No Posting For A Couple Of Days

Dear readers. My computer broke down last Saturday. I already bought a new one which will be delivered to my home this Wednesday. I'm posting this from a friend's computer. This means I won't be able to post anything until Thursday morning.

I also won't be able to answer your emails. Sorry for any inconvenience. Thank you for your understanding and I'll see you Thursday.

Why Beer Does Not Spill

When you walk with a drink in your hand and suddenly stop, you spill your drink, whether it's soda or coffee. But beer doesn't spill. Why is that?



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The Long And Lonely Eyre Highway: World's Longest Straight Road

image credit: Chris Guy

Imagine a drive, a thousand miles long with no turns or bends, across a vast featureless plain with repetitive landscape, and hundreds of kilometers between towns and service stations.

That's Eyre Highway, the road that connects Western Australia to Southern Australia via the Nullarbor Plain, a flat and treeless, giant bed of limestone 200,000 square kilometres in area.

Committee

(via Bad Newspaper)

Where Fiction Meets Reality: London & New York

A handy infographic that focuses on restaurants, bars, shopping, culture and entertainment that have been featured in movies in London vs. New York and gives a broad guide to travellers who want to follow the steps from some of the world's most famous movies.

Birds Of Prey

Beautiful footage of birds of prey captured in Denver, Colorado.



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(thanks Cora)

8 Dying Technologies That We No Longer Need In 2015

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We live in a technological world and we are practically surrounded by many technologies that help us simplify our life and the things we do. However, technology today is changing at the speed of light and every day we witness new technological gadgets being invented that help us to do things in a better way.

As many new technologies are invented there are many old ones that gradually disappear from our life. Many gadgets and gizmos that were once indispensable part of our life are now gone and some are on the verge to disappear.

How To Perfectly Make 38 Types Of Coffee

If you're bored of your usual milky latte or ristretto fix, feast your eyes on this infographic made by Follygraph. It illustrates just about every coffee you could ever want and some you may not have heard of, alongside diagrams of exactly how to make them.

The Ridge

The Ridge was filmed in Denali National Park in Alaska for the film 'The Sanctity of Space.'



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(thanks Cora)

The Stone Towers Of Svaneti, Georgia

image credit: Marco Fieber

The ancient province of Svaneti in Georgia is located on the southern slopes of the Caucasus mountain range. Surrounded by the gigantic, snow-capped peaks of the high Caucasus and deep gorges, Svaneti is home to some of the highest and most isolated villages in the Caucasus.

Marauding armies from foreign lands used to trouble the Svans during the Middle Ages leading to the construction of watchtowers and fortified homes. When powerful empires rampaged through Georgia, icons, jewels, religious artefacts and manuscripts were brought to the towers for safekeeping, turning Svaneti into a repository of early Georgian culture.

Four Weird Ways Animals Sense The World

image credit: cotinis

When humans sniff in order to smell something, we draw a quick puff of air into our nostrils and over chemoreceptors in our nasal cavity. But octopuses, butterflies, and other animals don't have noses like ours. Instead, they've evolved other, sometimes bizarre ways of sensing the world around them.

(via Look At This...)

The Happiness Scale

According to the Happiness Index, the country with the happiest people is Costa Rica, followed by Vietnam and Columbia. Are you happy? The Happiness Scale measures happiness throughout the world.

Jeffery-West Shoe Repair

Watch Jeffery-West Shoe Repair from Northampton, UK, repair 5 pairs of shoes with a complete new full long leather sole.



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(thanks Cora)

The Science And Engineering Of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Balloons

image credit: gigi_nyc

The iconic balloons in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are cute and fat and take real engineering to get up into the air. Just one group of 28 full-time workers, the Macy's Parade Studio in New Jersey, conceives of, makes, and maintains all of the parade's balloons.

This week, the American Chemical Society reported on some of the engineering - and the elbow grease - that goes into lofting the giant inflatables.

