The Boy With The Incredible Brain

"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

"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

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

"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

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

"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

"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

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

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

"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

Each grain of sand a tiny work of art

The Boolean Cafe

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

Non-Newtonian Fluid

"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

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

Turn Ashes Into Diamonds

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

"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

"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

Book Trading

"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

"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

"...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

"...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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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."