[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series & Animals & Habitats & Science & Research. ]
Animal Whispering may seem to be a modern method of gently communicating with animals but it’s actually a kinder, gentler form of inter-species communication with thousands of years of history to back it up. Though the 7 amazing animal whisperers profiled here aren’t the only ones using both the term and the methods, their skill, notoriety and knack for self-promotion have enabled them to be heard over the roar of the crowd.
The Dog Whisperer
(images via: The Guardian UK, GossipSauce and Tower Video)
“How can I help?”, asks Cesar Millan as soon as he walks into the room. The 42-year-old former illegal immigrant may be the most well-known of all animal whisperers, primarily due to his listeners of choice: dogs.
(images via: DogWhisperer.net, Dog Obedience Training Online and Beyond The Rhetoric)
Even with 65 million potential “patients” in the United States alone, however, it’s taken Millan’s powerful yet persuasive personality to build Dog Whispering into a 7-figure-grossing corporation dedicated to making every dog owner an unchallenged leader of the pack in his own home.
(image via: Tontin247 / Deviantart)
Cesar Millan learned how to work with animals on his grandfather’s farm in Sinaloa, Mexico, where he soon acquired the nickname El Perrero (“The Dog Boy”) for the natural way he interacted with canines. Nowadays he espouses his philosophy of dog management on his hit TV show, Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan. By stressing the principles of exercise, discipline and affection (in that order), Millan teaches the owners of even the most recalcitrant dogs that they can assume and maintain a leadership role that benefits both owners and pets.
The Bird Whisperer
(images via: TheBirdWhisperer.com)
You may not have heard of Ken Globus, but the bespectacled gent who became known as the Bird Whisperer tamed thousands of antisocial avians over the past 25+ years. Ken learned how to deal with birds at his parents’ pet store in Inglewood, California, where almost all of the birds were caught in the wild. By literally throwing out the books on bird-raising and using his own innate sensitivity, he eventually established a new way of taming even the most un-handleable birds.
(image via: TheBirdWhisperer.com)
That’s Ken above, left, with filmmaker Steven Spielberg on the right holding his pet Panama Amazon parrot, Blanche.
(images via: Parrot Chronicles)
Sadly, Ken Globus passed away on September 10th, 2008, but his pioneering technique of “progressive desensitization” is being taken up by a new generation of Bird Whisperers.
The Shark Whisperer
(images via: The Bahamas Weekly, Dek-D and TCPalm)
Cristina Zenato has been referred to as “the First Lady of Shark Diving” but doesn’t Shark Whisperer sound way cooler? I mean, whispering underwater is tough enough as it is without a Great White Shark trying to horn in on the conversation… and just try finding ol’ Mac the Knife’s ear in the first place!
(images via: PunchBaby and Dek-D)
Inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in March of 2011, Cristina Zenato has been a tireless advocate for the welfare of sharks and is the Diving Supervisor, Dive Instructor and Shark Dive professional at UNEXSO (UNderwater EXplorers SOciety) on Grand Bahama Island. Cristina has learned the delicate procedure of tonic immobility from her mentor, Ben Rose, and has used the technique to remove hooks from the mouths of oft-voracious Caribbean Reef sharks.
Here’s a quite beautiful video of Cristina Zenato making shark-play look like child’s play… and not the one starring Chucky. Prepare to be amazed:
333 Nina Salerosa, via JoeRomeiro333
(image via: Innocent Bystanders)
Not to be outdone in the shark whispering department (and in other news, there’s a shark whispering department) is Mike Rutzen, a South African diver who’s been dubbed “Sharkman” by his less-daring fellow divers. Rutzen performs tonic immobility on sharks by balancing them face-down on his palm and massaging their snouts. How he gets them into that position in the first place is another story entirely.
The Wolf Whisperer
(images via: National Geographic, WHSmith and Canine Squad)
“My, what big ears you have!”, said Little Red Riding Hood to the Big Bad Wolf. Maybe if Li’l Red had applied Shaun Ellis’ wolf whispering methodology and talked to the ears, not the hand, maybe Grandma would still be alive & kicking and the wolf wouldn’t seem quite so big and bad. Ellis, also known as The Wolfman, takes “hands-on” interaction to the highest level possible without actually becoming a member of a wolfpack… oh wait, he’s done that too.
(images via: Erin Flight’s Blog)
Quite a different way to interact with wolves is conducted at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota, where captive wolf packs have been maintained since 1989. Wolves at the IWC are socialized to humans at a very early age and
any physical human interaction is limited to a selected group of Wolf Care staff, enabling easier veterinary checks and excellent wolf behavior viewing opportunities from the center’s glass windows.
(images via: R-ML’s Den and International Wolf Center)
IWC Wolf Curator Lori Schmidt is seen above being greeted by either Shadow or Malik, the Center’s two 11-year-old Arctic Wolves who together make up the current Retired Pack. The mission of the IWC is “teaching the world about wolves” but it’s really the wolves who do the teaching; the human staff’s task is to interpret their unique world-view. It seems that in this case, the wolves are the ones doing the “whispering”.
The Lion Whisperer
(images via: Damn Fresh Pics)
There are Cat Whisperers and then there are Big Cat Whisperers like Kevin Richardson, the Lion Whisperer.
