Monday, 15 August 2016

How An Insane 7-Circle Roundabout Actually Works

Your first thought upon seeing Swindon's 'magic roundabout' might be: man, the Brits have really lost the plot lately. But this thing - which is actually seven roundabouts in one - has been working for 60 years.



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Crime Spree


(via Bad Newspaper)

11 Sharp Facts About Annie Oakley

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Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; 1860-1926) was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Her amazing talent first came to light when the then 15-year-old won a shooting match with traveling show marksman Frank E. Butler (whom she married).

The couple joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show a few years later and Oakley became a renowned international star. Here are 11 facts about Annie Oakley, the Little Sure Shot of the Wild West.

Auction Rap



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Lunette

A fantasy based short featuring the journey of a wolf, who travels with the moon.



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(thanks Cora)

The First American Woman To Win An Olympic Championship Didn't Even Know It

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Margaret Abbott (1878-1955) was the first American woman to win at an Olympic event. She won the women's golf tournament at the 1900 Paris Games. Abbott won a porcelain bowl. The 1900 Games were the only Olympics at which winners received valuable artifacts instead of medals.

The 1900 Games were so poorly organized that many competitors, including Abbott, did not realize that the events they entered were part of the Olympics. Historical research did not establish that the game was on the Olympic program until after Abbott's death, so she herself never knew it.

The Biggest Bets In History

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The gambling industry is one of the most lucrative in the world with millions of bets being placed around the world on a daily basis. Here are the biggest bets ever made in the history of gambling.

Sunday, 14 August 2016

The World's First Pokémon Go Helmet

Simone Giertz of Shitty Robots made a helmet with a smartphone case so that you can walk with your phone in front of your face without any hassle and play Pokémon Go.



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10 Unsolved Mysteries You've Probably Never Heard Of

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Many of us are familiar with the grim tales of unidentified serial murderers Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer, and strange phenomena like the Taos hum and accounts of extraterrestrial battles in the skies over Los Angeles.

Despite ever-advancing technology, unsolved mysteries remain surprising prevalent, and certainly are not confined to the distant past. Here's a series of strange and unexplained mysteries recorded throughout history.

(via Neatorama)

Why Do We Use a QWERTY Keyboard?

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Does the arrangement of letters on a keyboard baffle you? Well, it's been that way since Christopher Sholes invented the typewriter in 1868.

Though there seems to be no logical reason why our keyboards bear such a weird matrix of letters, QWERTY keyboards have quite a rich history, and the layout is something we've grown accustomed to.

Dog Sobs When She Sees Rescuer Coming To Save Her

Animal Aid Unlimited India got a call that a dog had fallen into a deep well in a village outside of Udaipur. When they arrived they found a heartbroken dog desperate to be helped. Watch her amazing rescue.



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(thanks Cora)

Cretto di Burri: The Concrete Labyrinth Of Gibellina

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On the Italian island of Sicily is a huge labyrinth of concrete hugging the side of a hill like an enormous grey-white tortoise shell. The maze of pathways through this concrete slab precisely corresponds to the street-plan of the old town of Gibellina that once stood here before it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1968.

Unfortunately, relief efforts were as disastrous as the earthquake itself and thousands remained homeless for years after the disaster, living in temporary prefabricated houses near the ruins of their former homes. Eventually, the ravaged towns were abandoned and rebuilt in new locations.

10 Earliest Examples Of Writing Systems

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As civilization evolved, the written word became absolutely necessary for proper documentation - whether for governmental operations or retelling myths.

Rediscovering ancient or extinct languages is an arduous process, often dictated by luck, but it is an invaluable tool in the study of our growth as a species.

Saturday, 13 August 2016

Grocery Store Prank

Seth Rogen shows the people of New York that our food has feelings. He filled a grocery store with talking produce and cameras.



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This Boeing 747 Is The World's Biggest Firefighting Beast


The Boeing 747-400 Global SuperTanker can put out fires just about anywhere, carrying 19,200 gallons of fire suppressant at close to 600 MPH. It's a heroic beast to behold.

This Global SuperTanker, AKA 'The Spirit Of John Muir', is a privately-owned rescue tool based in Colorado. Practically speaking that means it can be deployed just about anywhere around the country, or even the world.

9 Of The Biggest Myths About Mosquitoes, Debunked

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There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to controlling mosquitoes. Despite what you may have heard, the food you eat won't affect your chances of being bitten, and neither will buying a bunch of citronella candles.

From what types of repellents actually work to why the bloodsuckers bite you in the first place, here's the scoop on mosquitoes.

What's On The Inside Of A Fishing Reel?

There are 141 tiny components squished into a fishing reel. Take a journey into the aluminum alloy frame to see what they all do.



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(thanks Cora)

The Death Of Flair: As Friday's Goes Minimalist, What Happens To The Antiques?

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In March 2016, the famously clutter-filled chain T.G.I. Friday's introduced the first prototype for its spartan new design concept in Corpus Christi, Texas. The most startling aspect of this otherwise inoffensive space is the complete lack of Friday's characteristic kitsch.

No tin signs or pedal cars adorn the walls; there's no dark wood or Tiffany-style lamps; there are no chipper red-and-white stripes to be found anywhere. For antiques lovers, this cultural shift raises a question: What happens to all that well-loved memorabilia when a restaurant pares down?

(thanks Lisa)

Bubble Buildings: 13 Structures You'll Wish You Could Pop

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Would the satisfaction that comes with popping bubble wrap scale up as the bubbles get larger and larger, until they're big enough to cover entire buildings? These blobby bubble-shaped buildings tempt us to find out.

Inflatable translucent structures offer space for gardens, bathrooms, museum extensions and even entire parks enclosed to keep out air pollution in a literal representation of the term 'living in a bubble.'