Ferrets Playing In Packing Peanuts

Two ferrets called Simon and Garfunkel are playing in packing peanuts for the first time.



YouTube link

(via Miss Cellania)

The Presurfer/Neatorama Give-Away Winners

The Neatorama/Presurfer T-shirt give-away has ended. With the help of a True Random Number Service we picked 6 winners. They are Francesca, Joe, Jennifer, Rik, Drew and Dorota.

The winners have already been contacted by email. Congratulations. Thank you for participating and I'm sorry if you didn't win. Better luck next time.

The Strange Sarcophagi Of The Chachapoya

image credit: Nick Leonard cc

By the time the Spanish arrived in Peru at the beginning of the 16th Century the Chachapoya people had already been subsumed in to the great Inca Empire.

Although they had resisted the Incas fiercely, the lands of these Warriors of the Clouds, as they were known, had been annexed and had been forced to adopt the customs and culture of their conquerors. Yet they left one thing behind - the strange sarcophagi in which they would bury their dead.

Speak Cher

Cher has a special way of typing her tweets on Twitter. She uses incorrect capitalization, misplaced punctuation marks, misplaced series of dots etc.

With 'Speak Cher' you can do that too. Type in plain English and receive a translation into Cher. If you get a bunch of white boxes at the end of a line, it's because neither your computer nor browser can display emoji.

(via Bits & Pieces)

Knights Vs Snails. What's It About?

image credit The British Library

Recently a group of people working at the British Library went into their manuscripts store to have a look at some medieval genealogical rolls. They were examining an English roll from the last part of the 13th century which contains quite a lot of marginalia (scribbles, comments and illuminations in the margins of a book).

As anyone who is familiar with 13th and 14th century illuminated manuscripts can attest, images of armed knights fighting snails are common. Why is that? What do these images mean?

A Paint Kit For Cats

Does your cat like to paint? Of course they do. Every cat likes to paint. 'A Paint Kit for Cats' by Kitty-Casso is the original and world's first no-mess, non-toxic paint kit for pets. Its patented system allows your cat to create a masterpeice.

It's a unique pet gift that will make a one of a kind masterpiece for you or the pet lover in your life. Unleash their inner artist and stimulate your pet with his/her one-of-a-kind artwork.

(thanks Cora)

Monday Puzzle

The Presurfer, in cooperation with pzzlr.com, brings you a puzzle every Monday. Just to tickle your brain.

image credit: James Michael DuPont cc

Having a practice run for Halloween, three little ghosts are going along in single file. The first ghost says 'There's a ghost behind me.' The second ghost says 'There's also a ghost behind me.' And the third ghost says 'Yep, there's a ghost behind me, too.' How is this possible?

You can find the answer here.

World's First Camping Trailer Hotel

image credit: Steve Pain cc

Base Camp Bonn Young Hostel is the world's first camping trailer and Pullman coach hostel in Bonn, Germany. The hostel which was opened in August of this year in a former storage facility, consists of 15 various vintage camping caravans, two former railway Pullman coaches and four used U.S. Airstream trailers all with shared washrooms.

The prices of the 120 beds in the 1600 square meter indoor complex range from 22 to 69 euros ($30 to $93) per night. Each trailer was individually designed by film and TV outfitter Marion Seul.

(thanks Miss Rare)

The Presurfer/Neatorama Give-Away (Last Day)

To celebrate The Presurfer's birthday we again hooked up with Neatorama for a fantastic give-away. This time we're giving away 6 T-shirts. From geeky tees to attitude shirts to one-liners, Neatorama's NeatoShop has tons of T-shirts that are sure to turn heads and bring a smile to those around you.

Here's what you got to do. Go to NeatoShop's T-Shirt department and take a good look around. Then decide what T-shirt you want. Pick the shirt design, size and color. If needed, you can also pick what type of shirt you want (oversized or ladies fit).

After that, send an email with your choice to webmaster@presurfer.com
Remember, I need shirt design, size, color and whether you want it oversized or ladies fit.
The give-away runs from Tuesday 24 September until today, Sunday 29 September, 2013. Winners will be picked by a True Random Number Service and announced tomorrow, Monday 30 September.
Winners will be contacted by me and asked for their postal address.
Neatorama will send the prizes directly to the winners.

The Flaming Rocks Of Chimaera, Turkey

image credit: chrisbwah cc

Southwest of Antalya, near the town of Çıralı in southwestern Turkey, lies a rocky mountain that's been literally on fire. About a dozen flames burn on the side of the mountain fueled by methane gas that issue through the vents. The rocks have been burning for at least 2500 years.

