STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

[MIKA27]

JIVA COFFEE CUBES

Do you have access to hot water or milk? Then you have access to coffee — provided you remembered to pack yourself some Jiva Coffee Cubes.

Made from premium Colombian Arabica beans and unrefined cane sugar, these compressed cubes are available in five flavors, and are ready to use anywhere you can find hot water.

Just drop the cube in, wait 30 seconds, stir, and enjoy. Great for hiking, camping, or when traveling to remote regions where the best coffee available comes from McDonalds.

[MIKA27]

A Farmer's Terrifying DIY Guard-Bot Scares Off Bears With 25,000 Volts

http://youtu.be/qNI1ZPOCy6c

Turkish farmer and amateur inventor Mustafa Karasungur cares more about protecting his crops from bears than basic safety. So using parts he could scrounge around his local town, he built a robotic sentry for his farm that terrifies bears and even shocks them with 25,000 volts of electricity. From this day on his pic-a-nic baskets are safe, but the locals aren’t sure they are.

Karasungur’s robot is completely devoid of any artificial intelligence or failsafes to ensure that it only attacks ursine invaders, and not humans. In fact, it simply roams the farmer’s property in large circles, waving its arms, turning its head, and glaring at anyone and everything with terrifying red glowing eyes. DARPA’s ATLAS might not have anything to worry about in terms of competition, but bears, friends, family, locals, even Karasungur himself will probably want to stay clear of the farm while this creation’s making its rounds.

[MIKA27]

Leonardo Da Vinci Would Be Proud Of These Cardboard Flying Machines

These flying machines created by Daniel Agdag make me think of those designed by Leonardo Da Vinci in the 15th century. The difference is that Leonardo based his designs in precise calculations while Daniel builds his spectacular cardboard sculptures guided only by his intuition, with no previous sketching.

Daniel Agdad is an Australian artist. His collection of imaginative flying machines is called The Principles of the Aerodynamic.

[MIKA27]

Aerial Photography From WWI Shows the Massive Scale of Devastation

Taken in 1918, this photo shows the near absolute destruction of Ypres, a crucial city in the fight for West Flanders.

For the first time in human history, warring sides could see each other from above and plan their attack. World War I, which began 100 years ago, introduced new technology that forever changed the nature of warfare. Machine guns, gas, and mortars made choreographed field maneuvers a thing of the past and gave rise to trench warfare. And for the first time, fighter planes and bombers turned the sky into a battlefield.

Aircraft also brought aerial reconnaissance to war, which is documented in a new book, The Great War Seen From The Air. Armies on all sides started equipping small planes with cameras to gather intelligence on troop movement, trench layout, and other geographic features of strategic importance.

“Aerial photography is often forgotten, yet it was perhaps one of the most deadly weapons of the war,” says co-author Birger Stichelbaut.

World War I is often considered a war of artillery, Stichelbaut says, “but, without aerial photography there would be no targets to fire at, there would be no maps indicating the positions of the enemy, commanders would simply have no idea what would be happening on the other side of the no-man’s-land separating opposing trench lines.”

The photographs collected in the book give modern readers a new perspective on the war. It chronicles the standoff between German and Allied forces in West Flanders, Belgium. This grinding battle lasted four years, during which Allied forces prevented the Germans from accessing what could have been a crucial northern invasion route into France. West Flanders was one of the most trench-scarred and bomb-pocked battlegrounds of the war.

Rather than the personal perspective of bullets flying at bodies, these pictures show war’s toll on the landscape. In the book, they’re accompanied by easy-to-read legends that point out strategic nuances that might be invisible to eyes unfamiliar with aerial imagery, and short paragraphs to explain each image’s significance to the broader conflict. Many of the photos have vellum paper overlays printed with bright icons to identify opposing front lines, barracks, artillery batteries, and supply lines.

The pictures are taken from too high an altitude to see the human drama below, but many of the pictures are taken over active combat. Even from a thousand feet in the air, it’s a crushing thing to see.

The smaller image to the left shows the entirety of Belgium, which was a strategic byway between Germany and France. The larger map on the right is West Flanders, and Allied and German front lines ground away at each other for the entirety of the war. The action centered on Ypres (above and to the left of the center of the box), which is where the Allies dug in to hold off the German advance.

Ypres stood in the way of the German plan to sweep through Belgium into France. The contest for the city is one of history's greatest stalemates. Over the course of the war, millions of men died in miles of trenches dug here.

Aerial oblique photos like this weren't as tactically useful as those that looked straight down, but they were easier for laymen to read, and were used for infantry to visualize their assault. This photo is of Ypres in 1915.

Two soldiers from the US Army's Signal Corps attach camera to their plane's fuselage. This camera probably had a focal length of around 50 centimeters, which gave a good balance of detail and area.

Passchendaele was a small town near Ypres on the German side of the front lines. In the summer of 1917, the Allies launched an offensive on the town because they saw it as vital way to disrupt the German supply chain.

Rain and mud caused the battle to drag on for months. By the end, the small town had been bombed to oblivion. The total fatalities are disputed, but with anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million dead, the Battle of Passchendaele became one of the war's most infamous battles. A few walls of the church were all that remained.

The Great War Seen From The Air includes colorful icons that highlight supply routes, trench lines, and other things of strategic importance.

This smoke isn't from bombs, it's from generators. The Germans used smoke to conceal their artillery from aerial reconnaissance. This photo was taken over Ostend, a coastal Flemish city.

Trenches have a distinctive zig zag pattern to minimize the damage a single bullet or explosion could cause. This photo also shows the scale of devastation that bombing left on the landscape.

Both sides used aerial photography to keep their tactical maps up to date. This is a British trench map of an area south of Ypres from September 1915. The blue markings are Allied resources, and the red lines are German trenches.

This photo of a German Albatros C.III reconnaissance plane was taken in 1916 from a Belgian plane. This was both strategically and technically difficult. In addition to the inherent danger of photographing an enemy (who was equipped with a machine gun), the photographer had to manually focus using a tiny aperture all from a jumpy little plane several thousand feet above ground.

[MIKA27]

Veteran actor dies after filming first Game of Thrones scenes

A veteran actor who had just filmed his first scenes for Game of Thrones has died.

JJ Murphy, 86, died suddenly on Friday at his home in Belfast.

Mr Murphy had recently joined the cast for series five of the HBO series, which is largely filmed in Northern Ireland.

He had been cast as Ser Denys Mallister of the Night's Watch. The character was due to appear throughout series five.

Mr Murphy had been expected to film more scenes this summer.

He also had a role alongside fellow Game of Thrones actor, Charles Dance, in the upcoming Hollywood film, Dracula Untold.

The movie was filmed in Northern Ireland in 2013 with a budget of £100m, and is due to be released in October.

Dracula Untold was not Mr Murphy's first experience of Bram Stoker's creation. He played Van Helsing in a 1980 production of The Death of Dracula at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.

He was well known in Northern Ireland for his stage work having trained at the Old Group Drama School in the 1940s, and as a member of the Lyric Players Theatre.

Belfast born Mr Murphy leaves behind wife Mary, and two children, Joseph and Jane, and granddaughter Sarah-Jane.

His funeral will be held in Belfast on Wednesday.

[Fuzz]

15 Old School Photos That Prove The World Used To Be Completely Insane

14. Old School Swimming Masks (1920s)

Well this isn’t absolutely terrifying at all. Just imagine that nightmare swimming down the lane at you. What could possibly deem this horror of a swimming mask necessary, I hear you ask? Her bloody hair’s still getting wet, after all. The full-faced covers were actually to protect women from the sun. Thank you, inventor of waterproof sun lotion. Thank you so much.

The face-kini has been really popular in China....

5. The Greatest Invention For Antisocial People, Ever (1939)

Nothing says ‘stay out my personal space’ like a massive sharp object protruding from your face. These face cones were actually, believe it or not, a super fashionable way to protect oneself in the event of a snowstorm. We want one for the morning commute.

Why does this remind me of Spy vs. Spy?

[MIKA27]

Did Coke really turn Santa red and white?

It's often said that Santa's red and white robes were the creation of a Coca-Cola advertising campaign. Is that true?

He's got his own style and he sticks to it. Father Christmas is the universally recognised symbol of the festive season in his traditional robes.

