unique and interesting: May 2009

Sunday, May 31, 2009

The World Of Chemistry

Chemistry boring? I think not!

(thanks Pierre)

Any old cat can shin up a tree. But this brave moggy regularly takes his nine lives in his paws and climbs 13ft up the wall of a block of flats to his owner's home on the first floor.

Seven-year-old Charlie hit on the idea after growing tired of having to wait outside the shared front door to the block for someone to let him back in after he has been allowed out for some air.

Instead, he heads for the rear of the building where only a roughcast wall stands between him and the balcony of his owner's flat.

(thanks Cora)

Crowdsourcing is a neologism for the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people or community.

Sometimes a crowd can be smarter than any one of its members, even when they're not actually working together. David Griner of The Social Path highlights a few clever uses of crowdsourcing, just to show how it's quickly changing almost every aspect of online commerce, research and even human interaction.

World of Psychology from Psych Central is the Internet's largest and oldest independent mental health social network created and run by mental health professionals to guarantee reliable, trusted information and support communities to consumers.

World of Psychology is today's modern voice for mental health information and advocacy and have the broadest online reach and recognition of any mental health network online today, touching the lives of nearly 1 million people around the world every month.

A soft drink is a beverage that does not contain alcohol. Carbonated soft drinks are commonly known as pop, soda pop, soda, cola, coke or tonic in various parts of the United States, pop in Canada, fizzy drinks, pop or soft drinks in the United Kingdom and Australia and sometimes minerals in Ireland.

Here are some popular and unique softdrinks from around the world.

(thanks Nicholas)

The Mailbox Project is a new artblog where people leave strange/humoristic anonymous messages in random mailboxes. The blog is just starting so there's not much there yet.

(thanks Renaud)

How Ants Subterrain Structures Look Like

A research that finds out how one of the subterranian ants structures look like. The ant colony was abandoned.

(thanks Cora)

Since Barack Obama ascended to the highest office in the land, there's been a lot of joking about his comics collecting and political superheroics, and now every publisher in comics is scrambling to cash in on the Obama comics craze.

An overview of the Obama comics craze and his most bizarre comic book appearances, including 'Barack the Barbarian,' a Conan parody where an axe-wielding Obama fights the evil Boosh and Chainknee, and an alternate reality comic where he becomes a mute and helps Chicago fend off an alien invasion.

(thanks Laura)

Ginou Choueiri is a Lebanese artist, based in Beirut. She says:

I chose the potato to portray the human face due to it's many striking parallels. Not only is their skin porous like ours but they also come in different colors, shapes and sizes. Potato heads grow, sprout, age, then decay... but they refuse to go without a trace.

Some Ridiculous Shoes.

(thanks Nicholas)

The Herring Horde

It's from rathergood, so you know it's weird.

Ever been watching a film and thought 'What this scene really needs is a balloon?'

Now, for the first time, you can enjoy scenes from these 5 classic movies with exactly that.

There's nothing wrong with a bit of tampering to improve things, as George Lucas will tell you.

Sleeves

Sleeves is a mini web-app to simplify the weather forecast to the real question at stake: what type of shirt should I wear today?
Just enter your zip code (USA only).

For example, when you live in New York you should see this today:

(thanks Cora)

Using A 1964 Modem To Dial Up To The Internet

K.C. (aka Phreakmonkey) has a Livermore Data Systems Model A acoustic coupler modem, a 300 baud modem from 1964. It was given to him by the widow of a retired IBM engineer.

Instead of seeing it in a museum, he decided to hook the trusty Model A up and make it talk to something. The video shows the way we used to connect to the Internet in those 'good old days.'

(via Boing Boing)

A rattail is a haircut that is characterized by a long 'tail' of hair growing from the back of the head.

The rattail usually curls naturally; however, it can be braided, treated as a dread, permed, straightened, or curled with an iron. In some instances, an individual might choose to grow several tails or grow a single tail very long.

