Lady Gaga Is About to Fly in a Dress Called VOLANTIS
From complex.com: Image via Complex Art+Design/VOLANTIS In anticipation of her new album, ARTPOP, Lady Gaga plans to reach new heights, literally. As part of ArtRave, Gaga’s fashion, music, art, and tech mash-up party tonight in a Brooklyn warehouse, Gaga will soar above her audiences in a flying dress called VOLANTIS. VOLANTIS was conceived […]
Roentgenium has no uses whatsoever
Element of the week: roentgenium What do unununium and the first ever Nobel Prize in Physics share in common? Image: Cheezburger. This week’s element is roentgenium, which has the atomic symbol, Rg, and atomic number, 111. Originally known by its temporary name, unununium (Uuu), this element was named in honour of German physicist Wilhelm Conrad […]
Artist Makes Pixelated Photos by Stitching ‘Pixels’ on Them
From laughingsquid.com: Artist Diane Meyer adds pixelated sections to her photographs by embroidering pixel-like squares directly on to the photos with a needle and thread. The embroidered areas obscure the underlying photo, much like digital pixelation is used to obscure portions of a photo or video. She has used the technique on photos from her […]
Here’s How Memes Went Viral — In the 1800s
From wired.com: Thicker lines indicate more content-sharing between 19th century newspapers. Image: Ryan Cordell / Infectious texts project The story had everything — exotic locale, breathtaking engineering, Napoleon Bonaparte. No wonder the account of a lamplit flat-bottom boat journey through the Paris sewer went viral after it was published — on May 23, 1860. At […]
Babybel Cheese Wax Is The Ultimate Artistic Medium
If you didn’t make stuff out of that alluring red wax during elementary school lunch, you must have been a monster. instagram.com SO. MUCH. MORE. With it, you can make… Poodles. gramfeed.com Flowers. instagram.com Teddy bears. instagram.com The cast of Bambi. instagram.com A manicure. instagram.com Don’t pretend you never did this. A super impressive horse. […]
Delightful Papercraft Food and Grocery Sculptures
From laughingsquid.com: These delightful papercraft foods and groceries were created by artist Maria Laura Benavente Sovieri for advertising and editorial clients. For more of her photography and visual art, check out her Behance portfolio. via Ian Brooks
The Craziest Multi-Tool Ever Made Kills in 100 Different Ways
From wired.com: This multi-bladed folding knife was made in Germany around 1880. Image: Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History The F.W. Holler Company manufactured it to be a demonstration piece to show off its products. Image: Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History The tool has 100 different functions, including some very vicious-looking blades. Image: Smithsonian’s […]
Brilliant Map Shows When Most of the Homes in Your Area Were Built
By Seth Kadish from Vizual Statistix: This blog is a product of my passion for data visualization. The data shown here are sourced from other websites, but all statistical operations on these data and the resulting graphics are original. I take requests and am available for freelance work. If you have a suggestion for a […]
Overlapping Disasters: Ground Zero Photos Damaged by Sandy
By Lisa Larson-Walker from slate.com: Photo by Michael Redpath Hours after the collapse of the Twin Towers, Michael Redpath, a New York City firefighter from Far Rockaway, Queens, was dispatched to Ground Zero. Over the next six months, he worked on the monumental recovery effort, all the while using his Canon AE-1 to document the […]
Haunting Photos Show Aftermath of 19th-Century Train Wrecks
From slate.com: These photos, all of which depict train wrecks on the New York Ontario & Western Railway in New York State in the 1870s, are part of a larger group of images of railroad life assembled by De Forest Douglas Diver, a railroad engineer and photographer. This collection is currently held at Cornell University, […]
NanoLeaf Bulbs Provide Unusually Bright, Energy-Efficient LED Lighting
From lifehacker.com: We’re all for energy-efficiency, and NanoLeaf managed to pack quite a bit of it into one of the weirdest looking lightbulbs we’ve ever seen. With their LED bulb you get 30,000 hours of brightness equivalent to a standard 100W unit. NanoLeaf’s bulbs operate at a lower temperature thanks to using LEDs, but they […]
Mountain mirrors to bring light to dark Norwegian town
World’s smartest emergency robots have been crowned
