A number of studies have found that facial symmetry plays a role in perceived standards of beauty in both men and women. Generally, the more symmetrical one's facial features are, the more attractive they are considered to be by others.

Experimenting along the lines of that theme, photographer Alex John Beck creates perfectly symmetrical facial portraits by digitally dividing faces in half, matching the the left halves together and repeating the same method with the right halves. The actual portrait is not shown. 

The resulting photo series, which Beck calls "Both Sides Of," creates two portraits that are amazingly different when observed side by side. In some instances it almost doesn't look like the same person. Beck comments via his website:

“The less symmetrical they are initially, the more different the characters suggested by each face. The more symmetrical faces betray their owners more subtly, however, one side proves clearer, the other more inward looking.”

Via Beautiful Decay

  

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A lot of people joke about wanting to be "rich and famous," but if it happened to them, how many would wish it had not, once they realize what their daily life is like? In a video that makes me anxious and want to scream "RUN!" Robert Downey Jr. arrives at the airport in South Korea and is soon surrounded by a throng of screaming people. He proceeds to be good natured about it and dives into what is sure to be a long (and loud) autograph and photo session.

If the crowd wasn't barricaded and under tight security, I can only imagine what the mob would look like. Robert Downey Jr. is rich, famous and handsome, but I can't conceive of wanting to trade places with him (or a female in similar circumstances). I value being able to deplane after a long ride and appear as exhausted and/or crabby as I feel, with no one there to care that all I want to do is get into a cab that takes me to a hotel with great hot water pressure. Via Viral Viral Videos.

A house in the north London neighborhood of Herringay that is a mere seven feet in width was recently listed for £235,000 ($382,959 USD). The slim digs feature two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen, a rooftop terrace and a "bonus" loft space with skylight.

Sandwiched between two average sized homes for that neighborhood, the space was built over a driveway that once existed between the two properties. If no buyers materialize by October 1st, the house will be sold at auction. See photos of the inside of this small-scale setup here. Via Twisted Sifter 

Yesterday I posted a video that shows how the Amish regularly work together to build monuments to community, cooperation and good craftmanship. Though many positive aspects of the Amish way of life exist, this insular religious community is not immune to the scourges of the human existence; greed and betrayal, for instance.

Pictured above is Monroe Beachy, a man familiar in the ways of greed and betrayal. An Amish version of Bernie Madoff, this investment broker is responsible for losing $16.8 million of his Amish clients' money on high-risk stocks. Beachy lied continually to the investors as their money was disappearing. 

Even in the face of such criminal fraud and dishonesty, when Beachy was arraigned, the judge in his case was flooded with letters from the Amish community demanding lenience. They asked that the disgraced broker be freed in order for the Amish elders to mete out punishment within their community, as they do with most bad behavior and crimes, from excessive drinking to rape. The judge refused, and the 78-year-old Beachy was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. 

Read about other instances of Amish oddity — from faceless dolls and "Amish" computers to homicide — here. 

Image credit: Fraud Times

 

Tyrannosaurus rex
 

This playful series by artist Martín Feijoó illustrates the forms his imagination draws when he focuses on clouds. The project, which the artist calls Shaping Clouds, evokes memories I have of playing similar creative games with my peers and family as a child. Unsuprisingly, childhood memories of how cloud formations were explained to him inspired the series. Feijoó says via his Tumblr,

"When I was a child I was told that clouds’ shapes were created by expert balloon twister clowns who live in the sky, so that they can keep entertaining children. On my last trip to Mexico I remembered this and I started to photograph clouds on the road. The result is Shaping Clouds, a series of illustrations where I drew the first thing that came into my mind when I saw these clouds that I imagine someone made for me."

It's interesting how such a simple exercise can make one feel young at heart. Via 22 Words


 Boxing Turtle
 

Charles Darwin

Crocodile

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YouTube user Penny Miller filmed an Amish barnraising in Ohio, which was completed start-to-finish in a mere ten hours. This impressive group effort took place on May 13th of this year. The resulting video is a testament to what people are capable of if they cooperate and work together with a common goal in mind. (It also makes me wonder if I can hire this crew to remodel my kitchen.) Via The Presurfer.

Image: perdidoseachados

This spectacular sight is a cave in Waitomo, a township on the North Island of New Zealand that is populated with glowworms. The cave ceiling, luminous in blue and green, is lit by Arachnocampa luminosa, a species only found in New Zealand and parts of Australia. The "worm" is actually a larva that weaves a web which, when strung from the cave ceiling, resembles a glowing strand of pearls. 

The Māori were aware of this magical cave system for hundreds of years prior to the first official survey, lead by a Māori tribal chief and an English surveyor in 1887. The dazzling lights in what is now known as the Glowworm Grotto had the team awestruck.

Tours of the caves are available to visitors, on which they are treated to a boat ride through the radiant grotto. Yet another reason why I'd love to visit New Zealand! Via Viral Nova.

 Image: desmondkukf

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Airplane stars Robert Hayes and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reunite for this goofy Wisconsin tourism advertisement. Brings back the memories, does it not? I wonder if Leslie Nielsen would have agreed to star in the ad as well? Shirley so. Via Uproxx.

