In 2019, the Red Bull Formula One racing team set an astonishing record of completing a pit stop in 1.82 seconds. It appeared impossible to beat that record untli last Sunday, when the crew servicing Lando Norris's car at the Qatar Grand Prix completed the job in just 1.8 seconds, thus establishing a new world record as reported by Top Gear.

A lot takes place at a Formula One pit stop. At minimum, the tires are swapped out. That's what happened at this stop, where the pit crew's perfect work contributed to Norris placing third in the race.

-via Joe Pompliano

The term hostile architecture often refers to designs for public spaces which discourage homeless camping. Ellen Hallström, a student at the Lund University School of Industrial Design in Sweden proposes the opposite motivation in her recent design titled Driftwood.

The bench design offers common seating rest for anyone. But at night or in foul weather conditions, one half folds over the other, providing shelter for sleep. If I understand the design correctly, the slats are shaped to drive the rain down the roof rather than through it. The appropriate name for the piece, Driftwood, suggests that society's drifters may find a place to stay.

-via Core 77

The Balmoral Castle and Estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland is open to the public and popular with bicyclists and hikers. A couple of weeks ago, YouTuber Andrew McAvoy and his friends were riding over the rocky trails. They saw armed guards around the area, which was fitting, as the place is a royal residence.

What they did not expect was to see King Charles III himself hiking alone along a trail. They chatted with the king for a bit about hiking, bicycling, and the estate and then went their separate ways.

Would you like to speak on your phone--even loudly--without disturbing other people? Or are you concerned about the privacy of your conversations? Shiftall, a technology in Tokyo, has a solution: the Mutalk.

Design Boom reports that this Bluetooth-enabled microphone wraps around the head and, when activated, reduces the volume by about 20 decibels. A normal conversation is about 60 decibels, so this is a substantial reduction. When shouting, the volume level reduction is about 30 decibels.

Mutalk comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, so it can be used with headphones. This is especially helpful when using separate microphones and earphones.

The challenge in implementing this invention is that the people who most need it are also the least likey to do so.

My contribution to the confusing sign discourse. Spotted on a ferry in Quebec. pic.twitter.com/knGN0JaYdv

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 1, 2023

Due to a recent incident at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C., Twitter is lately discussing allegedly confusing signs. Mark Joseph Stern, a writer with Slate, shares this image that he photographed at a ferry in Quebec.

I read this sign as expressing that centering oneself requires that adults must find within themselves their inner children and the child must seek out their adult future selves. This is necessary on the journey to enlightenment.

The designers probably made the sign like this because the text would be too long if it was necessary to write the sentiment in both English and French.

-via Super Punch

Robert J. Cumming, an astronomer in Sweden, and several colleagues at various astronomical research institutions in Europe, have submitted for publication a scholarly journal article arguing, in all seriousness, that every observatory should have a disco ball.

The authors note that pinhole cameras are frequently used in observatories. A disco ball, with its hundreds of mirrored surfaces, is basically a pinhole camera with hundreds of different apertures. They are cheap and readily available, thus avoiding serious expense in acquiring a specialized tool for observing bright objects, such as the sun. The article describes at length how the authors use a disco ball to observe a solar eclipse.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Pexels

I am on a mission to find the best songs that can be played on this Fisher-Price piano:

# 1 - I Miss You by Blink-182 pic.twitter.com/Lfg9krWtgo

— Nathan W Pyle (@nathanwpyle) September 19, 2023

Nathan W. Pyle is the cartoonist responsible for the Strange Planet series about aliens adapting to live on Earth. It's now a television show. So Pyle is a busy man. But he stays focused on his most important job: being a dad. Pyle's Twitter feed is often filled with doting paternal reflections, including a recent research project into popular songs that can be performed on a Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Light Up Piano.

Blink 182's "I Miss You" does well on the mere eight notes that the toy piano offers. The Twitter thread also has performances of songs by The Cure and ABBA.

A guy in my flight apparently plays the bagpipes. He has a little electric bagpipe he plugs his headphones into and only he can hear. He has been silently (to everyone but himself) ripping his bagpipe for 5 straight hours. I have no choice but to respect this. pic.twitter.com/2Vqn2kK0Hv

— DC Unhilist (@Vamos_DCU) September 7, 2023

All music is always improved with the inclusion of bagpipes -- and the louder, the better. The are the ideal instrument for not only playing music but also distinguishing between people of refined tastes and uncultured primitives employed at this Whataburger restaurant.

Ideally, one should play analog bagpipes, but sometimes electronic bagpipes serve a role (warning: electronic bagpipes are vulnerable to EMP attack). Twitter user DC Unhilist recently encountered a man playing a set on an airplane. The musician selfishly kept his earphones plugged in so that only he could hear the music.

Electronic bagpipes are real and have apparently been around for many years. They can include simple chanter and blowstick, as well as one at least one model with an actual bag to squeeze. Verily, we live in an age of wonders.

