unique and interesting: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

Google's Latest Easter Egg

Go to Google and perform a search for 'Zerg Rush.' It will start off as an innocent search result listing but you will soon realise each result is part of a game and you have to stop the Google 'zeros' from eating through them.

All you have to do is shoot at the zeros, aiming them in your crosshairs. Google will keep score and tell you how many you have destroyed.

(thanks Cora)

See how long it takes before you get bored with Nyan Waits.
I lasted 8.3 seconds.

See that message at the left side in the picture above? Well, that isn't true. I just made that with NewsJack, a media remixing tool built from Mozilla's Hackasaurus.

NewsJack is a project of MIT's Center for Civic Media. You can remix any site you want. CNN, Fox News and The New York Times. Or enter a site's URL and start remixing.

Venice In A Day

A day in Venice, Italy, from daybreak to sunset in time-lapse.

Vimeo link

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To classify the top ten rarest flowers isn't easy especially since more than 270,000 types of flowers exist. Of those that are rare, here are not only the top ten rarest flowers, but the ten with unquestionably the most interesting stories.

The rocking-2-gether chair, designed by Paul Kweton, is a hybrid between a rocking chair and dog/cat house. The prototype chair is made out of CNC milled birch plywood. The density and amount of the CNC milled 'ribs' can be controlled with differently sized wooden spacers, ergo controlling the visual connection between the person and his/her pet.

(thanks Cora)

Bisleri Mountain Water Commercial From India

The new Bisleri Mountain Water commercial showcases a metaphorical perspective on Bisleri's new tagline of 'Stay Protected.'

YouTube link

Modern Living Neurotica is a series of interactive, sometimes surrealistic, animations created by Han Hoogerbrugge, a Dutch digital artist. Hoogerbrugge started out as a painter and cartoonist until he found the internet in 1996.

Originally Modern Living Neurotica was a comic strip which he described as an 'ongoing self-portrait' that chronicled his life as an artist during the mid-1990s. It was during this time that he decided to adapt his Neurotica idea for the internet and began publishing on his own website.

(thanks Ton)

One Man Band

One Man Band is a 2005 Pixar animated short film. Written and directed by Andrew Jimenez and Mark Andrews and produced by Osnat Shurer.

YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

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Nothing can quite prepare you for the exquisite sight of a hummingbird on the wing. Nature has truly spoiled us with this spectacle. Take a look as ten different species take flight in their search for food and marvel at the aerodynamics of one of the world's truly astonishing species.

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Newspaper Index is an index of evaluated newspapers in every country of the world. The collection contains links only to newspapers and publications with local, free and independent news. The database does not have newspapers that focus on gossip, rumour, local or sport news.

First Pitch By Horror Character

Japanese long-haired ghost character Sadako Yamamura from the horror movie Ring throws out the opening pitch at a game between the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Chiba Lotte Marines.

YouTube link

(via Neatorama)

Klouchebag

Klouchebag is the standard for measuring asshattery online. It was made in response to Klout, the social-game that assigns you a score based on how 'influential' you are online.

Klouchebag uses the ARSE rating system. Anger: profanity and rage. Retweets: 'please RT's, no or constant retweeting, and old-style. Social Apps: every useless checkin on foursquare or its horrible brethren. And English Usage: if you use EXCLAMATION MARKS OMG!!! or no capitals at all, this'll be quite high. My rating: Quite a nice person. And they're right.

(thanks Cora)

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When your dog bounds towards you with the unbridled excitement equivalent to a celebrity spotting and gives you one big, wet lick on your cheek the minute you come home, it's hard to imagine a better instant mood-booster. But there are a myriad of other benefits to welcoming a furry friend into your fold, from increased self-esteem to more exercise and less loneliness.

(via Look At This...)

Holi In Slo-Mo

Holi is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. It is primarily observed in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and countries with large Indic diaspora populations following Hinduism. It is also known as Festival of Colours. This video show the Holi festival in slow-motion high definition.

Vimeo link

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Everything's better in miniature format.