But the red suit and hat with the white fur trim have given rise to the belief among some that Santa's togs were dreamed up by canny ad men who recast him in the soft drink maker's corporate colours.

But while there's some truth in the suggestion - Coke ran a campaign for 30 years featuring a jolly fat Santa - his colour scheme owes more to ecclesiastical vestments than a brainstorm on Madison Avenue.

The colours are widely thought to derive from the original Saint Nicholas, who was the Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century. Red and white were the hues of traditional bishop robes, although some historians argue that he originally dressed in different colours.

He was famous for his kindness to children and generosity to the poor. After he died the legend of Saint Nicholas grew and he is still remembered in some countries on 6 December.

"To this very day St Nicholas arrives in Holland each November, dressed in a bishop's vestments," says a spokesman for the St Nicholas Society.

"He rides through the streets to the enjoyment of thousands of onlookers, to begin his investigation into the behaviour of the children."

In medieval England and for centuries afterwards, the figure of Father Christmas represented the spirit of benevolence and good cheer. In the 19th Century Dutch emigrants took their story of a legendary gift-bringer called Sinterklaas to America, where he eventually became known as Santa Claus.

'Evolutionary creation'

But while the names and legends may differ, there was little variation in the red and white outfits worn. However, over time the bishop cloak and mitre were replaced by the fur-trimmed suit.

There are records of Santa wearing various coloured costumes, but red was by far the most popular and became known as the quintessential Father Christmas outfit.

"Father Christmas is an evolutionary creation, influenced by folklore, legend and religion," says Tom Glamon, whose research into Santa will win him the envy of children the world over.

"He didn't spring to life at a certain time, fully formed and wearing a red and white suit. It wasn't really until the late 19th Century that the image now recognised across the world became set."

In recent history the red and white suit has been fixed and standardised by certain publishing events and advertising campaigns.

Between 1863 and 1886, Harper's Weekly magazine ran a series of engravings by Thomas Nast. He developed an image of Santa very close to the modern-day one. From these engravings the concept of Santa's workshop and the idea of writing letters to him also developed.

Coca-Cola's involvement kicks in in the early 1930s when Swedish artist Haddon Sundblom started drawing ads for Coke featuring a fat Santa in a red coat trimmed with fur and secured with a large belt.

His drawings were used in the company's festive advertisements for the next 30 years, well and truly cementing the image.

Of course, one sure fire way of putting the Coca-Cola story to rest would be to ask the man himself. Unfortunately, this time of year finds him so busy he has been unable to return our calls.

[MIKA27]

US actor Robin Williams found dead at home

US actor Robin Williams has been found dead, aged 63, in an apparent suicide, California police say.

Marin County Police said he was pronounced dead at his home shortly after officials responded to an emergency call around noon local time.

Williams was famous for films such as Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society and won an Oscar for his role in Good Will Hunting.

His publicist said he had been "battling severe depression".

In the past he had talked, and even joked, about his struggles with alcohol and drugs.

Williams had recently returned to a rehabilitation centre to "fine-tune" his sobriety, the Los Angeles Times reported in July.

"At this time, the Sheriff's Office Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made," police said in a statement.

Williams with his Oscar, flanked by co-stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

In a statement, Williams' wife, Susan Schneider, said she was "utterly heartbroken".

"On behalf of Robin's family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin's death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions."

Williams had three children from previous marriages.

Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1951, Williams joined the drama club in high school and was accepted into Juilliard School in New York, the prestigious American academy for the arts.

There, he was encouraged by a teacher to pursue comedy.

The actor was first known for his zany portrayal of an alien in the 1970s TV show Mork and Mindy.

He was a regular stand-up comedian while continuing to act in such films as Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Mrs Doubtfire and as the voice of the genie in Aladdin.

While many of his roles were in comedies, Williams won the Oscar in 1998 for best supporting actor as a therapist in Good Will Hunting.

Last year, he appeared on stage at the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles

President Barack Obama offered condolences to his family and said: "Williams arrived in our lives as an alien - but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit.

"He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most - from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalised on our own streets."

Fellow comedian Steve Martin tweeted he "could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul."

Martin and Williams appeared on stage together during an 1988 Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot.

Comedian and talk show host Ellen de Generes tweeted: "I can't believe the news about Robin Williams. He gave so much to so many people. I'm heartbroken.

MIKA: Tragic news, I loved his movies, he will be missed.

[MIKA27]

BRASS ANCHOR CIGAR BOX

This 1920s-era brass anchor cigar box was made by the Jennings Brothers of Connecticut, it has a wood lined interior, a patterned base and it measures 6″ long x 3.75″ wide x 4.25″ high. Although cigars have fallen from favour in many parts of the world I still love them, perhaps a little too much, and if you’re the kind of person who needs to store them on your desk – this might be just what you’ve been looking for.

Click here to visit Sir Jacks.

[tmac77]

Natasha Richardson dies aged 45

British actress Natasha Richardson has died from head injuries sustained in a skiing accident in Canada.

Richardson, 45, the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave, fell on a beginners' slope at the Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec on Monday.

The family were devastated by the death of their "beloved Natasha", her husband Liam Neeson's publicist said.

Richardson died in a New York hospital, close to the home she shared with Irish actor Neeson and their two sons.

The accident happened while the actress was taking a supervised skiing lesson at the Quebec resort.

Richardson initially showed no sign of injury but about an hour later she was taken to a nearby hospital after feeling unwell. It was later confirmed her injuries were critical.

Irish actor Neeson, 56, flew from the set of his new film in Toronto to be with his wife as soon as he heard news of the accident.

He accompanied her as she was flown from Canada to Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York, on Tuesday.

Neeson, her mother Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, 72, and two sons, Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12, had gathered at her bedside.

Richardson and Neeson married in 1994

Her sister, the Nip/Tuck actress Joely Richardson, was also pictured visiting the hospital.

Richardson's death was announced shortly before midnight GMT. Neeson left the Manhattan hospital in a people carrier at about 2030 local time (0030 GMT).

Alan Nierob, Neeson's publicist, said: "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha.

"They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

Richardson starred in films and TV but won most acclaim for her stage work.

Part of the Redgrave acting dynasty, she was the daughter of Redgrave and director Tony Richardson.

'Great actress'

Film-maker Ken Russell, who directed Richardson in her debut movie Gothic, said she was "always poised, prepared, focused and very, very bright".

Writing in The Times, the 81-year-old added: "She was one of the few modern actresses who was as smart as she was pretty, and as gentle as she was fierce."

Oscar-winning film director Sam Mendes said Richardson was "one of a kind, a magnificent actress."

Mendes, who directed Richardson in the stage production of Cabaret, added: "It defies belief that this gifted, brave, tenacious, wonderful woman is gone."

The Sunday Telegraph's theatre critic, Tim Walker, said she never needed to ride on the coat-tails of her famous relations.

He said Richardson took the decision early in her career to "stand or fall on her own" and left London to begin her career in Leeds at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

"The world of acting has been deprived of a great actress, really in her prime," he said.

"She had a sort of luminous presence on the stage, but off-stage she was a very shy, easy-going, almost self-deprecating character who didn't like being made a fuss of."

Richardson, whose father director Tony died of Aids-related causes in 1991, was on the board of the US-based charity amfAR, The Foundation for Aids Research.

A spokeswoman for the charity said she was a "dedicated Aids advocate" and an "eloquent spokesperson for amfAR".

"Our hearts go out to her family. This is a catastrophic loss for them, and it is a terrible loss for amfAR and the fight against Aids," she said.

"She generously contributed her time and resources to amfAR for over 15 years."

Head injuries

It is not known exactly what happened to Richardson.

However, leading neurosurgeon Chris Chandler said a seemingly minor blow on the head can cause life-threatening injuries.

Mr Chandler, from King's College Hospital in south London, said the effects of a blow to the head may not become apparent until several hours afterwards and, if untreated, a patient can fall into a coma.

"A blow to the head can cause a bruise or rupture a blood vessel that slowly swells, causing pressure to build up inside the skull," he said.

"In the skull there is nowhere for the brain to move to so pressure continues to grow and that swelling can cause the brain to malfunction because it can limit circulation.

"If that pressure is not relieved it can kill."

MIKA: Stunning woman IMO and great actress. Horrible day in the news.

