Optical Illusions: Car Design

The Beauty of Paper Art - Smashing Magazine

The Beauty of Paper Art - Smashing Magazine

To see many many more wonderful examples, click on the picture or on this link

Face recognition for Dogs! Fuji FinePix Z700EXR

Digital cameras that recognise human faces are nothing new, but Fujifilm's FinePix Z700EX is the first with automatic dog/cat visage detection (in addition to human face recognition).

This 12Mp point-and-shoot model optimises focus and exposure for canine or feline mugs, albeit with a few limitations.

It can't, for instance, detect animal faces in profile (so you're on your own for the classic 'my bulldog looks like Alfred Hitchcock' silhouette shot) or in scenes containing both dogs and cats; and some breeds are easier to detect than others.

Still, this fur-friendly camera is good news for pet owners.

Bionaire Odour Grabber Litter Box

Most litter boxes stink unless you spend a lot of time picking up (and disposing) after your pet; but this sophisticated business centre has a built-in electronic air purifier to keep your home smelling fresh.

The contraption, which looks like a helmet, comes with an LED countdown indicator and reset button, to let you know when you need to replace the filter; alternatively, of course, you could use your nose.

The lid, which rolls up for cleaning, prevents your vigorous kitty from scattering debris on the floor. Friends, family, and (in extreme cases) nearby neighbours will thank you.

NB: Do not put your motorcycle helmet on the floor again, ever! Certainly not when kitty is around!

Flexi PC Pet USB ID Tag

A traditional pet tag still works well, provided you don't move or change phone numbers and then you have to get another one made!

But the Flexi PC Pet USB ID Tag, a $15 (£10) USB drive housed in a waterproof, shockproof case, offers a better techie alternative.

The Flexi Tag's capacity is a slim 64MB, but that's enough room for your address, phone number, vet information, and other essentials - and updating the info is a snap.

NB: This may also be a big boon for the older parent that strays a bit in the night.

Digital Photo Frame and Memorial Urn

What better way to honour Old Blue's passing than with this multifunction device? The Memorial Urn with built-in Digital Photo Frame.

The handsome walnut wood urn hold your pet's ashes, and the 7in digital photo frame runs a customised slideshow, showing some of the good times you shared.

The $290 (£203) photo urn includes 256MB of memory and comes with a remote and a USB cable for transferring photo and audio files.

NB: This may also work for deceased husbands and loved ones. A word of caution, if you show a picture of a fried chicken on the digital photo frame , this device can be mistaken for a microwave.

iSeePet 360

This remote-controlled feeder has a built-in webcam that you can use to monitor your dog or cat from work, via either PC or Smartphone.

The iSeePet 360 requires a wired connection to your home network.

Video CatCam

What mysterious places does your cat frequent when it goes out on the town? The CatCam is a miniature video-cam that attaches to your furry cinematographer's collar.

Using interval recording, it captures about four hours of video over a period of several days.

There's no integrated flashlight, unfortunately, so his night time jaunts are likely to look very dark and grainy.

But don't let that stop you from living vicariously through your feline.

NB: May work on errant hubbies if you can get the cat to track him!

SpotLight GPS Pet Locator

Here's a pet-location service for the internet era.

Spotlight is a GPS locator that lets you use your mobile phone or personal computer to find a lost pet.

The 60g locator device attaches to the animal's collar. Next, you set up safe zones (such as your backyard) for worry-free roaming. If your pet leaves a safe zone, however, SpotLight will alert you via email and/or text message.

It will also provide turn-by-turn directions to your lost pet via mobile phone or PC. Maybe Fifi is doomed after all.

NB: It would work for kids and hubbies too!

The Dog-o-Matic: Dog Washer

The 18 best pet-related gadgets News - PC Advisor

Dog owners may love this. Pets almost certainly will hate it.

Dog-O-Matic is a washing machine for dogs and cats, and this is one bath they can't escape.

You select a wash cycle, insert your pet into the metal box, and read a magazine.

Thirty minutes later, your beast is clean - and probably making plans to run away from home.

Too harsh a solution? French inventor Romain Jarry, who created Dog-O-Matic, says that his contraption isn't cruel at all, according to the .

Tell that to Fifi - if you can find her.

Traffic cones metamorphise

Visitors walk by "Cultural Traffic" a creation by US artist Teddy Crin in the Maxxi in Rome, Italy's national museum of contemporary art, designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid

Diver Superglues Dolphins to Flippers

...He held his breath for 1 minute and 42 seconds while the dolphins completed 12 loops

Ozzy Scare at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

Hinduism

Fixing your cracked iPhone screen

Fix your cracked iPhone screen for $21 - click on this link

Dog For Sale

Free to good home.

Excellent guard dog.

Owner cannot afford to feed him anymore, as there are no more drug pushers, thieves, murderers, or molesters left in the neighborhood for him to eat.  Most of them knew Jethro only by hisOriental street name, Ho Lee Schitt

Moving house in Poland

A house destroyed by the floods is seen in the village of Pochybie in Southern Poland

Pedestrian Tourist Lanes Introduced in New York

People walk on a sidewalk along Fifth Avenue in New York, where an anonymous artist had painted a white line and the words "New Yorkers" and "Tourists" in an attempt to divide pedestrian lanes.

But what a great idea!

