Thursday 30 April 2015

Buzz And The Dandelions

Buzz is the son of Tom Fletcher, the lead singer and guitarist for the English pop band, McFly. Watch him laugh as his Dad blows on dandelions.



YouTube link

(via Twisted Sifter)

10 Awesomely Disorienting Upside-Down Houses

image credit: Pascal Willuhn

They look like something created by magic, seemingly defying all sense. Perhaps an unbelievably powerful tornado has flipped them onto their roofs - but that still doesn't quite explain the lack of detritus and damage to their often incredibly detailed facades.

In fact, of course, no mysterious means or natural disasters were responsible for bringing these ten stunning upside-down houses into being - just a healthy dose of imagination and considerable design and construction skills.

A Fake Arm Selfie Stick Only Makes You Look Less Sad In Photographs


They're being banned from museums, art galleries, and sporting events faster than people can buy them, but that's OK because selfie sticks are awful and deserve to disappear.

However, designers Justin Crowe and Aric Snee may have found a way to redeem them with a selfie stick that looks like a human arm so a self-shot can help hide someones crushing loneliness.

How The Tea Bag Was Invented

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Contrary to popular belief (and what every single tea manufacturer says on their websites), it was not tea merchant Thomas Sullivan who invented the tea bag in 1908.

While he did (probably independently, given his reported design was quite inferior to the original) invent a tea bag that year, he was beat out by about seven years by Roberta C. Lawson and Mary Molaren of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Progress Eagle: Solar Powered Quantum Airplane

The Progress Eagle is a gigantic concept airliner by designer Oscar ViƱals. It's an amazing air transit behemoth, with solar panels and a giant wind turbine. The Progress Eagle is meant to be large enough to carry 800 passengers and has a 314-foot wingspan.



YouTube link

(via Popular Science)

The User Is Drunk

Richard Littauer is a UX designer who will review your website while drunk. He says: Your website should be so simple, a drunk person could use it. I'll get very drunk, and then review your website. I'll send you a document outlining where I thought the website needed help, and a screencast of me going over the website.

It's going to cost you $500 to let Richard review your site. As for the drinking, he says: I intend to drink responsibly. I have close friends checking in with me regularly to make sure this doesn't become a problem. I'll do this once or twice a week, and limit the number of clients.

Top 10 Most Populated Cities In The World

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Many thousands of years ago, when humanity was still in the hunter-gatherer phase, people started realizing the advantages of banding together and forming villages. Over time the rural populations of the world joined together against their common enemies: wild animals, famine, extreme weather - and the concept of urbanization was formed.

The world's population quickly started moving from a rural to an urban way of life, and by 2008 about half the world's population was living in cities. Already this trend has formed many mega-cities with populations over 10 million people.

Wednesday 29 April 2015

Drones Over The Serengeti

The Serengeti is a geographical region in Africa. It is located in north Tanzania and extends to south-western Kenya. Take a flight with a drone over the Serengeti as well as Lake Manyara and the Ngorongro Crater.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

Why We Want Food So Much It Hurts

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Be it chocolate, cheese or chip shop curry, craving a favourite food is something we've all experienced. Why do our bodies suffer such serious pangs?

The Science Of The Avengers

Science fans, assemble! The world's top superhero team is back to save the world in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron.' And these superheroes use some super science to help them keep the bad guys in check. Reactions looks at the chemistry of the Avengers, including Tony Stark's suit, Captain America's shield and Black Widow's super-fast healing.



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(thanks Elaine)

Bizarre Jurassic Dinosaur Discovered In Remarkable New Find


Fossil hunters in Chile have unearthed the remains of a bizarre Jurassic dinosaur that combined a curious mixture of features from different prehistoric animals. The evolutionary muddle of a beast grew to the size of a small horse and was the most abundant animal to be found 145 million years ago.

The discovery ranks as one of the most remarkable dinosaur finds of the past 20 years, and promises to cause plenty of headaches for paleontologists hoping to place the animal in the dinosaur family tree.

The Jelly Film

Photographer Jenny van Sommers and chef duo Bompas & Parr serve up a visual feast in a tribute to jelly, featuring music by Social Skills.



Vimeo link

(thanks Lee)

5 'Unhealthy' Foods We Got All Wrong

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Remember when eggs were bad for us before they were good for us? Or when certain heart disease was the devil's bargain we made for loving a good cheeseburger? You may be excused for the vertigo you experience from all the flip-flops, twists and turns written over the years about the goodness or badness of any number of foods.

