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Sunday, September 28, 2008

Chemical Tentacles



Link
Scroll down for today's pictures & links.

Chemical Tentacles

This is perhaps the most bizarre chemical reaction that exists - it involves a piece of mercury thiocyanide, which while decomposing produces bizarre, seemingly never-ending tentacles. Warning! do not attempt - the reaction byproducts are highly toxic



url

Today's pictures & links:

Close-up of a wet leaf


(image credit: Sophie)

Just one of many fascinating macro-photography images in this Wired' collection.

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More whimsical book art (or art out of books)

Following up our last article on this subject, here are a few more good examples:



Ads for the Anagram bookstore in Prague, image via

"Biografias - Buechersturz" installation at the OK-Centrum:



And then these rolls of chopped used paperbacks we discovered in the store window in Carmel Plaza, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California:


(image by Avi Abrams)

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Best Science Images of 2008

Some incredible scientific imagery at this National Georgaphic gallery:

"Squid Suckers: The Little Monsters That Feed the Beast"


(image credit: Jessica Schiffman)

This is actually an array of suckers found on the tentacles of a long-finned squid. Each sucker (a little smaller than the width of a human hair) is surrounded with "fangs" of chitin, a hard organic material. The squid keeps these guys under control, don't worry.

From the 2007 Honorable Mentions: Glowing Insect?

No, this is actually a CT image revealing the delicate structures underlying the human nose.


(image credit: Kai-hung Fung)

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Mixed fresh links for today:

Before Music Dies: 1 hr documentary - [thought-provoking]
Abandoned Chanute Air Force Base - [abandoned]
Six Deadly Insects - [wow nature]
Top Futuristic Cell Phone Designs - [gadgets]
The Hills Have Eyes (in the flavelas of Rio) - [urban art]
Riding the Ekranoplan - [cool tech]
Top Ten Modernist Gas Stations - [design]
Smoke Eddies in Water (w/music) - [cool video]
Dork plays with extinguisher - [fun video]
Chameleon - [cute animation]
Chemical Tenticles - [wow video]

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Russian Strategic Bomber Tu-160

Russian pilots call them "White Swans" and Americans call them "Blackjack" - either way, this graceful plane looks somewhat like B-1A American bomber, but is actually larger, has better range and is significantly faster. Since their first introduction in 1987, "White Swans" were a source of pride in Russian (and Ukrainian) Air Force:



"On 17 August 2007 President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was resuming the strategic aviation flights stopped in 1991, sending its bomber aircraft on long-range patrols. On 25 December 2007, two Blackjacks came close to Danish airspace, and two Danish Air Force F-16s scrambled to intercept and identify them." Looks like this impressive plane is going to see more action... and is nowhere near retirement.




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The eyes tell the story


(Photo by Subhasish Karmakar, National Geographic)

"Holi is a very popular festival in India. It's a festival of love, joy and life. People of all ages come out on the street with vibrant colors on their face, and apply colors to others on the street. This little girl was standing in one corner, her face full of colors but her eyes telling a different story. She was in her own world. This contrast in her physical colorful appearance and inner thoughtful soul captured my attention"

Another great collecion of photographs from India (Kashmir) can be enjoyed here:

Houseboat on Dal Lake:



Selling Fruit of Lotus:


(image credit: Basharat Shah)

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Share!


(original unknown)

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China... more than a little surreal

See more landscapes like this on this DRB page.


(original unknown)

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Army's hardest (and more peaceful) moments:




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Mystery Photo

Does anyone recognize this?
UPDATE: This is a Hundertwasser Building in Vienna, Austria, designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.



The U-shaped building's unique facade does not follow a regular grid organization, and the diagonal roof — planted with grass, shrubs, flowers and trees — rises like a ramp along the U-form. Of the 1,000 windows, no two windows are the same, and trees grow out from many of them. (more info)

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COMMENTS:

4 Comments:

Blogger lImbus said...

The "Mystery Photo" very much looks like something of Hundertwasser, but I do not recognize or know it, as a matter of fact.
Could also be Gaudi/Dali.

