Nov 11 2009 That....Sounds Dangerous -- I Must Try It!

This is a 9-second video of an evil mad scientist pouring liquid nitrogen in his mouth and blowing out vapor. Why? Because he's mad, yo! Even worse than that tea-loving mother with the big hat.

Though it may look like this scientist is actually drinking the liquid nitrogen, he says that with a bit of practice, "it is easy not to swallow liquid nitrogen and make cool condensed vapor come out of the nostrils."

I would have drank it. I would have drank it and asked for another one. Bartender, another cold one. No, another REAAALLY cold one. You catch my drift? I'm talking about liquid nitrogen. And I want two of those little umbrellas and a plastic cutlass with cherries AND YOU BETTER NOT CHARGE ME FOR THEM. Now, get ready to call the paramedics.

How Scientists Chill Out [techeblog]

Thanks to naas, who once drank liquid gasoline trying to siphon my gas tank. That's what you get!

Nov 6 2009 Gross: Spit Ball Toys Grow 200x Original Size

Spit Balls are a $ 5 toy from Edmund Scientific that grow to 200x their original size and sound like something that I don't want to touch. Still, for the sake of science, I'd put them in my mouth.

The wonder of polymers makes these slimy spit balls possible. Easy to make and fun to use, spit balls grow to 200x their original size and are slimy to the touch. Slip, slide, and bounce the balls until they explode on target.

"Growing to 200x it's original size"...."slimy to the touch"...."bouncing the balls until they explode on target"....remind you of something else? Yeah, me neither.

Product Site
via
Finally Some Real Innovation! Polymer Spit Balls Grow To 200x Their Original Size [ohgizmo]

Jul 16 2009 The Leidenfrost Effect, Or: How It's Okay To Stick Your Hand In A Can Of Liquid Nitrogen

Science is amazing. And I'm not just saying that because it's my only hope of cloning dinosaurs or inventing a time machine. Yes I am. But still, the Leidenfrost Effect is cool too.

The Leidenfrost effect is a phenomenon in which a liquid, in near contact with a mass significantly hotter than the liquid's boiling point, produces an insulating vapor layer which keeps that liquid from boiling rapidly. This is most commonly seen when cooking; one sprinkles drops of water in a skillet to gauge its temperature--if the skillet's temperature is at or above the Leidenfrost point, the water skitters across the metal and takes longer to evaporate than it would in a skillet that is above boiling temperature, but below the temperature of the Leidenfrost point. It has also been used in some dangerous demonstrations, such as dipping a wet finger in molten lead or blowing out a mouthful of liquid nitrogen, both enacted without injury to the demonstrator.

Well neato. If you don't like reading the guy in the video explains the whole Lederhosen effect and even demonstrates the water on a hot surface and dipping your hand in liquid nitrogen experiments. So, watch that while I run to the restroom.

Okay, now which one of you jokers filled the toilet bowl with liquid nitrogen? And, hypothetically, how long do you think it takes to thaw a frozen python? And, if using a microwave, should you use the defrost or popcorn button?

Youtube

Thanks to towhee, who, like all women, has a heart that pumps liquid nitrogen.

Jun 18 2009 It's A Boy!: Periodic Table Gets New Element

That's right young'n, the periodic table finally gave birth to element 112, temporarily named 'Ununbium', until it's official name 'Geekologium' can be verified by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), who I may or may not be holding at gunpoint. I SAID SIGN THE PAPERS!

More than a decade after experiments first produced a single atom of the element, a team of German scientists has been credited with its discovery.

The team, led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research, must propose a name for their find, before it can be formally added to the table.

To create element 112, Professor Hofmann's team used a 120m-long particle accelerator to fire a beam of charged zinc atoms (or zinc ions) at lead atoms. Nuclei of the two elements merged, or fused, to form the nucleus of the new element.

Oh yeah? Well I was born when a beam of charged awesome atoms were fired at badass ones. Nuclei of the two elements merged, or fused, to form my nuts. Then, a stork wrapped me in a blanket and flew off. But mid-flight I cut myself out of the sack and parachuted behind enemy lines, where I shot the everliving shit out of them. And that, my friends, is how I became the youngest recipient of the Congressional Medal of Awesome.

Periodic table gets a new element [bbcnews]

Thanks to Ari and Julian, who were born after a sperm fused with an egg.

