British inventor Josh Silver began working on eyeglasses that can be tuned by the wearer in 1985. His goal is to bring better vision to a billion people worldwide who cannot afford, or don't have access to, an optometrist.

Silver has devised a pair of glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful it becomes. Inside the device's tough plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.

The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens. When the wearer is happy with the strength of each lens the membrane is sealed by twisting a small screw, and the syringes removed. The principle is so simple, the team has discovered, that with very little guidance people are perfectly capable of creating glasses to their own prescription.

Silver's goal is to distribute a billion pairs of his adaptive glasses to poor people by 2020 (the pun in the year is intended, I'm sure). Already, 30,000 pairs have been given out in 15 countries.

"The reaction is universal," says Major Kevin White, formerly of the US military's humanitarian programme, who organised the distribution of thousands of pairs around the world after discovering Silver's glasses on Google. "People put them on, and smile. They all say, 'Look, I can read those tiny little letters.'"

Silver hopes to get the cost of manufacturing each pair down to a dollar each. Link -Thanks, Cuimhne!

(image credit: Michael Lewis)

Imagine bungee jumping off the Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa -it's 710 feet high! Fantastic view, but um, I think I'll pass. But you can watch others do it, because 20 Amazing Places to Bungee Jump has videos to go with each venue. http://www.hottnez.com/20-amazing-places-to-bungee-jump-be-a-james-bond-or-jump-into-a-volcano/ -Thanks, Grzegorz Paslawski!

Karen at HealthAssist measured and photographed amounts of food that have 300 calories. Each is pictured with a $10 bill for scale, and the cost of the amount is also noted. If you are counting calories, this is good news in that 300 calories of the most nutritious foods will fill you up. The sad news is that the cost of 300 calories in breads, pasta, and sweets is so much cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables. Link -Thanks, Karen!

The ABC World News Webcast has announced their picks for the biggest viral videos of 2008, with a little help from Yours Truly. Link

Lenny&Meriel make these delightful figures they call Sparebots out of resistors, caps, pots, chips, sockets, and other electronic parts! Some are arranged into little scenes, and some are animals. Link to Flickr set. Link to Lenny's blog. -Thanks, Joe!

When I saw the title, I thought this might be a comedy posting, but it really is the stories of famous numbers. The pictured number is called the "golden section".

This number [represented by the symbol at left] is also known as the golden section and is commonly accepted as an expression that describes the perfect proportions in architecture or anatomy. In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger one is the same as the ratio between the larger one and the smaller. The golden ratio is a mathematical constant, approximately 1.6180339887.

Of course, not all of them are this serious, but they are fascinating. http://www.theanticmuse.com/2008/12/26/the-13-most-famous-numbers-and-their-stories/ -via the Presurfer

If you saw this on the beach, you'd probably want to set up camp some distance away. But this beached sperm whale is made of wood, aluminum and polyester! The sculpture is at Scheveningen Beach in The Netherlands. See this and four other creepy beach installations. Link -via Geek Like Me

Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss tests whether you can tell a real Andy Rooney quote from the many attributed to him over the years. I scored 68%, a bit better than average. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/21316

Competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi {wiki} has won awards for eating hot dogs, hamburgers, dumplings, bratwurst, lobster rolls, cow brains, and rice balls. But he completely gave up on the world record at a fruitcake eating competition!

With only a 1/2 pound to go at 8 minutes, Kobayashi began crumbling the nutty cake before jamming it into his mouth, a technique that seemed effective.

"Koby! Koby! Koby!" the crowd of about two dozen shouted, as his pace quickened.

By 8 minutes and 35 seconds, Sonya Thomas' 2001 record was still almost a pound out of his reach. In the end, Kobayashi managed to eat 4 pounds and 8 ounces.

"It was very difficult to eat because it was so dense," Kobayashi said through a translator, admitting that he had never eaten the cake before.

The fruitcake record remains at 4 pounds 14 ounces, eaten in ten minutes. The event held Friday raised funds for a food bank in New York City. Link -via Unique Daily

(image credit: Handschuh/News)

29-year-old James Joseph Cialella was arrested in Philadelphia Thursday night for shooting another patron at a movie theater because the man and his family were talking during the movie.

Police said Cialella told the man's family to be quiet, then threw popcorn at the man's son. The victim, whom television reports identified as Woffard Lomax, told police that Cialella was walking toward his family when he stood up and was shot.

Detectives called to the United Artists Riverview Stadium theater in South Philadelphia found Cialella carrying the weapon, a .380-caliber handgun, in his waistband, police said.

Lt. Frank Vanore called the incident "scary that it gets to that level of violence from being too noisy during a movie."

The 31-year-old victim was released from the hospital and had no comment. Cialella faces six charges, including attempted murder. Link -Thanks, Geekazoid!

(image credit: Philadelphia Police Department)

Männerspielplatz is a 17-acre theme park in Germany with a real theme. The name translates to "men's playground".

For 219 euros (about $280), patrons can spend the day operating 29-ton Liebherr backhoes and 32-ton Komatsu front-end loaders, off-roading through the woods in a Mercedes-built Unimog, peeling out in a Suzuki SUV, and slinging some mud on quad bikes.

The park began as a one-time promotion that became permanent when more and more patrons wanted to have some fun. The biggest customers are women, however, who buy tickets as gifts for men. Link

(YouTube link)

DJ Earworm has another masterful mashup, this one covering the entire year of 2008. This video features the top 25 songs of the year, according to Billboard Magazine. A list of the songs used are at his website. -Thanks, John "Widgett" Robinson!

Here's a cute photo essay based on the book Fairy Tales Can Come True (Just Not Every Day!). Stock advertising photos from the 40s and 50s make it much more than just a marriage manual! Link -via the Presurfer

Money is too obvious and weapons are dangerous, so what is the CIA using to bribe information from Afghan warlords these days? Viagra!

The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.

Four blue pills. Viagra.

"Take one of these. You'll love it," the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.

The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes -- followed by a request for more pills.

Viagra is only one of the enticements the CIA uses. The drug doesn't have a particular appeal for younger men. Link -Thanks, Justin!

Scouting New York is an occupation blog that's also a gorgeous photoblog.

I work as a film location scout in New York City. My day is basically spent combing the streets for interesting and unique locations for feature films. In my travels, I often stumble across some pretty incredible sights, most of which are ignored every day by thousands of New Yorkers in too much of a rush to pay attention.

As it happens, it's my job to pay attention, and I've started this blog to keep a record of what I see.

Not only does he record interesting locations in photographs, he also researches the architecture and other details for your edification and enjoyment. One post has several closeups of this building, which features gargoyles and other embellishments that are not visible from the ground. Link -via Metafilter