30 Weird and Awesome Soap Designs

How to make Weird Soap ! is important We need it to keep our bodies clean, wash the grime of subway poles off our hands and stuff into our kid's mouths when they curse. There's a huge market for the stuff; soap exists for extra-sensitive skin, can be scented or unscented, infused with herbs and comes in liquid or solid form.

However necessary, it all sounds kind of boring -- which might explain why so many people have begun making their own soaps in a variety of fun and unique shapes. Here are 30 weird and awesome soap designs.

Source:- Urlesque

Man decorates basement with $10 Sharpie

Charlie Kratzer His home decoration Entire Ideas Basement Using a Sharpie and a Marker When He started on the basement Art project in his south Lexington home, he was surrounded by walls painted a classic cream. Ten dollars of Magic Marker and Sharpie later, the place was black and cream and drawn all over.

There are fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, Winston Churchill lounging with George Bernard Shaw — and the TV squirrel Rocky and his less adroit moose pal Bullwinkle.

Says Kratzer of his cartoon of a cartoon: "You appreciate the cleverness more as an adult."

There's Georges Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. There is Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, and the Cornell Law School, of which Kratzer is an alumnus. There is Kratzer's dad. There is the harlequin pattern — alluded to in culinary culture today by the Panera bread bag — and a fake fireplace facing a real one.

There are both The Walrus and the Carpenter (from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There), and William Shakespeare. The Marx Brothers peer around a corner. A flip-top garbage can is transformed via marker art into Star Wars' plucky little beeper R2D2.

Says Kratzer, 53, the associate general counsel for Lexmark: "People are amazed that with something as simple and inexpensive as a Sharpie, you can decorate a whole basement."

How did this Sharpie world start? With a single swipe of the marker.

Kratzer started mid-wall, with the Salon by Picasso. Then he thought, well, taking a design out to the edge of the wall wouldn't be overwhelming.

Then the rest of the basement flared off that first wall.

Kratzer's basement suggests that the great cultural influences wandered out of college humanities class — here a Churchill for eloquence during harsh times, a Joan Crawford for cinematic vampiness, Holmes and Poirot for great literary characterization — and set up shop together in the carefully hand-drawn markings of an educated imagination come to life.

Kratzer might be a lawyer by day, but in his off hours he is a man who has taken the artistic influences and heroes of his life and imagined them onto his walls, that he might keep company with them while he uses the pool table.

Look carefully in this basement o' dreams and you'll see a drawing of the Kratzers' upstairs library — with Claude Monet, the greatest of the Impressionists, at the doorway. It's a tribute to Monet, but it's also a way of living with cultural influences: Kratzer and his wife, Deb, don't just keep them within book covers or admire them in museums. Their Picasso spends each day close to their pinball machine. Agatha Christie's shrewd little Belgian detective and his carefully pruned mustache hover over the deck door.

From the main floor leading down to the basement, there is a color mural inspired by Picasso's The Dream.

But through most of the spacious basement there is black line-drawing — around the pinball machine and the pool table and over the bathtub and toilet.

Why the black marker theme? Says Kratzer: "You can do a lot with it."

Indeed, Sharpie art has its own little corner of the Internet: Artist Justine Ashbee, at www.justineashbee.com, features a gallery of intricate Sharpie art.

Kratzer likes the Impressionists, but he's also inspired by Picasso — in particular the artist's ability to convey a lot of information with just a few lines. A gathering at Picasso's Paris salon in 1919 dominates a far wall, featuring a pantheon of artistic greats including Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Clive Bell and Olga Picasso, striking a kind of Sharpie synthesis of marker art between film, music, dance, literature and the muse.

While Kratzer's basement mural art might have started with one mark, he had decided in his 30s that he wanted Impressionist art in his house, quite a lot of it, and that to afford such a stunning variety he'd best produce it himself.

He began to paint, and now there are paintings all over the house — created by Charlie and critiqued and guided by Deb. The two met at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania. Deb, now an at-home mom, formerly taught deaf students.

The couple has two sons, one at a Massachusetts engineering college, the other in the pre-engineering program at Lafayette High School.













Source:- Kentucky Via Trend Hunter

The World's First Inflatable Pub

Olde Worlde It is perhaps the ultimate in local pubs — so local that it’s in your back garden.

Website Drink stuff.com has come up with a range of blow-up hostelries in an ‘olde-worlde ’ style that can be inflated on your own turf.

However, you’ll need a lot of beer money to buy one.

The biggest model — the Hogshead — is 26ft tall and 15ft wide and costs £27,815.

