A community in decline, divided by decades of anti-social traffic engineering, is reunited and revitalised by streetscape redesign. Poynton, a village of 14,000 in England, has instituted a policy of 'shared space' on its roadways.
No traffic lights. No traffic signs. No painted lines in the roadway. No curbs. And 26,000 vehicles passing every day through a traditional village center with busy pedestrian traffic.
YouTube link
(via Nag on the Lake)
Tuesday 30 April 2013
Betty Freeman's Day In Court
Eighty years before the Emancipation Proclamation freed American slaves, a Massachusetts woman helped free the slaves of that state... just by going to court. Elizabeth Freeman (1742 - 1829) was among the first black slaves in Massachusetts to file a 'freedom suit' and win in court under the 1780 constitution, with a ruling that slavery was illegal.
Her county court case, Brom and Bett v. Ashley, decided in August 1781, was cited as a precedent in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appeal review of Quock Walker's 'freedom suit.' When the state Supreme Court upheld Walker's freedom under the constitution, the ruling was considered to have informally ended slavery in the state.
The Strange History Of Everyday Greetings And Phrases
Hello, what's up, OMG WTF, cool as a cucumber, flash in the pan. Where do these words and phrases come from?
YouTube link
YouTube link
Scientists Ask: Are Horses 'Lazy' Or Just Bored?
Since the dawn of time, they have seemed man's hardest working animal companion - performing stoically as a method of transport, a weapon of war and a beast of burden, as well as a variety of sporting and recreational roles. But new research suggests that the humble horse might not be quite such a willing worker as it often appears.
A scientific study entitled 'Are Horses Lazy?' has found strong evidence which indicates the answer is 'yes' - or at least that they have little appetite for such research.
7 Facts About Hairballs
Did you know that last Friday was National Hairball Awareness Day? Me neither. A hairball by any other name is still gross. The scientific term is trichobezoar. A bezoar is any mass found in the stomach or intestines.
Animal hairballs were once thought to cure epilepsy, the plague, and poisoning. During the Middle Ages, hairballs were even set in gold. Cats are especially prone to hairball formation since they groom themselves by licking their fur, and thereby ingest it. Here are 7 facts about hairballs.
Animal hairballs were once thought to cure epilepsy, the plague, and poisoning. During the Middle Ages, hairballs were even set in gold. Cats are especially prone to hairball formation since they groom themselves by licking their fur, and thereby ingest it. Here are 7 facts about hairballs.
Top 10 Haunted Hotels
There are few places in the world that have absorbed as much emotion as hotels. They see the unbridled joy of honeymoon couples and families on vacation. The workaday despair of businessmen living out of suitcases.
Druggies and prostitutes and schizophrenic geniuses, murders, suicides, heart attacks, arguments, trysts, a revolving cast of thousands playing out their own individual drama each night. If any place on earth is likely to be haunted, it's a hotel. Here are ten of the world's spookiest hotels.
Monday 29 April 2013
Ride-Able Mech For Kids
Japanese mech factory Sakakibara Machinery Works is out to make mecha lovers all over the world drool again, and wish they were a Japanese kid with a rich dad. The mecha manufacturers are rolling out, fresh from the factory, a relatively pint-sized ride-able mech for kids.
YouTube link
(via Japan Daily Press)
YouTube link
(via Japan Daily Press)
Here Is Today
Here Is Today is a simple interactive animation that helps keep things in perspective. Just keep clicking.
(via MetaFilter)
Thousands Under Ninety
Are you a creative person that constantly submits to competitions but never gets in? Are you over 30 and bummed that you missed your chance to be a 20 under 30? or a 30 under 40?, or some other random number under some other random number?
Well here's an award for you. If you think you deserve an award, fill in your name and your job title and you'll be given an award. Then you can put 'award winning designer' or whatever on your resumé.
(thanks Cora)
Well here's an award for you. If you think you deserve an award, fill in your name and your job title and you'll be given an award. Then you can put 'award winning designer' or whatever on your resumé.