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The Perito Moreno Glacier is located in the Los Glaciares National Park in the south west of Santa Cruz province, Argentina. It is one of the most important tourist attractions in the Argentine Patagonia. The 250 km2 (97 sq mi) ice formation, and 30 km (19 mi) in length, is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes system shared with Chile.

This icefield is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water. Dark clouds hang dramatically in the sky, contrasting with soaring white cliffs streaked with deep blue and rising high above a turquoise lake. The smell of ice hangs in the air, as does the creaking, rolling sound of ice on the move.

Scanomat TopBrewer Coffee Machine

The new TopBrewer coffee system from Danish coffee machine manufacturer Scanomat has created a whole new category of coffee machine. Its foamer is installed at the very tip of the coffee tap. Fresh milk is heated on demand and foamed to the correct texture.

Perhaps most interesting is the connectivity the Top Brewer has with the iPhone and iPad via Scanomat's app. The app gives you full control of the machine, allowing you to choose from the available drinks as well as pre-programming your personal favourite.

YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

CARCA is the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Cat Association, a small group of volunteers dedicated to the training and use of domestic cats in emergency avalanche rescue procedures. With proper training, cats can be just as effective - and in some cases, more effective - than dogs, and certainly more effective than traditional probe line techniques.

(thanks Cora)

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Have you been drinking tonight, sir? Oh. Crap. If you're in a car, that's not a question you want to hear from a man in uniform. And if the answer is yes, you're in for the worst pop quiz of your life: the field sobriety test. You should not drive drunk.

The goal of this piece is not to show you how to beat a field sobriety test. In most cases, no amount of preparation can help you anyway. But they make for one hell of a drinking game. Try 'em out for yourself, from the comfort and jail-free safety of you own home. May the best drunk win!

56 Episodes Of Star Trek At The Same Time

If you wanted to re-watch the classics but couldn't find the time, here's your chance. 56 Episodes, the full first 2 seasons, simultaneously, and with sound.

YouTube link

In the ongoing battle between geek and nerd, one must take sides. But how can this be done without a solid argument for both personas? It's time to determine wich is better and answer the question some fear to know: Are you a geek, or a nerd?

Accounting Cartoon by Andertoons

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.

Neatorama/Presurfer Give-Away Winner

The Neatorama/Presurfer give-away has ended. With the help of a True Random Number Service we picked a winner. The winner of the Zombie Mount Rushmore Letter and Key Holder is Bob. He has already received an email. Thank you for participating and I'm sorry if you didn't win.

(via Criggo)

The Sources Of Psychedelic Art? Drugs, But Also Picasso And The Fire-Bombing Of Tokyo

The multicolored, drug-soaked, psychedelic aesthetic of the mid-1960s has never been more popular, or misunderstood. In March, 'Mad Men' time-traveled from the cocktail cool of Mid-Century Modern, circa 1962, to that dope-smoke-filled hothouse known as Pop, circa 1966.

And in April, Donovan, whose 'Mellow Yellow' was released that same year, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Not bad for a guy who was singing a song that many people have long assumed was about getting high off dried banana peels.

(thanks Lisa)

Welcome To The Anthropocene

The Anthropocene is a recent and informal geologic chronological term that serves to mark the evidence and extent of human activities that have had a significant global impact on the Earth's ecosystems.

Welcome to the Anthropocene is a journey through the last 250 years of our history, from the start of the Industrial Revolution to the Rio+20 Summit. The video shows all roads, air, and shipping routes on the planet.

Vimeo link

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Everyone knows all about dolphins and whales, and even dolphins that pretend to be whales. But there are over 100 species of marine mammals in the world, and most of them have as much cool stuff going for them as any old Moby Dick.

Neatorama/Presurfer Give-Away

You have the chance to win a Zombie Mount Rushmore Letter and Key Holder.
It's a zombified version of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. It can hold your mail and magazines and has 4 brass key hooks. And it's unique because no two are exactly alike.

Neatorama is giving away 1 Zombie Mount Rushmore Letter and Key Holder.
Go here to find out what you have to do.

Anyone remember Color Cycling from the 90s? This was a technology often used in 8-bit video games of the era, to achieve interesting visual effects by cycling the color palette.

