Alex Santoso's Blog Posts

Hex Keys Optical Illusion

Alex

What do these organized hex keys look like to you? They look like floating stairs made out of staples to me!

When imgurian megsut121 organized some hex keys (or Allen key, if you must) at work, two questions immediate came to mind: First, who in the world would have that many hex keys. And second, do they point up or down?

Take a look at the larger pic - there's something strangely satisfying going on here.


Crikey! Artist Turns Pothole into Crocodile Pond

Alex

A month ago, a water pipe burst and damaged a street in Bangalore, India. Frustrated that the authorities did nothing to fix the 12-foot-wide pothole, artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy decided to take matters into his own hands: he created a life-size 9-foot-long crocodile out of fiber glass and turn the pothole into a crocodile pond!

Nanjundaswamy's stunt worked: the authorities quickly covered up that pothole after his crocodile pic went viral on social media.

Here's what the pothole looked like before the crocodile:

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5 Father's Day Cards You Should NOT Send To Your Dad

Alex

Father's Day is almost here, and if you're on a mission to find that perfect Father's Day card, here are some cards that you should NOT send. From the brilliant minds behind Shoebox, take a look at 12 Rejected Father's Day Cards:

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How the Saharan Silver Ants Survive Temperatures Up to 158 Degrees Fahrenheit

Alex


Photo: Norman Nan Shi and Nanfang Yu

It's 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70°C) outside and that's just fine for the Saharan silver ants.

But how do the ants, which as its name suggests, live in the Sahara desert, keep cool when biological functions start breaking down when their body temperatures reach 128°F (54°C)?

Scientists discovered that the Saharan silver ants can withstand such hot temperatures because of the amazing properties of their silvery hair. Using electron microscopy and ion beam milling, Nanfang Yu of Columbia Engineering and colleagues discovered that the ant's hairs have unique triangular cross section. The hairs reflect the sun's rays in the visible light and near-infrared, and they dissipate heat in the infrared range through thermal radiation.

"Animals have evolved diverse strategies to perceive and utilize electromagnetic waves: deep sea fish have eyes that enable them to maneuver and prey in dark waters, butterflies create colors from nanostructures in their wings, honey bees can see and respond to ultraviolet signals, and fireflies use flash communication systems," Yu said to PhysOrg, "Organs evolved for perceiving or controlling electromagnetic waves often surpass analogous man-made devices in both sophistication and efficiency. Understanding and harnessing natural design concepts deepens our knowledge of complex biological systems and inspires ideas for creating novel technologies."

The scientists hope that this discovery could lead to novel materials and paints that can be applied to rooftops or cars to keep them cool.

Learn more about the amazing Saharan silver ant in this BBC clip, narrated by Sir David Attenborough:

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This Slippery Floor Warning Sign Looks Like a Banana Peel

Alex

Now that's a useful AND ap-peel-ing sign!

That's the Banana Cone, a bright yellow "Caution Wet Floor" sign that warns passers-by of slippery floor. Surely you've seen such a sign before, but this one is shaped like a banana peel! Talk about a universal sign of slipping!

You can get some from Amazon, if you're bananas over things that look like bananas.


Samsung's Safety Trucks Let Drivers Behind See the Road Ahead

Alex

In countries with a lot of one-lane streets, overtaking slow-moving trucks can be downright hazardous.

Samsung, in this advertising collaboration with Leo Burnett/Buenos Aires, put a camera in front of its "Safety Trucks" and a monitor in the back to let drivers behind the trucks see the road ahead.

Do you think this is a good idea?


For Relaxing Times, See These Suntory Ice Cube Sculptures

Alex

For relaxing times, make it Suntory time ... preferrably chilled with these intricately carved ice cubes for their "3D on the Rocks" ad campaign.

Miwako Fujiwara of creative agency TBWA\Hakuhodo explained that Suntory used CNC router to mill blocks of ice into intricate frozen sculptures of a shark, a scorpion, the Statue of Liberty as well as pop culture icons like Godzilla, Batman, and Mario.

First, they chilled the CNC router to -7 °C (19 °F) to keep the ice from melting. Then, they fed 3D modeling data to the milling machine ... and one to six hours later (depending on the complexity of the design), they got the end product.

Take a look at more of Suntory's amazing ice cube sculptures:

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Arnold Schwarzenegger Pranked Fans at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

Alex

He's back.

To help promote his new Terminator Genisys movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger took to the streets of Hollywood as Terminator ("Please don't bump my selfie stick" will surely become a new thing) and pranked fans at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

The prank is part of an effort to benefit the charity After-School All Stars, which you can enter over at Omaze.