The power of Asparagus

Attack of the killer asparagus: aggressive asparagus spears have been pushing up through the tarred streets of Bibai on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido

Nerdy Cartoons: Grownups

The Marula tree in Africa produces natural alcohol

This is a real video from a French documentary about Africa. You may not understand the narrative, but the video is a hoot.

There are Marula trees which grow in Africa. This is the fruit that is used in the production Amarula Liqueur. Once a year, the tree produces a very juicy fruit, which contains a large percentage of alcohol.

Because of the shortage of water at this time of year, as soon as the fruits are ripe, animals come there to help themselves to protect from the heat and get nourishment. See what happens next... .

Where good driving is next to Godliness

Holy man Darrell Best can drive to wherever his congregation is and perform official services thanks to his converted 1942 firetruck called the 'Best Man'.

Based in Shelbyville, Illinois, Darrell's wife Lisa, and two of his sons, Levi, 21, and Dylan, 19, are also ordained, so the mobile chapel is never short of someone to take the vows to the people.

The chapel has stained-glass windows, an altar, two wooden pews. The firetruck was kitted out at a cost of $100,000 by a TV showcalled 'Trick My Truck' that Darrell's family secretly wrote to on his behalf.

Darrell says: "So far we have wed about 30 couples, amongst them is the renewal of vows for me and my wife Lisa, which was officiated by our oldest son, Levi"

Picture: REX FEATURES

Prince Philip displays Dental Re-enactment of Manhatten Skyline

Prince Philip displays his lower teeth that have been re-built to look like the Manhatten skyline.

He was supposed to be driving a carriage at the Royal Windsor Horse but he twisted his ankle.

Beware of online dating sites: Thousands disappointed

A resident carries a fish he caught on a flooded street in the village of Felsohamor, Hungary.

A poor blind date but an excellent supper!

Picture: AP

Tristan Bown image: Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia

One of a series of holiday pictures taken by British pensions consultant Tristan Brown at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the world's largest salt flat.

The clear air and absence of identifiable features make them popular for such perspective-tricking shots

Picture: Tristan Brown / SOLENT

Push Chair with Deadly Gattling Guns - a sculpture by Chinese artist Shi Jin Sung

Push Chair with Deadly Gatling Guns - a stainless steel sculpture by Chinese artist Shi Jin Sung

Picture: SHI JIN SUNG / CATERS

Taiwanese artist Chen Forng-shean

A bridge painted on a grain of rice by Taiwanese artist Chen Forng-shean at his studio in Taipei.

Picture: AFP/GETTY

Fish Pedicure at Rufafish Spa

Situated in the fifth arrondissement in Paris, the Rufafish Spa is the first establishment in France to offer 'fish pedicures'.

Originating in Turkish spas, this unique treatment involves plunging your feet into baths of water containing doctor fish that feed on dead skin cells.

This organic skin treatment is used to help treat people with a variety of skin disorders including psoriasis and eczema

Picture: REX FEATURES

The Best Mug in the World

Candy Dulfer plays For the Love of You

A Beetle in the Park but is it Art

Dubious Sexual Practices of Tyrannosaurus Rex

Bill Simpson, collections manager of fossil vertebrates at Chicago's Field Museum, reaches over to Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known as Sue, in an attempt to re-enact how ancient man interacted with dinosaurs and prevent themselves from being devoured, allegedly!

His theory has not been fully validated by his colleagues!

Picture: AP

Optical Illusions as an Art Form: Painful picture

The most striking examples of op art are kinetic illusions in which stationary patterns create the perception of motion.

In this reinterpretation of French op artist Isia Léviant’s famous Enigma by neuroscientist and engineer Jorge Otero-Millan of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, the concentric green rings appear to fill with rapid illusory motion, as if millions of tiny and barely visible cars were driving hell-bent for leather around a track. Small, involuntary eye movements, called microsaccades, are responsible for this illusion.

Is it a Carnivore's Dream or a Veggie's Nightmare

Credit: London photographer Carl Warner

Optical Illusions: A Bottle with Sexy Dolphin Label

Escher's Triangle

Optical Illusions are Fun: Buy the book

Support Marine Reserves: Greenpeace International

Marine Reserves now! | Greenpeace International

The Wreckage of a USAF Lockheed P38 Lightning Aircraft found buried in sand

A charity has announced plans to retrieve the wreckage of a rare World War II fighter plane buried under sand and waves on a UK beach.

The Maid of Harlech

The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) are looking for support. "One of the most important WWII finds in recent history", its location has been kept a secret to keep the find safe.

Pictures show how the previously undetected Lockheed P38 Lightning suddenly appeared on a Wales beach in 2007. Shifting water displaced sand which had hidden it for 60 years and revealed a gem find for aviation buffs.

The United States Army Air Force fighter crashed on the Gwynedd coast when it was taking part in training exercises and its engines cut out. Amazingly pilot Lt Robert Elliott walked away from the incident without a scratch but tragically went missing in action just three months later serving in the American's Tunisia campaign in North Africa

Picture: TIGHAR / BARCROFT MEDIA

Eating Ice Cream on a Rollercoaster

Clay Pigeon shooting at it's best

Polish Policeman, Dances with Moose!

A policeman alleged that he was trying to divert a female moose into a net during an organised catch after she accidentally entered the suburbs of Lublin, Poland but clearly there is more to it than that.

The moose was later released, unmolested, back into the forest, but then, it was never going to last.