(images via: Animal Care and Seaway Blog)
Richardson, a 32-year-old animal ranger at The Lion Park in Lanseria, just outside Johannesburg, South Africa. “I don’t use sticks, whips or chains – just patience,” explains Richardson. “It may be dangerous, but this is a passion for me, not a job.”
(image via: Damn Fresh Pics)
Richardson relies not only on 10 years of experience working with animals, but also in his previous career in physiology where he worked with patients who had undergone surgery. “I am someone they relate to,” says Richardson. “I enrich their lives. If these animals are going to be kept in a captive situation, don’t they deserve to have the best care, the best entertainment, the best lives?”
The Bear Whisperer
(images via: TheBearWhisperer.com, Denver Post and TV Rage)
Annoyed by the bear necessities in Mammoth Lakes, CA? Call Steve Searles, the Bear Whisperer. You’ll be glad you did and the bears even more so, as Searles’ quiet yet persistent persuasiveness allows wayward bruins to get back to nature with their hides (and lives) intact.
(images via: Mammoth Lakes and The Wrap)
Is Steve Searles smarter than the average bear? Find out for yourself by watching “The Bear Whisperer” on the Animal Planet network. “I have learned over the years that the biggest, baddest and meanest bear is usually in control of the others,” explains Searles. “My success is based on assuming that role and showing our bears who is boss. ‘Bear Whisperer’ will prove that we can co-exist with most wildlife if we take the time to understand how and why they behave the way they do and respect that.”
The Horse Whisperer
(images via: Boswell’s Poetry and ABC Counselling)
Though many people first heard the term “horse whisperer” through the 1998 eponymously titled 1998 film starring Robert Redford and Scarlett Johansson, so-called “horse whisperers” date back to the early 19th century. Daniel “Horse-Whisperer” Sullivan kept his methods secret but onlookers reported he would stand face to face with his equine subjects and would appear to be whispering to them.
(images via: Horseback Online and Jackson’s Hole Adventures)
What Sullivan and later followers were practicing was Natural Horsemanship, a gentle way of training horses dating back at least to the era of Classical Greece. Practitioners of natural horsemanship avoid techniques involving punishment that inculcate fear in the horse being trained. Instead, subtle body language and a system of behavioral negative reinforcement are applied, with the goal being to forge a willing partnership with the horse.
(images via: Connected Horsmanship, Dharma Haven and Lovemarks)
One of the foremost Horse Whisperers of the modern era is Monty Roberts, author of the best-selling book The Man Who Listens to Horses. Roberts first observed wild mustangs in his early teens, noting they seemed to express themselves through a discernible type of body language. His autobiography, first published in 1996, has been translated into over a dozen languages and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. You’ll find an interesting interview with Monty Roberts here.
(images via: The Daily Raider)
Since the concept in all its many variations (“Duck Whisperer” anyone?) exploded out of pop culture’s melting pot, one wonders if Animal Whispering has jumped the shark… sorry, Christina Zenato. Though the phrase is what pays these days, the theory of natural social interaction with animals still stands on its own, er, four legs.
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Garden to Go: Vegetation Takes Over Chicago Train Car
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Nature & Ecosystems & Transit & Auto. ]
As part of the world’s largest mobile art exhibit, Art on Track, one Chicago Transit train car was taken over by grass and other local plants. For five hours, passengers had the pleasure of walking on lush grasses, admiring lovely blossoms and sitting on a thick lawn – all while riding the train around Chicago’s downtown loop.
(images via: Colossal)
The Mobile Garden car is the work of nonprofit arts group noisivelvet. Thanks to donations from local businesses and gardens, the train car was outfitted with a variety of indigenous plants that helped to bring the outdoors into the normally-barren transit system. Members of the Chicago art community were on hand to discuss not only the Mobile Garden car, but the entire Art on Track exhibit.
The Mobile Garden is in itself an opportunity for noisivelvet to garner support for their dream project: an open-air CTA car planted with a mobile garden that will be towed behind a CTA train for an entire month. The project will promote urban stewardship encourage the use of sustainable, responsible materials.
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Salty Power: Renewable Tidal Energy From Floating Platforms?
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Energy & Fuel & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Solar and wind power are commonly looked to when we mention renewable energy, but there are plenty of other sources of renewable energy that has not yet been explored to its full potential. Deep sea currents are a natural force that is just ripe for the harnessing, and Italian designer Marco Paolucci thinks he has worked out a way to make good use of these powerful natural waves.
The S2S Project would place sustainable energy generators on the sea bed to harness the massive perpetual power of ocean tides and turn that power into clean, renewable electricity. Paolucci estimates that each generator could produce one megawatt of electricity.
The perpetual motion of tidal currents could provide enough energy to dramatically reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. For all of their power, tidal currents haven’t been harnessed anywhere near their full potential. Sea-bound generators and floating control platforms could give the world a healthy boost toward weaning off of non-renewable oil and gasoline.
In Paolucci’s vision, the platforms will be outfitted with touch-screen control panels. The stations will not only be able to provide large amounts of clean, renewable energy – they will also be able to filter and desalinate sea water.
