The Mind Trainer Loo Roll is packed with puzzles, brain teasers, and Sudoku on every sheet. Create a game for yourself: you don't get to use a sheet until you've solved the puzzle on it.
Way back when, I linked to a satirical political attack ad allegedly by Friedrich Nietzsche against fellow philosopher Immanuel Kant. Apparently, Søren Kierkegaard's supporters jumped into the fray and offered this vicious attack ad against both Kant and Nietzsche.
Dutch architect Koen Olthuis responded to the rising sea level by designing a floating apartment building:
The Dutch are uniquely accustomed to dealing with fluctuating water levels; much of the Netherlands is below sea level, and vast swaths of land, known as polders, are continually pumped free of the accumulating rainwater that threatens nearby homes and buildings. The Citadel will simply rise and fall with the changing water levels, making it impervious to flooding, tides, and sea waters inching upward as a result of global warming.
Built atop a floating heavy concrete foundation, The Citadel will house 60 luxury apartments, a parking garage, a floating roadway, and boat docks. Each apartment will naturally have waterfront views via a garden terrace, and greenhouses will be interspersed throughout. But the greenest feature of the Citadel is its cooling system: submerged pipes will pump water throughout the structure to cool it, reducing its energy use by 25 percent compared to a conventional building.
Medical researchers are developing an innovative way of delivering malaria vaccine:
In a daring experiment in Europe, scientists used mosquitoes as flying needles to deliver a "vaccine" of live malaria parasites through their bites. The results were astounding: Everyone in the vaccine group acquired immunity to malaria; everyone in a non-vaccinated comparison group did not, and developed malaria when exposed to the parasites later.
Or perhaps this toy is inspired by Voltron, rather than the Transformers. Either way, when the island's railways are threatened, Thomas and his friends unite to form a devastating weapon. I don't know who makes this toy, but it's on sale at eBay in Singaporean currency.
Have you ever wanted to brush your teeth with cat vomit? Well then, good news! Slip these dog and cat head caps on top of your toothpaste tubes to simulate the experience.
GadgetHER has pictures of 25 unusual Russian Matryoshka nesting dolls, including crocheted robots, Super Mario Bros., and Left 4 Dead video game characters. The picture above is of a set that illustrates the evolution of the cell phone over time.
Bond with your dog by eating like he does with this human safe (and tasty) dog food called "Kooky-Chew". Or just to save time by skipping things like cleanliness and dignity. Each 2.5 ounce serving comes with a bone-shaped candy to polish off the meal.
http://www.stupid.com/fun/DOGF.html via Geekologie
It's no Bag of Holding, but this handbag in the shape of a 20-sided die will help you avoid critical fumbles of your gear. At the link, Lenore of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories gives you step-by-step instructions on how to make one.
This video is College Humor's foray into the realm of anti-smoking public service announcements. It turns out the cost to society for smoking is much, much worse than cancer and smelly carpets.
The Micro Butterfly RC plane manufactured by Plantraco weighs just a fraction of its heavier counterparts used by RC plane hobbyists. A durobatic foam body and carbon fiber batteries bring this 32mm wide plane up to only 2.6 grams.
Earthquake-prone Japan has a market for these suits that you strap onto your cats and dogs so that they can survive for days after a major earthquake. Each suit contains all of the necessary gear including water, biscuits, aromatherapy oils, and rubber foot pads, all contained in the pockets of a flame-resistant coat.
These drones include both aerial and surface craft intended for clandestine operations:
* Sea Stalker, a torpedo-size underwater robot that specializes in snooping on radio signals and other communications. “The [concept] is to launch these from submarines at night,” Kenny said. “They will transit to offshore, anchor, put their antennas out and begin collection. Ideally you would have a series of these … to cover different ports or hotbeds of terrorist activity. And then you would collate that information on board the ship.”
* Scan Eagle, the 45-pound aerial bot that has seen heavy use by the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kenny says Special Operations Command is looking at boosting Scan Eagle with extra fuel and sensors — and maybe even weapons, like the Air Force’s armed Predators and Reapers. It seems Scan Eagle is launched from a sub’s deck while she is surfaced, but that could change. “We’re looking at launch and recovery from an SSGN payload tube to allow clandestine close-in operations,” Kenny said.
* BUSTER, a 15-pound UAV that Kenny says is particularly useful when working with foreign armies. “We’ve … done some very successful operations with allies, doing foreign internal defense, training them to operate this vehicle.” The allied armies launch BUSTER from land, while the submarine “pull[s] in the full motion video and the infrared, correlate[s] it and fuse[s] it in our battle management centers on board.”
The picture above is of the Sea Stalker. [Correction on 8.3.09: It's the Sea Stalker by General Dynamics and is unmanned, but is a surface, rather than subsurface craft. Thanks, AeroNut!]
Last night, Miss Cellania linked to a video of a five-year old boy playing Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" very well. Pop culture blog Urlesque took this idea and ran with it, compiling ten videos of children, aged three to ten, performing rock songs. The above video is of an eight-year old boy playing "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix.
Hasbro could greatly expand its market if it made My Little Ponies like these two based upon the violent video game Gears of War. And it would probably capture the true meaning of what it means to be a My Little Pony.
Link (where there are also Legend of Zelda and Iron Man-themed My Little Ponies)
