Dutch adventurer Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje traveled to the Muslim holy city of Mecca in 1885, photographing what he saw and recording sounds using an invention of Thomas Edison:

Snouck's extraordinary collection of sepia-tinted images of Mecca in a bygone age have gone on display in Dubai ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage that originally drew him to the heart of Islam.

Accompanied by crackling, eerie soundscapes captured by Snouck using Thomas Edison's newly-invented wax cylinders, the exhibition paints a very different picture from the ornate and built-up Mecca familiar to modern visitors.[...]

The images are all the more astounding, says Elie Domit -- creative director of Dubai's Empty Quarter gallery, which is hosting the exhibition -- when one considers the lengths he went to to get them.

"People tend to forget the situation because cameras today are so versatile and light," he told CNN. "In Snouck's day they probably weighed about 40 kilos, and he needed to take all the chemicals for developing, which he would have done on site."

Link via The Agitator | Photo: Empty Quarter Gallery

Gun safes are normally built with fixed racks for long arms and shelves for handguns. As a result, the firearm that a user wishes to remove may be at the back, behind several others. Bruce Pendleton was dissatisfied with this arrangement and so built a gun safe that has electrically-powered lazy susan racks and counters.

Product Link and Video via Born Rich

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This video of undetermined provenance shows a baby giraffe and an ostrich playing. At least the giraffe is playing. I'm not sure about the ostrich.

via Ace of Spades HQ

One current Internet meme consists of people taking pictures of what equipment they normally carry around in their pockets or on their belts whenever they leave their homes. They then post the pictures and explain their decisions. At the link, you can view a Flickr photo pool of some examples of these personal equipment choices.

What's in your pockets on a normal day?

Link via The Breda Fallacy | Photo: Flickr user clark0226

Constables in Fayette County, Pennsylvania needed to serve arrest warrants to certain folks, but the people in question wouldn't leave their homes. So the officers decided to lure the suspects outside using a van decorated in a Pittsburgh Steelers theme:

"It's been working great," Coleman said. "We sit outside and lay on the horn, and they come out. They're interested and curious."

The interest didn't end after the individuals found out they'd been had, either.

"One guy tried to buy the van off of us," Younkin said, adding that he named their new tactic "The Fayette County Constables Do the End Around," referring to a trick football play.

To keep with the football theme of using the Steelers van, Coleman and Younkin even play the Pittsburgh Steelers fight song on the way to Haggerty's office to those they pick up.

Link via Deadspin | Photo: Furdell.com

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This time-lapse video shows workers in Changsha, China building a 15-story hotel in six days:

The Ark Hotel, constructed with optimal energy, material and time savings, was reportedly not only more efficient but cheaper to make. Industry experts said there was only 1 percent construction waste.

The sustainable hotel already had its foundation so construction workers only took 46 hours to finish the building using pre-fabricated columns and modules as well as modern construction techniques. Once the main structural components were completed, only another 90 hours were required to finish the building enclosure.

Link via J-Walk Blog

Charles Mangin made a USB flash drive that fits inside a stack of two 3.5 inch floppy disks:

I extended the original cable from the business card USB drive, and routed it through a small piece of plastic, glued in place just inside the opening. This lets out just enough of the cable to plug into a hub or laptop, but prevents me pulling the wires all the way out.

Link via Technabob | Maker's Website

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Remember the hovering sphere that Luke Skywalker used during his early lightsaber training with Obi-Wan Kenobi? YouTube user trooperkent made one of his own out of a hovering globe.

via Make

Star Trek and The Andy Griffith Show were sometimes filmed on the same lot. Specifically, the episodes "Miri" and "City on the Edge of Forever" used the lot that was also used to represent the town of Mayberry. You can view more pictures of this connection at the link.

Link via reddit | Image: Paramount

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This video allegedly shows a machine that can lay 400 yards of brick road a day. But I can't find any information about it beyond Internet buzz. What do you think -- is it real?

via Gizmodo

The Tampa-based artist known as P$ynner painted this handgun. It's a Bersa Thunder .380 caliber semi-automatic.

via The Breda Fallacy | Artist's Website

Just in case they were thinking of doing otherwise, signs at the new city hall building in Chandler, Arizona warn people that they shouldn't drink from the toilets and urinals:

A few employees have been cracking jokes and speculating about what it would take to make them slurp from potties when water fountains and sinks are a few feet away.

"I'm glad that I saw that sign because I was very thirsty and looking for a means to quench my thirst," Mayor Boyd Dunn quipped. "Seriously, I'm certain there's some regulation out there that requires that type of sign."

Link via Popehat | Photo: Mark Henle/ The Arizona Republic

Flickr user Pichu71 made a cross-stitch that depicts a QR code. She writes:

I've just fininished stitching this QR code (created online) for my brother-in-law's birthday. He is a computer/ technology freak. Could someone please read it and tell me if my "spelling" is correct as I do not own a smart phone myself.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41868492@N07/5163653619/ via Geek Crafts | Crafter's Blog

Charlie Kested of Johnstown, NY spent 10 years carving a wooden replica of the Declaration of Independence:

The massive piece, which is nearly as tall as Kested himself, was finally completed several months ago. It’s an exact wood model of the Declaration of Independence, right down to the flourish of John Hancock’s signature at the bottom. The dark walnut words are a stark contrast against the Baltic birch background.[...]

Link via First Things | Photo: Leader-Herald

A Nashville-based company called Lil Big Rig converts Ford F-250 pickup trucks into scaled-down semi-trailer trucks:

For $13,000, Lil Big Rig can convert your 1980s-1990s two-wheel-drive Ford F-250, long-bed full-size Chevrolet pickup (1973-1987 model years in either 4X4 or 4X2) or 1994-2003 Dodge Ram standard cab pickup (either 4X4 or 4X2). Lil Big Rig replaces the standard truck body with a fiberglass Peterbilt or Kenworth cab and front hood/fender assembly. A semi truck-esque rear body and two extra dual rear wheels are added on to make your truck look like a traditional Peterbilt or Kenworth semi.

The interior is completely revised and resembles the cab of a semi, and what’s a semi truck without a rear space to relax in? All Lil Pete and Lil Kenny kits come with a full rear sleeper available with seats or room for an actual bed.

Link via Jalopnik | Photo: Robby DeGraff