May 18 2009 Experiment: Which Dog Do Women Like Best?

This is a video of an experiment called 'Puppy Pulling Power' that helps determine which breed of dog women respond to most. Basically some guy attached a digital camera to a dog's collar that takes a picture every time it detects a smile. Or breasts. Quite possibly breasts. Whatever the case, I'm adopting everything the pound has to offer. Cats too. Ladies?

Hit the jump for some of the sweater yammier images, along with a graph showing the success of the various dogs, and a longer, 10 minute movie about the project.

Continue Reading " Experiment: Which Dog Do Women Like Best? "

Mar 25 2009 Neat: The Science Of Little Red Riding Hood

This is probably the coolest telling of Little Red Riding Hood I've ever seen not including the one where Red was a busty college co-ed and the wolf was just a guy with a monster dong and bear costume (low budget). But he still ate her alright! The grandmother too. *HORFITY HORF HORF BLOW CHUNKS*

Slagsmålsklubben [vimeo]

Thanks to Chris, who has never done a wolf but has had several cougars. Older ladies?

Mar 23 2009 Scientific: A Periodic Table Of XBox Games

The latest in a line of geeky periodic tables comes the Periodic Table of XBox Games from Blackwalt (possibly of LOST fame). Full size version HERE and description of all "elements" HERE. Good looking. I hope you can appreciate it as much as I do. And also, this cake. P.S. I baked a stripper inside just for you. Be careful -- she's smokin' hot! But only temperature wise, she's actually just an ugly hooker. Or she was, before I hit her with my car. Now she's a liability. And also -- your problem. Gotta go!

A Masterpiece from HoC Productions [herdofcats]

Thanks Blackwalt, now tell me: what's the secret of the island?

Mar 22 2009 I Need Some!: Mercury(II) Thiocyanate

Mercury Thiocyanate used to be made into "Pharoah's Serpent" fireworks similar to the "black snake" tablets you light and watch grow into a crusty snake. Unfortunately, it produces mercury vapors during the process so now the tablets are made out of a much safer sodium bicarbonate compound. Boo, I know. Still, wicked awesome if you can get your hands on some. Which, thanks to my ultra-sweet Geekologie connections, I just have. So -- are you thinking what I'm thinking? If you guessed, "glue-stick a bunch to my penis and try to impress women at the bar", you are. High-five! Haha, that was just glue-stick, I swear. Now watch this!

UPDATE: IT BUUUUUUUURNS! *helicoptering* Ladies?

Youtube

Thanks to John, who once beat Mr. Wizard in a match-holding contest.

Mar 20 2009 A Periodic Table Of Final Fantasy Characters

Loyal Geekologie Reader Rafi, inspired by all of the recent periodic tables featured, decided to make his own -- of Final Fantasy characters (full-size version HERE)! WHOOWEEWHOOOOO!

In this table you'll find the atomic numbers and symbols, as well as:

* Characters from Final Fantasy I through the upcoming XIII
* Heroes, villains, monsters, and summons from throughout the series
* Minor characters as well (because it was a stretch to match some symbols)

Impressive work, Rafi. Lots of familiar looking faces in the bunch. Now somebody make a periodic table of Geekologie and we'll be all set....for HYPERDYPER-DRIVE! VAVAVA ARRRARAAROOOOOOMM!! SPPPSSSHOOOWW!! *SPACESHIP SOUNDS* BEEPITY BOP BEEEPITY POW POW *sputter* SSSHOOOOOOOM!*

*GW not responsibly for what he types in spaceship mode or when he's been drinking. PEWITY PEW HORF PEW!

Periodic Table of Final Fantasy characters [raficus]

Mar 15 2009 The Periodic Table Of Video Game Charcters

Wow, what a periodic weekend! First yesterday's table of typefaces, and now one of video game characters! WOO WOO! Hit THIS to see the thing in its entirety. So, what do you think? Personally, I think it's questionable as hell. It looks like they just threw characters into spots based on their names with no regard for valence shells or reactivity. Now, I hate to be a stickler for science, but why is Neon dry humping his bed's footboard?

IHC's Periodic Table of Video Game Characters [iheartchaos]

Thanks to JJ, who's smart enough to realize Raiden and Kratos don't belong in the noble gases.

