Our little friend from Star Wars is hot! This sculpture is a wood burning heater hand-crafted from steel gas bottles. From what I can tell, UK eBay seller kidsrusje has built other artful stoves. R2D2 is one of a kind, and is for sale to the highest bidder. Link -via the Presurfer
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Our little friend from Star Wars is hot! This sculpture is a wood burning heater hand-crafted from steel gas bottles. From what I can tell, UK eBay seller kidsrusje has built other artful stoves. R2D2 is one of a kind, and is for sale to the highest bidder. Link -via the Presurfer
Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy Blog points out that today is the 44th anniversary of the Apollo I fire that killed three astronauts: Ed White, Roger Chaffee, and Gus Grissom. I was very young, but recall being shocked and devastated that three of our national heroes died doing what they do. Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, and next week is the 8th anniversary of the Columbia disaster. Dr. Plait published a tribute to all those astronauts and others who have died in the pursuit of space exploration. Link
Remember the United States of Shame, where each state was labeled with the statistic it was worst in? Ilya Gerner figured that there should be a statistic that each state is best in, and made a map accordingly. However, I'm not sure how proud I can be that Kentucky is the best armed state. Link to map. Link to explanation. -via Buzzfeed
Sharajat-al-Hayat, or the Tree of Life, is a 400-year-old mesquite tree standing i the desert two kilometers from Jebel Dukhan in Bahrain. Local inhabitants believe it to be the site of the original Garden of Eden. See many pictures of the tree and its surroundings at Triggerpit. Link -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: Flickr user Harold Laudeus)
Marijuana smugglers apparently have a problem with the US border fence near Tucson, Arizona -and those pesky border patrols. So they've turned to ancient technology to deliver the goods -a catapult!
http://www.kvoa.com/news/smugglers-catapult-pot-over-border-fence/ (with video) -via Boing Boing
On Friday evening, National Guard troops operating a remote video surveillance system at the Naco Border Patrol Station observed several people south of the International Boundary Fence preparing a catapult and launching packages over the International Border fence, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Border Patrol agents working with the National Guard contacted Mexican authorities, who went to the location and disrupted the catapult operation. The camera showed the individuals fleeing the area before they could be intercepted by Mexican authorities.
The Mexican officials seized about 45 pounds of marijuana, a sport utility vehicle, and the catapult device.
http://www.kvoa.com/news/smugglers-catapult-pot-over-border-fence/ (with video) -via Boing Boing
(YouTube link)
This ad is found at the beginning of American versions of DVDs from the BBC. You think it's an anti-piracy warning, but it turns into a friendly ad for the TV network. Of course, the required amount of British humor is included. -via reddit
Vladimir Nabokov was the curator of butterflies at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. The lifelong butterfly researcher posed a theory of butterfly evolution in 1945. He said butterflies came to the New World in five waves of migration, through Asia across the Bering Strait into Alaska and then southward through North and then South America (much as humans migrated). Other butterfly experts scoffed at the idea. Nabokov's theory was not taken seriously until after his death in 1977. Then, in the past decade, gene-sequencing technology finds that Nabokov was right all along! A paper co-authored by Naomi Pierce of Harvard was presented to the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London on Tuesday that proclaimed Nabokov's theory to be supported by genetic research.
In case you were wondering, yes, this is that Vladimir Nabokov. He is better known outside scientific circles as the proclaimed author of Lolita and other novels. Link -via The Loom
(Image credit: Vlad Dinca)
There were several plausible hypotheses for how the butterflies might have evolved. They might have evolved in the Amazon, with the rising Andes fragmenting their populations. If that were true, the species would be closely related to one another.
But that is not what Dr. Pierce found. Instead, she and her colleagues found that the New World species shared a common ancestor that lived about 10 million years ago. But many New World species were more closely related to Old World butterflies than to their neighbors. Dr. Pierce and her colleagues concluded that five waves of butterflies came from Asia to the New World — just as Nabokov had speculated.
“By God, he got every one right,” Dr. Pierce said. “I couldn’t get over it — I was blown away.”
