Wednesday 31 October 2012

The iPad HUGE

First there was the iPad. Then came the iPad2, then the new iPad and recently saw the iPad Mini. And now there's the iPag HUGE. No longer will you be limited to a small screen. Now your only limit is your imagination... and upper arm strength.



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A Worldwide Celebration Of Halloween

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Halloween is still largely considered to be an American holiday, but more and more countries are joining in on the spooky sweet fun each year, and it seems like Halloween may one day be a holiday that the entire world celebrates together. Here's an overview of how Halloween is celebrated worldwide.

Days Of Autumn

Filmed in Yellowstone and South West Montana by Ray Paunovich.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

10 Famous Landmarks And Their Greatest Facsimiles

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You don't have to worry if you haven't been to a national landmark because their replicas are usually more fun. Check out some amazing replicas.

Large Hadron Collider Won't Destroy Earth

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A woman concerned that the Large Hadron Collider will create black holes and destroy the Earth lost a court appeal to shut the atom smasher down. A higher administrative court in Muenster, Germany, rejected the German citizen's claims that the LHC, as it
is known, will destroy the planet.

Before the atom smasher whirled to life in 2010, a number of LHC opponents raised fears that the instrument would have catastrophic consequences. A popular notion, that the collider would create mini black holes that would suck up the Earth, has been dismissed by experts as impossible.

(via Reality Carnival)

The Birds Of Spain

Video of the birds of Spain in their natural landscape.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

25 Vintage Mustaches

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With over 17,000 historic photos on Flickr, the Library of Congress is a treasure trove for vintage awesomeness. Not only do the fine people at the LOC share an amazing archive for the world to enjoy, but they also categorize and tag many of the images, helping others sort through their extensive collections. One tag that caught the eye was 'great mustaches of the LOC.'
Here are 25 vintage mustaches.

Tuesday 30 October 2012

The Butterfly Effect

An ordinary looking guy wakes up one morning feeling the worse for wear and realises he's run out of milk. As he drags himself out of the house to go and buy some, an extraordinary sequence of events draws him into a journey of mayhem on the streets of San Francisco.



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(thanks Cora)

Elephant Trunk Hill - Guilin's Legendary Protector

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Tramping through the hills around Guilin in China is busy work, so at the end of the day an elephant gets thirsty. There's nothing like dipping your trunk into the river to cool off and taking a long, thirst quenching drink. Yet when you're made of stone you might be there for quite a long time.

Patio Seating Now Available


Patio seating with a great view!

(via Criggo)

What Is The '7' In 7UP?

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What is the '7' in 7UP? We'll never know for sure. The soft drink's creator, Charles Leiper Grigg, went to the grave without ever revealing where he got the name. But there are several interesting rumors regarding its origin.

When Grigg introduced his drink in October 1929, it had neither a '7' nor an 'UP' in its name. He called it 'Bib-label Lithiated Lemon-lime Soda.' Imagine trying to order that bad boy from a Taco Bell drive-through! Bib-label Lithiated Lemon-lime Soda is perhaps the single worst name for a soft drink in soda history. How did he come up with this extraordinarily crummy name?

Helvetia's Dream

Helvetia's Dream takes you on a nighttime journey to some of the most beautiful spots in the Swiss Alps - from Arosa to Zermatt, including the world famous mountains Matterhorn and Eiger.



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(thanks Cora)

War And Prosthetics: How Veterans Fought For The Perfect Artificial Limb

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There's something undeniably beautiful about prosthetic limbs, designed to echo the physical grace and mechanical engineering of the human body. For most people, these objects elicit some combination of squeamish discomfort and utmost respect. But far fewer of us connect those feelings to the untold generations of battle-scarred amputees whose sacrifices made prosthetics a public priority.

And today, the flood of injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan continues to push amazing advancements, like limbs embedded with microprocessors that anticipate their user's every move.

(thanks Hunter)

Crazy Logistics: People Trying To Do Things

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A selection of 'headscratchers', funny and befuddling pics that will make you wonder what exactly these guys were thinking? You may also ask what was the result of these endeavors, and did these people finally got things done? Sadly the outcome of these incredible feats of strength and imagination are unknown.

