Author: Rebecca OConnell

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 249th installment in the series.  

September 15, 1916: Rise Of The Tanks

Like the birth of some terrible demigod, tanks roared into the world to the awe of all who saw them amid the bloodbath of the Somme on September 15, 1916. The armored fighting vehicle has played a central role in modern conventional warfare ever since, with tanks and planes working in tandem to dominate the battlefield. But as their uneven debut at the Somme reflected, tanks had their shortcomings right from the start, due partly to short-term teething issues but also to a number of limitations intrinsic to the concept of a mobile fortress.

First conceived in February 1915 as a way to cancel out the defensive power of entrenched enemy machine guns, after 19 months of top-secret research and development in September 1916 the first Mark I tanks, in “male” and “female” versions, were delivered to the British Army. The male version was armed with two cannons and three machine guns, the female version with five machine guns; their armor and weaponry were intended to enable them to cross no-man’s-land in the face of enemy fire, destroy enemy strong points and cross trenches while also providing shelter to advancing British infantry. 

This experimental weapon received a relatively warm welcome thanks in large part to British Expeditionary Force commander Douglas Haig, who recognized its potential early on (the French were also developing a tank of their own). But they remained unproven and were viewed with understandable skepticism by rank and file alike. Moreover the tanks suffered all the inevitable technical glitches of a new machine: just eight years after the introduction of the first Ford Model T, the internal combustion engines that propelled the tanks were more reliable but hardly immune to breakdowns. And despite their special shape and motorized treads the vehicles could also still “ditch” or roll over to become (temporarily) useless. In fact, out of the first batch of 50 tanks sent to join the next big attack on the Somme on September 15, 1916, remembered as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, only 36 actually arrived on the field of battle, as the rest fell prey to mechanical or navigational woes.

One British soldier, Reginald Grant, described the general reaction to their arrival behind the British lines immediately preceding the next “big push” (following previous Anglo-French efforts including Bazentin Ridge, Pozières, and Ginchy): 

I looked in the direction of the sound and presently there hove in sight a colossal something of behemoth proportions;–something the like of which I had never seen or heard of in all my life, and I was stricken dumb with amazement. A monstrous monstrosity climbed its way without let or hindrance, up, over, along and across every obstacle in its path. Presently it reached the top of Pozieres Ridge; every man who could see had his eyes glued on it…

Another eyewitness present for the tanks’ baptism of fire at the Somme on September 15, the cinematographer Geoffrey Malins, recorded a similar impression: 

For the life of me I could not take my eyes off it. The thing–I really don’t know how else to describe it–ambled forward, with slow, jerky, uncertain movements. The sight of it was weird enough in all conscience. At one moment its nose disappeared, then with a slide and an upward glide it climbed to the other side of a deep shell crater which lay in its path. I stood amazed and watched its antics… Big, and ugly, and awkward as it was, clumsy as its movements appeared to be, the thing seemed imbued with life, and possessed of the most uncanny sort of intelligence and understanding. 

Unfortunately the tanks’ experimental nature led British commanders to make some key errors during the attack on Flers-Courcelette on September 15. The biggest mistake was their decision to break up the “creeping barrage” laid down by British artillery in front of the advancing infantry, in order to leave safe corridors for the tanks to travel through. At first glance this appeared to make sense, since nobody knew just how long it would take for the tanks to advance over the pockmarked battlefield – but it also meant that if the tanks failed to reduce the German strongpoints in front of them, the infantry behind them would be left to attack defenders in virtually untouched enemy trenches. 

Nonetheless the British scored some notable successes at Flers-Courcelette, thanks to the strength of the artillery bombardment (where it was allowed). In the three days leading up to the attack, British artillery pounded the German lines with an incredible 828,000 shells, including counter-artillery fire directed by planes from the Royal Flying Corps. Lieutenant R. Lewis, a Canadian officer from Newfoundland, witnessed the attack on September 15 from the reserve trenches, recalling the moment when the final bombardment opened up at 6:20 a.m.: “Then all of a sudden the artillery with a mighty roar opened up the most terrific fire. It was a wonderful sight. Nothing could be seen all along the horizon in the rear but one mass of flame, where our guns were sending out shell after shell.”