Is this an old post popping up here? Natasha Richardson dies a few years back.

[MIKA27]

Mystery Monsters of the Deep Dark Sea

We live on a planet mostly plunged into cold darkness. Most people know that two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, but have you ever stopped to think about how most of that area lies in the deep dark where no sunlight ever penetrates? The fact is that the majority of our planet lies in a cold, eternal night; a practically unexplored alien world deep under the sea that lies in perpetual darkness.

The sunlit zone of the world’s oceans, where 90 percent of all known ocean life resides, extends only to around 600 feet down, sunlight slowly fading in ever darkening bands as the depth increases. The rest lies within what is known as the twilight, or disphotic zone, and then deeper into the midnight zone, known as the aphotic zone. Of all of our vast oceans which cover most of our planet, 90 percent of these waters lie deep within the stygian chasms of perfect pitch blackness within the midnight zone. It is a cold place, perpetually blanketed with darkness and immense, crushing pressure, where nightmarish creatures skitter and flit far from the sunlit world with which we are familiar. Very little is known about this dark world. Such depths are notoriously difficult to study and we have only barely scratched the surface of what lies there.

All we know for sure is that the truly deep depths of the world’s oceans offer continual surprises. New species unlike any others known before are routinely discovered here, and indeed wholly new and alien biomes in extreme environments that no life had even been thought possible, such as deep sea thermal vent communities, have challenged our very notions of what life is and how it has evolved. These depths and the bizarre organisms that call them home are so alien that they are often used as a template for what we might expect to find in extreme habitats on other worlds.

As inhospitable as the deepest, coldest abyssal depths of the ocean may seem, this is a place in fact teeming with life, far from the desolate undersea desert it was once thought to be. Craig M. Young of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology once described the abyss as having biodiversity that “may exceed that of the Amazon Rain Forest and the Great Barrier Reef combined.” It is little wonder then that from these dizzying, midnight depths spring unexplainable mysteries and undiscovered organisms that we still do not grasp. Let us delve down, down, down into the inky murk of this dark earth and take a look at some of the perplexing enigmas that call to us from there.

Beebe’s Abyssal Fish

Some of the greatest ichthyological mysteries of the century were uncovered in the 1930s by the deep sea scientist William Beebe, who was head of the tropical research department at the New York Zoological Society. Descending in his bathysphere- a small metal spherical craft barely large enough to hold a full grown man- into the deep dark sea off of the coast of Bermuda, Beebe was the first person to brave such crushing depths and truly get a look at the alien world that lies in the eternal night of our world’s deep oceans. What he saw was a place unlike any that had been ever observed before; a vast sea of pitch black inhabited by translucent, gelatinous creatures, glowing jellyfish, fanged monsters, and the innumerable twinkling lights of bioluminescent organisms like a sea of stars in the dark cold of space. In his book Half Mile Down, Beebe wrote:

“It was stranger than any imagination could have conceived. I would focus on some one creature and just as its outlines began to be distinct on my retina, some brilliant, animated comet or constellation would rush across the small arc of my submarine heaven and every sense would be distracted, and my eyes would involuntarily shift to this new wonder.”

During his study of the Bermudan depths, Beebe made many detailed notes and sketches of his discoveries, but sadly the technology of the time did not allow for underwater photography at the depths he was operating at. Many of the creatures Beebe described and catalogued in his study, collectively referred to as Beebe’s Abyssal Fish, are still solely known from his accounts and sketches, with no flesh and blood specimen ever recovered as of yet and never seen since. Of the various unknown species Beebe observed, some of them truly stand out.

Bathysphere exploring the deep.

The fish Beebe called Bathysphaera intacta was observed at a depth of 2,100 feet in 1932, and was described as 6 feet long with a row of pale blue lights along its sides. The fish also had two ventrical tentacles trailing from its sides that were each tipped with red and blue lights, and large prominent teeth that the researcher described as being reminiscent of a barracuda’s. Beebe classified this fish with scaleless black dragonfishes of the subfamily Melanostomiidae, but the largest known dragonfish of the time was a mere 15 inches in length.

Another fish Beebe encountered was what he called the Pallid Sailfin (Bathyembryx istiophasma), a two foot long fish spied at a depth of between 1,500 and 2,500 feet. The Sailfin was of a pale, olive drab color with no discernible luminous organs and possessing a prominent long, wide, filamentous pectoral 
fin. It was seen only once, and Beebe was not able to capture the specimen.

Other smaller, yet no less mysterious fish were observed by Beebe as well. The Abyssal Rainbow Gar was a 4 inch long species observed at a depth of 2,500 feet. Beebe saw four specimens swimming in a stiff, upright posture and described them as having long beaks and colorful bodies of scarlet, blue, and yellow. There was also the bizarre Five Lined Constellation Fish (Bathysidus pentagrammus), with its round body, disproportionately large eyes, and lines of purples and yellow bioluminescent lights along its sides. It was sighted at a depth of 1,900 feet and was so unusual looking that it was speculated that Beebe had in fact seen merely a cluster of jellyfish obfuscated by mist on the bathysphere’s porthole.

Depiction of Beebe’s Bathysphere Fish

It is impossible to classify any of these fish with confidence as none of these species have ever been captured or sighted again, and they are only known from Beebe’s descriptions. In modern times, the technology to allow us to more efficiently explore these depths has progressed, so perhaps sometime in the future we may have some answers as to what Beebe saw through his porthole down there in the deep dark sea all of those years ago.

The Bloop

In the summer of 1997, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) detected an unusual undersea sound on autonomous hydrophone listening stations situated deep in the Pacific ocean for the purpose of monitoring deep sea phenomena.

The sound was an ultralow frequency and extremely loud, as it was picked up on several stations that were located up to 5,000 km apart. The bizarre sound rose steadily for over one minute, and did not exhibit characteristics inherit to man made noises such as those of submarines or drilling, nor of known geological phenomena like earthquakes or volcanic activity. The audio signature of the noise had a unique soundprint that puzzled scientists and became to be known simply as the “Bloop.”

The Bloop demonstrated some unique qualities, such as rapid variations in frequency and a rather organic sound, that fueled speculation that it had been made by some form of marine creature. The problem was that the sheer volume of the noise, which had carried it to far flung hydrophone arrays thousands of miles apart, meant that if it had indeed come from a biological organism it would be something far larger and louder than any known to currently exist. If this was some marine creature, then what sort of beast would be capable of such a massive roar?

The discovery of the Bloop became hotly debated and highly speculated upon. Theories ranged from some gargantuan unknown leviathan to a new type of whale evolved to produce sounds more efficiently and loudly. Other, more far out hypotheses believed the sounds to be from Lovecraft’s Cthulu itself, an idea encouraged by the fact that the Bloop was emitted from a point 1,760km from the location of the sunken city of R’yleh, where according to Lovecraft Cthulhu was imprisoned.

Trying to find some rational explanation for the strange sounds, some scientists pointed to data from undersea acoustic surveys conducted from 2005 to 2010 that seemed to suggest that the Bloop was most likely caused by one of the tens of thousands of icequakes that occur every year in the southern Pacific. Icequakes are caused by the melting, cracking, and shearing of sea ice as well as pieces of glaciers breaking off. Proponents of the icequake theory pointed to the similarities between the acoustic signatures of icequakes and what was seen in the Bloop, as well as the fact that icequake noise can travel thousands of kilometers just as seen in the mystery recording. It was also pointed out that the audio recording for the Bloop responsible for popularizing the theory of a large animal had been played back at a higher speed, giving it the illusion of having more of a biological quality than it possessed when played at normal speed.

The official statement that the Bloop was caused by an icequake seemed to spell the end of speculation and the whole mystery was proclaimed “solved,” yet there are still those that don’t buy into the official explanation. Skeptics of this explanation point out that it has never been shown that the signature is definitely that of an icequake, and the closest that could be said was that it was “probably” an icequake. The sound signature of the Bloop does not completely match that of an icequake, and still displays some anomalies that don’t totally fit with one. In addition, upon further analysis at least one NOAA scientist has redacted his opinion that the Bloop was caused by ice activity and has continued to stand behind the marine animal hypothesis.

It seems that this mysterious sound from the deep has perhaps not been completely solved just yet. Questions still remain.

