions. These are bound to be highly peculiar, combining, as they do, an animal trunk (the equine component) with a human trunk sans legs (the human component). (See Figure 8.)
A staple of Greek mythology, Centaurs have made many appearances throughout the centuries and even in our own time. They are represented by numerous sculptures and images in museums. True, when speaking of Centaurs, we have to rely on two- and three-dimensional models—here as many other instances in biology—because there has not yet been a sighting of a live specimen. However, the majority of extant graphic documents show a degree of verisimilitude and accuracy that makes them appear quite trustworthy, at least as regards the outward appearance of those beings. Figure 2. Hypothetical skeleton of Centaurs.
Historical Background
As we know from the ancient Greeks, the Centaurs are the offspring of the ill-fated relationship of Ixion, the king of the Thessalian Lapithes, and a cloud with the features of Hera, the wife of Zeus. At the wedding of Perithoos, king of the Lapithes, the drunken Centaurs sought to ravish the Lapithes’ wives. In the ensuing battle (the Centauromachy), they were driven from Thessalia to the Peloponnese. Quite understandably, Centaurs and Lapithes became mortal enemies on that day.
Materials
Since neither fossils nor living specimens of Centaurs have hitherto been discovered, the present study must be founded upon artistic renderings of its subject matter. These are abundant; collectively, they offer us a wealth of data. The most ancient depictions of Centaurs may be found on Grecian vases (see Figure 1). Greece and Rome have provided us with impressive sculptures. Medieval sources, on the other hand, are primarily scriptorial. Artistic renderings of Centaurs soared at the onset of the Modern period. Judging by the number of sculptures extant, Centaurs must have enjoyed remarkable popularity in the Renaissance. They have also inspired sculptors of more recent times.
Methods
This is a foundational survey of the Centaurean body and its organs. We present no statistical analyses. The sizes of sets of specimens are widely heterogeneous and can by no means be considered evenly distributed as regards their characteristics.
Nomenclature
The classic Centaur consists of two body parts, which meet at a right angle. The vertical or anterior part shows all the characteristics of the species Homo. For simplicity’s sake, however, we will simply refer to it as Anterior (A). The horizontal part is the posterior one. In classic Centaurs, this quite obviously belongs to the species Equus. We will simply call it Posterior (P). For the purpose of the present study’s phylogenetic considerations, and in order to improve legibility, species-related epithets will be attached to these terms. When describing and discussing classic Centaurs, therefore, the anterior part of the body will be referred to as Human Anterior (HA); the posterior part, as Equine Posterior (EP).
(Image credit: Flickr user Terence Faircloth)
Two Parts
The anterior (HA) of the classic Centaur consists of a human element constituted by a head, a neck, a thorax with upper extremities, and an abdomen. The presence of a pelvis cannot be established with certainty. At any rate, the outward appearance indubitably and undeniably shows that HA—down to the umbilical region—possesses that human plasticity that is described in any modern anatomical atlas (e.g. Putz and Pabst, 2005). In contrast, EP consists of a near-complete horse’s trunk with a tail and four extremities. Again, the plasticity of the trunk allows us to accept as standard the equine anatomy that is exhaustively documented in the relevant literature (e.g. König and Liebich, 1999).
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Someone has created quite an impressive hand-cranked machine that "manipulates small spherical rare earth magnets, slicing one at a time from the end of a long chain, moving it around a bit, then dropping it back to re-connect at the tail end of the chain".
Make sure you don't miss the amazing chain of magnets at the end of the video.
I made this machine for my father-in-law for his 75th birthday: astute viewers equipped with video analysis software and way too much time on their hands might find that the magnet drops 75mm from the tip of the slicer until caught by the lifter, and that the lifter then drops it through a 75mm long aluminum tube.
via Pusha
(Video Link)
The sky gods are angry at Australia! Several waterspouts were seen off the coast of New South Wales, and a news camera crew got very close to them:
The video, taken from a helicopter by Australia's Channel 7, showed several powerful columns of swirling air blasting along the water's surface near the coastline.
Channel Seven says the spouts reached heights of up nearly two thousand feet), but dissipated as they neared land.
Link via Doobybrain | Photo: Singapore Waterspout
