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2021/10/05

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New York's Abandoned Aqueduct Offers a Unique Urban Adventure

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 07:05 PM PDT

In the early 1800s, New York City was fast outgrowing its infrastructure. The city's few wells were polluted, and the overworked water system spread cholera and other diseases. In 1837, the city began construction on an aqueduct modeled on those of ancient Rome. The Croton Aqueduct would transport fresh, clean water from the Croton River to Manhattan, a journey of 41 miles, completely powered by gravity. It was a massive project, starting with a dam and continuing to a bricked tunnel through the city's underground to reservoirs in what is now Bryant Park and Central Park. When the Croton Aqueduct went into service in 1842, it was cause for a citywide celebration.

Although it has been replaced by newer water delivery systems, Croton Aqueduct is still there. In the 1960s, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation bought 26 miles of the line in the city. The above-ground land is now a public trail, not very well known, but which offers an astonishing view of New York City.

Even more incredibly, above ground, the Croton Aqueduct became a nature trail and public right of way that follows the winding path of this long tunnel into Manhattan. It passes through people's back gardens, grand mansions, and abandoned ruins; it bisects motorways, Main Streets and dense forests alike. In essence, to wander down the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail is to gain a behind-the-curtain glimpse of a New York that hardly anyone knows is there.

A preservation group also offers underground tours where you can see the bricks laid before the Civil War still standing as sturdy as ever. Luke J. Spencer takes us on a photographic tour of what the trail offers, plus a short history the Croton Aqueduct, at Atlas Obscura.

"Hi Toilet" Voice Operated Public Toilet & Other Neat Posts

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:36 PM PDT

🧻 Siri can't flush your toilet, but this voice-operated public reset room in Japan can! Just say "Hi Toilet."

🐻 The ultimate Bearbnb vacation rental: rent a cabin inspired by Winnie the Pooh's home in the Hundred Acre Wood. Hunny-inspired meals included!

🍸 When Ian Fleming met the REAL James Bond at Goldeneye Hotel in Jamaica in 1964.

🐊 It doesn't get any more Florida than this: Florida man caught an alligator with a garbage can.

🧵 This is sew next level: stop motion animation embroidery by Huw Messie

🔬 Tiny but terrifying: 10 scariest creatures seen through the microscope.

🚁 India's Air Force helicopters dressed up as elephants are basically real life Dumbos.

🦧 Otterly terrific! River otters saved orangutans from dying of loneliness.

This post is brought to you by our new sites: Pictojam, Homes & Hues, Pop Culturista, Supa Fluffy

Newspaper Thief Apologizes 25 Years Later

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

Matthew T. Hall is the opinion editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. He recently received this letter from a long-time reader. The correspondent writes that, 25 years ago, they were homeless and in desperate need of a job. Back then, the best option to find job openings was in the classifieds published in the Sunday edition.

The newspaper lost money, but it was the paperboy who suffered for it, as the minor crime required extra unpaid labor. It's very late, but the writer has a conscience that has never been freed from the guilt until now.

-via Josh Hadro

Every James Bond Ranked

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

The movie No Time to Die is opening nationwide on October 8. It will be the final installment of the James Bond franchise with Daniel Craig as agent 007. Six actors have played the role so far, not counting David Niven in the 1967 non-canon spoof Casino Royale. Who has been the best Bond? That's all a matter of opinion. Someone said the best Bond is the one that was around when you were 13. That may be true, because I was gripped as a child by the adventures of Sean Connery, then as a teenager I enjoyed the humor of Roger Moore. The movies of the '70s were so over-the-top because of the ridiculous notion that movies could continue to be released with the same characters, tropes, and basic plots for years on end. It was a different time.

Each Bond is also a product of their time. Connery was a hero when the Cold War was hot. Moore came along when the sheer length of that Cold War gave us all a case of nihilism. And I've heard that Daniel Craig is a serious Bond for a serious time.

