A DPU manufacturer called InFocus recently held a contest for the worst ever PowerPoint slides. Although they don't say it explicitly, I gather that these were not slides that were intentionally designed to be terrible, but simply found in that condition and passed on to the contest judges. Some entrants actually offered photos of the slides being displayed in front of large groups of people, presumably as evidence that they were real.

The above image was the 1st runner up. You can view the other winners at the link.

Link via Ace of Spades HQ | Previously: Dan McMillan's PowerPoint Standup Comedy

Ross Crawford faced four challenges with this project. He had to be able to shape the LEGO pieces into generally curved shapes. The assembly had to be strong enough to withstand the pressure of four tight strings. There had to be a way to tune those strings effectively. Finally, even though it was made of plastic, the ukulele had to sound like a ukulele. Crawford writes that he was successful:

So, after all that, I ended up with what I like to call an alto ukulele – it is tuned to C-F-A-D (normal ukes are generally tuned to G-C-E-A).

Hopefully he'll soon put up a video of the ukulele in action.

Link via Make | Photo: Ross Crawford

Guy Nesher, a photographer based out of Tel Aviv, shot this picture of the Salar de Uyuni. At over four thousand square miles, this region of Bolivia is the largest salt flat in the world. It functions like a natural mirror, but I've never seen a picture of it that expresses that quality quite as well as this one.

Link via Super Punch

Wanted: Dead or Alive was a half-hour Western television show which ran from 1958-1961. It starred Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. The character was noted for wielding a modified Winchester 1892 .44-40 lever-action rifle called the "Mare's leg". With a reduced stock and a barrel cut down to less than a foot long, Randall could carry it holstered on his hip. It was his signature piece, and now gunmaker Rossi is selling it in .44 magnum, .45 Colt, and .38 special/.357 mangum.

Of this design, Tamara Keel writes:

When I was younger, I used to think cut-down lever guns, a la Steve McQueen's "Mare's Leg" were just the coolest thing ever.

Now that I am older and actually know a little bit about firearms, I think they make about as much sense as a kickstand on a tank.

They still look cool though, and, y'know... Firefly.

It probably wouldn't hurt their sales for Rossi to come out with a Firefly special edition.

Link via View from the Porch | Image: CBS

UPDATE 5/26/11: In the comments, LeeMajors points out that there's another Mare's Leg made by Henry Repeating Arms.

This is pretty amazing. Katie Alves recreates movie scenes on the eyelids of models, such as the above presentation of The Nightmare before Christmas. Other featured films include The Lion King, Aladdin, and Alice in Wonderland.

Link via Flavorwire

Get it? It's a gummy bear shaped into a bearskin rug by Brock Davis.

Well, I thought it was funny.

Link via Colossal

A few years ago, to mark the 75th anniversary of the comic strip Blondie, Chip Zdarsky imagined the futures of six classic comic strips. Ones that, for no comprehensible reason, refuse to die.

Link via Popped Culture

Etsy seller Daniel Tyrkiel made three candles shaped like a human spinal column. Why?

This time around both wizards and muggles must join forces to defeat the dark horde. I created this light as a symbol of our commitment to the fight. It lifts the magical vale between our worlds flashing like a beacon, drawing the power of love, uniting them in the struggle. It creates a polarized aura that prevents the dark from entering. The more candles are lit, the stronger their combined power to channel love and repel darkness which in turn gives more strength to the fighting wizards and witches.

Or, I suppose, they could be used for mood lighting on a romantic evening.

Link via Nerdcore

Sure, you could recharge your Nissan Leaf the earth-friendly way (feeding it electricity from a coal-burning power plant), but what fun is that? There's a better way: holding down the brakes lightly while being towed. Because of the regenerative braking feature of the Leaf design, this will charge the car's batteries. Just make sure that your tow truck gets no more than 15 miles per gallon.

You can watch a video of this technique at the link. It's in Dutch, but English subtitles are available by clicking on the Closed Caption button. There's also a little bit of profane language.

Link via Jalopnik | Photo by Flickr user cliff1066 used under Creative Commons license

SandeeA. reasoned that a banana peel, if properly sealed, could function as a jello mold. So she filled a few with strawberry gelatin made from real strawberries. Yummy!

Link (Google Translate) via NotCot | Photo: La Receta de la Felicidad

(Video Link)

Sadly, there was never a classic Nintendo game for Doctor Who. But YouTube user DoctorOctoroc has created an introductory theme that would have been perfect for it, in both graphics and music.

via Geekosystem

Sean Michael Ragan of Make read that it was possible to dry and shape the skin of an orange into a functional box. Although his is not as impressive as the one above, he was able to prove that it could be done. Ragan writes:

The original description mentions that the peels are “squeezed thin” after soaking, but before forming and drying, which is something I haven’t attempted yet. How, I wonder, do you squeeze an intact hemispherical citrus peel into a thin layer without damaging it?

Link via Make | Photo: Grand Illusions

Even in this modern and, one would hope, civilized age, people would reject intolerance. But it is not so -- nay, not even in something as mundane as the competition for Washington State Dairy Ambassador:

She has to have worked on a dairy farm or shown dairy cows for FFA or 4-H. She must be single. She must be a legal resident of Washington. She must have a neat, professional appearance without any tattoos or piercings.

These are all the requirements of being a Washington State Dairy Ambassador. As strict as some of these requirements are, one requirement that might seem logical is missing — namely, that she be able to consume dairy products.

Laurel Gordon, 18, a senior at Elma High School, was Grays Harbor County's Dairy Ambassador for 2010 to 2011 and is a contestant for the state dairy ambassador title in next month's competition. She is also a lactose intolerant dairy princess.

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Elma-Wash-dairy-princess-is-lactose-intolerant-1395144.php via Stuff | Photo by Flickr user ShardsofBlue used under Creative Commons license

(Video Link)

Although some television shows demonstrate an obvious departure from scientific realism (e.g. Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica), you may be surprised that the highly-rated cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is not an accurate presentation of physics -- at least as it is currently understood. For a class project, YouTube user beatledude64 explained, in great physical and mathematical detail, how My Little Pony bends good science for the sake of storytelling.

via Boing Boing

A court in Illinois is addressing a unique issue. An employee of one of the attorneys in a civil case sat at the front of the courtroom, and opposing counsel considers her non-taxable assets to be distracting. He has filed a motion to have her removed to the gallery:

That Defendant's counsel is anecdotally familiar with the tactics and theatrics of Plaintiff's counsel, [redacted]. Such behavior includes having a large breasted woman sit next to him at counsel's table during the course of the trial. There is no evidence whatsoever that this woman has any legal training whatsoever, and the sole purpose of her presence at Plaintiff's Counsel's table is to draw the attention of the jury away from the relevant proceedings before this court, obviously prejudicing the Defendant's in this or any other cause. Until it is shown that this woman has any sort of legal background, she should be required to sit in the gallery with the rest of the spectators and be barred from sitting at counsel's table during the course of this trial.

You can read the response filed by the woman's employer at the link. He disputes that there is any legal basis for her removal.

Link via Lowering the Bar | Photo by Flickr user steakpinball used under Creative Commons license