Unfortunately for those who want a concrete answer, since the Bloop was only ever heard once, we will probably never know for sure.

Super Eels

A curious finding was dredged up from abyssal depths off of South Africa in 1930. The Marine Investigation Expedition was an extensive round the world research expedition led by a Professor Johannes Schmidt aboard the vessel Dana. During the last year of the expedition, the ship fished up a colossal eel larvae, or leptocephalus, in water over a thousand feet deep off the Cape of Good Hope. Due to the extreme depths, the animal was dead upon reaching the ship, but nevertheless shocked all those who examined it.

The larvae was measured as being 184cm long (just over 6 feet), which is large but all the more so when considering that the larvae of a common eel typically measures only 2 to 4 inches, which in turn grows into an eel around 4 feet long. When extrapolating from the typical growth rate of eels, the 6 foot leptocephalus was theorized to become an adult that would measure around 80 to 100 feet in length, although a more conservative estimate would be more like 70 to 80 feet. In the freshwater eels of North America and Europe, adults can be a dozen times the size of their larval forms. According to an article in The Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 47, 24 February 1934, Page 24, the South Africa specimen was subsequently preserved and sent to Marine Biological Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark where it was put on exhibit.

A similar find was made in New Zealand when another large leptocephalus, this time around 3 feet long, was pulled up out of the depths in 1959. In this case the larva was assigned the name Leptocephalus giganteus, and the South African specimen was later also classified under the same name even though it was not clear whether the two were actually of the same species.

Since no other specimens of Leptocephalus giganteus have been collected, there is little data to go on. However, judging from known growth rates of similar creatures, it would appear that the deep seas could be home to some truly monstrous eels indeed.

These giant eel larvae fit neatly into the theory postulated by the cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans of giant eels of this sort, what he referred to as “super eels,” accounting for many reported sea serpent sightings. Speaking of Heuvelmans…

Heuvelman’s Super Squid

We know the seas have big squid. The once legendary Kraken, now known as the giant squid, of the genus Architeuthis, and the even more massive colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) are famous for their enormous sizes. Giant squid, for instance, are estimated to reach total lengths (including tentacles) of up to 13 meters (43 feet) and perhaps even larger, with colossal squid being even more massive. However, is there an even more monstrously huge type of squid lurking in the unexplored depths of our oceans?

The famed cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans, often referred to as the father of modern cryptozoology, certainly thought so.

Inspired by reports from outsized specimens of giant squid washed up in Newfoundland, some of the more outrageous reports mentioning squid 80 or 90 feet long, Heuvelmans wondered if there were specimens of giant squid out there, or even a new species that were far larger than the proposed size limits. Another report from 1924 further added fuel to his theory. On October 25, 1924, a Mr. White and Mr. Strachan found what they described as a “record octopus” washed up on near Baven-on-Sea, Natal, South Africa. Pieces of the carcass had been missing, including the mantle and long portions of the tentacles, making size estimations difficult, but judging by illustrations of the animal Heuvelmans estimated that the total length of the animal would have been a monstrous 115 feet long.

A fair amount of sightings reports also fascinated Heuvelmans. One such sighting occurred at night during WWII by an A. G. Starkey off the Maldives. He was allegedly alone on deck and saw a squid laying alongside the 175 foot (53 m) boat that was nearly the same length. He said the arms were 2 feet wide (0.6 m) and that the beak was visible. A canadian by the name of Charles Dudoward also reported spotting a squid washed up on shore in 1922 that had arms 50 feet (15.2 m) long and one tentacle 100 feet (30 m) long. The tentacle apparently ended in a hook 10″ (25 cm) wide and 12 in (31 cm) long. Dudoward’s own grandfather had also made a sighting in British Columbia of a squid which had arms over 100 feet (30 m) with suckers ranging from the size of saucers to basin plates.

Heuvelmen’s also considered as evidence of giant squid the existence of sucker marks on sperm whales far larger than normal which he took to imply truly humongous squid lurking in the depths. Upon hearing of sucker marks 4 inches in diameter, Heuvelman’s extrapolated that into a squid with a body length (excluding tentacles) measuring at least 30 feet long. Even larger sucker marks had also been recorded, with the famed cryptozoologist Ivan Sanderson writing of sucker marks measuring 18 inches long. Sanderson had also made mention of sucker marks measuring all the way up to 2 feet in diameter, all of which would imply gigantic squid far, far larger than any known thus far. It was pointed out by skeptics that these extra large sucker marks may have been marks made by lampreys rather than those of squid, or that they could have been wounds inflicted on young whales that grew to appear larger as the animals matured, but Heuvelmans was not convinced by these arguments. Heuvelmans also took reports of tentacles measuring 45 feet long and speculated that they were short arms rather than the long tentacles, from which he calculated that the creature itself would reach the truly mind boggling total length of 140 to 240 feet if male and up to 300 feet if female.

Based on all of these observations, plus various sightings reports of super sized squid from around the world, Heuvelmans proposed that there were squid that measured well over 100 feet and in some case up to 300 feet lurking in the world’s oceans.

This seems perhaps a little far fetched, yet even if they are not hundreds of feet long it is entirely feasible that squid at least larger than any currently known are out there prowling the depths.

Mystery Shark of the Mariana Trench

It is impossible to talk about the truly deep places of the world without mentioning the Mariana Trench, a massive undersea canyon stretching around 2,550 km (1,580 mi) along the western Pacific Ocean. Dropping down up to 7 miles into darkness at its deepest point, the yawning chasm of the Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans, and remains mostly unexplored.

Along the outer edge of the Mariana Trench lies the extremely deep Suruga Bay, Japan. It was here that researchers caught footage of a truly monstrous shark while studying the marine life of the area. Japanese marine biologists studying sea life at the bottom of a deep and little explored part of the bay set up a container filled with potently smelly bait designed to lure in a wide variety of sea life even from great distances away. The container was placed at a depth of 1.5 km (nearly 1 mile), and a camera was attached nearby to capture footage of any sea life in the vicinity. The plan was to take video of and catalog the different types of creatures that showed up.

At first, the bait attracted numerous small fish and some crustaceans, nothing particularly unusual. Things got more exciting when a shoal of rare, deep water sharks measuring around 2 meters (6.5 feet) long moved in and enthusiastically fed on the bait.

Researchers were surprised when the shoal of sharks suddenly and inexplicably darted off in all directions as if they were afraid of something. At first, it was unknown what could have caused such large sharks to scatter like that away from such irresistible bait. The reason soon became apparent when a humongous shark dwarfing the others loomed into view from the surrounding murk. The incredibly large shark proceeds to slowly soar in front of the camera and show interest in the bait before gliding off again. The scientists who viewed the mysterious shark were puzzled by its sheer size, and nobody was sure just what exactly they had seen.

Still from the video footage.

It is apparent upon viewing the footage that whatever the shark is, it is gigantic, although it is difficult to say for certain just how gigantic. When trying to ascertain its size, researchers took into account the dimensions of the bait container, as well as the length of other sharks that can be seen in the footage before the monster shows up, which were judged to be around 2 meters (6.5 feet) long. Using these as size comparisons, the mystery shark was estimated as being at least 30 feet long, with more exaggerated estimations putting it at more like 50 or 60 feet long.

The footage taken by the underwater camera near the bait station became quite popular in Japan, and it has gained some notoriety in cryptozoological abroad as well. It is unclear just what is seen in the video, and some have jumped on the explanation that the mega shark is a surviving megalodon. The researchers who originally took the video are inclined to believe it to be a very large specimen of the rare Pacific sleeper shark, and other scientists have concurred. Sleeper sharks can get quite large, and are believed to be capable of reaching lengths of up to 7 meters (23 feet) long, yet if the shark in the video is of this species then it would represent by far the largest specimen ever recorded.

Pacific sleeper shark

Arthur C. Clarke once said “How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is quite clearly Ocean.” How true this is. Our world is mostly comprised of vast, largely unexplored water plunging into an even vaster, even more unexplored perpetual twilight. Just what lies hidden down in this darkness that makes up most of our planet? We have scarcely managed to uncover even a fraction of the myriad organisms that call these abyssal places home. There in this zone of black and amidst the flickering constellations of bioluminescent lights lie ancient mysteries that remain and perhaps always will.

