This is dekotora (デコトラ), the Japanese maker culture that started in the 1970s of tricking out large trucks with garish lights, Gundam-inspired chrome mods, and eyeball-spanking paint jobs.
Animator Yukai Du has created a short film for TED-Ed about the Hubble telescope and how in 1995 it captured over 150 hours of one area revealing images of over 1500 distinct galaxies in one minute part of the universe. Yukai was tasked with animating educator Alex Hofeldt’s narration and she was given complete visual freedom “as long as the images went well with the voice over”.
As warned last week, Nokia has relaunched its classic 3310 model candybar phone. The good news: it's a pretty little burner that honors and updates the original's design. The bad news: that's the only connection, and it's otherwise a modern dumbphone with no clear picture yet on how well-designed the interface and hardware is. It's not even made by Nokia, but under license. [via Daneel]
The new device is very cute and looks like a sleeker, updated version of the original. HMD Global retained the keypad buttons and the general shape of the old device. On the back, we see a camera. The new phone also has a color display.
As for details about the phone’s specifications and what HMD has done to update a very rudimentary device for the modern world, we didn’t get much. The company spent less than five minutes on the new device, and only rattled off some battery life details: The new 3310 is going to have 22 hours of talk-time (LOL), and one month of standby battery life. But hey, it has Snake and the classic Nokia ringtone. Take my money!
One worriome portent: you can apparently go diagonally in the new version of Snake.
UPDATE: Reader Brian_McNett writes in to point out that the licencee, despite having the banktastic name HMD Global, is stocked to the gills with former Nokia executives and based in Finland. A good sign!
Me informan que Ikigai – Los secretos de Japón para una vida larga y feliz fue el libro escrito por autores españoles publicado en el 2016 que más versiones internacionales ha conseguido. En algunos países ya está a la venta y en otros la maquinaria está preparándose para el lanzamiento. En Holanda es donde más vende y es raro verse en la lista de best sellers holandeses.
Coffiest is coffee, but better. Instead of leaving you to put together a breakfast in the morning, Coffiest does the work for you, combining the nutrients you need and the coffee and caffeine you crave.
Designed in-house at Soylent, the beverage is part coffee, part soylent—the convenient and nutritious beverage that could very well be the food of the future. The company is a pioneer in food technology that aims to expand access to quality nutrition. Not only does Coffiest make breakfast a no-brainer, but for every case of Coffiest (and their newest Soylent Bars) Soylent also donates $0.25 to the World Food Programme, the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.
“Coffiest includes approximately 150 mg of caffeine per bottle to kickstart the morning. Coffiest is now available for convenient online ordering at www.soylent.com in the U.S. and Canada.”
Soylent CEO and Founder Rob Rhinehart states, “Breakfast sets the tone for the entire day, but busy people all too often skip it entirely. Now with Coffiest you can get the nutrition your body needs enhanced with caffeine and l-theanine as mild nootropics. It also tastes great!”
“Made with real coffee, each bottle of Coffiest offers a comprehensive nutritional profile with the added benefits of a caffeinated beverage and rich coffee flavor. Coffiest also includes 75 mg of L-theanine per bottle to promote relaxation without drowsiness and works in concert with caffeine to boost cognitive performance. Coffiest, like its predecessors, is designed from the ground-up to provide the vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and protein that the body needs - all in a convenient, ready-to-drink package. Each bottle of Coffiest contains 20 percent of the daily recommended values for all essential vitamins and minerals and a macronutrient profile of 47 percent calories from lipids, 33 percent calories from carbohydrates and 20 percent calories from protein.”
Coffiest adopts the same minimalist approach that regular Soylent has, featuring a bottle that is black on top and white on the bottom. This reflects that coffee flavor the beverage has but the nutritional qualities that Soylent strives to put into their products. The colorblock design is bold and straightforward, and a minimal amount of text keeps the bottle looking sleek and modern.
“In addition to Coffiest’s debut, Soylent will introduce a new product category with Soylent Bar. Soylent Bar offers the same complete nutrition, but in a lighter, more portable form factor. With only 250 calories, Soylent Bar makes an excellent snack or small meal, with a macronutrient breakdown of 38 percent calories from lipids, 43 percent calories from carbohydrates, and 19 percent calories from protein in each bar, providing one eighth of an average adult’s recommended dietary needs.”