Another observer, R. Derby Holmes, an American volunteer serving in the 22^nd London Battalion, Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment, left a frank account of his feelings during the final countdown to the tank and infantry attack: 

My ear drums ached, and I thought I should go insane if the racket didn’t stop. I was frightfully nervous and scared, but tried not to show it. An officer or a non-com must conceal his nervousness, though he be dying with fright… I looked over the top once or twice and wondered if I, too, would be lying there unburied with the rats and maggots gnawing me into an unrecognizable mass.

At 6:20 a.m. ten British Divisions from the Fourth Army and Reserve Army (including the Canadian Corps and New Zealand Division) plus elements from the French Sixth Army attacked a defensive force of roughly half their strength in the German First Army.  In some areas the tanks were employed in concentrated columns, while in others they were interspersed among the attacking troops – but at this early stage, with the benefit of surprise still on their side, even a lone tank could make a decisive difference. 

Indeed one famous tank, C-5, better known by its nickname “Crème de Menthe,” singlehandedly cleared a ruined sugar refinery of its German defenders, opening the way for the Canadians to advance into the rearward German trenches, eventually approaching the village of Courcellete. The Canadians managed to hold on to their gains here, fending off a number of fierce German counterattacks – but their success (and the tank’s) were hardly typical for the Allies that morning. 

Further to the east the 50^th Northumbrian Division succeeded in taking its first objective despite withering flanking fire from High Wood, the strategic heights that had been the object of so much bloodshed since mid-July. However they were battered back from their second objective, a German support trench, by a blistering enemy bombardment (one of many examples indicating British counter-artillery fire was insufficient). During the initial attack many soldiers sheltered behind the advancing tanks, but discovered this could be very slow going. Holmes, the American volunteer, recalled the progress of the tanks near High Wood: 

The tanks were just ahead of us and lumbered along in an imposing row. They lurched down into deep craters and out again, tipped and reeled and listed, and sometimes seemed as though they must upset; but they came up each time and went on and on. And how slow they did seem to move! Lord, I thought we should never cover that five or six hundred yards. 

Holmes and his comrades also realized that the tanks offered no protection against heavier fire: 

There was a tank just ahead of me. I got behind it. And marched there. Slow! God, how slow! Anyhow, it kept off the machine-gun bullets, but not the shrapnel. It was breaking over us in clouds. I felt the stunning patter of the fragments on my tin hat, cringed under it, and wondered vaguely why it didn’t do me in. Men in the front wave were going down like tenpins. Off there diagonally to the right and forward I glimpsed a blinding burst, and as much as a whole platoon went down… I don’t suppose that trip across No Man’s Land behind the tanks took over five minutes, but it seemed like an hour.

Towards the center of the British line the New Zealand Division, along with the 14^th and 41^st Divisions, was assigned the task of capturing Flers, assisted by eighteen tanks, of which a good number naturally broke down before or during the battle. Here the tanks showed up late, but then did a respectable job helping the attackers overcome secondary German defenses to capture Flers (another problem encountered across the Somme battlefield, and especially where there had been no creeping barrage, was the German practice of hiding machine gun nests in craters in front of their trenches in no-man’s-land). 

On the right the British attack by the Guards, 6^th, and 56^th Divisions turned into a complete debacle, including an unimpressive performance by the tanks, which all got lost on the battlefield or suffered mechanical mishaps. As this was one of the corridors spared the creeping bombardment during the early stages of the battle, the failure of the tanks to even make contact with the enemy in most places meant the infantry faced an impenetrable wall of machine gun and rifle fire. Making things even worse, one tank that did actually make it to the frontlines headed into no-man’s-land early, alerting the enemy to the coming attack before withdrawing under heavy fire.

The overall performance of the tanks across the Somme was therefore mixed, at best. One account by a British soldier, Bert Chaney, encapsulates the wildly differing fortunes of various tanks involved in the attack on September 15, along with some comic details: 

One of the tanks got caught up on a tree stump and never reached their front line and a second had its rear steering wheels shot off and could not guide itself… The third tank went on and ran through Flers, flattening everything they thought should be flattened, pushing down walls and thoroughly enjoying themselves… The four men in the tank that had got itself hung up dismounted, all in the heat of the battle, stretching themselves, scratching their heads, then slowly and deliberately walked round their vehicle inspecting it from every angle and appeared to hold a conference among themselves. After standing around for a few minutes, looking somewhat lost, they calmly took out from the inside of the tank a primus stove and, using the side of the tank as a cover from enemy fire, sat down on the ground and made themselves some tea. The battle was over as far as they were concerned.