It takes (the website claims) just ten minutes for four adults to set up, and you can invite up to 50 people inside to celebrate your new ‘landlord’ status.

Inside, the pub includes features such as a tiled roof, a fireplace, a brick stone wall and two chimney pots.

Three smaller models — called the Barrel, Kilderkin and Firkin — start at £4,275.

With imitation tiled roof, brick walls, chimney pots and fireplaces, you could almost be in a real pub.

The only thing that’s missing, of course, is a darts board…

Khan Shatyry

Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center ("Royal Marquee") is a giant transparent tent in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. The architectural project was unveiled by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on 9 December 2006.

The 150m-high (500 ft) tent has a 200m elliptical base covering 140,000 square meters. Underneath the tent, an area larger than 10 football stadiums, will be an urban-scale internal park, shopping and entertainment venue with squares and cobbled streets, a boating river, shopping centre, minigolf and indoor beach resort. The roof is constructed from ETFE suspended on a network of cables strung from a central spire. The transparent material allows sunlight through which, in conjunction with air heating and cooling systems is designed to maintain an internal temperature between 15-30°C in the main space and 19-24°C in the retail units, while outside the temperature varies between -35 to +35°C across the year.

After the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (2006), a giant glass pyramid in Astana, this is the second national project designed by UK architect Norman Foster (of Foster and Partners), (Partners in Charge Filo Russo and Peter Ridley), and UK engineers Buro Happold led by Mike Cook[2] Construction documentation architects are Linea and Gultekin The construction of the tent-city is the responsibility of the Turkish company Sembol.

After long delays, the main mast was erected in December 2008, and was opened July 5, 2010, on the occasion of Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev's 70th birthday. Andrea Bocelli gave a concert for the occasion

Source :- Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center

bendy bicycle

Incredible British young designer has invented a revolutionary folding bicycle that will stop thieves in their tracks

Kevin Scott, 21, designed the space-age bike that wraps around a lamp post so it can be locked-up safely - without the need for a lock or chain.

The De Montfort University graduate used a ratchet system built into the frame of the bike to allow it to wrap around a pole, enabling the lock to be wrapped through both wheels and the frame.

Securing all the bike's components within the lock was his aim in creating the new bike. It also allows the bike to be stored in small spaces.

The frame can be ratcheted tight to allow the bike to be ridden like a normal bike, but it can be quickly loosened to allow the frame to be bent back on itself.

As such, finding a spot to lock it up on London's busy streets is a cinch - you simply wrap it around the nearest lamppost.

Mr Scott's creation is currently on show at the Young Designers 2 show in Islington, north London.

He is hoping that his unusual cycle will catch the eye of a bike loving backer who will enable him to develop it further.

More than 52 bikes are stolen in London every day, according to official figures.

A total of 23,748 bikes were reported stolen in London in 2009-10 — up 27.8 per cent on the previous financial year — but police believe that the true figure could be double that.

Experts recommend that users should spend around 10 per cent of their bike's value on a decent lock - ideally two - and always lock it to a solid object through the frame.

World's Largest Skateboard

World’s largest skateboard Made Ever If you are daring enough to taste dangers and can go extreme for the fun sake, is all that you will surely love to take a ride on. Brought by California Skateparks to Camp Woodward in Pennsylvania, the world’s largest skateboard is like a conventional skateboard but has the capacity to fit more than a dozen people at the same time. However, unlike the conventional ones, steering this skateboard is a hard nut to crack, even when it uses similar steering principles but riding the largest skateboard ends in load of fun. Checkout the video to see the world’s largest skateboard on the go.









Source:- Automotto Via Like Cool

10 Most Extraordinary Space Suit Designs

Wiley Post was the first pilot to fly solo around the world but he was also known for his work in high altitude flying. As such he helped to develop one of the fist pressure suits and he can be seen in it on the left.

The complex system of garments that incorporate environmental systems and life support to maintain an astronaut in the harsh environment of space that we know as a space suit was decades away.

Fortunately by the time we were ready to go in to space, the pressure suits designed to be worn had evolved and been somewhat enhanced.

Here are ten of the coolest space suits to be made – ever.

Apollo/Skylab A7L

Let’s start with a design classic. In the 60s and 70s the A7L Apollo & Skylab was the spacesuit in which to be seen. Worn between '68 and '75 it was the seventh Apollo spacesuit designed by the pressure suit manufacturer ILC Dover.