~lImbus

___  
Anonymous tsujiGIRI said...

Its the hunderwasser building in Darmstadt. Every window of the tausend windows is an unicate an handmade.

A friend lives there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldspirale

___  
Anonymous tsujiGIRI said...

Sorry for the mistakes.

It's the Waldspirale from Hundertwasser in Darmstadt. Every window of the tausend windows is an unique and handmade.

___  
OpenID leatherdoll said...

Pet peeve: It's tentacles, not tenticles! :)

___  

Post a Comment

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  • Wow, Thats a good use for books no doubt. Quite fascinating indeed.

    Jiff
    www.privacy.es.tc
    Read more

  • Wow that is amazing. Who comes up with this stuff?
    Read more

  • Some of this stuff is gorgeous. I'm one of those people who is a little iffy about destroying books, but I think the only person who's really *destroyed* anything is whoever created the first eight pieces. Using a book to make art is not so bad as long as that art is beautiful; the first few just look like piles of trash.
    Read more

  • s'better than readin' 'em!

    FilthyRichmond.com
    Read more

  • I know shameless self promotion is in bad taste, but my work is very similar in that I deconstruct books to create new books. Feel free to check out www.matthewhall.info to see it.

    My compliments to the artists and author of this post. It is always nice to see that I am not the only one that finds old books to be a wonderful medium for new work.
    Read more

  • and only 6 comments for so great post? wow quite impressive.

    thanks for the great collection, you must have spent lots of time to collect them
    Read more

  • Ah yes, the heady aroma of rotting paper, foxing and mildew...my nose hurts--somebody open a window!
    Read more

  • Excellent post - it's also very nice to see the care you put into crediting and linking the original artists.
    Read more

  • wow. great collection. I love these images. Its great to see how creativy is taken to such a detailed level
    Read more

  • Readful compilation! ;D

    But you mean "Instructables", not "Inscrutables" (altho that could've been a funny Freudian slip).
    Read more

  • Biografias - Buechersturz: http://www.ok-centrum.at/presse/downloads/schaurausch/DSCF7643_40.jpg
    Read more

  • It's the information conveyed by books that's critical, not books themselves. Books are analogous to hard drives, TVs, radios; not to data, movies, or music. Lining walls with books that aren't read -- most homes and libraries -- provides good insulation, especially from radiation. Merely possessing a book conveys no information.

    My only comment is that I'd value most of the art illustrated less than I would recycling books into coffee cups or napkins. Simply burning books adds to greenhouse gases without much redeeming value.
    Read more

  • It's hard to explain poetry to those who only see prose.
    Read more

  • That's splendid !
    Read more

  • @ Isa, I do think the first eight are beautiful !

    I am iffy about destroying books, but with the caveat that there must be a purpose, and also my thougths about printed material have changed over 15 years, with digital saving of printed materials, and as long as the books treated in this way are not rare

    i see many books throw out on trash day, and also old books thrown out by our local library when they reach a certain stage of wear
    Read more

  • The best comment I've ever heard on the ethics of book-cutting art was in an article that involved cutting up a thesaurus. The dilemma was solved: "... but that's ok, because I don't believe in synonyms."
    Read more

  • These are fabulous! I'm making mail art out of my own book and loved seeing what others are doing.
    Read more

  • If you are looking for free books that are otherwise going to be thrown out, you should try checking your local ReUseIt Network group. It's a great place to find things like this for free!

    http://www.reuseitnetwork.org/
    Read more

  • Some of this is quite nice. Although I can't see using any of my own books for art, I would like to have some of these pieces.
    Read more

  • I don't the mind the use of the newer fiction novels or the stuff bought in bulk via Goodwill for the art installments but things like the desecration of the original Alice in Wonderland leaves me rather speechless. I have a love of books and it's great to see that they are a popular medium but to see antiquarian books destroyed like that doesn't sit with me at all. As the world turns more digital with the E-Books and the Kindle- printed books will become much harder to keep and preserve.
    Read more

  • interesting that you pick a sculpture from the monastic library at melk.

    adso of melk was the viewpoint character in eco's "name of the rose", which centered on a monastery library.
    Read more

