The Presurfer

Landing In The Hudson River - 3D Reconstruction

2012-01-27T12:27:00.000+01:00

On January 15, 2009, an Airbus A320-214 was successfully ditched in the Hudson River adjacent to midtown Manhattan six minutes after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport after being disabled by striking a flock of Canada geese during its initial climb out. The incident became known as the 'Miracle On The Hudson.'

We all saw this after it happened, but this video gives an idea of what captain Chesley Sullenburger and co-pilot Jay Skiles went through as it happened.

(thanks Cora)

What Do People Do All Day?

2012-01-27T12:25:00.000+01:00

Timeu.se is a web tool for investigating how millions of people report spending their time. This is done by collecting and aggregating millions of messages from Twitter. Some people say that Twitter conversations are 'pointless' or 'babble.' It's great that people tweet what they had for breakfast, or that they're stuck in traffic or are mowing the lawn.

Because what sociologists have always wanted to be able to do is get very detailed measures of how people spend their time without bothering them too much by asking them. Now, by simply examining the conversations that they're having in public, we can do it without bothering them at all.

(via Sargasso)

Ex E.T.

2012-01-27T12:22:00.002+01:00

On a planet far, far away, where life is well regulated and orderly, a child just doesn't want to fit in. Ex-E.T. is a 3D animation produced by 4 students from the school ESMA Montpellier. Directors: Benoit Bargeton, Remy Froment, Nicolas Gracia and Yannick Lasfer.

Vimeo link

Wittenoom, Western Australia

2012-01-27T12:20:00.001+01:00

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Wittenoom is a ghost town located in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It's the site of Australia's greatest industrial disaster. The area around Wittenoom was mainly pastoral until the 1930s when mining began in the area. In 1947 a company town was built. During the 1950s and early 1960s Wittenoom was Australia's only supplier of blue asbestos. The town was shut down in 1966 due to unprofitability and growing health concerns from asbestos mining in the area. Today, travelling to Wittenoom presents a public health risk.

Today, eight residents still live in the town, which receives no government services. In December 2006, the Government of Western Australia announced that the town's official status would be removed, and in June 2007, Jon Ford, the Minister for Regional Development, announced that the townsite had officially been degazetted. The town's name was removed from official maps and road signs.

One Minute Fly

2012-01-27T12:16:00.002+01:00

The One Minute Fly has got a very limited lifespan. One minute in which it wants to experience everything that makes life worth living.

YouTube link

Reformed Gambling Swindle Becomes A Punch Board of Love

2012-01-27T12:15:00.000+01:00

Handheld punch-board parlor games, like Coo Coo and its companion The Fortune-Teller in Rhymes, were the icebreakers du jour at cocktail parties of the 1920s and '30s. They were sold by the checkout at five-and-dimes.

First designed for gambling, punch boards quickly became the go-to scam for gangsters and mobsters like Jack Ruby (yes, the man who kiled Lee Harvey Oswald ), con artists, and lottery operators hoping to swindle the gullible.

(thanks Lisa)

11 Incredible Edible Daleks

2012-01-27T12:14:00.000+01:00

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The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They are evil alien mutants who travel inside cyborg shells and try to exterminate other beings. They are also funny-looking, and have inspired many cooks to recreate their appearance in tasty treats.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Celebrity Sleepovers

2012-01-26T11:48:00.001+01:00

Comedian and filmmaker Mark Malkoff didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on hotels during his recent visit to Los Angeles. His solution was to ask famous celebrities if he could sleepover at their homes. He sent them Facebook messages, emails, and even letters.

To Mark's surprise thirteen famous celebrities said yes. The video, 'Celebrity Sleepovers' features Rob Corddry, Dave Coulier, Kate Walsh, Justine Bateman, Ed Begley Jr. Kristen Schaal, Camryn Manheim, 'Bridesmaids' director Paul Feig, Larry King, Steven Weber, and Lisa Loeb.

(thanks Mark)

Pig Eggs

2012-01-26T11:46:00.000+01:00

I guess I missed something in biology class.

(via Criggo)

Automatons

2012-01-26T11:45:00.000+01:00

Bliss Kolb, born and raised in Seattle, has been creating cabinetry, furniture, set pieces and props for theatre and film, delicate containers, and other wonderful things for over 30 years. He also makes automatons, self-operating machines.

(thanks Jimmy)

Chinese Boy Can See In The Dark

2012-01-26T11:43:00.000+01:00

A Chinese boy has stunned medics with his ability to see in pitch black with eyes that glow in the dark. Doctors have studied Nong Youhui's amazing eyesight since his dad took him to hospital in Dahua, southern China, concerned over his bright blue eyes. Medical tests conducted in complete darkness show Youhui can read perfectly without any light and sees as clearly as most people do during the day.

YouTube link

A Scientific Look At The Dangers Of High Heels

2012-01-26T11:41:00.000+01:00

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How shoes affect human gait is a controversial topic these days. The popularity of barefoot running, for instance, has grown in large part because of the belief, still unproven, that wearing modern, well-cushioned running shoes decreases foot strength and proprioception, the sense of how the body is positioned in space, and contributes to running-related injuries.