[MIKA27]

Is this an old post popping up here? Natasha Richardson dies a few years back.

WOW, weird.... Its in todays BBC feed as new news!!

It's been removed!!

[MIKA27]

Across Asia 'Hitler Chic' Is Fast Becoming A Warped & Bizarre Craze

Admittedly ‘Asian’ is not the first thing to spring to mind when the topic of Nazis comes up.

It may then surprise you to learn there is a rampant ‘Asian Nazi’ subculture alive and kicking in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, China and South Korea.

In a bizarre subversion of the wildly popular cosplay phenomenon, Asian youth are dressing in some fairly offensive getups, decking out stores, and even theming wedding pictures in this ‘Hitler Chic’ style.

With no real explanation for this movement beyond a love of the fashion, you’d really have to think that the participants were lacking in the knowledge of exactly what role Germany played in atrocities of World War Two...

[MIKA27]

NOOKA NOOKRONO CHRONOGRAPH WATCH

When I first heard the Space Race was the inspiration for the design of these NOOKRONO chronograph-style watches, I thought they meant that whole thing with Lance Bass trying to go to Mars or whatever. Fortunately, they do not.

And the “they” in this case is New York fashion brand NOOKA, the makers of the four limited edition chronograph models, each with a dial and face reminiscent of spaceship launchpads, the kind that the US and USSR were rushing to in the 50s and 60s. NOOKA is handling the custom quartz movement in-house, with the unisex design featuring three hands on the face and three minimalist registers. Choose from NOOKRONO Steel or Multi, each with soft silicone bands and clear mineral crystal; NOOKRONO Night with a stainless stell band and green sapphire crystal; or NOOKRONO Lux with an 18K gold-plated face and band and clear sapphire crystal. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

B&O PLAY BEOPLAY SPECIAL EDITION H6 HEADPHONES

Just like how some people want pancakes and scrambled eggs in the morning (the overachievers of the world) some people want more than superior audio quality in their headphones. Some people also want panache. The premium sound sultans at B&O PLAY are giving those people what they’re asking for with B&O’s new set of colorways for the BeoPlay H6 headphones.

Choose from “Bluestone,” “Graphite Blush” and “Bronzed Hazel” and enjoy the unique splashes of color while also savoring the combination of accurate, well-balanced, and distortion-free sound reproduction and high-tech lightweight construction. That means zero listener fatigue, and with the new standout styling there’ll be no viewing fatigue on anyone else’s part either. Goes great with flapjacks, by the way. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

2015 RANGE ROVER SPORT SVR

The current generation Range Rover was already one of, if not our favorite high-end SUV on the market. Now that Land Rover has decided to roll out the beefed up 2015 Range Rover Sport SVR, we know exactly how we’d spend our $110,000.

The exterior has been revamped to include new, more aggressive front and rear fascias, but it’s in the performance department where this thing really stands out. The supercharged 5.0-liter V8 is pumping out 40 more ponies than the standard Supercharged model, amounting to 550 total horsepower. The power is delivered through an improved 8-speed automatic transmission that shifts 50 percent faster than its predecessor. So what do these new power numbers, and reworked transmission amount to? This setup has given the Rover everything it needs to become the fastest production SUV on the planet, lapping the Nurburgring circut in just 8 minutes and 14 seconds. The Range Rover Sport SVR can also sprint to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds, with a top speed of 162 miles per hour. Check out the video below.

[MIKA27]

A Single Thread Wrapped Around Thousands of Nails

Kumi Yamashita, whose mind-blowing shadow artworks have been featured before, uses a single, unbroken thread wrapped around thousands of nails to create stunning portraits of women and men.

In the ongoing series entitled Constellation (a nod to the Greek tradition of tracing mythical figures in the sky), the Japanese artist (living and working in New York) uses three simple materials to produce these otherworldly works of art.

Mana, the first artwork featured above, was recently selected as one of 50 finalists for the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, a triennial event being held at the Smithsonian Museum’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Yamashita’s artwork was selected from over 3,000 entires and is on display at the National Portrait Gallery until February 23, 2014.

For more, be sure to visit Kumi’s official website and Facebook page.

MIKA: Simply amazing

[MIKA27]

HOW TO DRINK ABSINTHE LIKE A GENTLEMAN

Absinthe’s history mirrors the way it’s meant to be prepared: a mix of the misunderstood and the legitimately unusual. For most of its existence, the spirit has been slandered, ostracized and, in rarer cases, revered. It’s been dragged across borders, masqueraded as other liquors, aspersed with hallucination claims and — since its ban was lifted in America in 2007 — the spirit has been secretly embracing it all.

“There’s a tradition. There’s a lure to the preparation of absinthe”, says Will Elliot, a bartender at Brooklyn’s Maison Premiere, an oyster and cocktail den with the allure of a New Orleans haunt. Absinthe, at 68 percent alcohol, is a compacted spirit. Once diluted with water, the essential oils and flavors loosen to reveal the drink’s nuances. Preparing an absinthe drink involves combining botanicals, flavors and aromatic elements, Elliot says. “It’s not the sort of spirit that you just toss back.” As for lighting it on fire, which often is brought up in discussions on how absinthe’s served, “You wouldn’t…that’s really damaging the alcohol”, Elliot says. He got behind the bar to debunk some myths and walk us through two traditional absinthe drinks — a drip and a frappe — and a new twist on an old cocktail.

ABSINTHE DRIP

1: Get Started. A Pontarlier is small glassed chalice used for drinking absinthe. If you don’t have one, fear not. A wine glass is an acceptable alternative. Absinthe is an aromatic spirit, so basically you want a glass you can get your nose into. Measure the absinthe using the bigger end of a Japanese graduated jigger — effectively it’s just a little larger than a shot glass — and pour into the Pontarlier.

2: Rest a slotted spoon on top of the glass. A small slotted fork is an acceptable fallback. Place a Domino sugar cube on top of the spoon.

3: Slowly drip cold water onto the sugar cube. It’ll dissolve and mix with the absinthe below. Ideally an absinthe fountain should be used, but cold water can be slowly poured over the sugar cube as well. A common misconception is that absinthe fountains drip absinthe — they don’t. It’s just water. Dripping the water slowly gives the liquids time to mix.

4: Even out the drink. Diluting the absinthe will bring it to a louche, or a cloudy consistency. There should be an evenness to the drink, which is why you don’t want to just pour water on top. Once it’s about one part absinthe, five parts water, it’s good to go.

ABSINTHE FRAPPE

1: Fill a shaker with a handful of crushed ice. Essentially, Elliot says, this is “just absinthe with crushed ice, and a little bit of sugar.” You don’t need a dripper for this one.

2: Pour a jigger of absinthe into the shaker. Add a sugar cube. Shake. The act of shaking mixes the ice and absinthe and dilutes the drink. “I like to shake it with not very much ice, but shake it for quite a while”, Elliot says, “You really want a lot of dilution. A good indicator is when it frosts up on the shaker’s outside.”

3: Pour the drink into a Pontarlier. Packing more crushed ice on top of the drink will further chill it. It also encourages a person to drink slower, and to better taste the drink’s flavors.

Is Absinthe an After Dinner Drink?

“I prefer it with lighter fare, so earlier in the meal. I don’t see it as an after dinner drink. I see some classic absinthe cocktails as after-dinner drinks, but as far as drinking, you know, drip or frappe, I would say less so. Yeah, I would say earlier in the meal, or by itself.

“People get really caring, happy, or crazed [about the absinthe they drink], and I think it’s a good thing. I think it’s good to think broadly about that kind of thing. Also, most of all, absinthe by itself, you know, it’s delicious. It warrants that much attention.”

- Will Elliot

ABSINTHE COCKTAIL

There’s a wide variety of absinthe cocktails. Many mixed drinks also call for a splash of absinthe. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the star of the show, says Elliot. “But a touch of it in the cocktail can be really good.” There’s also “a classic cocktail called Death in the Afternoon, which is just a jigger of absinthe in a glass of Champagne.” Elliot even suggests that absinthe was originally dashed into Manhattans in Manhattan. He settled on making us a Sazerac, which was easy to prepare and delicious.

1: Add crushed ice to a glass. Since this is a cocktail, it doesn’t have to be a Pontarlier. A whiskey glass is perfectly acceptable.