  • :(
    Read more

  • I've seen some of these before and I always enjoy seeing them. Yours seems to be the best compilation of them. Nice job.
    Read more

  • if you want to find out more about brian dettmer, the man and artist, check this post out

    brian dettmer: book autopsies

    he was so incited by herocious that he personally left a rather lengthy comment.

    got a laugh out of it at least.
    Read more

  • The humanoid book sculpture linked to at Aron Packer Gallery is also by Brian Dettmer.
    Read more

  • I think it's just recycling books that would end up in the trash. It looks like many of these books were already damaged. At any rate, it's beautiful art work, extremely creative.
    Read more

  • Read more

  • The guy/gal in the orange helmet thingy, reminds me of the Utwig in Star Control 2 game
    Read more

  • Re: Trucker paints his cab and trailer with the names of all who lost their lives at 9/11

    ...

    That ain't paint. Looks more like a big vinyl application (clipart for the scroll...sigh) to me, especially judging by the sign company name on the back and the use of boring fonts. Painting implies time and effort, applying vinyl, not so much.
    Read more

  • My daughter keeps this specimen also, look here:
    http://www.voodooschaaf.org/blog/?p=204

    Greez,
    Shura and the whole bunch
    Read more

  • Yup - a giant African land snail, biggest land snail on the planet and often kept as a pet. Very handsome creature! It is also edible. I remember an unexpected encounter with a crate full of them at a market in London. If i hadn't had a long train-ride home i would have bought some!! But visions of 20 giant African land snails roaming a South-Eastern train late at night stopped me - unfortunately!!
    Read more

  • Thank you Shura and azc - post updated... David, giant African land snails set loose on a train - sounds like an idea for a summer movie.
    Read more

  • About that shower head next to the toilet... I saw this in the toilets at my employer's offices in India. It has to do with Islamic toilet rituals: Muslims are supposed to wash themselves after using a toilet. In more modernized places they now use Bidets.
    Read more

  • So...what´s up with the first building?

    It´s not specially beatiful but it´s a quite functional building. Not to live there but perfectly OK for an office or small company in an industrial zone.
    Read more

  • I have a mildly similar (but bigger) washroom in my apartment in South Korea. You can clearly tell that it's a handheld showerhead, so you wouldn't be showering directly over the toilet.

    Re "These apartments are overpriced" -- looks more like that's a shack for construction workers. Still a funny juxtaposition though.

    And I would drink at that coffin bar for sure.
    Read more

  • ryben., the 1st building doesn't have a door... just windows that are 1 foot off the ground
    Read more

  • Hey, Anonymous: Couldn't there be a door or two on the other two walls?
    I have to agree with Ryben - more info is called for.
    Read more

  • By Japanese standard it's fracking luxurious... Don't believe the dysneyland view they offer... 10 % of buildings are antisysmic and uglier than all of these (except maybe 3 buildings in Tokyo, that you will find on everypostcards)... the rest of the country is made of wood huts...
    Read more

  • @ Coligny.. are you for real?
    Idiot.
    Read more

  • Ryben - the buildings upside down! Looks like a B.S Johnson job to me...

    Also I think I have to call the author on "temporal housing"...unless Dr Who has had a major change of career ;)
    Read more

  • The first building just looks unfinished.
    Read more

  • about building #6... I'd be interested to know where this builing is the "cottage house with dreams of being a castle" If it was in England, it might make sense that it was tall.... looks like there were several building phases and I know at some point the UK had a roof tax to try & tax the wealthy... the larger the roof, the more tax, so it'd make sense to expand your house up with a small roof. Just a thought.
    Read more

  • Heh. So many russian/ukraininan buildings.