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11 Ways Technology is Helping to Save Endangered Species
[ By Steph in Animals & Habitats & Science & Research & Technology & Gadgets. ]
Unchecked human activity has destroyed animal habitats and disturbed the delicate balance of many ecosystems, reducing the populations of many species near the point of extinction. Our roads, farms, factories, pollution and poaching have caused undeniable harm to animals – now it’s time we use the fruits of our progress to help them. Here are 11 fascinating and uplifting ways in which modern technology is aiding the conservation efforts of species that are disappearing all too quickly.
Collecting Gorilla Conservation Data with GPS
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Bushmeat hunting and other threats have pushed the Cross River gorilla, which inhabits the tropical forest of the Nigeria-Cameroon border, to the brink of extinction. Fear of humans has led the remaining gorillas to steep, difficult mountain terrain, which makes it difficult for park rangers and conservationists to track them. Luckily, technology has intervened: the North Carolina Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society have begun using global positioning system (GPS) in order to better understand the distribution of the gorillas in relation to existing habitat and human activity in their area. FIeld trackers can now collect wildlife monitoring data with computers that collect data systematically and automatically map the terrain.
GPS Tracks Tagged Tigers
(images via: physorg.com)
GPS is also being used in a slightly different way, to directly track the movements of tagged animals. Scientists in southern Nepal have fitted an injured wild tiger, which wandered into a tourist resort and was nursed back to health, with a GPS collar. Vets and conservationists released the tiger in the remote jungles of western Nepal and will use the data from its collar to learn more about these tigers’ movements, in the hopes of protecting them from increasing threats from poachers.
Hubble Telescope Identifies Whale Sharks
(image via: wikimedia commons)
Another exciting and surprising application of space technology to animal conservation is the use of Hubble Space Telescope computer software, which is used by astrophysicists to locate stars and galaxies in outer space, to identify the unique markings on the hide of the endangered whale shark. The pattern-matching algorithm of the software can identify individuals’ markings in much the way of a fingerprint, ‘virtually tagging’ each animal without ever disturbing them.
Text Messages Protect Elephants in Kenya
(image via: wikimedia commons)
Those little chips used in some cell phones to store phone numbers and other user information are being used in Kenya to keep endangered elephants from leaving their habitats and entering human civilization, where they tend to cause damage to homes and other structures. In 2008, Save the Elephants fitted a SIM card into the collar of an elephant named Kimani, who frequently ventures into nearby farms, and set up a virtual ‘geofence’ using GPS. Any time Kimani approaches the invisible boundary, locals and conservationists are automatically warned via text message. Similar SIM collars fitted onto other elephants text the position of tagged animals to researchers, allowing them to map entire migration routes.
Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) Tags for Fish
(image via: california hatchery reform)
Four species of endangered fish are getting some high-tech help in the Upper Colorado River with the use of ‘Rifle’, a “passive integrated transponder” (PIT) system that monitors their movements. PIT tags, which are inserted into the fish in much the same way as microchips in cats and dogs, are sensed when tagged fish pass through the Price-Stubb Diversion Dam, allowing researchers to gather priceless information on the migration patterns of species like the Colorado pikeminnow.
Unmanned Planes Spot Arctic Seals
(image via: wikimedia commons)
Cameras mounted on unmanned planes that fly over the Arctic are not only capturing images of declining sea ice – they’re also marking the location of endangered seals. “Because ice is diminishing more rapidly in some areas than others, we are trying to focus on what areas and types of ice the seals need for their survival,” said Peter Boveng, leader of the Polar Ecosystems Program at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
Species like bearded, ringed, spotted and ribbon seals rely on sea ice for breeding, resting and a safe haven from predators. The unmanned “Scan Eagle” aircraft is used in conjunction with image recognition software to automate the identification of seals in thousands of images gathered during flights. Such a system can drastically reduce the amount of time researchers must spend tracking the seals.
Desalination Plants Providing Water to Arabian Oryx
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Electronics firm Hitachi is helping to save the endangered Arabian Oryx with fresh water from its solar-powered desalination plants in Abu Dhabi. This beautiful animal was extinct in the wild in the late 1960s due to excessive hunting and has only recently been re-introduced to its natural habitat after successful captive breeding programs. However, it is still in danger, and finding access to fresh water is always a challenge. Hitachi’s desalination unit removes the high salt content found in desert groundwater, feeding the filtered water to waterholes in remote desert areas.
Gene Sequencing Machines Save Tasmanian Devils from Cancer
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Tasmanian devils are in danger because of a disfiguring and almost always fatal cancer called devil facial tumor disease that is spreading through the population of this species like wildfire. Scientists say the disease works like a virus, but actually spread by a whole cancerous cell that developed in a single individual several decades ago. In order to better understand this disease and what they can do to help the notoriously ferocious (yet still incredibly cute) Tasmanian devil, scientists are using gene sequencing machines to determine the genetic diversity of the animals. This technology allows researchers to look at the DNA code of the animals. Using the genetic code found from the initial two animals in the study, the research team has developed a test that costs $150 per animal, down from the $10,000 it originally cost to analyze the complete genome.
