I’ve probably used this heading before. But it seems fitting. You can generate your own Mario ending sequence here. They come out a little something like this:
Category: Curiosities
Super Mario Art
Scruntch time
A while back I posted a bunch of novelty toilet paper designs. You should check out that post – and these other fantastic bathroom fillers.
Sometimes you just really have to go at night. And finding the light switch is hard. Glow in the dark toilet paper is there in case of emergency.
Some people like to read while sitting on the toilet. My mum always warned me about hemorrhoids that occur as a result. You can take that warning, or leave it. If you leave it perhaps you’d like to have some brainteasers at hand (which reminds me of the one about the constipated mathematician – he worked it out with a pencil*).
Other people like to jot down thoughts and journal ideas on notepads. Artist Michael Gondry turned his notepad doodlings into toilet paper – I assume only the bad ideas made it.
*Not even my favourite toilet humour joke – which is “a doctor was walking the corridors of the hospital when a pharmacist approached and said “doctor, doctor, there’s a suppository behind you ear,” the doctor paused, checked his ear and said “oh no, some bum has got my pen.”
Aggressive signs
I posted the passive aggressive signs set on Flickr a few weeks back. Posting a sign doesn’t have to be an act of passive aggression. It can be down right aggressive…
From Bits and Pieces.
Braindead Video Game
If you are worried about the impending zompocalypse then perhaps the best thing you can do is get rid of your brain. The best way I can suggest to partake in that kind of activity short of a super lobotomy is to play this proposed game… Guitar Hero for air guitarists… Headbang Hero.
“You are awarded points for your personal headbanging choreography… but you should be aware that your health is at risk! To stress this point Headbang Hero also analyses how hazardous your performance is. Using a wireless motion-sensing wig as game interface, anyone – regardless of how much hair they have – can become a Headbang Hero!”
Put this on your round table
This my friends is the Holy Grail of breakfast. A bacon and egg goblet.
Now if only I could round up a group of knights to go a questing…
Hip to be square?
Some haircuts make the bowl cut look good. I’m torn between thinking this is the most awesome haircut ever, and some sort of geeky hobo mullet.
From Flickr.
Lend me your ears
Those little Bluetooth headsets are the most annoying invention ever. You can’t tell if people are crazy babblers, talking to you, or on the phone. It’s a cause for confusion. And nice people don’t confuse their friends.
Nice people buy these phones so that everybody knows when they’re on their mobile phone…
The infamous Portable Rotary Phone is an original rotary phone that has been modified to be a cellular phone. The Port-O-Rotary has a functional rotary dial, rings the original, loud metallic bells when a call is received, and even has a dial tone!
Phone comes fully assembled and tested. All you have to do is open the phone, insert your SIM card, and turn the unit on! The unit will utilize your phone number and account minutes. The internal cellular module works within any country that has one of the 900MHz, 1800MHz, or 1900MHz cellular bands (90% of the world). The Port-O-Rotary is truly international with up to 15-digit dialing, auto-frequency selection, ‘+’ characters, and PIN # entry for pre-paid cards.
Sadly, it’s not quite as cool as the iPhone. But it’s close.
Kettle metal
Kettles come in all shapes and sizes. Music doesn’t. There’s sub genres of sub genres (math rock anyone?). Ben (from Vanishing Point) likes Thrash Metal. Or something. Now, we can coin a sub-sub-genre. Kettle Metal.
Generally, the whistle a kettle makes sounds pretty similar (and horribly atonal) from model to model. Kettles have thus been an unheralded part of the musical ensemble. Well not until now… You can program it to play your favourite song.
A royal English breakfast
There’s nothing more English than English Breakfast tea… except of course the English royal family. So combining them seems to be the most natural thing in the world… especially when you come up with a name like “Royaltea“.
Magic clock uses light of hand
Here’s the description of how it works from mocoloco.
“Narrow rays of light that sneak through small slits in the bezel act as second, minute and hour hands”
It was designed by a Japanese design group called Mile Project.
Qlocktwo goes back to square one
Talking clocks are pretty annoying. Clocks without hands that tell you the time in words and come in various colours are just plain pretty. And pretty expensive.
Brickscuits
Imagine a world where playing with your food is obligatory. When towers of biscuity goodness are limited only by the height of your roof. Are we on the same page?
Ready. Set. Go.
Reliving the classics
I’ve posted a bunch of games in real life type things before, but none has been as beautiful as this collection. They really are nice. And all my favourites are there – Pacman, Tetris and Space Invaders. Can’t go wrong really.
Ping Pong 2.0
Table Tennis. Check. Data projector. Check. Motion Sensor. Ambient fish graphic. Check.
That’s a recipe for an awesomely trippy futuristic/1970s crossover party. Or something. Check it out.
“PingPongPlus is a digitally enhanced version of the classic ping-pong game. It is played with ordinary, un-tethered paddles and balls, and features a “reactive table” that incorporates sensing, sound, and projection technologies. Projectors display patterns of light and shadow on the table; bouncing balls leave images of rippling water; and the rhythm of play drives accompanying music and visuals. In the process, this project explores new ways to couple athletic recreation and social interaction with engaging digital enhancements. ”
Lost in space (and time)
Time travel is tricky business – especially if you’re a movie producer. I imagine that you don’t want your character catching up with Marty McFly in some bizarro alternate universe. That would be bad for your plot. And you certainly want some consistency in the rendering of both past and future so that your industry looks intelligent… which is why this space travel infographic is a must have for all movie producers considering a time travel plot device.
There’s a bigger version here – and I found it here.
The other thing producers need to take careful note of is calculating length and distances both for actual travel and in order to calculate the time it’ll take for their protagonist to go on a time travelling mission to Mars. Consistency is not all that important if you have a time machine that will erase the travel time… but some geeks viewers are pretty pedantic about that sort of thing – especially when it comes to sci fi.
So here’s another vital infographic (from here). EDIT – apologies to XKCD, the original source of this graphic.
I <3 infographics.