For all of the 'scientific' studies of nutrition and health, the bottom line is that we know something about the food we eat. But truthfully, the science behind what we ingest and how it affects our health is in its infancy.

The Submerged Bridge Over Biel Water In Belhaven Bay

image credit: Martin Burns

The Biel Water is a small river running through the village of Biel to the south of Dunbar, in Scotland. Just before it empties into the North Sea, the river flows under a short footbridge. At low tide, it's possible to walk over the bridge, crossing the stream and onto sands that lay beyond.

However, when the tide comes in, the bridge gets submerged and appears to be stranded in the middle of the sea serving no obvious purpose to surprised onlookers.

Tuesday 28 April 2015

Hearing Hands

To promote their video call center for people with hearing problems, Samsung Turkey came up with a heartwarming stunt and caught it all on camera to create this wonderful ad. The video shows a day in the life of Muharrem, a regular, likeable fellow who has a hearing loss.

As he goes about his daily routine, Muharrem is pleasantly surprised to see strangers around him using sign language to communicate with him and make his day easier. When he finds out why and how, the reactions are priceless.



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The Slate Reincarnation Machine


Who might you have been in a past life? To help you find out, Slate scraped tens of thousands of people from Wikipedia and built the Reincarnation Machine. Type in your birth date, and the machine will match you to somebody who died on your birth date or close to it.

Then, it will match that person to somebody who died close to his or her birth date, and so on through history. Were you Elvis Presley? Lyndon Johnson? A Welsh stage actress? Type your birth date to find out.

Teenager In The 90s? Guess The Legendary Movies From These Quotes


Elvis has left the building. Get busy living, or get busy dying. I don't ever remember feeling this awake. To infinity and beyond! These are famous quotes I'm sure you've heard before. But do you know in what movie these words were said?

Take this quiz and find out how many famous quotes you can link to the right movie. I had 19 out of 29 movie quotes right.

(thanks Izzy)

Smell-O-Vision: That Movie Really Did Stink!

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Hollywood has produced a lot of bad movies over the years, but most of the time when we say we saw a real 'stinker,' we don't mean it literally. Most of the time.
Behold the wonder of Smell-O-Vision.

Lucero Tena

Marƭa de la Luz Tena Ɓlvarez, better known as Lucero Tena, is a Mexican castanet performer and considered the best in the world.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

What Makes Moms Awesome?


What makes mothers great? Is it their unwavering work ethic? Their inspiring attitude and advice? Or because, no mater what, they seem to always have your back. To celebrate Mother's Day, Personal Creations asked how much people cherish their mothers. Turns out, they can be bread winners, hard workers and even our best friends.

Not to mention the inspiring mothers who push themselves (and ourselves) to be the very best. So thank you Mom, for always being awesome, and Happy Mother's Day to all 85 million moms out there!

(thanks Julissa)

8 Towns That Are Numbered

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Towns with strange names are an opportunity to peek into the past to determine where those names come from. It's also a window into the many marvelous places in the United States, as each community has a story to tell.

Here are the stories behind the names of 8 communities named after numbers.

(via Miss Cellania)

Monday 27 April 2015

Texting Hat

Introducing the Texting Hat, the latest in multitasking fashionable wear. Bringing eye contact back into the 21st century.



Vimeo link

Like Holding Ice


(via Bad Newspaper)

7 Unexplained Mysteries That Humanity Has Yet To Solve

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In today's age of technology and innovation, it would seem that all the great mysteries have already been deciphered, but in fact there's still a lot we don't know. From mysteries in the ocean's depths, to incredible and awe-inspiring holes in the ground, there's still a lot humanity has not yet uncovered about our world.

The Face Of Litter


Ad agency Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong created a very creepy Earth Day campaign for the Hong Kong CleanUp Initiative. The agency tapped Parabon NanoLabs to do DNA testing on bits of trash found on the street, such as coffee cups and cigarette butts. The company then used Snapshot DNA phenotyping to produce a sketch of each litterer's face based on the DNA sample found on the trash.

The mug shots were featured on posters near the trash-infested areas. The portraits weren't of real people, just reproductions shaped according to the genetic data, the agency is hoping that the 'Wanted'-style ads are enough of a deterrent to make people clean up after themselves.

