Snapshots normally capture narrow slices of time, but photographer Michael Chrisman preserved an entire year. He aimed a pinhole camera at Toronto's skyline and exposed the photosensitive paper inside on January 1, 2011. He then closed the aperture precisely one year later.
You can buy a pen like this, but the more ambitious tinkerers among you may try to make their own. Instructables user Mrballeng shows you how to make a reliable click ballpoint pen with two .30-06 cases. Find photos, written instructions and a lengthy video at the link.
Erica has a sweet tooth, and that's a good thing because she's a dental student. She made these cupcakes and you can, too, by following her instructions at the link. When you see the Baron, remember the tooth! The tooth!
And they would know, wouldn't they? In 2009, a man found a dead mouse in his can of Mountain Dew and sued the company. The company argued that the claim is impossible, as no mouse corpse could have survived the corrosive effects of that drink:
An Illinois man sued Pepsi in 2009 after he claims he "spat out the soda to reveal a dead mouse," the Madison County Record reports. He claims he sent the mouse to Pepsi, which then "destroyed" the remains after he allowed them to test it, according to his complaint. Most shudder-worthy, however, is that Pepsi's lawyers also found experts to testify, based on the state of the remains sent to them that, "the mouse would have dissolved in the soda had it been in the can from the time of its bottling until the day the plaintiff drank it," according to the Record. (It would have become a "jelly-like substance," according to Pepsi, adds LegalNewsline.) This seems like a winning-the-battle-while-surrendering-the-war kind of strategy that hinges on winning the argument that "our product is essentially a can of battery acid."
Under this argument, if there had been a mouse corpse in the can of Mountain Dew that you're holding right now, you'd never know.
Land artists take naturally occurring materials in the wild and rearrange them into works of art. That's what Richard Shilling does, using no glue, string, or any other materials. You can see some prime examples of his ingenuity at the link. Shilling makes excellent use of translucent leaves, flexible stems, and stones to make effective sculptures. The wind often sweeps away his works within minutes of completion, but that's okay with Shilling because it is an affirmation of the transient nature of life.
Bob Anderson of West Sussex, UK, died on Sunday at the age of 89. He was a master fencer who taught lessons while serving in the Royal Marines, then represented his country at the 1952 Olympics. Anderson went on to develop a reputation as champion, both as a fencer and as a choreographer of on-screen sword fights. Most famously, he donned the mask of Darth Vader and wielded a lightsaber in all three original Star Wars movies:
Vader, "Star Wars'" intergalactic arch-villain, was voiced by James Earl Jones and played by six foot six (1.98 meter) former weightlifter David Prowse, but Anderson stepped in during the key fight scenes.
"David Prowse wasn't very good with a sword and Bob couldn't get him to do the moves," said Anderson's former assistant, Leon Hill. "Fortunately Bob could just don the costume and do it himself."
Metalachi performs rock and metal songs using instruments and styles from the mariachi tradition. Their covers include selections from Metallica, Led Zeppelin, and Faith No More. Here's their rendition of a Guns N' Roses classic. The brass instruments are really effective with this song, and the lead singer does a good impersonation of Axl Rose at the end.
The greatest problem with using a puncture-based weapon against zombies is that it may become lodged in the skull of your undead foe. That's a problem that Jörge Sprave, maker of the sawblade-firing slingshot, the pump-action slingshot, and the Gatling-gun slingshot has now solved. His weapon includes a standard slingshot on one end, and a mace on the other that's paired with a heavy spike. If your spike gets stuck in a skull, pull the lever to push it out.
The Tridge (triple bridge) is a cute three-way foot bridge that provides access to all sides of the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Chippewa Rivers in Midland, Michigan. According to Kuriositas, it's one of only twelve in the world.
The life of an Internet meme is hard and fast. Sometimes memes find lasting success, but others get drunk on their own fame and crash. View more at the link. Hey, has anyone heard from Baby Godfather?
Oh, Atari 2600, how I remember you fondly! You were my introduction to the world of video games. And they were thrilling games, too, although in retrospect, it's hard to see how. Christopher Bird took several classic Atari game covers and gave them more accurate titles.
It looks like a scene from a fantasy movie, but these are actually fireflies! The Japanese-language blog at the link contains a set of amazing long exposure firefly shots by an unknown artist.
When that fabled day comes and this guitar arrives on the stage, the world will never be the same. Ikon Customs, a maker of imaginative guitars, created this instrument in the image of the dark lord.
http://ikoncustoms.com/v4_cthulhu_order.htm -via Technabob | Photo: Marc Bertone
Was it counterfeiting or a postmodern approach to monetary expansion? Either way, police in Lexington, North Carolina allege that a man approached a register at a local Walmart with $476 worth of household goods. He tried to pay for them with a $1 million bill that he made himself:
Store staff called police.
Fuller was later charged with attempting to obtain property by false pretense and uttering a forged instrument, both felonies, court records show.
A warrant says of the fake million-dollar bill: "There is no such thing."
The largest bill in circulation is a $100 bill. In 1969, federal officials discontinued the use of $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills because of lack of public use.
The largest note ever printed was the $100,000 bill, which featured President Woodrow Wilson. The bills, which were not available to the public, were printed from Dec. 18, 1934, through Jan. 9, 1935, and were used for transactions between Federal Reserve banks.
"Hey Jim-boy, y'all ever have a real cold, Georgia-style mint julep, huh?" You won't be able to mix one in this teapot, or even Georgia-style sun tea. But you can brew up some hot tea (no, not Earl Grey). Artist Mark Nathan Stafford made this sculpture for the Ossuaries Project. Pour water into the top and tea out of the left ear.