Whether high heels might likewise affect the wearer's biomechanics and injury risk has received scant scientific attention, however, even though millions of women wear heels almost every day. Neil J. Cronin, a postdoctoral researcher at the Musculoskeletal Research Program at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, looked at the dangers of high heels, one of the first studies of its kind.

The World's Largest Gumball Machine

2012-01-26T11:39:00.000+01:00

The same monolithic vending machine found in arcades, amusement parks, and novelty shops, this is the 7' tall gumball machine that holds over 14,000 gumballs. Requiring no coins for operation, the mechanism and dispenser are 49" high, allowing chewers of all ages to retrieve gumballs.

The acrylic globe is fitted with a spherical insert that keeps all 14,450 of the included multi-flavored gumballs pressed outward and visible to expectant children and passers-by alike. And it's yours for only $3,900.

Digital Death - What Happens Online When You Die

2012-01-26T11:37:00.002+01:00

YouTube link

(thanks Kristy)

The Mysterious Origins And Traditions Of The Chinese Lion Dance

2012-01-26T11:36:00.000+01:00

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Although it is thought to date back to the Ch'in and Han Dynasties, the true beginnings of the Chinese Lion Dance are a mystery. For a start, how did an animal not native to China become such a large part of Chinese tradition? One popular legend tells of a monk who dreamed that China was about to be plagued by many evils.

On waking he prayed fervently to the gods for a way to avert the coming catastrophe, and was rewarded with a vision of a lion. Because the monk had never seen or heard of a lion before, he created his own from many other mythical creatures including the dragon and unicorn. This certainly explains why the 'lions' used in the dance don't look too much like real ones!

Moby Dick Typed On Toilet Paper

2012-01-25T12:07:00.000+01:00

If you are one of those people who like to read while on the toilet, then this is for you. For sale on eBay: Moby Dick typed on toilet paper. There are 4 full rolls, kept in a box in a cool, dry place for the last 10 years. Starting bid is $999.95.

(via Everlasting Blort)

The Anatomy Of A Cupcake

2012-01-25T12:05:00.000+01:00

A cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup. The first mention of the cupcake can be traced as far back as 1796, when a recipe notation of 'a cake to be baked in small cups' was written in American Cookery by Amelia Simms.

The ingredients of a cupcake are familiar items we always have on hand. Like most anything we eat nowadays, the cupcake represents global effort of laborers and products from places we don’t tend to think about. Check out this graphic weighing the ingredients of this trendy personal treat.

8 Year Old Guitarist Zoe Thomson

2012-01-25T12:02:00.000+01:00

Zoe Thompson from Thatcham, in Berkshire, UK, working on a Stratosphere.

YouTube link

Films To...

2012-01-25T12:01:00.000+01:00

Films To... is a new site by Philipp Lenssen. The site shows you hundreds of random videos to laugh, think, cry or clap.

Tropicana Wakes Up London With Artificial Sun

2012-01-25T11:59:00.000+01:00

This artwork was commissioned by Tropicana (PepsiCo) to support their current advertising campaign. Art collective Greyworld created the spectacular sun which was raised over Trafalgar Square as part of Tropicana's 'Brighter Mornings' campaign.

The Trafalgar Sun, which took six months to create, is 30,000 times bigger than a football. Its internal light source produces 4-million lumens of light, the equivalent of 60,000 light bulbs, making the artwork visible from space.

(thanks Cora)

Strange Forgotten Space Station Concepts That Never Flew

2012-01-25T11:57:00.000+01:00

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Astronauts living and working in space rely on the International Space Station as their port of call. The iconic ISS is a modern engineering triumph, zipping around the Earth every 90 minutes at a height of 200 miles above the surface. Its construction required careful coordination between nearly a dozen countries working through five space agencies.

Yet the history of space station design is littered with concepts - some elegant, some strange, and some remarkably cute - that were passed over for one reason or another. Take a look at some space station ideas that didn't quite make it off the drawing board.

When Larry Met Sergey

2012-01-25T11:54:00.000+01:00

When Larry Met Sergey: From Grad School to $150 Billion Company. An interactive guide to everything Google.

30 Beautiful Sunsets From Around The World

2012-01-25T11:51:00.000+01:00

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The world is an amazing place, and it looks its best when the sun goes down. Here are some of the best pictures of great sunsets from all over the globe.

Zurich Chamber Orchestra Rollercoaster

2012-01-24T13:22:00.000+01:00

Visualization of the 1st violin of the 2nd symphony, 4th movement by Ferdinand Ries in the shape of a rollercoaster. The camera starts by showing a close-up of the score, then focuses on the notes of the first violin turning the staves into the winding rail tracks of the rollercoaster.

Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

9 Offbeat Countries

2012-01-24T13:20:00.001+01:00

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Did you know there's a country with more than 3 million lakes? What is the least densely populated country? Here's a list of countries that are not like other countries. Some countries are specific for its natural beauties, some by the demographic characteristics, some by tourist visits.

(thanks Bosko)