Author Archive

How Long Can You Hold Your Breath? (WFOTD)

How long can you hold your breath? Well, the average person can hold their breath for around 1 minute, however there is on man who defies human lung capacity, and that is David Merlini.

David Merlini, 31, is an escape artist from Budapest who has broken several World Records for holding his breath while underwater. For his latest World Record, Merlini held his breath for 21 minutes and 29 seconds underwater at the starting line of the Sakhir Circuit at the 2009 Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix.

So how can you hold your breath for longer? Well it all comes down to health and practice. A slower heart rate consumes less oxygen, a healthy body uses oxygen more efficiently and practice can increase your lung capacity. All of these combined can help increase how long you can hold your breath for, just in case you ever needed to do such a thing. I’m feeling breathless just writing about this.

YouTube Closes Down

This will probably make more sense to those of you who are familiar with British television, when the BBC hands over to Ceefax during the night (when nobody’s watching). For those of you who don’t know much about Ceefax, it’s the BBC’s teletext information service transmitted via the analogue signal, which began in 1974 and is set to run until 2012.

Created by Eddie Robson, from a genius original idea by Mal Franks, this is ‘YouTube closes down for the night’. (View in full screen mode).

The Human Body Subway Map

Sam Loman created this human body using a typical subway map to illustrate how our bodies are structured and how they work. Click here for larger image.

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Mind Blowing Card Trick

This is my favorite card trick of all time. Don’t worry if you’ve already seen it, because it will probably blow your mind even watching it a second time. It’s called “Jumping Gemini” and in this video it’s performed by the incredible Roy Raphaeli. Enjoy.

Top 10 Strangest Things Sold On eBay

#10 Ad Space on Forehead – A man auctioned off 30 days of ad space on his forehead to be used as a billboard.

Andrew Fischer, from Omaha, Nebraska said: “The winner will be able to send me a tattoo or have me go to a tattoo parlour and get a temporary ink tattoo on my forehead and this will be something they choose, a company name or domain name, perhaps their logo”.

The auction reached $322.

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Tunnel Vision Illusion

Watch what happens when you get closer and farther away from this drawing. Viewing in full screen is better, but be careful not to bang your head!

What was the First Image on the Internet? (WFOTD)

It is said that the first image ever published on the internet was a promotional photograph of Les Horribles Cernettes – a parody pop group, self-labelled “the one and only High Energy Rock Band”, which was founded by a secretary of the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) when they attracted his attention by stepping on stage during the “CERN Hardronic Festival”, singing “Collider”.

Burger Dominance In The USA

Take a look at this ironically beautiful map which illustrates the territory controlled by seven of the largest burger chains in the USA compared to McDonald’s.

Link Via Consumerist

Overweight Mexican Police Force Put On Diet

Mexico City’s police department have put their officers on a diet after finding out that almost three-quarters of them are overweight.

On Sunday, a new three-meal-a-day menu was introduced which consists of healthy portions of vegetables, as well as being 500 calories less than the previous near 3,000 calorie daily serving.

However, authorities may find it hard to enforce the diet plan, with Mexican City cops famous for their bribes from motorists which often involve food or soda. Ay-ay-ay.

Via Telegraph

Never Lose Track Of North With A Compass Table

Do you find yourself getting lost in your own home? No? Me neither, but this compass table will make sure you never do. If you find you’ve got a load of spare compasses lying around the place, shove them all in a table for storage and have a fantastically creative coffee table that will impress all of your compass-loving friends. Even better, build a lazy susan full of compasses. That’ll keep you entertained all day long, guaranteed.

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Top 10 Funniest Google Search Suggestions

The Google Suggest tool is a great tool that shows you suggestions that Google thinks you are searching for, as you type. However, Google’s somewhat unusual sense of humor often comes out with the suggestions it comes up with. Here are the top 10 funniest Google search suggestions.

1. I like…

Yeh, me too. Personally, I think it’s the best way to impersonate a dinosaur.

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Incredible Stuntman Has An Unlikely “Real” Job

Aung Zaw Oo has become a big hit on YouTube after uploading videos of his incredibly physical stunts, accumulating over 3 million views. Aung was asked by many people what his job was. The vast majority assumed that he was a stuntman or performer of some kind, however his video response to this question was a big surprise – he’s a video game developer.

Not only does this show that we should never judge a book by it’s cover, it also shows that the coolest guy in the world is a video game developer! Who would have guessed?