Vimeo Link

This stunning timelapse video of a thunderstorm over downtown Kansas City is shot by photographer Stephen Locke. He calls the video Arcus Cloud Kansas City. When associated with a thunderstorm, an arcus cloud is a low, horizontal shelf cloud attached to the primary (parent) cloud.

Locke loves to capture natural beauty such as this, both in video and still shoots. He writes on his website,

"My life as a visual artist inspires me to explore the mystery of this world. It’s an endless process of inquiry. I photograph the sunrise almost every morning. When I have an open mind I am always there for the very first time and receptive to the creativity of this moment- over and over again."

Via Twisted Sifter

   Octopus Umbrella
    Image: imgur.com


Sometimes it's the little things that make us happy, even on the gloomiest rainy days. Keep your spirits up with your selection from this great collection of umbrellas. There's something for everyone (or every couple, if you consider the umbrella for two). Check out this article to see more. 

   Tree Shadow Umbrella
   Fumito Kogure and Shinya Kaneko, Designers

  Backpack Umbrella
  Hammacher.com

   Dualbrella
   Image: Hammacher.com

   Star Wars LED Umbrella
   Amazon.com
     Full Body Umbrella
  Image: yamuhaton

YouTube Link 

Gordon the pug's people decided to fill his playpen with balls and a few of his favorite toys to see how he would react. This video shows their curiosity being satisfied. If they wanted to wear him out in order to get a more docile dog for a while, it looks like they got what they wanted. Via Tastefully Offensive.

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Marty Todd, also known as YouTube user Buddhanz1, lives on a large plot of land in Nelson, New Zealand with an angry ram he calls Rambro. The Arapawa ram, which Todd rescued from an owner who was going to kill him due to his aggression, got attention worldwide when another video of him charging Todd on his motorcycle went viral. Rambro now has his own Facebook page and a herd of fans.

The ornery animal currently leads a life with his family in this beautiful wilderness. Rambro even stopped being angry long enough to have a new baby, who makes an appearance in another of Todd's YouTube videos. Because Todd hand-feeds the lamb, he says he used a quadcopter drone in an attempt to locate it on the vast expanse of land. Whether he was trying to locate the lamb, provoke Rambro with the drone or a bit of both, only Todd knows, and viewers can come to their own conclusions.

Regardless, when Todd lowered the drone, the ram decided he was going to put a quick end to that buzzing annoyance. Todd went to retrieve the drone and met with the same feisty attitude. Rambro will decide when you can pay him a visit, whether it's in person or with your annoying tech tools, thanks. Via Viral Viral Videos.

Neatorama has previously featured amazing stories of dogs' loyalty after their masters' deaths, as there have been other famous tales of such canine devotion. The story of Greyfriar's Bobby comes to mind as well. The following is another example, which recently took place in India. 

After a teenager named Bhaskar Shri was killed in a car accident, his dog Tommy, with whom the teen was said to be inseparable, stayed at his grave for over two weeks. Refusing to leave even when coaxed, Tommy guarded the gravesite constantly, going 15 days without food.  

When Dawn Williams, an animal rescue officer with the Blue Cross of India, noticed the thin, haggard dog by the fresh grave two days in a row, she grew concerned. She fed Tommy water and biscuits, but he still wouldn't move from the site.

Williams got the story behind the dog's vigil from locals, and then located the teen's mother in order to bring her to the grave. Bhaksar's mother had been unable to find Tommy after her son's death. Williams said of the encounter,

“When Tommy saw her, he jumped on her and was licking her before he rested his face on her feet. It was obvious he knew her. She was really happy he was back. She called him a loyal friend and she would keep him as a reminder of her son.”

Quite a bittersweet story. I hope Tommy and Bhaskar's mother will be sources of comfort to each other. Via Oddity Central. 

Images Credit: Blue Cross of India 

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Walter the Labrador Retriever lives in Sicily, Italy. He gets in a lot of beach time, and has developed an enormous love of ocean swimming. The path to the beach is rambling, but that doesn't slow Walter down. His owner fitted him with a GoPro to catch a beach run from Walter's perspective. His fans were waiting for him on the beach and filmed him in his last stretch before jumping into the sea, as seen in the video below. Gotta admire Walter's lust for life! Via Tastefully Offensive.

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Photographer Anelia Loubser's intriguing series Alienation consists of stark, black-and-white closeups of human faces turned upside down. That simple change of orientation turns the ordinary compelling and the "flaws" unique earmarks. Wrinkles, enlarged pores, skin blemishes and discolorations add to the interest of the photos rather than subtract. Loubser has not only turned the features upside down, she's done the same with traditional beauty standards. 

From Loubser's Behance site comes the following series description:

"Alienation is a collection of portraits that challenges the viewer by using creative tactics based on the concept, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” - Wayne Dyer.

Be introduced to the alienated being inside us all, disconcerting beauty emerges. The work is on the one hand strangely aesthetic, on the other hand mysteriously eerie."

Via My Modern Met