Predatory Glow Worms Found In Peruvian Amazon

image credit YouTube

A couple of years ago, wildlife photographer Jeff Cremer stumbled upon something very special during a night hike in the rainforest of Tambopata, Peru. While passing a bend on the trail, he noticed several glowing green dots embedded within a dirt wall. These glowing dots were likely due to some kind of insect larvae, possibly a beetle, but the rest of the story remained a mystery.

What exactly was this strange species and why were they glowing in the middle the Amazon rainforest in a dirt wall? This past October, Jeff was accompanied by entomologist Aaron Pomerantz and his colleagues Mike Bentley and Geoff Gallice. Together, they hoped to shed some light on this glowing mystery.

The Little Train Of Artouste

Le petit train d'Artouste (the little train of Artouste) is 80 years old. Originally built to transport materials and personnel during the construction of the Artouste dam from 1924 to 1932, the train has been converted for tourism in 1932.

It now enables tourists to discover the magnificent landscapes high above the headwaters of the Gave d'Ossau, and provides access to Lac d'Artouste, a semi-artificial lake in the mountains.



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(thanks Cora)

Russell Crow

Russell Crowe never looked better.

(via Bad Newspaper)

9 Of The Most Unusual And Unique Flying Cars

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A flying car or roadable aircraft is an aircraft that can also travel along roads. All the working examples have required some manual or automated process of conversion between the two modes of operation.

A slightly different concept, particularly in science fiction, is that of an aircraft that would be practical enough for every-day travel, but would not necessarily be drivable on the roads. These are some of the most unusual and unique flying cars.

The Evolution Of Robots In Film

An infographic from UK based web hosting site WebHostingBuzz about the evolution of robots in movies. The infographic starts off in the 1920s with False Maria from the movie Metropolis and goes right the way through to the 2010s with Atom from Real Steel and Gipsy Danger from Pacific Rim.

Magnetic Cat

A cat uses its magnetic powers to play with things.



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(thanks Matt)

Emirates Airbus A380 First 3C-Check

The first Airbus A380 delivered to Emirates completes a 3-C Check, the largest maintenance check on any aircraft. Watch the entire process captured on camera.



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(thanks Cora)

Take A Trip To Iran's Dasht-e Lut Desert

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Wanna take a trip to the hottest place on Earth? No, you don't need to dig down to the core to reach it. Just go to Iran and head to the spectacular Dasht-e Lut desert. Dasht-e Lut (which means Emptiness Desert) is a sandy and muddy salt desert plain north-east of Kerman, Iran.

The surface of the sand there has been measured at temperatures as high as 70.7°C (159°F), and it is one of the world's driest and hottest places. You will find a series of eroded towers and walls standing high on the desert, making every traveler definitely notice the amazing land formations.

What Happens When You Eat Too Much

The season of giving is often also the season of over-indulging at the dinner table. As Thanksgiving approaches, take a look down at your stomachs to find out what happens when you overeat.



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(thanks Elaine)

Meet Yourself In 20 Years

UK telecommunications brand Orange has released their futureself campaign in the form of an interactive platform, which invites people to engage in a technological journey 20 years down the road to meet and speak with one's future self.

You can use your webcam, or you can upload a photo of yourself from your hard drive. Align some key point, answer questions like gender, eye color and current age and the data and image is rapidly scanned into a virtual version of yourself, 20 years older. You can even talk to your avatar.

Here's what I will look like in 20 years.

(via designboom)

Japanese Cat Owners Turn IKEA Doll Beds Into Adorable Cat Beds

image credit imgur

Some clever Japanese cat owners have re-purposed a simple but popular doll bed from IKEA, turning it into an adorable bed for their cats and other pets.

The bed's uses have expanded beyond cats too - some rabbits and dogs have taken well to the bed, and some pet owners have even turned them into bunk beds.

(thanks Cora)

Dhteumeuleu

Dhteumeuleu is a collection of very clever HTML 5 computer animations made by Gerard Ferrandez. Click to maximize the popup window. Most will interact with your mouse. To get back to the menu after viewing a selected visual just click the arrow in the top left of your screen and click 'Home.'

