marmalade

Confessions Of A Man Who Was Almost A Mass Murderer

2009-04-05T16:29:00.004+01:00

"When a gunman killed 13 in Binghamton, N.Y., last week, reactions ranged from sorrow to fear, anger, and—self-recognition? Mansfield Frazier explains the time, 40 years ago, when he nearly went postal.

Each of the recent mass murders—14 dead in Binghamton, N.Y.; 10 in Samson, Ala.; four police officers dead in Oakland, Calif.; six left dead in an apparent murder-suicide in Santa Clara, Calif.; and eight dead in a North Carolina nursing home—brings memories of my own period of madness flooding back to me. Over 40 years ago, I quite literally came within one day of becoming a mass murderer. Fate, fortuitously, intervened to avert the tragedy, and I am forever, eternally, grateful.

Can my telling of my tale prevent maybe at least one future tragedy? While I would like to think so, I’m just not sure. However, I am sure that the spate of recent shootings are symptomatic of a deeper malaise in America, and, tragically, I suspect there are going to be many more mass shootings to come. After all, we’re a nation that loves—nay, idolizes—guns. More than one model of handgun has been named 'The Equalizer.'

And equalization—of power—is, I think, is what drives many individuals to 'go postal.' For quite some time, I’ve been totally amazed that more people don’t go off the deep end every day and start spraying gunfire in crowded places, particularly workplaces..."

*Photos via DailyMail

What We Didn't Know Last Year

2009-04-05T15:58:00.005+01:00

More From The BBC's Things We Didn't Know Last Year...

6. Carrots used to be purple.

14. Brain tumours can be diagnosed by a handshake.

17. For the first time in US history, more than one in every 100 American adults is behind bars.

18. 23% of plastic bags used in the UK are from Tesco.

22. Toasters are banned in Cuba.

25. Lions were kept in the Tower of London in the 14th century.

26. Up to one quarter of the sand on shorelines can be composed of plastic particles

33. A severed finger tip can grow back naturally.

45. Pigs can suffer from mysophobia, a fear of dirt.

50. The Royal Family costs the equivalent of 66p per person in the UK.

53. Pears sink while apples float.

70. You can dive from 35ft into 12in of water - and only suffer bruising (with a lot of training).

72. Portraits of famous people often look like the painter instead.

*Photo Via 101Cookbooks

Scientists Make Blackest Material Ever

2009-04-05T15:52:00.004+01:00

"Scientists have fashioned what may be the blackest material in the universe: a sheet of carbon nanotubes that captures nearly every last photon of every wavelength of light.

The substance absorbs between 97 percent and 99 percent of wavelengths that can be directly measured or extrapolated. It's the closest that scientists have yet come to a black body, a theorized state of perfect absorption whose closest analogue is believed to be the opening of a deep hole.

The material, described Monday by Japanese nanotechnologists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is made from a flat array of vertically-aligned, single-walled carbon nanotubes. Photons that aren't immediately absorbed by a single nanotube deflect off and are absorbed by its neighbors..."

Snatch Wars

2009-04-05T15:46:00.003+01:00

*Contains Strong Language

New Cosmic Map Reveals Colossal Structures

2009-04-05T15:35:00.005+01:00

"Enormous cosmic voids and giant concentrations of matter have been observed in a new galaxy survey, one of the biggest completed so far. One of the voids is so large that it is difficult to explain where it came from.

Called the Six Degree Field Galaxy Survey (6dFGS), the project scanned 41% of the sky, measuring positions and distances for 110,000 galaxies within 2 billion light years of Earth.

No previous survey has covered as much of the sky at such a distance. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), which is based in the northern hemisphere, has probed about twice as far but covers only 23% of the sky....

...Scientists are still analysing the new map, but a few features stand out immediately. The biggest concentration of matter seen by the survey is a previously known giant pileup of galaxies called the Shapley supercluster, which lies about 600 million light years from Earth.

The survey also found some enormous voids – regions of space that are relatively empty, including one that is about 3.5 billion light years across....

...In fact the newly found void is so large that it is difficult to fit into our present understanding of the universe on the largest scales. Computer simulations show that gravity causes galaxies and galaxy clusters to get closer together over time, with voids growing between the clusters.

But the finite time available since the big bang makes it difficult to explain a void as large as the one found in this survey (other researchers, however, say galaxy maps already hint at the existence of such large-scale structures)...."