We tend to think of dips as white, creamy liquids with flecks of herbs or other greenery hanging out in there, but Serious Eats has a recipe for one that is unlike anything I’ve ever dipped a carrot in, and it contains pork, miso, and walnuts.
Harnaam Kaur, 24, hails from Slough, England. She has a full beard and has been recognized as the youngest woman to have one by Guinness World Records. Ms. Kaur has a hormonal condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome. One of the symptoms is hirsuteness.
She called the honor "absolutely humbling" and said she hope it would help empower her message that women can be and look how they want.
Speaking previously, she said: “I would never ever go back now and remove my facial hair because it’s the way God made me and I’m happy with the way I am.."
It's no secret that food is one of the best categories for nostalgia. Who doesn't wax poetic about snack foods like Dunkaroos?
But not all of our favorite lost treats are from the '90s; the decades before and after those precious years also brought us plenty of fast food delights (and monstrosities). While not all of them will be missed — Burger King's Satisfries weren't the best idea, for example — there are some fast-food favorites we'd love to have back in our lives.
Taco Bell's Beefy Crunch Burrito, for example, has so many fans that the chain brought it back this past April for a limited time. Sure, you can still get the Beefy Fritos Burrito, but that doesn't have Flamin' Hot Fritos, which makes all the difference.
Click through to see which fast food items we hope will earn a revival soon — and let us know in the comments which discontinued item was your favorite.
McDonald's Big 33 and McJordan Specials
Both of these burgers were essentially quarter-pounders with bacon and barbecue sauce.
You'd think these meals were left in the early '90s, when they were available at McDonald's. But in 2012, a jug of "McJordan BBQ Sauce" surfaced on eBay — complete with a 1992 expiration date.
Wendy's Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty
For the past 10 years, Wendy's has offered two flavors of Frosty: vanilla and chocolate. But in 2007, it tried introducing the Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty, too. There were other flavors of Twisted Frosty, and M&Ms and Oreos mixed in, but the Coffee Toffee one has endured in fans' hearts.
McDonald's BeefSteak Sandwich
We can't say this looks as appetizing as a burger. But it was available in the 1970s and 1980s, for customers looking for fast-food meat products in new shapes.
You probably associate McDonald's with burgers and fries, but it once served pizza, too. The McPizza was available in 1979 and 1980, and then again from 1986 to 1992.
McDonald's Onion Nuggets
These '70s-era nuggets don't look particularly appetizing. But maybe people were enticed by the limited window of availability?
Photo: Courtesy of McDonald's.
Taco Bell Bell Beefer
The Bell Beefer looks like the sadder version of a hamburger. It's not much of a surprise that Taco Bell phased out the '70s-era sandwich to focus on other offerings.
Photo: Courtesy of Taco Bell.
Burger King Cini-Minis
The breakfast treats were introduced in 1998, promising to offer the best part of the cinnamon roll (the center) in every bite. (If you're really craving mini cinnamon rolls, Cinnabon still offers its "BonBites.")
McDonald's McDLT
In the '80s, Jason Alexander starred in an ad for this sandwich. It was, essentially, a deconstructed burger — the "cold toppings" came in one side of a styrofoam container, and the burger came in the other.
Ostensibly, the packaging was designed to keep the veggies from getting warm. But between the styrofoam's environmental impact and the fact that customers might not want to assemble their own meal, McDonald's stopped offering the McDLT in 1991.
Wendy's Pitas
In 1997, Wendy's offered three pita sandwich varieties — chicken caesar, classic Greek, and garden veggie. The pitas were sold for roughly three years before being discontinued, according to Fortune.
You'll barely recognize a young Jessica Biel in this ad for the failed Arch Deluxe. The burger boasted an "adult" flavor and was topped with bacon, in addition to the usual fixings. It wasn't a success, though, despite the millions McDonald's spent to advertise it.
Dairy Queen Breeze
This Blizzard alternative, offered in the '90s, was meant to be a healthier option. In the end, it wasn't worth it for the company to offer it — apparently, not enough customers ordered the Breeze before each batch went bad.
McDonald's Chicken Fajitas
The fajitas were available in the 1990s, and featured green pepper, onion, tomato, and cheese, all wrapped up with chicken in a tortilla. An endeavoring fan creating a Change.org petition to bring the item back, but it only has 58 supporters.
