Contagious Yawning: Why We Do It, What It Shows About Us Yawning is a mysterious thing. For starters, just reading that sentence may have caused you to yawn. The behavior, technically a reflex that involves opening the mouth and a simultaneous stretching of the eardrum, is contagious--and the video above sets out to explain why. The video was created by VSAUCE, a YouTube channel that offers "Amazing Facts & The Best of the Internet." It starts by debunking various myths about yawning. We also learn about the function of pandiculation, or yawning and stretching simultaneously, and how animals that move in groups might have evolved such a mechanism. But not everyone can benefit. The video is full of interesting facts about yawning, including why other animals use it to look intimidating, attract mates, or just realign their jaws after a big meal. See more VSAUCE videos here. Related on HuffPost:
Before I Die & Candy Chang What matters most to you Interactive public art project that invites people to share their personal aspirations in public. After losing someone she loved and falling into depression, Chang created this experiment on an abandoned house in her neighborhood to create an anonymous place to help restore perspective and share intimately with her neighbors. 2011, New Orleans, LA. Cordoba, Argentina. Najaf, Iraq. Brooklyn, NY. Almaty, Kazakhstan Savannah, GA. Pohang City, South-Korea. San Francisco, CA. Johannesburg, South Africa. Cordoba, Argentina. Mythical Creatures List, Mythical Creatures A-Z
Roca Cocoon Shower Stall by Arina Komarova & Yanko Design - StumbleUpon - Aurora Egg Shower The proteins in an egg can do wonders for your skin, but how about taking a shower in one? I’m talking about the egg-shaped shaped Cocoon Shower Stall that literally cocoons you once you shut all the glass slides. The usual spa features seen in such kinda stalls are included, but to spell them out: shower, bathtub, hydro massage (Jacuzzi) & mood lighting are there. The rain-showerhead is plum in the center of the ceiling, but I’d much rather use this for the hydra therapies! Designer: Arina Komarova
Mucca Pazza, Boss Taurus: Big Band, Itty-Bitty Stage : All Songs Considered Blog Take a humongous group of excitable jokers who have too much free time on their hands, mix in enough instruments to satisfy an entire marching band variety, toss a few gigantic pom poms and enormously-loud/elaborate outfits their way and you'll get Mucca Pazza. The Chicago-based band is a 30-piece (yes, 30 trombonists, trumpeters, guitarists, cheerleaders, and more) community of "circus punks" that makes music that sounds like the results of a rowdy weekend at band camp. Mucca Pazza's new song, "Boss Taurus," feels like a musical debate: the trumpets make a declaration; there's a response from the guitars; and the lone tuba tries to get a word in edgewise. The video for "Boss Taurus" has a remarkably simple concept — the members of the band perform and goof off on a tiny stage for three minutes. Director Jim Newberry described to us in an email how he wanted to focus on all the boisterous personalities in the band: For this video I wanted to keep things simple.
Muebles de Lujo Resort Ayada, Maldivas y de Lujo, propiedad, viajes y Diseño de Interiores Luxury Resort Ayada, Maldives Ayada Maldives is a brand new awe-inspiring destination comprising an opulent 112 villa resort located on the 150,000 square meter paradise island of Maguhdhuvaa in the stunning Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll. From the moment you arrive on the luxury resort’s delicate, powder white sands you will be immersed in a fantasy of luxury, quality and style unique only to Ayada Maldives. Delight in the impeccable service and superb amenities of the seven indulgent restaurants, bars and cafes offering world-class cuisine to tantalise taste buds, the extensive 3,500 square meter AySpa Spa & Health Club by ESPA will take you to a blissful level of relaxation. Ayada further includes a kids’ club, scuba diving centre and an array of water sports. The luxury Maldives resort with natural beauty at its heart where you can truly discover the exceptional. About Assif Majid Assif is a freelance British journalist who spends his time between Leeds, Manchester and London.
The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit) Recently, someone asked Reddit for a list of the best science fiction books of all time. Being a fan of sci-fi, and wanting to expand my own reading list, I thought it would be helpful to tally the results and preserve them here for future reference. I've also included selected quotes from the comments, as well as my own notes on the books I've already read. PS: All book images in this post are copyright Amazon, and were retrieved using my Big Book Search Engine. So, without further ado, here are the Greatest Sci-Fi Books of All Time, ordered by upvote count: Dune Frank Herbert - 1965 "There's a reason it's the global top selling science fiction book of all time." - NibblyPig If you have a chance, track down the excellent full cast audiobook (unabridged!) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams - 1979 "I really love the cool combination of humor, philosophy, and sheer nuttiness of the entire series." - Scarbrow Ender's Game Orson Scott Card - 1985 Foundation Trilogy Isaac Asimov - 1942
Ians Shoelace Site - Shoe Lacing Methods - StumbleUpon - Aurora Mathematics tells us that there are more than 2 Trillion ways of feeding a lace through the six pairs of eyelets on an average shoe. This section presents a fairly extensive selection of 50 shoe lacing tutorials. They include traditional and alternative lacing methods that are either widely used, have a particular feature or benefit, or that I just like the look of. 50 Different Ways To Lace Shoes Criss Cross Lacing This is probably the most common method of lacing normal shoes & boots. Over Under Lacing This method reduces friction, making the lacing easier to tighten and loosen plus reducing wear and tear. Gap Lacing This simple variation of Criss Cross Lacing skips a crossover to create a gap in the middle of the lacing, either to bypass a sensitive area on the instep or to increase ankle flexibility. Straight European Lacing This traditional method of Straight Lacing appears to be more common in Europe. Straight Bar Lacing Hiking / Biking Lacing Quick Tight Lacing Ukrainian Lacing- New!
