The year 1899 saw a shocking news story from Australia, in which a dead man won a bicycle race. For this to be at all plausible, you must know that 23-year-old James Somerville was very much alive at the start of the race, but died on the last stretch where he led the field of 50 competitors.

At the start he quickly forged ahead, closely followed by another crack rider named Percy Cliff. They left 48 riders away in the rear and shot around the track almost wheel to wheel. When within 25 yards of the tape Somerville, who still led by half a wheel, was seen to relax his hold on the handlebars. His pedals whirled around, however, and he pluckily held his position. Five yards from the tape Cliff put on a tremendous spurt and struck Somerville’s hind wheel, shooting the machine with its then almost inanimate burden, like a rocket under the tape.

The crowd yelled wildly, but silence ensued when Somerville, after crossing the tape, plunged head foremost from the machine. When picked up he was dead. Physicians who examined his body said he must have had an attack of heart failure on the last lap. Jackson [MI] Citizen Patriot 25 February 1899: p. 1

It was in all the papers, so it must be so, right? It turns out that in the month between the time the race was held in Australia and when the story was published in the US, a lot of details were dropped, assumed, and embellished. Read the true story of James Somerville, who both died and won the race, but not as it was reported, at The Victorian Book of the Dead. -via Strange Company 

(Image source: Flickr user James Vaughan)

The Braizer family of Silverton, Oregon, had a collie named Bobbie. In August of 1923, the family took a road trip to Wolcott, Indiana, to visit relatives, and naturally took their beloved pet with them. But a pack of dogs chased Bobbie off at a gas station stop in Wolcott. The heartbroken family searched for a week, and placed ads in the local paper. They eventually returned home without Bobbie, thinking they would never see him again.

To everyone’s surprise, Bobbie did return, six months after he had disappeared. He hobbled back into Silverton one February day in 1924, ragged, dirty and scrawny with his toenails worn down to nothing. Unbelievable as it may seem, the two-year old puppy had walked 2,550 miles all by himself to get home.

The news of Bobbie’s incredible feat soon spread across the nation, and the Braizer family was flooded with fan mail, some addressed to Bobbie himself. Some people claimed they had seen Bobbie at various places and were able to identify him by his distinguishing features.

The publicity surrounding the dog's feat led to a recreation of his journey, since he had interacted with quite a few people along the way, including a stay with a Portland woman after being injured. Read about Bobbie's incredible journey and his legacy that's still celebrated almost 100 years later, at Amusing Planet. -via Strange Company 

(Image credit: Flickr user Rick Obst)

This unique blown glass piece designed by Jim Rokos and made by glass artist Jochen Holz is called My Other Half. The glass with the lowest level will fill up, so it's necessary to coordinate your drinking with a partner. Rokos designed it as part of a project that he calls Blindspot, which is about how people work together (or don't) as couples.

-via Toxel

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Oleg (@oleg._.c)

Oleg Chernyshenko's feat is so extraordinary that I was inclined to think that the video was fake until I discovered similar accomplishments on his Instagram page. According to the Daily Mail, Chernyshenko completed this series of backflips at Cape Kiwanda, Oregon while his brother ran down the hill recording it.

-via The Awesomer

When surfboards have ceased to be useful on the waves, Claire Marie, an artist in Western Australia, gives them new life. She reinvigorates the boards with vibrant seascapes harkening to past adventures on the water.

Marie explained to My Modern Met that each painting is personalized to the past of the board:

“It’s the small details in the artwork that makes each commissioned surfboard unique and personal but the surfboard itself also holds its own memories from the time it has spent out in the waves,” she continues. “On the back of each board is a small handwritten note which gives a little insight into the story of the board and the artwork.”

The new Star Wars-themed hotel opening at Walt Disney World in Florida next year is more like a fantasy camp experience. Attached to the new Galaxy's Edge theme park, the hotel called Galactic Starcruiser will offer accommodations, meals, and a two-night immersive Star Wars experience for the whole family. It will cost you, though.

The lowest announced pricing tier is $4,809 for two guests. That includes a standard cabin, food and drink (except alcohol, which is extra) and an experience that includes activities such as lightsaber training, bridge crew training and a planet excursion to Batuu (a.k.a. the Galaxy’s Edge park). A family of four can expect to pay a minimum of $5,999.

