Maps, like all framed images, mold our perceptions of reality. Take a look at what a new perspective can do for your world 
This incredible device magnifies without a lens. The image is virtually lifted from the source and can be viewed from any angle. It needs to be seen in person to be believed!
Sure you can buy these at any gift store, but think about shipping them UPS. Your recipient receives an enormous box that feels completely empty. People are sure to gather 'round. When they open it, the balloon pops out with your message in tow. I love it!
This idea has been around a long time and has aged well. Buy a kit and build your own. I did!
I made one of these myself almost ten years ago and put it on my desk at work. Aside from being soothing and cool, I was continually amused by people who thought it was a screensaver. I know it sounds crazy but it's true. Nothing funnier than "feeding" the "fake" fish and watching their moment of realization.
In this day and age it is important to realize that a little moth can do what no motors and batteries could: jump around for weeks and weeks making everybody startle and laugh!
Unbelievably strong magnets have only started to become mainstream. These are amazing and worth the price.
These are the heaviest remnants of the supernova which formed our solar system. And some look like Kryptonite!
Everyone loves them and they are easy enough to make (Did you know the post office will give you free rubber bands if you ask at the counter?). Too lazy? Try this. Or, use it as a starting point for your own mega ball.
Ok, I'm a little biased on this one but after 5 years I still can't put my own piece down. Bounce it, Stretch it, Tear it!
Ok, so they are illegal inside the US, but Great Britian thinks they're bollocks. Try « An Island To Oneself | Main | The Allure of Fake Diamonds »
Explore the Homunculus
"Homunculus" is a great word.
Classically, it is described as a frankenstein-like creature created with assistance from the black arts. Designed to serve its master, it would often take on a mind of its own. Think 'The Dummy' episode from The Twilight Zone or the creature from Dr. Who's "The Talons of Weng Chiang".
"The alchemist Paracelsus once proposed that he had created a false human being through his science. Called a homunculus, this creature stood no more than 12 inches tall and does the work usually associated with a golem. However, after a short time, the homunculus was known to turn on it's creator and run away. The recipe consisted of a bag of bones, sperm, skin fragments and hair from any animal you wanted it to be a hybrid of. This was to be laid in the ground surrounded by horse manure for forty days, at which point the embryo would form. This supposed beast relied upon the theories of spontaneous generation."After this metaphysical definition fell out of favor, the homunculus became known as the microscopic, yet fully formed, human which was believed to live in the head of each sperm. Thanks to the invention of the microscope, Mr. Sperm Man has left us!
Nevertheless, a modern homunculus, although completely different in character, bears an eerie resemblance to the unholy creature of the alchemists. You know how a cut on your lip feels huge but, when you look in the mirror, it's the tiniest of wounds? That's the modern homunculus: a human drawn so that it appears as we see ourselves from inside our own minds.
August 12, 2004 in Science | Permalink
