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Tech NewsDesignWatch This Cloud Of Rusty Balls Shape-Shift Into an Airborne Labyrinth
The last time we checked in with Plebian Design and Hypersonic, the creative teams had installed an interactive map chandelier in Washington DC that glowed in time with different data sets. For their latest trick, they turned the lobby of a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company into a similarly mind-bending, shape-shifting display. Breaking Wave is a … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Overgrown, Disused Railway That Still Runs Around Paris
Paris has a lot of history embedded in its sprawling urban grid, which has seen thousands of years of structural change. But even though space is at a premium, there are still spots that have evaded development and slowly drifted into obscurity. When photographer Pierre Folk was new to the city, he happened upon Chemin … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Watch How an Emmy Statuette Comes to Life
Before the Emmy winners are announced tonight and they grasp their shiny trophy on stage in front of millions, each one of those statuettes began as a pool of pure virgin metal, liquified at 700 degrees. That’s hot. The team at Chicago-area R.S. Owens has been manufacturing the awards for 38 years, and this short … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
9 Images of How Kids Played Before Modern Playgrounds Existed
“Playground.” The word evokes visions of brightly colored jungle gyms and swing-sets, fenced-off or otherwise protected from dangers of the surrounding real world. But before these kinds of site-specific joy zones, kids kept busy: Playing. On the ground. ” Reinventing the Square” is an exhibition that looks at the evolution of public places created specifically … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Journalistic Exploits of Mr. Poon… Er, Jane Doe… I Mean, Fletch
Dr. Rosenpenis. Dr. Rosenrosen. Dr. Rosen. John Cocktoston. Mr. Poon. Arnold Babar. Jane Doe. Ted Nugent. Fletch F. Fletch. They’re all the same man: Irwin M. Fletcher. Goes by Fletch. He’s actually 6’5″, with an afro 6’9″, and if you spend the night with him he will make you very happy. For my money, this … Continued
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Tech NewsWatching a Solar-Powered Marble Machine Will Clear Your Addled Brain
For those who ditched their click-and-clacking Newton’s Cradle decades ago, this Solar Marble Machine just might be the modern ball-based meditation tool of your DIY dreams. What does it “do”? Not much! But that’s precisely the point. I mean, technically it has a very simple repetitive function: Solarbotics crafted the gear-and-spiral combo to operate in … Continued
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Tech NewsDesignA Smart Transforming Hanger Will Double the Capacity of Your Closet
Closet organization is a certifiable pain in the ass—so much so that an entire industry has developed out of our collective desire to keep our respective clothes in order. Space constraints are almost always the biggest problem; this convertible Hanger’ might help you keep your gear in check. Shanghai-born, Germany-based Designer Ivan Zhang, under his … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Weirdest Album From 1964 Was From A Sleep-Talking Lyricist
There are regular ol’ spoken word albums, and then there’s The Dream World of Dion McGregor. This curiosity, distributed by Decca Records in 1964, is a recording of the songwriter talking in his sleep, ostensibly narrating aloud whatever strange nighttime visions running through his brain. It is, perhaps unsurprisingly, an extremely weird listen through someone’s … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
6 Cool New Objects From One of Modern Design’s Oldest Powerhouses
Alessi can’t stop, won’t stop producing homewares at a seriously rapid clip. The Italian brand has been around since 1921; over the years, its exclusive focus on metal goods has expanded to include glass, plastic, rattan, and even a kind of concrete, and every season the company works with big name and up-and-comers to introduce … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
These Bhutanese Postal Stamps Play Like Real Vinyl Records
The most valuable stamp in the world is a red smudge, but the coolest postal payments just might be these itty bitty stickies from 1970s Bhutan. They’d legally get your letter where it needed to go, and play the country’s national anthem (yes, really!). Bhutan—a somewhat isolated (and very happy) kingdom bordered by India and … Continued
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Tech NewsDesignWatch Charles and Ray Eames Debut Their Most Famous Chair On TV In 1956