There are no prices yet listed for the hotel’s upgraded rooms, dubbed the Galaxy Chess Suite — which includes two windows, instead of one, looking out into “space” — and the Grand Captain Suite (three space windows!), but one assumes those prices are most impressive. There are other add-ons too such as Captain’s Table seating rather than eating at communal tables in the “Crown of Corellia Dining Room.”

And that's why people are already calling this resort Canto Bight. If you're willing to pay for it, I'm sure you can extend your stay to four nights or more (or you could send your kids to Space Camp for a week at a fraction of the price). Read more about Disney's Galactic Starcruiser and see the trailer here. -via reddit

In its 3rd season, “When Irish Eyes Are Crying,” Detective Gina Calabrese (Saundra Santiago) falls for an Irish philanthropist—played by Liam Neeson—who turns out to be a former IRA member and current terrorist. pic.twitter.com/tVnjUxRl65

— Daniel Holland🎗 (@DannyDutch) August 4, 2021

The TV series Miami Vice ran for five seasons back in the 1980s. It was extremely popular and had quite an influence on music and fashion, if not drug-smuggling itself. The bad guys changed every episode, so there was a parade of guest actors each week. Some were already stars, while others were up-and-coming actors who are much better known today, almost 40 years later. Daniel Holland put together a Twitter list of those stars, with screenshots as evidence. In fact, you didn't even have to be an actor to play a drug dealer on Miami Vice.

Frank Zappa was known for many things but acting wasn’t really one of them. That’s why it was such a surprise to see him on Miami Vice. Here he plays an intimidatingly persistent character hell-bent on recovering a large sum of money. pic.twitter.com/1t41j61VoM

— Daniel Holland🎗 (@DannyDutch) August 4, 2021

Some you may remember, others may surprise you. See the whole thing at Twitter, with additional contributions in the replies, or at Threadreader. -via Laughing Squid

Watch a bobcat frolicking with her kitten on the roof of a home in Phoenix, Arizona. It was all fun and games for a minute or so, but then she noticed the homeowners recording her through a window. That's where it get weird. Imagine a wild predator staring at you with dilated eyes, just inches away. Sure, there's glass to protect you, but her gaze is enough to make one's stomach twist a little, even on video. -via Boing Boing

How shall we protect our property from people stealing packages away from our front doors? Stage magician and science educator Jason Latimer reasoned that the best way is to convince thieves that there are no packages to steal. He built a box with a mirror that reflects the side wall of his house. As a result, when viewed from the front, the box appears to be a transparent table.

-via The Awesomer

Here’s a guide for your future state-hopping! Man vs. Beast created a map that shows the most dangerous animal in each state. Using the data collected by the CDC, the map actually displays surprising results. For example, deer are the deadliest animals in all of the United States. One would expect that the most dangerous animals in the U.S. would be the ones with sharp teeth, like wolves or snakes. Well, while deer do not have sharp teeth or talons, they harm people in other ways: 

[...]The majority of deer-related human deaths were actually car accidents where the animal appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of the road, causing drivers to lose control of their vehicles.

Looking at the chart above, we can make a similar case for our runner-up deadliest animals: the bees, wasps, and hornets. Though these stinging insects are poisonous, the small amount of toxins that they pump out through their stingers are not enough to cause more than painful swelling in a typical human. However, those with allergies to these poisons can find these stings to be fatal, often needing immediate medical attention or an EpiPen to prevent the worst. 

Photo: Man vs. Beast

One of the most mind-bending ideas in medical science is the concept of growing spare parts to use when ours break down. Andrew Pelling wants to do this using vegetables, by harnessing what makes plants different from animals- their fibrous cellular walls. Believe it or not, Pelling's work was inspired by Audrey II in the movie Little Shop of Horrors.

Around 10 years ago, Pelling, a biophysicist, started thinking with his team about materials that could be used to reconstruct damaged or diseased human tissues. Surrounded by a rainbow of fresh fruits and vegetables at his University of Ottawa lab, Pelling and his team dismantle biological systems, mixing and matching parts, and put them back together in new and creative ways. It’s a little bit like a hacker who takes parts from a phone, a computer, and a car to build a robotic arm. Or like Mary Shelly’s Dr. Frankenstein, who built a monster out of cadavers. Except Pelling’s team has turned an apple into an ear and, most recently, a piece of asparagus into a scaffold for spinal-cord implants.

