Improvised helmets in the streets of Cairo

Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP

Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/EPA

Kyle Wiens, of iFixit, sent us the link to this photo essay from the UK Guardian showing Egyptian protesters improvising helmets in the heat of battle. Protesters are also rerouting power from street lights to recharge their cell phone. One twitter user jokingly dubbed this “Maker Faire Cairo.” Not to make light of what is a horrible and scary situation, but it is always amazing what sorts of “street tech” we humans are capable of improvising (for good or ill) under the most dire circumstances. [Thanks, Kyle]

Egyptian protesters’ makeshift helmets – in pictures