Charles and Ray Eames were the archetypal design power couple, who each brought their own distinct kind of creative genius to the personal and professional partnership. When they visited NBC’s daytime Home show in 1956 to debut their (now-iconic) eponymous lounge, Charles introduced themselves thusly: “Ray is a painter. I am an architect.” Host Arlene … Continued
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Tech News
The Absurd Joy Of Waterslides Is Captured In These Perfectly Timed Shots
Picture it: You’re barreling through a person-sized tube with your swimsuit on and a ton of water whooshing along, until all of a sudden… WHEEE! You’re spit out like a rag doll before plunging into a chlorinated pool. Krista Long has spent many a warm afternoon capturing that action in a series she’s called “I … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Z-Boys Turned Skateboarding From Niche Hobby Into Badass Artform
Before the X-Games mainstreamed skateboarding into a nationally recognized sport, a crew of scrappy teens on the southern California coast revolutionized the moves that could be pulled off on a bit of wood and four wheels. Today, skate legend Jay Adams passed away at the age of 53. Tonight, watching Dogtown and Z-Boys is a … Continued
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Tech News
These Swirly Light Paintings Look Like a Flash-Forward to the Rapture
Despite predictions to the contrary, we have yet to experience any kind of global rapture here on earth. Should believers ever get beamed up to the heavens, I kind of imagine it would be in the kind of illuminated vortices created and snapped by British photographer Martin Kimbell. The glowing tornadoes are actually long-exposure light … Continued
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Tech News
These GIFs From The Smithsonian Archives Make History Come To Life
The charm of a perfect looping image cannot be denied. Old timey illustrations are delightful nostalgia inducers. Pair ’em together and hot damn: That is a recipe for sure-fire internet love. Drawing from seemingly endless stores of digitized archives, the Smithsonian Libraries have been posting original gifs on their Tumblr, and—spoiler alert—they’re wonderful. From The … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
There’s a Skate Park In an Old Tunnel Under London, And You Can Visit
Amongst the abandoned diggers, unexploded bombs, and Medieval bodies, a labyrinth of Tube tracks—both fully functional and obsolete—wind beneath the streets of London. Last week the city got a whole new subterranean social scene at the House of Vans, a series of five disused tunnels outfitted with bars, a diner, gallery, music venue, and skate … Continued
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Tech NewsDesignUse a Remote Control Robot to Roam a Closed Museum Right Now
Remember way back in February when we reported that this summer you’d be able to remotely control robots to explore the Tate Britain After Dark Well—it’s (finally) this summer, and now’s your chance! Starting this very minute, you can check out the live footage of four bots gone wild—and sign up to make them move … Continued
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Tech NewsA Chat With the Paleontologist Who Unearthed The World’s Biggest T-Rex
The most exciting, confounding movie of this year chronicles a niche news story from two decades ago. Dinosaur 13 is a documentary that delves into the legal, scientific, cultural, and personal dramas that developed when a fossilized, almost fully intact, 65-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton was found by a group of passionate paleontologists in South Dakota. … Continued
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Tech News5 Important Artifacts That Were Lost—And Found—In Museum Storage
“It belongs in a museum!” It’s a common refrain among archaeologists who are passionate about preserving artifacts for future generations. But anyone who’s seen the end of the 1981 documentary Raiders of the Lost Ark knows that precious relics can be easily forgotten once they make it into storage. Okay, Indy’s not real. But it … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Watch The Art In this Gallery Transform When The Lights Go Out
What happens when the lights go out in a Williamsburg gallery? All kinds of cool stuff. Brooklyn- and Barcelona-based graphic designer Alex Trochut has adorned Kinfolk 94 with a series of his trippy glow-in-the-dark art, and the results are pretty awesome. Trochut picked pics for his Binary Prints based on a kind of “city lifestyle” … Continued
Jordan Kushins
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