Inmate's Final Meals On Texas Death Row

2009-04-05T15:25:00.006+01:00

"...Two 16 oz. ribeyes, one lb. turkey breast (sliced thin), twelve strips of bacon, two large hamburgers with mayo, onion, and lettuce, two large baked potatoes with butter, sour cream, cheese, and chives, four slices of cheese or one-half pound of grated cheddar cheese, chef salad with blue cheese dressing, two ears of corn on the cob, one pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and four vanilla Cokes or Mr. Pibb..."

Helium Balloon Photography

2009-04-05T15:19:00.005+01:00

"Spanish students manage to take amazing pictures of earth from space using just a helium balloon and a cheap nikon camera.."

Robot Scientist Makes Discoveries Without Human Help

2009-04-05T01:50:00.008+01:00

"A robot scientist that can generate its own hypotheses and run experiments to test them has made its first real scientific discoveries.

Dubbed Adam, the robot is the handiwork of researchers at Aberystwyth University and the University of Cambridge in the UK. All by itself it discovered new functions for a number of genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, aka brewer's yeast...

...Adam, which actually consists of a small roomful of lab equipment, has four personal computers that act as a brain, and possesses robot arms, cameras, liquid handlers, incubators and other equipment. The team gave the robot a freezer containing a library of thousands of mutant strains of yeast with individual genes deleted. It was also equipped with a database containing information about yeast genes, enzymes, and metabolism, and a supply of hundreds of metabolites...."

Carbon Nanotube Muscles, Strong As Diamond, Flexible As Rubber

2009-04-03T20:01:00.006+01:00

"...Turn to the laboratory of Ray Baughman, who has created a next-generation muscle from carbon nanotubes.

Baughman and his colleagues have produced a formulation that's stronger than steel, as light as air and more flexible than rubber — a truly 21st century muscle. It could be used to make artificial limbs, "smart" skins, shape-changing structures, ultra-strong robots and — in the immediate future — highly-efficient solar cells.

'We can generate about 30 times the force per unit area of natural muscle,' said Baughman, director of the NanoTech Institute at the University of Texas at Dallas...."

Experts Say The Human Lifespan Will Reach A Thousand Years

2009-03-29T22:24:00.004+01:00

"Cambridge University geneticist Aubrey de Grey has famously stated, “The first person to live to be 1,000 years old is certainly alive today …whether they realize it or not, barring accidents and suicide, most people now 40 years or younger can expect to live for centuries.”

Perhaps de Gray is way too optimistic, but plenty of others have joined the search for a virtual fountain of youth. In fact, a growing number of scientists, doctors, geneticists and nanotech experts—many with impeccable academic credentials—are insisting that there is no hard reason why ageing can’t be dramatically slowed or prevented altogether. Not only is it theoretically possible, they argue, but a scientifically achievable goal that can and should be reached in time to benefit those alive today..."

*Photo via emeagwali

A Story From The Moon

2009-03-29T22:13:00.008+01:00

"...I guess the discovery that really baffled me started the first night en route to the moon beyond the Van Allen Belts. We closed the windows and turned out the lights and Mike Collins had the headset on to listen to Houston and Neil [Armstrong] and I were under the couch. All of a sudden I saw a flash, and then another flash. And before I could move my eye to see what it was, it was gone. And then maybe a streak. And I kept seeing these, until I decided I wanted to go to sleep.

So when we had one day left coming back and I said to the other two guys, “You guys see anything funny last night, like some flashes of light, or something? Mike, did you see anything?”

“No, I didn’t see anything.”

“Neil?”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, I saw about a hundred of them.”

Well, it was obviously inside the spacecraft [because the windows were closed]. So we came back and reported that afterward. And to get to the bottom of if, the next flight was briefed. And they went up there. And they could see the flashes with their eyes shut.

Which meant that high Z particles were penetrating the spacecraft, your helmet, everything else -- and impacting the retina of your eye. And it’s an example of the kind of particles that are out there en route to human travel to Mars and so forth that we need to keep track of. And when they hit your brain, you just lost a cell of two of memory. So I guess that was one of the most unusual things we saw."

*Photo via asymptotia

Volunteers Spend Three Months Locked In Metal Container

2009-03-29T21:53:00.007+01:00

"What would you be prepared to do for money? For $6,500 (£4,500) a month, to be precise?

How about the following: locking yourself inside a small metal container for three months without any communication with the outside world, with electronic monitors attached to various parts of your body and with frozen baby food and cereal bars for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

To add to the fun you'll have five companions who will do everything possible to stop you trying to escape before the three months are up.

Meanwhile, from a control room outside, a team of scientists will monitor your every move checking for any signs that you are starting to crack up.

And banish all hope of finding solace through alcohol or tobacco. Both are strictly forbidden..."

*Photo via DailyMail

Google

2008-10-30T04:43:00.006Z

A few link to things Google offer, and things they are working on...

