Design

Click-Clack Table Tennis Table / Railyard Studios

This is the Click-Clack Table Tennis Table, a unique luxury ping pong table for specific tastes. It’s regulation size, including the net. But the net and the table supports are railroad tracks. Holding them up are huge slabs of oak and hickory that used to be railroad ties.

It’s made by Railyard Studios, a company that salvages wood and steel from railroads to make bespoke furniture. This particular table was recovered from the Tennessee Coal & Iron Company. The markings on the steel and wood indicate that they were made in 1904 and 1921, respectively — via Neatorama

Craft

Arion Press / Raw Craft

Anthony Bourdain and The Balvenie head to San Francisco, California to meet with Andrew Hoyem, master typographer and printer of Arion Press. One of the last of its kind, Arion Press has only a handful of members on its staff, all fellow craftsmen dedicated to this age old process. Each works meticulously to create the books in multiple parts, from the typecasters, to the proofreaders, to the printers and the bookbinders. All of these hands build a work of art through a process that must be seen to be believed, and can only, truly, be described as magic — via Youtube

Entertainment

No Smoking / John Waters

In this short clip, John Waters announces that no smoking is allowed in this theatre and goes on to encourage people to smoke anyway, as it keeps the ushers busy — via Youtube

Technology

BBC joins war against Flash, launches beta HTML5 iPlayer

It may not be the definitive decision which propels humanity towards our inevitable end, but in a post on the Beeb’s internet blog, James East, the Media Playout Product Manager, stated that his team is now confident they can achieve the playback quality you’d expect from the BBC without using a third-party plugin.

HTML5 has already been used to deliver video to iOS devices. However, the Beeb has been hesitant to share this rollout to desktop services.

This was not an act of spite, East assures readers, but because Aunty felt that the consistent experience and efficient media delivery offered by Flash outweighed the benefit of moving to HTML5 — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Weird

Citizen Value (1971-1979) / Scarfolk Council

In 1971 a local government survey revealed that the citizens of Scarfolk were, by and large, content. This was of great concern to the council which worried that its people risked developing self-confidence — perhaps even dignity — and worse that they might even have false hopes for a brighter future.

By 1972 a government scheme to stifle these dangerous thoughts was in full effect. Schools were not permitted to grade any student higher than a D; adults received personalised insults by post or telephone, and families attended compulsory classes which promoted subservience and feelings of shame.

Additionally, every Friday local newspapers published an updated list of individual citizens’ current worth alongside prices for poultry, offal and other meat products. Some citizens’ values frequently fell below that of brain, spleen, heart and tripe.

The poster above was ubiquitous at the time, but this example was found on a wall in Scarfolk hospital’s maternity ward — via Scarfolk Council

Craft

Benchtop Gyroscope Part One / Clickspring

In this project Chris will show you how to make your own precision gyroscope that not only performs superbly, but also makes a fairly impressive desktop ornament. You will be using a wide range of metal working techniques, using both the lathe and mill drill, and Chris will also show you where you can readily source the required materials — via Youtube

Craft, Entertainment

Build Your Own Aliens M41-A Pulse Rifle / DIY Prop Shop

Follow along with Dustin McLean as he shows you how to build awesome props from all of your favourite movies and games, for under $50! This week, make like Ripley and build your own Pulse Rifle from Aliens. Flame Thrower optional — via Youtube

Wildlife

Northern Lynx / Highland Wildlife Park

At almost three months old, the Northern Lynx triplets, at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland, spent their first few weeks huddled together in the warmth of various dens with their mother, but they are now bravely venturing out to explore their whole enclosure — via ZooBorns

Craft

Forging a Viking Axe / James Austin

In this tutorial the axe body is formed from a piece of hot rolled mild steel which is 0.75” x 2.5” x 4.5” (on the mid-line) and weighs 1070 grams. Think of it as a proxy for a compact chunk of bloom that a Viking blacksmith might have started an axe with — via Instructables

Wildlife

Sand Kittens / Zoological Centre Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan

Rotem is a rare Sand Cat, and she lives at the Zoological Centre Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan. After her partner, Sela, died about a year ago, keepers began searching for a young male Sand Cat who could take Sela’s place. After intensive searching, a match was located at a zoo in Sweden, 3-year old Kalahari — via ZooBorns