A man in Kaikohe, Northland, New Zealand strode into a convenience store with a machete. He was, of course, up to no good.

So the store manager activated his fog machine.

What, you don't have a fog machine in your home or place of business? This is, apparently, a long-used crime deterrent. Not only does the fog make seeing the loot and victims difficult. It can also coat the robber with traceable chemicals.

I had never heard of this, but now I think I really need one to get out of awkward conversations. For this scenario, a fog machine that hangs on my belt would be ideal. If find myself trapped in a one-sided conversation with someone who won't shut up, I can press the button and escape.

-via Boing Boing

When I set my Whataburger on fire, my co-workers are, like, "What the hell are doing, John?! We talked about this!" But when some fancy-shmancy chef does it, people go all "Ooh!" and "Aah!"

Anyway, at one of those high-falutin' restaurants that won't let me go inside, there's something called a "Welder's Burger." You can set it on fire, but not with an acetylene torch. Or, at least, that's not what the waitstaff uses.

-via Geekologie

It's called the Fibonnaci Chair.

I think that's quite clever. The chair mimics the flow of the Fibonacci Sequence.

Sebastian Brajkovic, an artist in Amsterdam, does lots of furniture design like this.

In 1930, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), responding to public concern about perceived immoral behaviors and lifestyles presented in the nascent motion picture business, issued a code of conduct. It asked Postmaster General William H. Hayes to write the document. The MPAA adopted what came to be called the Hays Code, but began enforcing it only in 1934.

This effort squashed some movies that had been pushing the boundaries of public propriety. But by the 1950s, Hollywood began resisting the code, especially as movies that broke its regulations earned a lot of money at the box office.

This photo from Life magazine dates to (I think) 1940. It pokes fun at the code by trying to violate as many provisions as possible.

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The code itself, by the way, makes for interesting reading. Many of the requirements, such as those against the use of liquor and miscegenation, would be popularly seen today as either excessively puritanical or morally repellent.

But much of the code holds up as well as, such as the prohibitions against filming animal cruelty or actual human deaths. And despite the claims of the Life photo, I don't see gambling forbidden by the code.

Perhaps popular history has distorted the actual text.

-via Super Punch

Every now and then, an artist writes himself into a corner. That's when tragedy must befall the main characters. Chris Hallbeck, whom I interviewed a few years ago, knows his limitations. I mean, he could draw four bicycles. But would it really be worth his time? Sorry, kids. No ice cream today.

Image:YouTube

As usual, scientists have been hard at work trying to kill us all. Most recently, a team of these reckless researchers traveled on board a New Zealand research vessel to Antarctica, where they found a previously-unknown form of life beneath two miles of ice. Rather than leave it there to slumber in peace, they brought it back to the ship!

Wilford Brimley, an actor who starred in the 1982 documentary The Thing, knows something about the dangers of reviving mysterious lifeforms in the Antarctic.

The Express, a British tabloid, says that the scientists are calling it a "sea cucumber," which is a pretty cute name for our new eldritch masters.

-via Aelfred the Great | Image: Tracks

Perhaps the classic Milton Bradley game of Operation is easier if you're not trying to remove body parts from a tiny person. Now Cavity Sam has grown to fully 8 feet tall! Engineers Benjamin Lehrer and Jonathan Roach of Spot Technology made this enormous version of Operation in which the player uses a CNC arm controlled from an arcade cabinet to rescue Sam from his ills.

Just like in the original game, you have avoid the edges. The surgical arm is magnetized to pick up the game pieces. You can see more photos here.

-via Hack-A-Day

In the wild west town of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, there is a bar called the Sourdough Saloon. Since 1973, that bar has offered its famous "Sourtoe Cocktail." This is a shot of whiskey that contains a dehydrated amputated human toe. Drinking it enters you into the prestigious Sourtoe Cocktail Club, which entitles you to the respect of your fellow man wherever your travels may take you.

You aren't supposed to swallow the toe, but that hasn't stopped more enterprising drinkers from doing so. Occasionally toes are lost, so the Sourdough Saloon has a standing request soliciting people to donate their toes to the bar so that they can always have a supply for their customers.

