The Great Debate: What's the most environmentally-friendly way to dry your hands in a public bathroom? Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have completed what is believed to be the first major study to assess the greenest way of drying your hands.
posted by modernnomad on Nov 11, 2011 - 86 comments

Should you find yourself wandering around the city of Leiden, the Netherlands sometime, you may notice some curious markings on the city's walls.

These Muurgedichten ("Wall Poems") adorn many of the town's streets (clickable map), and many English-language poets are represented: one John Keats, for instance, inside a bookshop; Dylan Thomas, E. E. Cummings, W.B. Yeats, some guy called William Shakespeare, or this ode to Charlie Parker by American William Waring Cuney. [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Apr 5, 2009 - 15 comments

Montreal Graffiti/Street artist Roadsworth, who was arrested in 2005 and faced up to 250 000$ in fines, is back on the streets, this time with a permit and a commission. Interestingly, the title of the new piece (which stretches across multiple intersections on downtown Sainte-Catherine street) is "Défense d'Afficher", which means "No Postering". It seems as though he's commenting on the role of art and advertisement in public space, but maybe that's just my take. Thoughts? For a more in-depth discussion, read the Torontoist's article on graffiti), and for more examples, check out Vandalist, the same blog's photostream of T.O. street art, Streetsy, a great photoblog showing off various street art from around the world, and, of course, Flickr's STREETART pool.
posted by rssaddict on Jul 3, 2008 - 20 comments

Projection Bombing, via Code & Form. Outdoor digital projection in urban environments is a method for getting your content up big before the eyes and in the minds of your fellow city inhabitants.
posted by signal on Apr 12, 2007 - 11 comments

"I don't think that form of public humiliation to get social control is the best form possible." Though in Middlesbourough that is exactly what's happening. Of course, it's not confined[mefi thead] to the one town, but this place has the most active form of public surveillance I've seen and they seem quite excited about it. Others are eager to try the system for themselves. Perhaps this will inspire theatre? Or you could learn to avoid the cameras. Is public safety destroying public discourse?
posted by cal71 on Oct 1, 2006 - 41 comments

Transparent Billboards Kasia Kesicka, at the Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in Poznan, creates a commentary on public space in various cities in Poland for his MFA final project in Photography. The result, mirroring the transparent laptop trick, is stunning and poignant {flash}
posted by MiltonRandKalman on Oct 19, 2005 - 36 comments