(thanks Nicholas)

Best Couple Ever is a blog that collects photos of awkward couples, everywhere in the world.

(thanks Reno)

Safety Geeks: SVI

Imagine Inspector Clouseau as a team of people, trying to make the world safe, and ironically making it more dangerous. Add in an Adult Swim sensibility, and that is Safety Geeks: SVI, the comic adventures of a semi-elite force of safety experts; the P.O.S.H. (Professional Occupational Safety Hazard) team.

Obsessed with making the world and bits of Canada safer, the CSI-like team investigates accidents to find out what went wrong and who is to blame. Interestingly, their involvement causes far more damage than they prevent, leaving a trail of chaos and destruction in their wake. P.O.S.H. offers an obscure, detailed and well-meaning service - unfortunately, they are a bunch of idiots.

Safety Geeks: SVI is made by Dave and Tom.

Drop Dead Gorgeous

New Yorker TV Spot 2009 - Drop Dead Gorgeous.

(thanks Cora)

Ever wanted to draw a song or discover more about how the ancient Egyptians mummified their dead? How about learning about cocaine from Pablo the pooch, who just happens to be a talking doggy drug mule? No? Then what about connecting up the stars to create your own constellation then see it wrap around your screen in 3D?

There must be something you will like from this selection of flash based websites.

(via Robert-John)

It's the focal point of the bedroom and the place where you spend about a third of your life. The bottom line is, if we could have just one show-stopping piece of furniture, the bed would be it.

Here are 14 awe-inspiring and seductive sleepers, pieces that move beyond the typical four-poster to truly pine-worthy. Glass columns, silk canopies, painted headboards, even mirrored panels - these dramatic details may be reserved forever to our fantasies, but it still can't hurt to dream.

(thanks Annie)

Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling Championships 2009

Last Monday, May 25th, the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake was held near Gloucester, England. From the top of a hill a round of Double Gloucester cheese is rolled, and competitors race down the hill after it.

The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. In theory, competitors are aiming to catch the cheese, but since it has a one second head start and can reach speeds up to 70mph, this rarely occurs.

Pictures of the Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling Championships 2009.

Take a look around the bridge of the new Starship Enterprise in this panoramic picture.

Whether uncomfortable, embarrassing or just plain weird, there are some pretty funky things that our bodies do. We get goose bumps, hiccups, and eye twitches.

Discover the common reasons for 14 peculiar bodily functions.

(thanks Annie)

Pub Toy, The Perfect Peppermint

Funny commercial from Norway for Pub Toy, the perfect peppermint.

(thanks Cora)

Super Tight Stuff has an article about the 10 coolest places to swim.

(thanks Zack)

This is the third post of a series called 'Fast Food Of The World' by HealthAssist Blog. What do people in South and Central America eat on the streets. This is not a scientific research and not every food in every country is listed.

See also Fast Food of the World - Europe, and
Fast Food of the World - Asia and Australia.

(thanks Olga)

You may be familiar with the Common Yellow and the Western Tiger, but the Swallowtail family of butterflies is much larger and diverse than you may imagine.

Take a look at some of the less familiar species, along with some stunning photographs, and revisit one or two you have perhaps seen before.

(via Robert-John)

The Best 80's Sitcoms

The Best 80's Sitcoms.

(thanks Nicholas)

Residents Of 'Butt Hole Road' Club Together To Change Street's Unfortunate Name

In the end, the constant jokes were just too much to take for the long-suffering residents of Butt Hole Road in Conisbrough, UK. Groups of youths used to visit the street and bare their backsides for photographs while many delivery firms simply refused to believe it existed. And coachloads of amused American tourists frequently turned up to view the sign.

And so despairing households decided that the road's name simply had to change. They spent £300 ($480) to change their address to the rather more palatable Archers Way

Edward Lear - born in London on May 12, 1812 - was a highly-regarded nature and landscape artist, but he is much better remembered for the whimsical nonsense poetry and limericks he produced throughout his life.

