Damn Cool Pictures

The Evolution of Motorcycle Safety [Infographic]

2012-05-25T23:21:00.002-07:00

The early 1960s may have been the decade when motorcycling officially became the world’s coolest mode of transport – thanks to the smouldering likes of Steve McQueen and James Dean – but it was also the era when deaths on the road peaked, with over 1,500 bikers a year killed between 1959 and 1962.

Keeping bikers and other road users safe on the roads is a cause most people actively support. Promoting awareness of motorcycle safety and bringing attention on how this can be enhanced collectively play an active role in motorcycle safety communications. Bennetts has just published an infographic supporting this very cause. Championing the awareness and inroads made into improving motorcycle safety, the ‘Evolution of Motorcycle Safety‘ infographic encapsulates the historic charting of pinnacle moments in the development of motorcycle safety as well as how this has affected the safety of road users.

Click image to see a larger version.

Via Infographicjournal

Stuntman's Parachute-free Skydive [VIDEO]

2012-05-24T22:22:00.002-07:00

A stuntman, Gary Connery, has become the first man to leap 2,400 feet and safely land without using a parachute. The 42-year-old daredevil plunged from a helicopter wearing only a wing suit, in a death-defying feat before landing in an area containing 18,600 cardboard boxes.

Via SkyNews

Teen Stars Then and Now

2012-05-24T11:54:00.010-07:00

These people used to be the TV-stars when they were teens, but as years have gone by many of them have changed completely. In the recent months, we've learned that Alicia Silverstone is bird-feeding her kid, Mayim Bialik is still breast-feeding her three-year-old kid, and that Lark Voorhies looks absolutely nothing like she used to. I guess that means it's time to figure out which of our other fan favorites are doing weird things in 2012.

Alicia Silverstone

Kel Mitchell

Mayim Bialik

Danny Tamberelli

Lark Voorhies

Michael Bower

Amanda Bynes

Frankie Muniz

Robin Kelly

Taran Noah Smith

Tara Reid

Eddie (Edward) Furlong

Amy Jo Johnson

Jason Frank

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Jeremy Jackson

Pamela Anderson

Eric Nies

Jenny McCarthy

Macaulay Culkin

Tori Spelling

Jamie Walters

Claire Danes

Jared Leto

Jodie Sweetin

Damon Sharpe

Rebecca Gayheart

Kirk Cameron

Tia and Tamera Mowry

Blake McIver Ewing

Lindsay Lohan

Via Buzzfeed

Homemade Magnetic Levitating Bed

2012-05-24T11:25:00.007-07:00

Reddit user with the nickname ‘mememetatata’ built this awesome levitating bed using plywood and hockey puck sized rare earth magnets. With $1,000, he built this floating bed that can comfortably sleep one person upto 250 pounds due to the fact that two people would make the rig collapse.

Building the frame of the levitating part of the bed. Fits a twin sized mattress. It's 74 inches long and 38 inches wide.

Another angle

Put in the slats that will keep the magnets in place

Put the magnets in and closed it up

Highly technical drawing of one of the corners of the main thing

Making the frame of the lower platform. It is 8 feet long and 7 feet wide

Another angle

Due to bad packaging in the magnet shipment, two of the magnets got stuck together. This is incredibly bad news because there are several hundred pounds of force holding these together now. After a lot of raging and angrily emailing the company that I got the magnets from, I realized that a rubber glove I was handling the magnets with was stuck between them. It provided a gap of around 2mm. I used scissors to pry this open and stick successively larger things inside.

Got a pen in (I taped around the pen so that the splinters wouldn't get everywhere if the pen shattered, which it did ;D)

Three pens and a spacer

Two spacers and a pen

I was worried that the pens would fall out and I would lose all of my prying progress, or that all of my spacing would fall out and they would be entirely stuck together with no gap, in which case they would be entirely and impossibly stuck together (many hundreds of pounds of force holding them together, these are solid neodymium rare earth magnets the size of hockey pucks). I used screws, which since they are magnetic, stood no chance of falling out! They also worked pretty well to prop them apart.

Two spacers

I stomped on the spacers to jam them and a pen in. I then replaced the pen with a third spacer and got them unstuck!

Slight damage. Essentially only aesthetic. Tests I did confirmed that the magnets were for all intents and purposes entirely functional.

Finishing up the base.

Put it all together. Steel cable tethers the top bed to the bottom base. Had to do some math to determine how long the cable needed with how high I calculated that the bed would float. I got this stabilization system (and most of the idea of the bed!) from this bed which is a much larger scale, much more expensive version http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=hgI5jSC3NwY#t=94s

View underneath the platform

The steel cable goes into the platform where it is attached and screwed in.