Dr. Pierce and her colleagues also investigated Nabokov’s idea that the butterflies had come over the Bering Strait. The land surrounding the strait was relatively warm 10 million years ago, and has been chilling steadily ever since. Dr. Pierce and her colleagues found that the first lineage of Polyommatus blues that made the journey could survive a temperature range that matched the Bering climate of 10 million years ago. The lineages that came later are more cold-hardy, each with a temperature range matching the falling temperatures.
In case you were wondering, yes, this is that Vladimir Nabokov. He is better known outside scientific circles as the proclaimed author of Lolita and other novels. Link -via The Loom
(Image credit: Vlad Dinca)
(YouTube link)
A sequence from the Bollywood sci-fi movie Robot. Just when you think it can't get any more bizarre, it does just that. Overdubbed in Russian (I think), but knowing the language won't help. -via Laughing Squid
You have probably seen this picture before, with the caption "Would you have invested in this company?" The people in this 1978 portrait were the early staff of Microsoft. You know Bill Gates in the bottom left corner, but what about all the others? Business Insider found out what happened to all the people in the photograph, and are glad to pass the information along. Link -via Gizmodo
Adolf Hitler's last surviving bodyguard, Rochus Misch, announced that he is no longer able to respond to his voluminous fan mail. Fan mail?
Misch published his memoirs in 2008. Link -via Breakfast Links
Rochus Misch is 93 and uses a walking frame to move around his apartment. He told the Berliner Kurier tabloid that, with most of the letters he receives asking for autographs, it was "no longer possible" to reply because of his age.
"They (letters) come from Korea, from Knoxville, Tennessee, from Finland and Iceland -- and not one has a bad word to say," said Misch, who is believed to be the last man alive to have seen Hitler and other top-ranking Nazis in the flesh.
Misch published his memoirs in 2008. Link -via Breakfast Links
You knew there were some provocative place names in the United Kingdom. Now we have a definitive (and long) list of funny place names in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all in one place. Here is a small sample:
Go pick out your favorites at Anglotopia. Link -Thanks, Jonathan!
(Image credit: Flickr user Mark Robinson)
Titley Close, London
Swallow Passage, London
Bachelors Bump, Essex, UK
Crapstone, Devon
Fanny Hands Lane, Lincolnshire
Golden Balls, Oxfordshire, UK
Hornyold Road, Malvern Wells, UK
Lower Swell, Gloucestershire
North Piddle, Worcestershire
Scratchy Bottom, Dorset, UK
Wetwang, East Yorkshire
Boysack, Angus, Scotland
East Breast, Inverclyde
Bullyhole Bottom, Monmouthshire, Wales
Go pick out your favorites at Anglotopia. Link -Thanks, Jonathan!
(Image credit: Flickr user Mark Robinson)
Some Miami residents couldn't believe their eyes when they saw a grand piano out in Biscayne Bay, perched atop a sandbar.
Even though the piano remains above water even at low high tide, no music has been heard from it. http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/24/2031940/mysterious-grand-piano-found-on.html -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Alison Diaz/Miami Herald)
Update: Looks like the person responsible has been found. Read about it at NeatoBambino.
How and why the piano got there is a mystery. A grand piano weighs at least 650 pounds and is unwieldly to move, said Bob Shapiro, a salesman at Piano Music Center in Pembroke Park. ``You don't take it out there in a rowboat,'' Shapiro said.
This much is clear, however: The piano isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Unless it becomes a danger to wildlife or boaters, authorities have no plans to haul it away.
``We are not responsible for removing such items,'' said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. ``Even a car can become a habitat for wildlife. Unless the item becomes a navigational hazard, the Coast Guard would not get involved.''
Even though the piano remains above water even at low high tide, no music has been heard from it. http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/24/2031940/mysterious-grand-piano-found-on.html -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Alison Diaz/Miami Herald)
Update: Looks like the person responsible has been found. Read about it at NeatoBambino.
