Nov 21 2009 Huh?: "Plane Misses Runway, Lands In Lava"
A passenger plane headed for an airport in eastern Congo overshot the runway (spider solitaire) and ended up crash-landing in lava. Wicked! Of course, I'm making this cooler than it actually was because it wasn't molten lava and it wasn't in the middle of a volcano. Truthfully, I don't even know why I'm reporting this besides 1. I'm awesome and B. journalism.
The plane was flying from Kinshasa to Goma, and passengers had warned the crew that there were heavy clouds, Radio Okapi said.
An official from the U.N. mission in Congo, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he does not have permission to speak with media, said there were 117 passengers aboard.
Thankfully, nobody was injured. Oh -- and I love how people that don't have permission to speak are always speaking. Such rule-breakers! Now, not to honk my own bike horn or anything, but crash landing an airplane in lava isn't that impressive. Because one time I docked my pirate ship in the middle of an earthquake. Seriously, right in the middle. The epicenter. I know the terminology, it happened.
Plane misses runway, lands in lava [msnbc]
Thanks to iceman, who would have cooled the lava with his superpowers and made an ice skating rink.
Jan 22 2009 Get Away From The World And Die Alone And Miserably In The 'Generic Escape Capsule'
'The Generic Escape Capsule' was fashioned by Australian artist Adam Norton out of an old wardrobe after he discovered it wouldn't transport him to a magical land where he could f*** lions and witches and goat-people. Basically, Adam included everything a person would need to survive a couple days away from the world, should one get tired of their nagging wife/girlfriend or get buried in an earthquake. Plus, as a bonus, it doubles as a masturbation chamber. Triples as kindling.
Hit the jump for a close up of the last thing you'll see before you decide it's just not worth living anymore.
Jun 24 2008 The 730-Ton Ball That Keeps The Taipei 101 Earthquake Tolerant Is Pretty Big, Heavy
The Taipei 101, once the world's tallest building, sits a paltry 600 feet from a fault line. So is the structure doomed? Nope -- it's rocking a uni-ball of steel.
To counteract the forces working against it, architects installed a $4 million, 730-ton tune massed damper, which is a big ball 18 feet in diameter, made of 41 steel plates, and suspended by strong cables 3 1/2-inches think. It's said to cut down on the swaying of the building by almost 40%.
Pretty cool stuff there. Anything that keeps buildings standing and people safe during an earthquake is A-okay in my book. Even if it is a 730-ton ball. Which, incidentally, explains why I've never taken a fall. *wink* Ladies?
Hit the jump for some more pictures, an animation of how the damper works, along with a video of the ball in action during the recent Chinese earthquake.