-via Super Punch

M.S. Rau is an antique store in New Orleans. It sells only the finest, most luxurious, and most unusual art and furnishings available. It collection includes this mechanical marvel: the Hupfeld Phonolist-Violina Model B music cabinet.

Yes, it's a player piano. But it also has three self-playing violins, which was a revolutionary invention when it was developed in the first years of the Twentieth Century in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It rose to worldwide fame at the 1910 World's Fair in Belgium and was produced in great quantities. 63 survive to this day, including this example at M.S. Rau, which is in perfect working order. Its purchase comes with 50 rolls of music, which is a small selection of the 900 that were eventually composed during this mechanical marvel's heyday.

Photo: M.S. Rau

BGR reports that scientists in Wuhan, China have invented a toilet bowl that can't be stained. The 3D printed surface is made of a material that repels feces easily. Even after the researchers vigorously applied sandpaper to the surface, it still kept poop-free, or at least free of the simulated fecal matter. Their science-y article in the journal Advanced Engineering Materials describes how the "abrasion-resistant super-slipper flush toilet" works.

It sounds very promising, but field testing is necessary. Give me $20 and access to a Taco Bell, and I'll let you know if this toilet bowl is really up to spec.

-via Dave Barry

Literally beating the competition lying down, seven competitors lying on mats in the Montenegrin village of Brezna continue their battle to become Montenegro's 'Laziest Citizen' https://t.co/WaDmrQrwdN pic.twitter.com/lIa8NkbElf

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 8, 2023

There is a stereotype that Montenegrins are lazy. Far from being offended at this allegation, the people of Brezna, Montenegro are competing to see who among them is the laziest.

The athletes must remain lying down in bed continuously. They are allowed 10 minute breaks every 8 hours to use the toilets. Otherwise, they are locked into a fierce competition to see who can exert as little physical effort as possible.

Brezna has held this annual contest for 12 years. The winner will earn €1,000 ($1,070 USD). As of yesterday, the 7 remaining athletes had kept lying down for 463 hours.

-via Dave Barry

Europe is having one of the most textbook Omega blocks in memory. A heat dome flanked by two strong storms. A true atmospheric stalemate/ traffic jam, dumping Epic rains in Greece. These split flow jet streams & extreme blocks are becoming more common esp in Europe 1/ pic.twitter.com/H5ryHsC1Tn

— Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) September 6, 2023

This is not an ideal time to visit the beautiful beaches of Spain and Greece and lounge in the sand in a bikini. The Guardian reports that twin storms are leaving those nations hot and wet, with record temperatures and precipitation as a consequence.

Meteorologists call this type of storm an "Omega block" because the weather system, which features two low pressure systems heaving up a high pressure system between them. The resulting shape resembles the Greek letter omega.

A man with more guts than sense gets a bear to leave the party. pic.twitter.com/WRoJYHFouB

— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) September 8, 2023

Some people on the internet are saying that this mysterious gentleman has more courage than good sense. I must admit that if I was hosting a lakeside patio party and a black bear decided to crash it, I would not try to drive it away with just strong words and gestures.

Mike, though, is made of tougher (or crazier) stuff. He insists that the bear leaves. The bear swats at him with a paw as it exits and Mike gets a few scratches. But, notably, Mike is not mauled to death. So I think this is the best possible outcome for him.

Content warning: foul language.

-via Dave Barry

Advertise your account with one animation https://t.co/0cBEI9cPIP pic.twitter.com/jC0tMkimWH

— Lex Sugden 🌈🦇🪡@alexisdraws Insta & Bluesky (@AlexisDraws) September 7, 2023

Alexis Sugden is an artist in Vancouver. I'm using "artist" as a brief summary of her extraordinary body of work across multiple media, some of which you'd never expect to see together. Her Etsy shop includes a lot of embroidery, comic books, laser cuts, and paintings. But it is this piece that grabbed my initial attention.

Yes, it's a dancing bat dressed for business. Sugden created this animation sequence by embroidering each frame, then photographing them in sequence.

Sugden has a fascination with bats. Her profile picture, which shows a bat operating a human-appearing robot, reflects a childhood story about how she identified herself to other kids.

Books for Cooks is a unique bookstore in the Notting Hill neighborhood of London. The two walls are lined with shelves of cookbooks--one half by subject and the other by country. In the back is a small kitchen. Since its founding in 1983, the store has offered professional and amateur chefs the ultimate reference library for recipes, many of which it prepares in the kitchen and serves four days a week to up to forty customers. Each meal costs a mere £7 ($8.84 USD).

The lunch program is a great draw for customers to the shop. It's a way to bring people together over a shared love for food. You might as well join the other customers for lunch because you can't shop online at Books for Cooks; you have to go in-person and smell the kitchen in person.

-via Messy Nessy Chic