Project 10¹⁰⁰ is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible.

Google Chrome, their new lightweight browser.

Web Search Features in addition to your normal searching

Free essential software selected by Google

Google Labs is a showcase of prototypes for playing with

Other Things to do with Google

Even more Google products and features to use.

*Photo via Flickr

The Big Question Mark

2008-10-30T04:21:00.005Z

A few from the BBC report a 100 things we didn't know last year...

3. Adding milk to tea negates the health-giving effects of a hot brew.

16. Chimpanzees make their own spears for hunting.

19. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hosts a daily radio phone-in show.

24. The are 30,000 wild parakeets in London.

34. Kryptonite exists.

46. Peanuts can be made into diamonds.

50. Left-handed people are called sinistral.

55. Books used to be bound in human skin.

63. Cats can be police constables.

67. The brain can turn down its ability to see in order to listen to complex sounds like music.

See the website for more details, also a regularly updated version of things we did not know.

*Photo via Mark and Maria

You Are Exactly Where You Need To Be

2008-10-30T04:09:00.004Z

"Learning to Love You More is both a web site and series of non-web presentations comprised of work made by the general public in response to assignments given by artists...

...Participants accept an assignment, complete it by following the simple but specific instructions, send in the required report (photograph, text, video, etc), and see their work posted on-line. Like a recipe, meditation practice, or familiar song, the prescriptive nature of these assignments is intended to guide people towards their own experience...."

What Your Cat Does When Your Asleep

2008-10-29T00:35:00.003Z

Scotch Tape Unleases X-Ray Power

2008-10-29T00:23:00.006Z

"In a tour de force of office supply physics, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have shown that it is possible to produce X-rays by simply unrolling Scotch tape...

...Other brands of clear adhesive tapes also gave off X-rays, but with a different spectrum of energies. Duct tape did not produce any X-rays, Dr. Putterman said. Masking tape has not been tested...

Finally, there is the possibility of nuclear fusion. If energy from the breaking adhesive could be directed away from the electrons to heavy hydrogen ions implanted in modified tape, the ions would accelerate so that when they collided, they could fuse and give off energy — the process that lights the sun."

Time Lapse

2008-08-25T00:54:00.000+01:00

Crop Circle Depicts Pi

2008-08-25T00:29:00.002+01:00

"A new crop circle in England depicts pi, an essential math formulation, accurately to ten decimal places in a huge crop circle near Barbury Castle, an Iron Age fort.

The crop circle depicts pi mystery was solved by astrophysicist Mike Reed who said it “clearly shows a coded image representing the first ten digits of Pi - the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter...”

Elizabeth Soule Photography

2008-08-22T19:36:00.006+01:00

"Photography has always interested me. I love dropping a piece of paper into the developer and watching the image emerge. It amazes me every time.

I studied photography in school; film cameras, black and white printing and alternative processes. I've always resisted digital photography, but each day I learn a little more and realize it is an important part of the process..."

The Large Hadron Collider

2008-08-22T19:20:00.008+01:00

"The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest particle accelerator complex, intended to collide opposing beams of 7 TeV protons. Its main purpose is to explore the validity and limitations of the Standard Model, the current theoretical picture for particle physics...

When activated, it is theorized that the collider will produce the elusive Higgs boson, the observation of which could confirm the predictions and "missing links" in the Standard Model of physics and could explain how other elementary particles acquire properties such as mass. The verification of the existence of the Higgs boson would be a significant step in the search for a Grand Unified Theory, which seeks to unify three of the four known fundamental forces: electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force, leaving out only gravity.

The Higgs boson may also help to explain why gravitation is so weak compared to the other three forces. In addition to the Higgs boson, other theorized novel particles that might be produced, and for which searches are planned, include strangelets, micro black holes, magnetic monopoles and supersymmetric particles...."

More pictures here.

Sea Water

2008-08-20T01:36:00.000+01:00

Mind Control

2008-08-20T01:15:00.005+01:00

Also, an interesting article plus photos on various parasites that control the minds of insects and mammals.

Ferrofluid

2008-08-20T01:06:00.001+01:00

"A ferrofluid (from the Latin ferrum, meaning iron) is a liquid which becomes strongly polarised in the presence of a magnetic field. It is a colloidal mixture comprising extremely small magnetic particles suspended in a liquid. The particles are coated with a surface active agent (surfactant) to prevent them from clumping together.