081810 WIP - obra de arte por Lawrence Yang 081810 WIP - ink, watercolor and gouache on paper Artwork © Lawrence Yang 2010 my blog | my site | purchase inquiries [ wu :: riddles(hard) ] There are three puzzlers in the puzzle forum: A Newbie, a Senior Riddler, and an Uberpuzzler. All three are honest, but can only give answers to the best of their knowledge. Newbies are confused creatures. Until their fifteenth posts, they are only able to make random responses!* Senior Riddlers have great powers of perception, but are not yet infallible. Uberpuzzlers are omniscient beings who are your greatest allies in the Puzzle Forum!!! The Uberpuzzler can exert Influence arbitrarily often. Furthermore, an Uberpuzzler only uses his power of Influence in a very specific way. (Thus, he employs a strategy defined as a mapping f : S3 x {(T|F)*} -> {0,1}, which can be interpreted as follows: for each ordering of the puzzlers "sigma" (a permutation in S3, e.g. Note that this is different from saying that the puzzler chooses when the Uberpuzzler applies Influence! Determine with proof the minimum number of questions which will allow you to identify which puzzler is which.
REGRESO AL FUTURO: Irina Werning - Fotógrafo I love old photos. I admit being a nosey photographer. As soon as I step into someone else’s house, I start sniffing for them. Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact them today… Two years ago, I decided to actually do this. So, with my camera, I started inviting people to go back to their future.. Now its time for KOREA, TAIWAN AND TOKYO. Pancho 1983 & 2010, Buenos Aires Fer 1970 & 2010 Buenos Aires Mechi 1990 & 2010 Buenos Aires Marita y Coty 1977 & 2010 Bs Aires Demian 1989 & 2010 London Cecile 1987 & 2010 France Nico Mella 1990 & 2010 France Oscar 1978 & 2010 Buenos Aires Ato 1992 & 2010 Buenos Aires Lulu Geraldine 1980 & 2010 Bs Aires Ian 1983 & 2010 London Male Sil Flor 1983 & 2010 Bs Aires Nico 1986 & 2010 Buenos Aires Lucía 1956 & 2010 Buenos Aires Marina 1988 & 2010 Buenos Aires Flor 1975 & 2010 Buenos Aires Mati 1977 & 2010 Buenos Aires My Parents 1970 & 2010 Buenos Aires Negra 1980 & 2010 Buenos Aires
National Geographic Photo Contest 2011 - Alan Taylor National Geographic is currently holding its annual photo contest, with the deadline for submissions coming up on November 30. For the past nine weeks, the society has been gathering and presenting galleries of submissions, encouraging readers to vote for them as well. National Geographic was kind enough to let me choose among its entries from 2011 for display here on In Focus. Gathered below are 45 images from the three categories of People, Places, and Nature, with captions written by the individual photographers. [45 photos] Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose: Many people pilgrimage to Uluru, but what is seen there often depends on where you've come from. Eruption of the Cordon del Caulle. Beluga whales in the arctic having fun. This is a streetcar in New Orleans traveling back towards The Quarter on St. This image captures almost 6 hours of climbing parties on Rainier going for the summit under starry skies. Russia, polar region of West Siberia, Tazovsky Peninsula.
Cómo dibujar un Wave | Club de las Olas This art tutorial, kindly donated by surfing comic strip illustrator and surf artist Bob Penuelas covers how to draw a wave the Wilbur Kookmeyer way! If you're like me, then you've probably spent a lot of time in high school class daydreaming and doodling a thousand perfect cartoon waves in your notebook. It's safe to say that ninety percent of us surfers have a habit of scribbling perfect waves whenever a pencil is in our hands. Remember, there are millions of ways to draw a wave and hopefully with these simple pointers you'll find a million more. Drawing a basic wave The following illustrations and captions by Bob Penuelas take you through the basic steps of drawing a wave… Step 1 Sketch in the basic shape of the curl, spray, foam and base of the wave. Step 2 Add an extra line running parallel and below the curl line to define the thickness of the lip. Step 3 Add a flow line starting at the lip and curve it around to suggest roundness of the liquid lip. Step 4 Add the rest of the flow lines.
La fotografía submarina - la pared que hay que vigilar The sunken American naval ship "Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg" near the coast of Florida became the scene for a bizarre photo series. The Austrian photographer Andreas Franke made some amazing surrealistic photos for his series ‘The Vandenberg, Life Below the Surface’. The exhibition of these pictures was also held underwater. Check this film on the underwater art exhibition: