July is National Hot Dog Month, and the Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss will test how much you know about hot dogs, the food and as a pop culture reference. I only scored 50% because I am a pop culture weinie. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/16535

The Atomic Age began 63 years ago today, when the first atomic bomb was successfully detonated at the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in a remote part of New Mexico.

The Trinity test, as it was known, was the culmination of the American effort to win the race against Germany (and, ultimately, the Soviet Union) in building an atomic bomb. A mere three weeks after the test, the United States used atomic bombs to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

But prior to the 16th, none of those involved in the project knew if they had built a devastating new weapon or a spectacular dud.

Even those who designed the bomb were moved by its performance. J. Robert Oppenheimer famously quoted the Bhagavad Gita:

"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one. Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds."

More prosaically, Dr. Kenneth Bainbridge, site director of the Trinity test, said: "Now we are all sons-of-bitches."

Wired has the story and a photo gallery. Link

Be-A-Doll makes custom action figures that look like you! Or have one made for a gift, or modeled after a person you want to keep around (maybe to stick pins in). Link -via Dump Trumpet

Some parts of the town of Baarle-Hertog, Belgium belong to The Netherlands. Which part? For that, you'll need a map.

Baarle-Hertog borders the Netherlands – but, because of its unique history of political division, the town is sort of marbled with competing national loyalties. In other words, pockets of the town are Dutch; most of the town is Belgian. You can thus wander from country to country on an afternoon stroll, as if island-hopping between sovereignties.

There are no border guards between the neighborhoods, and passports aren't necessary to move between the two nations. Link -via Boing Boing

Grace Acosta makes steampunk jewelry from authentic vintage materials. Each is one-of-a-kind, like these magnified gear cufflinks.

Vintage lucite magnifying cabochons were set over old letters and genuine brass watch gears, and then sealed on the back with lacquer. Then everything was placed into gold framed cuffinks and the final effect is really stunning. Everything shifts and changes as you turn them back and forth.

She also has earrings, necklaces, brooches, and various other handmade steampunk items. Link -Thanks, Grace!

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Simon Tofield has a new animation featuring his irresistible cat. My personal cat does the same lap thing while I'm on the computer. Previously at Neatorama: Cat Man Do and Let Me In! Tofield is an animator at Tandem Films, where I found out that Cat Man Do won the prize for Best Comedy at the British Animation Awards. -via Metafilter

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If you enjoyed the ad for epMotion, you'll love this! I think this is an ad for Agilent Technologies' 6520 Accurate-Mass Q-TOF LC/MS. I have no idea what it's for. Link -Thanks, Navs!

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Watch Bee Boy do a hip-hop dance for his hive!

It is a fact of nature: When a honey bee returns to the hive after finding a good source of nectar, it will perform a unique dance for its hive mates, detailing the distance, quality and quantity of the new food supply.

Sadly, honey bees are mysteriously vanishing in staggering numbers - a crisis known as Colony Collapse disorder - which is alarming considering honey bees are responsible for pollinating one-third of our natural food supply.

Haagen-Dazs produced this video to raise awareness of Colony Collapse Disorder. They have a program you can join to learn more. Link

This little picture doesn't look like much, but it performs well. At the linked site, take the dark striped section at the right and move it slowly over the picture section. Here's a post that explains how this type of animation is made. Link -Thanks, Jon Jason!

(image credit: Rufus Butler Seder)

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The National Library of Belarus in Minsk is just a sample of 6 of the most illuminated buildings on earth. deputydog takes a closer look at the history and artistry of illuminated buildings from Belgium, France, Spain, and Austria as well. http://deputy-dog.com/2008/07/15/6-of-the-most-illuminated-buildings-on-earth/

One of Victoria Kochowski's assigments as a senior at the Glasgow School of Art was to map out her day.

At first I was going to make a poster, but decided to just take the piss and make a giant drawing pin and carry it with me on the way to school. It's made from a giant foam ball that was split in two. It took 3 days to make, but was well worth it! Hope you enjoy it!

http://kowchow.com/index/map.html -Thanks, Vicky!

A 35 acre subterranean Cold War City that lies 1000 feet beneath Corsham. Built in the late 50s this massive city complex was designed by Government personnel in the event of a nuclear strike. A former Bath stone quarry the city, code named Burlington, was to be the site of the main Emergency Government War Headquarters - the hub of the Country's alternative seat of power outside London.

Over a kilometre in length, and boasting over 60 miles of roads. Blast proof and completely self-sufficient the secret underground site could accommodate up to 6,000 people, in complete isolation from the outside world, for up to three months.

The report (with lots more pictures) is from a blog about all kinds of underground things, created in support of the new movie City of Ember. The Burlington underground city was maintained until the 1980s, and finally decommissioned in 2005. http://underground.cityofember.com/2008/07/burlington-nuclear-bunker-at-c.html -Thanks, Ashley!

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This is astonishing. Japanese company Kajima Corporation is using a building demolition method called daruma-otoshi in which they replace the support columns on the bottom floor with huge computer-controlled jacks. They dismantle the entire bottom floor, then lower the building floor-by-floor! Compared to blowing it up, this method saves time and space, pollutes the air less, and makes material recycling easier. And as much as we like to see old-fashioned implosions, you have to admit this is pretty cool to watch. Link -via the Presurfer

One of my favorite sources, Metafilter is nine years old today. They reposted the first public link, as they have done almost annually. The link is no longer active, but tradition is tradition.

Here's to at least nine more! Link

The rest of the reasons are just as cute, with illustrations by Matthew Inman. Link -Thanks, Matthew!