Meet the New Swedish Super Pizza!

Alex

Behold the new Swedish Super Pizza!

Journalist Cecilia Edström tweeted this picture of the culinary masterpiece, which is called the "Volcano Pizza," made by chef Halmat Givra of Nya Gul & Blå restaurant in Piteå, Sweden. As reported by Nyheter24, the pizza contains pockets of ham and cheese, beef tenderloin, salami, bacon, french fries, and salad with Bearnaise sauce.

What's the Swedish word for "yummy"?


Haiku by a Robot

Alex

At the tender age of 9, Nathan Beifuss of California showed that his creation, aptly titled "Haiku by a Robot," fulfilled all of the requirements of a haiku, namely that it has a five-seven-five syllable structure and that it makes no sense whatsoever. Genius!


The Internet Responds to Slayer's New Album Cover

Alex

Earlier this week, metal band Slayer revealed the cover art of their new album, Repentless. The image, created by Brazilian artist Marcelo Vasco in collaboration with bassist Tom Araya and guitarist Kerry King, is definitely edgy.

While you could've easily predicted backlash from religious Christians, the band probably didn't see what the Internet saw: the uncanny similarity between the album cover image with Ecce Homo, the 100-year-old fresco by Elias Garcia Martinez, made famous when it was "restored" by an elderly churchgoer.

It took Slayer years to come up with the new album, but Metal Injection reported that it took the Internet just a day or so to release this:

What do you think? Is it an improvement?


This is Why You Shouldn't Have a Raptor for a Pet

Alex

If you think cats don't listen, try having a raptor as a pet. We really don't know how the Flintstones did it, because dinos are big jerks!


Flower Girl Stole the Kiss ... and the Photo!

Alex


Photo: Leah Bullard

No wedding photo is complete without "The Kiss," but when photographer Leah Bullard snapped a photograph of the bride and groom kissing, she got a bit more than she expected: the flower girl wanted in on the action, too!

When Anthony Palmer and Michelle Hall of Knoxville, Tennessee, got married last weekend, Michelle's four-year-old daughter Anderson was the flower girl. When Bullard said that she needed the bride and groom to kiss, the little girl "thought I was referring to her, because she thought she was the bride and so naturally she just leaned in for a kiss and kissed that ring bearer!" said Bullard to KFOR.

"Guess what! When momma kissed, Ikey and I kissed!," said Anderson about Ike the ringbearer, "He was the best ring bearer ever! And he thought I was the best flower girl ever! We're best friends"


"Relentlessly Gay" Yard Caused A Neighborhood Battle

Alex

Baltimore-resident Julie Baker, a widow and mother of four, created a set of rainbow-colored mason jars with the words "Love" and "Ohana" and hung them outside her frontyard. (Ohana, for those of you who haven't seen Disney's Lilo & Stitch cartoon, is the Hawaiian word that means "family.")

Baker didn't think too much of her handicraft until one day, she opened her door to find a note from her neighbor. The note said:

Your yard is becoming Relentlessly Gay! Myself and Others in the neighborhood ask that you Tone It Down. This is a Christian area and there are Children.

Keep it up and I will be Forced to call the Police on You! Your kind need to have Respect for GOD.

A Concerned Home Owner.

But Baker didn't "tone it down." Instead, she planned to turn it up even higher. After she shared the story with a friend who posted it on Facebook, the story went viral, and Baker has started a Go Fund Me campaign.

"I am starting this fundraiser so I can work to make my Home even More 'relentlessly gay.' If we go high enough, I will see if I can get a Rainbow Roof! Because my invisible relentlessly gay rainbow dragon should live up there in style!" Baker added, "Put simply, I am a widow and the mother of four children, my youngest in high school and I WILL NOT Relent to Hatred. Instead I will battle it with whimsy and beauty and laughter and love, wrapped around my home, yard and family!!!"


Bottling the Scent of the Recently Deceased

Alex

After her husband passed away, Katia Apalategui's mother held on to her late husband's pillowcase to keep his unique scent.

"This gave me the idea of bottling a dead person's unique scent so that grieving relatives can keep their loved one's memory alive," said Apalategui to The Telegraph. "We take the person's clothing and extract about 100 molecules [sic] of their unique bodily odour. Then in a distillation process that takes four days we reconstruct it in the form of perfume."

Apalategui worked with scientists at Le Havre University to develop the technique to reproduce a person's distinct odor. That odor, she added, could provide "olfactory comfort" that Apalategui claimed is more effective than photos of the deceased.

(Image: totallyPic/Shutterstock)


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Profile for Alex Santoso

  • Member Since 2012/07/17


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