Design

Mid-Century Modern-Inspired Birdhouses / Douglas Barnhard

These really are mini works of art. But the mid-century modern-inspired birdhouses by Sourgrassbuilt are very practical pieces too. All the designs are created by Californian Douglas Barnhard, influenced by architecture of the mid-20th century, including the Eichler houses prominent in his home state — via Retro to Go

Wildlife

Rescued Sea Otter Pups / Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre

Two Sea Otter pups arrive at their new permanent home at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre. The pups were found abandoned at sea and taken to Alaska SeaLife Centre, where they received emergency care. They cannot be released into the sea because they never learned survival skills from their mothers — via Youtube

Weird

Mandatory De-education Classes / Scarfolk Council

Post-Truthism is nothing new. Following the Truth Reform Act of 1976, it became every citizen’s civic duty to attend de-education classes. The state instinctively felt that knowledge and the educated people who wield it destablise governmental plans, especially those that routinely and deliberately disregard verifiable facts.

According to one de-education textbook: A good or Schrödinger fact is simultaneously true and untrue until such a time that someone in authority tells you which, though they may change their mind or substitute the fact entirely for another piece of information, fabricated or otherwise, that suits their personal or political needs.

It could take many years for a citizen to unlearn everything, particularly because they first had to learn the complex method of how to unlearn. (Also see the How to Burn Books book).

Additionally, because de-education classes were compulsory (and expensive), some people opted instead for lobotomies by backstreet barber-surgeons, who, it was later revealed, received government funding. These unregistered practitioners would lay their patients’ heads on the bottom step of a staircase, then release a Slinky attached to a sledgehammer from the top step. If this procedure was unsuccessful, they would force the patients to binge-watch ITV talent shows such as Opportunity Knocks or the BBC’s Come Dancing programme — via Scarfolk Council

Craft

How To Make A Clock In The Home Machine Shop: Part 22: Making The Stopwork Mechanism / Clickspring

The stopwork is a mechanism designed to protect the clock from overwinding. This particular design also has the added benefit that it can be used to restrict the clock operation to the section of the mainspring with the most constant torque — via Youtube

Wildlife

Cheetah Cubs / Longleat Safari Park

A rare pair of cheetah cubs are thriving after being born at Longleat Safari Park. The cubs’ birth is a first for the Wiltshire wildlife attraction, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The pair, a male and a female, were born 8 weeks ago and will remain inside with mum Wilma until they are 12 weeks old — via Youtube

History

The Grave of the Man Who Never Was: Operation Mincemeat / Tom Scott

In a cemetery in Huelva, in Spain, is the grave of Major William Martin, of the British Royal Marines. Or rather, it’s the grave of a man called Glyndwr Michael, who served his country during World War 2 in a very unexpected way… after his death — via Youtube

Art, Wildlife

Vernie / Moradavaga

Invited by Walk&Talk festival to participate in its 6th edition on the island of São Miguel in the Azores, Moradavaga took inspiration from the rich sea life that exists in and around the Atlantic archipelago to produce a site specific piece of interactive art. Influenced by the stunning landscapes and the mystic aura related to all that concerns whale hunting (in the past) and observation (in the present) our mind wandered through old tales like Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, and 20.000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne, and the presence of sperm-whales along the Azores coasts led us to devise a character, Vernie the giant squid, that came from the depths of the ocean to serve as a communicative playful tool for passers-by of all ages at Portas do Mar in the city of Ponta Delgada — via Vimeo

Design

Maison Bulle à Six Coques / Jean Maneval

One of the coolest prefab homes ever conceived, French architect Jean Maneval’s Bubble House comes off as futuristic today as it did when it was first introduced in the ‘60s. Its French name Maison Bulle à Six Coques (literally Six-Shell Bubble House) aptly captures the prefab dwelling’s bulbous appearance, formed by six fibreglass modules that combine into one roughly 32 square metre residence, wherein the living, dining, kitchen, and resting areas are all connected into one open space. When production ceased in 1970, only 30 Bubble Houses had been manufactured, one of which now rests in splendid condition in eastern France.

As detailed in a recent feature on AD España, design collector and dealer Patrice Chevreux acquired the mossy abode (Bubble Houses came in white, brown, and green to match natural surroundings) from Parisian gallery Jousse Entreprise and furnished it in a modernism-on-holiday vibe—in other words, minimal yet fun — via Curbed