Bird Flight Fractals

Link Scroll down for today's pictures & links. Bird Flight Fractals Mesmerizing curves and formations made from a flock of birds... some say that these birds exploit the atmospheric conditions preceding a tornado. But tornado, or not, if you see this happening again, can you please make a better-resolution video and send it to us? Link Today's pictures & links: Aerial Swimming Pool Marina Bay Sand's Skypark in Singapore. Somebody has to shoot the next James Bond movie there. It just asks for a tightrope dance with a villain. (images via) This swimming pool even has the "infinity edge" emptying out on the neighbouring skyscrapers. Simply awesome. ------------ A River Runs Through It ...it runs through the gardens at Keukenhof in the Netherlands. (original unknown) ------------ The Endless Staircase (image credit: Philipp Klinger) Sculpture in the yard of the KPMG building in Munich. Designed by Olafur Eliasson - see more images and info here. ------------ The Enormous Grid of Trees Spotted in Japan Our reader Dave DenHerder spotted something unique in Google Maps on the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan - a giant forested grid of truly stupendous proportions! He says, "At first, I almost ignored it until I realized that this pattern was huge... and very straight and precise for something that big. So I zoomed in until I saw that the grid was made up of bands of trees. Using the scale in the corner of the screen, I estimate that each square in the grid is about 2.5 miles wide!" (images via GoogleMaps, sent in by Dave DenHerder) ------------ Mixed fresh links for today: Crazy Mushroom-Shaped City - [architecture] To woo a mate, male bowerbirds decorate, lavishly. - [wow nature, pics] New fantastic wall graffiti animation - [wow video] Inspiring Science Fiction Art from the 1980s - [cool art] Carte Geografichen - [vintage maps] These ATMs will give you money... grudgingly - [funny] Is Mafia Dead? (State of Mafia Families Today) - [interesting] Concrete Aircraft Carrier in China - [weird architecture] Plane Refueling a Ferrari! - [wow video] An Interview With The Editor Of The Onion - [neat videos] Short Cute Animation from Stephane Halleux - [cute video] Unbelievable Acrobatics Performance - [wow video] ------------ We like Klockwerks by Roger Wood Klockwerks. Gorgeous design pieces - one look at the catalog will make you a believer, anbd possibly, a buyer: (images via) ------------ Cats... The Good, and the Evil One Note that we do not specify which one is which, exactly: (original unknown) (image via) ------------ Yarn Break (image via) See a lot more knitted oddities in Strange Knits and Yarn Monsters. ------------ This truck is too heavy for this bridge Or rather, "was" too heavy. Somewhere in China, any additional info? (images via) ------------ Great Star Wars "T" - Bow Tie Tuxedo Shirt! Among many cool t-shirt designs, this one just begs to be bought - from here. Designed by Reece Ward exclusively for Lucasfilm Ltd. (another example) (image via) Other Reece Ward's designs - see gallery: (images credit: Reece Ward) ------------ The Skull of the Sneezing Man Very frightening: (original unknown) Take care when sneezing!.. READ THE PREVIOUS ISSUE -> Permanent Link......+StumbleUpon ...+Facebook

Vintage Construction Toys: Blasts From The Past

"QUANTUM SHOT" #639 Link - article by Simon Rose In the age of LEGO, this reads like a blasphemy We all have our own vivid memories from our childhood – family vacations, friends long gone from our social circle, siblings we now see only once or twice a year, TV shows and movies we followed avidly and of course, toys. For many boys growing up in the era before the advent of video games, construction toys were always popular. Here’s a look back at those far away days. (1954 Meccano set, image via) The Erector Set was first manufactured in 1913 and remained in production until 1967. Similar to the older British product Meccano, the set had a collection of small metal beams, with holes for screws, nuts and bolts and for attaching devices such as pulleys, gears and even small electric motors. Here’s an early version from the early 1920’s: (images via 1, 2) These are from the decades following World War Two: (images via 1, 2, 3) Ideal’s Klikit products date from the late 1960’s, with Super City appearing in 1967: (images via Jon Knutson) Kenner Products was a founded in 1947 in Cincinnati, and introduced its popular Girder and Panel building sets in 1957. Kenner was one of the first companies to recognize the potential of TV for advertising their toy products in the USA, the first ads airing in 1958, when these two sets first appeared: (image via) Here’s the Bridge and Turnpike Building Set, also from 1958 (the Freeway USA sets from 1966 invited you to "design and build the great highway and bridge systems of tomorrow.") - (image via) Kenner’s Skyrail offered you the opportunity to “Build and Operate Sky Rail Systems of Tomorrow”, or at least the tomorrow that was envisaged in 1963: (image via) These pages from the Kenner catalog date from 1966: (images via) This Girder and Panel Building Set from 1974 contained 340 pieces for your building pleasure (left). That same year, if you could handle 1100 pieces, you could even construct your very own five foot tall version of the recently completed Sears Tower (right): (images via) Here’s a collection of Kenner magazine ads from the sixties. This set was promoted as the very latest thing in construction toys way back in 1961: (image via) The 1964 Modern-As-Tomorrow Girder and Panel set: (image via) The Hydro-Dynamic building set with motorized pump, also from 1964: (image via) And if you preferred to concentrate on residential buildings, Kenner even had a product for you too, the Build-A-Home and Subdivision Set from 1962: (image via) In Britain, Meccano was invented in 1901 and enjoyed great popularity in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s. Meccano was manufactured in Liverpool from 1914 until 1980, and is now made in France and China. (images via 1, 2) Here are some Meccano ads from the late 1930’s: (images via 1, 2) Meccano was advertised as “the world’s greatest toy” in this 1949 brochure (left). On the right is Meccano brochure from 1955: (images via) This 1956 instruction book depicts a model of an excavator, built from the familiar green and red pieces Meccano utilized for many years: (image via) Bayko was one of the earliest plastic toys to be marketed and was sold worldwide brand between 1934 and 1967. The company was bought by Meccano in 1960: (images via 1, 2) So there you have it – blasts from the past to be sure. I hope you’ve enjoyed this nostalgic look at vintage construction toys here at Dark Roasted Blend. In our final image you see puzzled Nazi soldiers getting ready to construct a tank from a "readily provided set": (image via) CONTINUE TO "TOYS THAT CREEP US OUT"! -> ALSO READ: "BAD, TWISTED AND BIZARRE TOYS" -> Simon Rose is the author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children, including The Alchemist's Portrait, The Sorcerer's Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic's Tomb and The Doomsday Mask. Permanent Link......+StumbleUpon ...+Facebook