Top 10 Town Planning Fails

Town planning is important to ensure a good economic and social environment for the community, but sometimes it goes wrong. Here are the top 10 town planning fails.

Bike Lane Fail – Source

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Spam Email (WFOTD)

Gary Thuerk was the world’s first e-mail spammer. He wrote the first ever spam email which was sent out on May 3, 1978 to a network of government and university computers.

In total, 600 unwilling people received his email, which was publicizing open houses in Los Angeles and San Mateo. The reaction from the net community to the email was fiercely negative, but Thuerk’s spam did generate some sales. In fact, Thuerk estimates it led to $12 million in sales.

Since then, spam emails have grown in numbers, with 90% of all e-mails sent today considered as spam. Estimates suggest that as many as 200 billion spam messages are sent daily, and it’s all thanks to Gary Thuerk.

Mr. Burns 3D Model as a “Real” Human

This is for all you Simpsons fans out there who have ever wondered what Simpsons characters would like like as a “real” humans? Monomauve has created a fantastic 3D model of Mr. Burns as a “real” human, but has still managed to keep the original character’s essence. Excellent.

Sony Developing PlayStation Phone

With the growing success of portable Apple devices, Sony is developing a lineup of handheld products, according to the Wall Street Journal, scheduled for release later this year.

Specifically, a smart phone will be released along with a separate device that combines a netbook, an e-reader and a PlayStation Portable. This device is what Sony hope will compete against some of Apple’s latest products, such as the iPad.

Both the new smart phone and the multifunction device are expected to work with Sony’s new online media platform, due to launch later this month.

So, do you think Sony has what it takes to compete with the likes of Apple, or do you think all the hype will amount to nothing, with their launches being out-sold by rivals like so many of their recent products have been?

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Funeral Being Held For Internet Explorer 6 Today

More than 100 people, dressed in funeral attire, are expected to attend the funeral of Internet Explorer 6 today. The aging web browser’s offspring have taken over from their father in recent years, leaving ie6 a dead browser.

The funeral is meant to be a tongue-in-cheek event, hosted by Aten Design Group, a design firm in Denver, Colorado. Guests will gather round a coffin, carrying a ‘body’ with an Internet Explorer 6 logo as the head. They will then share remembrances.

Here’s what ‘Robert’ had to say about the browser:

“IE6, where do I begin? You were so trusting, sometimes to a fault. I’d tell you I’m going to miss all the hours we spent patching holes in your code, but I’d be lying. There is and was so much redeveloping to do because your younger counterparts are much less credulous. Do you remember your 0-day in January? I lied to you; I actually did want to spend the holidays with my family. I hope heaven is hacker free.

R.I.P my friend”

Will you miss Internet Explorer 6, or can it rot in hell? Let us know your experiences with the browser.

Link Via CNN

Top 10 Most Stupid Inventions

Inventors don’t get it right all the time, so we’ve compiled a list of the 10 stupid inventions.

The Chopstick Fan, because hot noodles is just asking for trouble. The chopstick fan cools down those noodles on your chopsticks like nothing else. I mean, who wants to wait for natural airflow?

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Gorilla Spotted On Mars

Does this picture show that there’s a giant silverback gorilla on Mars? *Gasp* Well, it’s certainly got alien hunters excited about the prospect of life in Space.

The image was taken by the Mars Spirit Rover in the Gusev crater, a crater over 100 miles in diameter that is thought to have once been a lake filled with liquid water.

It’s one of several images taken by Spirit that appear to show a gorilla knuckle-walking across the surface of the Red Planet.

Life or rock? I’ll let you make you’re own minds up on that one.

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Warner Bros. May Create Space Invaders Movie

For a lot of people, Space Invaders used to be a game countless hours would be wasted on trying to beat that impossible high score, but in today’s vastly technologically superior world, many would say that Space Invaders is an out-dated thing of the past. Those people may have a point, but Warner Bros. thinks otherwise – they want to put the classic arcade game onto the silver screen.

Warner Bros. is negotiating to acquire feature rights to the landmark shooter from Taito, the Japanese company that originally manufactured the game.

It’s not surprising that Warner Bros. would look to jump-start a Space Invaders movie; last summer the studio bought Midway, the video game’s U.S. publisher (which does not control theatrical rights), and also is developing a feature of another video game, “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.”

If Warner Bros. can make a Space Invaders film, then why not make a ‘Tetris’ one? Alternatively, I can see huge appeal for ‘Pong’ on the silver screen.

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