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This video shot by Modernist Cuisine shows a drop of liquid nitrogen hitting a hot frying pan. It doesn't instantly vaporize because a thin layer of vapor briefly insulates the drop. Scientists call this phenomenon the Leidenfrost Effect:

When a drop of liq­uid first con­tacts a sur­face that is much hot­ter than water’s boil­ing point, an extremely thin layer of vapor forms under the drop. This layer of vapor sus­pends the drop slightly above the sur­face, cre­at­ing the hov­er­ing effect. The vapor also acts as an insu­la­tion layer between the sur­face and liq­uid, keep­ing the liq­uid from rapidly boil­ing away. This fas­ci­nat­ing occur­rence is known as the Leidenfrost effect, named for the 18th-century German doc­tor and the­olo­gian who first described the phenomenon.

Link via Popular Science

World of Warcraft player Ragnaorc modified the bathroom in his home to reflect a Horde ambiance. It's quite detailed, including lighting fixtures with bones and a toilet plunger holder shaped a skull.

Link via DVICE

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This video shows a snowboarder doing a flip over a jump and landing on a different snowboard. Do you think that it's real?

via Super Punch

Photographer Gabriela Herman took an extensive series of portrait photos of bloggers in their native habitats, such as Ruben Natal-San Miguel (above). Her selections prompted Gizmodo's Kyle Van Hemert to ask "Why are all these bloggers so hot?" It really shouldn't be surprising. But, anyway, the photographer's selection process was quite appropriate for her subject matter:

“I believe bloggers are connecting us, bringing us closer,” she says, “allowing for an interactive platform, a two-way dialogue that allows for both online and offline relationships to form.” For her, Herman says, blogs are a “comfort” and her “go-to source for information.”

Appropriately, Herman’s method for finding her subjects mimics the subject she’s documenting. Following each shoot, Herman asked the sitter to recommend someone on his or her blog roll as her next subject. The series of portraits began to mirror the tentative web links between the subjects and their online activity.

Link via Gizmodo | Photographer's Website

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It's really just a baggy jumpsuit made of soft material, but what's striking is that the Forever Lazy outfit is being marketed as the best accessory for doing nothing productive. Fashion blogger Manolo writes:

Manolo says, yes, it has come to this. For the people who believe that readjusting the Snuggie when you move from the Barcolounger to the mobility scooter is too much work, comes the Forever Lazy, described as :”the one piece, lie around, lounge around, full body lazy wear!” (Please note that the exclamation mark is in the original, apparently the punctuational celebration of sloth rewarded.)

Bah! I'm waiting until baby sleep sacks are available in adult sizes.

Link via Glenn Reynolds

Previously: Inventions for Lazy People

Russian artist Danil Zdorov has a great idea -- Tetris Sugar! These little sugar cubes could bring an 80s flavor to the tea making experience.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Tetris-Sugar/888331 via Technabob

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Joe McKay made the Tweetagraph -- a machine that uses a telegraph key to sent tweets. An arduino converts the taps of the key into letters and then updates the Twitter feed. In a bow to history, McKay sends the message "What hath God wrought?"

http://homepage.mac.com/joester5/art/tweetagraph.html via Make

Previously: RSS Telegraph

A sheitel is a specific type of wig worn by Orthodox Jewish women. Helen Rosen of Baltimore took up an apprenticeship with a master craftsman of sheitels. She eventually moved to Peru to set up her own shop. Peruvian women, she found, have the best hair for this type of wigmaking:

Helene says that the ample selection of hair colors and textures in South America -- the result of more than twenty-five generations of intermarriage between Europeans and indigenous people -- make it the ideal source region. The hair of indigenous Peruvian women is thick, straight, and black-perfect for the lace-front wigs sought by black women, who have come to represent the majority of Helene's business -- and is worn in two braids that often stretch all the way down their backs and are plaited with tassels made from Alpaca wool.

You can read her story at the link. The site design is unusual. It scrolls from left to right, and the scrolling buttons appear plus and minus signs on the sides of the page.

Link via Kottke | Photo by Flickr user The Gifted Photographer used under Creative Commons license

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You can pop popcorn by firing a laser at a single kernel. That's what YouTube user WorldScott did using two laser emitters that look like lightsabers. A spinning turntable ensured even cooking throughout the kernel.

via CrunchGear

If you're willing to publicly identify yourself as a Twilight fan, then you've no reason to eschew these mittens made by Etsy seller ChickenBetty. When held together, they look like the hands and apple featured on the cover of the first novel.

Link via Great White Snark

Previously: Twilight Hand Model Wants Fame | Image: Little, Brown, and Co.

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"The Scrollwheel" is a short film about the frustration that one experiences while watching someone who doesn't understand computers try to surf the Internet. You know, like people who type a URL into a search bar. Just keep in mind that long ago, you didn't know anything about the Internet, either.

This cartoon was made by Neon Noodle, Guy Collins, and Kevin MacLeod.

via Urlesque

Artist Sean Harttner has created dozens of movie posters from a different, awesomer universe than the one in which we dwell. Max von Sydow as Ozymandias? Yes, absolutely.

Link via Nerd Bastards

Cruisin' Caskets, a company based in Winchester, California, makes customized caskets that look like stylish hot rods. When the lid is closed, it looks just like car...with a dead body inside.

Should you choose to purchase a casket before you use it permanently, you can also purchase an optional liner that lets it be used as an ice chest.

Link via The Presurfer

deviantART user ~viridis-somnio created a lipstick arrangement that makes a mouth look like the Pokémon Pikachu. She writes:

This is a bonus Animal-ipstick I did for a photo assignment. It's Pikachu! Everyone in class loooved this one. My final project was a total of 20 photos of anything I wanted. Mine is sort of a typology, but the only consistent element are my lips.

Link via Kotaku

Kevin van Aelst, among other themes, makes representations of human fingerprints. This one made of cheetos is appropriately accented by a Nintendo controller.

Link via Dude Craft

Previously by Kevn van Aelst:
Donut Mitosis
The Earth's Delicious Core
Gummy Worm Chromosomes