Rhetty for History compiled a nostalgic list of the most iconic hairstyles over the past 100 years, noting how so many of them were inspired by film, television, movies, and music.

Hairstyles are constantly changing and sometimes what is old is now new. Over the years there have been a lot of different styles that have come and gone.

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A ranger with the New Zealand Department of Conservation in cooperation with Cornell Lab Bird Cams keeps track of how quickly a northern royal albatross chick is growing with bag and a scale. This particular weigh-in at 20 days required a larger bag to accommodate the increasing size of the fuzzy nestling.

At 20 days old, the growing Northern Royal Albatross nestling has graduated to a larger, more colorful weighing bag. The scale tips at 3.28 pounds (1.49 kilograms) as the youngster continues to develop.

Other Weigh-Ins and Notable Events

via Tom Scott

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Over several months, cloakmaker Christopher Clarfin built an incredible 3D raised relief map of Westeros, the fictional continent in the Game of Thrones universe, as described by George R.R. Martin in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. The project almost got the best of him, but still, he persisted.

 I am building a giant map of Westrose with microscopic landmarks and geographic features …And this is a project that’s so ambitious I almost quit multiple times.

Throughout the entire process, Clarfin shared how he created various topographical features across the terrains, used resin for waterways, and employed 3D printing for the buildings.

Printable Castles I sculpted myself:

• The Wall + Castles
• Driftmark
• Pike
• The Fist of the First Men
• White Harbor
• The Dreadfort
• HarrenHall
• The Eyrie

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A rescued Siberian husky named Levi, who was mysteriously lethargic in his first few days home and was diagnosed with a highly treatable tick-borne disease, recovered enough to truly enjoy the first day of snowfall. This was the first time that this cold weather dog had ever touched snow, and according to his human Chloe, Levi was thrilled.

When this first snowfall hit, I have not seen him so frisky before in my life. We got to discover what snow was. That was his new favorite thing. I couldn’t get him inside. He could finally just like be this husky that he is and run through the snow like both feet ahead, not being held back by being sick or tired.

Levi thought that playing in the snow was so wonderful that he invited a neighbor to join in on the fun.

One day, Levi wouldn’t come in. So, I just, you know, post up where I can see him out the window. I just see him get up and his tail start wagging and I’m like, “What? Like, what is going on?” this little boy who lives upstairs walk into our backyard and start like throwing snowballs for him and like laying down and getting kisses.

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Food entertainment channel MOGUMOGU showed how a giant stir-fry machine by Nakai Machinery automatically prepares large quantities of fried rice and noodle dishes with minimal human intervention. This machine is particularly handy for those who work in the restaurant and catering business, as it takes less time to make these dishes, leaving more time for other details.

Other Product Videos by Nakai Machinery

via The Awesomer

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A teeny tiny kitten named Kermit, who was rescued from a feral cat colony, was taken to the veterinarian to address his many post-adoption needs. This is also where his human Erika learned that he would not grow much larger than he already was, as Kermit is a munchkin cat.

He was starving, covered in fleas. We cleaned him up and we went to the vet. He had worms, he had parasites, he had all this stuff. We actually got ultrasounds done, blood work done, x-rays done just to make sure that there was nothing else wrong. We kept going to the vet until we figured out that he was permanently small.

And even though his body will forever be the size of a kitten, Kermit has the wise face of a very old soul.

He’s got an old man face and a kitten’s body. He’s a little bit bigger than a can of Coke. I put him next to a Stanley Cup one time and he’s smaller than that.

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Lost in Time created a fascinating 3D animation of what the vibrant ancient city of Pompeii would have looked like before it was completely wiped out by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

The artist mapped several notable structures, such as the amphitheater, the gladiator arena, public fountains, and even the homes of residents, all of which were kept beautifully intact until the day of this historically fateful event.

We’ll go in to the gladiator arena, The Forum, see how the romans lived in their Roman Houses (Domus Romana), how they made wine and perfumes and finally the eruption.

The Last 48 Hours of Pompeii

The Modern Life of Pompeii

Facial Reconstruction of a Pompeii Soldier

via Nag on the Lake

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Ken Lee, who is known as “The Cheetah”, has the unique talent to quickly grab anything faster than the blink of an eye. This specialized skill is best demonstrated by snatching inanimate items such as lighters and clothespins off the kitchen table or, more gently, out in nature by boxing fruit trees and catching lizards.

THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE!!!

via The Awesomer

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Illustration essay channel Alla Prima explained the century-old history behind rubber hose animation, noting that this iconic style, developed by Bill Nolan, featured characters with exaggerated noodle-like arms and legs, allowing fantastic stories to be told. Early examples include Felix the Cat, Betty Boop, and Mickey Mouse.

The rubber-hose style was developed by animator Bill Nolan, and you can see it in action in Sullivan Studio’s cartoon, “Felix the Cat”. By the mid-1930s, it was so widespread that everyone from Fleischer Studios, Warner Brothers Pictures, Walter Lantz Productions, Van Beuren Studios, Terrytoons, Iwerks Studio, and Walt Disney Studios, just to name a few, all had their own versions.