Despite the tanks’ many failures on September 15, their isolated successes had proved what armored vehicles were capable of, at least to careful observers. One thoughtful chaplain with the Guards Division, T. Guy Rogers, mused: “Of course their virtues are exaggerated, but they are only in their infancy and did well – really well in some places. I would like to see them with double the horsepower; less impotent when they get sideways, and with some contrivance to reduce the noise.” 

Designers would indeed remedy these shortcomings and others revealed at the Somme, with wireless sets for example eventually enabling communication between commanders and tank crews. At the same time, tanks faced some basic constraints which still limit their use today, including their high fuel consumption (incredibly, many went into battle at the Somme covered with highly flammable fuel cans) and their inability to tackle certain kinds of terrain. 

In the short term, tanks remained secondary: as always, the heavy lifting on the battlefields of the First World War was done by infantry and artillery, with newer weapons like tanks and planes playing a subsidiary, sometimes experimental role. 

For the infantrymen who suffered the brunt of the fighting in the trenches, conditions at the Somme were something close to infernal. Paul Hub, a German officer, recounted a typical trauma in a letter to his wife dated September 20, 1916:

My dear Maria, I had just taken up my position when a heavy mortar hit the wall, burying me and two of my company under the rubble. I can’t describe what it felt like to be buried alive under such a mass of earth without being able to move a muscle… When someone called out asking if there was anyone underneath, we shouted ‘Yes!’ and they started digging us out right away. They thought they would have to free the others before they could reach me, but in the end they pulled me out at the same time. I felt as if my legs had been chopped off… The weight of the earth had pushed my head forward and torn my back muscles. 

See the previous installment or all entries.

When Marcel Duchamp’s 1912 painting Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 debuted, it sparked one of the greatest uproars the art world has ever known. But after facing scads of rejection, mockery, and even a presidential put-down, this provocative piece rose to the ranks of masterpiece.

1. Duchamp’s Cubist contemporaries rejected the Cubist piece. 

Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 reimagines the human form through a mechanized and monochromatic lens in keeping with Cubism, and in the century since its completion, it has repeatedly been displayed in Cubist art exhibits. However, Duchamp’s use of 20 different static positions created a sense of motion and visual violence that Cubists claimed made this piece more Futurist than a true example of their avant-garde art movement. 

2. Duchamp’s brothers tried to censor the piece. 

The French artist had hoped to debut the painting in the Salon des Indépendants’s spring exhibition of Cubist works. However, the tantalizing title Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 was roundly rejected by the hanging committee, which included Duchamp’s brothers Jacques Villon and Raymond Duchamp-Villon. The pair visited the painter in his Neuilly-sur-Seine studio, where they entreated him to either withdraw the work, or change/paint over its title. The Salon committee agreed with Duchamp’s brothers, insisting, “A nude never descends the stairs—a nude reclines.” 

3. Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 sparked a family rift. 

Despite his brothers’s reservations, Marcel Duchamp flat out refused to change his piece. He later recounted, “I said nothing to my brothers. But I went immediately to the show and took my painting home in a taxi. It was really a turning point in my life, I can assure you. I saw that I would not be very much interested in groups after that.” 

Nonetheless, the Salon d’Or (a group of Cubist artists which included Duchamp’s brothers) accepted the unchanged Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 for its fall exhibition. But the Duchamp brothers’ bond was forever fractured. 

4. Its original title can be spotted on the canvas. 

In the lower left hand corner, you’ll find “NU DESCENDANT UN ESCALIER,” painted in all caps. The name Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 came later.

5. Timelapse photography was an inspiration. 

Photographers were studying the motion of man and beast using this photographic technique, and art historians draw a direct connection between Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 and the photo series Woman Walking Downstairs, which can be found in Eadweard Muybridge’s 1887 book Animal Locomotion. 

