bookofjoe

PhyloPIc: 10,000 free silhouette images of animals, plants, and other life forms

From the website:

10,000 images in the database are available for reuse.

Anyone may upload silhouettes to PhyloPic.

Software engineers may access the data in PhyloPic using the API.

They may also add features to the PhyloPic website.

The most popular taxonomic groups on PhyloPic, as determined by actual traffic:

(bacteria,viruses,((grasses,oaks)​plants,(fungi,(sponges,(((annelids,(snails)​mollusks)​,(spiders,(copepods,(damselflies & dragonflies,(beetles,(flies,moths)​,(bees)​sawflies)​)​insects)​)​)​,((amphibians,((lizards,(turtles,((owls,perching birds)​birds)​dinosaurs)​)​,((humans,(mice & rats)​rodents)​,(bats,(pigs,(deer,whales)​)​)​)​mammals)​)​vertebrates)​chordates)​)​animals)​)​)​life

 

Free, the way we like it.

Fair warning: there goes the day.

They do things differently in India

"A bull takes a break inside a fabric shop in the old town of Varanasi."

I wonder what happens when it approaches the china shop....

[via The Financial Times]

Cupmen Instant Noodle Readiness Indicator

From the website:

This is one of those fun, cool products that only Japan can make.

From designer Akira Mabuchi, the Cupmen fits snugly onto the lid of your cup of instant noodles.

Not only does he keep the flap closed while the noodles are heating up, he also changes color to white as the temperature of the paper rises, letting you know three minutes have elapsed.

Waiting for your noodles to be ready has never been so fun!

This set of three features Cupmen in different colors so you can vary your mealtime every day, and they also hang neatly onto shelves for ease of storage.

Features and Details:

• Weight: 12g @

• Material: silicone

• Colors: Red/Blue/Orange

• Do not place near flames

• Keep out of direct sunlight

• Size: 2.2"H x 2"D x 1.8"W

• Wash only in mild detergent

Set of three: $41.

For those of you who simply aren't ready to start the week just yet, here's an entertaining back story excavated by my Crack Research Team©®™ about how Cupmen came to be.

Turns out that originally there were two versions:

• The one pictured above, called Cupmen 1 or "Hold On," "designed to look as if they are climbing up from the side of the pot and about to dive in"

• Cupmen 2, also known as "Relax" [below],

which "look as if they might be sunbathing with their arms stretched back in a very relaxed manner"