Sonogram Spots Grouper in Mangrove Roots
(images via: wikimedia commons)
The Goliath grouper, which can exceed six feet in length, is critically endangered, and scientists need to be able to identify their numbers. This is hard to do when juveniles spend almost the first decade of their lives among the tangled roots of red mangrove trees in the Atlantic Ocean. Today, thanks to sonogram technology, the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) is able to conduct visual underwater surveys that help evaluate the effectiveness of protective measures that have been put into place. The acoustic dual-frequency sonar camera “sees” individual fish with the use of sound waves, regardless of the limited visibility in dark, murky waters.
Websites That Raise Awareness
(images via: wildlife near you)
If everyday people were more aware of threatened species that live practically in their own backyards, would they be more aware of their interactions with those animals and how their own activity affects them? It seems likely, and websites that give animal lovers information about species in their area can definitely help. WildlifeNearYou was developed not with the intention of saving animals, but helping people find out where they can see certain types of animals in any given area. They invite users to upload photos of animals they’ve seen and document their locations. While WildlifeNearYou doesn’t focus specifically on endangered species, it – and other websites like it – has the potential to increase our awareness of the diverse natural world.
Controversial Cloning: A Last Resort?
(images via: sciencemag)
If a species is on the brink of extinction because of human activity, don’t we have an obligation to do whatever is in our power to save them? Many scientists and conservationists say yes – even if that means cloning the last remaining members of a severely endangered species like Africa’s northern white rhinos. In San Diego, a ‘Frozen Zoo’ holds the DNA of over 8,400 species stored at -280F.
Using stem cells to recreate animals without a healthy mating pair is a hotly debated topic; so far, the process has not produced optimal results and many fear that such measures will become a fall-back response to loss of habitat and other problems that cause species to become endangered in the first place.
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Movable Homes: 13 Modern, Modular, Relocatable Residences
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
What if you could just pack your house onto the back of a truck or lift it with a helicopter and move it to an entirely new place, whenever you wanted, without making a negative impact on your temporary home site? Portable modular living spaces go places that other forms of mobile housing can’t - like remote mountain ridges – and easily disassemble. Some are fully self-sufficient while others are only intended as lightweight seasonal shelters but all 13 of these relocatable residences sit lightly upon the earth.
Eco-Temporary Refuge in the Mountains
(images via: archdaily)
Seasonal homes don’t have to sit empty for half of the year. The Eco-Temporary Refuge by Andrea Jasci Cimini of CiminiArchitettura was designed for temporary lodging in mountain landscapes where permanent dwellings are impossible or undesirable. Tourists, climbers, hikers and skiers could make use of these self-sufficient, easily movable buildings, which are equipped with solar panels and water systems that make use of snow.
Portable Prefab Paco Unit
(images via: design boom)
You may not imagine that a house measuring just 9 feet square would contain all the necessities of life, but somehow, the Paco prefab unit by Jo Nagasaka and Schemata Architecture Office manages to do just that. The unit has an opening roof to allow sunshine and fresh air into the home and contains a kitchen unit with a sink, a dining table for two, a hammock for sleeping and even a toilet hidden in the floor, which transforms into a shower with the help of a shower curtain hooked to the ceiling. An extra compartment on the exterior allows a guest to stay overnight in a sleeping bag, and can also be used for storage.
Fincube
(images via: design boom)
Made entirely of locally sourced wood from its current location in Northern Italy, ‘Fincube’ is a transportable low-energy home measuring just under 155 square feet. Triple-glazed glass insulates the home while a slatted wooden sheath provides shade and privacy.
Port-a-Bach Shipping Container Home
(images via: port-a-bach.com)
This portable home, named for the New Zealand word referring to small, modest vacation houses, was made using a 20′ shipping container. One side of the container folds down, opening the interior to the outdoors; it includes a double bed, bunk beds, a dressing room, a kitchen and a bathroom, all of which can be separated from the main space using fabric screens. Of course, since it’s made from a shipping container, it’s super easy to move, so owners can simply pack up their lodgings and bring them to their holiday destination.
M House by Michael Jantzen
(images via: dailytonic)
Bold and futuristic, the M House by Michael Jantzen is a flexible and impermanent mobile structure consisting of large rectangular panels on hinges, attached to seven interlocking cubes. They can be folded in or out to alternately enclose or open spaces, shade them from the sun, deflect rain or block wind. This makes the home extremely adaptable to all manner of new environments as the home moves from place to place.
Lumenhaus
(images via: gizmag)
Built by students at Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture and Design, Lumenhaus is a compact, movable, sustainable home with lighting, music, draperies and other systems in the home controlled via iPad or iPhone. The home, which won the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe, is entirely solar-powered and was inspired by the iconic Farnsworth House by architect Mies Van Der Rohe.
Kitahaus Relocatable Living & Office Pods
(images via: gizmag)
Multi-function pods that can easily be moved from one site to another, Kitahaus prefabs have been used as homes, offices and school buildings. These log-like transportable units, made of timber, have adjustable legs so they can be set up on all sorts of sites including sloping areas.