Sailors could see the flames from sea and used them as a landmark to navigate, but today they are more often used by hikers to brew tea.

(via Neatorama)

World's Strangest Motorcycles

image credit: Dagwald cc

Sometimes, motorcycle designers can get a little carried away. I'm not talking about solar-powered bikes, although some of them are oddly-shaped, but about the oversized ones and the very strange. Makes you wonder what the designers were thinking.

Mercedes-Benz: Magic Body Control

Mercedes-Benz presents 'Magic Body Control', the world's first suspension system with 'eyes.' To demonstrate, they use a chicken.



YouTube link

10 Astonishing Animals With No Eyes

image credit: H. Zell cc

What's so great about having eyes anyway? If these eyeless animals could talk, they'd tell you that vision is overrated. Each one of these ten incredible creatures has an amazing story to tell.

In the darkest environments, with nothing to go on but smell, touch and hearing, they manage to feed and reproduce, like blind super-beings with heightened remaining senses. Heres a look at ten amazing animals without eyes.

Teufelsberg: Abandoned Cold War Listening Station Built On An Artificial Hill

image credit: lunamtra cc

A remnant of the Cold War, Teufelsberg Listening Station stands deserted, abandoned to the ravages of time and vandals. Dominating Brandenburg Plain, in the northern section of Berlin's Grunewald Forest, the permanent station at Teufelsberg was constructed in 1963. Yet perhaps the most surprising fact is that the hill itself is less than twenty years older than the listening station that sits atop it.

Teufelsberg is an artificial hill with a curious history: It was heaped up after the Second World War from part of the rubble of Berlin, approximately 75,000,000 m3 (98,000,000 cu yd) all over the city, during the following twenty years as the city was cleared and rebuilt.

Box

Projection mapping is a projection technology used to turn objects into a display surface for video projection. By using specialized software, a two or three dimensional object is spatially mapped on the virtual program which mimics the real environment it is to be projected on.

Box explores the synthesis of real and digital space through projection mapping on moving surfaces. The short film documents a live performance, captured entirely in camera.



YouTube link

The Art Of Hay Sculpture

image credit: Sherburne Memorial Library cc

Farmers and those with access to plenty of room and lots of hay have fun building large sculptures for the amusement of others. Here are just a few of those artful bales.

Live Out A Movie Scene Via Secret Cinema

image credit: Dan Cunningham cc

Secret Cinema is an organisation that stages cinema events, selling tickets to audiences without them knowing what film they are about to see. Events incorporate theatre, live music and food with the aim of recreating the setting of the film to be screened.

Upon signing up to Secret Cinema, guests will receive a cryptic email containing clues about which movie will be shown, as well as directions on where the event will take place and what clothes to wear. Once they arrive at the venue, they'll find ordinary buildings and sites transformed into an amazing, interactive movie set.

(thanks Nikita)

How The Sagrada Familia Will Look Like In 2026

The Sagrada Familia Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Though construction of Sagrada Família had commenced in 1882, Gaudí became involved in 1883, taking over the project and transforming it with his architectural and engineering style - combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms.

The church still isn't complete. But according to Jordi Faulí, the current architect on the magnificent life-sized sand castle, it'll be done by 2026. This is what it's going to look like.



YouTube link

(via Gizmodo)

10 Hero Lawyers Who Helped The Poor And Marginalized

Legal help can be so expensive that the innocent and needy are often forced to suffer because they cannot afford the help they need to legally maintain their rights.

But there is hope for those who cannot hire an expensive lawyer to win a case in their favor: pro bono lawyers across the country are fighting public interest and social justice cases to defend those who deserve but cannot afford adequate legal assistance. Here are ten heroic lawyers whose activism has changed both lives and laws.

Google Street View - CERN

CERN is the European particle physics laboratory based in the suburbs of Geneva where some of the world's best physicists and engineers are using advanced particle accelerators to help solve age old questions about the universe - What is is made of? How did it start?

CERN opened its doors to Google Maps Street View allowing anyone, anywhere in the world to take a peek into its laboratories, control centers and its myriad underground tunnels housing cutting-edge experiments.

How 8 Famous Writers Chose Their Pen Names

image credit

Ever heard of Charles Dodgson, Józef Korzeniowski, Ruth Crowley, or François-Marie Aroue? Some pen names are fairly well-known for what they are. Most people know that Mark Twain was the alias of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. The outing of Richard Bachman as a pen name used by Stephen King was well-publicized and inspired King's novel, The Dark Half.