This demo is an implementation of a full 8-bit color cycling engine, rendered into a 32-bit HTML5 Canvas in real-time. There are many color cycling scenes to choose from, and some ambient environmental soundtracks are added to match.

(via Effectgames)

Frog Sitting Like A Human

A frog sitting on a bench like a human.

YouTube link

It has been said more than once: There's a website for everything.
Even for capybaras that look like Rafael Nadal. The capybara is the largest rodent in the world, and Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No.1.

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Did you know that Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts? Or that Peppermint Patty from the Peanuts is called Patricia Reichardt? And that the Michelin Man's name is Bibendum? You know the characters, but you might not know their full names.

Kunekune Piglets

The name Kunekune means 'fat and round' in Maori. The characteristic Kunekune shape is a short-legged, short-snouted pig with a high fat depth giving very rounded body contours. A Kunekune pig in 'show' condition looks very different in body shape to the equivalent commercial pig, and the shortened nose and head give the Kunekune an almost comical appearance.

YouTube link

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The Santa Justa elevator is an elevator in the historical city of Lisbon, Portugal, situated at the end of Rua de Santa Justa. It connects the lower streets of the Baixa with the higher Largo do Carmo. On 1 June 1882, the council licensed Raul Mesnier de Ponsard, an engineer born in Porto to French parents, to construct and explore alternative plans for an inclined transport, moved by mechanical means.

Since its construction, the elevator has become a tourist attraction for Lisbon as, among the urban lifts in the city, Santa Justa is the only remaining vertical one.

In the rocks outside Cincinnati, paleontologists have uncovered a mysterious ancient 'monster' fossil resembling a cactus nearly seven feet long, that researchers are thinking of naming 'Godzillus.' And they say it's a form of life that defies all known categories of organisms.

Amateur paleontologist Ron Fine discovered Godzillus in rocks near Covington, Kentucky, which lies just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Paleontologist David Meyer at the University of Cincinnati said it's definitely a new discovery. It's biological but they don't know yet exactly what it is.

How To - The Basics

How To - The Basics is a YouTube channel that gives you basic instruction on how to do simple things. Like how to correctly add milk to your coffee, how to correctly open a packet of chips, how to ring a door bell, or how to light a teddy bear on fire.

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Underwater landscapes have intrigued humans for years. There is something otherworldly about fish darting ghostlike in the depths, plants swaying in currents of water, and columns of light filtering down from the surface.

It's no surprise that someone thought to bring these wonders to house and home in the form of an aquarium. As children, many of us have owned a goldfish or two, and perhaps even boasted about our cool plastic scuba diver ornament. In recent years, however, aquariums have reached a whole new level - both in terms of innovation and popularity.

(via Bits & Pieces)

Lotte: From Birth To 12 Years In 2 Minutes And 45 Seconds

Dutch artist, filmmaker and photographer Frans Hofmeester filmed his daughter Lotte every week, from birth up until se turned 12 years old an then made this time-lapse.

Vimeo link

The human powered hydrofoil waterbike has no buoyancy and therefore 'flies' through the water. There is a hi tech submerged wing that generates the lift. It's faster than any other waterbike.

(thanks Cora)

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A list of tips, advice, rules and just things to know about photography from Eric Kim, a street photographer who also holds photography workshop classes.

The State of the Web by The Oatmeal.

Honza Bláha - Open Borders

Horse trainer Honza Bláha was born in the Czech Republic in 1977. He teaches Natural Horsemanship, the philosophy of working with horses by appealing to their instincts and herd instincts. It involves communication techniques derived from wild horse observation in order to build a partnership that closely resembles the relationships that exist between horses.

YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

Google has 'zipped' its homepage today to celebrate the 132nd birth anniversary of Gideon Sundback, the Swedish-American inventor of the zipper, the fastening device that has revolutionised the clothing industry. A click on the upper part of the zipper and the page unzips to reveal a search results page on Sundback.

There are sunglasses. And there are glow-in-the-dark sunglasses.
And now there are glow-in-the-dark sunglasses with a stache.

