Our perception of color is strongly affected by the colors surrounding it. In fact it is possible to perceive two identical colors as being very different if they are placed in different backgrounds.

Very cool color illusions by R. Beau Lotto: Link

From the website:

Mr. Anton Peterka along with his team, made his '85 Yugo 45, using wood and coal for fuel. It's not a new technology, 125 years old. The process is based on incomplete combustion of wood: due to lack of air, gases are created: carbon monoxide, the main fuels, hydrogen and methane. That mixture of gases is as flammable as gasoline fumes. To get the car moving, it is necessary to "fill it up with wood".

Link (via Make Blog)

From the news article:

Meat from whales caught under Japan's "research" programme is so abundant that it is being sold as pet food, according to a UK conservation group.

A company is selling meat on the web as "healthy and safe natural" dog food.

"A quiet whale meat boom is starting," says the website hakudai.com.

Link

See more of Tim's "sort of a" comic here: Link

Jerry Zucker wrote to me about his website:

A one-of-a-kind oddity, an animated blog that's actually a micro-series. Described as a "saga of despair", It's JerryTime has gotten worldwide attention in its short 3 months on the web.

Tons of fun - very well done, Jerry! Check it out: Link

Japanese company Tmsuk Co. developed a 5-ton, 11.5-foot mecha called Enryu. The robot can lift a car from deep snow and will be used to assist in earthquake and snow-disaster rescue.

Link

Can you get figure your way out of the Crimson Room? Link

Fed up with gangs of youth smoking pot in public, the Amsterdam authorities put up No Toking signs around the city, and found that they're stolen the next day.

So, they decided to sell them as souvenirs instead!

Hundreds of people from countries around the world have asked for a sign at a price of EUR 90 (£62).

"About 75% of the requests come from the United States," said a spokesman for the De Baarsjes council.

USA? Somehow I'm not surprised. Link

A town in Belgium has banned the artwork of David Cerny called Saddam Hussein Shark (inspired by Damien Hirst's shark).

The mayor of Middelkerke, Michel Landuyt, said the work could "shock people", including Muslims.

Link (with larger picture)

Eloysa Vasquez, who is 3 feet tall, weighs 37 pounds before being pregnant and suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, gave birth to a baby boy.

Judging from her son's long fingers and toes, Vasquez said, "I think he's going to be a tall boy."

Her husband, Roy, said his wife's small stature can be deceiving: "She's a strong lady."

According to the university, one in only 25,000 to 50,000 births are to a mother with osteogenesis imperfecta, and even fewer involve moms with the severe Type 3 form.

Congrats, Eloysa & Roy! Link

Doctors removed a growth from a 35 year old Igor Namyatov that turned out to be the embryo of his unborn twin brother. Igor's neighbors thought it was an alien, instead!

Namyatov’s fellow villagers doubted the explanation given by the doctors. Some even surmised the object removed from Namyatov’s body was an extraterrestrial organism. “It is a pity they have removed it. They should have waited to see what would become of it later on. That would have been a great scientific find,” one of the villagers said.

Link

Andrew Martin from the Institute of Technical Zoology and Bionics in Germany, and colleagues, discovered the secret to a spider's climbing ability:

Martin said:

"We found out that when all 600,000 tips are in contact with an underlying surface the spider can produce an adhesive force of 170 times its own weight. That's like Spiderman clinging to the flat surface of a window on a building by his fingertips and toes only, whilst rescuing 170 adults who are hanging on to his back!"

http://physics.iop.org/IOP/Press/PR2904.html

From the website:

Automatic Camera situated 7 miles from blast with 10 foot lens. Shutter speed equaled 1/100,000,000 of-a-second exposure. Joshua tree's near base get vaporized in just microseconds.

Link | More Edgerton Photos.

Neatorama reader PT Ford said:

In celebration of the french national cheese day, which is april 8th, the association of regional cheeses in france has released a calendar of cheeses. each month features 12 mademoiselle and different cheeses. these "poster girls" get cheese some attention because the girls are either nude (but "tastefully" and strategically covered) or in french lingerie. thought readers would like a peek at that :D it makes cheese fun!

Yes, indeed - what can be better than cute girls and cheese? http://www.journeenationaledufromage.com (Thanks PT Ford!)