Truth (plus lies)

How to design a long-lasting public toilet

Jefff — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:36:09 +0000

Cities that install public toilets run into obvious problems. People leave their garbage in them. Vandals break them. Homeless people live in them.

Portland has managed to deal with all of these problems by rethinking some basic assumptions about public toilet design.

1. Make it open to the elements: we’re talking bathroom stall, sans the bathroom. People walking by on the sidewalk should be able to see the peer’s feet and hear every little splish, splash, and sploosh in that potty. A comfortable, enclosed public bathroom is a bum’s living room, but an open-air crapper is just an open-air crapper.
2. No sink. Bums like to wash clothes in sinks. Instead, provide a spigot outside the stall with cold water.
3. No mirror. People like to break mirrors. It’s just a thing.
4. No nice, homey touches or comfortable detailing. Stainless steel all the way, with a graffiti-repelling coating. People can and will take bats to it; don’t make it easy on them.

From Discoblog and The Atlantic Cities.

Ben Stein believes that God controls the weather and that you should make him your celebrity spokesperson regardless

Jefff — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:49:44 +0000

Kyocera is an electronics company with a green reputation. They recently declined to hire Ben Stein after asking him his views on climate change. He’s now alleging breach of contract. Incidentally, there was no contract.

By way of response, Stein asked the agency to tell Kyocera that he was not certain that global warming was a man-made phenomenon as “he believed that God, and not man, controlled the weather,” because that is how you demonstrate to someone that you are rational. Yet somehow this did not assuage Kyocera’s fears, so they backed out of the deal, creating a storm of controversy not unlike those cooked up by God on a regular basis, up there in his weather whirligig.

Clip art album covers

Jefff — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:04:16 +0000

Familiar album covers redone with clip art. Via Kottke.

Women are a mystery to Stephen Hawking

Jefff — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:00:26 +0000

New Scientist has a nice, short interview with Stephen Hawking on the occasion of his turning 70.

What do you think most about during the day?

Women. They are a complete mystery.

Via Gizmodo.

Batman is lonely

Jefff — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:56:20 +0000

By Noam Sussman, via Hey Oscar Wilde.

Elephants have useful penises

Jefff — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:10:23 +0000

You see that skinny leg around where you’d expect the elephant’s penis to be? That’s his penis. He’s standing on his penis. It’s prehensile too. Which is nice because full-body humping is difficult with a big elephant body.

From Not Exactly Rocket Science, via Reddit.

Face & Skull

Jefff — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:19:52 +0000

From the W+K Studio Blog, via Ffffound.

McCarthyism illustrated

Jefff — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:18:12 +0000

From the Momentus Project, via Ffffound.

Soldier Bear fought in WWII

Jefff — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:13:11 +0000

Voytek was a bear who was adopted by Polish troops in Iran in 1943.

When Polish forces were deployed to Europe the only way to take the bear with them was to “enlist” him.

So he was given a name, rank and number and took part in the Italian campaign.

From BBC News, via Reddit.

A tool to push weak old people up stairs

Jefff — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:53:20 +0000

Patented by Allain Eustis in 1895.

From Futility Closet.