From dvice.com: Credit: Fraunhofer Over the last week Berchtesgaden, Germany has played host to some of the smartest emergency response robots in the world. There, nestled in the shadow of one of Germany’s highest peaks, the euRathlon was held. Multiple real-world emergency scenarios were enacted, giving the 14 teams present a chance to show the world […]
Baby Cthulhu sculpture will drive the world to adorable madness
From io9.com: Baby Cthulhu doesn’t wait dreaming. He’s bright-eyed, curly-tentacled, and ready for your squeeing worship. Cassia Harries of Monster Mind Sculpts made this little guy. She cast the original sculpture and will soon have an army of Cutethulhus available for sale. In the meantime, you can check out her artwork on her Facebook page, […]
“Aqua Regia, Hell’s Beverage of Choice”: New Merchandise from Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim books
Now available! New merchandise featuring Aqua Regia, Hell’s Beverage of Choice according to Richard Kadrey‘s Sandman Slim series of books. Stick the labels to your favorite containers to instantly transform the contents into Hell’s beverage of choice. Mugs perform the same magical change, and t-shirts proclaim your love—scroll down to the bottom to see pictures. […]
The Intricate Makeshift Money Germans Relied On Between World Wars
From gizmodo.com: State-issued currency is the scaffolding upon which capitalism was built, but it’s always been prone to mayhem. For instance in 1920s Germany, extreme inflation forced German businesses to actually print millions of their own customized paper bills. Now largely forgotten, this notgeld, or “emergency money,” was once ubiquitous—amounting to an ornately-decorated I.O.U. in […]
Glitch Textiles: Blankets with Abstract Designs Based on Glitched Digital Files
From laughingsquid.com: Glitch Textiles is a purveyor of blankets with abstract designs that are based on glitched digital files. Artist Phillip Stearns creates some of the designs with modified digital cameras, others he makes out of data visualizations and glitched computer files. The designs are then woven or knit into custom blankets by American manufacturers. […]
Optical illusion that causes natural “hallucination”
From memolition.com: This video has been carefully designed to create a strong natural “hallucination” — actually a visual effect rather than a brain effect. Use full screen and HD for better results.
Pop art zombie makeup
From boingboing.net: Sssamanthaa created this wonderful “Pop Art Zombie” makeup job. Pop Art Zombie (via Wil Wheaton)
What the World Would Look Like If Countries Were As Big As Their Online Populations, and Other Great Charts
Helloooooo China! The Internet we each see every day is an infinitesimally tiny sliver of the whole—the parts we have curated for ourselves, the parts our network of friends and family sends to us, and the sites that we have made parts of our routines. But beyond this micro-level editing, there are also macro forces […]
11 Colors You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
From mentalfloss.com: 1. Sarcoline Wearing sarcoline—literally “flesh-colored”—high heels makes your legs look longer. Wearing a sarcoline leather jacket reminds everyone of Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs. 2. Coquelicot Originally another word for poppy, coquelicot is the flower’s orange-tinted red color. (It also sounds like a celebrity baby name.) 3. Smaragdine Smaragdine sounds […]
Surreal Photos of People Swimming Underwater in Olek’s Crocheted Bodysuits
From laughingsquid.com: During a recent visit to Seville, Spain, yarn artist Olek captured these surreal photos of people swimming underwater in her colorful crocheted bodysuits. The photos were taken at the Silken Al-Andalus Palace hotel. There are more photos on Olek’s Facebook page. Here are some previous posts our tentacles have dug up that you […]
Make Your Own Red Pepper Sculpture
Make this beautiful sculptural piece with only a red pepper and a sharp knife. Put the pepper on its side on the cutting board and cut off the sides one by one, turning a quarter-turn between each cut. Seriously, that’s it! Remember to eat the parts you cut off.
All the American Flags On the Moon Are Now White
From gizmodo.com: NASA has finally answered a long-standing question: all but one of the six American flags on the Moon are still standing up. Everyone is now proudly talking about it. The only problem is that they aren’t American flags anymore. They are all white. The debate on the Moon flags has been going on […]
What Color is Elephant’s Breath?