Nick Griffiths, a Royal Marines veteran and extreme sports competitor, saw an ad from the saloon asking for toes, so he offered them three of his own. He is now planning on traveling to Dawson City so that he can drink the famous Sourtoe Cocktail with one of his own donated toes. KTVU News reports:

According to the Post, the inn was in desperate need of a quality big toe as the “titular toe” of the $5 Sourtoe Cocktail is is so sought-after that it frequently gets stolen.

“We have been without a big toe for some time, so his generous toe-nation will help ensure the tradition continues,” Downtown Hotel general manager Adam Gerle said in a news release.

On Monday night, Griffiths will be reunited with his lost digit for the first time since losing them in the ultramarathon. The Yukon tourism board will fly him out from Manchester to the hotel for the long-awaited drink. He will be the first person ever to drink the Sourtoe cocktail featuring his own detached big toe.

“I am excited to be returning to the Yukon and reuniting with my detached digit,” the man said, as per the Post. “Doing the Sourtoe Cocktail with my own big toe will be a memory I will take to the grave,” Griffiths says.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Vancouver Courier

When I heard about the bacon vending machine in Ohio, I was happy. I thought, "Yeah! America still has what it takes!"

Meanwhile, Japan yawns. Granted, vending machines are a high art form in that nation. But Sora News 24 mentions in an off-hand manner that its reporters found a pork products vending machine in a laundromat in Fukuoka City.

It's located in an office building that contains the headquarters for a pork company. From this vending machine, the company sells defective products that weren't quite up to spec. Think of it as a little scratch-and-dent store, but for ham.

In addition to ham, it sells pork sausages and bacon. So it's like a full-service grocery store inside a laundromat.

The effect of a single drop of heavy cream is remarkable! It seems to swim through the vodka like a jellyfish in motion. Of course, I'd probably move like that, too, if I swam through vodka for a while.

Here's the complete recipe: 1 part blue curaçao, 2 parts vodka, 1 part sambuca, and 1 drop of cream.

-via Super Punch

"Don’t be too proud of this mixological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the my shiny metal ass."

Imgur member danpio1309 made this cosplay for Dragon Con 2019. It mashes up Darth Vader from Star Wars and Bender from Futurama. My favorite feature is that the front compartment opens to reveal a cache of booze and a pinup of Slave Leela.

-via Geekologie

Vitiligo is a medical condition in which some skin cells stop producing melanin, thus leading to irregular coloration. It can be especially hard for children with this condition, who may be subject to intrusive questions or comments, if not outright bullying.

João Stanganelli, a 64-year old man from Brazil, understands that because he lives with vitiligo, too. To help kids with it, he crochets dolls that have vitiligo. Stranganelli tells Bored Panda:

“At first my fingers and back hurt a lot, today no more,” João told Bored Panda. I’m not yet retired, I still keep up my old work with food, but much less intensely. At the moment I spend 90% of my time with the dolls. I have many orders.” [...]

João’s first project was a doll for his granddaughter, something for her to always remember him by. So he created a doll with vitiligo patches, and an idea was born.

-via Design You Trust

What's amazing about the Regal Birdflower (Crotalaria cunninghamii) is that the petals look just like long-beaked birds!

This shrub grows in central Australia and traditional Aboriginal medicine uses its sap to treat eye infections. Aborigines have also used it to make sandals.

-via TYWKIWDBI | Photos by Atlas of Living Australia and indiie1, respectively

Holly Lentz, an artist in Florida, specializes in metal sculptures of the human torso, such as this lovely piece made of carefully polished and welded washers. She makes others from ammunition cartridge casings. I'm especially enamored of her sculptures that bear angelic wings.

Yes, that's real ramen. He even used the flavor packets to create a broth-like tint to the body. YouTube user ArtMayer sculpted this amazing and completely functional work of art using 36 ramen bricks and 5 pounds of polyester resin. It looks and sounds delicious! I've never seen a more elegant use of cheap ramen.

You can see more of his custom guitars on Instagram.

-via Technabob