(thanks Cora)
Kite Aerial Photography: Seeing The World From New Heights
Sometimes, pointing and clicking just isn't enough. Even the most amateur of snappers has experimented with camera angles and height - though most of the time the camera is only as high from the ground as the photographers eye. Not so the Kite Aerial Photography enthusiast: they enable their cameras to reach for the sky with often spectacular results.
The World's Fastest Pop Machine
Lerna, a village in Illinois, USA, boasts the world's fastest pop machine.
YouTube link
(thanks Cora)
YouTube link
(thanks Cora)
The Seven Most Incredible Telescopes In Existence
When China completes its newest telescope project in 2016, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope, it will have a dish nearly half the size of a country (OK, only the world’s smallest country, Vatican City, but still).
With this telescope, scientists will be better equipped to study the universe and its mysteries, but other telescopes help research study the cosmos too, regardless of their size. Bigger isn't always better - here are six other telescopes making astronomy better in ingenious ways.
Lost City Of Heracleion Gives Up Its Secrets
For centuries it was thought to be a legend, a city of extraordinary wealth mentioned in Homer, visited by Helen of Troy and Paris, her lover, but apparently buried under the sea. In fact, Heracleion was true, an ancient Egyptian city near modern day Alexandria.
A decade after divers began uncovering its treasures, archaeologists have produced a picture of what life was like in Heracleion in the era of the pharaohs.
Sunday 28 April 2013
Miniature Melbourne
A short tilt-shift time-lapse film featuring the city of Melbourne, Australia. It took 10 months to make and features a range of different events and festivals held in the city throughout the year.
Vimeo link
(thanks Cora)
Vimeo link
(thanks Cora)
Strange Deep-Sea Diving Suits
The diving suits known as standard diving dress had a metallic helmet, made of brass, bronze or copper, an airline or hose supplying air from the surface, a canvas diving suit, weighted boots and were equipped with a knife, just in case. The suits had other lead weights too, usually fitted on the chest or back, to help the diver descend to the required depth.
These types of diving suits aren't used that often these days, but although they are the diving suits that most people are familiar with, they weren't the first ones to be developed.
Spectacular Office Slides
Powerful companies like Google are ensuring that their office spaces are filled with fun elements and inspiring designs that actively encourage creativity and co-operation. As Google's Lindsay Stradley says, 'The way the office is set up, it's almost impossible not to work as a team.'
And what could make the once dreary work environment more fun than a giant slide? Here's a look at 10 incredible office slides from around the world.
The Psychology Of Color
Perhaps no choice is as vital to marketing as color. Whether you are selecting the color for a product or for your email marketing campaign, color has tremendous impact on all of us. Subconsciously, we associate different colors with different things.
This infographic examines the psychology of color and looks at some common associations of different colors. It shows the overall importance of color to consumers and characteristics of many individual colors.
Saturday 27 April 2013
60 Spectacular Seahorses And Seadragons
Seahorses and seadragons are stunning tiny sea creatures. With a long face like a horse, they have an almost mythical appearance, but are far from immortal as none of the seahorse family are strong swimmers and they often die during storms.
They excel at camouflage and many can change colors to hide themselves in their natural underwater surroundings. Bizarrely, seahorses, leafy and weedy sea dragons and even pipefish males are responsible for childbearing. Here are some fun facts and sensational shots of seahorses and seadragons that are truly spectacular.
The Golden Age Of Cigar Box Art
The collecting of cigar boxes is, like the collecting of stamps and coins, a specialized field of interest. Here's a small selection of some of the most striking cigar box artwork from years gone by.
How Many Rubik's Cubes Would It Take To Build Your House?
There are people who use Rubik's Cubes - the iconic '80s toy - to build things and create art. There's actually a term for the latter: Rubik’s Cubism. So, here's an interesting question: How many Rubik's Cubes you would need to build a house (and how long it would take to solve them all).
