Wayne Martin Belger of Boy of Blue Industries created this pinhole camera, named Yama, out of a human skull! Yama is the Tibetan God of Death:

Yama’s eyes are cast from bronze and silver with a brass pinhole in each. A divider runs down the middle of the skull creating
two separate cameras. A finished contact print mounted on copper is inserted in to the back of the camera to view what Yama saw in 3D.

Yama is made from Aluminium, Titanium, Copper, Brass, Bronze Steel, Silver, Gold, Mercury with 4 Sapphires, 3 Rubies (The one at Yama’s third eye was $5000.00), Asian and American Turquoise, Sand, Blood, and 9 Opals inlayed in the Skull. The film loading system is pneumatic. A 300psi air tank in the middle of the camera powers 2 pneumatic pistons to move the film holder forward and lock it into place. The switch to open and close the film chamber is located under the jaw.

http://www.boyofblue.com/cameras/yama.html - via Notcot

John's post on the script of The Godfather turned into a visual art reminded me of this Einstein Word Portrait by Jeff Clark of Neoformix: Link

Previously on Neatorama: 10 Strange Facts About Einstein

Who says that video games aren't educational? Here's the story of one 6-year-old Virginia boy who took the family's sedan because he missed the school bus:

The boy, whose name wasn't released, missed the bus, took the keys to his family's 2005 Ford Taurus and drove nearly six miles toward school while his mother was asleep, police said.

He made at least two 90-degree turns, passed several cars and ran off the rural two-lane road several times before hitting an embankment and utility pole about a mile and a half from school.

The boy told police he learned to drive playing Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam video games.

"He was very intent on getting to school," said Northumberland County Sheriff Chuck Wilkins. "When he got out of the car, he started walking to school. He did not want to miss breakfast and PE."

That boy sure is motivated to go to school! http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/839903.html

Link | Original website [in Russian]

Photo: explosive laughter [Flickr]

Flickr user explosive laughter snapped this pic of a mighty specific business hour of a "conspiracy theory headquarters" in Toronto, Canada. In that light, 9:11 makes sense, but what about the rest? Perhaps they just like Charlotte Gainsbourg's 5:55 music album ...

Usually, consumers are mad if things are missing in the product they buy, but this class action lawsuit is about something extra:

We were reminded of that scheming today when we read about what Courthouse News Service reports may be the first federal class action based on concealment of chicken giblets. In the complaint, Perdue Farms is accused of disposing of “an enormous quantity of extra giblet parts” by a “secret practice” of stuffing extra hearts, gizzards and necks into its whole chickens, thereby “dispos(ing) of its extra giblets” and tricking customers into paying the regular per-pound price for them.[...]

But aren’t gizzards the best part? Clearly these people have never tasted a good chicken giblet gravy. Indeed, when reached for comment, Julie DeYoung, a Perdue spokeswoman, told the Law Blog: “While it is company practice not to comment on pending litigation, I can tell you the majority of our giblets complaints are about MISSING giblets. We just received the lawsuit and will review it in more detail, but we anticipate a vigorous defense.”

Link - via Offbeat

It's 10 PM. Do you know where your children are? Well, with this GPS tracking watch, you definitely do. Here's the Nu.M8 digital watch that lets parents track their children's whereabouts through a secure website (it'll even overlay the location on Google Maps).

And to answer the obvious question: an alarm will be triggered if the watch is forcibly removed.

Link

Is it too much or just being a prudent parent in today's environment?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Add this to long things of things that prove the adage: a new law taking effect February 10th requires all children's clothing and toys to be tested for lead and phthalates. Any product not tested by that day will be considered hazardious waste, regardless whether they contain lead.

Because testing costs thousands of dollars, many small manufacturers and even stores will be forced to close:

Barring a reprieve, regulations set to take effect next month could force thousands of clothing retailers and thrift stores to throw away trunkloads of children's clothing.

The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead.

