The much-derided hoverboard isn't just a toy. In the right hands--er, feet--it's a graceful instrument. Watch this agile athlete do a front flip on one like he's using a skateboard.
-via Geekologie
John Farrier's Blog Posts
(Image: Rosivette_PR)
A less skilled, less coordinated group would get flustered and fumble the piece. But when the power went out (1:17 mark) at a state concert competition in Florida, the orchestra of Miami Coral Reef High School kept playing. Despite not being able to see each other or the music, they didn't miss a single beat or note. The audience erupted in applause when they finished (9:16 mark).
ABC News 10 in Tampa reports:
When the orchestra finished the emotional Serenade Triste over seven minutes later, the audience cheered wildly.
It was then that the auditorium was evacuated and the group was not able to perform its second piece.
Dr. Lee Stone, Coral Reef's Director of Orchestras, said afterwards that two of the panel's four judges were moved to tears.
The University of Iowa judge shared his feelings on his comments sheet.
"You totally inspired me! I'm in love with the wonderful spirit of Coral reef HS Orchestra! 'Serenade Triste' is my new favorite tune. I cried in the dark as you performed w/ heart."
Ideally, you should sit in a throne made of the skulls of your enemies. In the meantime, try this comfortable armchair designed by Gregory Besson. The skull body is made from fiberglass, not bone. The seat is covered with leather. It offers the right impression when meeting someone, such as at a job interview or first date.
-via Fubiz
(Photo: John M. Mantel)
Yiru Sun of New York City was supposed to get married. She had a grand event planned, including an elaborate wedding reception. Then her fiancé handed her a prenuptial agreement to sign. She said no, and with that, the engagement was off.
Sun had spent a lot of money on the wedding, including an $8,000 non-refundable deposit on the reception. Rather than simply wasting that money, she decided to use her deposit to offer a party to people in need. The New York Post quotes her:
“Three weeks later, I woke up with this idea,” Sun, herself a single mom of a 6-year-old daughter, told her guests, who were chosen with help from The Salvation Army and Inwood House.
“At that moment, I started to think it was God’s plan,” she said of turning her misfortune into a great party.
“I cannot be the princess of my wedding day, but I can give the kids a fairy tale.” […]
The kids were treated to face-painting and balloons and were touched by Sun’s story, at least as far as they understood it.
-via TYWKIWDBI
(Photo: Haley Cartwright)
Time magazine reports that the Army needs realistic-looking foam goat props. It also needs realistic dogs, cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, fish, and eggs (both brown and white), as well as tables and chairs.
That's because the Army wants to make training environments as realistic as possible. Ideally, a simulation area looks exactly like the actual combat environment, down to the last detail. Time quotes the bid request:
The entire herd and all the goods “shall be made of fire retardant foam and will be the size of actual item counterpart,” the Army says. “They will be colored to look like actual item counterpart.”
But war, of course, is not all fun and games. “The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure delivery serviceable items,” the service warns. “The contractor shall be held liable for any unserviceable or defective items received.” That’s because, for want of a foam goat’s head, the battle could be lost.
-via VA Viper
The inventors of Livia call it "the off switch for menstrual pain."
The system consists of a small box that clips onto a belt or fits inside a pocket, as well as gel pads that contain two electrodes. These send electrical pulses into the body that block pain receptors. The Times of Israel explains:
[...] Livia transmits a pulse that keeps the nerves “busy,” so that pain messages that should be accepted by nerve receptors and transmitted to the brain — which concludes that a woman is in pain — aren’t. With those messages lost in transmission, there is no feeling of pain.
Does it work? Last month, Chelsea Frisbie of Mashable tried Livia. She says that it reduced her pain:
I didn't feel that much of a difference when I placed the Livia pads on my lower abdomen, because that's not where I get cramps. Where I do have cramps would turn this device into more of a Brazilian wax machine than a cramp-stopper, due to the gel pads.
I do have some pretty gnarly lower back pain nearly all of the time, but during my period it gets more intense — as in, bring-a-heating-pad-to-work-intense.
While wearing the device, I will say my back felt much better. I found myself wearing it all day, and even after my week was up because of how much better it made my back feel.
-via Debby Witt
(Photo: Tom Malloy)
Every spring in Butte, Montana, it's "shaft season." That's when old mineshafts make their appearance in the ground, often in surprising locations.
In the 19th and 20th Centuries, Butte was a major copper mining center. People dug hundreds of shafts deep in the the ground. When the copper veins empied out, the owners covered them up and went elsewhere.
So with the spring thaw, sinkholes form in the ground over these old mineshafts, some of which are several hundred feet deep. When they do, people call Tom Malloy, the county reclamation manager. Atlas Obscura talked to Malloy about how he deals with these mineshafts:
“The ones that turn up were the ones that were dug in the 1880s, 1870s, back before they were well regulated,” says Malloy. “They’re not marked on a map, which would be really nice. But they weren’t required to do that. Those end up being a surprise when they open up. You don’t know if they go down 10 feet and stop, or 1,000 feet down.”
Every spring, Malloy ends up investigating 50 to 100 reports of possible shafts, called in by city residents worried about a bit of sinking earth on their backyard or street. First, he and his colleagues will check old maps to see if there’s any indication that a shaft was once dug in that spot. They’ll check whether the alleged shaft is in the historic mining district, and if there have been any other mine shafts found in the vicinity. If they think it’s possible they might be looking at mine shaft, they’ll get the backhoe and do a little test digging to open it up and see what it is. Mine shafts aren’t the only things hiding in Butte’s ground: outhouses sometimes begin to sink into the earth when the ground thaws in the spring.