(thanks Sally)
(thanks Sally)
How To Photograph Landscapes
You might be wondering how the beautiful landscape photographs shown in magazines are shot. The colors are so vibrant and the compositions are always interesting, the way they guide your view from the foreground to a main subject to the background. Everything is sharp in focus.
How do they do that?
10 Powerfully Creative Anti-Smoking Ads
Smoking is bad for you. Smoking harms practically every organ in the body - often devastatingly so. It causes lung cancer, lung diseases, heart disease, strokes, and a slew of other illnesses.
Perhaps most disheartening of all, though, is that these smoking-related conditions are avoidable. Reducing smoking rates has a direct lifesaving impact, not only on smokers, but also on the people exposed to secondhand smoke. Here's a look at 10 hard-hitting anti-smoking ads from around the world.
Humpback Whales Learn New Tricks By Watching Their Friends
Whatever you do is not innate or instinctive, it's learned - it’s a cultural tradition, however mundane. Apparently, humans (and other primates) are not alone in this. Whales have multiple cultural traditions, too.
Humpback whales mimic their fellows' novel feeding strategies, passing them on to new generations, according to a new analysis. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's one of only a few examples of non-primates using this type of learning, called cultural transmission. Humpbacks are maintaining and sharing cultural traditions they have developed over time.
Friday 26 April 2013
Position Based Fluids
Although graphics in 3D computer games has gone really far in the last decade or so, the water in most of them does not look very real - especially when you throw a couple of solid objects into it. Now, a new fluid simulation algorithm, called 'Position Based Fluids' makes it look easy, with water bouncing off objects in a startlingly realistic fashion.
YouTube link
(via Mashable)
YouTube link
(via Mashable)
In The Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor A Fake?
What goes on behind-the-scenes in the antiques world? Maureen Stanton, who wrote the book 'Killer Stuff and Tons of Money,' talks about a master carpenter she calls 'Wesley Swanson,' who builds new Windsor chairs and goes through extraordinary measures to pass them off as valuable antiques.
He's creating what appears to be chairs of 300 years of age so he can sell them for $5,000 a piece. He's even fooling the top auction houses. How does Wesley Swanson create believable Windsor chairs?
(thanks Lisa)
10 Real Life Fairytale Islands
The approximate definition of a real life fairytale island would be that it is a small island often covered with lush vegetation, from which emerges a magnificent ancient building. When people say that a place is like something from a fairy tale often they are exaggerating, but that is not the case with these charming islands listed here.
(thanks Bosko)
10 Dangerous Drugs Once Marketed As Medicine
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, people suffering from any number of diseases and bodily discomforts could find what were touted as cures at their local pharmacy. Chloroform, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine were offered as solutions for everything from sore throats and toothache to coughs, insomnia and depression.
These substances were often highly addictive, dangerous, and sometimes deadly. Most are now restricted - if not banned from the market. Take a look and see what the field of medicine was like not so very long ago.
Three Years Of Sun In Three Minutes
In the three years since it first provided images of the sun in the spring of 2010, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has had virtually unbroken coverage of the sun's rise toward solar maximum, the peak of solar activity in its regular 11-year cycle. This video shows those three years of the sun at a pace of two images per day.
YouTube link
YouTube link
Yoda's Hut. How Much Is It Worth?
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there existed a unique fixer-upper opportunity for home buyers: the house that once belonged to legendary Jedi Master Yoda. Read on to find out about the first evaluation of a property from the world George Lucas first brought to life on movie screens in 1977.
(thanks Sally)
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.
Menswear Named After Real Men
No one can live forever, but having a garment named in your honor ensures that, in a certain sense, you're still walking around years after your demise. Here are some of the historical origins of your favorite closet staples.
Thursday 25 April 2013
High Bike
Someone built a 14.5 feet high bike. Thanks to the LAPD and Traffic Enforcement officers he was allowed to demonstrate it. But you won't see this bike on public streets again any time soon. It's probably too dangerous for the biker and people around.