(thanks Cora)

Adventures Of The League Of STEAM - Here Comes the Bride

The League of STEAM pays homage to the Bride of Frankenstein in their new adventure! A duo of eccentric inventors decide to construct the perfect woman for their lovelorn colleague... but of course, hilarity quickly ensues! Starring Team Unicorn's Milynn Sarley, with music by Larry and His Flask, Johnny Atar, and Steam Powered Giraffe!



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(thanks Trip)

Ten Television Characters Who Were Never Fully Revealed On Screen

The Big Bang Theory is a wildly popular television show. It includes Mrs. Wolowitz: Howard's loud, overbearing, mustachioed and morbidly obese mother, who is never actually seen on camera.

It takes a rare talent to win the audience's affection without ever showing your face, or - in some extreme cases - even setting foot in frame. Here are 10 of the very greatest TV characters we have heard but never seen.

(via Neatorama)

The Great International Paper Airplane Book

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In the mid 1960s Scientific American began to look for ways to increase circulation and, perhaps more importantly, to expand their roster of advertisers. To help, the publisher Gerald Piel hired the iconoclastic marketing genius Howard Luck Gossage.

Gossage, who ran his small agency out of a converted San Francisco firehouse, became known for ads that engaged readers through brilliant tongue-in-cheek copyrighting and unusual contests and promotions. He decided to target airlines as potential advertisers for magazine and created the '1st International Paper Airplane Contest.'

Upside Down Truck

Rick Sullivan spent six months and $6,000 building a topsy-turvy truck from the parts of two separate vehicles.The road-legal car is created from a 1991 Ford Ranger pickup truck with a 1995 F-150 pickup truck body placed over the top - upside down.



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Unrealistic Comet Landing Simulator

The European Space Agency's Philae probe landed on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko not once or twice, but three times, when its anchor system failed to fire. Can you land ESA's shiny new, billion-Euro probe on a comet without smashing it to bits? Click 'Drop' when you think a nice, safe, flat bit is coming up.

Try the Unrealistic Comet Landing Simulator.
I tried and I managed to land the probe in only 1 attempt.

YouGovProfiles

Last week, British pollsters YouGov launched a new website that allows users to view target audience profiles of companies. That sounds boring but you can have a lot of fun searching YouGovProfiles for more information about things you care about. Of course, this is only about British people who have a special interest.

For example, you can search for British people who have an interest in the USA. The profiles of all these people are then combined. You can see what differentiates Britsh people in categories as lifestyle, personality, brands, entertainment, online presence and media.

10 Of The World's Most Radical Recycling Projects

image credit: Madolan Greene

In our modern throwaway society, many perfectly good materials end up sitting in a landfill while new materials are constantly created and used in their place. Some creative green builders, artists, scientists and other innovators are turning the tables on that trend, gathering up all the discarded odds and ends they can find to create stunning homes, temples, sculpture and even fuel.

Here are 10 examples of incredibly creative recycling projects that convert ordinary objects into art and transform trash into something far more useful.

Odessa Trams

Trams are one of the basic types of public transportation in the city of Odessa, Ukraine. Odessa is served by 19 regular, and 5 non-regular, tram routes. But the state of those tram routes is abominable, as you can see in the video.



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(thanks Cora)

8 Celebrity Chefs Of Yesteryear

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Since American chef Julia Child created and began hosting the television cooking show The French Chef in 1963, making finer fare more accessible and feasible for the general public, it seems as if the celebrity chef has been a staple of pop culture.

But before Anthony Bourdain and Tom Colicchio, before Martha Stewart and Lidia Bastianich, and even before Julia Child, how did cooks become chefs and how did chefs become famous? Who exactly were the first 'celebrity chefs?'

The Saguaro Cactus And Its Greedy Guests

image credit: Geoff Gallice

The Saguaro cactus, found in Mexico, Arizona and some parts of California is a giant among its type, growing to the size of a tree. It also gets a number of greedy house guests during its life time.