Some pen names you don't see coming, though, and assume the name on the book cover is the real deal. Here are eight pen names used by famous writers.

Hoover Boys - Tulips From Amsterdam

Hoover Boys are the world's first vacuum cleaner band. Enjoy their newest recording, Tulips from Amsterdam. A beautiful waltz with 4 voices entirely played on vacuum cleaners.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

10 Amazing Foster Care Families

image credit

The foster care system has been long and harshly criticized for years now. While there are still multiple flaws that will continue to effect the lives of the children within it - and those trying to foster and adopt without it - it is undeniable that fostering has saved and positively changed innumerable lives.

Much of the credit for this is due to the hundreds of foster care families and parents who genuinely care about making a difference in the lives of children who desperately need love and affection, and dedicate their lives toward making sure they can help as many needy kids as possible. Here are 10 amazing foster care families whose work will not soon be forgotten by the those they touched.

Picture For Sale

What a bargain!

(via Bad Newspaper)

50 Shades Of Angela Merkel

image credit: Jan Strohdiek cc

She is Europe's most powerful woman, who has been described as 'the de facto leader of the European Union'. As leader of Germany, the continent's richest, most populous and most productive country, she has played a pivotal role in the negotiations for the future of the region's economy and polity.

It seems German Chancellor Angela Merkel also needs a wide range of smart, business-like jackets. These pictures of Mrs Merkel's multicoloured wardrobe have been collated by Dutch graphic designer Noortje van Eekelen and arranged into a chart rather similar to the famous Pantone colour chart.

via Bits & Pieces)

Tank

Tank is a short film by Nate Milton. It's about a boy named Malcolm, whose fish tank bears a connection to a secluded pond in the woods. When Malcolm discovers the pond, and the giant amphibian looming inside, he is made aware of his own connection to this world and becomes a part of it.



Vimeo link

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.

Google Doodle Celebrates 15 Years Of Search

Google is celebrating its 15th birthday with a piñata doodle appearing on its home page. Users hit a swinging piñata with a stick using the space bar to release sweets and earn points.

Popular Comic Books Get Mashed Up With Lamps

Charged with the power of electricity, lamps can brighten a room with a single bulb and dispel shadows from the darkest corners. There is nowhere to hide from the Power of the Light! But what would happen to our favorite comic heroes in a face-to-lamp showdown?

related posts:
A Lamp/Pop Culture Mashup
Popular Movie Posters Get Mashed Up With Lamps

(thanks Ross)

10 Spectacular Movable Bridges

image credit: Ian Britton cc

A movable bridge is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. An advantage of making bridges moveable is the lower cost, due to the absence of high piers and long approaches. The principal disadvantage is that the traffic on the bridge must be halted when it is opened for passages.

(thanks Bosko)

5 Surprising Things That Have Cow Parts In Them

image credit: Tomwsulcer cc

So, you're a vegan and you're mad that you can't drink Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte. Well, maybe you want to skip this post because your day ain't going to get much better. You see, almost everything in the world contains something made from animal parts and by-products.

Don't believe us? Here are 5 things in the world that you wouldn't believe are made from or contain animal by-products or use them in the manufacturing process.

Wild Sweden - Look In My Eyes

YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

Constitute

Constitute is a website launched by Google last Monday. On Constitute you can compare 160 constitutions from around the world. The people who write these important documents need to read and analyze texts from other places. Constitute offers access to the world's constitutions that users can systematically compare them across a broad set of topics.

Currently Constitute includes the constitution that was in force in September of 2013 for nearly every independent state in the world. Certain countries whose constitutional order consists of multiple documents, or whose constitutions are in transition, are temporarily omitted.

10 Successful American Businesses That Have Failed Overseas

image credit: Gerard Stolk cc

It's a big world out there and many of America’s biggest brands are eager to get their hands on a piece of it. But what works on the average American consumer doesn't always translate well in other countries.

Some have suffered defeats in a number of countries, while others couldn't make it work in very specific markets. Interestingly, many American behemoths struggled especially in China and other Asian markets, largely due to a lack of understanding of local demands and buying habits. Here are 10 American brands that struggled to make it abroad.

5 Places That Are Still On Fire

image credit: Scott Drzyzga cc

Living near an active volcano can make you nervous, but it's not the only fire down below. Coal is a long-burning mineral hidden underground that can ignite when the circumstances are right.