(via Everlasting Blort)

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Seemingly dry and never ending deserts own much more than dry sand and lack of life and desire to live. Deserts are a beautiful part of the earth and conceal many deep mysteries. A collection of interesting, unusual and beautiful pictures of deserts around the world.

(thanks Bosko)

Bouncey Stonehenge

A bouncy scale model of Stonehenge, specially commissioned to mark the Olympics, has been unveiled. It was created by artist Jeremy Deller, who said it represented Britain's history, culture and sense of humour.

YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

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Some fun facts about the products you encounter at the grocery store.

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Who doesn't like bubbles? Here are some photos from soap bubble flash mobs in Moscow and St. Petersburg that have been springing up all month.

Neatorama/Presurfer Give-Away

Last week The Presurfer in cooperation with Neatorama had a give-away. This week we're having another one. This time you have the chance to win a Zombie Mount Rushmore Letter and Key Holder.

It's a zombified version of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. It can hold your mail and magazines and has 4 brass key hooks. And it's unique because no two are exactly alike.

Neatorama is giving away 1 Zombie Mount Rushmore Letter and Key Holder. Here's what you have to do. Take a look at this unique item. If you want to make a chance to have one for free, send me an email. After that, take a look around the Neatoshop. There's tons of new stuff along with old favorites.

Here are the rules:

If you want a chance to get a free Zombie Mount Rushmore Letter and Key Holder,
send an email to webmaster@presurfer.com
The give-away runs from today, Monday, April 23 until Thursday night April 26.
The winner will be picked by a True Random Number Service.
The winner will be contacted by me and asked for his/her postal address.
Neatorama will send the prizes directly to the winner.

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Last Friday saw a weekend long Sea Odyssey street theater event in Liverpool in the north of England. The occasion was inspired by a letter written by a little girl to her father. He was a steward above the ill fated RMS Titanic which was registered in Liverpool. The steward, William McMurray was not one of the lucky passengers and crew who survived the sinking of the ship.

The letter arrived after the Titanic had left on its first and final voyage and was eventually returned to his daughter. Sea Odyssey re-invents this sad tale with the girl (known as Little Girl Giant) traversing the streets of Liverpool on an undertaking.

(thanks Robert-John)

Car Wash For Cows

British farmers are aiming to milk profits and boost productivity with this latest agricultural machine - a car wash for cows. The industrial-sized device features a huge swinging 'cow brush' similar to those used to clean vehicles and lorries. It is fixed inside a milking parlour or a barn and herds of cows can pass through and receive a thorough clean one at a time.

YouTube link

(via Everlasting Blort)

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These incredible images of the planet Earth show it at its most striking and dramatic, and are more akin to those normally taken from Neptune, Mars or Pluto. The alien-looking images come from a variety of locations across the globe including the White Desert in Egypt, Monument Valley in the U.S., and the Chocolate Hills of Bohol Island in the Philippines.

The images include shots of salt plains, rock formations, geysers, sand dunes, mud playas, lava shelves and deserts.

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Trimming your nails sucks, and it's not your digits' fault. Technology is to blame. Nail clippers. Blech. With a one size fits all design, it's impossible to get your whole nail in one clip. And curling over the bathroom bin doesn't make us any more likely to keep the floor clean of our cast offs.

And yet, for more than a century, we've been keeping our nails under control using the same little imperfect machine. How is it that this crummy design won us over?

Evacuated Tube Transport

Evacuated Tube Transport is an airless, frictionless, maglev-like form of transportation which is safer, cheaper and quieter than trains or airplanes. Six-person capsules travel in the tubes and can reach a maximum speed of 6,500 kph (4,038 mph). A tube can travel from New York to Beijing in two hours, and make a round-the-world trip in just six hours.

YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

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The instant headache brought on by ice cold food and drinks is the bane of the summer with ice-cream lovers often seen clutching their foreheads waiting for the gripping pain to ease. Scientists have noticed that migraine sufferers are more prone to 'brain freeze' and wondered if the phenomenon could be turned to their advantage.