Ferrofluids are composed of nanoscale ferromagnetic, or ferrimagnetic, particles suspended in a carrier fluid, usually an organic solvent or water. The ferromagnetic nano-particles are coated with a surfactant to prevent their agglomeration (due to van der Waals and magnetic forces). Although the name may suggest otherwise, ferrofluids do not display ferromagnetism, since they do not retain magnetization in the absence of an externally applied field. In fact, ferrofluids display (bulk-scale) paramagnetism, and are often referred as being "superparamagnetic" due to their large magnetic susceptibility. Permanently magnetized fluids are difficult to create at present..."

Ship Of Theseus

2008-08-20T00:44:00.003+01:00

The Ship of Theseus, also known as the Theseus' paradox, is a paradox which raises the question of whether an object which has had all its component parts replaced remains fundamentally the same object.

A Prosthesis For Speech

2008-08-16T21:44:00.003+01:00

"For more than eight years, Erik Ramsey has been trapped in his own body. At 16, Ramsey suffered a brain-stem injury after a car crash, leaving him with a condition known as 'locked-in' syndrome. Unlike other forms of paralysis, locked-in patients can still feel sensation, but they cannot move on their own, and they are unable to control the complex vocal muscles required to speak. In Ramsey's case, his eyes are his only means of communication: skyward for yes, downward for no.

Now researchers at Boston University are developing brain-reading computer software that in essence translates thoughts into speech. Combined with a speech synthesizer, such brain-machine interfacing technology has enabled Ramsey to vocalize vowels in real time--a huge step toward recovering full speech for Ramsey and other patients with paralyzing speech disorders. The researchers are presenting their work at the annual Acoustical Society of America meeting in Paris this week..."

Radioactive Fungi

2008-08-11T23:15:00.002+01:00

"...Sitting at the centre of the exclusion zone, the damaged reactor unit is encased in a steel and cement sarcophagus. It's a deathly tomb that plays host to about 200 tonnes of melted radioactive fuel, and is swarming with radioactive dust.

But it's also the abode of some very hardy fungi which researchers believe aren't just tolerating the severe radiation, but actually harnessing its energy to thrive.

'Our findings suggest that [the fungi] can capture the energy from radiation and transform it into other forms of energy that can be used for growth,' said microbiologist Arturo Casadevall from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York, USA..."

C'était Un Rendez-Vous

2008-08-03T13:58:00.003+01:00

"The film shows an eight-minute drive through Paris in the early hours of the morning (05:30hrs), accompanied by sounds of a high-revving engine, gear changes and squealing tires. It starts in a tunnel of the Paris Périphérique at Porte Dauphine, with an onboard view from an unseen car exiting up on a ramp to Avenue Foch.

Well known landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe, Opéra Garnier, and Place de la Concorde with its obelisk are passed, as well as the Champs-Élysées. Pedestrians are passed, pigeons sitting on the streets are scattered, red lights are ignored, one-way streets are driven up the wrong way, centre lines are crossed, the car runs on a pavement to avoid a refuse lorry.

The car is never seen as the camera seems to be attached below the front bumper, judging from the relative positions of other cars, the visible headlight beam and the final shot when the car is parked in front of kerbstones on Montmartre, with the famous Cathedral Sacré Cœur behind, and out of shot..."

Swim With Jellyfish

2008-08-01T15:08:00.006+01:00

"Jellyfish Lake is a well-known dive site in the Pacific island of Palau. It is one of the rock islands, a series of small, rocky, uninhabited archipelagos off the coast of Koror. Jellyfish Lake is completely isolated, but in the distant past, it had an outlet to the ocean.

The outlet was closed off and the high jellyfish population was isolated and started to feed on quickly-reproducing algae. Contrary to popular belief, the jellyfish of Jellyfish Lake do have small stinging cells, or nematocysts.

However, because the stinging cells are so tiny, their sting is not detectable on most human tissue, so tourists can enjoy swimming with them much closer than would be possible anywhere else..."

Disappearing Rabbit

2008-08-01T15:04:00.001+01:00

German Town Scraps All Traffic Lights And Road Signs

2008-07-31T19:37:00.004+01:00

"If you find yourself crossing the road in the German town of Bohmte, look both ways – and then perhaps check again.

It has scrapped all its traffic lights and road signs in a radical experiment designed to make the streets safer. Yesterday, the local council said the scheme was a complete success.

In the four weeks since the signs were ripped up, there has not been a single accident..."

Very Tall Giraffe

2008-07-31T19:32:00.000+01:00

A Terrible Need

2008-07-31T19:24:00.003+01:00

More Bukowski.

Adding And Subtracting

2008-07-31T19:18:00.005+01:00

"Ryan and Dave are the most unique identical twins you'll ever meet. After tiring of piercing, tattoos, and implants about three years ago, they began exploring much heavier surgical modifications.

