“Klaatu barada nikto.” Keanu Reeves isn’t quite human. // Rooftops, NYC. // Inflatable church. // Portable fish bowl. // “Those on a meat-free diet [are] six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.” (h/t, Lasso of Truth.) // Great moments in horror kitsch: The Fly finale. (1986) // Dissecting toothpaste. (h/t, Quipsologies.) // The evolving anus. // Bits of things. (h/t, Coudal.) // Tetris tiles. Go quietly insane. // The undersides of aircraft. // Where is your surname popular? // Soundscapes of vanishing habitats. // More academic impartiality. (h/t, Lurker24.) // Presidential campaign commercials, 1952-2008. // Spanking for beginners. // One track mind. // Bond. // Obotek rayguns. // Art with extra duck. (h/t, Tim239.) // And, via The Thin Man, it’s Ms Grace Jones.

The new 122-second ad for Hovis. A journey home from the shops, through 122 years.

Agency: MCBD. The making of. More. (h/t, The Thin Man.)

Hurricanes, seen from space. // Tilt and shift. Make big things seem small. // The ultimate masculine barbecue. // The deep dish pizza vending machine. // “After the liquor was smoky, he filtered out the bacon pieces and chilled the vodka to congeal the fat.” (h/t, Ace.) // Ejector seat tests we have known and loved. // The typewriter sculptures of Jeremy Mayer. // Robert Hughes: American Visions. A history of American art. // Visual migraine, visualised. (h/t, Dr Westerhaus.) // The otherworldly Socotra Island. // Homes that defy gravity. // More dwellings of note. // Fish condo. (h/t, The Thin Man.) // Greensleeves played on a Theremin. (h/t, Coudal.) // Cockatiels perform The Imperial March. // Christina Hoff Sommers on the war against boys. (h/t, Jeff.) // Bruce Bawer on multicultural doublethink. Soaping the vanities of our would-be overlords. (h/t, Cookslaw.) // Stalin and genetics. // Cold War concept cars. // Alan Moore on comics, politics and Watchmen. // And, via The Thin Man, it’s Ms Carmen McRae. 

Busy today, but I thought you might like to see this exploding banana mask.

You heard me.

When the parachute doesn’t open. (h/t, Dr Westerhaus.) // Your very own dinosaur suit. Frighten children, impress women. More. // Idhi oka idi le. Bollywood psychedelia. // Bicycles with enormous speakers. It’s a thing, apparently. // Stop-motion fireworks. // Stop-motion chalk. (h/t, 1+1=3.) // Water sculpture. // Bruce Mozertom’s underwater photography. (1938) (h/t, DRB.) // Japanese goblin shark. Does anything about it look… familiar? // Guinness and light. // Sun spots and climate change. // Sunglasses of the Sixties and Seventies. (h/t, Anna.) // Nigerian man to divorce 82 of his 86 wives. // The size of Africa. (h/t, Norm.) // Michael Jackson at 50. // Tube clocks. // Buildings of note. // A short history of anatomical maps. // Architectural jelly. // Geothermal energy projects. // Deodorising snowflake gun brings joy to consumers. // And, via The Thin Man, it’s Ms Valaida Snow. 

8-metre section of wall rotates for art, causes terrible draught. A snip at £450,000. // Repairing brickwork with Lego. // Jeff Koons’ topiary puppy. // Robot wildlife. I like the owl. // Robotic legs help paralysed walk. // Wrapping asteroids in space. (h/t, The Thin Man.) // How to get rid of things. Stains, smells, mental problems. // Market research for panhandlers. (h/t, Clazy.) // Signs from the Tokyo metro. (h/t, Coudal.) // Sixties’ Batman, rendered in typography. // Build your own Batmobile. // Al Dente. A short film about eating children. // Augmenting video with photographs. // The Touch of Evil opening. (h/t, Anna.) // Bathing suits of the 1900s. // What the Olympic diver saw. // Turntime. // Steve Reich: Sextet, 5th movement. // User interfaces of note. (h/t, Things.) // More musical toys. // And, via The Thin Man, it’s Ms Julie London.

Slightly indecent pulpy goodness. // Slow-motion lightning. // The art of jumping on eggs. From Nationwide, 1974. // Meat cake. Because it can be done. // Name that disease. Family fun. // Looks like human flesh, tastes like bread. Video. // Should boys be circumcised? A debate ensues. // Precision lasers and plausible deniability. // Falcon 1 launch and separation video. Private space travel inches closer. // 2081. The bliss of equality. // A children’s primer of Communism. (h/t, The Thin Man.) // The Ladybird Book of the Policeman. (h/t, Chastity Darling.) // The Umbuster. It’s an umbrella, it’s a knuckle duster. It requires a weapons license. // Black patent faux leather pillow. For the discerning fetishist. (h/t, Coudal.) // Handmade. A short film, plot unclear. // The Jose Vasconcelos Library, Mexico City. // Equipment for handling molten steel. // Audi Symphony. // There’s a monkey on the loose. // And, via The Thin Man, it’s Washboard Sam.

I was surprised to learn there’s sometimes quite a lot of fog in Dubai.   

Photograph taken from somewhere near the top of the Burj Dubai. 

More. Video.

Giant inflatable faeces wreak havoc. (h/t, Metrolander.) // Chewbacca mouse. // A kitten with two faces. // Bug portraits. // Arthropod furnishings. (h/t, Julia.) // Themed restaurants. Cannibalism, robots, eating in total darkness. Also, dining prison-style. (h/t, Coudal.) // The Brunopasso PD-1 espresso machine. // Dental chairs of note. // Human mirror. // “German euro bank notes have a cocaine concentration five times lower than that of the Spanish ones.” // Japan’s coastal tetrapods. // Things that look like Pac-Man. // Matt DeFrain makes odd things out of found objects. (h/t, Ace Jet 170.) // Lyle Owerko’s photographs of boomboxes. // 78s as mp3s. 3,739 of them. Includes Artie Shaw, BB King, Mervin Shiner and a vintage Japanese drinking song. // Pleasing water bottles. (h/t, Quipsologies.) // The waterproof keyboard. // The Piaggio MP3 500. // The philosophical lexicon. (h/t, Norm.) // Jeff Goldstein on soft fascism and “diversity”. // Deogolwulf on the contradictions of Richard Rorty. // Arthur C Clarke’s The Nine Billion Names of God. What could possibly go wrong? (h/t, Drunkablog.) // And, via The Thin Man, it’s Ms Ivy Benson.

Ladies, there’s been a miracle breakthrough. Mary Huang creates “transformative fashions” – specifically, luminous knitwear. 

Readers with “a sense of magic and mystery” can own a scarf and dress embedded with two dozen LEDs. Thankfully, both items can be powered by batteries or from the mains for extra fabulousness. And, as Ms Huang points out, “When not being worn, the pieces double in function as lamps, avoiding the fate of hanging neglected in a closet.”