While cartoon realism entered the public eye in 1937 with Snow White, the foundation of rubber hose animation laid the groundwork for modern iterations of the genre.

Rubber hose animation laid the foundation for many of the animated shows and movies we have now. From its slapstick comedy to its imaginative movement to its exaggerated character designs, rubber hose pushed the boundaries of what animation could and helped shape it into the expressive medium we recognize today.

via Miss Cellania

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Stephen of Gremlyn Rugs created an amazing hand-tufted tapestry that looks like a giant grilled cheese sandwich with stretchy melted cheese. Stephen was so pleased with the results that he’s planning to make more food-related art.

I had so much fun creating this piece! So much so, that I’ve decided to start a series of food art, in this style!

He started with a really cool hand-tufted, stretchy grilled cheese refrigerator magnet.

via The Awesomer

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DW History and Culture explained how the silent, expressionistic Fritz Lang movie Metropolis, released in 1927 during the Weimar Republic, actually predicted many of the issues facing the world today. Such subjects include class warfare, fear of surveillance, AI models, and the threat of a robotic takeover.

Lang draws on sources religious, mythic and political to reframe the age-old struggle between the powerful and the oppressed in technological terms:automation has turned people into mere cogs in the machine of power.

Metropolis not only made a powerful statement about workers, but it was an enormous influence on science fiction blockbusters such as Blade Runner, Brazil, Ex Machina, Back to the Future, Terminator, and, of course, Star Wars.

The story of ‘Metropolis’ and its groundbreaking themes, how Robot Maria became the blueprint for C-3PO, Ava in ‘Ex Machina’, and every seductive android since and why ‘Metropolis’ still shapes the future, nearly 100 years later.

via The Awesomer

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The Back Focus took a deep dive into the 1998 Coen Brothers movie The Big Lebowski, noting how the calm, collaborative environment allowed the actors to fully flesh out and deliver highly nuanced performances of their iconic characters.

What made The Big Lebowski such a relaxed, “Zen-like” production, and how did that laid-back atmosphere shape the performances of Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, Sam Elliott, and John Turturro?

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Musician Anne Reburn performed a lively split-screen cover of the classic Beach Boys song “I Get Around”. Reburn not only covered the multiple vocal tracks but also seamlessly played the guitar, bass, and keyboard tracks.

I Get Around – The Beach Boys (Splitscreen Cover by Anne Reburn)

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The informative channel Simple Things – Surprising Histories explained why ships and planes use knots as a measurement tool rather than miles and kilometers per hour.

You are measuring a distance across the land over a specific amount of time. But the moment you step onto a boat or strap yourself into an airplane, those rules disappear. Suddenly, nobody cares about miles or kilome. Instead, the captain speaks in knots. 

This term originated in the 17th century, when sailors developed an innovative process that used knots tied in a long rope to measure how fast the boat was going. The knots were spaced 47 feet apart, which accounted for the Earth’s curvature.

We use the word knot today because 400 years ago, sailors were counting physical knots in a piece of hemp rope. …The sailors did the math. They calculated that if they spaced the knots 47 ft apart and timed it for 28 seconds, the count would perfectly equal the number of nautical miles hour. So a knot isn’t just a random speed. It is a direct link to the geometry of the planet

The same formula also applies to air travel.

Since they were using naval maps and naval formulas, it made sense to use the naval unit of speed. Furthermore,planes travel long distances. If a plane flies from New York to London, it is traveling across the curvature of the Earth. 

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A rather cheerless cockatoo named Carmen, who had been rehomed many times after being isolated for the first 20 years of his life, was taken in by a kindhearted woman named Alexis, who knew that this bird needed some stability, even if he didn’t have the greatest outlook.

I kind of just thought I really need to take him home. And I was like, you know,  even if he’s never the nicest bird, I just really wanted to give him stability and somewhere to live the rest of his life out after I knew he had been through so many different bad situations.

Carmen was rather depressed in his new home, acting out in destructive ways towards himself. However, when Alexis started reading and singing to him, he cheered right up and began to show his very funny, loving personality.

He was in really bad shape. He had chewed a lot of his feathers in half. He was very sad. And then once I started reading to him and things, he just kind of opened up and he started talking a lot more.

The pair have grow so close that Carmen knows when Alexis has a bad day and tries to make it better.

I think he reads me very well. Like when I’ve had a longer day, the first thing that he does is he’ll curl up like right next to my neck. He’ll call me a good bird because that’s usually what I say to him.

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Electrical engineer Greg Leyh of Lightning On Demand, who is a longtime member of Survival Research Labs, boosted the power of one of his giant, hand-constructed Tesla coils so that it would act as a powerful high-voltage plasma cannon.

Significantly boosting the Tesla tower strike energy by firing a pulse-forming network during the critical transition of the plasma channel.

Leyh goes through the humble beginnings of the Tesla coil, which he found components for in a scrapyard in West Oakland, California.