TRTL Solar Shell Home
(images via: inhabitat)
Cleverly named to reflect its design and intention – TRTL stands for ‘Technological Residence, Traditional Living – this structure was made specifically for the native peoples of Southern Alberta, Canada. The semi-rounded two-bedroom home, measuring 1000 square feet, features an upper ‘shell’ made of solar panels. In this case, the movability of the home is actually a technicality, but it’s still an interesting feature. TRTL has a temporary foundation that allows it to bypass a law that makes any permanent structure built on a reservation in Canada part of the land rather than privately owned.
ADEX Modular Housing Structure
(images via: best of remodeling)
If it looks unlike any house you’ve ever seen, that’s because it is. The ADEX sustainable modular housing structure consisting of interlocking pieces that can be put together to suit the home site and the owner’s needs. This means each ADEX is totally unique. In addition to its colorful and futuristic appearance, ADEX has a host of interesting and sustainable features including solar panels and heaters, rainwater storage, greywater recycling and even a bio-digester that turns food waste into power for cooking appliances.
XBO Adjustable Mobile Home
(images via: architizer)
This adjustable, sliding mobile home is constructed in the shape of a shipping container to make it super-easy to transport. XBO Mobile is self-sustaining and consists of two sliding parts that open to reveal a 22-foot patio; an additional terrace on the roof is reachable via ladder. XBO is made with birch veneer walls and lots of glass and contains a kitchenette, living room, bathroom and bedroom/office.
Dune Hotel – On-the-Spot Lodging to Order
(images via: inhabitat)
Imagine being able to choose a rooftop, abandoned lot, park or seaside location and demand that your very own private hotel be set up right then and there. Brazilian Architect Guilherme de Vasconcelos wants to see that happen, envisioning the Dune Hotel as prefab modular lodgings that go wherever they’re wanted by guests. Each lightweight unit is made of EPS and fiberglass-reinforced plastic so they can be shipped easily, quickly and at a relatively low expense.
Archinoma: Pop-Up Beach House
(images via: archinoma.com)
The Archinoma is a geometric pop-up shelter based on the Sierpinski Triangle, made from a metal frame with multiple connection points that allow multiple triangular panels, solid or translucent, to be connected into the three-dimensional shape of the user’s choice. This low-impact structure could theoretically be used as a vacation home, a spa, a cafe, a tea house or any other temporary function, easily set up in practically any location.
Modular Ski Cabin of the Future
(images via: inhabitat)
Who wouldn’t want to stay in a flying saucer? While designer Matti Suuronen’s 1968 ‘Futuro House’ doesn’t actually fly, it does easily assemble and disassemble in rough mountainous terrain, making it ideal as a modular ski cabin. The 10-foot-tall, 26-foot-wide fiberglass-reinforced plastic living unit represented an imagined future where people living as nomads could take their movable homes on the go. One of these homes is available for rent in Wisconsin, and another is currently on display in the Museum Boljmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.
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(Re)Make it Rain: Rainwater Reclamation Designs
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
Big, bulky plastic rain barrels have their place, but there’s more than one way to capture and store rainwater, as these 12 innovative and versatile designs and concepts prove. Dual-purpose garden furniture and rain cisterns, personal catchment systems that attach to water bottles, beautiful self-watering planters and towering public installations harvest the most precious resource of all, and they do it in style.
Rain Harvesting Garden Table
(images via: green launches)
Cisterns take up a lot of room, and not everyone has a huge backyard. This brilliant concept doubles the function by turning your rainwater reservoir into a garden table; the slanted surface of the table captures water. Great for those who only need to harvest small amounts of rainwater, or as a supplement to additional systems.
Downspouts Double as Water-Recycling Planters
(images via: seattle times)
This cool concept for urban gutter downspouts turn an otherwise unremarkable element of the exterior of a building and turns it into a decorative planter, routing some of the water to the roots of the plants along the way.
Lush, Elegant Rainwater Harvesting System
(images via: inhabitat)
Save space and beautify your garden with CISTA, a decorate rain reservoir and planter that stretches tall to take up less valuable room. Industrial designers figforty and architects MOSS SUND designed the 8-foot stainless steel column to hold up to 100 gallons of water; a climbing vine is planted at the base and allowed to take over the frame.
Agua in Situ: Rainwater Purifying Trees
(images via: coroflot)
Blending in with nature and providing a potentially life-saving function, Agua in Situ is a tree-like vertical rainwater harvester made of stainless steel with a UV-resistant polycarbonate internal layer. The opening is shaped like leaves or the petals of a flower to capture rainwater naturally, and a carbon filter on the end of each tower sterilizes the water for safe use.
Accumuwater Water Tower
(images via: coroflot)
Doubling as public sculpture, the Accumuwater is like a smaller, household version of the Agua in Situ without the filtering capabilities. The towers independently capture rainwater for those who, for whatever reasons, can’t use their roofs; a hose or spigot attaches to the base.
Rain-Collecting Skyscraper
(images via: design boom)
When water is needed on a large scale – as it already is in many areas of the world – why not devote an entire skyscraper to the job of harvesting rainwater? ‘Capture the Rain’, by Ryszard Rychlicki and Agnieszka Nowak, has a dish-shaped roof and an exterior shell consisting of gutters to do just that. Under the surface of the roof is large reservoirs with reed fields that botanically filter the water for use in toilets, washing machines, cleaning and other domestic applications.