Colosse - A Wood Tale

Meet Colosse, Yves Geleyn's sweet 30-foot child. Now, Colosse isn't your ordinary child; he just so happens to be a very tall, wood robot puppet who doesn't know his own strength, much less what his strings are up to.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

The Strange And Beautiful Buildings Of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

image credit: Jose Palacio

Conventional travelers would typically recommend mainstream international destinations that are home to popular historical landmarks, monuments, mountains, and cities. But it is always refreshing to deviate from the beaten path and visit a place that may not be as popular, but may be just as magical.

Little known destinations offer uncrowded streets and unspoiled beauty. And speaking of unusual destinations, you may not be completely familiar with the unusual yet best destinations found in the city of Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.

Sunday 26 April 2015

Oldest Footage Of London Ever

This is the oldest footage of London ever. Includes amazing old footage from between 1890 and 1920, plus modern shots of the same location today. Also features maps carefully researched to show where the camera was. Arranged by location, 46 shots of classic footage with a twist and an inspiring soundtrack.



YouTube link

(via Laughing Squid)

Chan Chan: World's Largest Adobe City

image credit: Beatrice Murch

Located near the Pacific coast in the Peruvian region of La Libertad, Chan Chan was the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America and the largest earthen architecture city in the world. The city itself was built around 850 CE and lasted until its conquest by the Inca Empire in 1470.

At the height of the ChimĆŗ empire, Chan Chan housed an estimated 60,000 inhabitants. The city had nine large rectangular citadels surrounded by thick earthen walls 30 to 60 feet high. Within these units, were thousands of buildings including temples, residences, storehouses are arranged around open spaces, together with reservoirs, and funeral platforms.

The Stories Behind The World's Most Famous City Nicknames


Why is New York called 'The Big Apple?' Or London 'The Old Smoke,' Amsterdam 'Venice of the North' and Las Vegas 'Sin City?'

Some nicknames refer to the ancient heritage of the city, some refer to the industry found in the city, some refer to the cities’ environment – there are a variety of reasons these cities have earned their unique monikers.

(thanks Cora)

Man Rides 15-Foot Bike Through San Francisco

Dreams are never stupid, but as Richie Trimble proved on the streets of San Francisco, sometimes they are Stoopid Tall. Watch him ride his 15-foot bike across the Golden Gate Bridge.



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(thanks Cora)

Slime Mold - Alien Landscapes On Earth

image credit: Pierre Pouliquin

Just the thought of mold is something that makes many people involuntarily shudder. Yet there is more to it than meets the eye. Up close we are witness to an enigmatic and beautiful alien world on our own doorstep.

You Can Sleep In the Old Hydroelectric Plant In the Middle of This Lake

image credit: faba-y

In 1995, the hydroelectric power plant on the shores of this Tasmanian lake went dark for the final time. It’s remained silent for 20 years since—until this year, when it re-opened with a radically different business model: A hotel.

Saturday 25 April 2015

Cleaned Out

After years of cleaning them out of house and home, a loving son gives mum and dad a bit of extra room. A Hertz Van Rental advertisement.



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100 Years Of Movie Set Locations


The set locations of the top 2000 films from 1910 to 2010 fed into Google Maps. The map starts zoomed out to get the big picture, but zoom in, click on each marker for more information, and enjoy exploring for yourself.

'Kinetoscope,' A 360-Degree Mural Inside An Abandoned Water Tank

image credit YouTube

Kinetoscope is a 360-degree mural on the interior of an abandoned water tank in Slab City, California. The mural features a female figure presented in multiple 'frames' in the style of the photographic motion studies of Eadweard Muybridge. The mural was created by artists Christina Angelina and Ease One.

Chair Traverse

Art Cormier, owner of the rock climbing gym Rok Haus in Lafayette, Louisiana, demonstrates how to perform the 'chair traverse.' Cormier, who is in his late 50s, proves he's as fit as ever with this feat of strength and stamina.



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(thanks Cora)

Women In Medicine: 5 Firsts In Their Nations

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Dorothea Erxleben was a very early feminist who became the first woman medical doctor in Germany. She was awarded a medical degree from the University of Halle in 1754. The University didn't graduate another woman doctor until 1901.

Meet some pioneers who were the first women doctors in their countries.

The Best Souvenirs To Bring Home From 19 Countries Around The World

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Travelers always want to bring home something that will remind them of their trip - but many often get stuck buying cheap knick knacks from tourist traps.