YouTube link
(thanks Miss Rare)
YouTube link
(thanks Miss Rare)
Bourton-On-The-Water: Entire Village Placed On Special Architectural or Historic Interest List
The village of Bourton-on-the-Water is one of those quintessentially English places - you might not be surprised to bump in to a Downton Abbey cast member on its quaint streets. It is considered so important that this week the entire village was designated Grade II Listed by English Heritage, the body which advises on the care of the historic environment in England.
Located in the Cotswolds range of hills in the county of Gloucestershire, the village is a perfectly preserved slice of the British way of life during the early decades of the twentieth century. Yet look a little closer. Is there something not quite right about Bourton-on-the-Water?
For a start - where are the people?
Ella Fitzgerald Commemorated By Google Doodle
Ella Fitzgerald (1917 - 1996), also known as the 'First Lady of Song' and 'Queen of Jazz', was an American jazz vocalist with a vocal range spanning three octaves. Today, Google commemorates Ella Fitzgerald with a Google doodle.
10 Powerfully Creative Anti-Drunk Driving Ads
According to a 2011 World Health Organization report, every year around 2.5 million people die due to alcohol-related causes - which amounts to more fatalities than those caused by AIDS or tuberculosis. It's not surprising to learn that traffic accidents figure into this number.
Powerful, compelling advertisements can be used as influential tools to encourage people not to drink and drive. Here are 10 of the most provocative and creative anti-drunk driving ads from around the world.
15 Superhuman Feats Performed by Senior Citizens
You've heard it said age is just a number, and these people are proof.
With these 15 Superhuman Feats Performed by Senior Citizens, you, too, may believe in superheroes.
(thanks Casey)
How Are Humans Going To Become Extinct?
What are the greatest global threats to humanity? Are we on the verge of our own unexpected extinction? An international team of scientists, mathematicians and philosophers at Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute is investigating the biggest dangers. And they argue in a research paper, 'Existential Risk as a Global Priority', that international policymakers must pay serious attention to the reality of species-obliterating risks.
So what are the greatest dangers?
So what are the greatest dangers?
The 8 Types Of Shovels Everyone Should Know
Humans have been digging in the Earth since the dawn of the Neolithic Revolution, some 12,000 years ago. While the earliest agriculturalists had to make do with shovels crudely fashioned from animal bones, later material advances led to the development of modern shovel designs and their specialized heads are purpose-built.
Today, shovels and spades come in a myriad of shapes, sizes, and functions. Here are a few of the most common types of shovels you'll find in your local home improvement store and what they're used for.
Wednesday 24 April 2013
Baby And Me
The new advertising campaign from Evian will certainly bring a smile to your face.
YouTube link
(via Kuriositas)
YouTube link
(via Kuriositas)
10 Incredible Ancient Cliff Dwellings
Long before there were high-rise buildings and residential skyscrapers, people still managed to live far above ground, at sometimes dizzying heights. Like modern city inhabitants, these ancestors of ours enjoyed pleasant breezes and great views.
Cliff dwellings have existed in many different parts of the world. In many cases basic homes could be made simply by utilizing the existing walls and roofs of caves. Rock could be tunneled into rather than having to be carved out in great quantities for use as building materials. Take a look at 10 places where these cliff dwellings can be found.
40 Gargoyles And Grotesques Around The World
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between.
Gargoyles are usually an elongated fantastic animal because the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is thrown from the wall. Here's a collection of gargoyles and grotesques from around the world.
Ramus
A short animated film by Danica Parry and Chris DeVito. From Latin ramus: branch.
Vimeo link
(thanks Cora)
Vimeo link
(thanks Cora)
What Are Star Trails?
A star trail is a type of photograph that utilizes long-exposure times to capture the apparent motion of stars in the night sky due to the rotation of the Earth. A star trail photograph shows individual stars as streaks across the image, with longer exposures resulting in longer streaks.