Twenty-Six Nonsense Rhymes And Pictures.

Breathing Xenon

Xenon is the heaviest non-radioactive noble gas and is used for ion thrusters, general anesthetic, and various types of lighting sources. These chemistry guys take a more inquisitive, educational, and refined approach to getting just a teensy bit high.

Warning: don't try this at home.

(via Urlesque)

A look at 10 websites that feature the work of collectives or individuals engaged in cutting edge urban art.

If you like graffiti, stencils and art in the street, take a look at these sites and enjoy the experience.

(via Robert-John)

Artcyclopedia

The Artcyclopedia is the most effective guide to museum-quality fine art on the Internet. Indexed are 1800 art sites, and over 60,000 links to an estimated 150,000 artworks by 8,100 renowned artists.

You can browse artists by name, medium, subject, and nationality. When you found your artist of choice, you can see in what museums their artworks can be found.

Mooch's Claim To Fame

Mooch the cat catching Temptations Treats.
He likes them so much he barely even lets them touch the floor!

(thanks Cora)

Igotanenvelope is a continuous art project where people leave empty self-addressed stamped envelopes in public places to be picked up and filled by others, who then send them back.

This could be an ideal place to get inspired to see what happens out there and to create a global movement.

(thanks Jason)

Ornate And Strange Door Knobs And Handles.

(thanks Nicholas)

Astonishing 3D Murals

In the picture above, at first glance, it looks as if some natural disaster has shaken away the walls of this building to reveal architecture hidden for thousands of years. But thise spectacular image is not the unexpected result of an earthquake.

The incredibly lifelike scene is actually a huge work of art, painted on the side of a perfectly intact building. Even that woman peering into the ruin is not real. The painting, which has fooled many, was created by John Pugh, who specialises in trompe l'oeil - or 'trick of the eye' - art.

Astonishing 3D Murals.

The International Institute for Species Exploration and an international committee of taxonomists have announced the top 10 new species described in 2008.

On the list are a pea-sized seahorse, caffeine-free coffee and bacteria that live in hairspray. The top 10 new species also include a very tiny snake, a very long insect, a very old fossil, and a palm that flowers itself to death.

Drama Button

The Drama Button, for all of life's unnecessary drama.

Would they ever get away with adverts like these today? Judge for yourself. Of course, the exploitation of women's bodies continues but in more prudish times the ladies tended to be more fully clothed.

It was their societal role expectations that advertisers mostly exploited in the way back when, plus the fact that apart from the family and kitchen profound thought from their direction was neither expected or wanted.

(via Robert-John)

Do Bem's Juice Campaign

Momma always said 'don't play with your food.'
But what if you're a DJ? A food DJ.

(thanks Cora)

Don't you love it when people go out of their way to be nice? Like when someone waits to hold the door for you. Or when a stranger waves you into a line a traffic. Or even when a coworker shoots you a friendly smile along with a 'have a nice day.'

If everyone was a little bit nicer to the folks they encountered each day, perhaps the world would be a more pleasant place. Operation NICE was initiated to remind you that a little NICE goes a long way.

Tongue Twisters

How many cookies could a good cook cook if a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.

From the International Collection of English Tongue Twisters.

The computer mouse has come a long way since Douglas Engelbart invented the device in 1964.

(thanks Nicholas)

The Heidelberg Project

image credit

The Heidelberg Project was created in 1986 by artist Tyree Guyton and his grandfather Sam Mackey as an outdoor art environment on Detroit's McDougall-Hunt neighborhood on the city's east side, just north of the city's historically African-American Black Bottom area.

The Heidelberg Project is, in part, a political protest, as Tyree Guyton's childhood neighborhood began to deteriorate after the 1967 riots. Following his stint in the Army, Tyree Guyton described coming back to Heidelberg Street. He was astonished to see that the surrounding neighborhood looked as if 'a bomb went off.'

