Machine guns still firing, 70 years later. The BBC's Dan Snow joins in an dig in Ireland to uncover a Spitfire mk2, hoping to find one o the machine guns in reasonable conditions. They find six, and then it's time to see if they still work.
Okay so they stripped the six to rebuild just one good one, and used modern .303 calibre ammo as opposed to the ammo in the ground, but hey. 70 years and still spitting fire. Of course the WWII in me will point out that the mk V's Hispano cannons were far more effective, but hey, that's not romantic enough for a modern news bulletin.
posted by ewan
on Nov 10, 2011 -
19 comments
The IOWEYOU project. You can't go to a shop and buy these clothes. Because each textile is unique they have an
app that allows you to trace your garment right back through the production process to the actual weaver that hand-wove the fabric. You can see some of the
delightful people involved in the project at their
YouTube channel.
posted by unliteral
on Apr 12, 2011 -
18 comments
The Menstruation Machine: an invention created by artist Hiromi Ozaki. "As a female designer I had one big problem I wanted to solve. "It’s 2010, so why are humans still menstruating?" "Fitted with a blood dispensing mechanism and lower-abdomen-stimulating electrodes, the Menstruation Machine is a device which simulates the pain and bleeding of an average 5 day menstruation process of a human (As a female designer I have done my best to simulate my own, at least)." Also:
Menstruation Machine - Takashi's Take is a music video about a boy ‘Takashi’, who builds the menstruation machine in an attempt to dress up as a female, biologically as well as aesthetically, to fulfill his desire to understand what it might feel like to be a truely 'girly' girl. He determinedly wears the machine to hang out with his kawaii friend in Tokyo, but…"
posted by Fizz
on Aug 14, 2010 -
83 comments
Steve Durnin's D-Drive is a fascinating new infinitely-variable transmission that doesn't use friction components or a clutch of any kind. Video of a prototype with detailed explanations is included.
posted by odinsdream
on May 15, 2010 -
44 comments
The
Phillips Machine, also known as the
Moniac, is a early analog computer for economic modeling with an unusual twist: all of the computation is done by water flowing through its pipes. The flows represent taxes, income, and so on, and the
chambers represent balances held by various bodies. Floats attached to pens can provide graphical output such things as GDP and interest rates, and valves can be opened and shut to change the state of the system in real time. You can listen to a
BBC radio segment on the origin of Phillips machine, or
see a demonstration of one of the only extant working models at the University of Cambridge.
[more inside]
posted by Upton O'Good
on May 24, 2008 -
12 comments
Sherry Turkle, who used to believe in the
benefits of robot pets, has changed her tune and now "finds
human-machine love unsettling (
pdf)". Tyrell:"We began to recognize in them a strange obsession. After all, they are emotionally inexperienced, with only a few years in which to store up the experiences which you and I take for granted. If we gift them with a past, we create a cushion or a pillow for their emotions, and consequently, we can control them better." Was he referring to us or
them?
posted by sluglicker
on Dec 7, 2006 -
14 comments
Be mesmirised by a very complex .gif involving blue balls in a machine. Then, when you've had enough, check out
this rather silly but also tragic accompaniment.
posted by Lotto
on Nov 11, 2005 -
21 comments
The Ultimate Shredder - Plenty of videos of this beast "processing" everything from aluminum cans to a couch. Don't miss the washing machine video in which someone yells "SHRED IT!" Is it wrong to want to see a cow or something thrown into this thing? (
via)
posted by buriednexttoyou
on Mar 5, 2005 -
53 comments
the Guillotine Headquarters Everything you ever wanted to know about this machine. From
its evolution in the mist of history, to 1977, when it was last used in france.
many photos some
flash some 3d
posted by hortense
on Feb 22, 2005 -
6 comments
This company has released a device which claims to provide water "anytime, anywhere"
(No Goodies jokes,please) - from the humidity in the air. With two other companies selling these machines in Australia and prices ranging from AUD1,000 to AUD2,300, is this a viable
solution to the massive water
shortages around the world, or just something else to talk about around the water cooler?
posted by dg
on Mar 19, 2004 -
18 comments
