The Chemex Coffeemaker is trendy, but it's not new. Dr. Peter Schlumbohm developed it more than 70 years ago! Schlumbohm patented more than 300 devices during his lifetime, making appliances that were simple, functional, and beautiful.
Schlumbohm developed his products by stripping appliances down to their essentials and making them work better. In the vein of modern inventors like James Dyson, Schlumbohm didn’t overload his creations with a jumble of new features—he reshaped the industries he entered through the sheer force of innovative elegance. Maybe that’s why the Chemex still feels so fresh; in a world of overly complex and smirking technology, the Chemex remains a quiet anomaly.
This is a juvenile planthopper. It's about 5 millimeters long. Many planthoppers secrete a waxy substance which forms into long strands. These strands, which can break off, may distract a predator while the insect escapes to safety.
This little critter is one of 60 species that Dr. Trond Larsen of Conservation International discovered documented during an expedition to a rainforest in southeastern Suriname. You can see more photos and a video from the expedition here.
Update 10/7/13 - Molly Berger, editor of Conservation International's Human Nature blog pointed out that the juvenile planthopper pictured is not a new species. It's one of the hundreds of other species documented on this expedition. Thanks Molly!
This is Domino, an Italian greyhound. He looks to have his accelerator stuck while not in forward gear! He's just excited about his dinner being prepared. It must be some high-octane food to keep him at this level of excitement!
Now, it they wanted to name him after a toy, they should have gone with Superball instead of Domino, don't you think? -via Arbroath
Did you get a boo-boo? Here's a band-aid. Attacked by a wild bear? Here's a band-aid.
Sometimes a band-aid isn't enough. The Australian Red Cross wants you to learn advanced first aid techniques. This funny ad by the Moneystack agency shows a woman who has band-aids for people in increasingly dangerous, desperate situations.
Mister Thoms is a multimedia artist in Rome who creates awesome street art. He often designs his work around architectural details, as you can see. Coming across any of these on your travels will make you forget your troubles! Mister Thoms is also a sculptor, illustrator, painter, and digital graphic artist. -via Laughing Squid
Most children in the 1880s had few, if any, portraits taken before they grew up. Franklin Roosevelt, being a child of privilege, had many. Just look at him here with his lovely baby curls and feathered bonnet, in a wicker side-saddle for two with his dog! By the time he was five, he lost his long curls. He eventually got to start wearing pants, too, although his mother put him in a kilt for his 5-year-old portrait. No one knew then that he'd eventually become the best president ever. Buzzfeed culled several pictures of Roosevelt's childhood for your enjoyment.
In ancient times, the origins of cinnamon were a mystery to the Western world, and Arab merchants wanted to keep it that way. To hike up the price, they spun an elaborate tale, claiming that giant birds collected cinnamon sticks from far-off lands and used them to build nests on cliffs. To get the precious sticks, traders laid out massive chunks of ox meat, which the birds grabbed and carried to their nests. But because the slabs were so large, the nests would collapse, allowing the clever merchants to collect their prize.
Europeans bought this story until the late 1400s when the Portuguese found the real source of cinnamon—lush groves in Sri Lanka. Once they’d figured it out, the Portuguese struck a deal with the Sri Lankans to monopolize the trade and built a fort there to protect their assets. They were displaced by the Dutch in 1658, who were subsequently displaced by the Brits in 1796. But by then, the trees had been exported worldwide, so there was little need to fight for a cinnamon fix.
THE POWER OF CUBEB COMPELS YOU
With notes of allspice and clove, cubeb comes from a plant that’s a close relative to black pepper, and it tastes somewhat similar. So it’s no surprise that cubeb was used as a cheap stand-in for its far more expensive cousin during the Middle Ages in Europe and through the 1800s in the U.S. Today, cubeb is rarely found outside Indonesian cuisine, but it’s a key ingredient in a ritual far more interesting than dinner: exorcisms.
In his 17th-century book Demoniality, Italian priest Ludovico Maria Sinistrari recalls that cubeb did wonders for a “young maiden of noble family, who was tempted by an Incubus that appeared to her both by day and by night.” He tossed a few kernels of cubeb into her bedroom, and “the Incubus came, but never dared enter.”
The couch gag opening of The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" episode this weekend was created by Guillermo del Toro and is three minutes long. You may have to watch it twice: once to enjoy it, and once again to see how many horror movie references you can spot, because it's chock full of them! -via Buzzfeed
Sure, they look terrifying to us, but that was the point! Halloween is supposed to be scary, creepy, and simple enough to involve everyone! Sexy, funny, or pop culture costumes had no place in the Halloween of yesteryear. -via Buzzfeed
For some people, pumpkin lattes are enough to satisfy that need for fall flavors, but for the rest of us, we need some actual pumpkin to make the most of the season. And, of course, it's a great option for your Halloween pumpkins if you don't carve them.
While there are hundreds of recipes out there for pumpkin sweets, this pumpkin lasagna is a totally unique and totally tasty option for a delicious main course with everyone's favorite fall flavor. You can find the recipe over at Cake Dutchess.
Atlas Obscura is presenting its annual 31 Days of Halloween series, full of spooky and macabre stories about real people, places, and things. Today, we learn about the Cursed Amethyst.
The Delhi Purple Sapphire (which is not a sapphire) was supposedly stolen from the Temple of Indra in Kanpur, India. Afterward, calamities befell every subsequent owner, including several untimely deaths, and all attempts to dispose of the gem only saw it bounce back. One hapless owner gave it to a friend, who committed suicide and willed the stone back to the one who gave it to him! Another owner, convinced of the curse, threw it in a canal, but it was salvaged and returned to the owner. Finally, Edward Heron-Allen locked the stone away in seven boxes, each within another, and locked it in a bank vault. His wishes were that it not be opened until three years after his death.
Village Voice journalist and radio personality Howard Smith interviewed Janis Joplin by phone on September 30, 1970. No one knew it would be her last interview, and four days later, the 27-year-old singer was dead. Now PBS Digital Studios presents that short interview in animated form.
Joplin talks about seeking approval and dealing with criticism, particularly from the feminist press, which oddly belittled her accomplishments. Even groundbreaking pioneers want to be loved. -via Metafilter
Nicola Shipley of Tattoo-cakes makes these awesome art cupcakes with lips! The bottom right cupcake in the group picture looks as if it has just eaten a cupcake itself, don't you think? She can give them any expression you want, as well as different colors. But Shipley also makes cupcakes with other body orifices on them, so check out the entire collection of artful and offbeat baked goods at Facebook. -via Everlasting Blort
Here we see Wonder Woman (played by Rileah Vanderbilt) being generally tough as nails, in both the modern world and in the mythological pantheon from which she originated. The idea of a Wonder Woman feature film has been talked about for years, with studios considering it, and deciding that it's too difficult, or won't draw enough fans. This short film by Rainfall Films gives the Amazonian the treatment the character deserves. It seems like a teaser for something more to come. Or is that just wishful thinking on my part? Read more about the project at Fan Voice. -via Daily of the Day
