(YouTube Link)

This outdoor musical object is allegedly a clock in Shibuya, Japan. It gradually opens sections of its outer wall to reveal mechanical instruments.

via Urlesque

Matthew Inman of the webcomic The Oatmeal has some strong opinions about the computer competencies of users of different email providers. At the link, you can read his scathing criticism of Yahoo and AOL users.

Link

This crocheted cap comes with a built-in beard. It was made by Etsy seller Tara Duff, who has several others for sale, as well. This leprechaun beard/hat is especially cute.

Link via The Presurfer | Duff's Blog | Photo: Tara Duff

There is a positive correlation between the sale of miniskirts and subsequent warmer weather:

The rises and falls in the length of skirts are said to be a good way of forecasting what the weather will be like three days in advance, based on research at eBay.

Analysts at the company said the length of skirts sold on the website becomes shorter several days before the weather changes for the better, and lengthens when colder conditions are due.

On occasions, the trend is said to have predicted a shift in the weather before any advice has been issued by the Met Office using more traditional meteorological methods.

Link | Photo via Flickr user colros used under Creative Commons license

The RUB BBQ Chopper, built by Orange County Choppers, would come in handy when you're in the mood of brisket, but don't want to stop riding. It's fully functional, and you can view pics of it in action at the link.

Before a flame war starts in the comments: yes, the headline identifies this object as a grill. That's what we call these things in south Texas. Real barbecue pits are made of brick.

http://www.meninaprons.net/archives/2007/08/rub_chopper_in_action.html via Make | Photo: Men in Aprons

Update 5/31/10 by Alex: Don't forget our Top 10 Coolest BBQ Grills (And Then Some!) post

The friend of a poster at Overclockers, an Australian computer blog, created a piece of art resembling stained glass. But instead of using stained glass, he used old motherboards. You can view more pictures at the link.

Link via reddit

Alternate history is a genre of fiction in which counterfactual historical events are examined. For example, if Lee won the Battle of Antietam and then the American Civil War, what would a divided America be like in the 1880s?

As a widely-published genre, alternate history is a fairly recent phenomenon. But in a post at io9, David Daw examines the early history of the field, which long predates modern alternate history fiction. He argues that it can be traced back to 1st Century A.D. Roman historian Livy, who speculated about what would have happened had Alexander the Great invaded Roman-dominated Italy. Livy writes:

He would have crossed the sea with his Macedonian veterans, amounting to not more than 30,000 men and 4000 cavalry, mostly Thracian. This formed all his real strength. If he had brought over in addition Persians and Indians and other Orientals, he would have found them a hindrance rather than a help. We must remember also that the Romans had a reserve to draw upon at home, but Alexander, warring on a foreign soil, would have found his army diminished by the wastage of war, as happened afterwards to Hannibal. His men were armed with round shields and long spears, the Romans had the large shield called the scutum, a better protection for the body, and the javelin, a much more effective weapon than the spear whether for hurling or thrusting. In both armies the soldiers fought in line rank by rank, but the Macedonian phalanx lacked mobility and formed a single unit; the Roman army was more elastic, made up of numerous divisions, which could easily act separately or in combination as required.

To read the entire passage in Livy's History of Rome, click on the link, which leads to Book 9 of the work. Then scroll down to sections 9.17 - 9.19.

Link via io9 | Image of Livy via the University of Michigan

(YouTube Link)

Japanese apparel maker Onward Kashiyama had staffers arrange 2,700 polo shirts in 24 colors into a portrait of Vincent Van Gogh.

Google Translate is having a little trouble this morning with the campaign website, but it appears that the colors for the brand's line of polo shirts are taken from the colors used by Van Gogh in two of his paintings. There's an interactive feature that allows you to hover over parts of the paintings and see what shirts colors were taken from them.

via The Presurfer | Campaign Website

We've previously featured Joana Vasconcelos' chandelier made out of tampons. Some readers thought it was pretty gross. Consider this to be a unicorn chaser.

Drawing upon the Portuguese lace tradition, she's created a series of works consisting of solid objects covered with lace. DudeCraft and Lovely Textiles have some excellent roundups of her work, such as the above "Piano Dentelle."

Link and Link | Artist's Website

(YouTube Link)

Charles Okeke of Arizona has an artificial heart the size of a backpack. It's called the Freedom Driver and was developed by SynCardia Systems. With this device, Okeke was able to leave the confines of a hospital for the first time in two years:

The device requires pressurized air from an external machine called “Big Blue,” and the bulk and size of the 190 kg machine has until now prevented recipients from leaving hospital. In the case of Charles Okeke a smaller 6.1 kg version of the pressurizing machine, dubbed “Freedom Driver,” has been used, and this is small enough to fit in a backpack.

Okeke must wear the backpack at all times, but it has at least given him the freedom to leave hospital and go home, after already spending over 600 days in the Mayo Clinic wired up to Big Blue. Okeke’s heart failed after a blood clot “destroyed his heart” and had a heart transplant that lasted around 10 years before his body rejected it.

Link via DVICE

A 2008 study published in The British Medical Journal suggests a causal link between the headbanging movements of heavy metal fans and head injuries:

Young people at heavy metal concerts often report being dazed and confused, possible symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury. Little formal injury research has been conducted on the world wide phenomenon of head banging, even though case reports indicate the inherent risks in this activity, especially in head and neck injury. Head banging is a violent activity associated with hard rock and various subgenres of heavy metal.[...]

Though exposure to head banging is enormous, opportunities are present to control this risk—for example, encouraging bands such as AC/DC to play songs like "Moon River" as a substitute for "Highway to Hell"; public awareness campaigns with influential and youth focused musicians, such as Sir Cliff Richard; labelling of music packaging with anti-head banging warnings, like the strategies used with cigarettes; training; and personal protective equipment.

Link via Nerdcore | Photo by flickr user Jesse Bikman used under Creative Commons license

Time magazine has a list of what its editors consider to be the worst inventions of, well, it looks like the last fifty years or so. Among them are crocs:

It doesn't matter how popular they are, they're still pretty ugly. The footwear, introduced in 2002, mostly takes the form of rubber clogs, but has seen transformation into high heels and loafers. The company also announced April 26 it would start making ballet flats. "If we make it a little bit more stylish, then we start to appeal to a larger audience," said the company's CEO. Which means they just might be attractive enough to do your laundry in.

What would you add to the list?

Link via io9 | Photo: David Silverman/Getty Images

(YouTube Link)

Switch is a short film that Tyson Hesse made for his graduating thesis at the Savannah College of Art and Design. It's about a young man who falls into a dark room that is empty except for one light switch. Whenever he toggles it, very appealing or very dangerous things appear.

via reddit | Hesse's Blog

Inspired by the armadillo, designer Marc Graells Ballve made this retractable armored shell for his scooter to protect it from theft. Do you think that it will work?

via OhGizmo! | Designer's Website | Image: Marc Graells Ballve

(YouTube Link)

The Clio Awards are given annually by the advertising industry for the best examples of advertising. One of the categories is for television, cinema, and digital works. The grand prize winner in that category was this commercial for Boag's Draught, a beer brewed in Tasmania. It was created by the firm of Publicis Mojo in Sydney. The link will take you to videos for the other winners in the same category.

http://www.clioawards.com/winners/winners.cfm?medium_id=1&award_id=1&search=0 via Slate