Typical exposure times for a star trail range from 15 minutes to several hours, requiring a 'bulb' setting on the camera to open the shutter for a longer period than is normal. Star trails have been used by professional astronomers to measure the quality of observing locations for major telescopes.
Love At First Kite: How Pizza And Pente Led To One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Vintage kites from all over the world hang from the ceiling and walls of Richard Dermer's popular Hideaway Pizza restaurant in Stillwater, Oklahoma - and that's only a fraction of his collection. To many locals, the kites might just seem like another piece of quirky décor. But not so. Dermer is an avid kite enthusiast, and each kite has a personal meaning.
(thanks Ben)
Deep Beneath Manhattan's Streets: The Construction Of NYC's New Subway
There are large, damp, labyrinthine caves and hulking monsters beneath the borough of Manhattan. However, they are not the kind that feature in B movies, but rather are the product of human industry.
These vast caverns have been bored, drilled and blasted to create New York's newest subway, the Second Avenue Subway. Inside the cavities are bright yellow 'monsters,' the heavy machinery required for such a massive undertaking.
Tuesday 23 April 2013
Why Do Some People Faint When They See Blood?
Getting dizzy and fainting at the sight of someone else's blood doesn't seem to be the most evolutionarily appropriate response. How's that going to help you when you're trying to take down a buffalo?
And despite it being relatively common the symptoms of it are totally different from most phobias: phobics' blood pressure and heart rate will rise then drop when they see blood, as opposed to the just-heart-racing caused by most fears. So what gives?
India's Centuries-Old Astronomical Observatory
I've posted about Jantar Mantar last year but this article comes with some fascinating photos. The Jantar Mantar is located in the modern city of New Delhi. It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments. There's a mystical feel to its 18th-century architecture, resplendent in shades of yellow and orange.
To those unaware of its purpose, the strange angled and curved structure might be conceived of as an ancient temple full of religious symbolism. Yet while it was constructed with the heavens in mind, the inspirations were the Sun, Moon and stars rather than any mythological or spiritual beings.
The Birth Of The Dishwasher
Josephine Garis Cochrane was a wealthy socialite from Shelbyville, Illinois, USA. She gave a lot of dinner parties and was very proud of her china, which had been in the family since the 17th century. But her servants weren't particularly careful with the priceless china when they washed them after each party. Cochrane felt that the only way to protect her treasures was to wash them herself... but she hated the job.
Why should a rich 44-year-old woman be doing this menial job? Why wasn't there a machine that could wash the dishes for her? Well, there was, sort of. The first dishwasher was patented in 1830 by Joel Houghton. It was a wooden machine that splashed water on dishes when a hand-turned wheel was rotated. It didn't work very well, so Cochrane decided to invent a better one.
The Theme Park On Drug Lord Pablo Escobar's Estate
In one corner of the 3,700-acre park, a bright pink hippo statue poses on a plinth; in another, dinosaurs are frozen in time. Elsewhere, a giant octopus emerges from a swimming pool with waterslides wrapped up in its tentacles.
As far as theme parks go, there isn't really anything too surprising or out of the ordinary going on here. Yet this is no ordinary tourist attraction. The Hacienda Nápoles theme park is situated on grounds that once belonged to Colombia's most famous drug lord: Pablo Escobar.
Top 10 Mightiest Birds Of Prey In The World
There is something about birds of prey that make us pay attention - maybe it's the inherent fear we all have that one will attack us - or perhaps it's just because they are seldom seen by most westerners.
Regardless, birds of prey are fascinating to all. Here's a list of some of the largest, mightiest and most spectacular raptors from around the world.
(thanks Bojan)
Monday 22 April 2013
What Happens When You Wring Out A Washcloth In Space?
International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield performed a simple science experiment designed by grade 10 Lockview High School students Kendra Lemke and Meredith Faulkner. The students from Fall River, Nova Scotia won a national science contest held by the Canadian Space Agency with their experiment on surface tension in space using a wet washcloth.
