Idiotspotting

The question that maybe didn't need to be asked, but Gizmodo asked anyway... "Why do idiots keep trying to outrun speeding trains?" Apparently Darwin doesn't always win.


And the best obnoxious responses to misspellings on Facebook, a nice compilation of venom-infused attacks on those so deserving. Some gud, funnie stuf in their.

"Prudence keeps life safe, but does not often make it happy." - Samuel Johnson

 

Standard model

"Poses" is a video-experiment wherein normal women pose like models in public, which gets some interesting reactions from passers-by, mainly stopping to see whether they're OK.


And then there's Switcheroo, which is kind of like those Photoshop'd head-swaps minus the Photoshop.

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." - Edith Wharton

 

Ductronic

Nicely done action-packed TV spot for duct tape that's not only humorous but also an homage to a classic scene from "Tron".


And some muy creative print ads created in a valiant attempt to reverse the medium's downward-swirling trend (thanks to that time sink known as the interwebs).

"Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together." - Georg C. Lichtenberg

 

Gaseous

Helium-filled remote-controlled air-swimming sharks... slightly better to watch than it might sound.


And one of the creepier iPhone accessories around.

"Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get." - Mark Twain

 

Animal rites

Real 1965 reel of a wacky-as-hell taxidermy museum featuring stuffed (real) animals dressed up like people. Elaborate and bizarre.


Also somewhat horrifying and half-witted, Celebrities With Shark Mouths.

"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." - Thomas Jefferson

 

Let me be frank

Finally, a cure for that boring old nitrate fix... Happy Hot Dog Man turns every meal into an adventure. [bOING bOING]


And how long should you keep that ketchup and mustard lying around? When in doubt, consult the Table of Condiments That Periodically Go Bad.

Also of possible use: the Periodic Table of Meat.

"The political and commercial morals of the United States are not merely food for laughter, they are an entire banquet." - Mark Twain

 

Real-life Frogger

Forget jaywalking -- look both ways (and then some) when crossing what might be the world's most insane crosswalk.


Ever wonder how much coffee or Red Bull it would take to kill you? This handy Death by Caffeine calculator will tell you how much of your favorite caffeinated beverage you'd have to drink to get the job done.

"Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die." - Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

Frankly speaking

You might think that putting a megaphone in the middle of New York City is asking for serious trouble, but this experiment amazingly proves otherwise. [Gizmodo]


On the flip side sort of, visit The Cynic's Sanctuary, take the official Cynic's Self-Test (a mere 15 simple questions), and then if you're worthy, check out the hall of fame (Aesop, Thoreau, et al.) and the plethora of things to be cynical about.

"You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough." - Frank Crane

 

Tom Waits for no monster

You might not be able to tell it's a mashup -- the two of them sound sorta the same -- but here's the Cookie Monster doing Tom Waits' "God's Away On Business".


Got more time to kill? (pardon the pun) Then match the mug shot with the crime, occupation, alleged stolen item, etc.

"The most common form of despair is not being who you are." - Søren Kierkegaard

 

Balancing act

Impressive show of pickup sticks, artfully illustrating the magical mystery of physics.


Also impressive, what might very well be the best CV ever created, at least in the UK. I'm not familiar with Ceefax, but apparently there's more than a bit of nostalgia around it.

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson

 

Playing with your food

Something to do with your food when bored, though admittedly your fellow diners may not approve.


And fitting accompaniment, some far-out food fashion... clothes that are both ridiculous and edible.

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is a part of ourselves." - Anatole France

 

Fire from Ice

If you're lost in the tundra with not so much as a book of matches, try this little trick to start a fire using a bit of the frozen stuff. [Gizmodo]


From making a custom beer pong table to getting watermelon nails, a useful list of things you can learn by video on YouTube. Also, Wikipedia entries for every situation.

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." - Carl Sagan

 

This goes to 100,000

So-called "Internet dude named Jon" counts to 100,000; and apparently he woke up really early to get it going. (Warning: video not intended to actually be watched.) [bOING bOING]


In stark contrast, this is what happens every 60 seconds on the WWWs.

"Either you run the day or the day runs you." - Jim Rohn

 

Mob ius

Stop-motion autocatalytic sculpture made with animated triangles, courtesy of Melbourne denizens.


And vaguely disconcerting imagery with these swapped logos... Coke ala Pepsi, etc.

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." - Albert Einstein

 

Ride the Pac-Man Highway

A couple of real-life / video game mashups of a sort, Pac-Man Highway and the multi-faceted Arcade City - Milan.


Or sign up for a leg of the Running Alphabet, a collaborative project to run every character from the alphabet, captured by GPS, and create a complete typeface from it.