Its predecessor (the A6L) was the first to have an integrated thermal cover layer. This protected the suit from scrapes and sheltered the astronaut from thermal solar radiation and micrometeoroids which could puncture the suit.

However, after the fire on Apollo 1 which killed all three crew members the suit had to have an upgrade. The fire proofing prompted the name change and this is the suit you see worn by NASA astronauts for the remainder of the Apollo mission as well as the three Skylab flights (the ones which were manned) and also the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

The A7L had six life support connections which were placed in parallel columns on the chest. The bottom four were used to convey oxygen. The one on the top right was an electrical headset connector and the top left was a cooling water connector which was bidirectional.

Buzz Aldrin can be seen wearing the A7L left on the Apollo 11 Mission (Image Credit)

Image Credit Wikimedia

Since an EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) suit was not necessary on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975 the cover layer was much lighter and more durable and the valves and gas connectors were taken off as they were no longer necessary. Ironically the first USA-USSR joint mission was the last Apollo mission. Above the American crew of Stafford, Brand and Slayton board the transfer van.

The Gemini Space Suit

Project Gemini consisted of ten manned flights in 1965 and 1966 with the objective of developing the techniques to be used in advanced space travel – especially those that would be needed for the Apollo Missions.

As such these missions were to give the waiting world below the first ever American spacewalk.

The Gemini suits went through several generations with the G3C and G4C suits worn for all of the missions except Gemini 7 (the G5C). The G3C consisted of six layers of nylon (the innermost was a rubberized bladder).

It had removable boots and a full-pressure helmet with gloves that could be detached by locking rings that allowed the wrists to rotate easily.

The G4C was exactly the same but in space the needs of gentlemen may digger. As well as more layers of insulation the version worn by the pilot had boots integrated in to the design and a sun visor (detachable) which snapped on to the helmet. It was in this suit that Ed White (below) astonished the world in 1965 when he made the first American spacewalk.

Image Credit Wikimedia

The Mark III

Image Credit Wikimedia

For our third spacesuit what better than the Mark III? It is an EMU, an Extravehicular Mobility Unit and has yet to be used. Built by ILC Dover it is heavier than most other suits – the primary life support system backpack alone weighs in at 15 kilograms. However, it is more mobile than previous suits and unlike the EMU used at the moment is a rear-entry suit (while the EMU in use today is waist entry).

Above Dr Jake Maule wears a Mark III prototype to collect rock samples, testing planetary protection procedures during surface EVA. The picture was taken in Svalbard in the Arctic which is about as Martian as it gets on Earth.

The Mark III has a mix of soft and hard suit components which includes a hard upper and lower torso as well as hip elements. These are made of a graphite/epoxy composite. There are bearings which allow constrained relative motion at the ankle, shoulder, hip and waist and the soft fabric joints are at the ankle, knee and elbow.

It is a zero-prebreathe suit, which adds to its overall awesome stature among space suits. What this means is that astronauts wearing a MK III are able to go from an environment made up of mixed gas such as the one found on the ISS straight to the suit without the bends. In other words it is probably the space suit of the future – at least it is what we see on TV shows and movies.

The current EVA demands that astronauts are forced to spend three hours in a pure oxygen, reduced pressure environment before they go outside to avoid risks like the bends.

Constellation Space Suit

Image Credit Wikimedia

The Constellation Program was to continue where the shuttle program left off but unfortunately, President Obama proposed a cancellation of the program effective when the 2011 fiscal year begins (though that seems to have changed somewhat, fingers crossed). So, who can say if the Constellation Space Suit will get off the drawing board? On paper though, it looks exciting.

The Configuration One suit, seen on the left, will be worn for launch and landing. It will also be used for EVAs and – if necessary – at time of major emergency. Unlike most other suits it is not based on the Gemini model but features a closed-loop system similar to the Mark III. The faceplate will be closed by a mechanical seal and will incorporate a sunshade. It will, however, retain the Gemini idea of five layers the innermost of which will be our favorite, the pressure retaining bladder.

Configuration Two will be used for jollies sorties on the surface of the moon and also long stays on outpost missions there. Again, it has similarities to the Mark III as it will use a rear-entry hatch design. It will be a soft suit design, however, which will allow astronauts to bend over and pick up objects when they are in it. They will be white, as opposed to the orange of Configuration One.

The Orlan Space Suit

Over to Russia for a while, which still has plans of its own for space exploration. The Orlan space suit (from the Russian for Sea Eagle which, you have to admit is a very smart name) has been used for spacewalks by the Russians and has also been borrowed by NASA and the Chinese Space Program.