Those circumstances include contact with air, which happens when we try to take the coal out of the ground for our own purposes. Here are five coal seams that have been burning for a long time.

Dangerous U.S. Spider Bites Guide

An infographic with spider bite identification. It shows the physical characteristics of the spiders, where they can be found, the bite pain level, the skin damage level, the bite symptons and possible bite treatments.

Kinetic Sand

Kinetic Sand is a play toy made from 98% sand, and 2% Polydimethyl siloxane. Kinetic Sand never dries out. It leaves no residue and your hands stay clean.



YouTube link

The Incredible Dinosaur Wall Of Bolivia

image credit: Ramon Arellano cc

Some things appear where you least expect them. Although dinosaur tracks have been discovered the world over, climbing up a near vertical wall in a Bolivian quarry? Zooming up hundreds of feet towards the skies?

Yet here they are. Spread across a limestone slab a mile long and almost 300 feet high, this great wall at Cal Orcko near the city of Suvre reveals more than 5,000 footsteps, with 462 discrete trails.

Glove And Boots - Product Testing

From the Glove and Boots show. Mario and Fafa review stuff that has been seen on TV.



YouTube link

(via Miss Cellania)

The 10 Coolest Novelty Collectible Coins

Coin collecting, also known more broadly as numismatics, has been going on for thousands of years. In fact, there's evidence that it took place in Ancient Rome. So it's perhaps no surprise that, to appeal to this collectors' market, mints and treasuries around the world have started producing unusual coins in limited quantities.

These coins often feature unique properties and innovative touches not commonly associated with regular currency, which could increase a coin's desirability in the eyes of numismatists. Here are 10 examples of the coolest and most unusual coins in the world.

Rotating Moon From The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

A huge payoff from the longevity of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission is the repeat coverage obtained by the LROC Wide Angle Camera. This NASA video footage shows what the moon would look like as it rotates. The images are impossible to witness from Earth, because only one of the moon's faces ever points toward the planet.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

How The West Was Won

image credit: Ad Meskens cc

America's great westward expansion took place between 1807 and 1912. It took a lot of people with a lot of gumption to tame the Old West, but those adventuresome types wouldn't have stood a chance without some important enterprises and contraptions.

The Presurfer Is 13 Years Old

Today The Presurfer is 13 years old. What started as a personal link page in 2000 is still going strong. Not because of what I do, but because of what you do. You visit this site and some of you have been doing that for many years. Thank you for your loyalty. Also many thanks to all of you who contribute to The Presurfer by sending in links. You know who you are.

One of my favorite blogs, Everlasting Blort, was born on the same day. They are 13 years old today too. Please pay them a visit because without them, the Presurfer wouldn't be here at all.

Filmillion - The Movie Guessing Machine

In 1955 Leonard D. Bullock and John V. Sparks created their FilmBSEM-I. It contained 100 vacuum tubes, performed 1 search operation per second and weighed 1000 lb. In 1957 FilmBSEM-I was finalized, named Filmillion and installed in a cinema. Now, for a modest fee, movie enthusiasts could entertain themselves by making the machine guess the movie.

Now there's Filmillion online. Think about a movie. Answer up to 30 questions and Filmillion will guess the movie.

(via Look At This...)

10 Credible Mermaid Sightings? (+Videos)

image credit: chelseadaniele cc

Mermaids have been a subject of fascination for centuries. Cultures from all over the world, that had no contact with each other, have mermaids in their folklore, all with very similar descriptions. From these stories and modern movies everyone know what mermaids are, but few people have been able to provide evidence to testify to their existence.

Skeptics are many, but there are also those who believe. For those intrigued by the question of whether or not mermaids exist, here are a handfull of documented mermaid sightings - then decide what you believe.

Bande Démo Isabelle Dailly

Beautiful collection of nature pictures without music but with birds happily singing in the background.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

Marvel At Holland's Technicolor Tulip Fields

image credit: peter hessels cc

Arranged in perfectly neat rows along the northern countryside of the Netherlands in springtime are extraordinary flower fields that are just a treat to the eyes. More than 9 billion fresh, bulbous, and multicolored tulips spring up in neatly lined rows giving the countryside a splash of color like gamma pixels on a computer screen.

The Netherlands is world-famous for its tulip fields. Since its firs blossom emerged from Dutch soil in 1593, the tulip has become the country's most adored flora, top grossing export, and national symbol for the years to come. Billions of tulips are grown annually every year from March to May, and more than 60% of these flowers are exported worldwide, especially to the USA and Germany.

