A. Kachmar

I bet Anne Boleyn thinks this joke is to die for.

[h/t George Takei]

The creators of the world’s first working hoverboard have turned their sights toward larger-scale projects, patenting a three-part hovering foundation system to defend houses in earthquake- and flood-prone areas facing threats from natural disasters. The basic idea: decouple buildings from the ground temporarily, isolating them from unwanted movement happening below and around them.

Arx Pax, based in Silicon Valley and the creators of the Hendo Hoverboard using Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA), designed this new approach to floating homes during emergencies, using a buffer medium over a construction platform. Their physical technologies will be connected to ShakeAlert, an automatic warning software developed in part by the University of California, Berkeley and the U.S. Geological Survey.

“The ShakeAlert program aligns well with our long-term vision,” said Greg Henderson, co-founder and CEO at Arx Pax. “Weaving ShakeAlert into our MFA seismic isolation solution provides a valuable new tool to architects, engineers, and developers who are looking for a better way to build in areas affected by earthquakes. Our goal is to eliminate structural movement by pinpointing the exact time an object or building’s ‘landing gear’ should retract and activate the hover engines.”

Currently, many large buildings already have countermeasures to protect them from strong winds or earthquake forces, but few small structures can afford similar protections. Arx Pax hopes to make similar approaches cost-effective for individual houses and lower buildings in general, raising them up in the face of floodwaters or shaking ground.

In addition to helping homeowners, Arx Pax sees applications for this technology for places including surgical operating rooms where stability is essential or laboratories, server farms and other spaces with sensitively calibrated equipment.

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Live Between Buildings: Narrow Micro-Homes Fill City Gaps

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Hovering Home: Near-Invisible Mirrored Forest Residence

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We designers are perhaps biased in thinking the best thing a parent can do is support any creative interest shown by their child. But bias aside, I've gotta put Australia-based Tez Gelmir forth as a candidate for the Father of the Year award.

"My son has recently developed an interest/obsession with Lego," Gelmir writes. "I pulled out my old Lego collection and instructions, and as we browse through them he says "Lets make a fire truck daddy!" The problem:

We proceed to sift through the pile for the parts...2 hours later I might have all the parts needed to build his fire truck. After a few of these situations I decided something needed to be done to make our Lego sessions as productive as possible. A few days of thought later I came up with [the following] design.

The handy and digital-fabrication-savvy Gelmir managed to turn this…

…into this:

Which transforms into this:

It's organized, space-saving, functional, and Gelmir's sized it to be "big enough to last years of my son's growth." There's an Instructable on how he designed and built it here.

Assuming they celebrate Father's Day in Australia, I'm guessing Gelmir will be getting more than a lousy necktie.

Via Technabob

Vat19, a company known for their fun gummy products, has created a Gummy Pizza in a Box that looks like the real thing. It is currently available to purchase online.

It’s delivery and it’s gummy! Grab a slice of sugary perfection with the Gummy Pizza in a Box, an eight inch gummy pizza that looks like the real thing!

Every ingredient that makes up this sweet pie is a unique gummy flavor, starting with the crust (orange) and cheese (berry blast), all the way to the toppings of pepperoni (cherry), green peppers (apple), and yellow peppers (lemon). Now, who’s going to be the one that gets the last slice?

images via Vat19

Ramsay Bolton has a bit of a reputation as a bad boy — or, more specifically, one of the most loathsome people in Westeros — but that’s because people don’t know the real Ramsay. The big-hearted Ramsay. The carefully edited Ramsay. See for yourself in this slightly NSFW video.

Read more...

“Gravity” Hyalophora cecropia on buttonbush

Samuel Jaffe is getting close and personal with subject matter found right in our backyards— the furry, florescent, grubby little creatures we often find inching along our trees and sidewalks. Jaffe is fascinated by local environments, and aims to share the information he has collected about these backyard ecosystems so we can become more in tune with what’s right below our feet or hiding in the grass.

Jaffe has cataloged dozens of caterpillars in different settings, each with a blackened background to highlight their unique textures, colors, and patterns. Caterpillars dangle off branches, clutch onto leaves, and even play on grapevines within his photographs. Catching his subjects at specific moments, Jaffe gives each a little pop of personality, showcasing their playfulness when left alone in nature.