The desert isn't a place that you might normally associate with teeming life. The saguaro manages to survive in extremely harsh climates and, wherever it lives animals are to be found. Some even manage to make the enormous cactus their home.

Take Me Home

In a cold, dark dog shelter, a young beagle is waiting for the right one to take him home. Time passes by and the beagle is getting desperate. Until one day, when hope finally shines upon him. He has to do everything he can to leave the place.



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(thanks Cora)

Hari-Kuyo - Japan's Unique Memorial Service For Broken Needles

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Hari-Kuyo is a Japanese festival dedicated to old and broken needles. This festival sees hundreds of women dressed in colorful kimonos, gathering at various Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples in and around Tokyo.

This 400-year-old ritual involves sticking old and broken needles into soft chunks of tofu or jelly as a way of showing thanks for their hard work. It's not just about needles, several Japanese women consider Hari-Kuyo as a time to value the small, everyday objects of daily life that are otherwise forgotten.

Colorful South American Buses

image credit: Chris

Here is a smorgasbord of various interesting buses and truck-conversions from different countries in South America, most of them using standard production models from the 1960s and 1970s - just wildly embellished and decorated. If you are braving some of the riskiest roads, you might as well have a colorful ride!

World-Record Truck Jump By EMC And Lotus F1 Team

A giant Renault semi-truck jumps over a speeding Formula 1 car. A publicity stunt by the Lotus Formula 1 team and one of their sponsors, IT company EMC. They set a new world record of 83 feet and 7 inches (25.47 meters).



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(thanks Cora)

Mysterious Shrimp May Hold Keys To Alien Life

According to exobiologists at NASA, a mysterious shrimp and its symbiotic bacterium may hold clues about what life could be like on other planetary bodies. It's life that may be similar - at the basic level - to what could be lurking in the oceans of Europa, deep under the icy crust of the Jupiter moon.

26 Pictures Will Make You Re-Evaluate Your Entire Existence

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The universe, man... the universe is scary!

Sausage

This retro animation introduces us to two artisan stallholders who's idyllic world is invaded by a devious fast-food vendor. The ferocious turf war that follows provokes life changing events that result in one deliciously sourcey discovery.



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(thanks Cora)

High-Pitched Screams

(via Bad Newspaper)

Ten Things You Might Not Know About Space

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Astronomy provides a fascinating and even downright astonishing view of the universe. Here are 10 oddities and misconceptions about space that you may - or may not - have heard before.

Riverdance In A Caravan

Scene from British sitcom Father Ted in which Father Noel Furlong (portrayed by Graham Norton) does a riverdance in a caravan.



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(thanks Cora)

Germany's Longest Word Has Officially Ceased To Exist

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Germany's longest word - Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz - a 63-letter long title of a law regulating the testing of beef, has officially ceased to exist.

The law was considered a legitimate word by linguists because it appears in official texts, but it never actually appeared in the dictionaries, because compilers of the standard German dictionary judge words for inclusion based on their frequency of use.

(via Neatorama)

The Best Corn Maze Ever Has Lost People Calling 911

What should have been an a-maze-ing fall activity had some California residents calling police. The largest corn maze in the world - in Dixon, California, USA - is no laughing matter to Dixon county deputies who had to respond to constant emergency calls from people stuck in the labyrinth.

Matt Cooley, the owner of the maze, suggests that next year people should grab a map before heading in.

Toronto Zoo Giant Panda Tumbles In The Snow

During this week's snowfall, cameras caught giant panda Da Mao 'bear-bogganing' in his outdoor exhibit. Perhaps he's discovered a new winter sport?



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23 Maps And Charts On Language

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'The limits of my language,' the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once posited, 'mean the limits of my world.' Explaining everything within the limits of the world is probably too ambitious a goal. But here are 23 maps and charts that can hopefully illuminate small aspects of how we manage to communicate with one another.