2: Add a jigger of absinthe to the glass and stir. Elliot used a swizzle stick. Stirring does two things: chills the glass and allows the absinthe to louche.

3: Bitters and syrup. Add Peychaud bitters, the quintessential New Orleans bitters, and a quarter ounce of simple syrup.

4: Add rye whiskey. For the Sazerac, add a few ounces of rye whiskey. Elliot used two ryes: Rittenhouse and Old Overholt.

5: Stir. If the drink is too strong, the act of stirring melts ice and dilutes the drink further. Also, since this is a stirred drink and not served on ice, the more you stir, the colder the drink.

6: Pour and Garnish. Using a julep spoon, pour the drink into a fresh glass, separating the liquid from the ice. Finally, add a final aromatic element — a twist of Lemon.

[MIKA27]

Cryptids of the Caribbean Part 3: Hispaniola

Our tour moves to Hispaniola, an island shared by two nations, Haiti on the western portion of the island, and The Dominican Republic on the eastern side. A diverse land of thick, lush jungles, pine forests, dry forests, and grasslands, Hispaniola is a mostly pristine and ecologically diverse land that is home to several types of alleged mystery animals.

Caribbean Monk Seal

One of the more interesting and plausible unknown animals sighted here is one that is known to have at one time existed, the Caribbean monk seal. Thought to be extinct since 1952, the monk seal once inhabited parts of the West Indies, including Hispaniola. It was a large, robust seal that could grow up to 2.4 meters (8 feet) in length and weigh up to 270 kg (600 pounds). With their broad, extended muzzles, the monk seals had an unmistakeable and unique face. The Caribbean monk seal was eventually hunted to extinction for their blubber, their docile and unaggressive nature speeding along their doom.

Although officially put on the endangered species list in 1967, it was too little too late, as the last confirmed sighting of a Caribbean monk seal was in 1952 between Jamaica and Nicaragua. After decades of no more official sightings, as well as several expeditions mounted to search for surviving specimens that failed to turn up any trace of the animals, the Caribben monk seal was officially declared extinct in 2008. Regardless of this, fishermen and divers in Haiti and Jamaica have consistently and regularly reported seeing the monks seals to this day. Several zoological surveys carried out over the years since the official extinction date to look for evidence of the seals’s possible continued existence have come up short.

The Caribbean Crowing Snake

Moving inland, the forests of eastern Haiti, as well parts of Jamaica, are said to harbor what is known as the Caribbean Crowing Snake. The snake is reportedly around 4 feet long with a thick, ochre colored body covered in dark spots, and some reports make mention of a tail tipped in a feathered tuft. The Crowing Snake is said to have a red crest and wattles just like a rooster. It is most well known for its distinctive vocalizations, as it is said to crow like a rooster.

The snake is said to aggressively eat chickens, and islanders will often blame missing chickens on the Crowing Snake. Although considered by many to be mere local folklore, many islanders in Haiti will insist that the creature is real and there have even been historical cases of Crowing Snakes being killed. The partially decomposed body of a possible Crowing Snake was allegedly examined by a doctor in Jamaica in 1829. The dead snake had waddles like a rooster, a feature not known on typical snakes. In another case, one of the creatures was apparently shot and killed in 1850, again in Jamaica.

The snake is sighted from time to time even to this day, although most often it is heard rather than seen.

Mermaids

The seas of Hispaniola are the source of some historical accounts of mermaids. Christopher Columbus himself allegedly sighted mermaids on two separate occasions here. In 1493, while sailing near the shores of the Dominican Republic, Columbus sighted three mermaids cavorting in the water. He claimed that they “rose out of the sea” and that he had a good look at them. Columbus described the creatures in the ship’s log thus:

In a bight at the coast of Hispaniola, I saw three sirens which rose well out of the sea; but they are not so beautiful as they are said to be, for their faces had some masculine traits. The Admiral says that he had seen some, at other times, on the coast of Guinea

It is thought that Columbus perhaps sighted manatees, which in his tired state misidentified as mermaids. This theory is further supported by the fact that his diary and log entries tended to be sloppy and it is thought that perhaps his vision had been failing him slightly by this time. However, a seasoned explorer such as Columbus perhaps would not be so quick to misidentify a very un-mermaid-like animal like a manatee as an actual mermaid and then even upon reflection later go on to assert that this is what he had seen. In addition, manatees were most likely a rather common sight at the time, so why would Columbus and this occasion suddenly insist that manatees were mermaids? It seems more likely that if the intrepid explorer had seen manatees, then he would have likely reported them as precisely that; manatees, or not even bothered to report it at all. Regardless, since again the entry is not vey detailed, it is not clear just what Columbus saw in the waters of the Caribbean all those years ago.

Haitian metal art depicting mermaids

In addition to sightings of purported mermaids made by Columbus, the English explorer John Smith also claimed to have seen a mermaid in these waters in 1614. In the case of Smith’s mermaid, the creature was apparently easier on the eyes. Smith wrote:

“Her long green hair imparted to her an original character by no means unattractive. Begun to experience the first effects of love.”

The Caribbean in general has a rich history of mermaids. The English pirate Blackbeard and his crew reported seeing mermaids on numerous occasions in Caribbean waters, and considered them to be omens of bad luck and misfortune. Blackbeard was so wary of merfolk and mermaids that he was known to order his crew to steer clear of charted areas where they were thought to exist.

Mermaids also feature heavily in many folkloric traditions of the Caribbean, and Haiti itself has mythical merfolk that live in rivers and are called “river maidens.”

Strange Hominids

The remote mountains of Bahoruco, Dominican Republic, have long been said to be the haunt of a race of mysterious hominids known locally as Los Biembiens.

The creatures are said to be short, ape-like creatures, about the size of a small child and with ugly or deformed bodies. The creatures are said to live in trees and to be extremely agile climbers. They are reported as being nocturnal, hiding during the day and coming out to hunt at dusk mostly alone, but sometimes in groups. Los Biembiens are not known to wear clothing and are said to communicate with series of guttural grunts. They are said to be highly aggressive and unfriendly, not hesitating to attack those who trespass into their territory. They have been allegedly known to attack, kill, and eat humans, with human entrails being their favorite part.

Perhaps the strangest feature of Los Biembiens is their tracks, which purportedly face backwards in order to hide their movements and keep from being discovered. Folkloric accounts of the creatures say that in the 1700s, an African slave and some Indians ran away from their masters and retreated into the mountains, where they lived far from civilization. After many ears of this, they then became feral and slowly transformed into beast-like creatures.

Despite the mythical aspects of this legend, Los Biembiens are said to be very real by locals, and there are occasional sightings of the creatures reported from the area.

And now we depart from the mysterious lands of Hispaniola to other enigmas of the Caribbean.

[MIKA27]

The Rise And Fall Of The Fireman's Pole

Imagine this: it’s 3:30 in the morning, and you’re deep in some pillowy dreamscape. All is calm; all is serene. Then, a piercing alarm whiplashes your senses: you’re awake now, scrambling in the darkness with ten equally frazzled men. In a flurry, boots are pulled on, helmets are snatched off shelves, and you’re flying down a 20-foot pole with the rapidity and dexterity of a howler monkey.

It’s a scene played out as many as three or four times a night in some large municipal firehouses, and no part of it is more central than the fireman’s pole. Since its invention and integration in the late nineteenth century, the fire pole has become a ubiquitous trope of the profession, right up there with the walrus ‘stache and the Dalmatian. On grade school field trips, it’s the coming attraction — a way to contextualize the exciting, perilous routine of men who put their lives on the line.

Once heralded as the time-saving successor to stairs, the fire pole is, after 150 years, sliding toward extinction. In its heyday, the pole revolutionised the way firefighters responded to alarms, accessed their trucks, and, ultimately, saved lives. But fire poles came — and still come — with a caveat: they have the potential to be lethal for those who descend them. A comb through archives reveals dozens of pole-related deaths, hundreds of serious injuries, and a slew of unsavory lawsuits resulting in multi-million dollar payouts. Today, an increasing number of firehouses are altogether abandoning the fire pole as they remodel old structures and re-analyse building and safety codes.

The story of the fireman’s pole is one of innovation, but also one of tragedy.

The Rise of the Fireman’s Pole

Firemen sitting by their pole (1905).