Dave had spent two and a half years in pre-med at Queens University in Kingston, and using contacts made both there and online he and his twin brother have changed themselves in ways far beyond anything anyone else has ever attempted."

Read an Interview with Ryan and Dave on BMEZINE.

Elephants Swimming

2008-07-31T19:14:00.000+01:00

Bloom In Night

2008-07-31T19:03:00.006+01:00

One of my all time favourite photographers, Junku Nishimura. Please take a look at his collection on flickr.

Man Completes The World's Biggest Jigsaw

2008-07-31T13:30:00.003+01:00

"Eric Smith is celebrating after spending the last six months completing the world's biggest jigsaw. The 73-year-old used 24,000-pieces to complete the huge 12ft by six puzzle, which now stands proudly in his garage.

During the meticulous 179 day process furniture had to be moved out of rooms and a special table built just so Eric had enough room to construct the spectacular jigsaw..."

Unnecessary Knowledge

2008-07-31T13:12:00.003+01:00

The word 'lethologica' describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.

The world record for time without sleep is 264 hours (11 days) by Randy Gardner in 1965.

A giraffe's heart weighs an incredible 24 pounds.

The brain continues sending electrical wave signals for 37 hours after death

There is enough iron in a human being to make one small nail.

There are 1 million ants for every person in the world

The fantastic website, 'Unnecessary Knowledge ' can provide you with more useless information.

Stop Motion Cooking

2008-07-30T02:22:00.007+01:00

The Blind Climber Who Sees With His Tongue

2008-07-30T02:16:00.005+01:00

"...Born with retinoschisis, a rare disease akin to macular degeneration, Erik Weihenmayer was sightless by age 13. Even so, he continued to pursue his dream of mountaineering, and he succeeded.

In 2001 he became the first—and to date the only—blind climber to summit Mount Everest. Today he is climbing with the aid of a tool that allows him to “see” in a new way—with his tongue..."

Last Year I Killed A Man

2008-07-29T22:04:00.007+01:00

"At 9.45am on Saturday, June 23 2007, I killed a man. A perfectly ordinary man, on a perfectly ordinary summer's day. CCTV pictures show him entering the station, unremarkable among all the passengers going to the West End. He waited at the front of the platform until he could hear my train approaching, then he calmly stepped down on to the tracks and looked directly at me as he waited for the impact.

The impact was only a matter of seconds in coming, but those seconds felt like minutes. This wasn't how it was meant to be. It wasn't how I had imagined it during my years as a Central line train driver. We talk of "jumpers"; workmates tell of blurry images flashing in front of them, of the shock of the impact. I wasn't expecting to see a young man in jeans and a summer shirt waiting for death, looking me in the eye."

*Photo Source

A Hundred Possessions

2008-07-26T16:38:00.008+01:00

"Stuff starts to overwhelm you, says Dave Bruno, 37, an online entrepreneur who looked around his San Diego home one day last summer and realized how much his family's belongings were weighing him down. Thus began what he calls the 100 Thing Challenge. (Apparently, Bruno is so averse to excess he can't refer to 100 things in the plural.)

In a country where clutter has given rise not only to professional organizers but also to professional organizers with their own reality series (TLC's Clean Sweep), Bruno's online musings about his slow and steady purge have developed something of a cult following online, inspiring others to launch their own countdown to clutter-free living..."

There is also a news article about, Michael Landy, a man who destroyed his possessions for art.

Glass Frog

2008-07-25T19:48:00.007+01:00

"While the general background colouration of most glassfrogs is primarily lime green; the ventral skin of some members of this family is transparent (species of the genus Hyalinobatrachium). The internal viscera, including the heart, liver, and digestive tract can be seen due to the translucency of the ventral skin..."

*Photo Source

Nasa Scientists Make Magnetic Fields Visible

2008-07-25T19:10:00.013+01:00

"Magnetic fields are invisible, at least usually. But Scientists from NASA's Space Sciences Laboratory have made them visible as 'animated photographs', using sound-controlled CGI and 3D compositing..."

Face Perception

2008-07-25T11:54:00.007+01:00

"There is an universal tendency among mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object, those qualities, with which they are familiarly acquainted, and of which they are intimately conscious. We find human faces in the moon, armies in the clouds; and by a natural propensity, if not corrected by experience and reflection, ascribe malice or good- will to every thing, that hurts or pleases us."
— David Hume, The Natural History of Religion.

