Researchers led by Dr. Robert Webster of Vanderbilt University's Medical Engineering and Discovery Laboratory have developed a new type of wrist joint for surgical robots. It's only 2 millimeters wide, which permits it to get inside extremely narrow spots in the body, then turn a corner.

The team made the joint by cutting out portions of the arm. A wire inside that arm constricts and releases, activating and deactivating the joint.

According to a press release by Vanderbilt, Webster suggests that the first use of the wrist will be transnasal brain surgery. Accessing the brain through the nose will be easier on the patient than cutting into the skull.

-via Gizmodo

Six freshly baked loaves of Pug lie next to each other, cooling on a blanket. They need just a brief nap before they're ready to play again. As they dream, their little bodies twitch. What do Pugs dream about?

(Video Link)

-via Gifsboom

MAR-TI-NI by Skullpy

The smuggler and the bounty hunter found themselves surrounded by a bunch of jabbering Jawas fully armed and in full force. The tiny wall of well armed guards parted to let the Jawa-in-charge through, who was carrying a case full of clanking contents. As the little boss opened the box the smuggler and the bounty hunter began to recoil, ready to go to war if need be, but what they saw next instantly put them both at ease. For the little boss held a bottle of booze in one hand and a long, skinny glass in the other, and in a croaking voice he said "Mar-ti-ni?"

Buy the world a round of funny with this MAR-TI-NI t-shirt by Skullpy, and you'll be a star among your fellow sci-fi fans!

Visit Skullpy's Facebook fan page, official website and Tumblr, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more delightfully geeky designs:

View more designs by Skullpy | More Sci-Fi T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Rain forests are scattered across the globe and they all look drastically different despite the fact that most people immediately envision a tropical South American rain forest when they hear the term. These pictures from the New South Wales rainforest by Wouter Van de Voorde remind us that just because something is a rain forest doesn't mean it's filled with vivid tropical plants.

Of course, just because the forest isn't loaded with colors doesn't mean it's not beautiful. In fact, these incredible images seem to capture the foliage of a forest forgotten by time, trapped in the primordial past -like a lost world waiting to be explored for the first time.

Via Flavorwire

(Video Link)

Johnny Depp has millions of adoring fans from across the globe. But you know who isn't a fan? Johnny Depp. In fact, he not only refuses to watch his own films, but he's even been reported to vandalize movie posters with his face on them because he doesn't like seeing his face staring back at him.

If you think that sounds silly, consider this: Peter Dinklage doesn't watch Game of Thrones for one simple reason -he doesn't have HBO. 

If you aren't a big fan of videos, you can read this whole list over at TopTenz.

YouTube Link

As we dog enthusiasts know, dogs are lovable and amazing creatures. In fact, one of their physical attributes renders them like superheroes when compared to that of humans. A dog's sense of smell is ten thousand to ten million times greater than a human's, giving them the ability to simply sniff out illnesses of which we live in fear and must rely on machinery and complex medical procedures to detect.

Learn more scientific facts about dogs from this AsapSCIENCE video. Via Laughing Squid

(Photo: Fowling Warehouse)

Two players stand across from each other, 48 feet apart. Each has a football and a set of 10 bowling pins standing upright. The object of the game is to knock your opponent's pins down before he takes out yours. 

This is fowling, a game invented by Chris Hutt of Detroit. He's recently converted a 34,000 square foot industrial building into the Fowling Warehouse--a 20-lane fowling facility. The AP reports that it's thriving:

Hutt's business, which also has a 175-seat beer garden and a stage for live music, has drawn big crowds on weekend nights. Some take advantage of a deal that allows unlimited play for $10 until closing at 2 a.m. Others reserve lanes for group play, up to 10 players per lane, in two-hour increments.

-via Weird Universe

(Image: Chabe Escalante)

The Disney princesses are young. When they grow up, they may get married and have kids. What sort of moms would they be like? Mike Spohr of BuzzFeed has a few ideas based on their personalities. Ariel gets married at the end of The Little Mermaid. Much later, she'll be the mother of teenagers:

Her mom life: Ariel is constantly battling her husband over how much freedom they should give their teenager. “Are you kidding, Eric?” she often says. “When I was her age I thought a fork was a comb and practically sold my soul to a witch to get a boyfriend! There is no way she’s going to the fair alone!”

