Who says that listening to vinyl has to be old school? Holographic records and vertical players have shown us that the medium can be remixed to feel downright futuristic. The latest product to follow this trend is MAG-LEV Audio, a “levitating” turntable first spotted by the Vinyl Factory.
The project, currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, uses magnetic levitation to bring the far-out concept to life. According to the Slovenian design team behind MAG-LEV, the hovering platter serves more than just an aesthetic purpose. As they write on their Kickstarter page, “Air is the smoothest medium with [the] least amount of friction, which further elevates this project into a truly unique listening experience.”
With more than $250,000 raised so far and over a month left to go, the campaign is well on its way to meeting its $300,000 goal. The MAG-LEV Audio is expected to retail for $1390 to $1490, but vinyl enthusiasts can reserve a levitating turntable for their collection today for a pledge of $880 or more. Delivery is estimated for September of next year.
Following 27 hours of surgery, conjoined twins Jadon and Anias McDonald have been successfully separated, CNN reports.
The two brothers, originally from Coal City, Illinois, were born with a rare medical condition known as craniopagus in September 2015. They lived the first 13 months of their lives with the tops of their heads fused together before undergoing surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City on October 13 and 14.
Led by Dr. James Goodrich, 40 doctors were able to disconnect the patients’ skull and brain tissue using advanced imaging technology. At one point during the operation, doctors encountered a 5-by-7-cm area of brain tissue “with no definite plane for dissection,” according to a Facebook post shared by the boys’ mother, Nicole McDonald. She wrote, “Dr Goodrich had to make the call and the final cut based on his instinct.”
Craniopagus is exceedingly rare—occurring just once in every 2.5 million births—and the surgery needed to correct it is risky. A 2006 report co-authored by Goodrich [PDF] that looked at 41 craniopagus surgeries found a 77 percent success rate with multiple-stage operations and 37 percent success with those performed all at once.
The twins’ separation surgery was their fourth procedure. Both boys experienced slight complications following their most recent surgery: Anias had seizures the next day, and Jadon still hasn’t moved his left side. While Jadon’s issue is more worrisome, his father Christian told CNN Goodrich told him “that’s not out of the ordinary.” It took about a month for Jadon and Anias to fully recover from their previous operation, and the family is looking at a similar timeline this time around.
Discerning truth from lies on the internet just got a little easier thanks to a new feature from Google News. As The Verge reports, the web giant now includes a fact check label that highlights reliable sources in news searches.
Using an algorithm, Google’s Claim Review process decides which stories qualify for the “fact check” distinction then specifies the sources that hold themselves to that standard. The description pops up next to stories like other Google News markers including “opinion,” “highly cited,” and “in-depth.” Google doesn’t share how many sites it has deemed worthy of the label, but the company states in a blog post that “rigorous fact checks are now conducted by more than 100 active sites.”
As viral Facebook posts and convincing satire articles have shown us, the internet can easily spread misinformation. It can also be used as a valuable research tool—something Google’s new feature aims to emphasize.
Slim Goodbody had all the superhero staples: a secret headquarters, a robot sidekick, and an identity he kept hidden behind a shimmering outfit. He even had a spandex costume that materialized behind a puff of smoke when he was called to action—though it’s safe to say he was the only superhero of his time that resembled a page from an anatomy textbook.
The main mission of the “Superhero of Health” wasn’t fighting bad guys (though he did that as well); it was teaching kids to understand and care for their bodies. John Burstein, the man responsible for bringing Slim Goodbody to life, didn’t initially intend to make a career out of the character. “When I was younger my goal was to be a Shakespearean actor,” he told mental_floss. Burstein studied drama at Hofstra University, and in 1973 the 23-year-old took a job as a performer aboard the Floating Hospital in New York City. Playing guitar in front of audiences was something he had been doing since age 13. Using his musical talents, he was able to present health concepts to children in an engaging package.
The response to his songs was so positive that Burstein felt inspired to devise a character to go along with the act. “I wanted to do a body suit but I didn’t want it to be gory,” he said. “I wanted it to be superhero-esque.” To create the style he was going for, he started with a leotard purchased from a dance supply company. An artist painted organs onto the suit (with him in it) and set the design through a special heating process (without him in it). The result was Slim Goodbody, possibly the only character in history capable of pulling off the skinless look.