Complete bed! Although I haven't yet put on the trim and nice looking parts, or put on a clear coat of paint to make it shinier/cleaner looking.

Sexting and the College Student [infographic]

2012-05-24T10:25:00.003-07:00

For most college students, sexting is no big deal. In fact, as many as four out of five engage in sexting. But sexting can lead to more than just embarrassment -- it can lead to legal consequences, especially if a minor is involved. The problem with sexting doesn't end there. It has become an epidemic among college students, which can lead to other problems too.

Click image to see a larger version.

Via BCO

Do You Speak English? Yes, Sure [Video]

2012-05-23T17:06:00.003-07:00

The guys from Russia exceeded the speed limit and decided to speak in English with a Ukrainian policeman. They were sure that he does not understand English and just let go and they will not have to pay a fine.But ...

16 Passive Aggressive Car Alarm Notes

2012-05-23T15:11:00.006-07:00

I suppose the "I'm going to throw a brick through your window," line is frightening and probably effective, though couldn't these people think of another threat? I think that the Sharpie one is the most clever of the bunch, though I particularly enjoy the lines like, "no one wants to steal this piece of..." well, you get the idea.

Boston Car Crashes from the 1930s

2012-05-23T11:48:00.010-07:00

Some photographs of Car Accidents happened in the 30s in Boston.

These photographs taken in Boston in the '30s show us that there were just as many reckless drivers back in good old times as there are on the roads now.

The Secret Side of Military Spending [Infographic]

2012-05-23T11:29:00.003-07:00

The United States military budget rose for 11 consecutive years, going from $354 billion in 2001 to $721 billion in 2011. That's an increase of 104%. While 2012's proposed budget signals the first decline in military spending in over a decade, it is a drop in the bucket and if the past is any indication, actual spending will surpass the budget and once again take us into record territory.

Click image to see a larger version.

Via OME

Epic Parenting Fail at a Laundromat

2012-05-22T22:52:00.002-07:00

Parent puts child in a washer to scare him off but accidentally starts the machine. The dad found out that the washing machines automatically lock and begin their cycle once the door is shut. The paramedics looked at the kid and he escaped with only few bruisesand he was laughing when he came out of the laundry. A sign in the left hand corner of the frame reads ‘Junior wash $2.95’. But it was not supposed to be taken quite so literally.

Glowing Text Installations

2012-05-22T22:12:00.003-07:00

South Korean artist Lee Jung created and photographed this gorgeous series of text-based light installations.

Via Booooooom

30 Worst Parking Jobs Ever

2012-05-22T21:43:00.008-07:00

With such limited space, sometimes parking in the city can be pretty tricky. Just ask the thirty people featured in this list.

The Internet In 2015 Is The Down Of The Zettabyte Era [Infographic]

2012-05-22T11:09:00.002-07:00

Today we live in a world of petabytes and exabytes but according to the latest findings from the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI), we’ll need to add the term “zettabyte” to our vocabulary by 2015.

So, how much exactly is a zettabyte?

A zettabyte is roughly 1000 exabytes. To place that amount of volume in more practical terms, an exabyte alone has the capacity to hold over 36,000 years worth of HD quality video…or stream the entire Netflix catalog more than 3,000 times. A zettabyte is equivalent to about 250 billion DVDs.

The infographic below is an excellent representation of how much internet will grow in 2015?

The credit goes to Cisco who compiled these excellent stats into an amazing infographic.

Click image to see a larger version.

Via Cisco

Russian Teens Film Their Insane Bridge Climb Above Russky Island Bridge

2012-05-21T20:55:00.005-07:00

19-year-old photographer Vitaly Raskalov and two friends climbed the Zolotoy Rog Bridge in Vladivostok, Russia. The next day, they climbed the even higher Russky Island Bridge. Not surprisingly, these kids were arrested and fined after posting the evidence of their escapade atop the Russky Island Bridge. The fine was the equivalent of ten U.S. dollars, but perhaps the fine dished out by Mom and Dad was more appropriate.

Via The Moscow Times

Depressed Copywriter

2012-05-21T15:01:00.018-07:00

In the new Tumblr ‘Depressed Copywriter’, copywriters Chris Sheldon, Mariana Oliveira, Whitney Ruef and Tedd Wood have altered some pretty standard, altogether bland , print ads morphing them into hilarious, topical, poetic messages. As a copywriter myself, I find this highly entertaining.