To avoid getting something you'll only throw away in a few months, here's a list of some authentic items you should buy when abroad. Forget keychains and mini Eiffel Tower sculptures, here are the best things to bring home from 19 countries around the world.

Friday 24 April 2015

Cinnamon: Harvesting Cassia In The Jungles Of Sumatra

One of the most beloved spices in the world, cinnamon is actually the dried and curled up inner bark of trees in the genus Cinnamomum. Cassia Cinnamon is one of those and the majority of it grows in the lush Kerenci Valley on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

It's a sustainable crop that has been harvested in more or less the same way for centuries. See how the inner bark of the tree is harvested and dried to form this incomparable spice loved around the world.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

What's My Starbucks Name?

Many people have complained about their name being misspelled on a Starbucks drink cup. If you've never been to a Starbucks and want to know how your name would appear on the cup, try this Starbucks Name Generator. This app is created by Bob's Burgers writer Justin Hook.

Well, it appears my Starbucks name is Jerried.

A Restaurant With Goats On The Roof

image credit: JanetandPhil

Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant and Butik is a family owned, casual dining restaurant in the village of Sister Bay in Door County, Wisconsin, USA. The restaurant is known for its authentic Swedish cuisine and Scandinavian experience, but it is more commonly known for its sod covered roof where goats graze.

Sod roofs or grass roofs are traditionally found in Scandinavian countries where the gently sloping wooden roof boards are covered with a layer of sod and grass, and is part of the Scandinavian experience Al Johnson's tries to deliver. The addition of goats give it a unique touch.

Top 10 Terrifying Prehistoric Sea Monsters

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The modern ocean is a scary place, filled with barracuda, sharks, and super-squids. However, no matter what we find in the depths these days, none of them seem to come close to the giant terrors that roamed the seas in Earth's past; giant sea-lizards, monster sharks and even 'hypercarnivorous' whales.

For most of these things, humans would barely qualify as a snack. Here are 10 of the scariest prehistoric sea monsters to ever call the ocean home in prehistory.

Dutch Skies

Timelapse video by photographer Stef Kwinten that shows the beauty of the Netherlands.



Vimeo link

Cheeky 19th-Century 'Pickup Line' Calling Cards

image credit: SU Professional & Technical Writing

Calling cards (also know as Acquaintance cards and Introduction cards) were used in the United States during the 1870s and 1880s. They were used by the 'less formal male in approaches to the less formal female.'

We think of 19th century courtship as being impossibly straight-laced and buttoned-down, and certainly a printed card inquiring for permission to accompany a young miss to her door is consistent with that, but the eager men found plenty of ways to work clever jokes and insinuations into their calling cards.

8 Underground Rivers

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Rivers run underground all over the world. These occur naturally in cave systems, and have been known since antiquity, as evidenced in legendary myths of underground waterways such as the River Styx which forms the boundary between Earth and Hades.

But this is about subterranean rivers that were once open to the sunlight and were buried by human hands (or heavy machinery). This happens when cities are built overtop, when wetlands are drained, and when existing waterways are consolidated and hidden to give people and their infrastructures more room to grow or move.

(via Miss Cellania)

Thursday 23 April 2015

102-Year-Old Woman Sees Herself Dancing On Film For The First Time

Alice Barker was a chorus line dancer during the Harlem Renaissance of the the 1930s and 40s. She danced at clubs such as The Apollo, Cotton Club, and Zanzibar Club, with legends including Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly.

Although she danced in numerous movies, commercials and TV shows, she had never seen any of them. David Shuff got hold of the videos of her performing and showed them to her at her nursing home.



YouTube link

(via Neatorama)

Furore: An Italian Village Hidden In A Fjord

image credit: Antonio Salsano

Furore is a small village located in the Coast of Amalfi, in the province of Salerno in south-western Italy. The paths and stairs that led to the village were not visible from the coastline, so that Furore remained practically hidden to the passing traveller. This earned Furore the name of 'the village that doesn't exist.'

It was then the mayor decided it was time to put his tiny comune on the map. He ordered every house to be brightly painted so that they couldn't escape the sight of travellers passing down the road. This tradition is maintained till this date, by inviting artists from around the world every September to paint and decorate the local buildings of Furore with murals.

100 Objects That Have Been Sent Into Space

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Lego, a tandoori lamb chop, a lightsaber, a pizza, Buzz Lightyear, a Chuck Berry record and the remains of Star Trek's Gene Rodenberry are among this list of 100 objects waiting to be found by aliens in space.

