News: Creepy Baby-Bots
OK, first thing's first: need to get this insane picture out of the way. I think this might classify as horror movie creepy.
OK, first thing's first: need to get this insane picture out of the way. I think this might classify as horror movie creepy.
Conceptual artist Michel de Broin has created the biggest disco ball the world has ever seen, which he suspended over Paris for one night.
Amazing footage shot of some highly skilled wakeboarders, entitled "Winch Madness". According to Wikipedia, Wakeskate winching involves "an engine, spool, rope, handle, frame, and some sort of simple transmission. The person being towed walks (or swims) away from the winch and pulls out all of the rope." When the winch lets loose, the boarder can go 15-25 mph.
Bonafide How-It's-Done (not exactly a HowTo) on remote-controlling your car via iPhone and Power Wheels. Brought to you by some crazy Texans, over at Waterloo Labs.
Our Thrillbilly-Tricycle-Flip hero is back, and never fails to astound. Travis Pastrana is both an X-Games gold medalist and star of MTV show Nitro Circus. The daredevil kicks ass at supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, base jumping and rally racing.
Remember the glowing pickle? Well, here's another sci-fi food-oddity. Sounds entirely fictitious, but apparently you can make edible lasers.
LEGO knows no boundaries. We've seen it all- a life-sized LEGO house, LEGO runway fashion, puzzle solving LEGO-bots, a working LEGO V8 32 valve engine, LEGO animation, and more...
How much do the producers of Lonely Girl make? How much do the producers of American Idol make? How much does COPS cost to make? I decided to share what I have learned for the CES audience in Vegas.
We've featured unusual pinhole cameras before, but nothing at this grandiose scale. Presenting the world's largest mobile pinhole camera, the Cameratruck, creation of photographer Shaun Irving. The Cameratruck can take pictures approximately 3,000 times the size of a 35mm!
I want to drive one of these monsters around this winter. DC Shoes Co-Founder and Rally Team Driver Ken Block collaborates with Subaru to create the worlds fastest cat track operation automobile for backcountry access for snowboarding.
Finally, what appears to be a fair and worthy competitor to the iPhone: Google's Nexus One. Unfortunately, not much competition concerning the price- runs exactly the same amount as the iPhone.
A rare textile woven from the silk of more than one million spiders is currently on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The incredible textile measures 11 by four feet, and is the largest piece of spider-woven textile in the world.
As Gizmodo says, "4 feet 6 inches of brickgasm". Star Wars-gasm. LEGO-gasm. Perfect combination. "The Lego version of the classic Nebulon-B Class rebel frigate Redemption is 4 feet and 6 inches long. That's 172 studs long, and I'm not talking about The Hoff. It's big enough to dock one mini-Millennium Falcon and three X-Wings."
The Telegraph presents 2009's most spectacular stunts. This year's roster of adrenaline junkies include the craziest daredevils of their fields: wingsuiting, parkour, motocross, climbing, sky diving, auto racing, and more.
Trout tickling is the mystical art of rubbing a trout's underbelly until it goes into a lax, trance-like state. The fish is then scooped out of the water and thrown onto land. Similar to catfish noodling, the sport is lauded for its lack of equipment or tools of any kind, as used in traditional fishing.
As 2009 comes to a close, the Telegraph presents a compilation of this past year's wackiest inventions. As always, here at WonderHowTo, we are inspired and impressed by ingenuity. The contraptions below range from utter silliness (engagement ring bra) to downright amazing (see-through concrete). Check it out.
I have to say, this is one beauty pageant I wish I had attended. The Nail Queen 2009 Awards Ceremony was held at the Tokyo Nail Expo 2009 this past November.
Backyard sledding can be more than just kiddie fun. These guys take it to new levels. Unfortunately, total wipe-out is the outcome of every run.
No joke, Heward Dental Lab offers customized tooth tattoos at a reasonable price. Plus, they only stay permanent as long as you'd like them to - "they can easily be removed in five minutes in the dentist’s office with just a little grinding with a rubber wheel."
As said in the video below, "In South Carolina, you don't need no bass boat. All you need is a trackhoe and a mudhole." Those rednecks. So resourceful.
There's a HowTo behind everything, including the astounding, just released 3-D Avatar. Reviews across the board agree with one thing: the film is visually breathtaking. PopSci explains the technology behind the filmmaking.