6. The painting earned scathing reviews at its American premiere.

In 1913, a massive exhibit of avant-garde pieces, the International Exhibition of Modern Art (known today as The Armory Show), was held at the National Guard 69th Regiment Armory in New York. The show included Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 in its stateside debut, and critics and crowds accustomed to more realistic and naturalistic forms were quick to mock it as a symbol of all that was ridiculous about modern European art.

The New York Times wryly re-named it “Explosion in a Shingle Factory.” A cartoonist famously parodied it with “The Rude Descending the Staircase (Rush Hour at the Subway).” American Art News even made a contest out of “the conundrum of the season,” promising a $10 prize to whoever could find the nude in Duchamp’s unusual work. 

7. Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 defied the tradition of nude studies. 

Duchamp’s brothers weren’t the only ones riled by the artist’s take on the nude tradition. Looking back on the Armory Show’s impact on its 100th anniversary, curator Marilyn Kushner explained, “If you saw a female nude, in art, in sculpture or painting, it was very classical. And it was the idea of this perfect, classical beauty.” To see a nude woman fractured and in motion in such a way was beyond jarring to the 1913 crowds who flocked to gawk at the exhibition. 

8. Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 stole the spotlight from Cézanne’s and Gauguin’s works. 

Artist Walt Kuhn had predicted the Armory Show would make waves by challenging Americans’s perception of art with the groundbreakers of the European scene. But no one predicted that out of 1400 pieces on display, Duchamp’s would be the most talked about. The scandal over Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 helped attract 87,000 visitors to the show. 

9. Teddy Roosevelt was not a fan. 

For the March 29, 1913 issue of Outlook, the former president wrote a piece about the Armory Show called “A Layman’s View of an Art Exhibition.” In it, he described Cubists as the “lunatic fringe” of the latest art movements, and mocked Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2. while misidentifying it: 

“Take the picture which for some reason is called ‘A naked man going down stairs.’ There is in my bathroom a really good Navajo rug which, on any proper interpretation of the Cubist theory, is a far more satisfactory and decorative picture. Now if, for some inscrutable reason, it suited somebody to call this rug a picture of, say, ‘A well-dressed man going up a ladder,’ the name would fit the facts just about as well as in the case of the Cubist picture of the ‘Naked man going down stairs.’ From the standpoint of terminology, each name would have whatever merit inheres in a rather cheap straining after effect; and from the standpoint of decorative value, of sincerity, and of artistic merit, the Navajo rug is infinitely ahead of the picture.” 

10. The uproar thrilled Duchamp. 

Far from deterred by the negative press, Duchamp was delighted by the American response to his work. It inspired him to move to New York soon after the show. Fifty years after the painting’s American debut, Duchamp looked back on the Armory Show, wistfully saying, “There’s a public to receive [Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2] today that did not exist then. Cubism was sort of forced upon the public to reject it … Instead, today, any new movement is almost accepted before it started. See, there’s no more element of shock anymore.”

11. Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 didn’t make Duchamp famous. 

While Americans didn’t know what to make of the mind-bending image paired with a provocative title, they weren’t paying much attention to the man who made it. Or, as Duchamp put in an interview later in life, “The painting was known, but I wasn’t.” 

His anonymity was hammered home years later when Duchamp visited the Cleveland Museum of Art to see Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 on display. The proud painter was stunned to find its caption card claimed he had died three years before. 

12. Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 sold for a shockingly low price.  

Records show the piece was acquired for $324, of which Duchamp received $240. Today this price would translate to about $7800, with the artist’s cut coming in at $5777. But it was still a steal for San Francisco dealer Frederic C. Torrey, whose thirst to own the talk of the art world drove him to buy the Armory Show’s most controversial work. 

Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 was prominently displayed in Torrey’s Berkeley, California home for six years, at which point he wrote to art critic Walter Pach asking, “Counting the present high price of gasoline do you think that any one would pay a thousand dollars for the Nu Descendant?” He found a willing buyer in American art collector and Duchamp friend Walter Conrad Arensberg (but made sure to have a full-sized photographic copy made for himself first).

