Photographing a Wedding and then an Earthquake
“Can you imagine what it was like to have been photographing a wedding in Sichuan, China when 7.9 earthquake hit and shakes for three minutes?” Stunning photos.
May 21, 2008 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Photos of Chile Volcanic Eruption, with Thunderstorm
Hear about that volcano in Chile? Incredible photos of the eruption merging with an electrical storm (caused by the eruption? Would seem to me that an eruption would cause tons of static electricity in the air…)
May 12, 2008 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
The World's Heaviest People
“Here, then, is a list of every known individual who has staked a claim to a weight of 900 pounds or more, in descending order of magnitude.” I was completely unable to stop reading this (the AIG had to listen to practically the whole thing! Warning, rest of site is, as they say, size-positive.
Mar 27, 2008 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
garfield minus garfield
“Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolor disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against lonliness and methamphetamine addiction in a quiet American suburb.”
Feb 27, 2008 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
The Discovery of the World's Oldest Photographic Lab
An early photographer’s lab, unused and sealed since 1855, is opened and examined. This is the only complete lab with all equipment and chemicals dating from anything near that time — a treasure trove of information about the early days of photography!
Nov 9, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Still Life
Some of these photos — of objects caught in the midst of breaking, and somehow becoming something else while still communicating what they did before — are incredible. Others are just close to good. Still, brilliant.
Sep 14, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Angkor was a city ahead of its time
“The ancient Khmer city of Angkor in Cambodia was the largest preindustrial metropolis in the world, with a population near 1 million and an urban sprawl that stretched over an area similar to modern-day Los Angeles, researchers reported Monday.”
Aug 14, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Tiny Brain No Problem for French Tax Official
“Something that many people secretly believed has been confirmed: You don’t actually need a brain to work in a tax office. A French civil servant has been found to have a huge cavity filled with fluid in his head — yet lives a completely normal life.”
Via Fark
Jul 21, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Patches The Amazing Horse
Apr 14, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment (1)
Desktop Tower Defense
I seriously just spent the last hour playing this and didn’t notice. Fun!
Via Kottke
Mar 20, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment (1)
Sixty Men from Ur
How recent has every worthwhile event in human history taken place? Pretty darned recently, when you really look at it.
Via Kottke
Mar 15, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
The man who fell 12,000 ft ... and survived
His ‘chutes tangled, this skydiver hit the ground at 80mph. Famous non-last words: “Oh shit, I’m dead, bye!” Also see the video from his helmet camera.
Via Kottke
Feb 17, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
A missile punch at bullet prices
Navy says that practical railguns — guns that shoot projectiles using magnetic impulses rather than gunpowder — might be deployable on ships as soon as 13 years from now. Shore bombardment from more than 200 miles away? Yowza! This is total sci-fi stuff. Now, where’s my hovercar?
Jan 17, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment (1)
Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Links to free, full-text versions of Dr. King’s speeches. If you want to hear them, I recommend A Call to Conscience (available from Amazon or iTunes)
Jan 15, 2007 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
The Most Dangerous Roads in the World
These, I will avoid. Yikes!
Via Kottke
Dec 19, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Her bark's bigger than she is
“For fun, Brandy’s owner puts her in a pink Hawaiian dress. Brandy isn’t allowed on the couch because if she jumped off, she’d break. You don’t pet Brandy so much as rub her with a thumb and forefinger.” I seem to be falling for small dogs lately!
Via Fark
Dec 14, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment (2)
OhMiBod
“OhMiBod is a sleek, sophisticated new generation of vibrator that combines elegance of design with the excitement of your favorite music. The audio enabled integrated microchip allows the OhMiBod to vibrate to the beat and rhythm of your music while you listen.”
Via Daring Fireball
Oct 7, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Funny intarweb cat pics!
Oct 2, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
12 year old girl stuck in a 9 month old body
Sep 30, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Baseball's Oldest Old-Timer Opens a Window
“Simmons, known as Si, was born on Oct. 14, 1895 — the same year as Babe Ruth and Rudolph Valentino, and before F. Scott Fitzgerald and Amelia Earhart. He played at the highest level of black baseball while a boy named Satchel Paige was still in grade school.”