RainDrops: Reusing 2-Liter Bottles
(images via: yanko design)
Not only does this innovative system reuse disposable 2-liter bottles, it adapts to an existing gutter system, providing individual-sized amounts of captured water at a very low initial cost. Designed by Evan Gant, the ‘Rain Drops’ concept could be adapted for use in developing areas where fresh, sanitary water is scarce.
Vertical Garden & Rain Collector
(images via: treehugger)
‘Vert’ is a vertical garden, a way to capture and use rainwater, and a potential screen for unsightly outdoor areas, all in one simple wooden structure. A cotton wick at the top draws water from a tank up to a self-watering planter; the cedar planter boxes can be arranged as desired. Such a system could allow users to grow food in small spaces without increased usage of tap water.
Inverted Umbrella & Cistern Chair
(images via: gregortimlin.com)
Like the rain cistern/garden table, the ‘Volume Chair’ takes a functional object already found in most yards and turns it into a storage tank for water. In this case, an inverted umbrella (which also functions as a sun shade) captures rainwater and transports it with a hose to the chair-shaped tank.
Petal Drops Personal Rain Harvester
(images via: quirky)
Even if you don’t have a single square inch of outdoor space to call your own, you can harvest rainwater for a variety of uses with the clever ‘Petal Drops’, a flower-shaped funnel that attaches to standard water bottles. Made of 100% recycled high-density polyethylene, the design is simple and elegant and takes up very little space when not in use.
Rainwater Hog
(images via: rainwaterhog.com)
The Rainwater Hog may not exactly be a stunning sculptural object to beautify your outdoor area, but it’s not quite as ugly as many rain barrel designs. Better yet, its vertical design saves space, and multiple units can easily be placed side-by-side. Made of UV-stabilized, food-grade plastic, each 50-gallon unit is 100% recyclable.
Massive Glass Funnels at Shanghai Expo 2010
(images via: tonylaw)
At the 2010 Shanghai Expo, massive glass funnels imbedded with LED lights, overlapped with tent structures, served a double purpose: harvesting rainwater on a massive scale, and letting natural daylight into the shaded area while maintaining protection against the elements. The rainwater was channeled into a 7,000-cubic-meter storage tank and used throughout the grounds to water plants.
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Glow Away: 10 Odd Objects Made From Uranium Glass
[ By Steve in Art & Design & Home & Garden & Uncategorized. ]
Uranium Glass, a form of glassware known for the vivid green glow it exudes under ultraviolet light, contains from 2% to 25% uranium oxide by weight. Also known as Vaseline Glass and negligibly radioactive, these pale yellow to jade green pieces were popular home and tableware items from the mid-nineteenth century through the start of the Cold War.
Uranium Glass Marbles
(images via: The Marble Connection)
“You’ll put someone’s eye out with those uranium glass marbles!” You don’t know the half of it, mom. The USAF’s A-10 “Warthog” ground-attack jet makes mincemeat out of enemy tanks firing a Gatling gun loaded with depleted uranium slugs. Translation? All your aggies are belong to us.
(images via: Marbles Galore and eBay/Vnauck)
Seriously, a marble that looks like a miniature Loc-Nar just can’t be beat. Imagine showing up in the schoolyard with these bad boys, then lighting ‘em up with a mini blacklight keychain… now that’s all kinds of awesome.
Uranium Glass Atomic Rooster
(images via: Collectible Glass and Tozour Family)
OK, they’re actually uranium glass hens but an Atomic Rooster reference was mandatory in this case. Uranium glass hens are surprisingly common, acting as lids for salt cellars, sugar bowls, even cookie jars. Heck of a place to keep cookies, if you ask me.
(image via: Look in the Attic & Co.)
Contrary to your probable first assumption, uranium glass glows green under ultraviolet light, not due to any residual radioactivity. Under normal lighting uranium glass objects can range from pale yellow to medium green in tint, and can vary from opaque to transparent.
Uranium Glass Crookes Tube
(images via: The Cathode Ray Tube Site)
What’s a Crookes Tube, you ask? I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you… OK, not really, come back and sit down. Crookes Tubes date from the era of real steampunk and Film Noir when electricity was a novelty and radioactivity even more so. The early Crookes uranium glass discharge tube above didn’t have to be made of uranium glass but aren’t you glad it was? Paging Marvin the Martian, I think we found your Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.
Uranium Glass Bulldog
(images via: Bonanza.com)
Hellhound, you say? This li’l guy creeps me out even without the aid of a blacklight. Notice how his eyes glow red when the blacklight is on… that’s not supposed to happen, is it??
(images via: Globe Antiques & Collectibles)
Here’s another uranium glass bulldog, made by the Mosser Glass Company. Stated to be a “Bulldog Vaseline Glass Doorstop Figurine,” this pug-ugly pug deserves better than being a lowly doorstop, and he sure knows it.
Uranium Glass Shoes
Ruby slippers, meh. Uranium glass slippers, yeah! Skipping down the Yellow Brick Road in a pair of uranium glass slippers would have served Dorothy (and her little dog, too) very well indeed. What flying monkey would dare to go up against these bodacious bilious booties?