Tyree Guyton uses everyday discarded objects to create a two block area full of color, symbolism, and intrigue. Now in its 23rd year, the Heidelberg Project is recognized around the world as a demonstration of the power of creativity to transform lives.

The Heidelberg Project website.

California Grazing provides holistic land management and brush and weed control through grazing. We can eliminate noxious weeds, restore native grasses, and address fire prevention through fuel load reduction.

Our fleet of 800+ environmentally friendly, self propelled weed eaters are ready for your project! These cute and cost effective critters remove thistle, brush, weeds, and other invasive plants.

Google is mowing with goats. A herder brought about 200 goats and they spend roughly a week at the Google headquarters, eating the grass and fertilizing at the same time.

(via TechCrunch)

Drifters Of The Deep

The most amazing creatures nature has ever created, drifting in our oceans. From the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

(thanks Cora)

Websites 'Keeping Deleted Photos'

User photographs can still be found on many social networking sites even after people have deleted them, Cambridge University researchers have said. To perform their experiment, the researchers uploaded photos to 16 popular websites, then deleted them, but kept a note of direct URLs to the photos from the sites' content delivery networks.

When they checked 30 days later, these links continued to work for seven of the sites even though a typical user might think the photos had been removed.

Vinyl was the material of choice in the 60's, while wigs gave way to rooted hair. There were several popular dolls to play with and entertain us.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Beer is the most popular beverage in the world after water and tea and had been produced for thousands of years. The Alulu Tablet, from the ancient Kingdom of Ur, in what is now Southern Iraq, refers to a 'best' beer and dates from 2050 BC.

Cheers to Beers – The weird, the fascinating, the potent and the expensive. A selection of beers from around the world that simply boggle the mind.

Home Schooled

Home Schooled is a comics series by American artist Ash Jackson.
Co-writing by Silas Jackson.
The Presurfer will feature a Home Schooled cartoon every Monday. This is an absolute exclusive cooperation between The Presurfer and Ash Jackson.

Home Schooled is more or less a reflection of the wacky and occasionally interesting adventures of the artist, Ash Jackson, himself, with the aid of his friends, family, and other cohorts.

Title: Fan Mail.

click on the picture for real size

Screaming Eggs

When a girl takes a carton of eggs out of the refridgerator, they soon realize that life isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Cell phones have evolved immensely since 1983, both in design and function. From the Motorola DynaTAC, that power symbol that Michael Douglas wielded so forcefully in the movie 'Wall Street,' to the iPhone 3G, which can take a picture, play a video, or run one of the thousands applications available from the Apple Store.

There are thousands of models of cell phones that have hit the streets between 1983 and now. Webdesigner Depot picked a few of the more popular and unusual ones to take you through the history of the cell phone that most of us consider a part of our everyday lives.

You don't really have to spend a lot of money to fill up your iPod, or download songs illegally if you really don't want to. Here's an ultimate guide on how to download free music legally.

Comprehensive Blog Glossary For Kids

In the blogging world there are all sort of unique terminology and abbreviations for just about any task, service or product.
To help your kids keep you up-to-date on the words and there meanings here's a comprehensive blog glossary.

This list is by all means not a complete list however, it does provide most of the common phrases or words you may come across.

Tobacco advertising has got to be one of the most morally questionable industries out there. It seems these advertisers would stop at nothing to exploit every possible resource.

But in all their morally questionable motives these advertisers did manage to create some beautiful works of art.

There's something about grilling food outdoors that's both exhilarating and terrifying. It's great to commune with your food in such a straight-up way, but what if it goes wrong?

Overcome your fear of the flame, or step up your grilling game, with these 10 techniques to master your grill.

Jozin Z Bazin

Jozin z bazin (Joseph from the bog) is a Czech song from the 70s by Ivan Mládek. The song is a surreal tale of a mysterious man-eating monster living in the swamps, who could be defeated only with use of a cropduster.

This is Don. Don is a crabby old fart. He hates young people. And he swears a lot. So be careful when visiting his weblog. Don says:

The problem with young people today is that they have ridiculous nicknames. Back in my day, young people had sensible nicknames like 'Shorty' or 'Red' or 'Spanky' and 'Buckwheat.' Solid, dependable nicknames that you could count on to see you through the good times and the bad. Nicknames that would last you a lifetime.

But these young people today, they have nicknames like 'DXMST,' 'DJ Ice Dam' and 'Pee Diddly.' God damned ridiculous names that sound like acronyms for the space program, chemical compounds or the tail end of a rude limerick.

The Problem With Young People Today.

(thanks Mike)

Earth Album is a very simple and very effective mash-up of Flickr and Google Earth. Just move the cursor around and you'll be stabbed in the eye with gorgeous imagery from your chosen country or region.

You can then refine your search using keywords to focus on a particular area. To begin your journey, just click somewhere on the map.

(thanks Cora)

Laptops Come To Life

A Samsung viral which is an animation of two trendy laptops.

(thanks Vincenzo)

How To Use Twitter For Marketing And Public Relations

Want to use Twitter for marketing and PR?
Take this advise.

Yesterday I posted about manhole covers from around the world. Here's an article about Japanese manhole covers in specific.

The Japanese have a wonderful relationship with their manhole covers: they treat them as art. A selection of the ornate, the artistic and the ever so slightly bizarre.

(via Robert-John)

Google Earth Game: Ships

PlanetInAction.com has released the first version of a fantastic free simulation game which leverages the browser-based Google Earth plugin as the primary graphics engine. The game is called 'Ships' and lets you take the helm on ships - barges, cargo ships, container ships, and even a cruise ship.

Here I am steering the Queen Mary 2 into the harbor of Rotterdam. Everything is in 3D, you can drive the ships anywhere in the world, there are sound effects, physical modeling, and realistic visual effects that makes this a wonder to behold. Not only that, but the author - Paul van Dinther - has created some great camera tools to make it easier for people to follow the action and see the sights.

Read more about Google Earth Ships.

Play Google Earth Ships.

Oh yes, these are caps you would like to be seen with.

Deerfly Patches are colored patches which attach to the back of the cap and are completely non-toxic and odorless. Deerflies flying around you are attracted to the patch and land on them.

When they do, they stay. The special adhesive is formulated to hold the deerfly but not become stuck to skin. They are easily disposed of.

Now even Klingon speakers can scan their computers for security threats. Use Sophos's Klingon Anti-Virus to quickly perform an on-demand scan and find viruses, spyware, adware, zero-day threats, Betazoid sub-ether porn diallers and Tribbles that your existing protection might have missed.

Our routine monitoring of sub-space transmissions alerted Sophos that the loss of the Klingon battlecruiser Klothos was not due to Romulan incursion into the Khitomer system, but a result of trying to remove VBS/PeachyPDF-A from the battle computer using M'swoN'kar after Commander Kor opened an attachment from the system S'cam-419.

Klingon Anti-Virus.

Pictures of 'kissing' animals.

You Are What You Eat

We purchase refrigerators the way we fill them: out of necessity - to preserve the milk; to keep the greens from wilting. But from the right vantage point, an open fridge is the perfect staging grounds for a discussion of consumption. And if the aphorism holds true - if we really are what we eat - then refrigerators are like windows into our souls.

You Are What You Eat is a series of portraits by Mark Menjivar, made by examining the interiors of refrigerators in homes across the United States. Pictured above is the refrigerator of a bar tender from San Antonio, Texas. He goes to sleep at 8AM and wakes up at 4PM daily.

On Monday, May 11, NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final servicing mission to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.

The seven crew members left Florida for a scheduled 11-day mission, including 5 days of Extra-vehicular activity (EVAs) to work on the Hubble. So far the repairs appear to be going very well. The landing is planned for today.

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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Friday, May 29, 2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Monday, May 25, 2009

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Friday, May 22, 2009