"The first time I see a jogger smiling, I'll give it a try." - Joan Rivers

 

Hirsute yourself

Man grows a bumper crop of above-the-neck hair in about half a minute.


And from The Beardly, an undoubtedly useful Beard Measuring T-Shirt in case "too damn long" isn't precise enough.

"There are no shortcuts in life -- only those we imagine." - Frank Leahy

 

Holy chute

Short animation created for a school project that makes jumping out of a plane look easy. [Gizmodo]


And if that didn't make you dizzy, zefrank's String Spin might do the trick.

"Airline travel is hours of boredom interrupted by moments of stark terror." - Al Boliska

 

Life in slo-mo

Ordinary life in slow motion seems more impressive. Opposite day in New York... [Gizmodo]


And Black and WTF, a photoblog of strange black and white snaps. Got any?

"Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen." - Benjamin Disraeli

 

What a chocolate web we weave

Interesting ad campaign from the Budweiser of Portugal, which brewed up this novel spot for its new chocolate-flavored stout.


And vaguely related in a sort of a way, a castle made from 3,000 bricks of human hair.

"Every business deal has its own terms and its own currency. - Ayn Rand

 

Lord of the Ring

Gollum at the wedding, an asinine stunt sure to get your marriage off to a great start.


And somehow apropos of that, Torn Lives is a blog that collects ripped-up photos annotated with a bit of self-reflection. [Mashable]

"If variety is the spice of life, marriage is the big can of leftover SPAM." - Johnny Carson

 

Whale of a show

Mariachi band serenades a Beluga Whale for whatever earthly reason, though not necessarily inconsistent with their usual M.O., I suppose.


Speaking of which, Pointless Flyers is a bueno compendium of stapled-up-to-a-phone-pole ridiculosity.

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." - William James

 

Big Gulp

“Gulp” is a promotional stop-motion animation filmed with Nokia N8 smartphones that set some sort of "world record" as the largest ever created. Cool enough, whatever the particulars. [Mashable]


And an unofficial world record for the most complex dot-to-dot drawing, "Mona Lisa" in 6,239 of the suckers.

"Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for power equal to your tasks." - Phillips Brooks

 

Vox uber alles

No instruments needed, just Local Vocal, an a cappella group taking a run at a 90s dance mix medley.


And a set of alternative opening credits for popular TV shows, including Tony Soprano driving through England, live-action Simpsons, and “Lost” set to the “Friends” theme.

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." - Harvey Fierstein

 

Good oscillations

From an inside source, guitar strings doing their thing.


And some amusing interpretations of U.S. government safety tips. (There are real ones.)

"Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

Skatepainting

Graffiti and skateboarding joined in creative matrimony to create some shred-ready art.


And from the Hindenburg to D-Day to the British royals, Spock is not impressed.

"How often it is that the angry man rages denial of what his inner self is telling him." - Frank Herbert

 

Parking crunch

The mayor of Vilnius has a novel way of dealing with illegally parked cars. They sure love their bike lanes over in Lithuania... [Gawker]


And some culture jamming: boring old street signs spiced up courtesy of a little creative artistry.

"Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done." - Peter Drucker

 

Around the world in under a minute

Three regular guys go on an 11-country, 44-day, 18-flight, 38,000-mile trip and boil over a terabyte of footage down to three one-minute videos that seamlessly blend the highlights: MOVE, EAT, and LEARN. Well worth watching 'em all. [Gizmodo]


Got another minute? Experience the wonder and excitement of fine literature, ultra-condensed style, at Book-A-Minute. When you don't have time to read it all. (There's also a companion site, Movie-A-Minute.)

"Since we cannot know all that there is to be known about anything, we ought to know a little about everything." - Blaise Pascal

 

Photo booth with an attitude

A somewhat elderly clip, but a few Kodak moments in this prank.


And a map that shows the geographic "spheres of influence" -- cultural and economic -- of major U.S. cities. Pretty interesting to see where the true boundaries lie.

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." - William Pitt

 

Dubstep Lipsynth

Real-time face-morphing lip-synch that's too weird to go on for as long as it does. Yet it does.


And the Fastest Possible Drawings of Everything blog gives you exactly that... quick draw art for those times when you're too lazy to doodle it yourself. [Gizmodo]

"It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." - Thomas Jefferson

 

Look both ways

Accidental(?) daredevil jumps train crossing barriers with very little to spare. Did he even bother to look?


And some well-timed street photography that's well worth a few clicks and a few laughs.

"Leap, and the net will appear." - John Burroughs

 

The Impressionator

Impressionist Jim Meskimen performs a bit of Shakespeare in a series of celebrity voices. I'm sure the Bard would be amused.


And a new blog, From Memory, where you can contribute drawings of famous characters extruded entirely from your own recollection.

"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others." - Ayn Rand