Uranium Glass Juicer
(images via: The Estate Store and Thomas A Durston)
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade… on a glowing green juicer made of uranium glass! Most any kitchen implement has been given the “vaseline glass” treatment, which seems strange as neither vaseline nor uranium belong anywhere near most any kitchen.
(images via: Thomas A Durston and eBay/Flowernme)
The above selection of uranium glass juicers illustrates the variety of tints and grades of transparency that made this type of glass so popular for so long… and we’re talking roughly 2,000 years: the Romans made uranium glass and used it in their mosaics. Of course, they didn’t have blacklights or UV lamps back then but uranium glass gives off a slight green glow in ordinary daylight, courtesy of the sun’s natural UV rays.
Uranium Glass Dog Button
(images via: Cairn Rescue Network)
These Vaseline Uranium Dog Glass Buttons are hand-made in the Bohemian town of Jablonec where the arts of glassmaking and button-making go back many centuries. Wear a glowing glass button with a dog’s face on it? Czech!
Uranium Glass Box
(images via: Etsy/Tiedyehut, Codiyioti and MrVaselineGlass)
The mere concept of a “Uranium Glass Box” sounds like something out of sci-fi; the perfect place for Lex Luthor to keep his Kryptonite (he probably keeps his Uranium in a Kryptonite Glass Box).
(image via: eBay/BarberShopShaving)
A uranium glass box to store your razor blades and hone them fiendishly sharp… I’d trade my Gillette Fusion for one any day. They say Jack the Ripper conserved his deathly implements of horror in one of these boxes. Sounds like a cool place to store one’s post-cremation ashes.
Uranium Glass Skull
(images via: Artskulls)
Move over, Indiana Jones, there’s a new kid on the glass block and (unlike your last effort) he’s getting glowing reviews. Yes, it’s a phosphorescent skull fashioned from uranium glass. If it didn’t already exist, someone would have to make one.
(images via: Glasskulls.com)
Any budding Colonel Kurtz’s out there should take note: all you really need to lord it over some primitive, undiscovered tribe is one of these uranium glass skulls and a pocket blacklight. Somebody starts up, you flick on the UV… let the kowtowing begin!
Uranium Glass Keyboard
(images via: Dovetail Designs)
Steven Klein has built the ultimate steampunk keyboard & stand, featuring hand blown uranium glass keys and space bar infused with around 3% oxides and uranates of uranium by Mark Matthews. Eureka, break out the lead foil finger-cots and let’s do some isotope typing.
(images via: Matthews Marble Interest Group)
One can easily imagine Edgar Allan Poe, H. G. Wells or Ray Bradbury hunched over Klein’s so-called Celestial Keyboard, which is housed in a cabinet crafted from cherry, quilted maple and ebony wood. It’d also look right at home on Captain Nemo’s Nautilus.
(image via: Janne Moren)
Collecting uranium glass is a popular hobby and can be quite lucrative as well due to the age and rarity of some pieces. Perhaps it’s not a good idea to accumulate too many pieces in a single location, however, as you never want to have a critical mass.
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21 Magnificent Moon Photos: Phases, Eclipses & More
[ By Steph in History & Trivia & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
For a big rock that happens to be trapped in our planet’s orbit, the moon certainly has a lot of pull – literally – on life here on Earth, from the tides to centuries of art, religious beliefs and folklore. We can’t help but be fascinated by its beautiful glow, its changes throughout the month, its movement across the sky and the vast rocky landscape on its surface.
The Full Moon
(image via: wikimedia commons)
This stunning image shows the moon as it was captured by the Galileo spacecraft in 1992. The moon is ‘full’, appearing perfectly round, when it is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun. This is the only time when the back half of the moon is truly dark. (See this image large!)
Lunar Eclipse
(images via: davedehetre, wikimedia commons)
The moon can take on an eerie red glow in the midst of an eclipse. Lunar eclipses occur when the moon is perfectly aligned behind the earth, with the earth blocking the sun. The phenomenon can be viewed by anyone on the side of the earth facing the moon when it occurs, and can last several hours. In contrast, a solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks the sun as viewed from the earth; solar eclipses last just a few minutes.
Waxing and Waning
(images via: maxwell hamilton, wikimedia commons, nasa goddard)
As the moon passes through its various stages, its shape appears to change. However, this is only an optical illusion based on the relative location of the moon to the earth and the sun. When the illuminated side of the moon is on the right, the moon is ‘waxing’ or building toward a full moon. When it’s on the left, the moon is ‘waning’ toward the ‘new moon’, when the moon is in total darkness.
Movement of the Moon
(image via: wikimedia commons)
This animation illustrates the moon as it passes through its cycles. It appears to wobble a little bit, a phenomenon called libration, because of the slight shifts in the lunar orbit.
Crescent Moons
(images via: jurvetson, makelessnoise)
Crescent moons occur both at the waxing and waning phases, when the moon is between 1-49% visible. Waxing crescent moons are visible between about 3pm and post-dusk, while waning crescent moons can be seen between pre-dawn and 9am. At 50% visible, it’s a ‘quarter moon’, and when the moon is between 51-99% visible in either waxing or waning phases , it’s referred to as ‘gibbous’.