In 1736, Benjamin Franklin jump-started the first effort to build formalized firehouses. Over the following century, various tools would be implemented — buckets, hoses, ladders, and the like — but response times were brutally slow.

The majority of firehouses in the nineteenth century were two or three stories. Typically, the horse-drawn fire carriages (and horses) would occupy the first floor, the second floor would be the firefighters’ sleeping quarters, and, in some cases, a third floor would serve as a hay bale storage unit to feed the animals. Often, when the firemen cooked meals on the second floor, curious horses would ascend the stairs into the living quarters; as horses typically don’t descend stairs, they would then be stuck there.

To solve this issue, firehouses began installing narrow spiral staircases that the animals couldn’t access. This, however, led to a more pressing issue: when an alarm rang, anywhere from ten to twenty firefighters would all have to simultaneously scramble down these corridors to reach the trucks below. This invariably impeded response times; in an age where fire technology was limited, every second counted.

In 1878, one man’s inadvertent invention changed the way firefighters answered urgent calls.

One afternoon, David Kenyon, the captain of Chicago’s all-black Engine Company No. 21, was helping a fellow marshall stack hay on the third floor of his firehouse when an alarm rang. In the loft was a long wooden binding pole used to secure hay during transport; without a quick route of descent, Kenyon’s accomplice grabbed the pole and slid two stories down, easily beating out the dozens of firemen scrambling down the spiral staircase.

A much-loved fire pole beside its less-adored counterpart, the spiral staircase.

Kenyon was intrigued, and saw great potential. The following week, he convinced the Chief of Department to approve the necessary building augmentations to install a permanent pole, and agreed to pay for any associated maintenance. A hole was cut through the two upper floors, and a 3-inch diameter pole crafted out of Georgia pine was installed; after several coats of varnish and paraffin, it was ready for daily use.

Following the installation, Kenyon and Engine Company 21 were mercilessly ridiculed by other firehouses. The team, claimed the naysayers, had lost its collective mind to merely consider such a strange response mechanism. But Company 21 quickly grew a reputation for being the first to arrive at the scene of a fire — often up to ten minutes before other brigades — and others slowly began to give the pole serious consideration.

After just a few months of operation, the Chief of Department ordered that poles be installed in every Chicago fire station. In 1880, the Boston Fire Department installed the first brass pole, and it became a standard for fire stations across the United States.

When Poles Go Wrong

By nature, firefighting is a generally dangerous profession, with an average of 116 deaths per year over the last 35 years (this data excludes the September 11 attacks). While stress-induced heart attacks and strokes are the leading issue, falls constitute up to 6% of all deaths, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Historically, the fire pole has been a culprit.

As far back as 1885, there were recorded instances of firemen falling down fire pole holes or accidentally losing grip mid-slide — and dying. A rash of such incidents occurred throughout the early twentieth century. Combing through the historical archives of six major cities — New York, Boston, St. Paul, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia — we were able to find 18 deaths related to fire poles from 1890 to 1930 alone (keep in mind that this includes only six out of hundreds of archives). The stories are varied: a young ladderman who fell 20 feet down a pole on the way to a call in 1904; a captain, Thomas S. Home, who awoke in the middle of the night and unwittingly walked over the hole in the floor and tumbled to his death; the Chicagoan auto engineer who slid down too fast, shattered his knee caps, and died from resulting infections a few months later.

Despite these incidents, safety precautions — railings around the hole, and mats at the bottom — weren’t widely implemented until the mid-1950s. Even then, the deaths continued. One such incidence in 1959 describes a St. Paulfirefighter who tripped over his shoelace and went careening over the railing head-first 30 feet down the “pole hole.” It was the city’s fourth pole-related death. Another tragedy two years later in Boston saw a Lieutenant slip while descending and break his neck.

In the modern era, the frequency of deaths has diminished (there have been four since 2000), but safety measures have failed to reduce the plethora of injuries, both minor and major. A look through theOccupational Safety and Health Administration database reveals hundreds of fire pole related injuries over the past 30 years (1984-2014), ranging from broken ankles and toes to fractured skulls. Several of these incidents have led to graver consequences for firehouses and cities.

On December 23, 2003, Seattle firefighter Mark Jones awoke in the middle of the night to use the restroom and fell down the fire pole hole. A court document details the nature of his resulting injuries:

“Mark sustained severe injuries from his 15-foot fall, including traumatic brain injuries and extensive bodily damage. Mark’s brain injuries included a ‘diffuse axonal injury,’ a shearing trauma in which the ‘wires’ of the brain are ‘torn,’ and bleeding in his frontal lobe and ventricles. Mark fractured his pelvis in multiple places, many of his vertebrae, and nearly all of his right ribs. His lung was punctured, and his bladder ruptured. Mark later underwent surgery to remove handfuls of necrotic tissue that were preventing his lungs from expanding.”

Jones subsequently sued the city of Seattle for negligence and failure to install proper safety railings and was awarded $US12.75 million in damages. In response, the city of Seattle banned poles and heavily invested in renovating all 32 of its local fire stations.

His case isn’t the only one: more recently, in March 2014, a New York firefighter brought a lawsuit against the city after sliding down a fire pole that was “too slick” and fracturing vertebra his lower spine. In the case, which is still undergoing review, he claims he was unable to control his descent of the pole, and relates that even following a string of such incidents, the firehouse failed to change its procedures.

Sliding out of the Picture

Whereas the fireman’s pole was once an iconic fixture at every major firehouse, it is increasingly being replaced today. With the advent of motorised vehicles and fire trucks, horses were phased out and there was no longer a need to have multi-level stations. Continued deaths and injuries, despite safety installations, have also led officials to reconsider the fireman pole’s role in the modern era. Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Firefighters, elaborated in an interview with The New York Times:

“It certainly is without any question that firehouse poles are becoming, with each new firehouse, a thing of the past. The new firehouse or station would be built with stairways and no poles.”

As firehouses around the nation uninstall fire poles, they fail to find alternative options to reduce response times. A few stations have experimented with another playground fixture — the slide — in lieu of the pole, but the trend hasn’t really caught on (imagine half a dozen 200-pound men trying to simultaneously shoot down a tube). Instead, many stations have come full circle — right back to using stairs. As a veteran firefighter notes, this is less than ideal: “Now at 4 o’clock in the morning, you’ve got 11 guys going down the stairs. Stupidest thing I ever heard of.” Ken Mulville, a station officer, contextualizes this sentiment in the vein of time management:

“It is ludicrous – we were all flabbergasted to find we will have to run down the stairs now. I would say it takes about half a second to slide down a pole and at least 20 seconds to run down two flights of stairs. At the end of the day seconds could be critical when responding to a [911] call.”

Though there are instances of serious injury, and even death, these instances are relatively infrequent when gauged with the sheer number of times firefighters descend the poles on any given day. But for firefighters, the argument for or against the pole always evolves into a moral dilemma: while it’s dangerous, it is, by far, the most practical and efficient method of responding to a call — often reducing response times by up to 30 seconds. One Massachusetts Lieutenant explains his catch-22:

“There is a pole in my fire station, and I consider it one of the most dangerous things we have in the building. There is a railing around the hole upstairs, but is only a horizontal rail about three feet above the floor, with three uprights holding it up. One misstep near that pole and its a 16 foot plummet. The 2″ landing pad at the base barely absorbs a controlled descent, let alone a fall.

That being said, I cannot think of a faster way of getting four or five people downstairs. It takes about a second and a half to slide and clear the pole. Five of us tumbling down the stairs is going to slow us down or roll an ankle. I use it every chance I get.”

Cost is also a consideration for municipalities renovating stations, or building new ones. With safety fixtures, a shiny new brass pole runs about $150,000 — far more than a concrete staircase.

So, where does the future of the fireman’s pole stand? The National Fire Protection Association (the overarching organisation that sets standards and codes in place), has called for the removal of all poles from U.S. stations “due to safety hazards.” The organisation hopes to phase them out completely as firehouses are remodeled into single-story units; the poles that do remain will be required to include safety enclosures and mats — “so nobody stumbles into it in the middle of the night,” as the association’s president puts it.

