Made On Earth

The unfinished dagger

The unfinished dagger

During the Second World War, Mr. Warther put aside his personal projects to make commando-style fighting knives for American servicemen. He was not a government contractor and therefore had to scrounge for materials; even so, with the help of the community, he was able to deliver more than 1,100 knives. He was a pacifist, but wanted American servicemen to have access to the best equipment. He was working on the knife pictured above when, in 1945, news reached him that the war had ended. He put the knife down, unfinished, and never picked it up again. The Warther family treasures it to this day.

125-piece puzzle in 6 different metals with hidden “Golden Gun”

Michigan machinist GarE Maxton makes many different types of interlocking solid puzzles of this type, but this one, which is he calls Intimidator, is his masterpiece. Starting the disassembly process requires a special key. Once diassembled, about 20 of the pieces can be recombined to make a functioning single-shot pistol. Other parts of the puzzle separately and securely store “a customized set of tools, all necessary hardware, 45 caliber bullets, a standard sight, a laser sight, a cannister containing black powder pellets, a secure storage area for 209 shotgun primers, a spent primer removal tool and a ramrod for loading the bullets.”

THE ART OF THEO KAMECKE

THE ART OF THEO KAMECKE

For the months of July & August I helped put together “The Big Build – THE ART OF THEO KAMECKE” one of my favorite (living) artists… Theo Kamecke was for many years a film maker of award-winning documentaries whose subjects ranged from astronauts to coal miners, rodeo cowboys to nuclear scientists. He was in mission […]

Grand Central’s secret train station

Grand Central’s secret train station

Grand Central’s multimillion-dollar secrets @ Geek Gestalt – CNET News… When FDR was president in the 1930s, the White House put a simple demand on the owners of Grand Central: protect the secrecy of Roosevelt’s polio. They weren’t being vague: They had a plan, and that involved the construction of a secret, fully functional train […]