Neanderthals May Have Died Off Because They Couldn't Harvest Fire

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Neanderthals may have died off because they failed to harness the power of fire to the extent their human cousins did, a new data analysis from Boston University suggests.

Using fire for cooking would have allowed these human relatives to get more calories from the same amount of food, thereby edging out the Neanderthal population. Over time, the anatomically modern human population would have risen, while the Neanderthal population plummeted toward extinction, according to the model.

Elevator Ride From One World Trade Center Shows Time Lapse Of New York Skyline

Tourists and locals alike have a hard time resisting the bird's-eye view a skyscraper observatory affords. But in lower Manhattan, where the World Trade Center towers once stood, views from on high will forever be tinged with mixed emotions.

The elevators to the observatory atop 1 World Trade Center show an animated time lapse that recreates the development of New York City's skyline, from the 1500s to today.



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(thanks Cora)

Relax, Let's Go Through A Car Wash

A meditative video experiment in an unlikely location. Sit back, relax, and just let it wash over you.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

The Most Accurate Clock Ever Built


Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado Boulder have a set a new record in accurate timekeeping, creating an atomic clock that won't lose or gain a second in 15 billion years - a time span greater than the estimated age of the Universe.

The atomic clock measures the oscillation of strontium atoms to create its 'tick,' and could one day become the standard for the world's official time. Currently, the official time is set using atomic clocks that measure the vibrational frequency of the element caesium, although these are only accurate in the region of one second in hundreds of millions of years.

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Dutch Flower Fields Near Keukenhof, The Netherlands, Drone Footage

Keukenhof (kitchen garden) in the Netherlands is the world's second largest flower garden. Approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted annually in the park, which covers an area of 79 acres.

Take a beautiful flight with a drone over the colorful flower fields. Filmed during a sunny spring day in april 2015 with a DJI Inspire drone in full HD. Tulips, hyacinths and other colorful flowers are lined up in long stretches across the Dutch fields.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

Full Service Hotel


(via Bad Newspaper)

Save Peru's Dolphins


BlueVoice, in partnership with Mundo Azul, has documented the brutal slaughter of up to 15,000 dolphins by Peruvian shark fishermen. Dolphins are harpooned when they come to ride the bow of the fishing boats then clubbed to death. The dolphin is cut into pieces for use as shark bait. The fins of the sharks taken are sold to Asia to make soup.

Love Animals.org has started a crowd funding site in order to raise money to try to stop the slaughter of dolphins for shark bait.

(thanks Hardy)

Google Brings Street View To Loch Ness


Google has uploaded some Street View images of Loch Ness in Scotland, above and below the surface. You can now explore the surface and dive underwater in the freshwater lake of Loch Ness.

Take in its haunting beauty, made darker still by the peat particles found in its waters, and let the rippling water, tricks of the light, and drifting logs bring the legend of Nessie to life.

Kite Fight

Soltar pipas (flying kites) is one of Brasil's most popular sport. In the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, flying the pipa is more than a leisurely escape from on-the-ground realities - it's a venue for battle, with the entire sky as the arena. Pipa designs and airborne strategies have been passed through generations, from rooftop to rooftop.



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In 1851, A Man Picked Two Unpickable Locks And Changed Security Forever

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The pursuit of lock picking is as old as the lock, which is itself as old as civilization. But in the entire history of the world, there was only one brief moment, lasting about 70 years, where you could put something under lock and key - a chest, a safe, your home - and have complete, unwavering certainty that no intruder could get to it.

But everything changed in the 1770s with the arrival of an inventor named Joseph Bramah to the English locksmithing scene. Joseph Bramah was a polymath engineer who would come to be known as one of the fathers of pneumatic power.

Parked Park: Taiwan's Greenest Parking Lot

image credit: Forgemind ArchiMedia

The CMP Block Museum of Arts in the West District of Taichung City, Taiwan, features a series of exhibitions throughout the year in its outdoor cultural creativity square. This exhibition shows 'green' vehicles sunk into the lawn, landscaped in a bid to merge 'art, aesthetics, and nature.'

Tuesday 21 April 2015

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Logo History

The history of Slats, Jackie, Telly, Coffee, Tanner, George, and Leo, the lions used in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's logo.



