You may want to reconsider getting pregnant (or impregnating someone) while in space. Low or zero gravity may impair the development of healthy embryos:

Microgravity apparently tampers with stem cells, which all other cells originate from. Stem cells normally act as a repair system for the body by replenishing its tissues.[...]

After this experiment, the cells showed vast differences on the molecular level, with 64 percent of their proteins differing from those grown under normal gravity. Specifically, these microgravity-exposed cells generated more proteins that degrade bone and fewer proteins with antioxidant effects. Antioxidants protect against reactive oxidants that can damage DNA.

Link via io9 | Photo: NASA

I suppose that it's possible that this drink really is made from placentas. But I prefer to believe that the name is figurative, rather than literal. If you discover otherwise, please keep that information to yourself.

Alternatively, this is just a beauty treatment, not a food option, and the note "no calorie" isn't meant to suggest that you won't gain weight by drinking it.

http://www.nihon-sofuken.co.jp/english/index.php via WTF Japan, Seriously!?

(Video Link)

YouTube user onredpaper reports that this footage is from an exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences. It shows a replica dinosaur skeleton walking.

via Geekologie | California Academy of Sciences | Previously: Dinosaur in a Museum

The Ice Ball Mold makes perfect spheres of ice in several sizes, ranging from 30 mm to 80 mm. It's intended for use by bartenders. You can watch a video of the gadget in action at the link.

Link via GearFuse | Photo: Japan Trend Shop

Carson Leong designed computer speakers that bellow out as the volume increases:

To turn the volume down, simple squeeze the skin to the desired volume. This creates a more tactile and visual experience for the user, where functions do not have to be operated by simply pressing buttons.

Link via DVICE | Designer's Website

The Stemie is a a rubber device that slips over a bicycle's handlebar stem. If a rider crashes and flies over the handlebars, the Stemie is designed to prevent painful impacts to the groin.

Link via CrunchGear | Photo: Sorachief Design

Robots usually aren't supposed to hurt people. But how does a robot know if its actions injure a human? The only way is for the robot to learn how much physical pressure the human body can comfortably endure. So Borut Povše, a researcher at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia had a robot punch people to find out:

Each volunteer was struck 18 times at different impact energies, with the robot arm fitted with one of two tools - one blunt and round, and one sharper.

The volunteers were then asked to judge, for each tool type, whether the collision was painless, or engendered mild, moderate, horrible or unbearable pain. Povše, who tried the system before his volunteers, says most judged the pain was in the mild to moderate range.

Link via Gizmodo | Photo: B.Povse, D. Koritnik, T Bajd, M Munih

Temujin Doran is an illustrator based in London. He created an advertising portfolio for LEGO by superimposing LEGO pieces and minifigs over real life. You can view six more examples at the link.

Link | Artist's Website

The producers of The Simpsons arranged for the British street artist Banksy to write the "couch gag" that takes place in the introduction to The Simpsons. But how did they manage to get in contact with this elusive, mysterious artist? David Itzkoff of The New York Times interviewed executive producer Al Jean:

I saw the film Banksy directed, “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” and I thought, oh, we should see if he would do a main title for the show, a couch gag. So I asked Bonnie Pietila, our casting director, if she could locate him, because she had previously located people like Thomas Pynchon. And she did it through the producers of that film. We didn’t have any agenda. We said, “We’d like to see if you would do a couch gag.” So he sent back boards for pretty much what you saw.

Jean also verified that he's sure that he was dealing with the real Banksy, and not an imposter:

The original boards that we got from him were in his style and were certainly by an extremely proficient artist. We were dealing with the person that represented him making the movie. I haven’t met him, I don’t even know what he looks like, except what the Internet suggests. And he’s taken credit for it now so I’m pretty sure it’s him. We went through the people that made the movie so I assume they would know how to get to the real him.

Link via Super Punch | Image: Fox

Stephen Von Worley created the above map of all McDonald's locations in the 48 contiguous states. A spot in northwestern Nevada is the most McDonald's-free on the map. It's the McFarthest spot (to use Von Worley's term) at 115 miles to the nearest McDonald's restaurant. You can read about Von Worley's discovery here, or about his subsequent pilgrimage to that location here. Von Worley brought McDonald's food with him.

via Ace of Spades HQ

Previously about Stephen Von Worley:
Infographic on Burger Chain Dominance
Crayola's Law

Dog bites man, right?

The patient arrived at the Friendship Heights hospital slack-jawed and glassy-eyed.

"He was very twitchy," reports Nicola Moore, the physician who admitted him. "His pupils were dilated. When he walked, he looked . . . " Well, he looked stoned.

The caretaker who accompanied him to the hospital was concerned. Her charge had been completely listless for hours, ever since lunchtime when, as was his custom, he'd gone out to urinate on the lawn.

Senator is pictured above. He accidentally ate marijuana.

Link via The Agitator (who wrote the headline) | Photo: Katherine Frey/the Washington Post)

(Video Link)

Brad Litwin makes whimsical paper engines and gadgets out of paper. They fold into compact boxes and can be mailed as greeting cards. The above video shows several such MechaniCards.

Link via Make

Andrea Newberry made deviled eggs that look like the eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings movies. The pupils are made with olives. You can read her recipe at the link.

Link via Nerdcore | Images: New Line Cinema, Forkable

Previously: Eye of Sauron, Made with Tesla Coils

Evgeniy Grigoriev created a record-breaking 10 mm Rubik's Cube. The previous record was a cube measuring 12 mm across. It's fully functional, and you can watch a video of it being solved.

Link and Video via Gizmodo | Photo: Twisty Puzzles

(Video Link)

ING Direct, a bank, wanted ads that would grab the attention of passersby and interact with them. So the ad agency Leo Burnett in Milan hired people to hang from billboards or other conventional ad placements and talk to potential customers about the company's services. At the link, you can view three other examples.

Link via The Presurfer