You might guess that George Lazenby ranked at the bottom, and you'd be right. He only lasted for one film. I haven't seen any of the more recent Bonds, so I have no real problem with the list, but you might. Check it out at Insider, and let us know what you think. -via Fark

Johan Karlgren's Giant Toblerone

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

That is one giant sized chocolate bar! Swedish street artist Johan Karlgren looked at a broken concrete barrier in a parking lot and saw something in it- a Toblerone candy bar. A bit of paint, aluminum foil, some Perler beads, and we can all see it. He even recreated the huge notches that are now cut out of the chocolate bars.

Karlgren is often inspired by real places, which he turns into whimsical fantasies taken from video games, animation, or whatever is in the news. He goes through millions of Perler beads in the process. See more of Karlgren's creations at Instagram. -via reddit

Beautiful Yet Impractical Illustrated Cookbook By Andy Warhol

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

Andy Warhol's 1959 cookbook called Wild Raspberries is less of an instructional manual for beginning cooks, and more of an art book. The book showcases fanciful representations of different delicacies, each illustrated in a beautiful yet exaggerated manner. Wild Raspberries is definitely meant as an art book only because instead of precise instructions in making food, the book offers crass directions. An example of this is the book directing its readers to 'send the Cadillac round to Trader Vic's tiki bar for a suckling pig of sufficient size for a party of 15.' 

Image credit: Andy Warhol via OpenCulture 

Micro House On Wheels Built For Off-Grid Living

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

Meet the Noman, a compact mobile camper designed by Minimaliste that is perfect for off-grid living. The moving home is equipped with a solar power system, a composting toilet,  two 36-gallon tanks for black and gray water, as well as a 54-gallon freshwater tank. These amenities help the camper's occupants to withstand all elements and enable them to live comfortably. 

To learn more about this special mobile camper, check Yanko Design's full piece here. 

Image credit: Minimaliste via Yanko Design 

Facebook’s New Smart Glasses Already Running Into Regulatory Issues

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

I didn't even know Facebook was making smart glasses! 

The social media company teamed up with Ray-Ban to produce a pair of smart glasses that can easily connect with Facebook's products and services. While that seems promising for Facebook's customers, the actual product has run into some issues with the European Union already. Yikes. 

Garante, an Italian consumer privacy watchdog group, and Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) have questioned the design's LED lights that let others know a user is taking pictures or filming them. According to the DPC, "With the glasses, there is a very small indicator light that comes on when recording is occurring. It has not been demonstrated to the DPC and Garante that comprehensive testing in the field was done by Facebook or Ray-Ban to ensure the indicator LED light is an effective means of giving notice."

Image credit: Ray-Ban 

Does A Parallel Universe Exist?

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

The amount of multiverse content we're getting from Marvel makes us ask the question: is there, by any chance, a possibility, that an identical parallel universe exists in real life? 

The concept of a parallel universe has remained in physicists' curiosity for a long time. While there is no compelling evidence that supports the existence of the multiverse, the predictions of its possible existence are rooted in theoretical physics phenomena. Take for example the Big Bang theory (not the show, people), which gave rise to the observable universe, can open up a realm of possibilities that can prove parallel universes. 

Learn more about parallel universes here! 

Image credit: Bryan Goff/Unsplash 

Stunning Weather Photography In The Royal Meteorological Society’s New Book

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

Absolutely breathtaking. Weather – A Force of Nature: Spectacular images fromWeather Photographer of the Year is a compilation of the best photos from the Royal Meteorological Society's competition on diverse weather conditions. This is the first photobook that contains the most powerful and dramatic images from the competition.  

The book also contains introductions written by experts at the Society. Since the compilation is split into five categories, there are five different introductions that convey the underlying impact of climate change. 

Image credit: Neil Partridge 

<i>Ghostbusters</i> 2021: Behold a State-of-the-Art Halloween Light Display

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT



This house in southern California has been turned into a cinematic experience for Halloween! Enjoy Ghostbusters all over again, with familiar characters, multiple settings, special effects, and the theme song sung by jack-o-lanterns.  

