Eclectic junk from the four corners of the ‘Net. And pictures too!
If you can do a task in a more complicated and convoluted fashion than a normal person would then you should be acquainted with these devices. The Japanese call them pitagora souchi, but we call them Rube Goldberg machines.
My brother sent this link to me yesterday. These examples are quite fascinating, the use of household items like spoons and paper clips is very inspirational.
If there ever was a toy that screamed out "mod me, hack me, subvert my cuteness!" it’s this. What could be more fun to cram a camera into than a remote control flying Doraemon helicopter? I mean, it a robotic cat from the 25th century after all. It needs some mad video moves. With this you will be one step closer to ruling the world…
[via Oh Gizmo!]
Over at the new paper model blog Paper Kraft I saw this charming paper model of the star of the Japanese film ‘Tonari no Totoro‘. My kids have loved this film for years so I bet that they will love having a few of these.
With birth rates low, the Japanese government is looking to get into the match making game and at the same time get people interested in science. the new magazine ‘Science Walker’ will be added as an insert in the popular magazine ‘Tokyo Walker‘ (translated version here). The idea is that the science insert will give young couples more things to talk about. I don’t know if it will work but what do they have to lose? I know that if my girlfriend asked me what photosynthesis was or if I read about the latest JAXA mission was, I’d be out looking for a ring the next day.
[via Boingboing]
A research firm in Japan has "developed a device that uses lasers to project real three-dimensional images in mid-air." Sounds cool, but that’s not all. It does this by exploding the air forming a brilliant white plasma. Oh yeah, now it’s mega cool!
At the demonstration, bursts of laser light were emitted 100 times per second to form shapes in the air up to 50 cm above the device. Heat from the laser caused the air to expand, producing a crackling sound that resembled a series of tiny explosions.
Master Gundam model hobbyist Danny Choo shows us that an Imperial Stormtrooper is just your average salaryman. He bought a set of ‘Trooper armor (and had to do quite a re-fit on it due to poor workmanship apparently) and decided to wear it around the streets of Tokyo and Yokohama. Amazing how many people have camera phones there, he would draw quite a crowd of onlookers. And as always, kids dig the blaster. Make sure that you see his videos of the train ride and Yokohama station and also in the streets of Akihabara – I can’t think of a better place to shop for the latest in Thermal Detonators than good old Electric Town.