Image Credit Wikimedia

When visiting the International Space Station American astronauts use the Orlan when they are participating in extravehicular activities.

Above you can see John Phillips a veteran of three space missions on one of his many EVAs. You can see Sergei Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut in the reflection of his visor.

It has been through several incarnations, from 1967 to pretty much the present day with the present model, the Orlan-MK, being tested on an EVA in June of last year. However, it has remained a one piece, semi-rigid model throughout.

It is self-sustaining and it can operate for over nine hours. Another of its advantages is that it can be donned very quickly – in only five minutes.

Like some of the others on our list, the Orlan is rear-entry. While that has no doubt caused sniggers in the more puerile parts of our readership, below is a picture of American Astronaut Clayton Anderson getting in to the Orlan, just to show you that it has very few – if any – connotations.

Image Credit Wikimedia

The Mercury Space Suit

Image Credit Wikimedia

You can tell perhaps that the picture of astronaut Gus Grisson was taken some time ago. Otherwise known as the Navy Mark IV this suit was first developed for very high altitude flight in the late 1950s.

It was then used in Project Mercury, the very first human spaceflight program that the United States attempted, running from 1959 to 1962. Overall there were six manned flights.

Due to the tiny size of the spacecraft a NASA joke at the time ran that they were worn rather than manned.

Returning to Wiley Post for a second, the suit was designed by Russell Colley who had helped Post in his attempts to build a high altitude pressure suit.

This was the first suit to eliminate the problems with mobility and weight that had beset previous designs, solving the problem by ballooning the suit.

The Navy Mark IV as it was first known attracted the attention of the newly born NASA in 1958 as they saw the suit as the best way to protect their astronauts from the depressurization of the cabin when it was in the vacuum of space. Colley’s design could, they discovered, be easily modified for its new extra terrestrial role.

The Mercury (astronaut Gordon Cooper wears it above) was the first of its kind and as such deserves a special place on this list.

Astronauts were not too fond of them, however. Once the suits were pressurized they could no longer turn their heads within the suit. There is always some sort of drawback, perhaps.

Advanced Crew Escape Suit

Image Credit Wikimedia

ACES for short, this suit was first used in 1994 and was in operation until the end of the Shuttle program. Its name sounds a little scary but the escape refers to the ascent out of earth’s atmosphere and the re-entry back in to it.

It is the direct descendent of the suits worn by the Gemini astronauts.

It is essentially a pressure garment in one piece, with bladder and ventilation systems integrated in to its design. The oxygen is fed through a connector at the left thigh, entering the helmet at the base of the neck ring. Again, locking rings are used for the helmet and gloves.

Notably, the cover layer of Nomex (for flame resistant meta-aramid material developed in the early 1960s) is colored orange – the international color of space exploration.

Underneath the suit there are urine-containment trunks known euphemistically as a MAG (Maximum Absorbency Garment). The astronauts wear very heavy paratrooper boots with zippers instead of laces, which help to reduce foot swelling and ankle injuries.

In case of fire, care has been taken not to use any cloth on the boots to avoid injury.

The Sokol Space Suit

Image Credit Wikimedia

As the Orlan means Sea Eagle, so the Sokol means Falcon. You have to admit, the Russians may not have been successful in their attempts to explore space as the US, but they show more flair when it comes to naming their space suits. Above Cosmonaut Gennady I. Padalka floats in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station - wearing his trusty Sokol.

This is one of the longer lived space suits too. Anyone who has flown a Soyuz has worn one of these – the Sokol was first used in 1973 and is still used today.

It is not used for EVAs of any kind but its purpose is singular – to keep its wearer alive if the spacecraft was suddenly or accidentally depressurized. If it is close to anything, then it would be the ACES suit.

This isn’t rear-entry either. There are two zips on the chest that form a V. These are opened as is one in the inner pressure layer. The legs are the first to go in, and then the arms go in to the sleeves and the head in to the helmet. Once the cosmonaut is in then the appendix is rolled up and secured with strong elastic bands. Incredibly strong elastic bands.

Image Credit Wikimedia

As you can see from the picture above of NASA astronaut Peggy A Whitson having her suit checked before a flight to the ISS, perhaps the best word to describe the donning of this suit is ungainly.

Extravehicular Mobility Unit

Image Credit Wikimedia

The EMU is an independent anthropomorphic system, allowing the protection of astronauts carrying out an EVA in terms of their mobility, communications and life support. It is the space suit of choice for EVAs on the ISS in earth orbit and is a two-piece semi-rigid suit. The other space suit used on the ISS is the Orlan (above).