Feb 10 2009 Large Hadron Collider Still Not Colliding

Apparently now that the LHC has Google doing its bidding, it's taking it easy and won't become operational anytime soon. Unless September is considered soon, in which case, shit, I won't live to see the finale of LOST.

The Large Hadron Collider could be switched back on in September - a year after it shut down due to a malfunction and several months later than expected.

An investigation into the LHC's problems concluded the initial malfunction was caused by a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets. Cern had also said new protection systems would be added as part of £14m repairs.

It blamed the shutdown on the failure of a single, badly soldered electrical connection in one of its super-cooled magnet sections.

I applaud you, nameless faulty solderer. I just hope you and the other saboteurs have something planned for September, lest we all get sucked into a worm hole and wind up in some alien's petting zoo. Which, I think we can all agree, would -- wait, you think they have dinosaurs?

Hadron Collider relaunch delayed [bbcnews]

Thanks to Richie-Con-Carne, who tastes delicious with Sriracha hot sauce.

Feb 6 2009 Whee, More Non-Newtonian Speaker Fun!

I swear, I never get tired of watching non-Newtonian fluid fun. In this case, another 2:1 cornstarch to water concoction (aka oobleck) on a speaker. I really liked it when some of the pieces started diving out of the pool. Screw this sausage pool party, I'm outta heeeeeeeeeere!!

Amazing cornstarch speaker monster: Not as easy at looks [dvice]

Feb 3 2009 It's Elemental: A Periodic Table Duvet

This is a duvet cover that a loving woman made for her chemistry major boyfriend. I think this is the first time I've ever typed duvet. Secretly, I liked it.

You may or may not have seen a post I did back in the fall when I was in the planning stages of making a quilt for my boyfriend for Christmas, featuring the "periodic table of the elements", because he is a Chemistry major, and I thought he'd find it totally epic.

Unfortunately, It became a duvet cover instead of a quilt because of a) time constraints and the fact that I still had gifts for 7 or 8 other people that I was making and b) buying the batting for the inside would have put me $50 over budget instead of just $10 over. (shh, don't tell him.)

Haha, he totally just got told. And also, I want one. I'm gonna don an eyepatch and get my argon under that sucker. Know what I'm saying? You bring the parrot.

Hit the jump for several more of the construction.

Continue Reading " It's Elemental: A Periodic Table Duvet "

Jan 22 2009 Forget Rubik's, I Want A Yoshimoto Cube

A Yoshimoto Cube is actually two separate cubes nested together. The technical terminology for the change is "the transformation of two stellated rhombic dodecahedrons from a cube". Honestly, I just like listening to this guy's voice. It's soothing, like a homicidal maniac's.

Youtube

Thanks to OJ's Mom, who once transformed a stellated cylinder in his pants into a dodickahardon IN YO FACE!

Dec 18 2008 Science!: The Periodic Table Of Awesoments

Unfortunately, it probably doesn't look that awesome since you can't read any of it. So click HERE to see the whole thing and all the awesoments that make the world cool.

In 300 B.C., years before the birth of black Jesus, Aristole postulated that all good things were made of "win." That was a pretty good guess, but he was drunk and probably also having an orgy. Modern day awesominers know there are actually 118 fundamental "awesoments" that compose all good things. The Periodic table of Awesoments can be a very useful tool. It's designed to show the relationships between awesoments, and often one can even predict how awesoments interact simply by their positions on the table.

Awesome. Although I question the awesoments in the traditional 'noble gas' section (ninja, sniper, vampire, wizard, etc.). I would argue that those particular awesoments are, in fact, highly reactive and not as tame as their position in the table suggests. Am I right? Example: "Hey ninja -- I banged your vampire mom last night. Yeah, she made me slap her ass with garlic nunchucks the whole time. Then your assassin dad walked in on us so i put my wizard robe and hat on and did him too. Then I had a sniper buddy take him out. Haha, your Jedi mind-tricks don't work on me. Now let's throw some clay on the potter's wheel and get all ghost-y." Seriously folks, you see how reactive that shit was?

The Periodic Table of Awesoments [dapperstache]

Thanks to Bryan, who I was surprised to see absent from the table.