Flash Anzan - The World's Fastest Number Game


A million Japanese children every year learn the abacus, which they call soroban. The high point of the abacus calendar is the All Japan Soroban Championship. And the high point of the championship is the category called Flash Anzan'. It equires contestants to use the mental image of an abacus.

In Flash Anzan, 15 numbers are flashed consecutively on a giant screen. Each number is between 100 and 999. The challenge is to add them up. Simple, right? Except the numbers are flashed so fast you can barely read them.

Monday 29 October 2012

New York: Night And Day

New York: Night and Day is a combination of non-traditional video time-lapse and animation. Day and night scenes were filmed around New York City and combined into single sequences using rotoscoping techniques.

The piece explores the relationships between night and day, by compositing together scenes shot in the same location over a time period ranging from 4 - 8 hours.



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Four Stories Of Alleged Time Travellers

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Is it possible to travel through time? Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the need for the traveler to experience the intervening period (at least not at the normal rate).

Although time travel has been a common plot device in science fiction and the theories of special and general relativity allow methods for forms of one-way travel into the future via time dilation, it is currently unknown whether the laws of physics would allow time travel into the past. We may never know, but in the meantime we can at least enjoy a good laugh at those who would have us believe they've cracked the code.

Inflatable Cthulhu Beard


Who wouldn't want the same facial hair as HP Lovecraft's most famous creation? Especially when you realize it's a beard of tentacles. Just put the elastic loops around your ears and you'll instantly look like you're transforming into an ancient horror from another dimension.

Just think, Cthulhu cult members have to chant for years to get a beard like this, but you can get yours with only a few puffs.

Hermit Crabs Socialize To Evict Their Neighbors

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Social animals usually congregate for protection or mating or to capture bigger prey, but a University of California, Berkeley, biologist has found that the terrestrial hermit crab has a more self-serving social agenda: to kick another crab out of its shell and move into a larger home.

Steve Jobs' Yacht Unveiled In The Netherlands

Yesterday, one year after his death, Steve Jobs' yacht was unveiled at Dutch shipyard Koninklijke De Vries (Royal de Vries) in Aalsmeer. The yacht was designed by Jobs and designer Philippe Starck and was christened 'Venus.' Jobs' widow Laurene and three of their children, Reed, Aaron and Eve, were at the ceremony.



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Are You More Travelled Than James Bond?


James Bond has been to over 50 countries in the films. If you would fly from London to all the Bond locations and back, you would have travelled 180,000 miles. That's over half way to the moon or 7.5 times around the equator.

Everything You Need To Know About The Apple, Samsung, And Google Smartphone Patent Wars

Google chairman Eric Schmidt in October said he wouldn't comment on the smartphone patent wars because he doesn't understand all the details. But if you break these things down into small pieces, it's not so difficult. Here is a comprehensive guide to understanding what's behind the smartphone patent wars.

The Maths That Made Voyager Possible

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Nasa's Voyager spacecraft have enthralled everyone with their exploits at the edge of the Solar System, but their launch in 1977 was only possible because of some clever maths and the persistence of a PhD student who worked out how to slingshot probes into deep space.

At the time, Nasa couldn't guarantee a spacecraft for more than a few months of operational life, and so the outer planets were considered out of reach. That was until a 25-year-old mathematics graduate called Michael Minovitch came along in 1961.

Sunday 28 October 2012

Cupidon

Playing Cupid is a tough job, especially if your aim is a little bit off.



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(thanks Cora)

Why Do Children Think Covering Their Eyes Makes Them Invisible?

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Anyone who has ever engaged in a round of peekaboo with a child has witnessed an adorable yet somewhat illogical behavior that is nearly universally shared among children: the attempt to hide from view by simply closing their eyes. This is cute and all, but it's also baffling.

Why do children think they can render themselves invisible? And why have nearly all young children come to this same irrational conclusion? Cambridge researchers are finding out why.

The Gharial - Good News For The Critically Endangered Indian Crocodile?

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This strange looking creature, with its immensely long and delicate snout is the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus). Until very recently it thrived throughout the Indian sub-continent but now it numbers less than a few hundred in the wild. It seems destined for extinction, like so many other species. Is there a future for the gharial on earth?