From there, his one-man show moved beyond the Floating Hospital. He began performing at local schools, and in 1976, he landed the gig that would launch his television career. On Captain Kangaroo, Burstein played Slim (alter ego: Chief Hale and Hearty) in biweekly installments of “The Adventures of Slim Goodbody in Nutri-City.” Slim Goodbody and his friends fought to uphold the laws of good health and protect the citizens of Nutri-City from villains like the mind-controlling mad scientists Sarah Bellum and Lobe. His four-year stint on the show proved to viewers and networks alike that health-centered programming didn’t have to be bland. Burstein’s work caught the attention of PBS, and in 1980 they offered him his own series titled The Inside Story With Slim Goodbody.
If Captain Kangaroo introduced Slim Goodbody to kids at home, Inside Story brought him into their classrooms. Teachers loved the show for its information-packed episodes told through catchy musical numbers. But unlike other mnemonic devices meant to remind students which parts go where, the songs in Inside Story made biology feel personal. During “The Smart Parts: The Inside Story of Your Brain and Nervous System” Slim walks through a tinsel-like webbing of nerves, singing: “You couldn’t laugh, read, think, dance, dream, have fun, or sing. Without your brain you couldn’t do anything.”
And during the tune “Down, Down, Down: The Inside Story of Digestion,” he tells the viewer: “When you were a baby your body was smaller, now you grow bigger and very much taller. Because your body takes food you chew and changes some of it into you.” Slim was the face of the show, but by placing the wonders of the body center stage, any kid watching could feel like they had a starring role.
In addition to Inside Story and Captain Kangaroo, Slim Goodbody made appearances on Nickelodeon, Good Morning America, The Richard Simmons Show, and various other talk shows. By 1985 he told The Morning Call that “millions, maybe tens of millions” of children knew him by sight.
Even after making it big on TV, John Burstein never abandoned Slim’s live performance roots. Over the past four decades he’s played the character everywhere from school assemblies to symphony shows. The 66-year-old continues to get on stage today, albeit much less often than he used to (for him that means 10 to 12 shows a year). He still performs to sold-out theaters of students, thanks in part to the teachers who grew up watching Slim when they were kids.
Burstein’s act has evolved since the 1970s: The visuals he incorporates into the show now include computer animation, and his songs have been remixed to sound “a little hipper.” His body suit, originally a glorified art project, has been upgraded several times over the years. Slim’s latest outfit comes from the same costume designers behind Star Trek: The Next Generation and is worth roughly $4000.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the message Burstein hopes to impart on his young audience. According to him, the purpose of Slim Goodbody is to create “some positive feeling about what it means to be a human being.” When asked what he wishes kids to get out of his shows, he said, “I hope they take away a sense of how wonderful they are, how wonderful the body is, and that possessing a body that’s so wonderful means there’s something marvelous about themselves.”
Boys who come to The Fuller Cut in Ypsilanti, Michigan receive more than just a sharp-looking haircut. By taking advantage of the barbershop’s literacy program, they get to spend some quality time with a good book while trimming $2 off their bill in the process, NPR reports.
Ryan Griffin, who has worked at The Fuller Cut for two decades, got the idea after learning of a similar reading-based discount offered by a barbershop in Harlem, New York. The Michigan establishment now provides stacks of books in its waiting room for kids to choose from and read out loud during their cuts.
Because the shop caters to young black men, Griffin told The Huffington Post he went out of his way to fill the reading selection with “positive images of African-Americans.” Astronauts, detectives, and baseball players are a few of the characters kids can read about during their visits.
Barbershops around the country have adopted programs in the same vein. At one barbershop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, kids who read get their hair cut on the house—plus a free book to take home. What makes the offer at The Fuller Cut unique is the emphasis on education: After kid clients read their books, the barbers will ask them questions to test their comprehension. While not every kid is eager to read during his or her trip to the barber, more than 100 have taken advantage of the program in the past year.
There’s no shortage of sunlight pouring into Egypt each year. Now, inhabitat reports that a village in Bahariya Oasis is putting that excess energy to good use.
The Tayebat Workers Village serves as the west Egypt campus for the solar technology company KarmSolar. The structures that house the base’s 350 occupants are meant to look discreet. Rather than bringing in foreign materials to construct the site, the company decided to use locally sourced sandstone. The choice made for a sustainable building process while creating a look that blends seamlessly with the surrounding desert environment.