But the fireman’s pole is more than an outdated fixture: it’s one of the last reigning symbols of the antebellum firehouse. And for many firefighters, like NYFD Lieutenant Jeff Monsen, it’s a long-cherished tradition. “It’s the first thing I do when I work somewhere else,” he says: “find out where the pole is.”

[MIKA27]

What Air-To-Air Refuelling Looks Like In The Night Skies

Ever wondered what air-to-air refuelling looked like up in the night skies? Thanks to the UK’s Royal Air Force we can show you: this is what a Lockheed C-130 Hercules crew sees when refuelling at night. So, quite a lot like Tron, then.

Bonus daytime shot:

A Hercules C130K and VC10 from 1312 Flight, Mount Pleasant Airfield. Practice Air to Air refuelling in the skies above the Falkland Islands.

[MIKA27]

Everything You Need To Escape From Alcatraz

Exactly 80 years ago today, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary officially opened its gates to some of America’s most violently incorrigible criminals — after all, it was the most escape-proof prison ever built. Escape-proof, that is, for everyone except three prisoners in 1962 and their trusty arsenal of brilliant, hacked-together gadgets.

While we’re almost certain that Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris did manage to exit the jail in history’s most notorious escape attempt, no one has seen them since. The most likely conclusion is that the three men drowned in the icy waters while attempting to reach the mainland. But even if they never made it to dry land, the complexity and planning of the escape itself is a marvel to behold.

Here’s everything they used to pull off one of the most insane escapes in prison history.

A Drill

The Anglin Brothers and Frank Morris fabricated a drill out of this vacuum cleaner motor. They used it to break holes in the walls of their cells.

A Wrench

For wrenching things.

Shivs and Scrapers of All Sorts

This photograph shows the various tools and equipment the inmates fashioned from readily available objects. The identifiable ones include: (lower center) sharpened spoon handles used in penetrating cell walls; (center) a motor removed from a vacuum cleaner and used as a drill; (top center) a housing to fit over the vacuum cleaner motor to mute its noise during use; (upper right) pieces of electrical cord; (middle left) bolts with nuts, shafts, and sleeves that may have been used to apply pressure in spreading bars; (upper left) two-cell flashlight made from two penlight batteries. The other items appear to be tools for scraping, digging, cutting, and gouging. All of these objects had been discarded in a five-gallon paint bucket (found in the inmates’ workshop) that had been filled with cement in an effort to avoid detection.

A Spoon Key

Possibly using machine tools in one of the prison workshops, an inmate carved the teeth of a key into the handle of this spoon. Officers had to keep keys covered with metal sleeves, so that inmates could not see and copy their distinctive patterns.

Camouflage Materials for Your Man-Sized Hole

These bottles contained the green paint that was used to paint wall sections and ventilator grilles in cells as part of 1962 escape plan.

Throw in some careful cutting, and the cover of that binder turns into the false ventilator grilles you see below.

Real Human Hair

The mat and small swatches of human hair shown here were located under the bed of Clarence Anglin. Note the manner of tying the hair in swatches with fine thread, resulting in a “ponytail” effect, which enabled the inmates to glue the hair to the dummy heads in an overlapping fashion to give the appearance of a lifelike head of hair.

Dummy Heads With Weaves from Real Human Hair

The Anglin Brothers, Frank Morris and Allen Clayton West made fake heads of cotton, soap and human hair. They placed the painted heads in their beds to cover their escape.

Let’s say that one more time: real. human. hair.

A Periscope

While working on their escape plan from the roof of their cell block, the inmates took turns keeping watch for the guards in the evening using this homemade periscope.

Remnants of the homemade periscope that was fabricated from canvas board, tape, and mirrors.

Escape Boat Instructions

The Anglin Brothers and Frank Morris consulted this “Popular Mechanics,” for information on how to build the rubber raft that they used in their 1962 escape attempt. The magazine was recovered from the cell.

Paddles

A Raft Made of Raincoats

A close-up view of a life preserver made by the inmates out of raincoats. The seams appear to be vulcanized, or sealed with the application of heat and pressure. The heat was available from an exposed copper hot water pipe, and the pressure was applied with a large, heavy plank.

This raft, constructed by the inmates out of raincoats, was apparently abandoned as impractical. The [bottom] photo shows the wooden plug used as the valve to inflate the raft.

MIKA: Clearly not dumb criminals.... They didnt show half the stuff in the Eastwood movie, which I love by the way.

[MIKA27]

Every Single Alfred Hitchcock Cameo Edited In Just One Video

Alfred Hitchcock appeared briefly in the majority of his movies, making that his signature. Morgan T. Rhys edited all those cameos together in a video so all Hitchcock’s fans can enjoy it.

MIKA: Far better than the tacky Stan Lee cameos IMO

http://youtu.be/kLVBcCkVWb0

[MIKA27]

Alienware’s ‘Alpha’ Console Lets You Play PC Games on Your TV

If you want a Steam Machine running Valve’s SteamOS that you can use with Valve’s Steam Controller, you’ll need to keep waiting until 2015. But thanks to some clever workarounds, Alienware’s first Steam box will be available by the end of this year.

The Alienware Alpha will use its own interface built on top of Windows 8.1 rather than Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS. But Steam is still the lifeblood of this system, as the small-footprint box will bring PC gaming to your HDTV using Steam’s “Big Picture” mode. The Alpha has an HDMI out port with 4K capabilities for compatible TVs and games, as well as an HDMI-in port with pass-through support.

While the Alpha UI runs on top of Windows, those Windows underpinnings will be invisible when the box is running in console mode. The Alpha UI looks and feels like a console, and it’s completely navigable with a game controller. As soon as you plug in a mouse, you can select a “Desktop Mode” that makes it act like a computer.

Size-wise, the Alienware Alpha splits the difference between a Roku box and a current-gen game console. But unlike the consoles it’s built to compete with, it has user-replaceable components—you can swap out and upgrade everything except the integrated GPU, a custom Nvidia “Maxwell” chip.

It’s also more like a PC in terms of its configuration options. The base version of the Alpha has an Intel Core i3 CPU, 4GB RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, with a custom integrated Nvidia GPU. There will be configurations available with Core i5 and i7 CPUs, up to 2TB of storage, and up to 8 gigs of RAM (with two slots that support up to 16GB total). You’ll be able to upgrade all those components yourself if you want.

For playing the actual games, you can use the included wireless Xbox 360 controller for Steam’s controller-supported titles or a mouse and keyboard. There are two USB 2.0 ports on the front of the Alpha box, as well as a couple of USB 3.0 ports around the back. According to Alienware, the box is compatible with any Windows-compatible peripherals, including Bluetooth headsets and keyboards. It’ll also work with Xbox One gamepads, although only a single Xbox 360 controller is included with the Alpha.

The Alpha’s base configuration (Core i3/4GB RAM/500GB with a wireless Xbox 360 controller) is priced at a console-like $550. They’re available for preorder now, and Alienware says it expects to start shipping the units in November.

[MIKA27]

This Cone-Shaped Speaker Learns Your Musical Preferences

The Aether Cone is magically simple: Tap it to play a song. Don't like what you hear? Rotate the ring around its edge—a tiny twist skips the current track, and a big one adjusts the overall mood of the playlist. By studying your listening habits on streaming services, Aether's algorithms can learn what kinds of music you like and even where and when you prefer to hear specific genres.

It's an expert guesser, but if you want to listen to a particular artist or song, just press the center button and tell it what you want to hear. The point, according to Aether cofounder Duncan Lamb, is to eliminate the forest of choices forced upon us by phones. But all that simplicity and ease of use belies a two-year design process during which Lamb's team sweated every detail.

CLEVER UI

Aether considered giving the speaker a touch interface but found that too techy. The solution? The speaker's functions—turning it on, changing the mood, picking a specific song—can be controlled by pressing the button in the center, twisting the ring around the edge, or simply speaking voice commands.

ANTI-ROLL MODEL

The team chose a cone because it denotes sound, but a true cone would roll—so Aether flattened the rear for stability. The complex transition from round to flat necessitated the aid of a 3-D-modeling master. “He came in and left as quickly as Spider-Man,” says Casper Asmussen, Aether's chief designer.

ICONIC SHAPE

Several prototypes were built to refine the form. Finding the correct angle was crucial, not only to project sound but also to make interactions feel natural— the upward-tilting face suggests it's ready to hear your voice.