Seeing faces in inanimate objects is a form of Pareidolia, this is a psychological phenomenon involving stimulus, usually from a image or sound, that is perceived to be significant.
In contrast, there is a condition called 'face blindness' or Prosopagnosia, where the ability to recognise faces in normal everyday life, your family or friends for example, is impaired.
People with Prosopagnosia may find it difficult to socialise and so other cues such as voice, clothing and body shaped can be used to aid them. Read this account, where a women with the condition explains further and how she recognises faces in relation to stones.

Drawings Under The Influence Of LSD

2008-07-21T22:44:00.003+01:00

"These 9 drawings were done by an artist under the influence of LSD -- part of a test conducted by the US government during it's dalliance with psychotomimetic drugs in the late 1950's. The artist was given a dose of LSD 25 and free access to an activity box full of crayons and pencils. His subject is the medico that jabbed him..."

The Bloom Device

2008-07-21T21:53:00.004+01:00

"The Bloom device is meant to be a subversive and inspirational tool for our concrete jungles. Similar to the tuft of a dandelion as the wind carries the seedling, we propose a way of dispersing seedlings with bubbles and bicycling.

Seeds are co-mingled with a bubble mixture and upon pedaling to your destination, you release the floating seeds which land in cracks and crevices throughout the city streets. Over time, the seeds grow into flowers and plants to create a green "fringe" to our sidewalks and streets..."

Reproduction Artists Produce Self-Portraits Inspired By The Masters

2008-07-20T14:44:00.004+01:00

"Dafen is a village surrounded by the thriving metropolis of Shenzhen, and the origin of most of the world’s reproduction oil paintings. In the popular imagination Dafen’s artists produce anonymous works for unknown customers, operating no differently than a faceless factory churning out counterfeits, replicas and nothing close to what would be considered art...

The product of the collaboration are sets of images a digital photo of the artist in his studio, an indicative painting of their usual output and an original self-portrait. While the final works contain both the creative signature of the original masters and the emergent self-consciousness of the Dafen artists, it is equally important to note that they derived great fulfillment from using their talents freely, and were remunerated at a rate commensurate with the unique international nature of the project..."

Aerogel

2008-07-20T14:31:00.004+01:00

"Aerogel holds 15 entries in the Guinness Book of Records, more than any other material. Sometimes called “frozen smoke”, aerogel is made by the supercritical drying of liquid gels of alumina, chromia, tin oxide, or carbon. It’s 99.8% empty space, which makes it look semi-transparent.

Aerogel is a fantastic insulator — if you had a shield of aerogel, you could easily defend yourself from a flamethrower. It stops cold, it stops heat. You could build a warm dome on the Moon.

Aerogels have unbelievable surface area in their internal fractal structures — cubes of aerogel just an inch on a side may have an internal surface area equivalent to a football field. Despite its low density, aerogel has been looked into as a component of military armor because of its insulating properties..."

Go to Accelerating Future for more futuristic materials.

Yellow Drum Machine

2008-07-20T14:07:00.009+01:00

A robot thats purpose in life is to wander around and find objects to drum on.

Age Maps

2008-07-20T13:55:00.003+01:00

Bobby Neel Adams splits portraits between the young and old self, couples and families.

Found

2008-07-20T13:36:00.002+01:00

"We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles - anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. Anything goes..."

Language Without Numbers

2008-07-20T13:24:00.003+01:00

"An Amazonian language with only 300 speakers has no word to express the concept of "one" or any other specific number, according to a new study from an MIT-led team.

The team, led by MIT professor of brain and cognitive sciences Edward Gibson, found that members of the Piraha tribe in remote northwestern Brazil use language to express relative quantities such as "some" and "more," but not precise numbers..."

The Boy With The Incredible Brain

2008-07-18T11:43:00.006+01:00

"In his mind, he says, each integer up to 10,000 has its own unique shape, colour, texture and feel.

He can intuitively "see" results of calculations as synesthesic landscapes without using conscious mental effort, and that he can "sense" whether a number is prime or composite.

He has described his visual image of 289 as particularly ugly, as particularly attractive, and pi as beautiful. 6 apparently has no distinct image. Tammet not only verbally describes these visions, but has also created artwork: a watercolour painting of Pi.

Tammet also holds the European record for reciting pi to 22,514 digits in five hours and nine minutes.

He speaks eleven languages including English, French, Finnish, German, Spanish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Estonian, Icelandic, Welsh and Esperanto."

Shadow Artist

2008-07-18T11:25:00.008+01:00

"Although this may not be entirely new, this could only be done perfectly by real talented artists who see way beyond the physical and visual attributes of things utilized to create shadow art or as the pioneering optical illusion and shadow artist Shigeo Fukuda refers to as shadow sculpture..."

