Google Street View is a handy feature integrated into Google Maps. It lets you see photos of travel routes. I find that it's really handy at times when I'm navigating in an unfamiliar area.

Google creates its massive photographic archive for Street View with 360º panoramic cameras that capture images of locations from multiple angles. So far, that archive extends to 230 nations around the world.

Google uses cars, trikes, backpacks, and even scuba gear to travel over all types of terrain. To get over the brutal Liwa Desert in the United Arab Emirates, Google mounted one of its panoramic cameras on the back of a camel. Google selected this method "to collect authentic imagery and minimize our disruption of this fragile environment." You can see photos from this effort here.

-via io9

Recently, I wrote a post about a donut shop in Los Angeles that has inventive recipes, such a donut with a whole Snickers bar baked inside. In the comments, BillB said, "They've got nothing on Amy's in Colorado Springs."

He has a point. Amy's Donuts in Colorado Springs, Colorado offers a donut unlike anything I've seen before: a jalapeño and chocolate-covered donut!

Amy's Donuts also makes donuts with Almond Joy bars, Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, and cotton candy. I like the way that Amy thinks.

It's time for a road trip! Thanks, BillB. I appreciate the tip.

(Photos: Andy Kryza)

The short answer is: it's awesome.

Andy Kryza of Thrillist realized that because Ben & Jerry's brand cookie dough ice cream is wonderful as ice cream, there would be a good chance that it would make great cookies as well.

He made small balls of cookie dough from the cookie dough ice cream, which he reports baked pretty well. But it's not necessarily a good idea:

It's essentially the same as the minis, but less flat and way more flavorful. If somebody said this was made with store-bought dough, I'd absolutely believe it, then laugh and inform them that most store-bought dough doesn't cost $4 per cookie. Then I'd patiently listen as they scolded me for wasting money and ice cream.

-via Jeremy Barker

(Photos: Japan Trend Shop)

Do you ever say to yourself, "I wish that I could just stay at work all of the time and never go home"? Surely you can use your time more productively than commuting or spending time with your family. To make that dream a reality, the Japanese company King Jim invented the Wearable Futon Air Mat Set.

You don't have to waste time by changing clothes or making your bed. Ever. You're always wearing the only clothing and bedding that you'll need. The suit (which really needs a tie for professional office settings) weighs about 1.5 pounds and inflates for a comfortable evening.

-via Joe Carter

(Image: Bill Watterson/GoComics)

How much damage can a 6-year old do? A lot! But "a lot" is a vague quantity. What was the financial value of Calvin's damage? Matt J. Michel published an article on that subject in the Proceedings of Natural Institute of Science, a humorous scholarly journal.

It's a noble application of statistics to practical needs. Michel acquired the entire print run of the comic strip and concluded that Calvin cost his parents almost $16,000. He explains:

In total, Calvin caused an estimated $15,955.50 worth of damage over the duration of the comic strip (Figure 1). Damage ranged from a broken glass jar^[6] ($2 from amazon.com) to a flooded house^[7] ($4,798.83 from homewyse.com). Taking into account Watterson’s sabbaticals (see Figure 1) and the November start to the comics, Calvin caused $1,850.55 of damage per year. For context, the USDA estimates that middle-income families spend an estimated $1,750 per year on child care and education for 6 year-olds. In fact, the amount of damage caused by Calvin would rank 4th out of the USDA’s categories in annual expenditures, behind Housing, Food, and Transportation, and ahead of Education, Miscellaneous, Health Care, and Clothing. However, it should be reiterated that Calvin is presented as a worst-case scenario. If you believe your child does more than $1,850.55 in damage annually, then you may want to consider professional help, alternative forms of punishment, or, at the very least, take away their stuffed tiger.

-via 22 Words

California Donuts in Los Angeles makes a lot more than just glazed donuts. The shop is filled with pastry wonders that will make you slobber all over your computer monitor, such as this donut with a whole Snickers candy bar baked inside. Other donuts feature popular kids' cereals as toppings.

Maple bacon peanut butter and jelly

Fruit Loops

Do you need an escape chute from your life? We all do at some point, but it can be hard to install one at home, work, or in a relationship. Perhaps, though, emerging technologies offer us options. The design blog Core77 rounded up photos and videos of 4 advanced escape chutes that help people get out of dangerous situations, such as burning skyscrapers.