    They're architecturally innovative!
    Read more

  • lol at the third picture. I guess the person on the end wasn't satisfied with the size of the original window. Is that a door behind it???
    Read more

  • oops Sorry 4th picture^^^^^^^
    Read more

  • This picture with photos of people looking out of windows is from Tartu, Estonia. Its on corner in front of University building. People on photos are locally well known - artists, actors, professors. Building windows on this wall has been closed for very long time, so to make town nicer and to promote good people photos were made there.
    Read more

  • I love the hanging Christ-shaped electric post.
    Read more

  • #5 does not say 'smells like a russian spirit'

    Its difficult to translate things like spirit and soul because they mean different things in every culture, but a direct, rough translation would be:

    here is the russian breath
    here is the smell of russia

    The word for soul in Russian has the same root as the word for breath.

    The building might be a museum dedicated to Russian history or something.
    Read more

  • I wonder, what does "tongue-in-cheek" translate into Russian as...
    Read more

  • Ryben, anonymous, eric, the answer to the question lies in looking -through- those windows. If you would like to work in that building I invite you to do so... but you should be warned that you will be working behind a two-walled structure.
    Read more

  • That it is an incomplete structure is obvious. That does not make it fit the category.
    Read more

  • Your selection of "Architectural Horrors" is so bourgeois and close-minded... Some of these buildings are actually more interesting from an urban point of view than any exotic titanium mash-up from Frank Gehry.
    Read more

  • The weird thing about the mini-escalator photo is that it has stairs leading up to it!
    Read more

  • "That it is an incomplete structure is obvious. That does not make it fit the category."

    ... what category? Has the blogger made any claims whatsoever about what he planned on showing? I have become so annoyed lately with people complaining about bloggers posting "irrelevant" things on their blogs. They own the blogs! They can post whatever they want! What is someone with your level of seriosity doing looking at a blog like this anyway?
    Read more

  • The category is "architectural Horrors", stated clearly at the header to the post, and beneath it a clear and succinct paragraph stating his intention for the rest of the posting.
    Our good webmaster invites responses, to which I've read nothing offensive or insulting here... simply inquiry-oriented... except from you and someone yelping about bourgeois & close-minded westerners - both anonymous.

    Chill. Enjoy.
    Read more

  • Those stairs that lead to nowhere
    looks like MC Escher made it
    Read more

  • coundnt stop loughing at the "a hybrid"....
    thanks for the wicked collection!
    Read more

  • 'A gentlemen´s duel'... superb !!!!
    Read more

  • Google
    Error
    Not Found
    The requested URL /abramsv/SNXj8c6IwxI/AAAAAAAAfY0/b3TGt-btAOcs1600-h/er6turfgjgh.jpg was not found on this server.

    Even Google didn't like the green astroturf Caddy limo.
    Read more

  • Eh, I went in a limo once for my Year 12 Formal, and was very underwhelmed.
    Read more

  • "King of all Hummers?"
    Only of you don't consider the ability to go off road a requirement.
    Read more

  • I'd like to see a Ferrari Limo!!!
    Read more

  • BATMOBILE LIMO!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/74189386@N00/582645535/
    Read more

  • A lot of the limos look like they're from Playboy - which obviously would be completely over the top. The interior design looks pretty much similar only different colors.

    Anyways, can you imagine the gasoline cost on those?
    Read more

  • Should have a couple of extras on the Smart Car order sheet;

    Function: Optional
    Form: Not Available
    Read more

  • Couple more that might interest you:

    1. Tank Limo (actually a cut'n'shut FV432 troop carrier):

    http://www.tanklimo.com/

    2. BRDM limo - not stretched as such, but certainly pimped-out by the Russian entrepreneur who owns it:

    http://www.englishrussia.com/?p=381
    Read more

  • Best one is the Limo Hearse in Dallas,Tx. You can see pics on myspace.com/limohearse . We are actually using their red one for our wedding. :D
    Read more

  • Prius Limo:

    http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/non-solar/prius-stretch-limo-achieves-50mpg-and-seats-8/
    Read more

  • Maybe gas shortages are actually a good thing. That's all I can think after looking at these. Oh, yeah, and I'm a social worker, and I work every day with the people that our society has decided to throw away and judge as unworthy. There are fewer resources every day to try to help as many people as we can, but if we go down, we'll go down fighting. And meanwhile people are spending money on limos like these... it makes me sick, and it should make any moral human being sick too.
    Read more