In experiments by researchers at the National University of Ireland in Galway and Harvard Medical School, a team of 13 healthy volunteers deliberately induced the brain freeze so the effects could be studied. It was found that the pain was brought on by a rapid increase in blood flow through a major blood vessel in the brain, the anterior cerebral artery.

Honest Attorney

An honest attorney. But not enough to hurt your case.

(via Criggo)

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Harriet Quimby (1875 - 1912) was an early American aviator. In 1911 she was awarded a U.S. pilot's certificate by the Aero Club of America, becoming the first woman to gain a pilot's license in the United States. On 16 April 1912, she became the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

However, her remarkable achievement was overlooked by a great deal of the media - they had other things on their mind that day. On any normal day she would have made front page news and been lauded by the press. But on 15 April, the day before her flight, a certain RMS Titanic had sunk. Quimby's groundbreaking flight was lucky if it got a mention.

Today is Earth Day, celebrated by Google with a special doodle. Earth Day is a day on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth's natural environment. Earth Day is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco.

Your Infinite Painting is another project by Philipp Lenssen. On a white canvas, draw and explore infinitely - sit back, relax, and give it a try. The painting will automatically switch to a new one after a minute or so, and then you'll also get completely new drawing brushes to explore.

related post:
Grow A Face

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Reptiles have been around some 300 million years, and our planet has seen its fair share of gigantic scaled beasts during its history. That said, only a few behemoths from the golden age of reptiles still exist today. Here are the five largest reptiles on Earth; the biggest in the four commonly recognized reptilian orders.

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What can you say about The Simpsons? The incredible animated series is currently in its 23rd season! The Simpsons has given us dozens of clever, original characters. Every Simpsons fan has his or her favorite character. Let's take a look at the original, real-life inspirations behind several characters on The Simpsons.

Neatorama/Presurfer Give-Away Winners

The Neatorama/Presurfer give-away is over. With the help of a True Random Number Service we picked 3 winners. They are Jonathan, Gary and Gabriella. The winners have already received an email.

Thank you for participating and I'm sorry if you didn't win. But you'll have another chance next week. Starting Monday, Neatorama in cooperation with The Presurfer will have another give-away. This time you can win a Zombie Mount Rushmore - Letter and Key Holder.

Bike Pump

The strange world of Max X

YouTube link

A lot of stress? Need to calm down? Enjoy a guided relaxation break.

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Kukeri is a traditional Bulgarian ritual to scare away evil spirits, with costumed men performing the ritual. The costumes cover most of the body and include decorated wooden masks of animals and large bells attached to the belt. Around New Year and before Lent, the Kukeri walk and dance through the village to scare evil spirits away with the costumes and the sound of the bells, as well as to providea good harvest, health, and happiness to the village during the year.

The Kukeri traditionally visit the peoples' houses at night so that 'the sun would not catch them on the road.' After going around thevillage they gather at the square to dance wildly and amuse the people. The ritual varies by region but its essence remains largely thesame.

Burger King Hamburger With 1,050 Pieces Of Bacon

A reporter for Japan's Rocket News 24 ordered a burger from Burger King with 1,050 slices of bacon on top. Why? I don't know! Probably because he's crazy.

YouTube link

(thanks Miss Rare)

Grow a Face is a project by Philipp Lenssen. It involves a drawing of a face that mutates based on your picks. The result can be freely used anywhere, like as an avatar.

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What does an Apple product smell like when you open it for the first time? I wouldn't know, because I don't have any Apple product. But if I want to find out, now I can without actually buying an Apple product. Greatest Hits, an artistic collaborative group from Melbourne, Australia, asked Air Aroma to develop a fragrance that would smell like an Apple product being opened for the first time.

Apple fans will certainly recognize this smell. The scent encompasses the smell of the plastic wrap covering the box, printed ink on the cardboard, the smell of paper and plastic components within the box and of course the aluminum laptop which has come straight from the factory where it was assembled in China.

(via AdFreak)

Pages - Menu

Monday, April 30, 2012

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Friday, April 27, 2012

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Monday, April 23, 2012

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Saturday, April 21, 2012