Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Dumpster Living
The dean of University College Jeff Wilson (aka Professor Dumpster) lives in a green dumpster behind the women’s residence halls in a back corner of Huston-Tillotson University’s campus in Austin, Texas. Almost everything he owns is in his 36-square-foot dumpster, which is sanctioned and supported by the university as part of an ongoing sustainability-focused experiment called The Dumpster Project.
Via
“The big hypothesis we’re trying to test here is, can you have a pretty darn good life on much, much less? This is obviously an outlier experiment. But so far, I have, I’d say. A better life than I had before.”Much more: The Atlantic
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Monday, September 29, 2014
Water Meets Sound
It's amazing what one can do with a speaker, rubber hose, water source, tone generating software, a 24hz sine wave and 24fps capable camera.
Jaw Dropping Science
Via
Jaw Dropping Science
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The Missing Scarf
This animation by Vancouver - based Eoin Duffy (narrated by George Takei) follows a squirrel who encounters various animals on his path to find his lost scarf.
The Missing Scarf from Eoin Duffy on Vimeo.
Via The Awesomer
The Missing Scarf from Eoin Duffy on Vimeo.
Via The Awesomer
Combat in XVth Century Armour
This exhibit at Le Musée National du Moyen-Âge de Cluny in Paris recreates battles of the fifteenth century. Contrary to popular belief, the armour of the knights allowed combatants to move without restriction.
Via Messy Nessy Chic
Via Messy Nessy Chic
Eyes of Hitchcock
Eyes of Hitchcock from Criterion Collection on Vimeo.
Created by :: kogonada
Music: "Anything can happen, and usually does... On the Orient Express" by Rob Cawley
Via The Curious Brain
Created by :: kogonada
Music: "Anything can happen, and usually does... On the Orient Express" by Rob Cawley
Via The Curious Brain
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Incredible Michael Jackson Tribute
Ohio State Marching Band performs a Michael Jackson tribute at halftime of the Iowa game. Hang in, it gets really good around the 5 min mark when he moonwalks.
Jimi Hendrix's Last Interview, Recorded a Week Before He Died
Saturday, September 27, 2014
The Norfolk Knife
The Norfolk Knife was made in the mid-19th century by Joseph Rodgers & Sons Ltd. in Sheffield, England for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. The knife, which took two years to make, is 34 inches long and 22 inches wide. It has 75 blades, which feature etchings of Queen Victoria and of the White House, among others. It is now on display in the Cutlers' Hall in Sheffield.
Link
Via
Friday, September 26, 2014
Love Song To Nikola Tesla
In 2012 The Oatmeal raised $1.37m through a crowd-funding campaign to buy the property of Nikola Tesla’s former laboratory. With a combined grant from NY State for an addition $850k, this money was used to make a bid on the property. This initial round was enough to buy a laboratory, but not enough to build a museum.
Elon Musk has agreed to donate $1M, in addition to building a Tesla supercharger station in the museum parking lot. He also issued a challenge to The Oatmeal to try and raise the rest of the money.See how you can help.
Music by Sarah Donner
Concept & Animation by The Oatmeal
Via Holy Kaw!
Music by Sarah Donner
Concept & Animation by The Oatmeal
Via Holy Kaw!
2-Mile Beer Pipeline
How do you get beer from a brewery to a bottling plant 2 miles away? Belgium brewer De Halve Maan is constructing a beer pipeline that will eliminate the need to transport the beer by 500 trucks every day, reduce traffic and cut down on pollution. The award-winning beer will flow through a 1.8-mile polyethylene pipeline, making the trip in 15 to 20 minutes. The pipeline will move 6,000 liters of beer every hour.
Spills? No problem. I'm sure there would be plenty of volunteers willing to help out with the cleanup.
Via: Geekologie
Spills? No problem. I'm sure there would be plenty of volunteers willing to help out with the cleanup.
