According to Plan

The glories of asbestos, miracle fiber!

Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 14, 2011 - Comments (6)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Business, Advertising, Products, Domestic, 1950s

A Little Light Weirdness – 8

A would be bank-robber in Austria was foiled in his robbery attempt when the bank closed early for a staff training session. The man came equipped with a Barack Obama mask and gun but was stopped at the first hurdle when the locked door refused to open for him. Staff inside initially thought it was part of the training or a joke, and their laughter aggravated the criminal until he eventually fled empty-handed (Digital Spy).

More successful were the thieves that managed to steal several US landmarks, including the Palace of Fine Arts, USS Pampanito and Ghirardelli Square. Models of course, part of an exhibition of Mark and Jannet Benz’s Lego creations on display at the Palo Alto Museum of American Heritage, and worth several thousand dollars. A reward of $500 has been offered by the Benzes (SF Weekly).

But if Jan and Mark are thinking of upping their home security, they should perhaps avoid following the example of Alexander Skopintsew of Primorye in Russia, who decided to deter intruders by planting homemade landmines around his garden. He was inevitably found out when a trespasser was injured when setting off one of these devices, and charged with possession of illegal weapons, receiving a suspended sentence (ABC News).

Of course another alternative might be to have nothing worth stealing. Perhaps something similar occurred to retired lorry driver Ken Strickland, who amassed a collection of over 3000 watering cans, each meticulously documented. Sadly Mr. Strickland died last month aged 78, bequeathing the entire assortment to his niece, who is at a loss as to what to do with them and may in fact sell them on behalf of a charity. One watering can however will not be up for sale, it contains her uncle's ashes (Metro).

Meanwhile hundreds of other women up and down the UK might be feeling a little let down this Monday, after British department store Debenhams recorded a 76% surge in sales of their range of “anatomy boosting” underwear for men ahead of Valentine’s day. Turn around is fair play, I say (Reuters).



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Posted By: Dumbfounded - Mon Feb 15, 2010 - Comments (5)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Crime, Stupid Criminals, Eccentrics, Collectors, Explosives, Geeks, Nerds and Pointdexters, Government, Officials, Kitsch and Collectibles, Weird Theory, Goofs and Screw-ups

A Little Light Weirdness - 6

When the O'Gorman family encountered still opposition to their proposal to demolish the Edwardian house they owned and use the land for six modern properties they were probably a little miffed, or more than a little, if the name they chose to give the development is anything to go by. Having been given a green light by the local council, the O'Gormans announced that the new cul-de-sac was to be called "Pogue Muhone Court". Pogue Muhone is a phonetic English equivalent to the Gaelic "pog mo thoin", which means "kiss my ass" (Telegraph).

And if kissing ass isn’t your thing, perhaps you’d like to crawl through one instead? You can at a new exhibit called Grossology, which opens at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. Subtitled “The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body” the exhibits also include a tour of the nose, a giant replica of human skin and an interactive experiment in flatulence called “Burp Man” (Miami Herald).

Not kissing but kicking ass are the pensioners of Bavaria in Germany, who decided not to take the credit crunch lying down. After their financial adviser, James Amburn, handed them losses in excess of 2.3 million euros, five OAPs tracked him to his home in Speyer, kidnapped him, and tortured him into faxing a Swiss bank for the money to pay them back. Instead he managed to alert the police. Mr. Amburn later confided that his four day ordeal was perhaps extended by his kidnappers having to stop a while when they ran out of breath (Mirror).

Also taking a little longer than usual were the German actors appearing in Erofeev’s satirical play “Moscow to the End of the Line”, alternatively billed as a “crazy depiction of one of the most famous alcoholic benders in world literature”. In an ill-considered attempt at method acting four of the performers decided to swap the water in the props for real vodka “as an experiment", only to fall off their chairs, and the stage, before inviting audience members to take a swig. They were later taken to hospital under a police escort to have their stomachs pumped (Guardian).

