A hydrogen atom is only about a ten millionth of a millimeter in diameter, but the proton in the middle is a hundred thousand times smaller, and the electron whizzing around the outside is a thousand times smaller than THAT. The rest of the atom is empty. I tried to picture it, and I couldn't. So I put together this page - and I still can't picture it.
The electron in this model is only one pixel. You’ll have to scroll to the right to see it. Link -via Dump Trumpet
London artist Jordi Canudas creates odd and thought-provoking art installations such as lamps that give more (or less) light over time, sofas that bend from both sides, and the shared hat shown. Link -via the Presurfer
Inventor Nikola Tesla had a dream: to build a tower to harness the electricity of the atmosphere, control the weather, and conduct long-distance wireless communications. Construction of the 187-foot-tall Wardenclyffe Tower in Shoreham, New York was started in 1901, with an investment by J.P. Morgan, but the project was never completed. 20th century technology may have been quite different if Tesla's dream hadn't run into so many financial problems. Read the entire story at Damn Interesting. Link
The Barbarian Group is the group of designers responsible for Burger King’s Subservient Chicken marketing campaign. Now they have created The McLeod Mirror Series.
McLeod Mirror Series 1: See Yourself in Others are not actually made of mirrored glass, but an LCD screen housed in a wooden case with a web cam attached to the top. The camera records the viewer and creates a collage of the person’s image along with images of everyone else who has stood before the mirror. The image allows the viewer to “see themselves reflected in others†in a new way. The mirrors bring a timeless bathroom product into the digital age, creating a twist on the staple that is more interesting and dynamic than the original, while perhaps pointlessly complex. The images are not recorded or archived, so the digital artwork created on the spot will never be seen again.
Only 100 mirrors have been produced. You can get one for $6,000.00. Link to video (scroll to the right). http://menu.mcleodresidence.com/products/mcleod-mirror-series-1 to description. -via Shiny Shiny
Absolutely Bananas has "5 reasons why EVERYONE should know how to Photoshop their head onto someone else's body." Reason number four:
4. Because you wouldn't want your children to know THE TRUTH about how you spent your younger years (knitting and sipping tea? Come ON!) With Photoshop, your history is yours for the making! Goodbye boring momma, hello fab new me!
This much is true: there are large badgers in Basra. Local farmers have caught and killed some of the animals {video}. But the rumor is that they were introduced by British forces. Local vetrinarians are trying to assure the public that badgers have been around for decades. Link -via Fark, where badger jokes are running rampant.
Peng Shulin lost half his body when he was hit by a truck in 1995. After life-saving surgery, he was bedridden for twelve years. When doctors from the China Rehabilitation Research Centre in Beijing learned of Peng’s plight, they devised a plan and custom prosthetic legs, which he is now learning to use. Link -via Arbroath
Scientists are in a race against time to study a giant squid that appeared on a remote Australian beach. State parks officials have identified the carcass as an Architeuthis, {wiki} which can grow up to 33 feet long. The main body of the squid measure 6.5 feet. The tentacles are damaged, so the overall length will have to be estimated. Link
Fans of Blendtec’s Will It Blend series will enjoy watching an iPhone in a blender. Well, who wouldn’t watch a $500 gadget being destroyed by a kitchen appliance? Push play or go to YouTube. Link to website.
A puppy with a heart-shape spot in its fur was born in May in Japan. Breeder Emiko Sakurada has no plans to sell "Heart-kun". http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22050638-2,00.html -via Fark
The prehistoric cave paintings at Lascaux, discovered in 1940, were closed to the public in 1963 due to deterioration caused by human intervention. But you can take a virtual tour! See the paintings with explanations of what they portray at the French Ministry of Culture and Communication site. Link -via Ursi’s Blog
Wellington Grey has produced the Periodic Table of the Internet. This makes me wonder what kind of molecules compounds you could produce by combining these “elementsâ€! http://www.wellingtongrey.net/miscellanea/archive/2007-06-23--periodic-table-of-the-internet.html -via the Presurfer
Enjoy this collection of 16 chemistry experiments from the Journal of Chemical Education. You can read an explanation of each video, or just watch things bubble, burn, or explode! Link -via Dump Trumpet
Last weekend, Oregon gas station owner Kent Couch took off on a 193 mile solo flight -in a lawn chair attached to 105 helium balloons! He took along food and drinks, a bb gun, and a parachute. His flight, reminiscent of Larry Walters flight in 1982, reached an altitude of 13,000 feet and lasted nine hours. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OR_FLYING_LAWN_CHAIR_OROL-?SITE=ORSAL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT -via Fark
The Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West, Florida has been home to a group of about 50 cats, many of them polydactyl, for decades. Some are the descendants of the original six-toed cat the author was given in 1935. The Hemingway estate has been locked in a struggle with the USDA for almost a year, which says the cats are an “exhibit†and require a special permit. The Key West City Commission has just passed an ordinance, granting the estate an exemption from the law.
The new ordinance reads in part, "The cats reside on the property just as the cats did in the time of Hemingway himself. They are not on exhibition in the manner of circus animals. ... The City Commission finds that family of polydactyl Hemingway cats are indeed animals of historic, social and tourism significance."
