Knotwork two-liter bottle carrier
More paracord goodness from Stormdrane.
Science
DIY science is the perfect way to use your creative skills and learn something new. With the right supplies, some determination, and a curious mind, you can create amazing experiments that open up a whole world of possibilities. At home-made laboratories or tech workshops, makers from all backgrounds can explore new ideas by finding ways to study their environment in novel ways – allowing them to make breathtaking discoveries!
“Fiction science” theory of Superman’s powers
Back in 2005, I wrote a fictional scientific paper (.pdf) postulating that zombiism is in fact caused by a prion, rather than a virus, as is commonly hypothesized. I also wrote a short essay about the idea of “fiction science” at the time. Now Ben Tippet, at the behest of Dinosaur Comics’ Ryan North, has written a similarly fictional scientific paper (.pdf) presenting “A Unified Theory of Superman’s Powers” from a physicist’s perspective. I’d be interested in hearing of other examples of people co-opting the serious literary forms of science for fictional purposes. If you know of one, please drop me a comment. [via Neatorama]
Hand-tied paracord sling
I’m really digging all the manly knot-tying going on over at Stormdrane’s blog.
Hinged square-to-triangle dissection table
Those of you who appreciated my earlier post about Dudeney’s dissection will likely enjoy this table, commissioned by Joop Van Der Vaart from craftsman Jan de Koning, at Professor Greg N. Frederickson’s page at Purdue.
Grow your own Pumpkinhead
This trick actually came in really handy the last time reckless teenagers accidentally killed a member of my family. It takes several months for the pumpkin to grow into the shape of the victim’s face, but, that’s actually sort of useful because it gives you time to cool down and figure out if you really want to go through with the whole vengeance-from-beyond-the-grave thing or not. If you decide against it, you can always use your hellpumpkin as the world’s creepiest Jack-o’-lantern, which is what I ended up doing. It worked out great, at least until those same reckless teenagers kicked it into a pile of goo on my front porch. That’s irony for you! So now I’m growing another one…
Unpowered Mechanical Gate Opener, the Video
Reader captures footage of a car-powered mechanical gate opener.
Astronauts – the new celebrity?
Rad… Astronaut Mike Massimino became the first human to tweet from space on his final trip to repair the Hubble telescope. It was no contest, however, that he recently also became the first astronaut to reach one million followers on Twitter (@Astro_Mike). Who will be the first chemist to have 1 million followers? Measuring things […]
