Using little more than a vibrating motor and the snipped-off head of a toothbrush, you can make these colorful and fun brushbots. Check out the Make: Project to learn how to do this quick and fun project. You can buy the kit in the Maker Shed, and learn how to put it together on Make: Projects!

Posted by Michael Colombo | February 4th, 2012 6:30 PM

Categories: DIY Projects, MAKE Projects, MAKE Video | No Comments

While developing the second phase of their Cretaceous Sea Exhibition, The Hastings Museum in Hastings, NE commissioned a life-size model of a Xiphactinus from Gary Staab, a paleo artist based in Kearney, MO. The Xiphactinus was a large predator fish that lived in the Western Interior Sea during the late Cretaceous Period and skeletal remains [...]

Posted by Matt Richardson | February 4th, 2012 6:00 AM

Categories: Biology, Science | 2 Comments

I wrote a big ole' article about how the post office could embrace new technologies and get back in the game, unfortunately this video/ad was the most sent in link :(

Posted by Phillip Torrone | February 3rd, 2012 3:00 PM

Categories: News from the Future | 8 Comments

Kiwi master craftsman Sören Berger is a woodturner, teacher, and inventor with 35 years at the lathe. It shows. In this amazing and slightly terrifying video, you’ll see him turn a giant tree trunk section that starts with the bark still on it, inside and out, until it’s perfectly smooth and translucent-thin. Inspiring and wonderful. [...]

Posted by Sean Ragan | February 3rd, 2012 1:01 PM

Categories: Crafts, Furniture, Woodworking | 28 Comments

Marie and Michael Porter of Minneapolis, MN, used colored marble tiles to create a gloriously nerdy Pi backsplash. [via Think Geek]

Posted by John Baichtal | February 3rd, 2012 11:00 AM

Categories: DIY Projects, Home and Garden | 10 Comments

Jake Easton’s Better Mousetrap is electrically and pneumatically powered, weighs almost six pounds, features a key lock switch and a manual safety, and strikes with 102 pounds of force. I think they foleyed that crunching noise in the video, however. Sounds like a bag of Fritos, to me.

Posted by Sean Ragan | February 3rd, 2012 9:03 AM

Categories: Electronics, Gadgets, Mechanics | 8 Comments

The Tiny Cylon Kit, available in the Maker Shed, is a fun and easy to solder multi-mode LED Larson scanner kit.

Posted by Michael Castor | February 3rd, 2012 8:00 AM

Categories: Electronics, Kits, Maker Shed Store | No Comments

Sculptor Tony Cragg created this dice-covered sculptures for Paris’s FIAC art show, which took place in October. Love to see this style with d20s! [via Colossal; photo courtesy of Daniel Milliner]

Posted by John Baichtal | February 3rd, 2012 7:00 AM

Categories: Arts, Culture jamming | 2 Comments

Well, more accurately, they transform into “whegs,” which look like legs, but are driven like wheels and don’t, as a rule, have powered joints. Apart from sheer novelty value, the advantage seems to be that Quattroped is capable of high “road speeds” when it’s on a smooth surface and in wheeled mode, but can transform [...]

Posted by Sean Ragan | February 3rd, 2012 6:21 AM

Categories: Electronics, Robotics, Transportation | 9 Comments

Relays can do cool stuff when you hook them up to the Internet. Check out XDA member JsChiSurf demonstrate his Android controlled garage door opener. Using an old Linux box connected to a serial relay, he's able to toggle his garage door opener using a custom app from his Android handset.

Posted by Adam Flaherty | February 3rd, 2012 4:00 AM

Categories: Cellphones, Gadgets, GPS, Mobile | 2 Comments