  • The sooner we run out of oil the better.
    Read more

  • Disgusting. Not only are these vulgar monstrosities being built to chug up already over-congested roads and fill the air with ozone-depleting CO2, but some people find them 'great'. Meanwhile, how well do you think they're going to float when the sea-levels are above your window-sill? I am a graphic designer - those who like limos need to question their taste (if applicable) and their ethical values.
    Read more

  • What's a "social worker"? Methinks you're an enabler. Just as guilty as the people who build and rent these wasteful monstrosities. But...you're vastly more morally reprehensible.
    Read more

  • The Valley Baptist Church limo -- the rusted out one toward the bottom of the stack -- is an older Checker Airport limo, and they were actually quite functional at the time they were built, being designed to haul large numbers of passengers between hotels and airports. They've pretty much been supplanted by mini-buses and vans now and have gone the way of the classic Checker taxi cab.
    Read more

  • the lamborghini limo is a fake, isn't it?

    The 3rd one from top is great! I would make that one my personal playboy limo, of course full of playmates!:D

    By the way, it's a big no-no a playboy limo without playmates!;D
    Read more

  • limousines hire is the best thing ever to happen in the uk. They have become very popular over the years and the limo industry emply many people.
    Read more

  • I hired a limo for my prom in birmingham and i was overwhelmed at the amount of extras that were in the limousine including tv screens and dvd players with brilliant lighting. it was brilliant if your looking to get the best limousines go to the link below.

    http://www.hirelimobirmingham.co.uk/
    Read more

  • I agree i hired a hummer limousine and it was immense, it had everythign and the size of it was very big. I enjoyed every minute of it and the service was brilliant to.
    Read more

  • we hired a limo to go with our rolls royce phantom and the limo was huge. i did not realise how big these cars are.
    Read more

  • There's a lovely gullwing limo here in peterborough it's a 300c it's known locally as the baby Bentley. i'll try to get a photo.
    Read more

  • The pics of the guy on the skycraper were made by Charles Ebbets circa 1930. You can see many more here:

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/5617915/Charles-C-Ebbets-Photography-Lunch-on-the-skyscraper
    Read more

  • I have had the chance of swimming in Pamukale before it was forbidden. There are also man-made pools. The water is dense... The first time I was there I dived... and hurt myself.
    The natural pools are a real dream! Too bad we are so many on this planet!
    Read more

  • I can't eat it becaue I hate carrots! =P
    Read more

  • There's a pool up at the top of Pamukale where you can dive under Roman columns. It's from a thermal spring, so I was able to swim there last November. Well worth a visit.
    Read more

  • As a sad note - Ian Hibell was killed last month in Greece.

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4673693.ece
    Read more

  • Hello, just to clarify... North and South America are ONE continent, not two.

    Take care!!
    Read more

  • er, well actually, not.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continents
    Read more

  • Thanks!! I missed that information!!

    7 continents

    http://geography.about.com/od/learnabouttheearth/qt/qzcontinents.htm

    Nice work!
    Read more

  • About the continents. There are several different views. In the US the 7 continent view is taught. In Latin America the 6 continent view (one American continent) is taught. In Russia and Japan, they teach a 6 continent view, where Europe and Asia are joined.
    Read more

  • I'm surprised this article doesn't cover illegal immigrants at all- how do they deal with this patch of jungle? Many illegals immigrants to the US come from South America, so how does this factor into their journies?
    Read more

  • Are there any roads at all which links Panama to Colombia?
    Read more

  • "Are there any roads at all which links Panama to Colombia?"

    Who knows? Perhaps someone should write an article called "Darien Gap: The Most Dangerous (Absence of a) Road", the entire point of which would be to point out that there is no road (at all) between Panama and Columbia.
    Read more

  • @ Anon:

    Most fly to Mexico
    Read more

  • Cool pics! I have a song about this:

    http://www.joshwoodward.com/song/DariénGap
    Read more

  • About continents. In Russia, there are two words for continents. There are 6 "materik"'s including Eurasia and 7 "kontinent"'s where Europe and Asia are separate.
    Read more

  • Traveled to the Darien in 96. Very cool place. Tons of bugs and travel was slow. There isn't to much to see there except the cool bugs, people groups, and the beautiful jungle.
    Read more

  • Helga Pendersohn a Norwegian has done the Darien Gap on a motorcycle his account can be found in his website he also has some great photos from there.
    Read more

  • Does this mean that when at the end of Prison Break Season 3, when that guy DRIVES from Panama to a Colombian city somewhere they were making it up?!