(YouTube link)
What if Disney had produced the movie Up! in 1965? YouTube member whoiseyevan, who gave us Ghost Busters 1954 and Raiders of the Lost Ark 1951 produced a trailer for a 1960s live-action version. See a list of clips sources at the YouTube link. -via reddit
What you see here is a chandelier made of wide-mouth Mason canning jars! Laura and David handcraft these one at a time to the customer's specifications. Not only is it a conversation piece full of Southern charm, but they are energy-efficient, too! Link
This is the heroic tale of skyscrapers rising from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire, and how they inspired changes in cities across the world.
Chicago grew up fast. In 1840, it was a quiet settlement of 4,500 people. Three decades later, it had grown to a vibrant metropolis of 300,000. Unfortunately, the city planners didn't take much stock of the materials they were using. From the planks of the sidewalks to the shingles on the roofs, the new city was built almost entirely of wood. And in the autumn of 1871, all of that came to a head.
On October 8, during a particularly dry and windy spell, the wood and weather combined to make combustion history. That night, the Great Chicago Fire broke out in a DeKoven Street barn. (The O'Leary family owned it, but their cow had nothing to do with the fire.) The flames advanced quickly, engulfing nearby lumberyards and the city's downtown, and they burned for 36 hours straight. In the end, 18,000 structures were destroyed, as many as 300 people were killed, and nearly one-third of the population was left homeless.
Yet, the enduring legacy of the Great Chicago Fire is not its destruction, but the amazing rebirth that took place after it.
The rebuilding of Chicago began with Joseph Medill, managing editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, who personified the city's indomitable spirit. Even though the blaze had partially leveled his newspaper's headquarters, Medill cranked out a special edition two days later, affirming the city's resolve with an editorial stating, "Cheer up ... Chicago Shall Rise Again." It was more than empty encouragement. One month later, Medill was elected mayor on the city's "Fireproof" ticket. He immediately ushered in safety reforms that set the stage for rapid development and a new wave of construction.
Within 10 years, the population of Chicago had nearly doubled. Soon, there was no more land to build on, and overcrowding was setting in. But in 1883, architect William Le Baron Jenney came up with a novel solution. He designed the innovative, 10-story Home Insurance Building -widely considered to be the world's first skyscraper. The Home Insurance Building had the steadiness of a cathedral, but at a third of the normal weight. Jenney's genius was in using a light steel frame covered in hollow terra cotta tiles to prevent the spread of fire. His skyscraper inspired architects to think vertically and gave rise not just to Chicago's skyline, but also to new skylines across the globe.
CITY MEETS WORLD
By 1890, less than two decades after the Great Fire, more than 1 million people were living in Chicago. It surpassed Philadelphia in population, and became America's "second city", next only to New York. Despite its size, many saw Chicago as a glorified hick town. To change that perception, Chicago competed with New York to host the world's Columbian Exposition, a fair to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in America. At the time, World's Fairs were serious business. They had the power to thrust a host city into the global spotlight and bring in enormous revenue and prestige.
While New York had financial titans like J.P. Morgan and William Waldorf Astor bidding in its corner, Chicago had something more compelling -a collective sense of purpose. Department store mogul Marshall Field, who'd lost his original building in the blaze, and industrialist Cyrus McCormick, who'd also lost his factory, pledged a combined $15 million to underwrite the fair. Then an even more surprising thing happened: The taxpayers voted for a referendum pledging an additional $5 million. To them, the World's Fair wasn't just a celebration; it was a chance at rebirth.
In the end, Congress decided that Chicago's bid was stronger than New York's, and the city went on to host one of the most successful World's Fairs in history. The 1893 event introduced the world to ragtime music, shredded wheat, hamburgers, postcards, neon lights, and the Ferris wheel. It also influenced architecture for decades to come. The fairground's classical buildings inspired the nationwide City Beautiful movement, which led to the creation of the National Mall in Washington, DC, and the fair's layout inspired modern amusement parks, such as Disneyland. The buildings even sparked the imagination of writer L. Frank Baum, who created the Emerald City in their image in his book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
On October 9, 1893, on the 22th anniversary of the Great Fire, 716,881 people visited the World's Fair in one day, shattering all previous Fair attendance records. In just 22 years, Chicago had risen from a pile of rubble to the height of civilization -and the world was there to celebrate.