5 Fascinating Facts: Echidna

image credit: Ian Sanderson cc

Echidnas belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. The four species, together with the platypus, are the only mammals that lay eggs. The echidnas are named after a monster in ancient Greek mythology. They live in Australia and New Guinea.

The echidna is one of the strangest animals that exist on Earth today. And to celebrate this bit of mammalian weirdness, here are five fascinating facts about echidnas.

From The Presurfer's Office

Be sure to visit The Presurfer tomorrow because we have something to celebrate. You'll find out what it is by then (although most of you probably can figure it out).

What is also important is that in cooperation with Neatorama we're having a T-shirt give-away. So, visit The Presurfer tomorrow and 6 of you will have a chance to win a T-shirt of their choice.

Juggling Otter

An otter juggles with a stone at Sea Life Adventure Park in Oberhausen, Germany.



YouTube link

Has Johnny Cash Been Everywhere?

'I've Been Everywhere' is a song written by Geoff Mack in 1959, and made popular by the singer Lucky Starr in 1962. In 1966 Johnny Cash recorded the song. But has Johnny Cash really been everywhere.

Find out with this hack that uses Google Maps and shows the distance travelled by Johnny Cash. The site prefers Chrome, but it'll play on Firefox and IE also.

(via b3ta)

The Art Of The Romanian Haystack

image credit: Basil & Tracy Brooks cc

At this time of year the fields of the Romanian countryside are full of new haystacks. Over the centuries this particular method of haystack building has become more refined to the point where the haystacks of Romania have their own unique characteristics. Haystacks like this are found nowhere else on earth.

Journey Of Guitar Solo

Mark Sidney Johnson takes us through 28 famous guitar solos covering 50 years.



YouTube link

(via Neatorama)

Monday Puzzle

The Presurfer, in cooperation with pzzlr.com, brings you a puzzle every Monday. Just to tickle your brain.

image credit: David Trawin cc

Mrs Amanda Evans kindly agrees to help raise money for the new school by operating a cake stall at the local fete. She bakes a number of delicious cupcakes which all weigh the same. The fete organisers insist that Mrs Evans declare the weight of the cakes to potential customers.

This is problematic as the only scales she owns has one arm longer than the other. When she places 16 cakes in the left bowl and a 1kg weight in the right bowl, the scales are evenly balanced. They are also evenly balanced when she places 4 cakes in the right bowl and the 1 kg weight in the left bowl. How much does one cake weigh?

You can find the answer here.

Designs For Great Architectural Landmarks That Were Never Built

image credit The National Archives

If you're writing an alternate history, these would be the buildings you'd want to include. They're the discarded designs for famous landmarks. Imagine if the Lincoln Memorial were a pyramid! It almost was... (picture above) and these other buildings were almost dramatically different too.

The Lost World Of The London Coffeehouse

image credit: Malcolm Surgenor cc

In contrast to today's rather mundane spawn of coffeehouse chains, the London of the 17th and 18th century was home to an eclectic and thriving coffee drinking scene.

London's coffee craze began in 1652 when Pasqua Rosée, the Greek servant of a coffee-loving British Levant merchant, opened London's first coffeehouse (or rather, coffee shack) against the stone wall of St Michael's churchyard in a labyrinth of alleys off Cornhill.

Strange Vehicle

Vehicle spotted on the Samara-Orenburg highway in Russia. Any idea what it is?



YouTube link

Timeline Of The History Of The World Wide Web

image credit

Key dates, browsers, technologies and ideas in the history of the World Wide Web.

Castles And Mansions That Are Haunted By Tragic Ghosts

image credit: Carschten cc

Sometimes it's easy to understand how legends of hauntings get started. These towering, incredible castles and mansions look like they should contain spirits - and each one has a fantastic ghost story to go along with it.

The 'Terminator' Polymer: I'll Be Back

After slicing a tube of gelatinous material in half with a razor, researchers stick the two pieces back together again. After they've sat for two hours at room temperature, the pieces are impossible to pull apart. The material, a new invention, has healed itself.



YouTube link

(via Popsci)

Reusable Toilet Paper: Frugal Or Futile?

image credit

Most people are familiar with inventive reusable materials or items that can be repurposed; think bottles, pillow stuffing, curtains and even baby diapers. These products can not only help our bank balances but, particularly in the case of diapers, the environment as well. However, there's one hot topic that divides people just like the 'over or under the spool?' argument - that of reusable toilet paper.