“There’s no way of knowing until you dig a hole,” says Malloy. “The most recent one, I would have bet $50 that it was an outhouse, but I was proved wrong. I don’t guess anymore, because I’ve been wrong so many times.”
If the backhoe starts bringing up residential knickknacks and materials, that’s an outhouse. If it starts hitting big, structural timbers, Malloy says, that’s a mine shaft.
-via David Plotz
Express your love and dedication with pizza!
Vinnie's Pizzeria in Brooklyn made headlines when it invented a pizza box made entirely of pizza. It would be a great way to impress someone that you like. And once you've wooed her affections, then pop the question with this engagement ring box made of pizza.
Warning: you might get rejected and find your engagement ring and box in the Tom Hanks trash bin in the background.
-via That's Nerdalicious!
(Photo: Amanda Wilkins)
Amanda Wilkins is the mother of two children, both of whom have blindness and autism. Taking them shopping is hard. When they arrived at the checkout line at a Morrisons grocery store in Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK, one of the kids had a meltdown.
The cashier working that register flipped the situation around. She invited the child behind the counter and let her swipe her goods across the scanner. On Facebook, Wilkins writes:
As you can imagine shopping is not an easy thing for me to do, at the checkout both girls decided to go into meltdown and this very kind lady decided to help instead of judge. It doesn't happen very often! She distracted my daughter by letting her scan all my shopping. A dream come true for Holly who loves playing 'shops'. It melts my heart to come across people that are prepared to go the extra mile, and little acts of kindness makes a massive difference to my world.
The Telegraph reports that Morrisons has identified the cashier as Lin. A company representative commented:
Well, I don't know where to start with this one Amanda just reading this story has brought a tear to my eye. […]
It's amazing how something small can make a massive difference to others and Its lovely to hear that one of your daughters dreams has been brought to life by this act of kindness.
To celebrate Star Wars Day (that's May 4) Chef Marc Marrone of the Arlington Club in New York City made this giant s'more shaped like a stormtrooper's helmet. This particular trooper has taken a beating, but that's necessary to make him tender and gooey inside.
Marrone doesn't explain how he got a helmet-shaped marshmallow. I'm curious about whether there is a mold or if he sculpted it this way himself.
-via Thrillist
(One-Punch Hero t-shirt on sale at the NeatoShop)
Every few months, I write about good anime series that I've seen and ask you for your recommendations. My last such post was only two months ago, but there has been so much excellent new anime this spring season that I have no fewer than six exciting shows to tell you about.
It hasn't gotten a lot of attention from fans this season, but I think that Kuromukuro is a sleeper hit. It's a fast-paced action series with charming characters and engaging dialogue. Kuromukuro tells the story of a 450-year old samurai who awakens from suspended animation. He's confused about the modern world of 21st Century Japan, but he instantly recognizes the aliens who invade the Earth. They're the "demons" that wiped out his clan long ago.
(Photo: Lynn News)
Flash the lamb in Norfolk, UK has uveitis in his right eye. That makes it very sensitive to light. He was diagnosed with the condition shortly after he was born and now at 3 weeks old is undergoing treatment.
In the meantime, he wears special goggles that cover and protect his right eye from the light. As you can see in a video at Lynn News, he's bouncing around happily, unfazed by his condition.
Breaking news! Stop the presses!
Redditor velvet_jones_1972 owns a hairless cat. Inside the cat's butt is the trapped soul of Lord Voldemort, the villain from the Harry Potter series.
You can see a larger photo here. What does it mean?
-via Dave Barry
(Photo: ABC News)
21 years ago, Mary Ann Franco of Okeechobee, Florida lost her eyesight in a car accident. More recently, she fell and needed spinal surgery. When she woke up, she found that she could see again. The first thing that she noticed was a nurse wearing purple. KMBZ News reports:
“Lady, you with all that purple on you, give me something for pain."
She said her niece asked her, “What did you say, Mary?’”
And that’s when she realized she could see again... in color. Before her car accident, Franco said she was color-blind, but isn't anymore.
“Out the window, I could see the trees,” she told WPBF-TV. “I could see the houses and stuff.”
How did it happen? It's mostly likely that Franco's blindness was caused by a kinked nerve, which the doctor unintentionally unkinked during the spinal surgery:
Her neurosurgeon, Dr. John Afshar, believes the car accident may have kinked an artery in her spine, restricting blood flow to the part of her brain that controls vision. He told WPBF-TV he may have unwittingly unkinked the artery when he performed her spinal surgery.
-via Telegraph
(Photos: Greenbriar Christian Academy)
7-year old Anaya Ellick of Chesapeake, Virginia executed perfect penmanship in a national competition called the Nicholas Maxim Award. This was an incredible feat, considering that she doesn't have hands.
It doesn't surprise anyone who knows her. Anaya has been determined from infancy to not let her disability impede her goals. The Virginia Pilot reports:
But when Anaya was only a few days old, she was already making an impression. She couldn’t hold a pacifier, but she was keeping it in her mouth by cupping it there with one arm.
While still a baby, she figured out how to hold a fork to eat and how to build with blocks.
“She helped me be comfortable with it,” Middleton said.
From an early age, Anaya got the message from her family that she could do anything. But it hasn’t been that simple. She is fiercely independent, apt to reject offers for help. In her first few years, she grew frustrated when she wasn’t able to complete a task.
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