Magnificent Motorcycles, Part 1

"QUANTUM SHOT" #638 Link - article by Simon Rose and Avi Abrams The Wild, the Wonderful and the Downright Weird Designs for Motorcycles Even for those who have never ridden a motorcycle, there’s just something about these magnificent machines that make us simply stop and admire them. In this article, we take a look at the cool, the fascinating, the unusual and the ‘what the heck were they thinking’ designs for motorcycles that have appeared for over a hundred years. (Predator Bike - more images and info at 1, 2) Let's start with some vintage beauties. The first motorcycle was designed and built in Germany in 1885: (image via) FN or Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, a Belgian manufacturer of firearms, also made motorcycles from 1901 to 1967. This one is from 1913: (image via) 1913 Garelli (left) and the Evans Power Cycle (right), from 1919: (images via) Indian Scout from 1928: (image via) The Sokol 1000 was made in Poland and used by both civilians and the Polish military in the 1930’s: (image via) 1940 Indian four cylinder (left). On the right is the design for a Dream Motorcycle One from the early 1950’s - (images via 1, 2) The NSU Sportmax motorcycle was a winner in the 250 cc class in the Grand Prix Season of 1955: (image via) I’m not sure if I’d want to be racing across the battlefield in this machine: (image via) This one on the other hand looks more impressive. The Vespa 150 TAP, equipped with a cannon, was used by the French army and was meant to join the battle after being dropped by parachute (read our article about it here) - (image via) This bike, which also featured a gun, was developed for the Danish military in the 1930’s: (image via) Wondrous Biking Machines From the movies here we have the Hill Valley police motorcycle from Back to the Future (left). And how could we forget Batman’s two-wheeled mode of transportation as portrayed in The Dark Knight (right): (images via) Boldly go where no has gone before, on the Star Trike, which apparently appeared at the San Diego Comic Con in 1982: (images via 1, 2) The TrikeBack’s engine reminded me of the propulsion systems in the jetpacks and rocket belts from an earlier article right here on Dark Roasted Blend: (image via) Although this looks like a rocket bike, this is a real bomb shell. More info about this "Crotch Rocket" here: (image via) Could this be the world’s largest, or perhaps tallest, motorcycle? - (image via) Or how about this 48 cylinder machine, which apparently actually runs - more info: (image via) The Panzerbike from Germany, weighing in at just under five tons, has an engine that once powered a Russian T55 tank and the sidecar used to be the casing of a Soviet missile: (images via 1, 2) Hopefully, this motorcycle isn’t a real death trap? Skeleton bikes by Jud Turner, John Farr and others: (images via 1, 2, 3) Toys for big boys? The Burgerbike, ideal for visiting the drive-through window, perhaps? (left) Not sure what the top speed would be on this one? (right) - (images via) This machine was apparently made from spare parts and bits of miscellaneous junk (left)... while this one is made of wood, partially at least (right): (images via) Not sure if you want to give up your motorcycle and buy a car, or vice versa? You can have the best of both worlds, with the Laverda sidecar bike (more info): (images via) Who said limousines had to be cars? Here is "Anaconda" - (image via) The Jaguar motorcycle, such a cool design! - (images via) The Allmond Rocket motorcycle fromn Roger Allmond, more info (left) and another unusual design from Japan (right): (images via) These are actually part of the "Tuner Scooter" culture phenomenon in Japan - see more here: (images via) Here’s a selection of really cool concept bikes. From motorcycle manufacturer Arlen Ness - more info: (image via) Icare concept (left) and Swordfish bike concept (right): (images via) Ferrari V4 Motorcycle concept (left); Speed Racer motorcycle (right): (images via) The Magic Tricycle might sound like a brightly painted kid’s toy, but it’s actually more like something from Transformers. If you prefer to be driving a car, the vehicle moves along on its side using three wheels, but can also flip upright and turn into a motorcycle. (images via) The 4-wheeled motorcycle? No, this is not an ATV: Japanese "Tesseract" is a unique dual scythe suspension system, allowing this sleek machine to lean into turns like a motorcycle: (image via) And finally, here is perhaps the weirdest vintage bike of all - this one includes a sewing machine! - more info: (image via) Article by Simon Rose and Avi Abrams, Dark Roasted Blend. CONTINUE TO PAGE 2 OF THIS ARTICLE -> ALSO READ: STRANGEST VEHICLES! ->