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6/29/11

Piri Reis map


The Piri Reis Map is a famous pre-modern world map created by 16th century Ottoman-Turkish admiral and cartographer Piri Reis.

The map shows part of the western coasts of Europe and North Africa with reasonable accuracy, and the coast of Brazil is also easily recognizable.

Various Atlantic islands including the Azores and Canary Islands are depicted, as is the mythical island of Antillia.

The map is noteworthy for its depiction of a southern landmass that some controversially claim is evidence for early awareness of the existence of Antarctica.

Some scholars claim this and other maps support a theory of global exploration by a pre-classical undiscovered civilization. [Source]

Lighting with Infinite Combinations


The beauty of the Guss modular lighting system by designer Santiago Sevillano is that it has what seems like an infinite number of possible configurations.

Though the curvilinear components are identical, they can be separated, recombined, and mixed and matched to create dramatic pendants, wall lamps, table lamps, or floor lamps that are not only unique but 80% less energy consuming than standard incandescent lights.

Designer: Santiago Sevillano

5 Weird Roads


Planning a road trip this summer? A lot of us are; and it sure is nice to be able to hop in your car and drive pretty much anywhere you please on a safe, smooth, well-lit road. Okay, maybe not; but, potholes notwithstanding, consider yourselves lucky that none of the following roads are part of your daily commute.

Canton Avenue – Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this is one road you do not want to mess with in the winter. Why? Because technically, it’s the steepest street in the world! Canton Ave. has a 37% grade, which means that for every 100 feet you travel, you gain 37 feet of elevation. I doubt if it’s a snow route…

Yungas Road – What’s 10 feet wide, has no guardrails, goes through waterfalls and threatens you with 2000 foot drop-offs? It’s the Yungas Road in Bolivia! This 43 mile stretch of nastiness is labeled the most dangerous road in the world, and thus attracts lots of tourists who for some reason actually want to drive it.

The Magic Roundabout - The above photo shows what drivers traversing one intersection in Swindon, England have to deal with. The Swindon roundabout is actually six roundabouts. Drivers enter the large clockwise roundabout and are funneled into one of the five mini roundabouts contained inside. It’s baffling to tourists, but apparently works quite well and has an excellent safety record.

Photo: Marco Mayer

Stelvio Pass – Do you get carsick? If so, don’t drive this road. The Stelvio Pass in the Italian Alps has got to be the curviest road on the planet. To negotiate the pass, drivers are subjected to 60 hairpin turns, 48 on the north side alone. It’s a very popular destination for sports car drivers and motorcyclists.

Photo: Rick Archer

The Guoliang Tunnel – Probably not the best choice for the claustrophobic, this tunnel in the Henan Province of China is only 16 feet tall and 13 feet wide. Although it’s only ¾ of a mile long, it took villagers five years to carve with simple hand tools. Plus, they were nice enough to include “windows” so you can see how far the drop is!

6/23/11

Dye of the Tiger !



Dogs put up with a lot. All they really want to do is chase some birds, sniff some stuff and maybe take a nap, but we insist on dressing them up in silly outfits and putting ribbons in their fur. Ever resilient, dogs take it all in stride; but this is just going too far…

As reported by The Daily Mail and China Daily, it seems that dyeing your dog to look like another animal is getting increasingly popular. Sure, it might be kind of cute to make your chow look like a panda, or dye your golden retriever to look like a tiger, but this is just further proof that people may have too much time on their hands.

Soft, Light and Wind Friendly Car !


VENTILE takes everything we know about cars and throws it out of the window.
The powertrain starts off innocently enough being a gas/electric hybrid but there’s a third system – a giant fan.
Air comes rushing in through the front, spins the fan situated beneath the battery and drives the car. How is this possible?
The VENTILE barely weights 350 kg thanks to its translucent, soft shell and small rubberless wheels.

Designer: Thierry Dumaine