"They'll all have to go to the landfill," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Assn. of Resale and Thrift Shops.

Moral of the story? Buy your kids clothes before February 10th - you may not be able to find 'em in many stores and probably won't find them in second-hand stores, either: Link | Find out more at the Handmade Toy Alliance

Uh oh, here comes another study that will surely add confusion to how exactly one should go about losing weight: exercise won't make you slim.

Researchers from Loyola University Health System and other centers compared African American women in metropolitan Chicago with women in rural Nigeria. On average, the Chicago women weighed 184 pounds and the Nigerian women weighed 127 pounds.

Researchers had expected to find that the slimmer Nigerian women would be more physically active. To their surprise, they found no significant difference between the two groups in the amount of calories burned during physical activity.

"Decreased physical activity may not be the primary driver of the obesity epidemic," said Loyola nutritionist Amy Luke, a member of the study team. [...]

Diet is a more likely explanation than physical activity expenditure for why Chicago women weigh more than Nigerian women, Luke said. She noted the Nigerian diet is high in fiber and carbohydrates and low in fat and animal protein. By contrast, the Chicago diet is 40 percent to 45 percent fat and high in processed foods.

Link

Sarah Needleman of The Wall Street Journal wrote an interesting article about a new CareerCast.com study from Les Krantz, author of Jobs Rated Almanac, about the best and worst jobs in the U.S.

The study evaluated 200 jobs according to environment, income, employment outlook, physical demand and stress. The data are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, amongst others:

According to the study, mathematicians fared best in part because they typically work in favorable conditions -- indoors and in places free of toxic fumes or noise -- unlike those toward the bottom of the list like sewage-plant operator, painter and bricklayer. They also aren't expected to do any heavy lifting, crawling or crouching -- attributes associated with occupations such as firefighter, auto mechanic and plumber.

The study also considers pay, which was determined by measuring each job's median income and growth potential. Mathematicians' annual income was pegged at $94,160, but Ms. Courter, 38, says her salary exceeds that amount.

Link

Neatorama, of course, already know that Math rocks. Check out our I Love Math T-shirt.

Most of us played with building blocks to create our own make believe buildings and cities. Fortunately, not all of us outgrew this habit. Here are some cityscape artworks made from unusual objects like egg, cookware, and Jell-O. Yes. Jell-O.

(Yes, we've featured many of these artists before on Neatorama, but it's kind of neat to see them all in one place.)

Unreal Scene (2008) by Liu Jianhua

Photo: cinghialino [Flickr]

Photo: cinghialino [Flickr]

Chinese artist Liu Jianhua created this cityscape of Shanghai out of poker chips and dice. You can fill in the part about the metaphor of a city's growth and economic development to risk taking, gambling, and chance all by yourself. Part of a solo exhibition at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, Italy.

More about Liu Jianhua at ArtZineChina | Unreal Scene at designboom

San Francisco in Jell-O by Liz Hickok

Bay Bridge (2005), San Francisco in Jell-O by Liz Hickok

The City (2005), San Francisco in Jell-O by Liz Hickok

Liz Hickok and her Twin Peaks in Jell-O, complete with "fog."

San Francisco may be prone to earthquakes, but things never seem so jiggly as when artist Liz Hickok made a cityscape of Baghdad-by-the-Bay out of ... Jell-O!

Check out more of Liz's fantastic San Francisco in Jell-O at her website: Link

San Francisco Cityscape with Cookware

On Gold Mountain: Sculptures from the Sierra by Zhang Wang

What is it about San Francisco that inspired so many artists? Here's one by Zhan Wang, who used stainless steel pots and pans, as well as silverware to create his cityscape: Jell-O%20

Egg City

I don't know much about the background of this Egg City, but it's doubly eggscellent because it's also the image of a RMB 50 bill! (Previously on Neatorama)

Biscuit City by Sang Dong

In his installation titled "Eating the City," Chinese artist Sang Dong used about 72,000 biscuits, including "digestives, chocolate digestives, rich tea, hobnobs, caramels and fruit shortcake."