    LOL
    Read more

  • Did you know that Scotland tried to colonise Darien in the 1690s?

    The scheme failed, bankrupted Scotland and indirectly led to the act of union forming the United Kingdom.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darien_expedition
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  • Hi: I´m Colombian and I just wanted to clarify something, in the Darien Jungle, lo cated between Colombia and Panamá there are no activities of El Salvador troops, only Colombian army and guerrillas and I guess that the people from Panamá have to have some people there, but from El Salvador?...If they are there they are illegaly i guess.
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  • A major contributing factor for why there is no road through this area is that the nations of North America want to prevent the spread of hoof and mouth disease, which is endemic in South America. So Darien is, in effect, a quarantine tool. Let's face it, if the US wanted there to be a road through Darien, there would be a road. But since it doesn't, there isn't.
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  • Been there.

    I was born and raised in Panama. In 1976, I went via private plane into the Darien. We landed on a very scary grass strip. Our objective was to bring medical supplies to a small mission serving the indigenous Choco indians.

    The Choco were thought to be headhunters. I saw shrunken heads hanging from their huts, but that doesn't mean they ate anyone. I don't really know.

    Back then, the Darien dangers were the wildlife and the "headhunters." The road supposedly couldn't be cut back then because of limited technology - the jungle grew over the slow attempts to cut through before any headway could be made. I do suspect the U.S. could cut the road if they really wanted it done, like one of your Anon comments pointed out. We don't have the same presence there anymore, so it's moot now.

    Great post! Thanks for the update.
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  • if america is one continent
    then afroeurasia is another
    plus oz & antarctica make 4
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  • It is Helge Pedersen. Helga is a female name. If you search for Helge Pedersen, you will find the information about the Norwegian motorcyclist and his journey.
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  • been to the end of the road, in 1984, no waves there, as someone said, if USA wanted a road, it would be done
    hoof and mouth i agree is probably the main reason
    I live in El Salvador, since 1994, dom not know whay those guys were in there?
    and for me, Colombians are the finest folks in the world som quite dissing them and you can catch a ferry from Colon tro Barranquilla, or a small steamer from Balboa to Buenaventura, been there 3 times
    just have a smile, be nice and try to speak some spanish the indigenous folks is another story
    otherwise, a very cool post
    see you at Bubba's next year on El Boqueron
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  • I would love the trek the Darian. Should anyone ever want to do this with another experience harsh jungle and desert environment photographer, please let me know.
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  • Shaan, I'd say you'll need a full Catachan regiment as an escort to mke it safely. ;)
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  • My Peace Corps motorcycle instructor, the late great Ed Culberson rode, dragged, and carried his motorcycle through the Darien Gap and became the first person to complete the Pan American Highway on a motorcycle. He wrote a book about his adventure. Obsessions Die Hard
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  • Thank you Ted, - great tip about the book!
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  • That unidentified "plant" is a sort of mealy bug.
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  • Just got back from the Darien a week ago. I had no problems and even made some friends.

    Look:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHMSDCpaInw
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  • Seems like you had a great trip - great video!
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  • re popping popcorn with cellphones - see http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2008/06/orville-redenba.html
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  • Yeah, the popcorn cell phone trick is a fake viral video ad. Old news.
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  • The Lite Mate looks like one of the bizarre typewriters from Naked Lunch...
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  • Pretty sure that cat in a SCUBA suit was from an ad for kitty litter.
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  • Great site- full of very interesting things!! love the posting on "The Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth"

    www.fishmix.net
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  • First!!!
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  • Wow!!! A very very awesome post here on DRB!!! What about the A380 though? Is it not going to be one of the biggest planes when it becomes more common in service soon??
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  • Antonov isn't Russian, but an Ukrainian plane. It was constructed during the Soviet Union years, though.
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  • It should be A-380 in the text now... fixed.
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  • Great article! Keep it up.

