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Category Archives: General

Video: That Belly Landing In Newark? Yeah, There’s A Grainy Video

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You guys might have heard about the US Airways Express Flight 4560 that landed on its belly last week. It was carrying 31 passengers plus crew, and through the skillful piloting of Captain Edward Powers, was able to land safely despite not having been able to deploy its landing gear. Well, there’s a video of the feat, albeit one apparently shot from the Newark terminal on a Nokia flip phone from 2001. Or a potato. Or something. Point is, you see very little, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

A few more details about the flight. On approach to Newark, Captain Powers noticed the landing gear wasn’t lowering properly. Even after repeated attempts, nothing was to be done. So the decision was made to retract fully and attempt a belly landing, but not before circling the airport for an hour to empty the fuel reserves and minimize the risk of a fire.

So while things don’t quite always work out, it’s reassuring to know that belly landings can be done and aren’t an automatic death sentence.

[ TheDailyMail ] VIA [ Gizmodo ]

The Electric Unicycle Is A Retro-modern One-Wheeled Take On The Segway

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Looking a little bit like a 50′s Vespa mated with a 21st century robot, the Electric Unicycle is a lot like a Segway, except where it isn’t. It is a gyroscope-balanced personal mobility device with a 500W motor that can push a 160lbs man at 13mph for up to two hours on a three hour charge. But unlike the Segway, this one has one wheel. So while your forward and backward movements are gyro-controlled (and serve as the throttle), your side to side movements aren’t; you will have to have some sense of balance or you’ll fall. It shouldn’t be that hard though, and once you get the hang of it, you’re sure to get a lot of enjoyment out of your $2,700 expense.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Gizmodo ]

Monkey Shares Lollipop With Little Puppy, Then Beats Him With It

The sound the lollipop makes is priceless. Watch, it’s only 18 seconds long.

VIA [ BoingBoing ]

Recoiling Bicycle Mudguard Works Sort Of Like A Snap Bracelet

Plume-Rollable-Mudguard

Getting mud sprayed all over your back when you’re riding is fun. Ok, no, it’s not. But mudguards are often badly made, unsightly, and people generally tend to avoid them. If they had the Plume, pictured above, they might change their mind. Made from stainless steel and a flexible polymer, the Plume “extends out into a sleek mudguard or recoils back into a tight circle under your seat with the gentle press of a finger, even if you’re in motion.” The action is much like that of the snap bracelets of your youth, and doesn’t require springs, or any special mechanism. It’s $35, currently on pre-order on Kickstarter.

[ Project Page ] VIA [ GearHungry ]

‘Tis But A Bacon Press

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We won’t wax poetic about our love affair with bacon, since our case was made long ago. But aside from being interested in bacon-related products, we do like to have some actual bacon now and then. You can cook it the natural way and let it get all curly and wavy, but some people prefer to press it flat. And sure, any old press will do but let’s face it: it’s better when it’s shaped like a piggy, innit?

Cast iron, $12 to $14.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

3D Printed Shoes Feature iPhone Holster

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Given that the iPhone pictured is likely a 4S, you’ll correctly surmise that the above product isn’t exactly new. In fact, the iPhone Mashup Shoe by Alan Nguyen was created some time in 2012 and exhibited at the Milan Design Week in 2012 and the Maison et Objet show in Paris, again in 2012. But it doesn’t matter, since we’re pretty sure that a good number of you guys haven’t seen it and as impractical as the actual shoe is (who wants to bend down to their feet just to answer the phone?), we think it’s a great example of the kind of things 3D printers are capable of. The shoes were commissioned by Freedom Of Creation for FreshFiber, a company that makes “personalized 3D accessories.”

There isn’t whole lot more to say about them. We’re not sure you can even buy them, but you can hit the jump and look at two more pictures, and links.

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Clutch Bag Looks Like A Bloody Cleaver

bloody cleaver purse

You’re probably going to want to pick and choose when you wear the above Kreepsville 666 Bloody Cleaver Clutch Bag. Halloween or that banging goth club are probably better options than the airport, or you know, church. But regardless of where you decide to flaunt this thing around, we just had to let you know it exists. For some reason the original website that sold it no longer lists it, but you can find it on one eBay link we included below for the most reasonable sum of $42.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ BoingBoing ]

Captioned Telephone Lets You Read What the Other Party is Saying During the Call

Captionec Telephone

Do you have difficulty understanding what people are saying over the phone? You could blame your phone, but keep in mind that it could also be your deteriorating hearing. This could lead to a lot of frustration on both ends of the line, which is why the Captioned Telephone is such a godsend.

It’s a phone that displays what the other party on the line is saying so you can read and listen to it at the same time. That way, you can prevent misunderstandings, keep losses to a minimum, and avoid making mistakes that could cause a lot of hassles down the road. The phone uses the US Captioned Telephone Service, which is provided free of charge by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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Video: Instant Ice

The video above shows a pretty dramatic example of supercooling at work. This is what happens when you cool water below its freezing point, but the water lacks any nucleation sites that are necessary to seed ice crystals. In other words, for water to turn to ice, it requires the presence of solid particles around which to start forming crystals. If the water is pure enough, you can take it down to −48.3 °C (−55 °F) while still in liquid form. But as soon as you pour it out onto something solid, the above happens.

Science.

VIA [ TheAwesomer ]