Via The Legal Reader
Sep 27, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
The Ballad of Big Mike
Spectacular story of how one boy goes from lost and forgotten to future NFL multi-millionaire. But leaves the big question: what’s actually there?
Via Kottke
Sep 23, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Princess Finds the Shoe Fits
“As an adopted child, Sarah Culberson dreamed about what her birth parents looked like and where they came from. But it wasn’t until she turned 28 that she finally learned what she’d inherited from her biological father: deep-set brown eyes, a wide smile and reign over a chiefdom in Africa. She was a princess.”
Sep 15, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Man wants op to remove extra organ
“An Indian businessman born with two penises wants one of them removed surgically as he wants to marry and lead a normal sexual life, a newspaper report said on Saturday… ‘Two fully functional penes is unheard of even in medical literature…’ the newspaper quoted a surgeon as saying.” Story would be better with a photo.
Aug 20, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
LikeBetter
You are what you like. And this progam identifies you. So far it’s right on about 50% of its guesses. Also see hatemore and morehotter.
Aug 18, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Star Trek Inspirational Posters
How awful is it that I want any girl I date to get all this? How even more awful is it that I can identify everything in these posters?
Aug 13, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Experiments in the Revival of Organisms
Also known as “the film with living dog heads in it.” Good for a few nightmares; also a fascinating piece of history.
Jul 25, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
B52 fly by
Jun 16, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
NYC Mayor Bloomberg's Address to Graduates of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Why can’t I have a commencement speech like that? This speech was meaningful and gutsy. (Bloomberg is a Hopkins grad.)
Jun 4, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
How to build the best paper airplane in the world
I remember this from junior high! (I also remember it working.)
May 29, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
The Agnostic's Prayer
May 16, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
USA National Bikini Team
So there was this teacher who got in a flap ‘cause she’d been on the USA National Bikini Team. I had to look her up, just for the news value, but she wasn’t really the hot one. Much more to my liking were Brandy Serge, Olympia Kricos, Jamie Westenhiser, Janel Ashley, and Kenia Puertas.
May 13, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
An Alert Unlike Any Other
“A nuclear waste vault in New Mexico will long outlive our society. Experts are working on elaborate ways to warn future civilizations… ‘No culture has ever tried, self-consciously and scientifically, to design a symbol that would last 10,000 years and still be intelligible,’ said David B. Givens, an anthropologist who helped plan the nuclear-site warnings. ‘And even if we succeed, would the message be believed?’”
May 6, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Razzle Dazzle Camouflage
Cubism meets the military, circa WWI
Apr 28, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Listen to a Eunuch
This is the only known recording every made of a eunuch singing. The singing is pretty mediocre but the sounds and the range are very unique. Circa 1904.
Apr 14, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Rolling Stones Rice Krispies Commercial
Apr 1, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Towards a new test of general relativity?
Short summary: scientists may have created “artificial gravity”; gravity created was more than Einstein’s theory says it should be, so maybe this tells us about how gravity can be understood from a quantum physics perspective; or we may have an entirely new force to deal with.
Mar 24, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Google Mars (Maps!)
Mar 12, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Sand Fantasy
Incredible real-time animation created using only sand.
Mar 10, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Real Life Simpsons Intro
Filmed in live-action as an intro for the next season of the British Simpsons (will they use it in the US?).
Mar 5, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Winners Gallery 2006, World Press Photo of the Year
Also check out the gallery of the last 50 years of winners.
Feb 10, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
100 Best First Lines from Novels
From the American Book review. Clearly a bunch of books I need to read, if first sentences are any sign!
Jan 31, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue
Remarkably comprehensive!
Jan 22, 2006 in 47 Wonders Of The World
'Beer goggles' effect explained
“Scientists believe they have worked out a formula to calculate how ‘beer goggles’ affect a drinker’s vision.”
Dec 13, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Old TV Theme Songs
A collection of old TV theme songs, in MP3 format. Skewed towards British TV, but enough US shows that it’s easy to care anyway.
Oct 16, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Abandoned Photography and Urban Exploration
Some day I hope to take pictures like these.
Oct 9, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
The Shining Trailer
An alternate take on one of my favorite movies ever…
Oct 3, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
Find-A-Human
How to break out of that phone tree and speak with a human being! Sample: “option 1, xt 7266966, option 1, option 4, option 4.”