Earthshine
(image via: wikimedia commons)
What causes that strange glow on the dark side of the moon? Often called ‘earthshine’, this glow comes from sunlight reflected by the earth. It occurs when the light from the sun is reflected from the surface of the earth to the moon and then back again to our eyes. It can be seen most clearly during the crescent phases.
The Moon Beside the Earth
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Unlike most other planets (aside from Pluto, which technically isn’t even a planet anymore), Earth’s moon is relatively large compared to the size of its planet. It’s a quarter of the diameter of the earth, and 1/81 its mass. It takes the moon about 29.5 days to orbit the earth; this time period was the basis of what we now use to divide the days of the year into months.
Lunar Craters
(images via: wikimedia commons 1, 2, 3)
These images capture some of the moon’s craters including Goclenius, Daedalus and Tycho. The word ‘crater’ was coined by Galileo from the Latin word for cup. They were formed by the impact of meteors and asteroids. The lack of water, atmosphere and tectonic plates on the moon mean there is little erosion, preserving the crates for millennia.
The ‘Seas’ of the Moon
(images via: nasa, wikimedia commons 1, 2)
Centuries ago, astronomers believed that the dark, featureless areas on the moon that can be seen with the naked eye were seas, hence the term ‘mare’ (plural maria) used to identify these areas. We now know that these plains are solidified pools of ancient basaltic lava which flowed into the depressions associated with impact basins between 4.2 and 1.2 billion years ago.
The Moons of Jupiter
(images via: wikimedia commons 1, 2)
Of course the earth’s moon is not alone in its beauty; many other planets have moons that are just as incredible. Jupiter has the most moons of any planet, with 64 confirmed. The largest of them are the four ‘Galilean moons’, discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei; this observation marked the first time objects were found to orbit a body that was neither the sun nor the earth. From left to right, the four Galilean moons as depicted above are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
The Moons of Saturn
(images via: nasa, wikimedia commons)
Saturn is home to the second largest moon in our solar system, know as ‘Titan’. Titan is larger than the planet Mercury and has an Earth-like atmosphere with hydrocarbon lakes and networks of dry rivers. In addition to Titan, Saturn has 61 moons of vastly variable sizes; 38 of them are ‘irregular satellites’, likely captured minor planets or collections of space debris.
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Elegant Tree Building is Half Learning, Half Play
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Nature & Ecosystems & Technology & Gadgets. ]
Watching trees meet untimely ends in the name of construction is heart-wrenching. But Japanese architectural firm Tezuka Architects figured out an elegant solution to the problem of a tree standing on the desired building site: they simply built around it. The Ring Around a Tree project surrounds and embraces a beautiful mature tree, encouraging interaction with the living architectural element.
(all images via: DesignBoom)
Built as an additional space for Fuji Kindergarten in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan, this stunning building blends indoors and outdoors, natural and constructed, learning space and play space. The structure was built to be used as English language classrooms and a waiting space for students who are riding buses home. Half of the building is enclosed in glass while the other half features many levels of small platforms in an open-air configuration.
The platforms in the play space offer some very intriguing spaces for crawling children to romp and hide. There aren’t many barriers in this unusual space, but there is plenty of soft padding on the floors to cushion the unavoidable falls.
Two classrooms, each taking up one level of the building, use this unconventional space to create a liberating and stimulating learning environment. Although the auxiliary learning space is just a stone’s throw away from the main school building, having English language classes in this removed space allows students to enjoy the unique setting. The classrooms may even allow a greater chance for real-world experience-based lessons.
The centerpiece of the new structure is, of course, the mature tree in the very center. Its limbs and leaves were left intact as the beautiful building went up and remain untouched today. Children are encouraged to play around the tree, but for safety’s sake are not allowed to climb on the branches.
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The Great Outdoors: Office Space Goes Green and Open-Air
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Home & Garden & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
When you work at a desk, the nine-to-five workday can seem like an eternity – even if you like your job. An outdoor installation in downtown Denver uses fabulous living greenery to remind office drones that we all need to get out of the cubicle and into nature once in a while. The installation, put together by Tres Birds Workshop, was part irreverent, playful art and part serious commentary on our increasingly sheltered (as in: lived out within the walls of our homes and offices) lives.
(all images via: Tres Birds Workshop)
Using recycled office furniture and real living greenery, Tres Birds Set up five workplace-themed installations in the 16th Street Mall area of Denver’s business district. A conference room, a cubicle, a break room, a filing cabinet and an executive office line the outdoor space and entice pedestrians to stop and interact with them.
The charming bits of furniture all covered over with growing vines, leaves and various other green plants look like they must have been there for years. Indeed, it was the intention of Tres Birds to make the installation look as if nature had reclaimed the entire area. They call the project “Natural Systems Domination,” a reference to the ability of nature to completely take over and dominate everything if we only step aside and allow it to happen.
The green spirit of the installation carried far past its concept. The live vegetation was recycled into the neighborhood following its display, and all of the office furniture was re-donated to secondhand stores in the area. Nothing went to waste, which is just how this green-minded collective likes it.
Overall, the message of this fun but poignant installation is that we can all find a bit of time to step away from the desk each day. Nature is out there waiting to be enjoyed: it’s healthy, free relaxation. And who couldn’t use that in the middle of a busy workday?
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