Jaffe grew up in Eastern Massachusetts, inserting himself within his surroundings, wading through ponds, and exploring the wildlife around him. Over the last five years he began to raise and photograph many of the more interesting native caterpillars. The project has grown to include exhibits, shows, talks, and finally in 2013 the Caterpillar Lab, a passionate program showcasing the diversity of northeastern caterpillars through educational programs, the arts, and sciences. Jaffe’s work is currently on display at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio in the exhibit “Life on the Leaf Edge.” Prints are available in his online shop. (via The Life Neurotic with Steve’s Issues)

“Red Boots” Apatelodes torrifacta on cherry / “Three Swallowtails” Papilio glaucus, polyxenes, and troilus

“Turbulent Abstract” – Phosphila turbulenta on smilax

“Anatomy of a Caterpillar” – Nadata gibbosa on oak

“Orange Red Green” Eumorpha achemon on grapevine / “Wild Lettuce” Autographa precationis on wild lettuce

“Life on the Leaf Edge” – Nerice bidentata on elm leaf

“Life on the Leaf Edge” Cerura scitiscripta on willow leaf

“The Fawn” Sphinx kalmiae on ash

“Early Kingdom” Lytrosis unitaria

“Emerald Deception” Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria on goldenrod / “Cut Flowers” Eupithecia Pug on blue vervain

“Father of Monsters” Eumorpha typhon on arizona grape

These bold men were cosplaying as Spartan soldiers from the movie from 300, so naturally they decided to ride the London Tube.

Just in case you missed it, the Department of Redundancy Department, Traffic Subdivision, would like to point out that the sign is a Stop Sign.

In these new galleries we present great product and industrial designs that are modern, creative and beautiful. Designs where form and function works perfectly together.

Quercus by Max Ashford


Deck chair


Abyss Table by Christopher Duffy


Black Hammer


Coffee Brewing Alarm Clock by Joshua Renouf


UtiliTILE by Thout Design


Berluti by Victoire Cycles


Beep by Gadi Amit


Foreside Twisted Wood Table


Druida barbecue by Mermeladaestudio


Stone Tripod Stool by SOBU


wrapqarw Cord Wrap


The Corner Ladder by Company and Company


10x42 Bench Live Edge Cedar Slab


Pullout Balcony


Minimal watch


Epochs collection by WertelOberfell for Panasonic


Soap Dish


Sony, Record player Flamingo PS-F9, 1982


The Eletric Cargo Bike


Reveal Watch


Frame Clock by Nazar Sigaher


Lacoste L!ve Helmet


SlingsHOT by Samir Sufi


Alarm Clock concept by Andreas Frank

If you would like to send us suggestions for these galleries, please click on the button “Submit” located in the header, and fill out the form. And don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS-feed and follow From up North on Twitter + Facebook to get all the latest updates.

Related posts:

Product/industrial design inspiration | #859 Product/industrial design inspiration | #908 Product/industrial design inspiration | #948

The creative family behind Cupcakes by SJ has built a wonderful LEGO-themed wedding cake out of tiny fondant LEGO bricks. Their cake also features a team of worker minifigs who are rolling out a final layer of fondant icing over the visible bricks.

photo via Cupcakes by SJ

via Mashable

Tiny Hats on Cats is a clever Instagram account created by BuzzFeed writer Adam Ellis. Ellis handcrafts adorably detailed paper chapeaus for a very tolerant three-legged cat named Maxwell.

images via Tiny Hats on Cats

via Pleated Jeans

Just Bubbly has created hypoallergenic vegan soaps that shaped like individual chemical elements from the periodic table. Each soap is distinctly labeled and those marked as radioactive elements glow in the dark.

It’s Elementary Periodic Table of Element Soaps are sure to be a hit with all-from science buffs, science buffs, to chemical engineers to geeks – everyone will love these soaps. Each Element Soap weighs a full 4 ounces, is lightly scented with our ginger lime fragrance and is packed in a clear 3 x 3 inch gift box. Radioactive Elements Glow in the dark (Uranium glows green, Plutonium glows aqua, Radium glows blue, Radon glows purple) by simply exposing them to light or sunlight for a few minutes then placing them in a dark room.

images via Amazon

via This Is Why I’m Broke

An adorably cooperative cat named Gaigai wuwu uses his flat furry feet to effortlessly balance a variety of household items including a beer can, an egg, a toy car and even a hand of cards between his toes.

images via Tainan Dumb Aberdeen

via RocketNews24

More Pun Dog. (images via genralkaos)

When George R.R. Martin wrote the quote "All men must die," we didn't think he actually meant it.