Sep 7, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World | Comment
The Brick Testament
The Bible, in Lego.
Aug 10, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
The Empire That Was Russia
Color photos from the first decade-and-a-half of the 20th century, taken using a unique process developed by Prokudin-Gorskii, photographer to the Tsar.
Jul 25, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
The Infinite Cat Project
Jul 11, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Parrot Learns The Concept Of Zero
” Although zero is an obvious notion to most of us, it wasn’t to people long ago. Scholars say it came into widespread use in the West only in the 1600s; India had it about a millennium earlier. Yet Alex, a 28-year-old Grey parrot, recently began—unprompted—using the word ‘none’ to describe an absence of quantity, according to researchers at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.”
Jul 10, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Cassini-Huygens Photo Contest
“Cassini and the Huygens probe have provided dramatic new views of [Saturn], its rings, and its many moons, including Titan. The most popular photo will be announced in early July.”
Jul 3, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
A Nagasaki Report
“American George Weller was the first foreign reporter to enter Nagasaki following the U.S. atomic attack on the city on Aug. 9, 1945. Weller wrote a series of stories about what he saw in the city, but censors at the Occupation’s General Headquarters refused to allow the material to be printed. Weller’s stories, written in September 1945, can be found below.”
Jun 25, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?
“This publication shows how the average household’s tax dollars are spent for every state and 193 cities, towns and counties.” In LA, my #2 expenditure was healthcare (not my own!).
Jun 24, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Happened on June 23
I share my birthday with Alfred Kinsey, Jean Anouilh, and Glenn Danzig. How odd!
Jun 24, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Couple celebrates world's longest marriage
“Percy and Florence Arrowsmith, who celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary Wednesday, say the secrets of the world’s longest marriage are don’t sleep on an argument, always share a kiss and hold hands before going to bed.”
Jun 2, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Kittenwar
May the cutest kitten win!
May 30, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Verify Seals
Someone claim to be a SEAL? Check ‘em out here!
May 7, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Scientists induce hibernation in mice
“‘We think this could be of great benefit for many situations in medicine,’ [the technique’s discoverer] Roth said. ‘It should work the same for us as it did in mice. We have the same basic chemistry.’”
Apr 22, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Apollo 13, We Have a Solution
“From the navigation of a badly damaged spacecraft to impending carbon dioxide poisoning, NASA’s ground team worked around the clock to give the Apollo 13 astronauts a fighting chance. But what was going on behind the doors of the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston—now Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center—wasn’t a trick, or even a case of engineers on an incredible lucky streak. It was the manifestation of years of training, teamwork, discipline, and foresight that to this day serves as a perfect example of how to do high-risk endeavors right.”
Apr 19, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Google Sightseeing
Amusing and interesting Google satellite map photos.
Apr 13, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Map Of Available Housing
Craigslist + Google Maps = wowie!
Apr 10, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Confessions of a Car Salesman
Edmunds.com sent a reporter in as an undercover agent to sell cars. This is his story.
Apr 9, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
The Feynman Physics Lectures
Famous physicist Richard Feynman’s lectures are vailable in PDF — no shocker there — and also in MP3!
Mar 23, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
13 Things That Do Not Make Sense
What flummoxes the scientists.
Mar 18, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time
Remarkably easy to agree with.
Feb 22, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
A Genius Explains
“Professor Allan Snyder, from the Centre for the Mind at the Australian National University in Canberra, explains why Tammet is of particular, and international, scientific interest. ‘Savants can’t usually tell us how they do what they do,’ says Snyder. ‘It just comes to them. Daniel can. He describes what he sees in his head. That’s why he’s exciting. He could be the Rosetta Stone.’”
Feb 21, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Elektro
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me present the most famous robot of the 1930s: Elektro, the Westinghouse Motoman.”
Feb 10, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Parking Garages
“The parking garage has become the dominant form of urban architecture…This photographic series documents examples of the urban parking garage types.”
Jan 6, 2005 in 47 Wonders Of The World
TinyP2P
“TinyP2P is a functional peer-to-peer file sharing application, written in fifteen lines of code, in the Python programming language. I wrote TinyP2P to illustrate the difficulty of regulating peer-to-peer applications. Peer-to-peer apps can be very simple, and any moderately skilled programmer can write one, so attempts to ban their creation would be fruitless.” Written by a lawyer, btw.