In order to reflect heat and to stand out against the vast blackness of space the suits are white and the red stripes on the legs enable differentiation between different astronauts. It has a sophisticated control module (or DCM) below.

Image Credit Wikimedia

The upper torso is hard and has a Primary Life Support System attached to it. The soft lower part incorporates the body seal, waist bearing, legs and boots. Underneath will be the usual MAG as well as possibly a pair of long johns, depending on the astronaut.

The first EMU went in to space in 1982 during STS-4. The first EVA did not happen until two launches later. Most of the EMU use has happened on trips to and from Hubble when two sets of astronauts would conduct EVAs. One great incorporation in to the EMU was the inclusion of additional batteries to the gloves, so that the astronauts can keep their hands warm during the night time of each 95 minute orbit. The EMU is currently used by crews of all nationalities on the ISS.

The I-suit

Image Credit Wikimedia

A glimpse in to the future, perhaps? The I-Suit has been developed by ILC Dover and began life as a mobility demonstrator for EVAs in all-soft suits. It is designed for a number of roles, not just EVA and these include planetary excursions. It is currently configured so it can connect with the EMU helmet and has the same wrist bearing disconnect system.

It is a pioneer in the all soft-suit stakes as it meets the requirements that NASA imposes for structural loads, joint mobility and pressure. What is more, as it incorporates improvements in manufacturing and materials since the design of the EMU it is both lighter and more mobile than its older cousin currently in use on the ISS.

Image Credit Wikimedia

The EMU is designed, of course, for only EVAs. The I-suit is meant to enable astronauts to EVA and to walk on the surface of planets too. Because of this the weight was always going to be a critical factor and the I-suit weighs only 65 pounds compared to 107 for the EMU. Although it has never been on a mission tests conducted at NASA Desert Research and Technology Study (Desert-RATS) have been very positive.


Other Image Credits
The below were difficult to credit next to the pictures, due to the layout of the page.
Wiley Post
Gemini Suit
Mark III
Constellation Suits 2nd Image
Orlan 2nd Image
Gordon Cooper
ACES
2nd Sokol Cosmonaut Yury V. Usachev

Tags: Extraordinary, Space Suit Designs, Top 10

Aqua skyscraper

The Aqua Tower is an 82-story mixed-use residential skyscraper in the Lakeshore East development in downtown Chicago. The building's height of 819 ft (250 m), includes six levels of parking below ground. The building's eight-story, 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) base is topped by a 82,550 sq ft (7,669 m2) terrace with gardens, gazebos, pools, hot tubs, a walking/running track and fire pit. Each floor will cover approximately 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m

Aqua is designed by Jeanne Gang, principal and founder of Studio Gang Architects, and it is her first skyscraper project. This is the largest project ever awarded to an American firm headed by a woman. Loewenberg & Associates are the architects of record, led by James Loewenberg.

The Aqua Tower is located on the 200 block of North Columbus Drive, and is surrounded by high-rises. To capture views of nearby landmarks for Aqua's residents, Gang stretched its balconies outward by as much as 12 feet (3.7 meters). The result is a building composed of irregularly shaped concrete floor slabs which lend the facade an undulating, sculptural quality. Gang cites the striated limestone outcroppings that are a common topographic feature of the Great Lakes region as inspiration for these slabs.

The building will contain 55,000 square feet (5,100 square meters) of retail and office space, in addition to 215 hotel rooms (floors 1-18), 476 rental residential units (floors 19-52), and 263 condominium units & Penthouses (floors 53-80). Aqua will also be the first downtown building to combine condos, apartments and a hotel. Strategic Hotels & Resorts had agreed to acquire the first 15 floors of hotel space upon completion of the building, but terminated its $84 million contract for the space in August 2008, citing significant changes in the economic environment. On May 12, 2010, it was announced that Carlson Hotels Worldwide agreed to spend $125 million to open the first Radisson Blu hotel in the United States on 18 vacant floors of the highrise.

The name 'Aqua' was assigned to the building by Magellan Development Group LLC. It fits the nautical theme of the other buildings in the Lakeshore East development, and is derived from the wave-like forms of the balconies; the tower's proximity to nearby Lake Michigan also influenced the name.

Sustainability was also an important factor in Aqua's design. Gang and her team refined the terrace extensions to maximize solar shading, and other sustainable features will include rainwater collection systems and energy-efficient lighting. The green roof on top of the tower base will be the largest in Chicago. The tower will seek LEED certification.




















Source:- Wikipedia