When his assistant remarked that she wanted to have a biscuit or two after the exhibition was completed but worried whether the biscuits would be stale, Dong had a sage advice: "Go for the ones at the bottom."

More at BBC: Link

Atlantis Cityscape

Artist Gayle Chong Kwan used hundreds of old plastic bottles and food packagings to create a cityscape of the lost city of Atlantis: Link

Colour Reading and Contexture by Jacob Dahlgren

At first I thought Jacob Dahlgren used books to create this virtual cityscape installation called "Colour Reading and Contexture," but those are actually colored tiles and wooden blocks. Still it's pretty cool! http://www.jacobdahlgren.com/index.htm

Urville by Gilles Tréhin

Urville is an island off Côte d'Azur, between Cannes and St. Tropez. If you've never heard of it, that's because it exists only in the mind of a savant named Gilles Tréhin.

Gilles started building Urville, named after Durmont d'Urville, a French scientific base in the Antarctic, when he was 12. Now, he has hundreds of detailed drawings, as well as a "historical" narrative on the founding of the city. http://urvillecity.free.fr/index.Urville-ENG.htm

Previously on Neatorama: 10 Most Fascinating Savants in the World

Cityscape II by Grace Grothaus

For her exhibition titled "Uncharted Terrain," Grace Grothous made an imaginary topographic landscale out of discarded circuit boards. The little buildings are the circuitries that are part of the boards! http://www.gracegrothaus.com/gallery/sculpture/Image3

Jerusalem Sphere by Frank Meisler

Jerusalem Sphere, replica of "Jerusalem Fountain" by Frank Meisler
Photo: Jerry [Picasa]

Inspired by ancient maps showing Jerusalem as a circular city, Frank Meisler created this sculpture of the city in the form of a sphere. It is a replica of the Jerusalem Fountain, commissioned by the King Solomon Hotel. Link

RPM-1200 "Junk City" by Enoki Chu

Photo: Keizo Kioku

Photo: Yuto Kirakakiuchi

Japanese artist Enoki Chu created his futuristic cityscape out of polished old drill bits and machine parts: Link

Bonus: CityScape Coat Hanger

If you love cityscape art, then you'll dig these CityScape Coat Hangers by sixxis. These laser-cut coat hangers are illustrated with the skylines of five cities: Link

If you have anything to add, I'd love to hear about it in the comment section!

Photo: Mary Anne Fackelman/The White House - via The Sly Oyster

Hooray! It's time for the Neatorama and Hobotopia Caption Monkey game.

Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That's Nancy Reagan sitting on Mr. T's lap (Santa T?), giving him a smooch, at a White House Christmas party in 1983. The First Lady actually requested Mr. T come to the party dressed as Santa Claus. This photo was printed in countless newspapers and magazines around the world.

Your job is to come up with the funniest caption for this photo. I pity the fool that couldn't come up with at least one. Funniest caption will win an original Laugh Out Loud Cat comic by our favorite artist Adam "Ape Lad" Koford.

For inspiration, don't forget to check out Adam's blog.

Leave it to Japan to fiddle with the adult diaper technology and develop the next-generation space toilet. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has teamed up with engineers from the private sector to complete the project in the next five year:

Clean and easy to use, the envisioned space toilet is designed to be worn like a diaper around the astronaut’s waist at all times. Sensors detect when the user relieves him or herself, automatically activating a rear-mounted suction unit that draws the waste away from the body through tubes into a separate container. In addition to washing and drying the wearer after each use, the next-generation space toilet will incorporate features that eliminate unwanted sound and odor.

Link

Recall the surprising news that banks can't account for how they are using first tranche of the $700 billion federal bailout fund? Well, luckily, Freakonomics blog reader Gannon Hubbard found the answer: a $700 billion rabbit hutch on Amazon!

Link

See also: The $700 Billion T-Shirt