    Grz, Godius
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  • One you missed- Boeing have butchered a 747 in order to make something capable of carrying 787 fuselage parts- as they can' go hiring an Airbus now, can they? The thing is called the "Large Cargo Freighter" (LCF), and has a huge barrel fuselage starting about where the "bump" should go back down.
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  • Love the article!

    What was that lockheed nuclear plane called? Where can I read more about the concept?
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  • and no pic or anything abaot the DO-X
    ??? DORNIER ..was the best!!!
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  • The powered version of the Me 321 Gigant was designated the Me 323.
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  • Note that in the Antonov An-225 landing gear picture the first tyre is bald with a little bit of canvas showing through at the base. I guess there are a few other tyres to take the strain when that one blows out ;)
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  • Yeah, the Antonov was on the Ukranian property at the time of the split and they managed to snatch it.

    Was made by Russians originally for the Buran space shuttle.
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  • DanG! Did you notice the size of those cannons on the Russian Ka-7? Wow due that thing meant serious business.

    Jiff
    www.anonymize.us.tc
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  • I wish someone would supersize my Mercury Cougar.

    filthyrichmond.blogspot
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  • the last picture is a boeing 747, not the a380.
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  • I was always hoping for a plane that would span 20 floors/levels high, sorta an apartment complex in the air.

    I guess that would have been the next step had zeppelins actually been sustainable.
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  • Surprised you didn't include the aircraft that the An-225 was based on, the An-124. This is also bigger than the biggest US cargo aircraft, the C-5.

    A few monster-sized planes left out that are also impressive:

    A cargo version of the B-36 was built: the XC-99. Only one was built, and after service as a cargo carrier in the Korean War was put out to pasture. It is currently awaiting restoration at the USAF Museum.

    The Martin Mars, four of which were built in the 1940s for the US Navy, were the largest flying-boats to enter service. Two are still flying, as enormous water-bombers fighting fires in British Columbia.

    Along the same lines, the Saunders-Roe Princess was designed after WWII to fill a perceived need for a luxurious long-distance flying-boat passenger liner. Unfortunately, delays in construction along with the advent of more practical long-range airliners (such as the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, based on the B-29) killed any hope of the Princess going into service.

    The Bristol Brabazon was designed by the same committee that outlined the need for the Princess. This huge prop airliner, around the same size as a 747, was only built to carry about 100 passengers and was deemed economically unfeasible.
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  • The Atlant maybe the only plane able to carry something bigger than itself, but it certainly isn't the only one to carry something heavier than itself. The PAC Cresco has a dry weight of about 1.3 tonnes, but can carry 2 tonnes of cargo off the ground.
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  • The Spruce Goose flew for a mile, not 70 feet. 70 feet is the altitude it reached, not the distance.
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  • The Guppy looks kind of um... hydrocephalic...
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  • The AN-225 was actually on the ground in Philadelphia at the time of the split. It sat around for a couple of weeks waiting for a decision to be made about to where it was going to fly "home."

    Eventually declared a Ukrainian ship, local Ukrainian immigrants helped set up fund raisers for the crew, including tours of the massive beast (I got inside, what a marvelous piece of engineering.)

    I remember they had a Christmas tree set up in a corner of the cavernous hold. They sold souvenirs-Pins and postcards.