More outrage now, this time from Great Britain, where in a clear breach of their normal high standards of decorum, British mums have been seen shopping in the Tesco supermarket chain in pyjamas and slippers. In fact more outrage seems to have been directed at Tescos, who have implemented a dress code and now escort anyone so attired from their premises, than at the mums, They should all just be thankful they don’t have Walmarts, that’s all I’m saying (Mirror).

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Fri Jan 29, 2010 - Comments (3)
Category: Body, Buildings and Other Structures, Fashion, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Shopping, Body Fluids, Excrement, Flatulence, Alcohol, Goofs and Screw-ups

The Georgia Guidestones

America has its own puny version of Stonehenge? Who knew? The Georgia Guidestones, a large granite monument in Elbert County, Georgia, is made from six granite slabs. They were built in 1979 and are engraved with ten guidelines in eight different modern languages, as well as four ancient languages, that advise people to live in harmony with humanity and nature. The four outer stones are oriented to the Sun's yearly migration and each side of the tablet is perpendicular to one of the cardinal directions. Since the creation of the guidestones, there have been a number of controversies and conspiracy theories based on what the stones were really built for and what their message means. As of November 2009, the stones were covered in graffiti and splattered paint which has not been repaired as no one seems to want to accept the responsibility. You can find out more about this monument on Google or Wikipedia.

Posted By: Nethie - Fri Jan 08, 2010 - Comments (3)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, New Age, Statues, Monuments and Memorials

Is It a Giant Spatula or a Drawbridge?

Say you want to build a drawbridge but you need the operations on the side of the road so as not to interrupt the flow of traffic. Your answer is the Slauerhoffbrug, or Flying Drawbridge, located in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Built in 2000, this bridge is a hydraulic cantilevered drawbridge that consists of a single giant arm that swings upward, pulling the middle of the bridge through 90 degrees. There are a number of images of the bridge available on Google but this site has a pretty good collection in one place.

Posted By: Nethie - Mon Jan 04, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures

Funkalicious House

I just love this house. It's like Dr. Seuss meets Willy Wonka. Designed by architect Javier Senosiain, from Mexico, the home is named "Nautilus House" and was built in 2006 in Naucalpan. I think it's a stunning building, both inside and out, but you be judge.

Posted By: Nethie - Mon Dec 28, 2009 - Comments (4)
Category: Architecture, Buildings and Other Structures, Interior Decorating, Landscaping

That’s One Small Train

There's more information at James River Branch.

Posted By: mdb777 - Fri Oct 30, 2009 - Comments (5)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Crafts, Toys, Video

I’ll Huff And I’ll Puff…

From the BBC children's science show "Bang Goes The Theory...", engineer Jem Stansfield builds himself a giant vortex cannon, and tries to knock down buildings made of straw, wood and bricks...



Impressive, though I'm sure the "Big Bad Wolf" would not have had much of a problem if the third little pig had likewise left out the mortar. Mind you, one of these is just what I need to keep the neighborhood cats out of my garden! :cheese:

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Tue Aug 18, 2009 - Comments (7)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures, Destruction, Geeks, Nerds and Pointdexters, Guns, Inventions, Science, Experiments, Television, Myths and Fairytales

Spinning Skyscraper opens next year

Get your reservation now!! A spinning skyscraper being built in Italy will be shipped and assembled in Dubai.

The skyscraper slowly revolves and can be set to move different ways. Here's the video with "dramatic" background music.



Here's the web link so you can save your spot on the top floor:

http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net/home.html



I'm getting motion-sickness just watching the video -- what will happen in the city? (I pity the drunks.)

Posted By: gdanea - Sun Jun 28, 2009 - Comments (6)
Category: Buildings and Other Structures

Inventions of Buckminster Fuller, Part 6: Geodesic Domes

This is one of Bucky's inventions that actually went into practical use. Also, many people are actually somewhat familiar with this one (think Spaceship Earth at Epcot).



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Posted By: fyshstyxx - Tue Jun 16, 2009 - Comments (4)
Category: Architecture, Buildings and Other Structures, Futurism