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Pigeon Towers: The Rise And Fall Of A 17th-Century Status Symbol

image credit: Varun Shiv Kapur

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the richest people across the United Kingdom and France built beautiful towers, just for pigeons. Known as dovecotes, pigeonniers, doocots, or colombiers, these buildings served as apartment blocks for hundreds of pigeons who were waiting to be eaten by members of the nobility.

Early 20th-century pigeon expert Arthur Cooke estimated that by the 1650s, there were 26,000 dovecotes in England alone. Though many dovecotes had similar designs, each had its own flair.

The World's Weirdest Libraries

image credit: David King

One would think there are only so many ways to interest people in checking out a book or just plopping down and cracking one open. Here are some of the more creative appraoches to this age-old tradition.

How To Make Giant Bubbles With Guar Gum



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(thanks Cora)

The Prettiest Space Quiz You'll Take Today

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It's the Hubble Space Telescope's 25th birthday on April 24. How much do you actually know about all those mesmerising pictures it has taken? Take this quiz and find out. I got 15 out of 18 right.

Dolphin Intelligence: It's Time For A Conversation

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Hector and Han are bottlenose dolphins at the RoatƔn Institute for Marine Sciences. When head trainer Teri Turner Bolton gives the two dolphins a command, they do it in unison.

But is one dolphin mimicking the other so quickly and precisely that the apparent coordination is only an illusion? Or it's not an illusion at all: When they whistle back and forth they're literally discussing a plan.

Every Tree In New York City, Mapped By Species


New York City is about as urban as urban gets, but even concrete jungles harbor leafy life. At last count, there were 592,130 trees in the Big Apple, and thanks to the efforts of Brooklyn-based designer Jill Hubley, you can now study them all in a colorful interactive map.

The map, which shows the distribution of trees, color-coded by species, throughout New York City's five boroughs, was created using 2005 tree census data. Zoomed all the way out, the technicolor blur looks like a vivid star cluster in deep space.

Monday 20 April 2015

Elk Hair Caddis

A father escapes his stressful life with his many tadpoles to his favourite hideout by the river. His peace and quiet is suddenly disturbed by his neighbour's attempt to catch the fish of his dreams.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

Can We Guess Your Level Of Education?

Answer 20 questions and this site determines the level of your actual knowledge. I took the quiz and I didn't find it too hard.


You enjoy academic settings, as they fit your balanced, self-aware personality. You are engaged in the entire scholarly experience, and always seek opportunities to enhance learning. You are hardworking, and won’t let any challenge stop you from achieving the best grades possible. Good for you, Professor.

Can We Guess Your Level Of Education?

(thanks Malcolm

Something


(via Bad Newspaper)

Vincent Van Gogh's 'The Starry Night'

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In June 1889, while in France, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh painted 'The Starry Night.' A painting you’ve probably seen 100 times before. But in order to truly see and appreciate this masterpiece, you have to be able to look at it with a fresh eye.

Can you forget about the famous artist behind it and the stories you've heard about his life? Can you forget that you're looking at a work of art that's valued at well over $10 million? Can you forget that you're viewing one of the most famous paintings in the world?

Scenic Tours Rebrand Launch

Animation studio The Magnificent Itch from Australia made a beautiful animation short for the rebrand launch of tour operator Scenic Tours.



Vimeo link

(thanks Stefan)

Vintage Drum Kits From The 1920s And 1930s


Lengthy article by Samm Bennett about the early drum kits. They were very creative assemblages that generally included Chinese tack head tom toms, wood blocks, China-type cymbals, the 'low boys' or 'sock cymbals' that preceded the modern hi-hat. And of course the big bass drums and snare drums on their spindly little stands.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Black On Black

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Should we consider black a colour, the absence of colour or a suspension of vision produced by a deprivation of light? Beginning with Robert Fludd's attempt to picture nothingness, here's a reflection on some of the ways in which blackness has been used and thought about through the history of art and philosophical thought.

Sunday 19 April 2015

NASA's Modular Robotic Vehicle

Modular Robotic Vehicle created by NASA at the Johnson Space Center.



YouTube link

The Humble Sources Of 10 Major Rivers

image credit: matt northam

The source of a river, defined as the furthest place in that river from its estuary or confluence with another river, is an elusive concept. In many cases, it's impossible to pinpoint the exact location from where a river begins, because a river has many sources.

It often starts as a small stream but as it flows towards the sea or a lake or another river, the humble stream gathers water from numerous sources such as underground springs, rainwater, bogs, marshes and lakes and becomes a mighty river.