    I have a coffee cup that says:
    MRIYA
    Philadelphia-Ukraine
    November 15-17,1991.
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  • Jeremy - great info, will go into Part 2

    Jeff - flight length fixed

    Mriya coffee cup would be something that DRB store would sell :)
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  • The first Ka-7 pic (the one with the cannon) is obviously fake. Impressive aircraft nonetheless, had no idea it existed until I read this article. The Russian aviation museum in the link was also new to me. Thanks!
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  • I recall attending an airshow outside of Boston. To enter the show the crowd walked through a C-5, that's a big plane. Come to think of it, it was the same day a bunch of us were crowded into the tail of a KC135 tanker when a crewman came back and asked us to slowly walk forward so the nose wheel wouldn't slam back down onto the tarmac too hard. Aircraft wheelies! Too cool.
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  • The first Ka-7 picture is not a Ka-7, it's something much bigger, which almost certainly was never built. The ka-7had six, then in later modification, seven engines.
    This monster, in cg image form, not a real photo, has at least ten engines, many more wheels, a vastly larger fuselage...
    I'd be interested, though, to find the original source of that image...
    Oh.. and the truck is not a soviet 1930s truck either... looks more american in origin.
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  • i think the super guppy is kind of cute. some rich guy should turn one into a luxurious flying mansion.
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  • I like all the aero planes, especially the old ones. There is a history covered in these pictures. I also have a great collection of my favorite jet planes and soon I will exhibit them.
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  • Well, if some countries get off their asses and give Beriev some funding, we'll have a new king of the skies - and it'll be amphibious to boot. The Beriev Be-2500 is planned to have a 156m wingspan!! That's almost double the An-225's
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  • In the mid 1970's, I was at an air show in Cleveland. They had a C-5A Galaxy there. To give you an idea of the size of this brute, there were three members of the aircrew standing on top of the horizontal stabilizer, flying a kite!
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  • Good post, but why is it that people always manage to forget that the Wright Brothers WEREN'T the first to manage sustained flight, and that the first was actually Richard Pearse, only a few days earlier, or weeks perhaps, than the Wright Brothers, across the world down in a little place called NEW ZEALAND!!! Just because we're small, it doesn't mean we should be forgotten. The two flights were completely unrelated, btw.
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  • Wowwwww..!! what an impressive collection.

    Thanks for sharing this insightful view of the aviation industry, i always found it very intriguing.
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  • There was another "monster" that is almost an aircraft. It flew, but not very high. Some of the WIG or Wing In Ground effect aircraft were huge. These Ekranoplan types were called the "Caspian Sea Monsters". http://www.globalaircraft.org/planes/lun_ekranoplan.pl
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  • Aqui em Portugal, agora usamos expressões para expressar o quão boa uma gaja é, assim: "Olha que avião! Comi-a toda..." ou "É mema boa! É um autêntico 747..." Nesse caso acho que a Beyonce seria um A380 a Ivanka Trump o An-225 e a Lucy Pinder um C-5 Galaxy
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  • Here is the translation of this comment from Portuguese:

    "Here in Portugal, now we use words to express how good it is a girl, thus: "Look at that plane! Ate it all ..." or "It's good MEMA, it is an authentic 747 ..." In this case I think that Beyonce would be an A380 Ivanka Trump to the An-225 Lucy Pinder and a C-5 Galaxy"
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  • Quote:
    Anonymous said...

    i think the super guppy is kind of cute. some rich guy should turn one into a luxurious flying mansion.
    end quote.

    Or a small flying Country! The rich guy would now be the president or king. And secede from his country of origin, and invite others. Just a thought.

    The idea's based loosely on this.
    Give it a Splat!
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  • Awesome picks! These picks are enough to motivate some students to make the career as commercial pilot. Some flight schools also give online pilot training to the students. So, interested students can take the information and training from these sites.
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  • GREAT post. you always post a couple of things I've never seen before.

    Another aircraft I recommend checking out is the 'Tarrant Tabor'. An amazing but disasterous machine

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrant_Tabor
    http://www.airwar.ru/image/idop/bww1/tabor/tabor-3.jpg
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  • Aces up, Avi! Excellent stuff!

    Came across this a while ago -- Saunders-Roe was approached by P&O Lines about a titanic flying boat for the London-Sydney run. SARO began designs for a 1000 passenger airliner with five decks and 24 Rolls-Royce jet engines (!!!!!!!)

    http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread198736/pg1
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  • source of the CG KA-7/K-7 rendering:

    http://www.rusring.net/~levin/k7/k777.htm
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  • The Urban Camouflage is in China, not North Korea.
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