PlanetOddity.com » Technology

The Amazing Falkirk Wheel Of Scotland

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:11:22 +0000

How is it possible to transport a huge boat from one water level to another much higher one? Scotland has the answer; a gigantic wheel that lifts boats. We are talking about the famous Falkirk Wheel that is an engineering landmark for Scotland.

It opened in 2002 and is connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It has such an elegant structure which works in a way that the boat is first placed inside on one of the ring gears; then it rotates 180 degrees to lift up the boat. It has two ring gears, so there is always one empty ready to take in new boats.

It has an overall diameter of 35 metres (115 ft) and its design is inspired by a Celtic double-headed axe. It works on the Archimedes principle of displacement which means that the volume of the boat sailing into the ring will be a proportional mass of water so the final combination balances the original total volume, no wonder it’s a great landmark and something Scotland is proud of.

While we are at the landmark topic, here are a great one in Bulgaria – the Belogradchik Rocks.

Colorful Retro Paper Gadgets

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:42:24 +0000

These colorful creations are made by the duo Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmermann who really know how to work with Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmermann paper. Their paper sculptures are representing cool retro stuff like vintage cameras, floppy disks and old cellphones.

Their art work screams the 90′s, and we love it, especially if you were young during that period of time. And not to mention the colors that are just popping.

These two artists have a design studio in Nice, France where they put their two heads together and create amazing paper sculptures, and they called this retro piece “Back to Basics” which is a personal project it seems.

The sculptures are all handmade which is amazing because some of their pieces have incredible details.

A teen would probably like to have these creations in her/his room, it gives the perfect young and fresh touch to a room. Other amazing creations made from paper is this funny mini office.

Astrolabe – An Ancient Computer From The Past

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:04:29 +0000

They say it’s the oldest computer ever. Well, I wouldn’t actually say computer, but there may be some similarities. I’m talking about the astrolabe. It’s basically an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. It was mainly used to locate and predict the positions of the sun, the moon, planets, and stars. Visually it’s a golden and lovely instrument.

They work in a way where you you input information and then you receive output, just like a computer, right? They are about 6 inch or more in diameter, and in the middle you can see how the sky is drawn with 20 stars. Finding the time of day or night, could be solved with the astrolabe as well as being able to find out what time the sun would rise and set.

It’s no wonder they couldn’t do without this magnificent instrument back in the acient days. It was used in Classical Antiquity, through the Islamic Golden Age, the European Middle Ages and Renaissance for all these purposes, so you can say it was pretty popular. So this was the first computer, but what about the first calculators.

Stunning Aeiral Map Of Twitter And Flickr Users Activity Around The Globe

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:54:38 +0000

Without reading any kind of description you would believe that these maps are showing the continents at night, but that is not the case. The lights are in red/orange, blue and white, and they are showing Twitter and Flickr activity. Pretty crazy, right? So you can easily see who is the most active of the states in U.S. and the countries in Europe.

The blue lights stand for tweets, the red/yellow ones for Flickr pictures, and the white for locations that have been posted to on both Twitter and Flickr, like an overall activity.

As you may see, there are some crazy activity in London, which can be seen detailed in one of the photos. While Twitter is going nuts in the United States. This is the work of Eric Fischer that has combined data from geotagged photos from Flickr and geotagged posts on the network Twitter, and this is what you get. He thought that it was best to show these two continents because the Internet usage is most prolific. Fantastic idea and great photos, we definitely like it.

Amsterdam

Bangkok

Berlin

Buenos Aires

Chicago

Istanbul

Jakarta

Kuala Lumpur

London

Madrid

Moscow

New York

Paris

Rio De Janeiro

Rome

Seoul

Singapore

Sydney

Tokyo

Toronto

Unique Handmade Russian Ring

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:40:29 +0000

The decorative ornament that you put on your finger, also known as a ring, is probably something that is not so easy to make. It’s detailed work that you need to have patience with, as well as enough skills. This Russian home made ring looks even more difficult to make than other random ones that you see at the jewelry shop. It has all these crazy details which give it a unique look, like it’s from the Middle Age or something.