13. The polarizing piece earned prestige through public display. 

In 1950, Louise and Walter Arensberg bequeathed their art collection to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Among the pieces were several works by Duchamp, including Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, The, Fania (Profile), and With Hidden Noise. Since then, the painting has gained esteem for its genre-blending and a place in history for the passionate reactions it has provoked. 

14. It inspired many other nudes-on-staircase works. 

Homages to Duchamp’s pioneering piece include Gerard Richter’s Ema (Nude on a Staircase), Joan Miró’s Naked Woman Climbing a Staircase, Chuck Jones’s Nude Duck Descending A Staircase, and even a Calvin and Hobbes strip where the last panel has the rebellious young hero lamenting, “Nobody understands art.” 

15. Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 was the first of many times Duchamp‘s work caused a controversy. 

The Armory Show hubbub fueled Duchamp’s rebellion against established art standards. Within a few years, he embraced Dadaism and began presenting his “readymades,” found objects like a bicycle wheel, a bottle rack, and a urinal. The last of these he exhibited as “Fountain,” causing another outrage in 1917. Again, history was kinder to Duchamp than his peers had been. In 2004, that readymade was dubbed the “most influential modern art work of all time” by a poll of 500 art experts.

In the last decade, white orca sightings—once extremely rare—have increased, with between five and eight spotted in the western North Pacific. While the cause of the sudden uptick of white killer whales is unclear, scientists worry it’s the result of inbreeding.

In August 2010, a group of whale researchers were watching and recording orcas off the coast of Russia, when to their “surprise and elation”—according to researcher Erich Hoyt, who organized the trip—they spotted a 6-foot white fin in the water near the Commander Islands. The fin belonged to a partially albino male who is known today as Iceberg, thanks to his white coloring.

As Hoyt and his colleagues explained in a recent study published in Aquatic Mammals Journal, Iceberg was one of the first white male orcas ever discovered. But he didn’t hold the title for long: Just two days later, a second white whale made an appearance in the area. Since then, there have been at least five and possibly eight other white whales spotted in the western North Pacific.

Because genetic data has yet to be collected from any of these white whales, the cause of their appearance is unclear. What scientists do know is that the collection of white whales is an area-specific occurrence. No more than two white orcas have ever been spotted in any other single region. Meanwhile, Hoyt’s team estimates that in the western North Pacific, there is possibly one white killer whale in every thousand.

“What we are seeing is strange. It’s a very high rate of occurrence,” Hoyt said.

At the time, the Far East Russia Orca Project, the group leading the expedition, thought Iceberg might be albino. Albinism is usually the result of inbreeding in mammals, but the population of orcas in the region is substantial enough to avoid inbreeding. Other areas have lower populations of whales and yet lack any white orcas.

“They are not what we would think of as the most inbred orca population,” said Hoyt. “Some populations in the eastern North Pacific contain just a few dozen individuals.”

Still, as New Scientist points out, another recent study shows that different regions have different whale cultures, and each type of culture is genetically distinct. Orcas are one of only two species whose evolution has been shaped by culture (the other being humans).

“Often these [cultural] populations are reproductively isolated from neighbouring populations, and often it’s not clear why this is,” said Andrew Foote, a researcher at the University of Bern, Switzerland, who conducted the study. “But it does lead to the populations being relatively in-bred.”

Another clue might be Chimo, the white, female orca that was kept in captivity and did not have true albinism. Instead, Chimo had Chediak-Higashi syndrome, a condition that causes immunity problems and partial albinism. As a result, she only lived to age 4.

Researchers doubt Iceberg and his buddies have this disease because he’s already 22 years old; if he had the condition, he likely wouldn’t have lived this long. On average, male orcas live to be about 29 years old, but some can live as long as 60 years in the wild.

More studies will have to be conducted to see what the cause of this new trend could be and if it’s indicative of the changing climate.

[h/t New Scientist]

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Meteorologists observe more than just rainfall and temperatures. Weather records dating all the way back to the 19th century show measurements that don’t even seem possible, like the world’s largest snowflake. Others, like the world’s biggest hail, are mind-blowing just for their sheer size. Here are 15 weather records you might not know about: 

1. EARLIEST HURRICANE 

An unnamed hurricane in 1938 formed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on January 1, making it the earliest-ever hurricane in the calendar year. In 2016, Hurricane Alex nabbed the second-place spot, reaching hurricane strength on January 14. 