Reborning, the insanely creepy (!!) art of transforming vinyl dolls into strikingly realistic newborns, known as "living dolls" or "unliving dolls".
No exaggeration in today's headline, design student Anna Schwamborn has actually designed a jewelry line made from the hair and cremated ashes of dead loved ones. Human hair sure makes a nice accent to the black bone china (note the word "bone" - human ashes are mixed in).
Motoman the Robot uses a 3D vision system to assemble LEGOs. "Motoman’s high resolution color cameras and object recognition make picking out and connecting LEGO pieces easy...he’s able to get the pieces with one hand while assembling the LEGOs with the other. "
Uh oh. Somebody screwed up big this time. It has recently been reported that Iraqi insurgents have used $26 software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. drones located in Middle East conflict zones. The drone (a remotely piloted aircraft) is considered one of the U.S. military's most sophisticated weapons. Apparently not sophisticated enough, however.
Here we are again. This time, however, it's not Britney Spears that's being uke-d, but the delightfully infamous Lady Gaga. The wicked (we-can't-help-but-look-watch-listen) Lady Gaga.
The Brits have contributed a new sport to the world, coined Horsesurfing. Yes, it is just what it sounds like: the combined skill of horseback riding and surfing.
What is it about the infamous colored smoke bomb that is so deeply satisfying, so beautiful? Well, first there's an explosion (always fun), which then yields beautiful billowing clouds of saturated color. Check out artist Olaf Breuning's Smoke Bombs, 2008.
Wait for it, wait for it... it happens really fast... at right about 1:05. Okay, maybe he's not a world champion, but a very cool party trick nonetheless. Here's one way to do it (not quite as perfect as our world champion above):
More redneck fun. Bob Moravitz plus family and friends have created an 8 hour event of propelling vehicles off cliffs. Held yearly, admission is free but donations are encouraged (to cover insurance costs).
My stomach is doing somersaults just watching this. Looks fun, albeit incredibly dangerous. Take it down a notch (or fifty) and build an indoor swing this winter. Previously, Deeply Trusting Female Volunteers Bod to Redneck Science: First Human Slingshot.
As November was coming to an end this year, the "6th Robo-One Gate in International Robot Exhibition 2009" dance competition took place. The contenders are just a little bit creepy, to say the least. Particularly exhibit A, Britney Spears wannabe, "LOVE & JOY, Yuhi Kimura", by Doka Harumi.
Popsci has posted 2009's most amazing scientific images, and there's quite a few great ones in there. A few of our favorites below, click through for all 62.
Some think of Google as the ultimate Big Brother, and with good reason. If you use Google (and most of us do), Google potentially has your email history, your complete search history, your travel routes, your interests, and more. Maybe they've even snapped a picture of you out in the real world (via Google Street View).
Whether you're inclined to love it or leave it, you've gotta admit one thing about JC de Castelbajac's LEGO fashion line- it's fun. More 80's pop culture revival: LEGO constructed hats and LEGO inspired prints set to cartoon blue skies. Scroll all the way down for JC de Castelbajac's runway videos (one in LEGOmation, the second live footage of the actual runway show). Previously, Make-It-Yourself LEGO Gummies.
WonderHowTo loves pranks. So, naturally we're big fans of College Humor, particularly Prank Wars. Prank Wars stars Amir and Streeter, best pals. Best pals that love to humiliate one another...to say the least... In their latest *life threatening* prank, Amir scares the crap out of Streeter. Check out the interview (and prank) on Jimmy Kimmel: Click through for the complete skydiving prank video (sans Jimmy Kimmel). To view all Prank Wars videos, visit College Humor.
Dean Potter, one of National Geographic's Ten Adventurers of the Year, set a world record for base jumping in 2009.
Neuroscience (live!) resumes its 50 hour slicing session 8:00 am PST this morning. According to Gizmodo,
BBC show Top Gear has built a homemade electric car in just 18 hours: the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust.
Tom Friedman. One of my very favorite contemporary artists. Friedman injects the wonder into the humdrum. He creates magic from the unsuspected with his incredible sculptures assembled from simple, everyday materials. His materials have included: toilet paper, drinking straws, construction paper, masking tape, toothpicks, bubblegum, spaghetti, toothpaste, soap powder, sugar cubes.