Game of Thrones fans were expecting a bloodbath for Sunday night's season finale, but they collectively lost their minds when the final scene betrayed any inkling of mercy the show had going for it.

We can't say Martin didn't warn them though.

Redditor Dan Lin took on the daunting task of compiling 820 jobs and their wages into this massive list. The data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The top of the spectrum is entirely pink (medical professions) with fast food cooks and dishwashers bringing up the rear. The graph is pretty cumbersome, so you'll probably want to view it on Imgur.

Click to enlarge

Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr. lived for 60 years, and spent most of them pretending to be someone else. Or someones else, really; the man who came to be known as “the Great Imposter” adopted at least 10 identities, including a year-long stint as a (self-taught!) trauma surgeon during the Korean War.

Read more...

art-photographers.co.uk

To truly appreciate the delicacy of Susanna Bauer‘s leaf sculptures, think of crunching a dead leaf in your hand, how it disentigrates into dust with the slightest effort. To work with dry and fragile leaves as a medium for crochet seems nearly impossible, but Baur somehow manages it with ease, turning leaves into cubes, tunnels, and geometric patterns with techniques that might be more appropriate for durability of leatherwork. She shares about her process:

There is a fine balance in my work between fragility and strength; literally, when it comes to pulling a fine thread through a brittle leaf or thin dry piece of wood, but also in a wider context – the tenderness and tension in human connections, the transient yet enduring beauty of nature that can be found in the smallest detail, vulnerability and resilience that could be transferred to nature as a whole or the stories of individual beings.

Bauer has a new exhibition of work at Lemon Street Gallery in Cornwall, England through June 27th, and you explore a bit more on Facebook

art-photographers.co.uk

Simon Cook

art-photographers.co.uk

art-photographers.co.uk

Susanna Bauer

art-photographers.co.uk

Susanna Bauer

Simon Cook

art-photographers.co.uk

art-photographers.co.uk

art-photographers.co.uk

Susanna Bauer

French illustrator Thomas Lamadieu (previously) continues to travel the world to photograph vertical views of the spaces between buildings which he uses as a canvas for his comical illustrations. The gaps between roofs and gutters form the inspiration for different characters who inhabit the irregular patches of sky. To find the unusual vantage points Lamadieu visited Spain, South Korea, Germany, France, Canada and the United States in the last year. You can find more examples on his website.

Artist Clément Beauvais uses water and ink to create stunning images in this campaign for humanitarian NGO Solidarités International and its agency BDDP Unlimited. Read the rest

Outside of the clothing, this picture looks as if it could have been taken yesterday, yet it is over 100 years old. The archives of Albert Kahn contain hundreds of thousands of photographs, 72,000 of them in color. Kahn used the pioneering Autochrome method of color. In 1912, he took pictures in China, which became the first photographic record of the country in color. See a half-dozen of the China pictures at Creative Roots and and some of Kahn’s photographs of Mongolia as well. -via Everlasting Blort

Jurassic World may be thinking that dinosaurs are dangerous beasts hell bent on destruction, but We Have a Dinosaur makes a pretty compelling case that they're really just big cats. Cats who hate your breakfast.

Read more...

tastefullyoffensive:

A Florida man snapped this photo of a raccoon riding an alligator at the Ocala National Forest (full story). Photo by Richard Jones via WFTV.

comehere-letmeholdyou:

hbreckel:

breakingyourlevy:

amroyounes:

How do I love thee?

This is all I want in life

I wish I would get a cake like that every time I’m on my period.

The last one 😂👌

elleshellsbells:

youaremybestfriendbud:

theprincesswincess:

Cats that look like other things Pt. I

THE TOOTHLESS CAT THE FUCKIGNG SIAJBANS CTOOTHTSTS,

holy bejeezus

DXV by kitchen and bath fixture company American Standard is releasing a series of three gorgeously designed faucets produced using selective laser sintering—a type of 3D printing using powdered metal in this case. Water travels through the small threads of an open, twisted filigree faucet, creating an illusion that the water is coming from nowhere at all. Another faucet makes water run over bumps and layers of the spout to recreate the motion of water in a rocky riverbed.

photos via DXV

via Design Milk

The fact that many Amazon reviewers were aghast to realize that this stainless steel double spoon holder resembled a scrotum was reason alone to buy it.

Culina Stainless Steel Double Spoon Rest 7" ($10) on Amazon