H/t: Oddity Central
A teenager from Thailand thought he was getting a steal on a used iPhone, but when it finally arrived, there was no smartphone to be found, just one of the strangest (or coolest) coffee tables yet. The extremely large box was the first sign that something didn’t seem right, and after opening it up, the iPhone-shaped table appeared. On the bright side, the table does appear to be well crafted, including the Touch ID sensor and front-facing selfie camera hole.
Remember Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign that ran from 2006 to 2009? The ones that opened to a minimalist all-white background, and a man dressed in casual clothes introduces himself as an Apple Macintosh computer (Justin Long), while a man in a more formal suit-and-tie combination introduces himself as a Microsoft Windows personal computer (John Hodgman). Now, Intel has hired the former to point out a few shortcomings of Macs, or at least what Intel thinks. Read more for the video and additional information.
Due to the pandemic, many in-person meetings have now gone digital, and sometimes, things go wrong. Texas Lawyer Rod Ponton accidentally activated the kitten filter and Judge Roy Ferguson of Texas’s 394th judicial district had to inform him of such. This issue came about after Ponton used his secretary’s computer for the call and was representing the state of Texas in the hearing, which focused on a person who had attempted to leave the US with contraband.
“The Imperial March,” also known as Darth Vader’s Theme, was composed by John Williams for The Empire Strikes Back, and it premiered on April 29, 1980, three weeks before the opening of the film. Today, it’s still one of the best known symphonic movie themes, and over the years, fans have found unique ways to play this iconic tune, including with a toaster. That’s right, an engineer who runs the Device Orchestra channel managed to do just that, with the help of electric toothbrushes and a typewriter.
Photo credit: Yasuhiro Suzuki
Artist Yasuhiro Suzuki from Japan created what could best be described as a giant zipper-shaped ship, called the “Zip-Fastener Ship”. It boasts a chrome body, bridge and puller that make up the three parts of an actual zipper. He got the inspiration for this project when looking down at Tokyo Bay from an airplane and seeing a ship making its way across the Sumida River, unzipping the water as you could say. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.
Clocky is perfect for accidentally oversleeping when daylight saving time ends in the United States, Canada and Mexico’s northern border cities on Sunday, November 1. It functions as a normal alarm clock, but moves on its own power when the snooze button is pressed a second time, rolling away from wherever you placed the device. There’s a built-in microprocessor that randomizes its speed in unpredictable directions, and around obstacles, using a different route each time, so you’ll be forced to hop out of bed to turn it off. Product page. Read more for a hands-on video review and additional information.
At first glance, this appears to be a giant cheese wedge that a supermarket would use for advertising a product, but in reality, it may be the world’s first and only jet-powered cheese wedge. In addition to the afterburner, there’s a 6 horsepower gas engine to get you around town or just to a gas station. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the “Cheese-N-Ator” will set you back $16,000 USD should you want to park it in your garage. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Jane Dodd via Peta Pixel
Jane Dodd renewed her driver’s license online, but what she received was completely unexpected. The digital renewal was to solely avoid a trip to the DMV, which can be a tedious process to say the least, but in the end, she received something worthy of an internet meme. How so? On her new license, a photo of an empty chair replaced the one that should have shown her face. Read more for the news segment and additional information.
Octopuses are known to camouflage themselves when hunting and to avoid predators, but when it spotted a GoPro action camera recording, this creature had other plans. While it takes specialized skin cells that change the appearance of the skin by adjusting its color, opacity, or reflectivity, to camouflage itself, grabbing onto this gadget only took its tentacles.
“Never Gonna Give You Up,” a song recorded by British singer and songwriter Rick Astley, was first released on July 27, 1987, but thanks to the internet, it’s been a popular meme for the past 12-years. For those who don’t know, this song was a worldwide number-one hit, initially in the UK, and eventually topped the charts in 25 countries, including the United States. Read more to see what happens when an AI-powered neural network attempts to continuously generate new parts for this song.