Be sure to visit mental_floss' website and blog for more fun stuff!
Chicago grew up fast. In 1840, it was a quiet settlement of 4,500 people. Three decades later, it had grown to a vibrant metropolis of 300,000. Unfortunately, the city planners didn't take much stock of the materials they were using. From the planks of the sidewalks to the shingles on the roofs, the new city was built almost entirely of wood. And in the autumn of 1871, all of that came to a head.
On October 8, during a particularly dry and windy spell, the wood and weather combined to make combustion history. That night, the Great Chicago Fire broke out in a DeKoven Street barn. (The O'Leary family owned it, but their cow had nothing to do with the fire.) The flames advanced quickly, engulfing nearby lumberyards and the city's downtown, and they burned for 36 hours straight. In the end, 18,000 structures were destroyed, as many as 300 people were killed, and nearly one-third of the population was left homeless.
Yet, the enduring legacy of the Great Chicago Fire is not its destruction, but the amazing rebirth that took place after it.
The rebuilding of Chicago began with Joseph Medill, managing editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, who personified the city's indomitable spirit. Even though the blaze had partially leveled his newspaper's headquarters, Medill cranked out a special edition two days later, affirming the city's resolve with an editorial stating, "Cheer up ... Chicago Shall Rise Again." It was more than empty encouragement. One month later, Medill was elected mayor on the city's "Fireproof" ticket. He immediately ushered in safety reforms that set the stage for rapid development and a new wave of construction.
Within 10 years, the population of Chicago had nearly doubled. Soon, there was no more land to build on, and overcrowding was setting in. But in 1883, architect William Le Baron Jenney came up with a novel solution. He designed the innovative, 10-story Home Insurance Building -widely considered to be the world's first skyscraper. The Home Insurance Building had the steadiness of a cathedral, but at a third of the normal weight. Jenney's genius was in using a light steel frame covered in hollow terra cotta tiles to prevent the spread of fire. His skyscraper inspired architects to think vertically and gave rise not just to Chicago's skyline, but also to new skylines across the globe.
CITY MEETS WORLD
By 1890, less than two decades after the Great Fire, more than 1 million people were living in Chicago. It surpassed Philadelphia in population, and became America's "second city", next only to New York. Despite its size, many saw Chicago as a glorified hick town. To change that perception, Chicago competed with New York to host the world's Columbian Exposition, a fair to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in America. At the time, World's Fairs were serious business. They had the power to thrust a host city into the global spotlight and bring in enormous revenue and prestige.
While New York had financial titans like J.P. Morgan and William Waldorf Astor bidding in its corner, Chicago had something more compelling -a collective sense of purpose. Department store mogul Marshall Field, who'd lost his original building in the blaze, and industrialist Cyrus McCormick, who'd also lost his factory, pledged a combined $15 million to underwrite the fair. Then an even more surprising thing happened: The taxpayers voted for a referendum pledging an additional $5 million. To them, the World's Fair wasn't just a celebration; it was a chance at rebirth.
In the end, Congress decided that Chicago's bid was stronger than New York's, and the city went on to host one of the most successful World's Fairs in history. The 1893 event introduced the world to ragtime music, shredded wheat, hamburgers, postcards, neon lights, and the Ferris wheel. It also influenced architecture for decades to come. The fairground's classical buildings inspired the nationwide City Beautiful movement, which led to the creation of the National Mall in Washington, DC, and the fair's layout inspired modern amusement parks, such as Disneyland. The buildings even sparked the imagination of writer L. Frank Baum, who created the Emerald City in their image in his book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
On October 9, 1893, on the 22th anniversary of the Great Fire, 716,881 people visited the World's Fair in one day, shattering all previous Fair attendance records. In just 22 years, Chicago had risen from a pile of rubble to the height of civilization -and the world was there to celebrate.
__________________________
The article by Christopher Zara is reprinted from the May- June 2010 issue of mental_floss magazine. You can order back issues of mental_floss or get a subscription to have each issue delivered to you!Be sure to visit mental_floss' website and blog for more fun stuff!
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