By Kristin Hohenadel from Slate.com: Elephant’s Breath paint from Farrow & Ball. You can tell a lot about parents by the names they bestow upon their children, whether they’re classic choices, family names or trendy monikers that have nothing to do with their own heritage or culture. (One curious French phenomenon: boys named “Steeve.”) Browse […]
Here’s the Beautiful New $100 Bill That’s Going Into Circulation Today
This post originally appeared in Business Insider. The new hundred-dollar bill goes into circulation today after being delayed well beyond its original 2011 debut date due to printing issues. “Over a decade of research and development went into its new security features,” write the folks at NewMoney.gov. Here are some cool features as described by […]
From 1890: The First Text Messages
I’m trying something new today. Sometimes in my research I find an interesting old article that I wouldn’t normally post because it’s not from the Sunday Magazine section, or it’s from further than 100 years ago so I’ll never get to it. Instead of letting these go unused, I figure I’ll occasionally post them midweek […]
Movie Monsters, Tallest Buildings in 1896, Solar System Planets and of Course Spaceships: Size Comparison Charts
Size matters. Especially when it comes to starships, giant monsters, buildings, and . . . well, pretty much anything else that you can obsessively categorize using common measurement systems. Here are some of the most outrageously detailed size comparison charts you’ll ever see. Spaceship Comparison Chart by Dirk Loechel Check the chart in full size […]
5-kilowatt industrial laser with a pistol grip
By Kelsey D. Atherton from popularscience.com: Sometimes, a fancy new cutting tool just needs that special human touch. TWI, a British company with a long history of welding innovation, recently added a pistol grip to a 5-kilowatt industrial cutting tool. Scary as the idea of a handheld laser cutting tool is, the machine was originally attached to […]
Stamp of Approval: A Paper Snippet and the Spanish Inquisition
By Erik Kwakkel (@erik_kwakkel) from medievalfragments: This blog entry focuses on a book fragment I encountered in Leiden University Library earlier this week while studying twelfth-century material with my research team. As discussed in an earlier blog, after the invention of printing many handwritten books from the medieval period were cut up to be recycled […]
Deadly lake turns animals into statues
(Images: Nick Brandt) According to Dante, the Styx is not just a river but a vast, deathly swamp filling the entire fifth circle of hell. Perhaps the staff of New Scientist will see it when our time comes but, until then, Lake Natron in northern Tanzania does a pretty good job of illustrating Dante’s vision. […]
‘Made in space!’ Astronaut sews dinosaur toy from space station scraps
There is a dinosaur on board the International Space Station where there wasn’t one before. NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, who since May has been working as a flight engineer as a member of the orbiting outpost’s resident crew, revealed the toy dinosaur floating on the space station on September 26. “Made in space!” Nyberg, an […]
Waffling: How FEMA determines how bad a disaster is
From nowiknow.com: When disaster strikes, swift and decisive actions are typically required. Waffling — as in equivocating – is probably not a good idea. But waffles, the food? In the United States, they are a leading indicator as to how bad a disaster is. Just ask Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) head W. Craig Fugate. On May […]
The Top-Secret, Female Computers of World War II
From aauw.org (The American Association of University Women): LeAnn Erickson (far right) visits the World War II memorial with some of the women featured in her documentary. When it comes to history, it is unfortunately often only the dominant voice that writes the narrative and dictates what is worth memorializing. That’s why it’s especially exciting […]
‘The Writer’ Automaton: an 18th-century programmable computer?
Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721-1790) was a Swiss-born watchmaker of the late eighteenth century. He lived in Paris, London, and Geneva, where he designed and built animated dolls, or automata, to help his firm sell watches and mechanical birds. Some consider these devices to be the oldest examples of the computer. From the UK BBC program Mechanical […]
Haunting reminder of millions of lives lost in war as artists stencil 9,000 bodies onto Normandy beach to mark Peace Day
By Aaron Sharp from dailymail.co.uk: ~ British led project covered the famous coastline in poignant silhouettes ~ A team of 500 artists and volunteers contributed the moving installation ~ The ‘fallen’ were left to be washed away by the tide at the end of the day A pair of British artists have created this stunning […]
Carpet designer threatens cosplayers with legal action
By Gavia Baker-Whitelaw from dailydot.com: Sometimes, dressing as your favorite superhero or cartoon character just isn’t enough. So at Internet culture convention DragonCon, cosplay often crosses the line into in-joke absurdity. Like dressing up as a rug. One of this year’s highlights was a pair of intrepid cosplayers who dressed up as the memorably psychedelic […]
A Skyscraper That Can Disappear Using High-Tech Camouflage
By Kyle VanHemert from wired.com: Next >> View all Image: GDS Architects South Korea recently granted construction permits for the Infinity Tower, a proposed skyscraper that can disappear with the push of a button. If you’re one of those people who usually think new skyscrapers are ostentatious eyesores, the Infinity Tower, a 1,500-foot entertainment complex […]
US military scientists can identify whom to kill in a population in order to prevent the viral spread of a message
OK, OK, the real title is “US Military Scientists Solve the Fundamental Problem of Viral Marketing.” Network theorists working for the US military have worked out how to identify the small “seed” group of people who can spread a message across an entire network. Viral messages begin life by infecting a few individuals and then […]
How to Recognize the Artists of Paintings
By flickerdart on Imgur: Titian If the images have a dark background and everyone has tortured expressions on their faces, it’s Titian. Peter Paul Rubens If everyone in the paintings has enormous asses, then it’s Rubens. Amerighi da Caravaggio If all the men look like cow-eyed curly-haired women, it’s Caravaggio. Pieter Bruegel If the paintings […]
How to Make a Tea Cozy with Hedgehog-in-a-Teacup Fabric
A fun project for the tea-lovers among us. Also a great gift. This pattern fits a 4-6 cup teapot but you can scale it up or down as desired. What you’ll need: Fabric (Note: ordering this particular fabric takes up to two weeks, so plan ahead!) Downloadable pattern Light yellow thread (or light blue if […]
Medieval Bling: Skeletons Encrusted in Jewels and Gold
From hyperallergic.com: St. Valerius in Weyarn (all images copyright Paul Koudounaries and courtesy Thames & Hudson) In a forthcoming book titled Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures & Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, Los Angeles photographer Paul Koudounaris brings before his lens bejeweled skeletons long-lost in the catacombs of Rome. The remains were first unearthed in 1578, when […]
Vintage Crime Scene Photos Superimposed on Modern NY Streets (Warning: Graphic)
By Chris Knight from fstoppers.com: Photographer and historian Marc Hermann has done a beautiful job pulling historic crime scene photos from the New York Daily News archive to blend them with photographs of the same locations today. For those who live in New York now, it may be easy to forget just how rough the […]
An Incredible New Guinness Ad Breaks The Industry Stereotype
By Aaron Taube from businessinsider.com.au: Beer commercials are generally pretty juvenile. For the most part, they depict men as unfeeling doofuses who only want to hook up with hot women and watch sports without being bothered by their wives. But a poignant new ad from Guinness flips the switch by presenting a group of athletic, […]
Breaking Brick Stereotypes: LEGO Unveils a Female Scientist
By Maia Weinstock from scientificamerican.com: It’s 11:47 am on the Sunday before Labor Day, and I’m staking out a LEGO store inside a Byzantine shopping mall on the outskirts of Boston. I am here with a coterie of children and parents, the lot of us waiting impatiently while three LEGO associates in black shirts and […]
The Design Style of Classic Paperback Novels Used to Promote the Benefits of a Library Card
From the Pinal County, Arizona Library District: September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month. Created by the American Library Association, this month is intended to raise awareness of the benefits of libraries and library cards. In order to celebrate the numerous perks of library cards to communities and individuals, the Pinal County Library District has […]
Mysterious paper sculptures carved from books
From thisiscentralstation.com: Those of you who don’t keep up with Edinburgh’s literary world through Twitter may have missed the recent spate of mysterious paper sculptures appearing around the city. [Nicola’s note: This post is from 2011 but the story is still wonderful.] One day in March, staff at the Scottish Poetry Library came across a […]
Nobody Knows What Built These Weird Little Web Structures
From wired.com: Something in the Peruvian Amazon is making weird, intricate structures that resemble white picket fences surrounding an Isengard-like spire. No one has any idea who the mysterious craftsbug (fungus? spider?) is, or what the structure is even used for, excepting the fence part, which almost makes sense. Nobody, not even the scientists. We […]