Stingrays

2008-07-18T11:01:00.006+01:00

They have no bones, their colour can vary from grey to bright red, be plain or patterned. Adult rays can be no bigger than a human palm or have an overall length of fourteen feet, and a group of them is called a 'fever' of stingrays.

More photos here.

Anti-Energy Drink

2008-07-17T20:09:00.002+01:00

"Drank is a new anti-energy drink, designed to slow your roll. The grape-flavoured drink is fortified with melatonin, valerian root, and rose hips..."

The Nietzsche Family Circus

2008-07-17T19:30:00.011+01:00

When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.

"The Nietzsche Family Circus pairs a randomized Family Circus cartoon with a randomized Friedrich Nietzsche quote."

Sunset On Mars

2008-07-16T19:24:00.004+01:00

"On May 19, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover's 489th Martian day, or sol."

Elephant Painting

2008-07-14T18:19:00.009+01:00

"Bull elephant Noppakhao paints a picture of another elephant in Ayutthaya province, Thailand"

Here is a video of Noppakhao painting the picture.

The Boy Who See's With Sound

2008-07-14T14:37:00.005+01:00

First part of documentary about Ben Underwood, a boy that lost his eyes to cancer and has taught himself to see with sound.

Polaroid Everyday Until He Died

2008-07-14T14:21:00.007+01:00

An article on Jamie Livingston, a man who took a polaroid every day for 18 years until his death on October 25th, 1997.

Archive of polaroids, and a blog detailing the project.

Medusa Chandelier

2008-07-10T23:53:00.004+01:00

"Solo Exhibition at Hosfelt Gallery in New York, November 2006, of 3 large chandelier like structures, made of cast silicone rubber. Based on 19th century engravings of jellyfish, by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel. Largest measures 9ft in diameter."

Sand

2008-07-10T23:47:00.002+01:00

Each grain of sand a tiny work of art

The Boolean Cafe

2008-07-10T23:00:00.010+01:00

"The Boolean, Cafe Interior design project by Torafu architects the University of Tokyo.."

Non-Newtonian Fluid

2008-05-08T01:39:00.012+01:00

"A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid in which the viscosity changes with the applied shear stress. As a result, non-Newtonian fluids may not have a well-defined viscosity."

This is a video of vibrating cornstarch. Also, here is a video of somebody walking across a pool of cornstarch.

Altered books

2008-05-08T01:34:00.004+01:00

http://www.logolalia.com/alteredbooks/

Turn Ashes Into Diamonds

2008-05-08T01:14:00.007+01:00

Companies offering to turn the ashes of deceased loved ones, including pets, into glass, diamonds or coral reefs. Also diamonds made from your living loved ones hair and nails.

*Photo from amnesty

Hearing Colours, Tasting Shapes

2008-05-07T20:10:00.005+01:00

"When Matthew Blakeslee shapes hamburger patties with his hands, he experiences a vivid bitter taste in his mouth. Esmerelda Jones (a pseudonym) sees blue when she listens to the note C sharp played on the piano; other notes evoke different hues--so much so that the piano keys are actually color-coded, making it easier for her to remember and play musical scales. And when Jeff Coleman looks at printed black numbers, he sees them in color, each a different hue...."

An article by By Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Edward M. Hubbard

Magic Mint Lollipop

2008-05-07T02:34:00.007+01:00

"Hand made mint flavoured lollipop, contains leaf extract of Salvia Divinorum (diviners sage), Magic Mint as it is also known.

This plant has been used by the shamans of Mexico for centuries as part of their rituals. It is said theat by consuming Magic Mint you may be able to find your animal spirit!"

They also produce other edibles, including vodka-scorpion lollipops, monkey picked tea, lizard wine, thai green crocodile curry and reindeer pate.

Trapped in an Elevator for 41 Hours

2008-05-07T02:26:00.003+01:00

Book Trading

2008-05-07T02:20:00.006+01:00

"WhatsOnMyBookshelf, a book trading community, allows members to exchange their books using a simple point system. Users maintain their own profile page with friends, book inventory, and wishlists.
Our goal is to facilitate the trading of books in addition to connecting people with similar reading interests. Sharing a book is the creation of a common place for dialogue, friendships, and ideas."

The Ice Hotel

2008-05-07T02:14:00.005+01:00

"Ten thousand years ago, glaciers carved a riverbed and the Torne River was born. Since then, the crystal-clear, pure water of the Torne River has flowed freely along its 600-kilometer path through Lapland out to the sea in the southeast.

The entire ICEHOTEL is on loan from the mighty Torne River and is a place where time stands still. And very soon, when the spring comes and then finally the entire creation will once again become part of the rushing rapids coursing toward the sea."