They had just started to demolish a huge ancient  generator house, and their lot was quickly filling up with tons of quality bus work and switch gear.  Now, any reasonable person who witnessed these piles of scrap would have thought, “Hey, here lies all the parts for a Tesla coil of proper dimensions.”

After explaining how the Tesla coil could be used as a weapon, Leyh tested it, first noting that the most vulnerable part of a “hostile machine” is the gas tank.

So, how effective would the boosted coil tower be against hostile machines?  One critical component on these hostile machines is the fuel tank. It turns out  that fuel tanks made out of steel easily shield the fuel against normal un-boosted  arc discharges. But could a high current  strike actually penetrate the tank wall?  

He also tested it on an old Ford Econoline van, using its fiberglass top as an entry point.

Hostile machines have other susceptible  critical components as well, such as the rubber tires and the electrical  system. To test these possibilities, it’s best to use a full-size test vehicle. Here we have a Ford Econoline 250 with a thick fiberglass top that’s suitable for repelling medium to high voltage attacks.

Leyh Firing His Lorentz Plasma Cannon

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In “Trigger Effect”, the chilling first episode of the 1978 BBC series Connections, science host James Burke considered how an ill-prepared urban dweller would survive if a disaster rendered technology moot.

James Burke considers just how dependent 20th century humans are on technology, and how ill-equipped we are when it fails.

The episode was influenced by and cited the infamous 1977 blackout, which cut off all the power throughout most of New York City, and presented as information to ponder.

The New York City blackouts of 1977 gave us a rare opportunity to witness what can happen when technology fails on a massive scale in a modern day city, and James uses this as a starting point for a thought experiment.

The Full Episode

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The Animal Sounds channel explained how the actual cry of a bald eagle is far different than how it has been historically portrayed in movies and television. In fact, the cry that is most often used by Hollywood for the bald eagle actually belongs to a red-tailed hawk because the actual eagle’s cry is not as substantial.

That piercing, heroic scream you hear in movies, documentaries, and TV commercials. Yeah… that sound is a lie. That iconic call actually  belongs to the Red-tailed Hawk. Sound designers use it because the real voice of  a Bald Eagle simply doesn’t sound “epic” enough. .. In reality, the Bald Eagle has a surprisingly weak, high-pitched voice,   often compared to whistles, chirps, or even a seagull with laryngitis.

They also shared the actual sound of a bald eagle from recordings in the wild.

They use several types of calls: A rapid chattering sound, sometimes described as a snicker or laugh. A high-pitched peal call, used to warn of danger. And softer, more delicate calls  exchanged during the breeding season …This is the real sound of a bald eagle in the wild.

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In an enlightening episode of the Deep Look series Big Ideas, host Niba quite knowledgeably explained how insects with compound eyes see the world around them. Despite it being often portrayed as a kaleidoscope of multiple images within one frame, the insect’s eyes actually see things as a single image just like humans. However, there is quite a great deal of difference in how insects see compared to humans.

In this episode of Big Ideas from the team behind Deep Look, Niba explores how insects actually see the world — from the structure of ommatidia to motion detection, ultraviolet color vision, and the evolutionary advantage of seeing faster than we do.

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Emily Zhang of Rabbit Hole explained why a typical office chair has five legs instead of the standard four legs found on other chairs. So, in engineering terms, more legs equals more stability.

The math is clear. For a given seat size, for more legs the chair has, the less likely it is to tip over. This is the basic principle behind why all office chairs have five legs. But it can’t be the full answer. Because if more legs are always better, why stop at five? Why not six, seven?

Zhang’s calculations show that the largest stability ratio becomes smaller after four chair legs.

…the largest stability improvement is from 3 to 4 legs. The rest are marginal. In fact, they all add more material than they do stability. But to go from 3 to 4 legs, you only add 33% more material and get 41% more stability.

This theory was confirmed with the introduction of the iconic Aeron Chair from designer Herman Miller

Chair design was evolving into a science. This was accelerated by a new US trade association called BIFMA, whose goal was to wrangle hundreds of new office furniture designs into a set of universal safety standards. Right from the 70s and still to this day, they focused on stability. But if office chairs are now a science, all of their fundamental laws are rewritten in 1994 with the Aeron Chair.

Zhang also referred to BIFMA (Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers) as to their stance on five-legged office chairs.

The BIFMA standards don’t require five star bases. Instead of modeling some optimal number of legs, They did the smart, simple solution. Can chair hold weight far back? Their official stability standard is just a field test. Can the chair support a stack of weights leaned all the way back, as well as weights perched on the very front of the seat. It’s just that these tests are very hard to pass with legs of reasonable length until you go up to five.

The BIFMA test was not easy on the chairs, thus proving that five-leg chairs offer the best stability for office chairs.

By the way, BIFMA standards go hard. Dropping a weight bag 100,000 times to test durability?

via Tom Scott

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The post Why Office Chairs Have Five Legs Instead of Four was originally published on Laughing Squid.