Superman On The Screen Over The Years

image credit: Jason Csizmadi

Born on the planet Krypton and adopted by Earth. First introduced in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), Superman has gone on to become a character the whole world knows.

Superman has been starring on TV and in the movies since 1948. We have had a chance to watch the evolution of Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent. Here is a list of the actor who played Superman/Clark Kent from the beginning.

The Beginner's Guide To #GivingTuesday

You probably know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday - but you might not know about #GivingTuesday. On Tuesday, December 2nd, millions will come together around the world for one common purpose: to celebrate the power of giving.

This year, Tiny Prints will give back by partnering with Baby2Baby to help distribute 3,000 new cribs to families that need them. How will you contribute? Learn how to get involved with The Beginner's Guide to #GivingTuesday.

(thanks Julissa)

The Chemistry Of Cats

They are seemingly the most popular thing on the Internet, the subject of millions of videos and hundreds of memes: Cats. Here are some answers to some of the biggest kitty questions out there: Why does catnip make most cats go crazy? How does kitty litter clump? And what does it mean when your cat rubs against your leg? It all comes down to some key 'meow-lecules'.



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(thanks Cora)

100 Objects That Have Been Sent Into Space

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Space is already full of cultural artifacts and bric-a-brac from space missions over the past six decades. Lego, pizza, a lightsaber, Buzz Lightyear, a Chuck Berry record and the remains of Star Trek's Gene Rodenberry are among this list of 100 objects waiting for aliens to find in space.

10 Of The Most Remote Places On Earth Where People Actually Live

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In a time that many of us take internet access, a mobile phone signal and cable TV for granted, it's easy to forget that there's still a number of remote corners in the world where people still have limited comforts like electricity. For some, the problems of daily life are still more closely related to survival than to comforts.

How To Pronounce Worcestershire Sauce?

Worcestershire sauce is pronounced 'Woostershur sauce.' In this video, Italian chef Pasquale Sciarappa struggles with the pronunciation of the name for this fermented liquid condiment.



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The Top 10 Words Invented By Writers

image credit: Mike Mozart

Authorisms - neologisms coined by authors which have entered the wider language - have been enriching English for centuries. From Shakespeare to Joseph Heller, American freelance writer Paul Dickson selects the top 10 words invented by writers.

The United States Of Thanksgiving

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The New York Times scoured the USA for recipes for Thanksgiving that evoke each of the 50 states (and D.C. and Puerto Rico). Here are their picks for the feast.

(via Miss Cellania)

Timelapse Building Two Production Platforms And Jackets

GDF SUEZ E&P Nederland released a timelapse video of the construction of two gigantic gas oil production platforms and their jackets. The platforms were made in the yardfacilities of HSM offshore in Schiedam, the Netherlands. The platforms are already in use in the North Sea.



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(thanks Cora)

Top 10 Most Offensively Decadent Homes In The World

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For some an extension to the rear of the house or some decking will suffice. For others a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room are the stuff dreams are made of. Then there are those select, wealthy few, who have insatiable desires for glamour and decadence.

We're talking gold gilded toilet seats, marble floors throughout, elevators and live-in staff.
Here are the top 10 most offensively decadent homes in the world.

15 Unique And Cool Wedding Rings

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Wedding rings don't have to be boring bands, or regular old solitaires. No, wedding bands can be a reflection of your personality, even if your personality is extremely annoying.
Check out these 15 unique and cool wedding rings.

The Evolutionary Reason Why We Love Sitting By A Crackling Fire

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Relaxing in front of a crackling fire is one of the most enjoyable ways to spend a cold winter evening. And now scientists know why. Watching a fire lowers blood pressure, according to new University of Alabama research. Our enjoyment of gazing at fire may be rooted in evolution, as the act of gathering around a fire dates back to prehistoric times.

The researchers found an average of a 5% decrease in blood pressure among participants who watched the fire with sound. The longer they watched the fire, the more relaxed they became.

