Mark Jenkins creates sculptures out of ... packing tape! Check out his artwork here: Link (via Belhoste)

Ryan Brooks made this fantastic clock with large Nixie tubes.

What's a nixie tube? Wikipedia explains:

"A nixie tube is an electronic device for displaying numerals or other information, in the form of a glass tube containing multiple cathodes and a wire mesh anode, filled with neon and often a little mercury and/or argon (a Penning mixture, for lower striking voltage) at a small fraction of atmospheric pressure. Although it resembles a vacuum tube in appearance, its operation does not depend on heating of a cathode to cause it to emit electrons (the thermionic effect). It is therefore called a cold-cathode tube, a form of gas filled tube, a variant of neon lamp."

Link

Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) was a German biologist who drew beautiful illustrations of weird animals, plants, and micro-organisms in his work Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature).

Haeckel's a flamboyant and interesting man: he promoted Charles Darwin's work in Germany, but at the same time he often fudged the details of his work to fit many of his hare-brained theories.

Unfortunately, Haeckel also promoted the idea of "biogenic theory", where he postulated that there are "primitive races" that require the supervision and protection of a more "mature" societies.

Link: Art Forms of Nature | Wikipedia entry on Haeckel (via Mad Professor)

David Maisel took these haunting photos of copper canisters containing the forgotten cremated remains of mental patients at the Oregon State Insany Asylum who died at the hospital from 1883 to the 1970s.

As I was setting up to photograph in a storage building that houses the cremated remains, prisoners from the local penitentiary were called in to clean up some of the mess in the adjacent hallway, crematorium, and autopsy room. A young male prisoner leaned into the room lined with the copper cans, scanned the room, and said in a low tone, "The library of dust.”

Link (via Boing Boing)

A couple highlights from Science-A-Go-Go's List:

1. He Liked His Feet Naked
"When I was young, I found out that the big toe always ends up making a hole in the sock," he once said. "So I stopped wearing socks." Einstein was also a fanatical slob, refusing to "dress properly" for anyone. Either people knew him or they didn't, he reasoned - so it didn't matter either way

3. He Was A Rotten Speller
Although he lived for many years in the United States and was fully bilingual, Einstein claimed never to be able to write in English because of "the treacherous spelling". He never lost his distinctive German accent either, summed up by his catch-phrase "I vill a little t'ink".

10. His Cat Suffered Depression
Fond of animals, Einstein kept a housecat which tended to get depressed whenever it rained. Ernst Straus recalls him saying to the melancholy cat: "I know what's wrong, dear fellow, but I don't know how to turn it off."

Check out the complete list: Link (via RyanDavis.Net)

Robert and Herbert Thompson's horse "Patches" thinks he is human.

"Patches rides in a convertible car, fetches beer, answers the telephone, sits on couch watching TV, sleeps in a human bed, etc."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006140154,00.html??2 | Video (via Nothing to do with Arbroath)

Jeff Luszcz wrote about making the (then) world's longest burrito (3,578 feet) in Mountain View, California for 1997 Cinco de Mayo's celebration.

http://www.sfbg.com/Extra/aln/bloat.html | The Pictures

The record, unfortunately, didn't stand the test of time: in 1999, another burrito measured at 4,289 feet and 11 inches - made in Tri-Cities, Washington, broke this world record. Link

In the space of one car, Adrien's bike rack parks 6 bikes. http://www.inoutdesigners.ch/pages/projects/config_01/vd_003.html (via RelentlesslyOptimistic)

Sean Dockray's PACK-MAN is a modified version of the classic arcade game PacMan, in which 5 joysticks combine (majority rule) to move the PacMan:

... if three people move their joysticks upand two people move theirs down, then PacMan will move up. If one person moves left and one person moves right, PacMan will do neither. The software remains essentially unchanged, although it runs much slower (to account for the speed of group decision-making) and graphics have been added across the bottom of the screen to communicate what each of the joysticks is doing at any given time.

Link (via Make: Blog)

From the website:

It is not uncommon for elderly, injured, or handicapped animals to lose the use of their back or front legs. Nerve damage, DM (Degenerative Myelopathy), cancer, arthritis, injury, accident and more can result in this condition. Fortunately, this does not need to be the end of a dog's life. A dog cart or dog wheelchair can offer an animal a wholesome, healthy, quality life.

If your dog needs a cart, you can get it here: Link

Guess who is visiting Area 51 on April Fool's Day?

Link (via digg)

The United Kingdom's National Archives has digitized and made available online (for a small fee) one million historical documents including the wills of Shakespeare, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Jane Austen.

Shakespeare's will has been available on the internet for a while but the latest project has made it much easier to access.

"This is a fantastic resource that can bring history so much closer to us," said TV personality Tony Robinson, who presents the archaeology programme Time Team.

"I've no doubt it will turn into a cult website. We can now all be historical researchers in the comfort of our own homes."

DocumentsOnline also contains government papers newly released after 30 years under lock and key.

Link | BBC News Article (Thanks David R!)

Rob wrote to me to introduce his blog: What is It?

From the website:

I've been collecting unusual objects for quite a few years and have just recently started posting them on this site as puzzles for visitors to figure out what they are.

Link | Mystery objects (above) that even he didn't know what they are (Thanks Rob!)

From the website:

This is a full-scale replica of England's Stonehenge built in the 1920's as a memorial to 13 Klickitat County men who died in World War I. According the the plaque onsite, it was the first monument in the nation to be built and dedicated to those who gave their lives during the first World War. There is a neat diagram near the monument that shows how it (and the original Stonehenge) can be used for astronomy. Sam Hill, the Quaker pacifist who was inspired to built the monument after a trip to England, is buried a few hundred feet behind the monument overlooking the Columbia River.

Link

Update 4/8/06: Sherry Reedman suggested another replica of Stonehenge: http://www.alfredshepperd.com/Stonehenge/main.html (Thanks Sherry!)

Chris Heenan wrote to us about this weird-looking airship:

Concept for heavy lifting bodys that are gas filled but "fly" rather than "float" as blimps do.

Link (Thanks Chris Heenan!)