Behold, the first military vehicle created via crowdsourced design! Called the FLYPmode, it was developed in part by an ex-marine, who knows what advancements need to be made to help save lives on the modern battlefield. Built to withstand explosive blasts, the likes of which account for most of the recent deaths in the Middle East, FLYPmode was made in less than four months and represents the future of military tech: innovative vehicle designs that can be built quickly with modern combat needs in mind. If you're interested, you can see the fascinating designs that led to this concept vehicle at the Local Motors link below. Will bloated defense budgets become a thing of the past, when we design the vehicles of the future for ourselves?

http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2011-06/how-first-crowdsourced-military-car-can-remake-future-defense-manufacturing Image via Local Motors.

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Yeah, this video is really long, and nearly impossible to sit through all at once. Clocking in at a whopping 45 minutes, this is an in-depth tour of Middle Earth which was constructed in the game Minecraft, with some cheesy sounding dialog that you'll probably want to mute. But the value of this video isn't in the presentation, but rather in the effort put forth by the "builders" of a virtual Middle Earth, and the fact that this open ended construction game is capable of such an epic scale construction. But, f you don't care to sit through the entire thing skip ahead to the highlights-Rivendell, at around 28 minutes, and the Mines of Moria, at around 33 minutes. Who knows, you might find yourself inspired to build your own cubic fantasy world.

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Video games have come a long way from the days of Pac people chomping pellets and being chased by ghosts. Nowadays, games rely on well crafted storylines and character development to satisfy rabid gamers, which is why they would make awesome novels! A.J. Hateley agrees, and she has designed these really cool book covers to prove it. With compelling titles like "The Wonderful End Of The World" and "The Secret Life Of Headcrabs" it may take all but the more hardcore gamers a few guesses to figure out which game goes with which cover. But, whether or not you care about the games, the wonderful illustrations are worth a gander, so follow the link and see them all in their full-sized glory!

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The rodents of the future will eat poison pellets like candy, according to new research conducted on mice found in a German bakery. The baker called in an exterminator to rid his business of the pests and discovered, to his horror, that the little buggers weren't even fazed by bromadiolone, which is a very concentrated and deadly version of the common rat poison warfarin. This defensive immunity comes from interbreeding with Algerian mice, which had already developed an immunity to the poison. Looks like these unwelcome visitors are determined to stick around, no matter what we throw at them!

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If you've ever wanted to own a car that was both stylish and armed to the teeth, then this vintage Rolls Royce might be the car of your dreams. Built to aid an Indian Maharaja in hunting tigers, this classy coup has built in double-barrel shotguns, a rifle stand, Lantaka cannon mounted to the bumper and a trailer mounted machine gun. This classy yet deadly ride is expected to bring in around a million dollars at auction, so this is probably yet another one-of-a-kind automobile that will end up in Jay Leno's collection.

Link Image via AP Photo/Bonhams

Do you or someone you know have an addiction to Warcrack? Are you spending so much time farming and battling monsters that your life is passing you by? Well, at least you haven't sold your kids to pay for your MMO habits! One couple in China, however, have sold three of their children just to pay for their online gaming obsession, and they see nothing wrong with what they have done. They are so honest, in fact, that they admit to not wanting to raise the children, and that their intention from day one was to have children in order to sell them for cold hard cash. Thankfully the two are now in custody, and here's hoping that the kids don't follow in their parents footsteps and end up in a gold farming camp!

Link Image via Image*After

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Football is definitely back this fall, but will the players show up after seeing this insightful video about what playing in the NFL does to your brain? Former player Dave Duerson donated his brain to the NFL Brain Bank so researchers can clearly see what happens when you knock your head around for a living, and the results aren't very pretty. But did anyone really think being a professional football player would be good for your mental health? I think not.

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Have you ever wondered what Disneyland had to offer before it began getting massive, modernizing facelifts? Then take a look at this old map of the magical kingdom from 1962, scanned and uploaded in full size by Wishbook, with lots of classic Disney character heads surrounding a detailed, Imagineer drawn map! Look for the view all sizes button on Flickr and choose original size if you want to read the tiny text, and see all the pretty little drawings up close.

Link via Boing Boing.

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Have you ever found yourself wondering about the layout of the Overlook Hotel while watching the Shining? No? Well, me neither, but film analyst Rob Ager sure has, and he’s made an unusual little film about it, in which he uses a Duke Nukem mod as a virtual tour guide with a gun.

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There's a fuzzy new exhibit coming to a museum near you that showcases the works of puppet messiah Jim Henson. The Fantastic Voyage is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute and showcases some of Henson's most beloved and well known characters, like Bert and Ernie, Kermit, and Rowlf the piano playing dog, so you can see your Muppet pals up close and personal. Plus there's lots of concept art, sketches and photographs spanning the entire career of the world's most beloved puppeteer. Jim Henson fanatics unite and show the puppet master some love when the exhibit comes to your town!

Link image via Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

Tragedy on the Sea Nymph from machine project on Vimeo.

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Opera has become infinitely more enjoyable since the canines have hit the stage. Watch as wig wearing hounds get dramatic, in a silent performance that will leave a mark on more than your shoe.

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Something dastardly is afoot in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it is up to the guests to figure out whodunit-by completing a scavenger hunt. A company called Watson Adventures has organized a fun yet cerebral murder mystery in the museum, where the detectives must solve the crime via clues linked to works of art throughout the Met. Those who've been say that solving the crime is delightfully difficult, and feels like something you'd find in a Dan Brown novel. If you want to get in on the fun you may not have to wait very long, because Watson Adventures already has plans to bring the mystery to museums all over the country, with stories and clues created specifically for each museum's collection. Now you have an excuse to go lurking around your favorite museum after hours!

Link image via Ula Ilnytzky, Associated Press

At the Make-A-Wish Foundation, they're used to granting some of the strangest wishes one could ever imagine, but nobody has ever asked for their own video game. That is until Owain Weinert, a 9 year old who has been living with Leukemia for nearly two years, told the miracle workers that he had an idea for a video game that he wanted so see produced. The result is a tower defense game called Allied Star Police made and distributed by PopCap Games, and as if it isn't cool enough that a kid so young came up with his own game, it's free on iTunes right now. We wish little Owain all the best, and can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

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We’ve all experienced the pain and heartbreak associated with water-related electronics tragedies. From cell phones dropped in the toilet to laptops caught in the rain, getting your electronic devices wet used to spell destruction. Well not anymore, thanks to the Bheestie bag, which uses it's internal, pellet filled sacks to literally suck your device dry safely and completely. It might be just the thing to bring your beloved electronics back to life.

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One of the most amazing things about digital photography is that each image is also a file, storing the information contained in each shot along with the photo, so you can load it up and see aperture settings, shutter speed, ISO, etc. any time you want.
Do you want to become a better photographer? Just find images with the EXIF data intact and study what the pros used to make their shots look so darn pretty. Find out more about the process at Lifehacker.

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