Manhole Cover Art in Japan

2012-05-21T11:47:00.010-07:00

Manholes aren’t really artists’s first choice. However 95% of Japan’s 1,780 municipalities you will find artistic manhole covers unique to each city and town. It has become apart of the country’s national culture and it’s fascinating to see the different designs and styles that each town and city has chosen to represent them. With over 6,000 manhole cover artworks, it’s no surprise that spotting and photographing them has become a hobby for many.

Via MRSY on Flickr

A Look At The Modern College Student [Infographic]

2012-05-21T11:22:00.003-07:00

College students today are more tech savvy than ever before. Just how important is technology to their academic lives?

More than 90% use email to communicate with professors and 73% say they cannot study without technology. Seven in 10 take notes on keyboards instead of paper, virtually all students who own an ereader read textbooks on it and most use digital tools when preparing a presentation.

All that tech has caused something of a dependency too — 38% of students can’t go more than 10 minutes without checking their smartphone or other device. All told, students spent $13 billion on electronics in 2009.

Click image to see a larger version.

Via Mashable

Identical Twins Camille & Kennerly Perform Game of Thrones Theme on Harp

2012-05-18T22:51:00.003-07:00

The Gorgeous Camille and Kennerly, A.K.A Harp Twins, played they’re Electric Harps the intro to Game of Thrones theme (Electric Harp Duet).

It’s dorky as all hell, especially since these are electric harps and they’re in costume, but hot damn, it sounds great. Like the mid-90s PC role-playing game based on Game of Thrones we never got.

Siri, why Don’t You Understand Me? [Infographic]

2012-05-18T13:20:00.001-07:00

Apple’s Siri (Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface) was launched in October of 2011 as an integral—and heavily advertised—part of iOS 5, the operating system for the iPhone 4S. Six months later, many users are blown away by Siri’s functionality, but not everyone is satisfied. Some users are asking, “Siri, how useful are you really?”

Click image to see a larger version.

Via Thedegree360

Epic Translation Fail [Video]

2012-05-17T23:09:00.004-07:00

An excerpt from the primary level of Korean conversation courses with Christine Jang. All this Korean girl wants it to teach her students how to ask for Coke. “Please gimme coke?” “I wanna coke”.

Gale-Force Wind Portraits by Tadao Cern

2012-05-17T22:26:00.009-07:00

Lithuanian photographer and artist Tadao Cern has been working on a series of hilarious wind-pushed portraits entitled, ahem, Blow Job, that depicts individuals enduring gale-force winds directly to the face.

The artist says about the project:

'I wanted to do something very fun for myself and the visitors, just laugh and have a good time. I was surprised that there were so many laid-back people who were not afraid to look funny! Spacious studio was bursting at the seams and everyone was crying with laughter, laughing at themselves and at each other. Everyone (and there were more than one hundred!) who dared to stand up in front of my lens that evening will remember this photo shoot for a long time and have an extraordinary shot in his album'.

Via Facebook

The 25 Worst Jobs In The World

2012-05-17T20:13:00.002-07:00

Graduation is almost here and there are hundreds of terrible jobs you could apply for. We want to know what the absolute worst job is. Vote! (And don't worry, you can't even get any of these terrible jobs.)

Via Collegehumor

Classic Video Games in Real Life

2012-05-17T12:55:00.004-07:00

Unlike the modern games of today with fancy graphics and environments classic retro games were based on simple geometric shapes and designs. German photographer Patrick Runte has reimagined what these games might look like if they were interpreted in real life.

His series, titled Jump ‘N’ Run, shows people dressed in simple costumes of “characters” from games like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Pong, and Tetris.

The Sacred Orders of Geek [Infographic]

2012-05-17T12:48:00.002-07:00

Spawned from the union of yesterday's memes and obsessive technophiles, the mythical empire of Geekdom has been steadily expanding for decades, evolving and diversifying at each turn. Though hailing from different territories of geek, each new variety marches under the same banner. Check out some of the diverse inhabitants of Geektopia and see where you fit in.

Click image to see a larger version.

Via: Bestcollegesonline

Mark Zuckerberg: The Musical [Video]

2012-05-16T16:00:00.004-07:00

Facebook is going public on Friday and to celebrate folks at CDZA music has written a musical all about Mark Zuckerberg. ‘Zuckerberg: The Musical’ tells the story of Facebook, from his days at Harvard to the advent of the timeline set to the tune of songs from popular musicals like Westside Story, RENT, Phantom Of The Opera and more.

Via Socialtimes