McDonald's Cheddar Melt
The Cheddar Melt was available in the United States in 1988 and 1989, and it was briefly reintroduced in 2004. As the name suggests, the sandwich featured melted cheddar cheese and grilled onions. And like Burger King's cheesy tots, the Cheddar Melt has a dedicated Facebook page for fans who hope it will make a comeback.
McDonald's Chicken McBites
You probably remember the insanely catchy Fish McBites jingle, but McDonald's has also offered a chicken version in a variety of international markets. The Chicken McBites came in both a regular and a spicy version, which was available in the United States in 2012 and 2013. (The McBites, too, have a fan page on Facebook, though it's not as popular as the one for the Cheddar Melt.)
When you think of Taco Bell, you probably don't think of seafood — but in the '80s, this innovative version of the taco salad was on its menu.
Burger King Burger Shots
Chains like White Castle and Krystal are known for their pint-size burgers, but the novelty wasn't a success for Burger King. The sliders are no longer listed on Burger King's menu.
Back in 2008, Burger King introduced Burger Shots: miniature versions of its hamburgers. It wasn't the chain's first attempt at sliders, either — Burger King offered the similar Burger Bundles in the 1980s.
Photo: Courtesy of Burger King.
McDonald's Mighty Wings
McDonald's offered its Mighty Wings in 2013, but customers weren't into the fact that the wings resembled bony McNuggets. The prices were also a bit high at more than $1 per wing, The Huffington Post noted.
Photo: Courtesy of McDonald's.
Burger King Cheesy Tots
These tots were so beloved that for a limited time in 2013, Burger King brought them back. Then, the chain brought them back again this year, complete with a Napoleon Dynamite commercial.
The food still has a cult following, and there's even a dedicated Facebook group of fans who want the cheesy tots back on menus for good.
Photo: Courtesy of Burger King.
McDonald's Angus Burger
In 2009, McDonald's tested the Angus Third Pounder, a more deluxe burger than its other offerings. But the chain cut the offering from its menu in 2013, likely because it cost significantly more than its other items.
Photo: Courtesy of McDonald's.
McDonald's McSalad Shakers
If you watched Super Size Me when it was released, you likely noticed that the "salads" available at McDonald's came in drink cups that were supposed to be shaken to distribute the dressing. The McSalad Shakers were introduced in 2000, before being replaced in 2003 by salads in traditional containers.
Photo: Courtesy of McDonald's.
McDonald's Big 'N' Tasty
McDonald's added the Big 'N' Tasty burger to its menu in 2001 to compete with Burger King's Whopper. But in 2010, it announced it would be removing the Big 'N' Tasty from the menu.
Photo: Courtesy of McDonald's.
Quizno's Flatbread Sammies
These beloved sandwiches cost just $2 each, and were introduced in 2007. But in 2012, Quizno's ditched the flatbreads. If you're looking for a miniature sandwich offering, the chain's current menu includes three "ciabatta toasties."
The waffle taco, which Taco Bell rolled out in 2014, was a dream come true for anyone who grew up on frozen Eggos. The breakfast novelty combined breakfast proteins like eggs and meat with the goodness of a soft waffle.
Taco Bell still offers breakfast — but sadly, this treat isn't on the menu.
Photo: Courtesy of Taco Bell.
Wendy's Breakfast
To be clear, the Wendy's breakfast menu isn't entirely gone. Of its 5,800 stores, only about 400 of them serve breakfast, Business Insider explains.
The chain once offered its breakfast menu, which currently features items like a honey-butter chicken biscuit, nationwide, but it stopped doing so in 2013.
Photo: Courtesy of Wendy's.
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(Image credit: Art by James R. Eads, Motion by The Glitch)
Van Gogh's brand of Post-Impressionism is remarkable for its inherent movement; this collaboration between an artist and an animator takes those swirls to the next level.
<p><a href='http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/check-out-these-mesmerizing-gifs-that-are-like-a-van-gogh-came-to-life-236814'><strong>READ MORE »</strong></a></p>
Android/iOS: Today, Google’s rolling out Allo, the messaging app it previewed at I/O earlier this summer
. This is also the first real glimpse we get into the new Google Assistant.