Via: Geekologie
Migrating Monarch Butterflies Detectable On Weather Radar
Observers of radar data noticed some large blue blobs on weather radar last week moving over southern Illinois and central Missouri. According to the U.S. National Weather Service in St. Louis Missouri these were likely swarms of monarch butterflies, headed to their winter home in Mexico. These tough little insects have survived a tough season after an unusually cold winter, ongoing drought, and a lack of milkweed.
Canon's New "Girly Girl" Camera Bag
Canon’s 100D (aka SL1) is the world’s smallest and lightest DSLR, and is marketed heavily towards the female demographic. Now Canon UK is launching a limited edition camera bag to house the Canon EOS 100D White. It is designed by Stella McCartney and is named the "Linda" bag after Stella's photographer mother, Linda McCartney.
It's pretty and functional and cruelty-free. If I were ever to scrape up enough change for a Canon 100D I might be tempted to buy the bag.
More: PetaPixel
It's pretty and functional and cruelty-free. If I were ever to scrape up enough change for a Canon 100D I might be tempted to buy the bag.
More: PetaPixel
Mending Dolls, Teddies and Hearts At Sydney Doll Hospital
Geoff Chapman, 67 is "surgeon-in-chief" at the family-run business his father started more than a century ago. The Doll Hospital in Sydney, Australia has restored more than three million dolls, teddy bears, rocking horses and wheeled toys over the past 101 years.
"We've had clowns as big as a person, and a 12-foot (4m) crocodile - plush - not real," Chapman joked, noting that "the most common problem usually is the hair and the eyes".
During the war years when new toys were not available they had 70 staff and six workrooms. Today the Doll Hospital has up to 12 staff, some of whom work remotely, and handles up to 200 dolls and toys a month.
More: Reuters
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Thursday, September 25, 2014
Driverless Stained Glass Sleeper Car Of The Future
This Stained Glass Driverless Sleeper Car is British artist Dominic Wilcox's vision of what cars might look like in 2059. I doubt that I'll be around to see this gorgeous little vehicle become a reality but I would love to get from here to there on a cozy bed wrapped in beautiful stained glass.
Via: Geekologie
Via: Geekologie
Maps Made of Iconic Foods from Various Countries and Continents
Caitlin Levin and Henry Hargreaves' gorgeous Food Maps show countries and continents composed of the iconic foods we associate with them.
Via Double Takes
Via Double Takes
Graffiti Removal Guy Comes Back to Discover Image of Himself in the Same Spot
UK stencil artist DS added a couple of paste-ups to a wall in London. Above left is a photo of a graffiti removal guy removing the art. DS returned to the location and got his revenge by placing a stencil of the graffiti removal guy removing the graffiti.
Via artFido's Blog
England's Infamous Killer Garden
England’s Alnwick Garden was founded in 1750 by the first Duke of Northumberland and is now run by the current Duchess of Northumberland. The 14-acre complex harbours 100 species of toxic plants, including one that acts as an amazing aphrodisiac... right before it knocks you dead.
'I wondered why so many gardens around the world focused on the healing power of plants rather than their ability to kill... I felt that most children I knew would be more interested in hearing how a plant killed, how long it would take you to die if you ate it and how gruesome and painful the death might be.' - Jane Percy, Duchess of Northumberland
More:ScienceAlert
Hitchhiking Genets
Genets are small cat-like carnivores with quick reflexes and exceptional climbing skills. Conservationists were surprised when they reviewed photos snapped by a camera trap showing hitchhiking behavior never seen in the mammal before. The genet was captured on film riding around on the back of both a rhino and buffalo in South Africa’s Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.
Why was the genet behaving this way? Was it hunting insects or feeding on parasites off the backs of these large animals? Perhaps it feels this is a relatively safe, mobile vantage spot? In this article small carnivore expert Adam Ferguson from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History explains this strange new behaviour.
Why was the genet behaving this way? Was it hunting insects or feeding on parasites off the backs of these large animals? Perhaps it feels this is a relatively safe, mobile vantage spot? In this article small carnivore expert Adam Ferguson from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History explains this strange new behaviour.