Where to Buy Miracle Fruit

2008-05-07T01:59:00.009+01:00

"...Although the berry itself is not sweet, it contains an active glycoprotein molecule, with some trailing carbohydrate chains, called miraculin. When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue's taste buds, causing changes to gustation - in particular bitter and sour foods (such as lemons and limes) consumed later to taste sweet. This effect lasts up to two hours."

*Photo from National Geographic Nov 2007

The Newton Virus

2008-05-07T01:50:00.005+01:00

"...Spice up your colleagues' day with our Newton Virus, the first virus to introduce gravity to your laptop, causing the desktop icons to fall down as if subject to the gravitational pull from the real world."

Pinhole Photography

2008-05-07T01:16:00.004+01:00

"The reason why I like pinhole photography is that my curiosity is always stimulated. I always find the process of making the photo exciting. The time spent creating pinhole photos heals me. When I am looking at subject with my camera, I learn the sense that I am talking with myself. I think more so, when I'm taking flower and the plant pictures."

Biometric Daemon

2008-05-03T17:40:00.004+01:00

"Portable electronic pets able to recognise their owner's voice and walking style could replace passwords and PINs as a way to keep personal details and accounts secure, say UK researchers..."

Crayon Physics

2008-05-03T17:14:00.007+01:00

"Crayon Physics Deluxe is a 2D physics puzzle game, in which you get to experience what it would be like if your drawings would be magically transformed into real physical objects. Solve puzzles with your artistic vision and creative use of physics."

Also try Phun

Five Intersecting Tetrahedra Origami

2008-05-03T14:32:00.007+01:00

"This visually stunning object should be a familiar sight to those who frequent the landscapes of M.C. Escher or like to thumb through geometry textbooks..."

*Source

Honey Drops

2008-05-03T14:22:00.006+01:00

"The Honey Drop™ is made with 100% all natural, pure dried Honibe honey. No additives. No artificial flavor. We also offer a Honey Drop™ with lemon. This is made with 100% all natural, pure dried Honibe honey and pure lemon. A tasty combination!"

Creative Symptoms of Aphasia

2008-05-03T14:06:00.009+01:00

"Some paintings are meant to be appreciated in silence – but not this one. It is called Unravelling Boléro, by Canadian artist Anne Adams, and is a bar-by-bar representation of the popular classical piece Boléro by Maurice Ravel

The painting also provides a scientific window into the creative mind.

When Adams completed Unravelling Boléro in 1994, her brain was starting to be affected by a neurodegenerative condition called primary progressive aphasia. It later robbed Adams of speech, and eventually took her life.

In its early stages, however, the condition seemed to unleash a flowering of neural development in a brain area that integrated information from different senses..."

Holl's Department of Philosophy

2008-05-03T13:43:00.007+01:00

"The interior renovation of a 1890 corner building at 5 Washington Place (close to Washington Square Park) is to be used by the NYU Department or Philosophy.

Rising from a cork raft of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Philosophy is organized around a backbone of light. Here it isn't only a metaphor of light to learning, but practical space of interaction between students and professors who can meet casually on the large landings. A new stair shaft below a new skylight joins the 6-level building vertically with a shifting porosity of light and shadow that change seasonally. The inspirations of words form Wittgenstein's text in Remarks on Color is elaborated in the "shadow of white light" phenomena. We installed prismatic film on the south-facing stairwell windows which occasionally breaks the sunlight into a prismatic rainbow."

The Face Object

2008-05-03T13:26:00.009+01:00

"Soares has conceived a series of alternative diagnosis tools that use trained bees to perform health checkups, detect diseases, and monitor fertility cycles. “Bees have a phenomenal odor perception,” explains Soares. “They can be trained to target a specific odor.” The Face Object has two chambers. Bees that detect certain odors in the breath—some of them even connected to forms of cancer—will go into the smaller chamber if they sense them. The Fertility Cycle Object has three chambers: The largest corresponds to the ovulation period, the second to preovulation, and the third to postovulation. The bees will fly into the relevant chamber. The Precise Object has an outer curved tube that prevents bees from flying accidentally into the interior diagnosis chamber, making for a more precise result."

The Immortal Jellyfish

2008-05-03T12:03:00.004+01:00

"Turritopsis nutricula is a hydrozoan (jellyfish) with a life cycle in which it reverts back to the polyp stage after becoming sexually mature. It is the only known case of a metazoan (animal) capable of reverting completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary stage (Piraino et al. 1996, p. 302). It does this through the cell development process of transdifferentiation. Theoretically, this cycle can repeat indefinitely, rendering it effectively immortal."