Halloween Awakening

Pumpkin stop motion.



YouTube link

(thanks Miss Rare)

20 Differences That Confuse Us All


Do you know the difference between a boat and ship? A ghost and a ghoul? Speed and velocity, or a pill and a tablet? English can be a very confusing language - with similar terms for different things and different terms for similar things.

Here's a selection of 20 things that have vastly different names for things we consider the same - but as you will see, in most cases they are completely different.

The White House of Horrors

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The White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue isn't exactly the Amityville house, but that big, drafty mansion is one of the most haunted of houses in America. Over the decades the presidents and families who have called the White House home suffered the turmoils of war, illness, depression, and even death.

So it's no wonder that some tortured souls might want to return for unfinished business. Who, exactly, is wandering the White House's cavernous halls? Here is a rumored rundown of the ghosts lurking at the country's most famous address.

Saturday 27 October 2012

Capturing Birds In Flight

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A shot of a bird in flight has always been a challenge to photographers. Seeing a perfect print image only serves to make them eager to create the same result. Photographing a bird in flight presents one problem, but capturing that one special bird-in-flight shot that's in focus and has good composition plus good light can represent a whole set of problems.

Everyone has his share of good flight shots where the bird may be just a tiny bit soft. Those are easy. But, how do you get a great flight shot?

Waitress Needed


(via Criggo)

Flight Of The Baby Stingray

Baby stingrays looking out of this world while dancing. This video was shot at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport Oregon.



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(via Miss Cellania)

St Peter's Seminary - Remains Of The Pray

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At first sight the ruins pictured here look as if they may have been a housing project of some sort and in a way that would be a correct assumption. Yet the ruins are of St Peter's Seminary, a Roman Catholic Institution which was finally abandoned in the 1980s.

Situated near Cardross, Argyll and Bute in Scotland the seminary represents a building of world significance architecurally. Yet no one quite seems to know what to do with it and its condition continues to deteriorate day by day. For those adherents of the brutalist style it must surely be enough to make them weep in to their concrete mixers.

Unusual And Fascinating Coins And Currency

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There seems to be no shortage of strange and weird varieties of coins and banknotes that are put in circulation around the world. Take a look at the fascinating, unusual and at times simply bizarre types of money that's been issued over the course of the last hundred years or so.

Unusual Air Traffic Control Towers

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Air Control Towers are both well-recognized symbols of air safety and milestones of modern architecture: built in different styles for different airports, they are hard not to notice as your plane gets taxied out for departure. Many control towers can be seen on postcards and some even become a landmark. Take a look at some of the most unique air control towers around the world.

(thanks David)

Friday 26 October 2012

A Transforming Hexapod Robot

MorpHex is a transforming hexapod robot.



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Emergency Compliment


Feeling a little bit down? Go to EmergencyCompliment.com and get a compliment with the click of a button. Not satisfied? Click on 'I still feel crappy' and you get another one. Clicm on 'Thanks! I feel better' and you will be directed to another site where you can print a poster with desired compliment.

A New Type Of Nuclear Reaction Or Just A Scam?

On January 14, 2011, 61-year-old Italian inventor Andrea Rossi staged a spectacular demonstration. In a warehouse in Bologna, he switched on a strange contraption that looked like a leg of lamb wrapped in aluminum foil. He called it the 'E-Cat,' short for 'energy catalyzer.' A mysterious reaction occurred, generating large amounts of excess heat - far more than any known chemical reaction could produce. The heat boiled water into steam. The steam could be used to spin a turbine to make electricity.

He has convinced a small army of researchers that his box can harness a new type of nuclear reaction. Typically during demonstrations the device is covered up. The device has not been independently verified. Of the January demonstration, Discovery Channel analyst Benjamin Radford wrote that 'If this all sounds fishy to you, it should. In many ways cold fusion is similar to perpetual motion machines.'

Could Your Stuff Be Haunted? Ghostbusting The Creepiest Antiques

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You can buy practically anything on the Internet, so why not ghosts? For shipping convenience, the ghosts have attached themselves to objects - often dolls, clowns, and idol figurines, or Ouija boards.