Wildebeest Migration
Hundreds of wildebeests scramble across the Mara river – avoiding crocodiles on the way – to continue their annual migration north to the plains of southern Kenya and fresh grazing
Via theguardian.com
Photograph: Viktoras Dubinskas/Caters News Agency |
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Solar-Powered Oasis To Bring Food To Desert Cities
"Some Middle Eastern countries import more than 90% of their food. It's a situation that is getting more expensive and more energy-intensive as cities grow. OAXIS is a conceptual design for a modular set of prefab greenhouses, covered in solar panels, which would extend in a straight line into the desert away from a city. Since the designers wanted to create the smallest carbon footprint possible, they chose to forgo usual transportation and create a unique conveyor system that would deliver produce without the use of any fossil fuels."
More: ideas impact
Thanks Bruce!
More: ideas impact
Thanks Bruce!
Cigarette Case with Bullet Hole
This silver cigarette case belonged to Sgt Harold Dixon Porter No 1549178 who served with the Royal Artillery in WW2 . It was presented to him for winning the Cheshire Amateur Golf Champion in 1932 by the Prenton Golf Club Wirrel near Liverpool and shows the names of the other team members. Unfortunately he was killed in battle in March, 1941 and the bullet or shrapnel that hit him left a hole in the cigarette case. The case was displayed for auction with other items belonging to Sgt. Porter and tells a sad story of a life lost too young.
More: Collectors Weekly
More: Collectors Weekly
The Peephole Parasol And The Anti-Garotting Cravat … Gadgets That Never Caught On
A new book, Inventions That Didn’t Change the World, catalogues some unusual inventions registered with the British government in the 19th century. Author Julie Halls, a designs specialist at the National Archives in London, has unearthed a treasure trove of self-ventilating hats, boot warmers, hairbrushing machines and improved pickle forks, all taken from the leather-bound volumes of the Design Registry.
The Duplex Hat of 1878, which can transform from a top hat to a bowler as if by magic |
A diving suit with a bath plug at crotch level (1870), ‘for the purpose of allowing the Diver to urinate without taking off his entire dress.’ |
The Anti-Garotting Cravat, 1862 |
The Lunette Parasol or Umbrella (1844), also known as an umbrella with added peep holes |
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
What Americans really eat – and tweet
The most-tweeted food words across the US. Photograph: PR |
"Over an eight-month period up to May this year, researchers at the University of Arizona analysed more than three million food-related posts (pdf) made by American tweeters, and found that not only did the importance of each daily meal differ across the country (the Midwest goes for breakfast; the West Coast likes dinner), they were also able to identify the most popular food-related words in each state: flan, for instance, in North Dakota, capers in Oregon, potatoes (not wholly surprisingly) in Idaho."More: theguardian.com
Aurora borealis
This video of the aurora borealis filmed in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada (2013) looks like a time lapse, but it's not.
In Reverse
This video by Martin Stirling replays a bomb attack on a Syrian school playground in reverse. The Syria Campaign hopes to draw attention to the massive humanitarian crisis that is unfolding there.
A petition asking the UN Security Council to take next steps to protect civilians can be signed at http://withsyria.com
Via Kuriositas
A petition asking the UN Security Council to take next steps to protect civilians can be signed at http://withsyria.com
Via Kuriositas
Ouvre moi la porte, toi qui a la clé!
What does this cat want? A cat to human translation reveals what is going through his little cat brain.
Via MetaFilter
Via MetaFilter
Gary Bunt Painter and Poet
This short documentary about the life and work of British painter and poet Gary Bunt was filmed, directed and edited by friend and fellow artist Carl Warner.
As a young man Bunt abandoned formal art school training to pursue a career as a rock guitarist. Eventuallly the alcohol and drugs took their toll, prompting him to give up the rock and roll lifestyle and return to painting. He talks about the influence of serious illness on his art.
He now helps other cancer patients benefit from art therapy by teaching them how painting can become part of their recovery process.
Bunt's paintings will be exhibited at Portland Fine Art, London, in 2015.
Read more about the artist here.
Via: Dog Art Today
As a young man Bunt abandoned formal art school training to pursue a career as a rock guitarist. Eventuallly the alcohol and drugs took their toll, prompting him to give up the rock and roll lifestyle and return to painting. He talks about the influence of serious illness on his art.