YouTube link
YouTube link
The Fly Orchid - Agent Provocateur Of The Plant World
It may not be the most attractive orchid on the planet - at least to our eyes. Yet the Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera) has come up with an ingenious way to ensure that it is pollinated. Its flowers look like flies and its scent mimics sexual pheromones.
This combination attract hordes of male insects, themselves simply attempting to ensure the continuation of their species. These unwitting insects are enticed in to performing the act of reproduction - on a flower. The fly orchid is the agent provocateur of the plant world.
Earth Day 2013 Google Doodle
Today is Earth Day 2013. Earth Day is an annual day on which events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The name and concept of Earth Day was pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. He proposed March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. A month later a separate Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970.
Google is celebrating the 43rd Earth Day with a doodle which shows the four seasons. By clicking on various parts of the doodle you can see fall, spring, summer and winter but also all fases of the moon. You can experience rain, snow and wind and discover animals like ants, fireflies, birds, fish, a bear and a badger.
Out Of Nowhere
Every morning, an old lifeguard arrives for another day of work, when in fact the swimming pool he guards has been empty for years. One day an unexpected guest appears out of nowhere, filling him with doubts about his everyday reality.
Vimeo link
Vimeo link
10 Most Bizarre Branches Of Parapsychology
Parapsychology is a remarkably broad discipline, and it is difficult to study when the area itself deals with the unknown potential of the human mind. At this time, there is no definitive way to prove phenomena like telepathy or telekinesis, and observation by no means provides unambiguous proof.
Here are 10 of the most prominent branches of parapsychology. The very nature of so-called psi phenomena is such that they cover the unknown, and it is only by critical dissection that we can get to the truth.
9 Of The Most Fascinating Abandoned Mansions From Around The World
There's something particularly spectacular about witnessing the decay of a once-grand building. Lavish trappings fall into disrepair, once proud halls play host to insects and dust, and elegantly constructed architecture is exposed to time and the elements.
Here are 9 crumbling mansions that are fascinating to look at and come with some intriguing backstories.
The Mystery Of Puma Punku
Puma Punku is part of a large temple complex or monument group near Tiwanaku, Bolivia. The Puma Punku complex consists of an unwalled western court, a central unwalled esplanade, a terraced platform mound that is faced with megalithic stone, and a walled eastern court.
Determining the age of the Puma Punku complex has been a focus of researchers since the discovery of the Tiwanaku site. Some scientists say Puma Punku is 5,000 years old but others claim it could be between 10,000 en 15,000 years old. Today, researchers still don't understand how Puma Punku was built.
Sunday 21 April 2013
Quantum Of The Seas
Last Tuesday Royal Caribbean cruise line showed a video with details of its forthcoming Quantum of the Seas ship which will launch in November 2014. American singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth takes you through this brand new cruise ship and shows off the cool things to see and do.
YouTube link
(thanks Miss Rare)
YouTube link
(thanks Miss Rare)
15 Of The Most Fascinating Looking Fungi In The World
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms.
Little is known of the true biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at 1.5 million to 5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified. Here is a collection of some of the most fascinating looking fungi.
From A To B
What happens when you send something by mail? What happens in between you sending it of and someone else receiving it? What people and processes are involved and how many steps does it take? Dutch industrial designer Ruben van der Vleuten wanted to find out. He put a small camera in a box, used a timer circuit using Arduino and shipped it.
Vimeo link
(thanks Rick)
Vimeo link
(thanks Rick)
10 Most Dangerous Prison Gangs In The World
Some correctional facilities have been described as hellish 'monster factories.' In the face of long-term imprisonment, some inmates can become detached from reality, and a darker side to their personalities may emerge. Violence becomes a way of life - perhaps even more so - and for some incarcerated gang members, prison doesn't stop them from still carrying out crime.
Meet the world's 10 most dangerous prison gangs.
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