A door latch and a pair of pliers are among the mechanisms created without screws, bolts or other fixings by researchers working with a new technology called metamaterials (+ movie). (more…)
The first food waste grocery store in the United Kingdom has opened, operating on a “pay-as-you-feel” model to help people on tight budgets obtain vital nutrition for their families. The Real Junk Food Project opened the store in Pudsey, near Leeds, and the warehouse is full of many of the same products found in regular supermarkets, except that they are closer to their expiration dates or have dinged or dented packaging. For whatever price they can afford, people can buy fresh pasta, juice, pasta sauce, fruit, vegetables, and even desserts.
Globally, more than 1.3 billion metric tons of food is wasted or spoiled each year and some 795 million people lack regular access to healthy food. Finding ways to divert some of that food waste into hungry mouths has both environmental and public health benefits, so these so-called “food waste supermarkets” are a growing trend. The Real Junk Food Project opened the UK’s first such store after its success with a number of pay-as-you-feel cafes around the UK serving freshly prepared meals made from food destined to be wasted.
Since the store's initial opening on August 29, staff of the Real Junk Food Project have attempted to operate the food waste supermarket (which is awaiting an official name) seven days a week (based on availability) to make food as accessible as possible to the local community. The organizers partner with other local nonprofits working to “rescue” food from the waste stream, stocking the warehouse shelves with all sorts of fresh foods that don’t quite meet the standards of regular grocery stores but are still perfectly suitable for consumption. This is the first such store in the UK, but it echoes similar programs elsewhere in Europe, such as Denmark’s WeFood, which started selling expired food products earlier this year in an effort to reduce food waste and connect people with affordable food.
The world is full of magical hidden wonders. Need proof? The talented team at Atlas Obscura spent the past five years working on a gorgeous, 480-page book that uncovers 600 of the strangest, most fascinating, and downright bizarre places you've never heard of before.
We asked Atlas Obscura cofounder Dylan Thuras to pare down the tome to a list of a dozen mind-blowing spots that every millennial should visit. From a UFO-shaped monument in the middle of the Balkans to a gigantic hole in Turkmenistan that has been on fire for nearly 50 years, prepare to be amazed and delighted by the curiosities he came back with — and pick up a copy of the new book for even more bucket-list inspiration.
Kjeragbolten, Kjerag Mountain, Norway
"Looking like something from Middle Earth, Kjeragbolten is hidden in the Norwegian mountains a rock stuck between two cliffs above a 984-meter deep abyss. Brave visitors have been known to photograph themselves on the rock."
Photo: Courtesy of Christine Noh.
The Gates of Hell, Derweze, Turkmenistan
"If Atlas Obscura has a mascot it might be the Gates of Hell. This 200 foot hole in the desert was created in 1971 when a Soviet drilling rig fell into a massive natural cavern. The scientists decided it was best to let the natural gas leaking from the hole burn itself off, so they lit it on fire. It has been burning for 45 years."
Photo: Courtesy of Tim Whitby.
Buzludzha Monument, Kzanlak, Bulgaria
"This huge UFO-shaped monument standing proudly at the top of a hill in the Balkan mountains was once a grand tribute to the Bulgarian Communist Party. No more. Once Bulgaria transitioned to democracy in the early 1990s the monument was promptly abandoned. It has stood since, falling further and further into disrepair and is now a strange hulking shell stripped of its once grand interior. Graffiti on the front reads 'Forget your past.'"
Photo: Courtesy of Clifford Norton.
Crystal Maiden, San Ignacio, Belize
"Beautiful, horrifying, tragic, and fascinating the Crystal Maiden is the calcified skeleton of a young woman was sacrificed by the Maya during the 700 - 900 CE. Her body was left in a cave that was believed to be an entrance to the underworld as an offering to the gods. Only eighteen years at the time of her death, over the last 1200 years her bones have formed a layer crystals which sparkle in the light."
Photo: Courtesy of Martin Norris Travel Photography.
Kolmanskop Ghost Town, Luderitz, Nambia
"Once a thriving diamond mine in the 1920s, it was home to a flapper-era theater, casino, and even bowling alley. Of course, once a richer diamond mine was discovered the town was abandoned and is now slowly being swallowed by the sand."
Stepwells of India, across Northern and Western India
"These incredible architectural masterpieces call to mind M.C. Esher illustrations. Hundreds of carved stone steps lead down to water these were built to serve as local sources of water. A French traveler in 1864 described seeing a 'vast sheet of water, covered with lotuses in flower, amid which thousands of aquatic birds are sporting.' Built as early as 550 A.D. and through the medieval period, there are over 3,000 stepwells throughout India."
