Welcome to the eighth irregular installment of Random Geek Roundup! This is where I collect a variety of links and sites and products that have come across my virtual desk in recent days. Just because you’ve discovered a specific interesting tidbit doesn’t mean that everyone has. So in the spirit of sharing awesome, here is the next collection of links.
Stop Motion Movie Made With Atoms
We geeks love our stop motion animations. But how about one made out of atoms? IBM http://www.ibm.com/us/en/ has put together this adorable film where each (very) little element in the film is a single atom. It’s spectacular. (P.S. They also made some Star Trek images out of atoms.)
How Far Is it to Mars?
This visual representation of the distance between the Earth, the Moon, and Mars is pretty good at demonstrating the vast distances in space. This one is particularly great for kids. You can all watch together as you zoom through space, on and on and on, until you reach Mars.
Learning About QWERTY
Smithsonian Magazine’s website gives a detailed history of the QWERTY keyboard, and compares it with the Dvorak and new KALQ keyboards. The latter is designed for the now-ubiquitous thumb typing on smart phones and tablets.
Need Extra Seating? Take These Pictures Off the Walls
Japanese designer Naoki Ono has created these wall hangings that can be leaned up against the wall and sat upon. They look just like photos of plush furniture, but also double as the real thing.
Wool Shirt Can Be Worn for 100 Days Straight
Hate to do laundry? Don’t want to own a lot of shirts? Wool&Prince has invented a shirt that very rarely has to be washed. They’ve come up with a wool fabric that doesn’t allow odors to form. It’s being funded by a Kickstarter campaign that just has a few days left on it.
The Best Movies, in Subway Map Style
Movie titles sorted by genre and put in the form of a subway map—yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like.
Reinventing the Wheel
I won’t say “literally,” because honestly it’s still wheel shaped. But a British engineer named Sam Pearce has replaced spokes with loops to create built-in suspension. It’s great for mountain bikes!
Movie Time Travel Flowchart
Trying to choose what movie to watch based on the details of its time travel? This handy flowchart will guide you to the proper choice, and probably introduce you to some movies that you didn’t realize even included time travel. It also sorts them by type of time travel, and how much of the world is affected.
That’s it for this installment of Random Geek Roundup. You can also go back and look at the links from previous Random Geek Roundups for more interesting news and websites!
Oval spokish thingys in the wheels…Knowing me, I’d still get my pant leg caught! 🙂
Great stuff Jenny! Thanks! That Distance to Mars demonstration really gives perspective.