He now helps other cancer patients benefit from art therapy by teaching them how painting can become part of their recovery process.
Bunt's paintings will be exhibited at Portland Fine Art, London, in 2015.
Read more about the artist here.
Via: Dog Art Today
Child Mummy Appears To Open And Close Her Eyes
Two year old Rosalia Lombardo died of pneumonia in 1920 and local embalmer and taxidermist, Alfredo Salafia, mummified her at the request of her heartbroken father. Salafia's embalming techniques ensured that the body was well preserved to this day and her remains are on display along with those of numerous others in the Capuchin Catacombs under the Capuchin Convent in Palermo, Sicily.
What makes this story notable is that the child mummy appears to open and close her eyes on a regular basis. In 2009 Italian anthropologist and curator of the Capuchin Catacombs, Dario Piombino-Mascali solved the mystery of this little "sleeping beauty". He also figured out the mysterious formula used for Rosalia’s impeccable preservation.
More: Science Alert
Holy Barbie and Ken! Argentinian Artists Create Tongue-In-Cheek Religious Figurines
Image credit |
More here
Monday, September 22, 2014
Military Kit Through The Ages
A photographic survey explores the personal equipment carried by the common British soldier through the past 1,000 years from the Battle of Hastings to Helmand. Detailed below is the kit carried by a mounted knight in 1244. It's a far cry from the high tech equipment carried today.
1. Gonfanon – a banner that was used after the Norman conquest and displayed on the end of a spear or flag pole
2. Kettle helmet - broad brimmed with lots of ventilation and good visibility
3. Helmet with a curved face plate, which came into use after the Siege of Antioch, which took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098
4. Sword belt
5. Shield with a flat top
6. Necklace
7. White cloth with a snip for cutting small items, a leather box of needles and a roll of thread fire steel a flint and tinder for starting a fire
8. Wooden bowl and cup, ceramic cup and a wooden spoon
9. Knife and sheaf for cutting food. There were no forks in this time period – people used spoons to eat soup or porridge, and a knife to eat meat
10. Water bottle made of leather and soaked in pitch
11. Script bag
12. Leather boots– finished just below the calf with the laces wrapped around boots
13. Gauntlet – leather gloves
14. Linen Shirt
15. Socks – made using the technique nålebinding, where long lengths of wool are woven into long thin braids, starting at toe
16. Battle dress – red tunic worn next to the body; linen canvus padded jacket, chaine maille and blue and yellow surcoat
17. Belt – made using the technique of tablet weaving, a very archaic form of weaving
18. Rosary beads
19. Belt
20. Woollen cloak shaped like semi circle - waterproof and wind proof and used for travelling
21. Glaive - a new invention for the time, the weapon was originally made from a broken sword with a new piece of wood welded on
22. Sword
23. Dagger
24. Crescent-shaped axe
25. Flanged mace
26. Thigh-length, sleeveless leather vest, which buckled down back and had metal plates inside. This was top of the range body armour for the period
28. Maille to cover the legs and linen covering that went to the mid thigh - in this time period trousers don’t yet exist so the pieces of material covering the leg and groin are two different pieces
27. Straps to attach maille legs
1244 mounted knight, Siege of Jerusalem
1. Gonfanon – a banner that was used after the Norman conquest and displayed on the end of a spear or flag pole
2. Kettle helmet - broad brimmed with lots of ventilation and good visibility
3. Helmet with a curved face plate, which came into use after the Siege of Antioch, which took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098
4. Sword belt
5. Shield with a flat top
6. Necklace
7. White cloth with a snip for cutting small items, a leather box of needles and a roll of thread fire steel a flint and tinder for starting a fire
8. Wooden bowl and cup, ceramic cup and a wooden spoon
9. Knife and sheaf for cutting food. There were no forks in this time period – people used spoons to eat soup or porridge, and a knife to eat meat
10. Water bottle made of leather and soaked in pitch
11. Script bag
12. Leather boots– finished just below the calf with the laces wrapped around boots
13. Gauntlet – leather gloves
14. Linen Shirt