Photo: Courtesy of MJ Photography.
Wisteria Tunnel, Kitakyushu, Japan
"Blooming from late April to mid May in the Kawachi Fuji Gardens near Kitakyushu, Japan, is an exquisite tunnel of draped in flowers. Their are other flower tunnels in the world, but the Wisteria Tunnel in Japan is singular in its romantic beauty."
Photo: Courtesy of SoulAD.
Finals Cave, Isle of Staffa, Scotland
"On the Scottish island of Staffa is an unusual sea cave. 270 feet deep, the walls of this sea cave are perfect hexagonal columns. Formed by ancient lava flows, the striking site has become something of an artistic inspiration. It is the basis of a famous classical work, the name of a Pink Floyd song, and the location of a Matthew Barney 'Cremaster' video."
Photo: Courtesy of Jaszmina Szendrey.
The Temple of Damanhur, Pramarzo, Italy
"For 15 years, a group of young Italians worked around the clock digging deep into a hillside. All non-architects, working at night and in secret, they carved an enormous underground temple. The temple, which is covered in mosaic and murals, has many large rooms with 25-foot ceilings, is spread over five levels, and is connected by hundreds of meters of tunnel. Today a new age spiritual community (some say cult) still lives and works there. They allow visits and even overnight stays."
Photo: Courtesy of Templi dell’Umanità Association.
Giant Crystals of Naica, Naica, Mexico
"Discovered in 2000, the Crystals of Naica are an otherworldly site. Measuring up to 39 feet long these massive crystals grew over half a million years, fill this underground space. Previously submerged, the cave is 125˚F and up to 99% humidity so explorers have to wear special ice cold cooling suits to enter, and, even so, can only stay in the cave for 45 minutes at a time."
Photo: Courtesy of Carsten Peter/Speleoresearch & Films/National Geographic.
The Last Handwoven Bridge, Apurimac Canyon, Peru
"I was lucky enough to be able to travel here and visit and walk across the bridge. It represents a basically unbroken connection to the great Incan road system that once spanned 40 thousand kilometers in South America. It is a beautiful place, with an profound historical connection."
Photo: Courtesy of imageBROKER.
The World’s Largest Drain, Kasukabe, Japan
"Underneath the streets of the outskirts of Tokyo, is a series of massive concrete cathedrals. Part of the G-Cans project they are a series of super massive drains, with miles of tunnels, 59 huge pillars holding up the 83-foot-tall ceilings, and 21 concrete silos that are the size of skyscrapers. The drains can pump four and a half olympic swimming pools worth of water through them every minute. To a visitor's eyes they look less like infrastructure and more like a some kind of souring basilica."
Photo: Courtesy of Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg.
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High-end printers began decorating the edges of books as the craft developed, including dyeing and gilding the edges, but in the 17th century, artisans began creating fore-edge paintings that could only be seen when books were fanned. Below is another example: (more…)
Fireflies swirling around in the summer night sky are a sight to behold. CS Electrical Company captures a bit of this magic with their new packaging from Angelina Pischikova.
“CS is the largest electrical company in Belarus, which supplies the market with more than 5000 items. CS company’s branding and packaging has been inspired by the old physics books which are diagrams of electrical circuits and illustration of scientific experiments in the style of engravings. Inventor Thomas Edison 's words that a firefly is an ideal cold light source prompted the idea of omparing the various forms of light bulbs with various insects. So a client will see it not just as an ordinary luminaire, but as an independent form.”
The detailed illustrations show each insect with its wings spread wide, allowing the light bulb body to be seen. Each bulb has its own shape, from long and skinny to stout and fat, and this adds a bit of personality to each bug illustration. The light bulbs are also assigned a number, giving them a bit of a high-end sophistication, and the wattage is right on the front making it easy for consumers to choose which one best suits their needs.
I took Ghent University's vocabulary test, and according to the results, I know 83% of the English words.
The Minnesotan took the test and got a 94%. He said:
The test does not require you to define or spell words. Instead you are asked to determine whether an entry ("glyph," "moktam," "macrophage," "wookel" etc) is or is not a word in the English language.
There seemed to be about a hundred words in the test, which you can proceed through at your own pace, and you can retake it if you wish (with a different group of words on the retest). At the end you can review your errors and see the definitions of the words you missed.
