Astronomical Toilet Paper

Astro TP

 

 

 

In an attempt to make astronomy more popular, a Japanese company has come out with toilet paper that is printed with astronomical information. So far you can get either ‘The life of a star’ or ‘Beyond the zodiac’. ‘The life of a star’ tells the story of solar evolution, from a molecular cloud up to a planetary nebula. A translation can be found here. The second set, ‘Beyond the zodiac’, as they say, "… we represent the signs of zodiac and some astronomical objects toward these constellations. You can feel the depth of the universe with this ATP." I’d hope that you would feel the softness of the paper and not the universe but that’s another story.
As a teaching tool it will probably go a long way in increasing the awareness of astronomy among those who read while doing their business.

[via Ektopia] 

Astronomical Toilet Paper

Mount St. Helens Is Moving Up

 

This is a big ‘ol slab of rock that is being pushed up from inside the volcano’s crater. There is a great time laps video of it showing the distance it’s grown since last November. The rate of movement is about 1 meter a day. I wonder how high it will get before it falls over or is destroyed by another eruption.

Rock Slab Growing at Mt. St. Helens Volcano

A Mad Dash At The Gate

 

 

 

 

 

Finally! I don’t know how many times I’ve been boarding the plane and have wondered why they a) Don’t use both doors at the same time too load the passengers on, and b) why don’t they board passengers with window seats and no carry on luggage first? Looks as if the airline people have realized that the extra time it takes for people to crawl over the legs of the other passengers that cram themselves into their seats first is costing them money. Remember, the less time a plane sits on the ground the more money it makes them.

[via Boing Boing]

Airlines Try Smarter Bording 

Glide Multi Format Panoramic Camera

Glide Camera 

This camera is for you only if your very  serious about photography. The GILDE 66-17 MST Super 3D is simply amazing. It shoots on 120/220 film (kept in a removable magazine for easy ISO swapping mid roll) in formats from the traditional square 6×6 to the mega panoramic 6×23. It will even accept a variety of stereo lens boards. And if that isn’t enough, it will also do tilt shifting to correct perspective distortions. This is some serious camera hardware! A base camera will set you back about 4,000 Euros, fully loaded runs around 20,000 Euros. To me, if I had the money, it would be a perfectly fantastic camera. It’s got all the bells and chrome you could want in a medium format camera.

Dr. Gilde System-Kamera-Technologie GmbH