Dec 19, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Polyus: Soviet Space Battle Station
“On March 23, 1983, United States President Ronald Reagan set forth his vision of ‘Star Wars’, a shield intended to defend the United States against nuclear attack from any place on Earth. The leader of the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov, immediately… authorised the design of counter-measures, including Polyus.”
Nov 22, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Econ 101 at the Poker Table
Explaining bonds and leverage in one quick article!
Nov 22, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
The Secret Arrow In The FedEx Logo
Did you know that there’s an arrow in the FedEx logo? The difference between you and FedEx CEO and Founder Fred Smith is that he saw the arrow straight away.
Nov 17, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Experiment: Can A Brita Pitcher Make Bad Vodka Good?
Yes, apparently.
Nov 13, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
World Wide Words
I’m such a grammar pedant (well, technically, I’m a careful writer, you’re a purist, she’s a pedant, but…) that I love this site. Everybody out there should read the entry on the Greengrocer’s Apostrophe to be reminded how to form the possessive of words that end in the letter “s”.
Nov 9, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Jess Row
Jess was one of my best friends in high school; thanks to Google, I can stalk him and buy his book.
Oct 3, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Poisonous Bird Discovered
The New Guinean bird’s skin and feathers contain a potent neurotoxin. More info/photos here.
Sep 5, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Cal: 13th-Greatest Sports Moment Of All Time
Aug 26, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Office Space .wavs
Aug 14, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Trojan Sexual Organ
Possibly the best use of Flash ever!
Aug 5, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
What Neil & Buzz Left on the Moon
“In this way, for decades, researchers have.. learned some remarkable things, among them: (1) The moon is spiraling away from Earth at a rate of 3.8 cm per year. Why? Earth’s ocean tides are responsible. (2) The moon probably has a liquid core. (3) The universal force of gravity is very stable.”
Jul 27, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Google, circa 1960
Jul 23, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Metacritic
Reviews, compiled for your comparative use in developing your “own” opinion.
Jul 18, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Of Human Descent
Jul 7, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Word 5.1 -- The Best Word Processor Ever!
Stable? Check. Full-featured? Check. I got it in 1993 and would still be using it if I could.
Jun 18, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
iPod? iRaq!
Jun 14, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Pumping Water: Now It's Fun!
In South Africa, they use kids’ toys to power water pumps!
Jun 2, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Watching Paint Dry
The hot new reality show, especially for the bored!
May 28, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Map Of Springfield
To help you follow along with all those Simpsons episodes.
May 27, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Another Music Recommendation System
Search for an artist and see artists like them.
Apr 27, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Music Recommendation System for iTunes
“The Music Recommendation System is an automated system that provides music recommendations specifically tailored to each user to find new music that they might like. This system, designed by students at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana), operates by taking ratings from your own iTunes playlists and comparing them against other users who have used the recommendation system.”
Apr 27, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
US Gov't Study -- 9 Drawings Done By An Artist On LSD
Fascinating US government during the ’50s. Some of the art is really brilliant. One wonders what the artist’s work was like when sober.
Jan 9, 2004 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Whatever Happened To Mr. Hayes?
Hayes invented the first modem, and rode that train to richness. His partner sold out for millions, but Hayes stayed on and lost it all.
Dec 1, 2003 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Sanity Inc.
“SAS Institute Inc. is the most important software company you’ve never heard of. It’s also the sanest company in America — a place where employees can eat lunch with their kids, everyone gets unlimited sick days, and the gate clangs shut at 6 p.m.”
Sep 20, 2003 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Captain Chesapeake
Captain Chesapeake hosted the kids’ cartoons on channel 45 (later Fox 45) in Baltimore when I was growing up. He hosted for 19 years, and was known for his sign-off: “Be somebody important; be yourself. So long, crewmembers!”
Sep 14, 2003 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Nerve.com's Pickup Line Contest
Aug 20, 2003 in 47 Wonders Of The World
1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue
Aug 20, 2003 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Byte Predicts The Future
Aug 14, 2003 in 47 Wonders Of The World
Japanese Holdouts After WWII
Aug 7, 2003 in 47 Wonders Of The World