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They were steam-powered, coal-fired, belt-driven and studded with vibratodes as Rachel Maines, technology historian and author of The Technology of Orgasm explains. I thank her for introducing me to the term “vibratode,” and to the phrase “hedonizing technology.” She gives an eye-opening account of the social, medical and technological history of self-pleasure, replete with self-deceptions, hypocrisies and rooftop Chattanoogas.

But in any case, there’s the connection with hydrotherapy and

The Orloj Astrolabe

More than just your average timepiece, the Old Town Clock of Prague, or Orloj, can tell you what time it is and what date. It also tells you what the heavens should look like from where it stands. It tells you what time to expect sun rise and set, what lunar phase the moon should appear in, and even which Zodiacal sign is in ascendence. Elsewhere on …
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In this new installment in what future generations will one day refer to as ‘Paltry Wisdom,’ we provide helpful shopping tips for you, the consumer. Many of us will soon be awash in the drunken, regretful spectacle that is New Year’s Eve. Maybe you’ve been invited to attend a New Year’s party. Maybe you’re the kind of conscientious party guest who plans ahead and brings a gift for the host. …
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Dear Hon. David Alward,

I have been closely following the protests and blockade near Rexton, NB. It has been heartening to see members of the Elsipogtog First Nation, Acadian, and Anglo communities collaborate over the common goal of protecting the natural resources of our beautiful province. It has been shocking to see the RCMP act violently against the citizens of this province to protect the assets of a foreign company. …
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The Blue Fairy from A.I. Artificial Intelligence

1. The robot who loved his ‘mom’ too much

2. The robot who loved whoever came into the room, too much

Robot Programmed to Fall in Love with a Girl Goes too Far

Kenji was part of an experiment involving several robots loaded with custom software designed to let them react emotionally to external stimuli. After some limited environmental conditioning, Kenji first demonstrated

…
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The mathusiasts at Numberphile go all Braveheart with a Fibonacci sequence tartan and accompanying skirl.

Dance (wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous) critters!

Fun fact: At the Battle of Stirling Bridge, William Wallace arranged his defensive shiltrons in Fibonacci sequence. The numerous but innumerate English invaders were baffled as well as defeated there. …
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Mouse Ears

Paul Root Wolpe, of Emory University, does not spend much time making an argument for clear ethical boundaries for the conduct of bio-technology, rather he just lists off some of the more startling greatest hits of the field, and the argument more or less makes itself: bio-luminescent monkeys, bug-bots, robo-rats, animals as donor part farms (mouse ears), computer chips comprised of self-aggregated rat neurons, creatures with neural …
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Europe’s Wild Men

c/o Charles Fréger < < Wilder Mann Image of The Savage

The bear is the wild man’s close counterpart—in some legends the bear is his father. A beast that walks upright, the bear also hibernates in winter. The symbolic death and rebirth of hibernation herald the arrival of spring with all its plenty. For festival participants, says Fréger, “becoming a bear is a way to express the beast and a way to control the beast.”

Via Democratic Underground…
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Copyright 2012. Magnifying the Universe by Number Sleuth.
 

This interactive infographic from Number Sleuth accurately illustrates the scale of over 100 items within the observable universe ranging from galaxies to insects, nebulae and stars to molecules and atoms. Numerous hot points along the zoom slider allow for direct access to planets, animals, the hydrogen atom and more. As you scroll, a handy dial spins to show you your

Business Insider commissioned photo journalist Robert Johnson to fly over the largest industrial mega-project on earth, Alberta’s Tar Sands, and document the process: from untrammeled boreal forest to strip mines, refineries, and tailing ponds. The results are spectacular and richly informative. A bird’s eye view of a made-in-Canada project. The scale of destruction and irrationality is staggering. Here’s part of a statement from Chief Adam (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation) in …
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