2. WIDEST TORNADO

In 2004, a tornado in Hallam, Nebraska reached almost 2.5 miles in diameter at its widest. 

3. LARGEST HAILSTONE

The largest recorded hailstone to fall in the United States dropped on Vivian, South Dakota in 2010. It was 8 inches in diameter. Because it melted a little before authorities could measure it, it was likely even bigger when it initially hit the ground. The previous record for largest hailstone belonged to a 7-inch monster in Aurora, Nebraska in 2003. 

4. HEAVIEST HAILSTONE 

The heaviest hailstones in the world fell in 1986 in Bangladesh. The deadly, grapefruit-sized ice balls weighed in at 2.25 pounds. By contrast, the 8-inch hailstone that fell in South Dakota in 2010 weighed 1.94 pounds. 

5. HEAVIEST SNOWFALL IN LOS ANGELES

On January 10 and 11, 1949, Los Angeles saw its most intense blanketing of snow on record: a whopping 0.3 inches near the city’s center. While the amount sounds tiny, the sun-soaked city wasn’t prepared for even a small downfall, and Los Angeles briefly ground to a halt. 

6. LARGEST SNOWFLAKE 

The world’s biggest snowflake was reportedly observed in Montana in January 1887, when a rancher described seeing a 15-inch-wide flake. This record is hard to verify since there wasn’t anyone else there to see it, and you can’t really stick a snowflake in the freezer (especially not in 19th century Montana).  

7. FIRST TWIN SNOW CRYSTALS 

As it happens, two snowflakes can be alike. The first recorded identical snow crystals were discovered at an atmospheric research center in Colorado in 1988. The twin crystals, examined under a microscope, came from a Wisconsin storm.

8. FOGGIEST PLACE ON EARTH 

Enjoy the mystery and romance of fog? Head to Grand Banks of Newfoundland. When the warm waters of the Gulf Stream collide with the chilly waters of the Labrador Current, they create a stunning amount of fog. The area sees fog for more than 200 days a year. 

9. MOST RAINFALL IN ONE MINUTE 

The 4th of July, 1956 in Unionville, Maryland was a wet one. An estimated 1.23 inches of rain fell in just a minute. 

10. FARTHEST-TRAVELING TORNADO 

In 1925, the “Tri-State Tornado” traveled 219 miles from Ellington, Missouri to Princeton, Indiana over the course of 3.5 hours. 

11. LONGEST DISTANCE A TORNADO HAS CARRIED AN OBJECT

In April 1991, a tornado carried a cancelled personal check from Stockton, Kansas to Winnetoon, Nebraska, a total of 223 miles. 

12. HIGHEST WAVE 

The highest wave ever observed by a ship was 60.7 feet tall. It was spotted by a British research vessel in the North Atlantic west of Scotland in 2000. 

13. SMALLEST HURRICANE EYE 

When it reached Darwin, Australia during Christmas of 1974, Cyclone Tracy had an eye 4 miles across. Tropical storm eyes are typically between 20 and 40 miles across. 

14. LONGEST-LASTING TROPICAL STORM 

Hurricane John (1994) formed during an El Niño year and lasted from August 11 to September 10. It traveled 7165 miles across the Pacific, making it also the farthest-traveling tropical cyclone that has ever been observed. Because it formed in the eastern Pacific and traveled to the western Pacific and then returned to the east, it was both a hurricane and a typhoon. Though it was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, it caused little damage because it barely brushed land.

15. FIERCEST WIND

In 1996, Barrow Island in Australia experienced a 253-mile-per-hour gust. Guessing that that kind of breeze might require stronger measures than just holding onto your hat.  

You can’t always predict what the weather will bring, but with GEICO’s customer service, you know what you’re getting: Friendly, knowledgeable help that makes saving money on car insurance a breeze. 

