Category: Weirdness
US Army creates cyborg beetles to fight future wars
The University of California is undertaking research, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, that will allow the creation of remote-controlled beetles. The beetles remain alive, but unable to control their bodies as the chips take control of their wing muscles via their optic nerve.
I don’t know what it is about this story that terrifies me most. It could be the fact that beetles are so easy to mind-control that you can just stick a chip on them and they’ll do your bidding. It could be that it would be incredibly cheap and easy to build a vast cloud of evil cyborg beetles and send them at your foes.
I might even be that there’s these poor beetles in California, alive, and unable to do anything but passively observe the remainder of their pitiful existence as their muscles spasm upon commands from military generals. I think it’s a combination of all three, so how about we end this post right about now, before I start shivering helplessly.
Remote Controlled Beetles (via Hackaday)
More beetle news: Forest fire fighting beetle-like robots in development | Scientists invent human gills after studying beetles
His Holiness The Dalai Lama joins Twitter
The Dalai Lama isn’t the first political leaderto join the microblogging phenomenon Twitter, but he might be the first religious leader. Well, the first real one, anyway.
His Holiness, or @OHHDL as he’s known on the site, has been networking like crazy, sending 46 updates and accruing 20,000 followers in just two days. Some of it is just sending out links to his other web presences, but there’s a smattering of other stuff, too, including the wonderful statement: “I’m sure HH will be just as inquisitive about technology as he has been over the past 14 reincarnations”.
Note: this post nearly contained a “Twibet” pun, but I thought better of it after seeing @natelanxon’s rant this morning.
More posts about Twitter: New INQ phone will have Twitter built in | Celebrity Twitter user Stephen Fry in LIVE LIFT TRAP SENSATION
Literally *INSANE* Sky claims that watching HD broadcasts helps combat depression
Genius. Simple genius. Sky has teamed up with psychologist Donna Dawson to claim that watching broadcasts in HD via Sky+HD can help alleviate the symptoms of depression.
Of course, as men who have just spent an obscene amount of money on an HDTV and Sky+HD subscription, there is indeed something calming and enjoyable about sitting there, basking in the HD glow, smug in the fact that your picture has more pixels in it than the picture your neighbours are lumbered with.
But the completely ludicrous PDF guide to Sky+HD claims that “programmes with vivid, bright and sharply defined colours create a visual sensation for our eyes, which help to lift our spirits and energise…
Suspected T-Mobile marketing stunt closes Liverpool Street station
If your journey home last Friday involved traversing Liverpool Street station, you might have had some trouble. The London station was forced to close for an hour and a half, from 7pm, due to an 11,000-strong flash mob mimicking T-Mobile’s recent adverts featuring silent dancers.
Niche of the week: Headset Hotties
Welcome to Niche of the Week, an irregular feature where we highlight the slightly more bizarre corners of the internet. This one looks at models on websites with headsets on, usually promising live support, or customer chat, or something along those lines, called, brilliantly, Headset Hotties.
You can’t deny, this has Gary Cutlack written all over it. Unfortunately I can’t verify whether it’s his work or not, right now. I suspect the former. If you’re not familiar with Mr Cutlack’s modus operandi, then I suggest you go and visit Idiot Toys right now. It’s fantastic.
Headset Hotties (via Instant Rimshot)
More niches: Trukz – a haulage-based MMO | Brokers with hands on their faces
New use for old tech #2: 747 hotel
In this modern day and age of impending global doom, it’s important to recycle as much as possible. Today, that includes jumbo jets and if you head over to Stokholm you could go and spend a night in this particular 747 saved from the scrap yard and converted into…
Computertan, the web-based home tanning system powered by LCD rays
Oh dear. Today is a sad day. We have been amused and entertained by a marketing campaign 🙁
The marketing campaign in question is that of ComputerTan, a supposed online tanning system that uses the deadly rays output by your PC monitor to bring a healthy orange glow to your face while you work.
It is, of course, a joke – perpetrated by UK skin cancer charity Skcin and designed to raise awareness of how bad it is to pursue the tanned look. The Times says some…
Get your own robot mini-me from Little Island
Here’s one to file under aaahhhhhhhhhhhh! Yes, that lady in the picture is holding a miniature robotic version of herself.
I’m not sure who the customers are and why it’s a good idea but Japanese company Little Island offers the service…
Husband tells wife about divorce via change in Facebook relationship status
That happy couple over on the right are Emma & Neil Brady. They’ve been married for six years, but just before Christmas, after accusing her of liasing with another man, Neil threw Emma out of the house, injuring her wrist. He was brought to court for assault, and pleaded guilty. During the case, though, an interesting detail emerged.
Neil had announced his divorce to his wife via a change in his relationship status – “Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady”. His wife only found out when her best friend, who lives in Denmark, saw it, complete with a comment from a girl in Canada which read “You are better off out of it”. Nice. Still, at least she didn’t kill him over it.
(via the Next Web)
More Facebook: PROFILE: Mark Zuckerberg | Will it still be around in five years?
Oxford Junior Dictionary ditches "beaver" and "budgerigar" for "blog" and "biodegradable"
The Oxford Junior Dictionary has been slowly removing loads of boring old nature and science words from its recent editions, replacing the likes of “guinea pig” and “monastery” with modern things kids need to know about like “MP3 player” and “broadband”.
This deeply shameful activity by the newly edgy and urban word-explainer has mainly seen numerous nature terms and animal names dumped, but plenty of Christian and other religious words have been removed too – to make way for the likes of “database” and “chatroom”. Ideal if you’re currently hot-housing your kid for a future career in IT…