Projection holiday decorations mean that you don't have to risk your neck hanging strings of lights, but getting it to look this good requires some serious programming. This Halloween light display is way more than anything you'll find in a discount store projection kit. The YouTube account is called Seasoned Projections, so I assumed it was a company that you could hire to do this. But no, from the comments it seems like the guy who did it is a projection enthusiast who produced this light show on his own home.

The short version, you draw a map of your house w/ a laptop and a projector. You bring the map file into software (I use Adobe After Effects and Photoshop) and you create various layers and masks based on your mapping. Creativity proceeds from there. You can do almost anything you dream up in Adobe After Effects. Once done, your finished rendered video is played on your house using a suitable bright projector and media player. Thats the quick version!

He directs people to a public Facebook group called Holiday Projection Mapping to learn more about doing this kind of thing yourself. -via reddit  

Jukendo: The Martial Art of Bayonet Fighting

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

Many traditional martial arts of eastern Asia have spread outside of that region and become very popular. But one martial art that has not gained much traction outside of Japan is jukendo, the art of bayonet fighting.

The bayonet has fallen out of priority in recent years. But its use was once viewed as an essential skill for an infantryman. In the 1840s, inspired by watching Dutch soldiers drilling, Japanese soldiers began training in it. During the Meiji Era, the Japanese armed forces required formal instruction for soldiers. It grew into a martial art called jukendo or juken-jutsu, which means "the way of the bayonet."

As the Japanese Empire expanded during the early Twentieth Century, so did the prominence of jukendo. During World War II, the Japanese government systemized the mass training of the students in jukendo.

The Allied occupiers banned jukendo after 1945, but the ban was lifted in 1950. Perhaps 40,000 people in Japan practice jukendo under the governance of the All Japan Jukendo Federation. Most are members or veterans of the Japanese Self Defense Forces. Jukendo still carries an association with Japan's militarism of a past era, making it controversial in modern times.

In the above video, you can watch a demonstration of this unique martial art with training implements that are shaped to resemble rifles with fixed bayonets.

Sources:

Bennett, Alexander C.. Kendo : Culture of the Sword, University of California Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central.

"Children Learn Ancient Art of the Bayonet." Dominion Post, 15 Apr. 2017, p. B3. EBSCOhost.

"Roundup: Japan's New Education Guidelines Condemned for Adding Wartime Military Training Item." Philippines News Agency, 3 Apr. 2017. EBSCOhost.

-via reddit

New World Documented in Italy 150 years Before Columbus

Posted: 04 Oct 2021 05:35 PM PDT

Many of us learned in grade school that Christopher Columbus discovered America. We now know that's not true. How many people knew about the continents of the Western Hemisphere before Columbus landed in 1492? Well, there were the 60 million or so people who lived here. And Leif Erickson, who sailed to various parts of Canada, which he named Helluland, Markland, and Vinland. There is Greenland, which was known to Northern Europeans from antiquity but is only technically part of North America. And it turns out that the lands beyond the Atlantic were known to southern Europeans as well, as documented by a friar in Milan named Galvaneus Flamma. His unfinished written work Cronica universalis references "terra que dicitur Marckalada," in English, "the land that is called Markalada." The book is date to around the year 1345.

Galvaneus's reference, probably derived by oral sources heard in Genoa, is the first mention of the American continent in the Mediterranean region, and gives evidence of the circulation (out of the Nordic area and 150 years before Columbus) of narratives about lands beyond Greenland. This article provides a transcription of the passage, explains its context in the Cronica universalis, compares it to the other (Nordic) references of Markland, and discusses the possible origin of Galvaneus's mention of Markland in light of Galvaneus's biography and working method.

Yeah, sailors talk, and it stands to reason that a lot of that talk would be about exotic faraway places they've either been to or heard about. Did Columbus know about Galvaneus's document? Probably not, as it was never published. But did he know about Markland? Columbus was a sailor from Genoa, Italy, so he might have heard those same legendary stories from other sailors, or after an extra century, maybe not. Read the full paper at Terrae Incognitae, or the shorter excerpted version at TYWKIWDBI.

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