On the photos you can see how it’s made, step by step. You may notice how it consists out of several parts that are put together at the end. It has a green rhinestone or gem in the middle that’s protected by some sort of shield which gives it a magical appearance. Maybe it’s more “exotic” because it’s Russian. Either way it has to cost a lot like all other home made things. But how cool would it not be to own one, don’t you think? This can really remind of these unique Star Wars rings.

The Biggest Landfill Of E-Waste In Ghana

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 01:48:16 +0000

When you throw away your old computer or laptop, do you ever think where it’s going? Ghana, India, Vietnam, Pakistan, China and Nigeria. It’s awful, but millions of tons of electronic waste from first world countries goes every year to these countries, mainly to Ghana. People there has therefore begun with illegal e-waste trade. 3000 people actually make a living out of selling everything from keyboards and computer monitors to old hard drives and TVs.

But the people are breathing in toxic chemical each day which is extremely dangerous for their health. For first time visitors it’s a horrible experience to enter the area because they immediately get a bad headache. The saddest part is that both women and children are working out on the fields filled with e-waste.

The executive director of the Basel Action Network, Jim Puckett, is trying to do everything to keep the toxic chemicals away from the area. We all hope he succeeds and that it gets better. Other places that has a tough day of work are at the mines of volcanoes in Indonesia.

Photos by Andrew McConell.

Rusty Russian Jet Fighters’ Days Are Over

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:56:32 +0000

If you are into old jet fighters, especially the old Soviet ones you will be amazed by the fact that there is a big field near Moscow that holds several of them. Of course they’re not in use any more, but they still look powerful. As you may notice some of their parts are missing, especially the nose cones. People actually come and take them to keep them as souvenirs.

Other parts are also “stolen” from the jet fighters. It’s funny what people tend to collect, but you never know when you’re going to need a jet fighter engine, right? You can see how it looks inside as well in this selection of photos. Notice the instructions written in Russian.

All in all the jet fighters are still standing there proud with their red stars on the wings. The same thing has happened to loads of huge ships that have been abandoned in Russia.

Photos via mmet.

Totally Weird Steampunk Monocles

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:33:58 +0000

Monocles were really popular back in the 1890′s when this kind of eye wear was associated with rich upper-class men and capitalists. It was a pretty simple glass that they put in front of their eye, but now steampunk lovers have made their own interpretation of the monocle. It’s not as simple as the usual one because it has a strap that goes around the head, while the “normal” ones only had a string attached to it.

There are a lot of steampunk fans that are fascinated by that time era and the style, which is actually pretty normal because the style is unique. Some of the steampunk monocles are amazingly detailed, and if you thought that only men was into making this, you were wrong, there are a lot of ladies out there that are interested in that stuff. Something as amazing as the monocles is this steampunk pen that can do it all.

LEGO Brick Photo Camera

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 22:30:06 +0000

Artist Cary Norton thought of something he thought was crazy one day; he wanted to built a camera out of Lego bricks. And guess what? He eventually built one. First he started by building a model using a Lego builder application on his PC, but he wanted the real thing, so he started building with real Lego bricks. He made it, and the camera actually takes pictures, which is amazing. It’s definitely the most colorful camera I’ve ever seen.

The artist himself says that he has no clue how many brick he used, but he knows that the dimensions are 7?x6.5?x7? and that it contains a main box, internal box, film holder/ground glass slot, lens board, and a lens that he bought for about 40 bucks. The Legotron Mark I, as it is called, is best for portraits, it cannot perform any crazy effects but it’s good enough. Norton has already some other plans in the future to make more Lego cameras. Speaking of Lego, here is Spongebob Squarepants made from Lego bricks.

And a few examples of photos:

Via Walyou.

Stunning Alien vs. Predator Metal Sculptures

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:54:29 +0000

It’s starting to get crazy how people are making sculptures out of anything. There are almost no creative materials left to use, especially all the ones that belongs to the metal category. Speaking of that here are some very good Alien vs. Predator sculptures made of car parts. Now for those who don’t know what Alien vs. Predator is, it’s a American sci-fi movie from 2004.

The aliens and the predators are very creepy, and their suits or whatever they are made of is metallic material, so the auto parts just fit perfectly. All of them are a part of a metal art event in Bangkok, and you can see how some of them are placed out in the wild so they will look even more scary. When speaking of crazy metal sculptures, you should take a look at these 250 year old ones, but still modern-looking.