Kalakala - Make Or Break Time For The World's First Streamlined Art-Deco Ship

image credit: Barnaby Dorfman cc

The ferry Kalakala operated for over thirty years, working on Puget Sound in the US State of Washington from 1935 to 1967. Her retirement from service has not, however, been a graceful one.

The world's first streamlined art-deco ship has been diversely beached in Alaska, used as a canning factory and evicted from her anchorage by an indigenous American tribe. Now moored at Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma, it is make or break time for the Motor Vessel Kalakala.

Flying Eagle POV

A lightweight, high-definition GoPro camera was attached to an eagle. See it fly over the Mer de Glace, a glacier located in the Chamonix Valley in France.



YouTube link

(thanks Miss Rare)

Georgian Monk Lives Atop Pillar

image credit: Aleksey Muhranoff cc

In an isolated part of the Caucasus, a monk is spending his days in prayer and silence atop a 40-meter pillar of limestone in western Georgia. The Katskhi Pillar was used by stylites - Christian ascetics who lived atop pillars and eschewed worldly temptations - until the 15th century when the practice was stopped.

In 1993 Maxime Qavtaradze decided to live atop the pillar in the way of the old stylites. Since then Maxime and the nearby Christian community have constructed a ladder to the top, rebuilt the chapel, and built a cottage where Maxime spends his days praying and reading.

Will An Inverted Jenny Turn The Stamp World Upside Down Again?

image credit

This weekend, on Sunday, September 22, 2013, the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum opens to the public. The gallery has been in the works since the fall of 2009, when Gross, who made his billions as the founder of the Pimco Total Return bond fund, donated $8 million to the National Postal Museum.

Among the 20,000-plus items on display is a block of four 24-cent Inverted Jenny stamps, so named because the blue intaglio vignette of a Curtiss JN-4-H biplane in the 1918 stamp was printed upside down in relation to its carmine-colored frame.

(thanks Ben)

Rob 'n' Ron

In a miniature spaghetti western live two outlaw brothers: Rob and Ron. Rob is planning their biggest heist yet.




Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

Chinese-Style Giant Camping Festival

image credit CNTV

Forget about quiet, unspoiled countryside or venturing out into the wild-unknown - this is camping Chinese style! Over 15,000 people from around the world transform a hillside near Mount Wugongshan in China's Jiangxi province into a kaleidoscope of coloured tents for the 2013 International Camping Festival.

Jiangxi Province, located in the eastern part of the country, is considered by many to be home to China's most beautiful countryside due to its natural ecology, as well as its long history and tradition.

(thanks Cora)

The Origins Of The Periodic Table

image credit: DePiep cc

The periodic table is a tabular arrangement of the chemical elements, organized on the basis of their atomic numbers, electron configurations, and recurring chemical properties.

As early as 330 BCE, Aristotle created a four-element table: earth, air, fire, and water. But it wasn't until the late 1700s that Antoine Lavoisier, a French nobleman and chemist, wrote the first list of 33 elements. He classified them as metals and nonmetals, though we now know that some were compounds or mixtures.

Nuance: Dancing With Light

Nuance is a project by French director Marc-Antoine Locatelli. Dancer Lucas Boirat interacts with light. The music is Ants from EdIT.



Vimeo link

The Supertrees Of Singapore

image credit: Choo Yut Shing cc

They look like a set from a forthcoming science fiction movie but these supertrees in Singapore are very much of this world. A collection of eighteen of these trees, varying in size from 80 to 160 feet (25 and 50 meters), creates an amazing backdrop for Singapore's central business district. What is more, they actually mimic real trees.

What Did Barney Rubble Do For A Living?

image credit: A. Currell cc

In 1960, the first ever prime-time animated TV series took to the air, The Flintstones. Fred Flintstone was a blustery, quick-tempered, loud-mouthed, blowhard. Fred's best friend and next door neighbor was the affable and always loyal Barney Rubble.

Fred Flintstone is a bronto-crane operator at the Slate Rock and Gravel Company. But Barney's occupation is, for the most part of the series, unknown, though later series depict him working in the same quarry as Fred. But what exactly did Barney Rubble do for a living?

How Much Would Finn and Jake's House Actually Cost?

Adventure Time is an American animated television series which follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo.

Movoto took a look at the weird land of Ooo to put a price tag on Finn and Jake's tree fort.

(thanks Travis)