Matryomin Ensemble 'Da' Plays Symphony No.9

The Matryomin is a single-antenna Theremin-type device mounted inside a Matryoshka doll. The Matryomin Ensemble 'Da' (consisting of 167 members) plays Beethoven's Symphony No.9 Boogie Woogie style. Recorded at the auditorium of Jiyugakuen Myonichikan in Tokyo.



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(via Everlasting Blort)

Why Do Dogs Bark?

That explains it!

(via Bad Newspaper)

10 Spectacular Radio Telescopes Around The World

image credit: Charles

Radio telescopes can be found the world over. They are used in radio astronomy, the science of studying celestial objects such as galaxies and stars as well as more difficult to understand phenomena such as Masers and Pulsars.

They also collect and track data from space probes and satellites that we have shot up in to the atmosphere and space. Here are some of the more significant and - in terms of design - beautiful radio telescopes in the world.

Miasmatic

Can you really imagine an empty London? What if a dramatic sudden epidemic occurred?



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(thanks Cora)

The Oxford Dictionaries Word Of The Year Is... Vape

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As 2014 draws to a close, it's time to look back and see which words have been significant throughout the past twelve months. The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2014 is... vape.

Vape originated as an abbreviation of vapour or vaporize. The OxfordDictionaries.com definition was added in August 2014: the verb means 'to inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device,' while both the device and the action can also be known as a vape.

A Tiny Hamster Thanksgiving

A tiny hamster celebrates Thanksgiving with his friends including a fluffly rabbit, a rat, another hamster, and the return of his best friend Farley.



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The Moscow Metro Has Some Beautiful Stations

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The Moscow Metro has 195 stations and its route length is 325.4 km (202.2 mi). Opened in 1935 with one 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union.

The Moscow Metro is the busiest metro system outside of Asia, the world's busiest by daily ridership and the 6th longest in the world. Of those 195 stations many have interesting architecture and design that reflect the era they were built in.

The Sand Bubbler Crab

Sand bubbler crabs are small crabs (the size of a fingernail) that live on sandy beaches in the tropical Indo-Pacific. During the low tide, they form inflated sand pellets that are disintegrated by the incoming high tide.



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(thanks Cora)

Gondar: The Camelot Of Africa

image credit: Achilli Family

When pre-twentieth century Africa is studied in schools it is the slave trade, its awful consequences and the later colonial Scramble for Africa of the nineteenth century which tend to attract the focus of both teachers and students.

Often overlooked is the only country which successfully resisted European incursion and retained its own sovereignty: Ethiopia. Perhaps its late twentieth century tragedies of famine and attendant local and civil wars do little to persuade the casual historian to look further in to its past.

The 110 Year-Old Light Bulb That's Never Been Turned Off

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The oldest lightbulb in continuous use was installed before the Wright Brothers took flight, is 110 years old, and is still as beautiful as the day she was born. In fact, it's likely the oldest electrical device in continuous use period.

In 1901, the Fire Department Hose Cart House in Livermore, California, installed a new modern technological marvel, one of the first electric carbon lightbulbs in town and invited anyone curious to stop by and witness this new invention.

The Sad Fates Of The World's Six Tallest Unfinished Buildings

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Building a house is stressful. Building a skyscraper is a nuclear bomb of stress, problems, and carefully-coordinated chaos that is closely tied to the economy, and that is easily derailed by war, politics, and financial downturns.

It's not an uncommon story. There are plenty of super-tall buildings that were proposed but never made it through to reality. Recently, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat looked at a unique subset of these failed projects that are especially interesting: Super-tall buildings that actually did begin construction, but were never completed.

Jingle Bellies

Kmart and Joe Boxer men's sleepwear present an amazing musical performance... on these lovable men's bellies.



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Top 10 Absurd Overreactions By Schools

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School rules are sometimes hilarious and sometimes extreme. What about a school that bans Christmas cards because they could lead to hurt feelings. Or a school that bans Birthday cakes. Or a school that bans hugging and handshakes to prevent violence.

Here are 10 Absurd Overreactions By Schools.