Scribal Terror

"In these days of inventions and of sea-serpents . . ."

The nineteenth century spawned a wealth of peculiar inventions. This website deals (in great detail) with the poison harpoons and lances that were invented at the height of the whaling era. Here's a sample:

 

In August 1833 an inventor calling himself "Mechanicus" described a hand-darted poison harpoon of his own design in a letter titled, "Sea-Serpent Harpoon" to the editor of the Mechanic's Magazine, and Register of Inventions and Improvements. He explained:

In these days of inventions and of sea-serpents, I deem it meritorious to contrive something for the destruction of such ugly looking monsters as have lately furnished such wonderment to the good people down east. Now, sir, if any of your readers should ever take a notion to go either whaling or sea-serpenting, I would advise them to be provided with some half dozen of the machines of which I send you the drawings.

The harpoon was of a two-flued configuration with a narrow hole drilled from the tip to the boss of the shank behind the head, joining a hole through the side of the boss into which was screwed a nipple for a percussion cap. The longitudinal hole through the head was filled with "a proper quantity of some poisonous substance, the effects of which shall be powerful and rapid." The firing mechanism, located in the side of the boss, consisted of a spring-loaded hammer and a two-pronged trigger to hold the hammer cocked. When the iron was darted into a whale, the blubber pressed the trigger back and released the hammer which detonated a percussion cap on the nipple. The explosion forced the poison out of the hole through the head of the harpoon, like a hypodermic needle, to kill the whale.

The poisonous substance used was prussic acid AKA hydrogen cyanide.

Phonographantasmograph

By Jim LeFevre, who writes:

In March 2007 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London we hosted an evening of animation related events which I took as an opportunity to make some more examples of my Phonographantasmascope, an extension of the Zoetrope principle.

It is all live action and works by using the shutter speed of the camera rather than the rather irritating stroboscope methods other 3D Zoetropes use.

Via Feel Me

Sci-fi knife on the loose in Britain

Mail Online reports:

Senior police officers have been warned to look out for a new knife which can inject a ball of compressed gas into its victim that instantly freezes internal organs.

The 'wasp knife', which can deliver a ball of compressed gas capable of killing its victim at the press of a button, may be heading for Britain, the Metropolitan Police fear.

A needle in the tip of the blade shoots out the frozen ball of gas which instantly balloons to the size of a basketball, freezing organs.

The Metropolitan Police have told colleagues in the West Midlands to be on the lookout for the blade, which is designed to kill sharks and bears.

Industrial shredder

Watch it shred other bulky objects here.

Equine nasal strips

Found at Neatorama -- According to the Flair Equine Nasal Strips website:

Unlike humans, horses can only breathe through their nose. During exercise when horses begin to breathe hard the soft tissues overlying the nasal passages are sucked in, reducing the airway diameter. This reduction in diameter causes greater resistance to airflow into the lungs. FLAIR Strips are proven to reduce airway resistance during exercise. By reducing airway resistance during exercise, FLAIR Strips are a horse care product that helps prevent fatigue related injuries, helps protect the lungs from injury and promotes optimal athletic performance.

"This Is Phun"

Tunnel through the earth

This map lets you see where you would end up if you tunneled straight down from where you are now. I come out in the Indian Ocean between Australia and South Africa.

What's your optimal white noise level?

Mine is 5%. I practically go into a trance listening to it. How about you? Visit SimplyNoise to check it out. Via In4mador.

Power-assisted luggage

This (via GAS) is what my kids have needed all through school. Have you ever weighed your kid's backpack? According to Chris Adams at About.com/Ergonomics:

Studies from John Hopkins Children Center and many other places have shown that backpacks cause back and shoulder pain and poor posture in children. Here are the numbers:

• The average student has a visual analog pain scale level of 4.3 with some reaching an 8-9, as reported by Northeastern University in June of 2001.
• From a survey by the American Academy of Orthopedics: 71% of doctors feel backpacks are a clinical problem, 58% see patients with pain related to backpacks, and 52% think that this is a serious problem.
• 55% of students carry an overloaded backpack, as reported by Simmons College in February of 2001.
• 3,300 children aged 5-14 were treated in emergency rooms in 1997 for backpack related injuries according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
• An Auburn University study showed that 67% of children suffered muscle soreness, 51% back pain, 24% numbness and 15% shoulder pain.
• 65% of adolescents’ doctor visits are due to backpack injuries as reported by National Public Radio in October of 1998.

Here's a company that has suspension-loaded backpacks which recover energy from walking as well.

Flying saucer in production

Sky News reports:

US company Moller International has begun to manufacture parts for its Jetsons-like personal flying pod, the M200G Volantor. . . .

The flying saucer is designed to fly at an altitude of up to three metres, where it benefits from extra lift created by a cushion of air - known as ground effect.

HA HA HA informs us:

Moller's been turning out "real soon now" press releases, and not much else, for a long, long time. The SEC is Not Amused.