15. Socks – made using the technique nålebinding, where long lengths of wool are woven into long thin braids, starting at toe
16. Battle dress – red tunic worn next to the body; linen canvus padded jacket, chaine maille and blue and yellow surcoat
17. Belt – made using the technique of tablet weaving, a very archaic form of weaving
18. Rosary beads
19. Belt
20. Woollen cloak shaped like semi circle - waterproof and wind proof and used for travelling
21. Glaive - a new invention for the time, the weapon was originally made from a broken sword with a new piece of wood welded on
22. Sword
23. Dagger
24. Crescent-shaped axe
25. Flanged mace
26. Thigh-length, sleeveless leather vest, which buckled down back and had metal plates inside. This was top of the range body armour for the period
28. Maille to cover the legs and linen covering that went to the mid thigh - in this time period trousers don’t yet exist so the pieces of material covering the leg and groin are two different pieces
27. Straps to attach maille legs
The World’s Most Intimate Martini Bar
"As part of an integrated campaign for Grey Goose vodka, the Ragged Edge agency will launch the ‘Boulangerie François camionnette’ across a number of cities throughout the UK this year. The beautifully restored Citroen houses just two guests and a mixologist and is designed to bring the brand’s intrinsic story to life though a private cocktail consultation where guests receive a bespoke Grey Goose Martini tailored to their taste."
More: The Dieline
Via
Following Vincent Van Gogh: The Artist in Auvers-sur-Oise
On the 125th anniversary of the death of artist Vincent Van Gogh HiP Paris Blog has put together a stroll through the village of Auvers-sur-Oise using the artist's correspondence as a guide. It was in this village that Van Gogh produced most of his work and I've been meaning to visit there for years. This lovely post will have to suffice for now - it's a good read.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
How Will You Die?
Depending on where you're born, cooking dinner, having sex and going to the bathroom are either three of life's many pleasures - or three of the riskiest things you can do.
Via Blort
Via Blort
Blindfolded Art
Did you ever wonder if cartoon artists drew their characters so often they could probably do it with their eyes closed? Here are some illustrations from 1947 that show some cartoon artists suck at drawing their characters while blindfolded and others do almost as well with their eyes covered.
More: Blindfolded Art - Imgur
Thanks Bruce!
More: Blindfolded Art - Imgur
Thanks Bruce!
Route 66 Marble Track System
The Swiss-made Cuboro marble track system forces marbles through a slotted course created out of modular building blocks. This ball track, customized by Dietmar Wächtler, is named "Route 66" because it uses 66 marbles.
Via
Via
‘This Wine Is Fine'
In 1950 Dr. Mario Pei of Columbia University wrote The Story of Language, a book that explains how how different cultures use different gestures to signal the same idea. A gesture that’s completely harmless in one context might be deeply offensive in another.
Via
“There are some 700,000 gestures tucked away in different parts of the world,” LIFE wrote. For example, a gesture that means “So long!” in some Latin countries (palm up, fingers moving back and forth) is very similar to the American gesture for “Come here.” A tugging of an eyelid by a Brazilian signals the warning, “He’s a wise guy,” but the same gesture by a Colombian can mean, in effect, “That’s wonderful!”LIFE.com
Via
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Nick Barclay’s Classic Cocktails
English graphic designer, Nick Barclay, was struck by Sydney's thriving cocktail scene i. Says he of the negroni: “It’s the only cocktail that’s really suitable for a man to drink because it’s in a nice manly glass and it’s so bloody strong.” Barclay was inspired to create poster designs based on cocktail recipes, shaped like the appropriate glass.
More: The Guardian
More: The Guardian
Time for Tea Clock
Rebecca Wilson's Time For Tea clock features 12 classic British cookies as porcelain numerals. As a kid I always liked Peek Frean biscuits and thought they were the classiest cookies on the grocery shelf. Today their dark chocolate digestives are my fallback when I run out of jaffa cakes and hobnobs and I love this clock.
Available for $159 Here
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Tiny Toolsets as Jewelry
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