The feature that makes the village distinct from any other in Egypt is the integration of solar technology. Photovoltaic solar panels crown the traditional-looking buildings, generating power for residents as well as providing thermal roof protection. The project is just one attempt to utilize the power of the Egyptian desert sun: a $3.5 billion plan to build solar plants in the region was announced earlier this year.
Australian lifeguard Kye Adams is using an old-school piece of aviation technology to spy on sharks from above. As reported by the Illawarra Mercury, project AIRSHIP (Aerial Inflatable Remote Shark Human Interaction Prevention) consists of a camera-equipped blimp used to spot sharks lurking offshore before they can do harm to swimmers.
The 16.4-foot craft took flight for the first time on Friday, October 7 above the waters of Surf Beach in Kiama, Australia. Using onboard survey cameras, the blimp relays real-time coverage of the ocean surface to a lifeguard-monitored laptop on land. If any shark-shaped shadows are seen swimming in the water, lifeguards can evacuate the beach before any unwanted shark-human interactions occur.
Kiama beachgoers are familiar with the threat posed by sharks: In March, a surfer sustained serious injuries when he was attacked roughly 300 feet offshore. On the other side of the continent, beaches in Western Australia are about to launch a three-month trial of a shark-spotting drone that will work similarly to Kye’s AIRSHIP. The major difference is cost: while $88,000 is being invested in the drone’s trial run, the blimp only costs $5000 plus $500 to $1000 a month for helium.
The shark-scanning blimp’s official test run is set to take place from late December though February, coinciding with Australia’s summer vacation season.
Artificial meat is one step closer to joining the ranks of beef, chicken, and other mainstream protein sources. As The New York Times reports, corporate giant Tyson now owns a 5 percent stake in Beyond Meat, a food company that specializes in meat substitutes engineered from plant products.
Patties sold under the Beyond Meat label aren’t your typical veggie burgers. When slapped on the grill, the exterior becomes dark brown and the inside stays pink and juicy (they’re often described as burgers that “bleed”). They also produce a line of convincing Beyond Chicken strips that have made a believer out of self-professed carnivore Alton Brown.
Unlike other vegan products made with tofu, tempeh, or other meat substitutes, Beyond Meat foods are formulated to mimic texture as well as taste. Ingredients like pea proteins and vegetable fats are folded together to create something reminiscent of the fibrous, toothsome consistency of meat—a quality that’s sorely missing from most vegan products on the market.
The Beyond Burger has already found success at Whole Foods, but this latest investment could help the product reach a wider market. Michele Simon of the Plant Based Foods Association tells The New York Times this is the first she’s heard of a major traditional meat producer taking stake in a plant-based company. Tyson is the largest meat processor in America, accounting for 24 percent of the U.S. beef packing industry in 2014. Their interest in alternative meat indicates a shift away from viewing vegan food as a specialty health item towards treating it as, in Beyond Meat’s own words, a “mass-market solution.”
Fireworks are meant to be viewed on dry land, which explains why the underwater detonation of an M1000 in the video above amounts to nothing more than a pathetic pop. At least that’s what it looks like in real time. The Slow Mo Guys decided to up the entertainment factor significantly by filming the 0.01004-second process at 120,000 frames per second. The result is an explosion that expands into a glittering ball of light before imploding like a dying star. It should go without saying that setting off explosives in a fish tank shouldn’t be tried at home—Dan and Gavin have plenty of experience handling dangerous situations.
After Hurricane Matthew tore through South Carolina this past weekend, a Folly Island resident stumbled upon a piece of American history. The dozen-odd cannonballs found washed up on the shore on Sunday, October 9 are believed to date back to the Civil War, Gizmodo reports
Folly Island was occupied by Union soldiers over a century and a half ago. Troops built forts, an artillery battery, and a supply depot on the land and used it as their strategic base when planning the battle of Fort Sumter. Evidence of the island’s Civil War ties remains buried beneath the surface, occasionally surfacing in light of severe weather or development projects.
Despite its historical significance, the discovery was treated as a safety hazard first and foremost by the local police. After the discovery was reported, most of the cannonballs were detonated by the U.S. Air Force Explosive Team Sunday night.