Pelling believes the future of regenerative medicine—which uses external therapies to help the body heal, the same way a cut heals by itself or a broken bone can mend without surgery—is in the supermarket produce aisle. He calls it “augmented biology,” and it’s a lot less expensive—by thousands and thousands of dollars—than implanting organs donated by humans, taken from animals, or manmade or bioengineered from animal tissue.

Read about Pelling's research, including spinal cord regeneration using asparagus spears at Atlas Obscura.

The Army Corps of Engineers are planning to build a  $6 billion sea wall in Miami in order to decrease the risk of flooding. While this sea wall seems like a good solution, there’s always the possibility of it being easily torn down by a very strong wave or a hurricane. The proposed six mile wall will leave most of the city unprotected: 

[...] the wall will still trap water inside; and the Corps hasn’t closely studied what the construction of a high sea wall would do to water quality. At the same time, it would block the water views that the city’s economy thrives on.

To protect more of the region without losing Miami’s vibrant character, there are ways to pair the strength of less-obtrusive hardened infrastructure with nature-based “green” solutions. With our colleagues at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the College of Engineering, we have been designing and testing innovative hybrid solutions.

Image credit: Ashley Satanosky (Unsplash)

Look closely, there’s an owl perched in front of that tree. Amateur photographer James S. Batuigas was looking for a great grey owl when he spotted one that blended with the bark of a tree. The 45-year-old Canada resident drove for five hours before he spotted one: 

The color and pattern of the owl’s plumage matched the tree it was sitting on so well that the photographer says he would have completely missed seeing the owl there if it hadn’t turned its head to look at him.

The great grey owl (Strix nebulosa) is the world’s largest owl species in terms of length, which can reach 33 inches (84cm). Found across the Northern Hemisphere, the owl can be recognized by the white collar (often called its “bow tie”) found under its face.

Image credit: James S. Batuigas

Kenyan artist Cyrus Kabiru turns trash into intricately-designed eyewear that will make you second guess whether they were made from recycled materials! His work involves collecting trash from Nairobi and turning it into sculptures, eyeglasses, and bicycles. Kabiru’s aesthetic of part afrofuturist, part diesel-punk bleeds into his artworks: 

When in London, “I get shining metals, even some wire and copper – very colourful trash,” he says. “If it’s plastic we get a very bright plastic. You have unique trash. Very clean.” Airport staff are frequently intrigued by the contents of his luggage. Happily, he says, “I connect with everyone very easily. If you’re a pastor, I’ll connect with you very easily; if you’re gangster, I’ll connect with you very easily.”

Now, his C-Stunners are exhibited all over the world, drawing the interest of creatives and tastemakers from designer and curator Duro Olowu to Yasiin Bey, who visited the artist’s studio in Nairobi. Ever more outlandish and mask-like, they defy any normal conception of eyewear.

A 2017 piece is composed of a flattened coral-blue paraffin lamp base, decorated with long metal eyelashes and a piece of circuit board for the forehead, while another almost entirely obscures the face with a sun-like construction featuring a wire mesh centre radiating white spokes.

Image credit: Cyrus Kabiru/ SMAC Gallery.

A few days ago, at around 6:12 PM, a Boeing 747 pilot radioed to report that he spotted “a possible jetpack man in sight” at an altitude of 5000 feet, near the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The Federal Aviation Administration reported in the Los Angeles Times that “air traffic controllers alerted other pilots in the vicinity,” just to be sure. It would also seem that this “jetpack guy” has been disrupting the air traffic in the city for a few times now.

“Use caution, the jetpack guy is back,” said one air traffic alert.

“Did you see a UFO?” one air traffic controller asked a pilot.

“We were looking but we did not see Iron Man,” the pilot responded.

The FBI is working with the FAA to investigate the report, FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller told the Times in an email. The agency has already looked into three other possible jetpack in the skies above Los Angeles, and has “not been able to validate any of the reports,” she said.

What could this be? 

(Image Credit: Pixabay)