We might all carry a digital camera around with us all the time, but old-fashioned instant cameras have recently made their way back in the mainstream. From Fujifilm to Polaroid, there are plenty of sleek new ways to print images right on the spot. Now camera manufacturer Leica is getting into the mix with their own line of fancy instant cameras. The Leica Sofort series includes three bold, square cameras that come in blue, white, and orange. Each has a Lecia-designed menu navigation and comes with much-needed accessories like a strap and case. The designs are meant to mimic the feel of a proper film camera, complete with optical viewfinders and retro appearances. There are also four “scene modes”—”party,” “selfie,” “sport,” and “macro.” Leica worked with Fujifilm on their instant film, which comes in color or black and white. All the Leica instant film will also work on a regular Fuji Instax Mini.

The development was first leaked in the most recent issue of Leica Fotografie International (LFI), but will be officially announced tomorrow, and shipping will begin in November. The cameras will be €279 (about $315) and the film will be €12 to €14 (about $14 to $16).

[h/t Design Taxi]

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Domino engineer Hevesh5 is known for extravagant structures and extreme patience. Her latest project is a complex spiral that took a whopping 25 hours to construct. The amazing design has three segments that collapse in three phases: First the bottom floor, then the top white pieces, and finally the colorful walls. There’s also some nice flourishes like swinging pieces and a small example of the domino chain reaction—when small pieces can knock over slightly larger ones.

Despite the 25 hours of work and 15,000 individual dominoes, the enormous structure only takes two minutes to completely collapse.

[h/t SPLOID]

Primary image courtesy of YouTube.

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.

Domino engineer Hevesh5 is known for extravagant structures and extreme patience. Her latest project is a complex spiral that took a whopping 25 hours to construct. The amazing design has three segments that collapse in three phases: First the bottom floor, then the top white pieces, and finally the colorful walls. There’s also some nice flourishes like swinging pieces and a small example of the domino chain reaction—when small pieces can knock over slightly larger ones.

Despite the 25 hours of work and 15,000 individual dominoes, the enormous structure only takes two minutes to completely collapse.

[h/t SPLOID]

Primary image courtesy of YouTube.

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.

Simon, the popular light up memory game from the ’80s, has a pretty simple premise: The computer plays a pattern of lights and sounds, and you replicate them by pushing the right buttons. Such a simple game needs no improvements—or does it? The latest version looks just like Darth Vader and even plays the ominous “Imperial March.”

While Simon is normally round, the new game is shaped like the Sith Lord’s iconic helmet. It’s also completely black until it lights up, so now you also have to remember which buttons are which without the aid of colored buttons. Players will notice that the further along they get, the more of John Williams’ “Imperial March” they get to hear. Darth Vader’s loud breathing can also be detected during gameplay to add an extra layer of stress. 

The game will be available this spring for $25 from Hasbro, so watch your local toy store’s shelves carefully. 

[h/t io9]

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.

Simon, the popular light up memory game from the ’80s, has a pretty simple premise: The computer plays a pattern of lights and sounds, and you replicate them by pushing the right buttons. Such a simple game needs no improvements—or does it? The latest version looks just like Darth Vader and even plays the ominous “Imperial March.”

While Simon is normally round, the new game is shaped like the Sith Lord’s iconic helmet. It’s also completely black until it lights up, so now you also have to remember which buttons are which without the aid of colored buttons. Players will notice that the further along they get, the more of John Williams’ “Imperial March” they get to hear. Darth Vader’s loud breathing can also be detected during gameplay to add an extra layer of stress. 

The game will be available this spring for $25 from Hasbro, so watch your local toy store’s shelves carefully. 

[h/t io9]

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Bored with your traditional Rubik’s Cube? You might want to add a few more twists with these challenging variations by Oskar van Deventer. The Dutch research scientist’s spins on the elaborate puzzle promise to stump even the most weathered puzzle solvers.

A longtime puzzle designer, Van Deventer takes the basic Rubik’s Cube pattern and transforms it into a spherical puzzle, a hollow cube, and even a magic gears grid. His creations are sold on Shapeways, meaning they are 3D-printed to order and come in a variety of different materials.

And his creations don’t just baffle users, they also break records. His over the Top 17x17x17 design was recently acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest order Rubik’s Cube. The mind-bending design has 1539 parts—to say it’s challenging would be an understatement.

Take a look at some the patterns by Oskar Puzzles below and check out more of his designs on Deventer’s Shapeways page.