But wearables like clothes and jewelry, art like paintings and photographs, as well as household objects like wooden boxes, furniture, and musical instruments seem to be popular places for lost souls to take up residence. Really, if you believe a spirit, or 'energy,' can attach itself to an object, then any antique could be haunted.

(thanks Lisa)

Tjoez.be Showreel

Latest time-lapse video by Belgian videographer Matthew Vandeputte. It's a compilation of shots from the last few months.



Vimeo link

related posts:
Lago Maggiore Timelapse
The Alps At Night

Friday Cartoon By Mark Anderson


Mark Anderson is a professional cartoonist from the Chicago area. His cartoons have been published in Reader's Digest, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Woman's World and the Saturday Evening Post, to mention just a few. Among his clients are GM, General Electric, FedEx, Microsoft, and IBM.

14 Unique Water Towers From Around The World

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A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a watertank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water supply system for the distribution of potable water. Many water towers were constructed during the Industrial Revolution; some are now considered architectural landmarks and monuments, and may not be demolished. Some are converted to apartments or exclusive penthouses.

(thanks Bosko)

Just How Big Is Microsoft?


Microsoft is now into it's 5th decade and there have been a lot of changes. From the humble beginnings of an operating system, Microsoft now finds itself spanning not just software, but also services and devices. Let's take a look at some statistics to better appreciate how big Microsoft is today.

(thanks David)

Thursday 25 October 2012

So Real It's Scary

An LG viral. IPS (In-Plane Switching) is a technology used for Liquid Crystal Displays. Here IPS monitors are installed on the floor of an elevator. So real, it's scary.



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The Interesting Origins Of Some Of Our Favourite Food And Drink

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In the world today, you can have anything from a snack right up to a banquet-style feast delivered to your door by simply picking up the phone or clicking your mouse.

For many, this choice of food and drink and this type of advice can trigger questions such as 'where does such come from?' or 'how do they actually make this or that?.' Everybody knows that milk comes from cows and eggs from hens, but where does some of our favourite food and drink actually originate from?

(via Dark Roasted Blend)

The Lumberjacks Who Felled California's Giant Redwoods

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A series of photos from the 1915-era capture lumberjacks working among the redwoods in Humboldt County, California, when tree logging was at its peak. The photos are part of the Humboldt State University Library Special Collections, a series of pictures from northwest California from the 1880s through the 1920s by Swedish photographer A.W. Ericson.

Within Two Worlds

Within Two Worlds depicts an alternate perspective by giving us the illusion of times movement, signifying a beginning and end within a world of constant contradiction. It appears you are traveling in the midst of a dream, half-sleeping, half-waking, and touching the arch connecting heaven and earth.



Vimeo link

(thanks Miss Rare)

Who Were The Most Dangerous Scientists In History?

The recent Italian court ruling that respected seismologists are guilty of manslaughter and should serve six years in prison for failing to predict the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake has sent shockwaves through the scientific community. The decision has been widely decried by the scientific community as poorly thought out bordering on ridiculous.

Science has more than its fair share of detractors and enemies who feel threatened or maligned by it. Much of what science has achieved has been used for ill or had negative consequences over the centuries, so can we now expect others to be condemned for failing to anticipate the future?

Lotus Dome - Roosegaarde's Aluminum Masterpiece

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Ever heard of smart flowers? Neither had we until we came across Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde's astonishing installation, Lotus Dome. It is almost a close encounter of the third kind - an alien looking cupola, created from hundreds of ultra-light aluminium flowers. When it is approached something magical happens.

The dome lights up and the flowers open with a gentle metallic rustle. When one person interacts with the Lotus dome then its behaviour is gentle and almost inaudible. However when surrounded by a group of people it becomes much more vibrant.

The Show

A hand-drawn animation surrounding the routine lives and pre-show practices of a small traveling carnival troupe as they prepare for 'The Show.' Written, directed and animated by Rebecca Hayes. Sound design by Angela Grant.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

How Scientists Recreated Neanderthal Man


A team of scientists has created what it believes is the first really accurate reconstruction of Neanderthal man, from a skeleton that was discovered in France over a century ago. In 1909, excavations at the La Ferrassie cave in the Dordogne unearthed the remains of a group of Neanderthals.