Dogs can have trouble with stairs built for humans, especially if they are small and as they get older. That's why the architecture firm 07Beach designed this staircase for a home renovation in Vietnam. The regular staircase is paired with a narrow model that has half-sized stairs. They're just the right size for little dogs. You can see more photos at The Contemporist.

-via Nag on the Lake

In a classic Saturday Night Live sketch, Chris Farley plays Matt Foley, a motivational speaker who is basically a failure in life. By his own admission, he qualifies because he's 35, divorced, and lives in a van down by the river. He threatens wayward teens that if they don't get their lives turned around, they'll end up like him, living in a van down by the river.

(Photo: Airbnb)

Now you can live that way, too! Airbnb renter Jonathan has converted a few vans in New York City into little campers. They're parked as normal vehicles, so visitors can get the full experience of urban van-dwelling life. $35 per night can get you a bed that sleeps 2 near New York's scenic East River.

-via Jalopnik

Image: Reddit / Callofthegame

Do you have a ton of pennies occupying jars and coin banks, but never seem to take the extra time to roll and exchange them for dolla bills? The article linked below is full of ideas on how to make use of the beautiful copper shine of pennies, turning them into larger art pieces. 

For those under the impression that the use of pennies or other coins in projects like this is illegal, that is not entirely true. This government FAQ answers specific questions as to its legality. 

So, if you're so inclined, have at it. Dive in and get creative using these attractive DIY penny ideas. 


Image: Pinterest / origin unknown

Image: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 

Director Richard Kelley's film Donnie Darko was released in 2001. The story of the deliciously eerie puzzle that is Donnie grossed a respectable $7.7 million after the initial budget of $4.5 million. Yet unsurprisingly, elements of the tale continued to capture the imagination of viewers for years to come, guaranteeing the film a definite "cult hit" status. Part of Darko's appeal was its many memorable characters, one of which was the late Patrick Swayze's portrayal of Jim Cunningham. According to Kelley, Swayze relished the part, and dug into fleshing out the character with enthusiasm — and personal touches. 

"6. PATRICK SWAYZE WORE HIS REAL CLOTHES FROM THE 1980S.

Jim Cunningham’s Cunning Visions infomercials were even shot at Swayze’s ranch in Calabasas, California. When asked about working with the actor, Richard Kelly confirmed that, "He'’s the nicest guy ... He wanted to take a flame-thrower to his image. He was fearless. We shot the infomercials on his ranch. Those were his real clothes from the '80’s. He frosted his hair specifically for the part. He totally got it and was so cool about it."

Read 17 more facts about Donnie Darko here.

Harry in her New York City Studio, 1980

The lovely Deborah Ann Harry was born in 1945 in Miami, Florida and adopted by parents from Hawthorne, New Jersey, who owned a gift shop. After graduating high school and obtaining a two-year Associates of Arts degree, she went to work in Manhattan as a secretary for BBC Radio. Before she went on to conquer the mostly man's world of new wave, Harry worked as a New Jersey go-go dancer, a waitress at the legendary Max's Kansas City, at a disco and as a Playboy Bunny.  

Harry's music career got started in the late 1960s, and by the early 1980s she was riding the High Tide and held her audiences in Rapture. Thanks to Deborah Harry's songwriting and singing talent, stage presence and sophisticated beauty, she's remained in the limelight ever since. See 13 more gorgeous portraits of Blondie here.

Harry in her dressing room, 1985 

Images: Brian Aris

The Slow Mo Guys are nothing if not adventurous, and their quest to entertain us with silly videos often leaves them all wet.

But now Dan Gruchy and Gavin Free are exploring a whole new level of stunt strangeness by making Dan crawl inside a giant balloon, which is then filled with water until it explodes.

(YouTube Link)

The Slow Mo Guys filled another 6 foot long balloon with water a while back and jumped on it until it burst, but that video lacks the cringeworthiness this stupid stunt has in spades. And seeing Dan sitting there with his head sticking out of a giant watery balloon sac is utterly hilarious!

-Via Boing Boing

Vimeo Link

This gorgeous video of Antarctica would likely please someone with the sensibilities of a Stanley Kubrick or Wes Anderson in that the pictures of natural spaces are mirrored images meeting in the middle of the shot. The effect adds interest to an already interesting, rarely seen landscape. The video, made by Alex Cornell, is explained in how-to fashion here. Via Gizmodo