Dec 5 2008 U.K. Launches (Teddy) Bears To (Near) Space

The University of Cambridge, in cooperation with a bunch of school kids, ballooned four teddy bears to 30,000 meters. Because, I mean, why the hell not?

A helium balloon was used to get the bears up up and away flying to Near Space or the Edge of Space as it is known. The bears endured temperatures of minus 53 degrees on the three hour flight from Cambridge and all were returned safely to Earth.

The project was intended to "engage local schoolchildren in science and engineering" with young pupils making the Teddy-nauts' space-suits.

Oh yeah, making Teddy-naut suits, that's science and engineering for you. Let's see, the dumbass bear on the left doesn't even have a freaking helmet, so that poor bastard's long gone. And the one on the right....is that an inside out Doritos bag zip tied to his body? Wow. There was no good picture of the balloon they used, but we can only assume it was of the 'Get Well Soon' variety from the grocery store.

Photos of teddy bears in space [newslite]

Thanks to Charles, who once launched a polar bear into space with a single punch. The dude's strong.

Nov 14 2008 It's Beautiful!: A Crystal (Meth) Apartment

Roger Hoirn is an artist. An artist that grows crystals on things. Because that's what floats his boat -- crystals. I like turtles. Roger was able to grow copper-sulfate crystals on every possible surface of an apartment. How?

The answer is simple and at the same time remarkably difficult to achieve on this scale. Anyone who has had a chemistry lesson knows how you grow copper-sulfate crystals: make a supersaturated solution by dissolving lots of them in hot water, then, as it cools, they recrystalize, growing on whatever you dangle in the solution.

He sealed a ground-floor flat - turning it into a huge tank - and filled it with 75,000 liters of hot, supersaturated copper-sulfate solution, poured in through holes in the floor of the flat above. Then he waited for it to cool, pumped out the remaining liquid and broke back into the sealed flat to see what had happened. It had worked.

Cool. And by cool I mean you can freaking forget about your security deposit.

Hit the jump for another picture and worthwhile video.

Continue Reading " It's Beautiful!: A Crystal (Meth) Apartment "

Oct 14 2008 Blacker Than Black: The Darkest Material

Researchers have recently made a material so dark it absorbs 99.9% of light, the closest yet to a "pure" black.

The substance has a total reflective index of 0.045 percent -- which is more than three times darker than the nickel-phosphorous alloy that now holds the record as the world's darkest material.

Basic black paint, by comparison, has a reflective index of 5 percent to 10 percent.

Ninjas and emos rejoice!

New material pushes the boundary of blackness [reuters]

Thanks to bob, who wrote the joke so I didn't have to. Check's in the mail!

Sep 15 2008 Uh-Oh: Large Hadron Collider Hacked, Countdown To Destruction Initiated !!

Last week a group of hackers busted all up in the Large Hadron Collider's network and did stuff. Okay, so they didn't really do anything. That we know about.

Calling themselves the Greek Security Team, the interlopers mocked the IT used on the project, describing the technicians responsible for security as "a bunch of schoolkids."

However, despite an ominous warning "don't mess with us," the hackers said they had no intention of disrupting the work of the atom smasher.

"We're pulling your pants down because we don't want to see you running around naked looking to hide yourselves when the panic comes," they wrote in Greek in a rambling note posted on the LHC's network.

Of course they're not going to disrupt the atom smashing. They have to make sure the LHC is fully functional before they bust back in. Then they'll use the system's time machining capabilities to travel back in time and fulfill man's quest to have sex with dinosaurs. Lizard people yo, lizard people.

Hit the jump for a video explaining the experiments conducted using the LHC.

Continue Reading " Uh-Oh: Large Hadron Collider Hacked, Countdown To Destruction Initiated !! "

Sep 10 2008 Mythbuster Inhales Sulfur Hexafluoride

Helium is 6x less dense than air and makes your voice sound like you just got kicked in the pickle. But sulfur hexafluoride is 5x denser than air and makes you sound like a badass supervillian. You've got to hear it to believe it. And while Adam made me promise at the beginning of the video I wouldn't try it at home, I had my fingers crossed. I hope I die!

Hit the jump for two more MUST SEE physics videos, one a supersonic jet creating a halo of water vapor, and one of sound waves on fire.

Continue Reading " Mythbuster Inhales Sulfur Hexafluoride "