One of the skeletons in that group was that of an adult male, given the name La Ferrassie 1. These remains have helped scientists create a detailed reconstruction of our closest prehistoric relative.

(thanks Miss Rare)

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Unbelievable Ball Balancing Skills

This is a very talented guy.



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(thanks Miss Rare)

What Is Espresso?

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Espresso is both widely drunk and misunderstood, and when asked precisely what he term means, most people can't come up with a satisfying answer. That's because it turns out to be much easier to talk about what it is not than what it actually is.

Surprisingly, there is no real definition of espresso - there are certainly elements that the experts agree on, but there are no codified guidelines, no explicit recipes. So, what is espresso?

Found It!


(via Criggo)

How The Octopus Got Its Rings

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Imagine for a moment that you're snorkeling in the exquisite cerulean waters off the coast of Australia, when you notice amidst the rocks a small octopus. It's well camouflaged against its background, but, upon seeing you, the startled cephalopod's body suddenly lights up in a brilliant pattern of blue rings.

Instead of recognizing what is obviously the animal's colorful warning display and backing off, you move in to get a closer look, at which point the panicked animal promptly bites your outstretched hand. You've just been bitten by the blue-ringed octopus - one of the more venomous creatures in the Pacific Ocean.

Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade

Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York City is the biggest dog Halloween party in the United States, boasting an annual attendance of more than 400 dogs in costume and 2,000 spectators. A boxer shows off his 'Butthead' costume on October 20, 2012.



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(thanks Cora)

What Happens When You Flush A Toilet On An Airplane?

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Aircraft lavatories have come a long way since the early days of commercial air travel. Early flyers used slop buckets, and WWII pilots tossed piss-filled bottles out of unpressurized windows. Now, airborne waste control technology could put the Jetsons to shame. Here's what happens when you flush at 35,000 feet up.

Star Trek Technology: How 21st Century Scientists Are Making It So

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Many have been inspired by Star Trek to take up a career in science, technology or engineering. Since its inception in 1966, Star Trek has familiarised us with the lingo and applications of science. We're now seeing emergent technology here on Earth that was once little more than a Star Trek scriptwriter's dream.

Here's a roundup of some of the best Star Trek-inspired technology.

Ancient Armored Fish Had The First Teeth

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Around 430 to 360 million years ago, fierce-looking armored fish called placoderms roamed the world's oceans. Most illustrations show them with jaws and teeth. But whether or not they actually had what we'd now describe as teeth has long been the subject of intense debate among scientists.

Now, using a particle-accelerator called a synchrotron, a UK-led team of researchers from the University of Bristol has discovered that these early jawed fish did indeed have pearly gnashers. And probably sharp ones at that.

Tuesday 23 October 2012

NASA Computer Model Shows A Disk Galaxy's Life History

This cosmological simulation follows the development of a single disk galaxy over about 13.5 billion years, from shortly after the Big Bang to the present time. The simulation ran on the Pleiades supercomputer at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and required about 1 million CPU hours.



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Kelimutu - Indonesia's Tri-Colored Lakes

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They are located on the same volcanic peak yet each of the three crater lakes atop Kelimutu in Indonesia is a markedly different color. It is the only place on earth where this amazing color variation takes place.

The three lakes all have different names and local people have for centuries believed that the lakes are the spiritual resting place of their ancestors. It is said the lakes change color according to the mood of the spirit - and if that is the case then the souls' moods are constantly restless.

(thanks Robert-John)

Cat Bounce


A website with bouncing cats by Tara Sinn.

(thanks Cora)

The Bell Witch Of Tennessee

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Near Adams, Tennessee, stands a cave and a historical marker on a farm where the family of John Bell lived in the early 1800s. It was the scene of a series of mysterious manifestations that became known as the Bell Witch haunting.

It began with noises in the walls and grew to include unusual sounds, people being slapped and pinched, objects being thrown and animals spooking without visible cause.

How To Photograph Wolves At Wolf Park

Monty Sloan attempts to photograph the Main Pack at Wolf Park in Battle Ground, Indiana, USA, for his Photo of the Day website.



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(via Everlasting Blort)

11 Brain-Twisting Paradoxes

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Paradoxes have been around since the time of Ancient Greeks and the credit of popularizing them goes to recent logicians. Using logic you can usually find a fatal flaw in the paradox which shows why the seemingly impossible is either possible or the entire paradox is built on flawed thinking.

