Art Star has a limited edition run of Bitz Pixelated Palz, eight different plush 8-bit pixel dolls. http://www.artstarphilly.com/shop/dolls.html -via Everlasting Blort

This outdoor lamp from Demakersvan stores wind energy that can be used to power the light when needed. Another “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” moment. Link -via Swiss Miss

A tanker truck containing 8,600 gallons of gasoline exploded Sunday in San Francisco, causing the collapse of a section of I-580 at McArthur Maze. The driver, who took a taxi to the hospital, suffered burns on his face, neck, and hands, and is expected to be released in a few days. Link to article. Link to more pictures. -via J-Walk Blog

The American Institute of Architects presents the top 150 favorite structures, as determined by a public poll conducted by Harris Interactive. Here are the top ten:

1. Empire State Building - Shreve, Lamb & Harmon
2. The White House - James Hoban
3. Washington National Cathedral - George Bodley and Henry Vaughan, FAIA
4. Jefferson Memorial - John Russell Pope, FAIA
5. Golden Gate Bridge – Irving F. Morrow and Gertrude C. Morrow
6. U.S. Capitol - William Thornton, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Charles Bulfinch, Thomas U. Walter, FAIA, Montgomery C. Meigs
7. Lincoln Memorial - Henry Bacon, FAIA
8. Biltmore Estate/Vanderbilt Mansion - Richard Morris Hunt, FAIA
9. Chrysler Building - William Van Alen, FAIA
10. Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Maya Lin with Cooper-Lecky Partnership

See all 150 at America’s Favorite Architecture. Link (Flash Player 8 required) -via Ursi’s Blog

Old Pictures is a huge archive of photography dating back to the mid 19th century. The menu is a little hard to find, located between ads on the left side. This picture is called Suspected Lincoln Conspirator, from the collection entitled Abraham Lincoln Assassination. I could spend hours browsing these photos. Link -via Fark

Iris Peterson, who has been hailed as the #1 Flight Attendant in the airline industry, is retiring after 60 years on the job at United Airlines. The 85-year-old Peterson began her career in 1946, when flight attendants were required to be single, young, and slim. In 1953, she became the Air Line Stewards and Stewardesses Association's first official lobbyist, and fought to have those discriminatory practices lifted. Link (Thanks, Jan!)

Anatomy of the Heart lets you zoom in on a human heart graphic, rotate and move it to see the different parts, and takes you through a basic tutorial on the heart and circulatory system. Link -via digg

James Doohan, who portrayed Scotty in the original Star Trek series and several movies, has finally reached outer space. Doohen died in 2005. Part of his ashes, along with those of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper and 200 other people, were launched by a private SpaceLoft XL rocket August 28 from a site in New Mexico. After reaching an altitude of 70 miles, the rocket split and the capsules holding remains returned to earth via parachute. Link

Manuel Libres Librodo Jr. is a photographer from the Philippines living in Thailand. His gallery has thousands of photographs all kinds of people from different cultures, but he obviously loves to take pictures of beautiful women’s faces. Link -via Metafilter

They began with making designs on toast with a hot air gun. Then they mounted the hot air gun to a printer. Now Evil Mad Scientist shows how they can “mass-produce” designs on slice after slice of toast, such as this portrait of Ze Frank. Includes video. http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/cnctoast

This WWII propaganda poster urged carpooling not to save gas, but to save wear and tear on tires. Rubber was in short supply, and was needed for the military. Link -via Reddit

This barbecue grill folds up to the size of a briefcase! It opens up to provide a 45 x 30cm cooking area. Link -via Bits and Pieces

On July 31, 1761, the French ship L’Utile shipwrecked on a one square kilometer island in the Indian Ocean. The sailors built a boat and managed to escape, but they left behind 60 slaves the ship was carrying illegally. Fifteen years later, the survivors (seven women and a baby) were finally rescued. UNESCO is still researching the story of their escape attempts and how some survived those years on what is now named Tromelin Island. http://portal0.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=26887&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html -via Reddit

Deviant Art is has a gallery of strange and compelling art by Adonis Werther. This piece is entitled Feel Bad, Inc. Link -via Dump Trumpet.

Design student Zhu Yunwei made these very unnatural-looking portraits by integrating two photos, one with eyes open, the other with eyes closed. The results looks strange because people can’t hold their eyes in different positions without showing some strain. Link -via J-Walk Blog