Patio screen doors are fantastic at letting the breeze in and crucial in blocking insect intruders. But in a perfect world, we wouldn't even need them. In the real world, they'd somehow close themselves so we wouldn't be bothered with them. We can make that happen. Genius Clan McArthur rigged his screen door so it automatically closes. It's so easy you can do it too.
    
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Elleryweird
Like a fevered dream by embattled ex-Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, this naughty claymation short by Dadomani Studios makes no sense in context outside of its own logical universe. Still, there are worse things to find in a box:
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E-David isn't the first industrial robotic arm that's been re-programmed to paint. There have been many similar creations before it, but they've all worked sort of like elaborate photocopiers, perfectly recreating a digital image stored in memory. What sets e-David apart is that it's the first robot painter that constantly adapts its technique and brush strokes as it works based on what it's seeing through a camera pointed at its canvas.
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Whether you get ready for work at some impossibly early hour before the sun rises, or you live in a cheap windowless basement apartment, Ikea's new Dioder strip lights will bring some much needed illumination to drawers, cupboards, and closets.
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Just over a year ago we brought you Anna Farkis' 2500 Watt astronomical lampshade, which projects constellations on the ceiling whenever the light is turned on. At the time, it was just a one-off concept—but as we had hoped, the stars have aligned: Today, the lamps are finally available for sale under the new name Starry Lights.
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It's a warm summer night in the city, but instead of sleeping with the windows open to let a breeze in, you've got them all closed to keep your bedroom quiet. It's a 'lesser of two evils' decision that people living in crowded urban centers might soon not have to make. Researchers in South Korea have developed a remarkable new type of window that dampens sound while still allowing air to pass right on through.
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Bert Haanstra's Glas is a short 10-minute documentary from 1958 about glass that won an Oscar. It's a beautiful short that shows the art of glass blowing versus the character-less mechanism of automated glass bottle making machines. There's no voice over, no narration, just beautiful scenes of glass being made. It's like porn for manufacturing. Even while you don't understand what's going on, it's lovely to see
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“Now what will they call gay men like myself who choose not to be married? There’s no name for us. Will we be discriminated against in our old age? Ah, a new chapter in the gay struggle.”
–Filmmaker/raconteur John Waters, in his recent stage show An Evening With John Waters, as reviewed in The Hollywood Reporter
If you're still looking for a Google Reader replacement, time is running out! We have some alternatives, but Feedspot is a new contender that offers a simple webapp for reading the news, sub-feeds for tags, starred items, and favorites, and tons of social features for sharing stories with friends.
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Two's company, three's a crowd, but that principle does not apply when you're talking about hammocks. Trinity Hammocks triple hammock structures give you three times the relaxation.
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Dear Lifehacker,
I need some work done around my house. The problem is, I'm out of my league. I'd love to hire a handyman or a contractor to help me out, but how do I go about finding one? How can I make sure they're trustworthy and won't do more damage than good?
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Former South African president Nelson Mandela is now in critical condition after two weeks of hospitalization for a recurring lung infection.
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The eternal debate—of whether to soak in the tub or lounge in a hammock—has just been rendered moot, thanks to this stunning carbon fiber hammock tub that lets you do both at the same time. Made by the UK company SplinterWorks, it's called the Vessel, and it makes for an awesome centerpiece for your bathroom, assuming you've got the room for it (and the cash).
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Quirky might be the world leader in developing crazy kitchen contraptions, but the company that helps turn regular people's ideas into actual products focuses on other markets too. Such as educational toys that kids will actually want to play with, like the Sound Track: a brilliant mashup of a music box and a toy train that has kids playing composer, conductor, and conductor.
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When you think of a humidifier, you probably picture a fairly large device filled with water that you plug in and keep in a corner. Those traditional options don't work so well when you need to move them around and require a bit of effort to clean. The Satechi Portable USB Humidifier just attaches to any water bottle and gets power from any USB port of charger.
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The petty fights your children have with one another are actually screwing up their mental health for life, and it's all your fault.
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Sometimes a piece of design is so interesting, it's hard not to drop everything and pay attention to it. Dressed in bright, bold colors, with sharp, tessellated forms, these origami clocks from U.K. firm Raw Dezign definitely fits the bill.
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In Cloud Light. Stainless steel. 224″h x 104″w x 52″d. Linked stainless disks rotating around a circular axis. Spins in ultralight winds but overbuilt to withstand strong.
Octo. Stainless steel. 204″h x 48″w x 20″d. Linked stainless shapes rotating around a circular axis. Spins in ultralight winds but overbuilt to withstand strong.
In-Out Quotient. Stainless steel, 64 sealed stainless bearings. 16’6″h x 6’4″w x 3′d. Sixty linked arms on circular axis, spins in ultralight winds.
About Face. Copper and stainless steel. 88″h x 62″w x 60″d. 100 individually balanced and weighted copper panels moving in the wind, some free swinging and others articulated by spinning stainless cups.
Kinetic sculptor Anthony Howe lives and works in a rural area in Eastsound, Washington surrounded by little more than trees, wind, and other natural elements that inspire his incredible kinetic sculptures. Howe works primarily with stainless steel which he welds to create carefully engineered objects powered by the slightest breeze. Watching the motion of each piece in the videos above is totally mesmerizing and it hardly seems possible that such an object could be constructed. Many of his original works are available for sale on his website, and you can see many more videos on his YouTube channel. (thnx, justin!)
Pew Research has a new, comprehensive survey that looks at the process of coming out - when and how it happens, how difficult it is, and what impact it has on relationships. Pew has also provided an interactive feature where you can filter data based on age, sexual orientation, and how long an individual has been open with their sexuality.
From Pew:
"Among those who have told a friend or family member about their sexual orientation or gender identity, the median age at which they did this was 20. There are modest differences on this measure by age group among gay men and lesbians. The median age at which gay men and lesbians younger than 30 say they first told a close friend or family member is 17. Among those ages 30 to 49, the median age is 20, and for those ages 50 and older, the median age is 21.
These age gaps may be related to the fact that younger adults who may not yet identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (but may in the future) would not qualify to be included in the survey. Therefore, by definition, these younger adults could not have waited until they were age 30 or older to tell someone they were gay or lesbian. Even so, these age gaps may reflect the changes that have taken place in society over the past decade or so. As the public has become more accepting of the LGBT population, it may be that gay men and lesbians feel more comfortable sharing their sexual orientation at an earlier age."
Here's a silly little invention that is wonderful because it'll either make you more drunk or more human, preferably both. It's a beer glass. Huh? Yeah, the base of this beer glass is shaved down so that it needs to be rested on top of your cell phone to stand up straight. If you're too busy using your phone? The beer will spill over. If you want to be a human and talk to people? You can sit your beer down perfectly fine.
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