Breakthrough In World's Oldest Undeciphered Writing

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The world's oldest undeciphered writing system, which has so far defied attempts to uncover its 5,000-year-old secrets, could be about to be decoded by Oxford University academics. In a room high up in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, above the Egyptian mummies and fragments of early civilisations, a big black dome is clicking away and flashing out light.

This device, part sci-fi, part-DIY, is providing the most detailed and high quality images ever taken of these elusive symbols cut into clay tablets. This is Indiana Jones with software. It's being used to help decode a writing system called proto-Elamite, used between around 3200BC and 2900BC in a region now in the south west of modern Iran.

Unraveling The Ancient Riddles Of Chinese Jewelry

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Chinese jewelry and objects of adornment are exquisite puzzles: Why does a delicate, wafer-thin pendant feature a pair of catfish twisting upon each other to create a yin-yang?

What's the meaning of the kingfisher feathers that have been inlaid, cloisonné-like, on a gilt-metal hairpin? And could someone please explain the story behind all those lotus blossoms, which can be found on everything from earrings to belt hooks?

(thanks Ben)

Monday 22 October 2012

Spiders In A Box Projected Onto Windows

Great for Halloween. Or to keep burglars away.



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How The Cell Phone Got 'Smart'

Bestowing telecommunications devices with the personified moniker 'smartphones' means those devices better be pretty revolutionary - and boy, are they ever.

After being introduced in the late 1990s, smartphones have come to define the way individual people connect to the rest of the world. The top five manufacturers shipped nearly half a billion devices around the world in 2011 alone.

Smartphones have come a long way in a short time. Improvements in technical specifications such as internal processors, battery life, storage capability, screen size and broadband connectivity optimize the way devices perform. While the future for smartphones looks promising, let's take a look at how we got to this point in time.

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The Colorful And Bizarre World Of Starfish

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Starfish. Also known as sea stars. We see them all over the place. There are around 1,800 living species occurring in all the world's oceans, even at depths greater than 6,000 meters. In fact, they're so common, we may too often overlook exactly how strange and amazing they really are. Let's take a moment to have our minds blown by the freaky, gorgeous starfish.

(via Look At This...)

Houses To Avoid On Halloween - And How To Die Quickly If You Can't

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You may be planning to go out this Halloween, perhaps trick or treating with friends. In case you really must, here is a short pictorial guide to the kind of houses you should really avoid this Halloween. There are a number of tell-tale signs to look out for. If you just know you're not the type to make it to the end of a slasher pic, follow our advice: stay in.

Otherwise you may well just become part of another urban legend, the stuff of future horror movies. Yet, although your life might be over, there are a few ways to ensure your demise is as swift and as painless as possible.

Ladybugs Take Off

Various sequences of ladybugs which prepare and take off for flying away. The sequences were recorded by cameraman Rainer Bergomaz from Blue Paw Artists.



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(thanks Cora)

The Story Of Elvis Presley's 'Hound Dog'

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The classic song 'Hound Dog' was released in 1952 and was number one on the charts for seven weeks. This original version of 'Hound Dog' had nothing to do with Elvis Presley. The first version of 'Hound Dog' was recorded by a 25-year-old African-American rhythm and blues singer named Willie Mae Thornton. The song was a smash hit and sold almost two million copies.

The Story of Elvis Presley's 'Hound Dog'.

Biking The Hiawatha Trail


Billed as one of America's most unforgettable bike rides, the 15-mile Hiawatha Trail follows the path of a former train route through pitch-black tunnels and across bridges which overlook vast valleys of pine. The Hiawatha Trail opened up in 2001 as part of the Rails to Trails initiative, which seeks to restore life to decommissioned train tracks across the country.

(thanks Juergen)

Full Bacon Suit


Black suit and ties are pretty much over. You can toss your formal wear to the pigs because the Bacon Suit is here! The Bacon Suit is sizzling hot and just crackling like real bacon. Watch out for overly aggressive people and events with minimal food available. You may become the best looking opportunity and need to make an escape. Price: $59.99.

(thanks Cora)