Pictured above is a Viking Escape Chute, which is designed to get workers off oil rigs quickly. It automatically deploys a long, multi-leveled escape chute that ends in an automatically deploying inflatable life raft. The video below shows a test of the system in a shipyard in Okpo, South Korea.

(Video Link)

(Photo: Gavin Ashworth, Brooklyn Museum)

The Brooklyn Museum contains many antiquities from ancient Egypt, including this small bronze coffin. It's about 22 inches long and is decorated with an image of the Egyptian god Atum, who was commonly depicted with the body of a snake. The curators of the Brooklyn Museum think that it dates back to between 664 and 30 B.C. The coffin is now empty, but was it probably crafted to hold the body of a mummified snake.

-via Ka-ching!

While doing research for my post about Russia's naval fleet on the vanishing Aral Sea, I encountered evidence that Uzbekistan has at least two active warships.

This is remarkable. Although a few landlocked nations maintain navies, Uzbekistan is not only landlocked, but doubly landlocked. That means that Uzbekistan is completely surrounded by landlocked nations. It and Liechtenstein are the only two such nations in the world.

RusNavy, a website about Russian naval affairs, offers what it claims is an English translation of a Russian military journal article about the Uzbek acquisition of two Ukrainian-built armored patrol boats. The US paid for the purchase of these two boats, a claim supported by this State Department website. The Gurza-class patrol boats are typically armed with 7.62 and 30 mm machine guns and a grenade launcher. The boats will patrol Uzbekistan's rivers, such as the Amu-Darya, which forms the border between that nation and Afghanistan.

Pictured above is a photo of what internet rumor alleges is one of the Uzbek warships.

Image: New York State Library Special Collections

(Photo: Brian Neilson)

USA! USA! USA!

This was, after all, an eating competition. Did the Canadians seriously think that they could beat us at our national sport?

(Photo: Smoke's Poutinerie)

Our champion is Matt Stonie, a competitive eater from San Jose, California. He won by eating almost 15 pounds in less than 10 minutes. Smoke's Poutinerie hosted the event in Toronto on Saturday. 

(Photo: cupcakedawnie)

Stonie proudly carried off one of these beautiful poutine-themed trophies.

-via Dave Barry

(Video Link)

Bonnie Eisenman, an engineer, recently took a course on electronic music. She felt inspired to make a unique instrument. The result of her efforts is the Illumaphone, a light-controlled electronic instrument.

It consists of 6 coffee cups with light sensors inside. Each one plays a different pitch. As she moves her hands over the cups, the differing light levels measured by the sensors adjust the volume and vibrato.

-via Hack A Day

You'll cry with joy when you click on this misleading headline that suggests a counter-intuitive contrarian view that is actually quite normal or disingenuous. Go ahead and bite into Dave Coverly's Speed Bump cartoons.

The Wheel of Time is a series of 14 fantasy novels. Robert Jordan began the series. After he died in 2007, Brandon Sanderson finished the last 3 books in it.

In the series, the greatest swordsmen are known as Blademasters. Those who achieve this high level of fencing excellence may carry swords marked with the image of a heron. Thus heron-marked swords are the public symbols of the finest swordsmen.

Brendan Olszowy, a swordsmith in Western Australia, forged this heron-marked sword. It is specifically the sword of al'Land Mandragoran, a great hero in the series. The sword weighs 2 pounds, 14 ounces and the blade is 32.2 inches long. It is inscribed with words from the Old Tongue that translate as "True Blood of Manatheren" and "For the glory of the Red Eagle."

This is one of many fantasy-inspired swords that Olszowy has made, including others from The Lord of the Rings, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and Conan the Barbarian.

Designer Saad Alayyoubi calls his iPhone accessory "Omniscent Siri." It's not a case, though it does slip around an iPhone. It's designed to block access to the screen so that you can't type in commands. You have to deal with Siri, Apple's interactive digital assistant. It's the only interface that you have to use to access the online world. Siri knows everything--at least that you're allowed to know.

-via Super Punch