Weird noises emerge from a Frankenstein cassette-tape keyboard

Of course everyone knows what a Mellotron is (no, everyone doesn't), but allow us to briefly explain anyway. The Mellotron is a keyboard hooked up to analog tape -- press a key and the instrument plays a corresponding section of sound on the tape. It's the original sampler, popularized by the Beatles, the Moody Blues and a handful of other bands in the 1960s and '70s. And now, it's back with a modern twist. The Crudman, from Brooklyn's Crudlabs, isn't exactly a Mellotron, but it operates similarly by connecting a keyboard to a hacked Walkman. Users can even chain together a few Crudman units for polyphonic sounds. You could even call them polyphonic sprees, if you're feeling saucy. Despite the similarities to the Mellotron, Crudlabs wants to make it clear that the Crudman is not a Mellotron. "It is a monophonic, tape-based instrument designed around a single cassette Walkman," the Crudlabs site says. "No, it is not designed to replace a Mellotron and it does not sound like a Mellotron. It's its own thing which has its own unique sound and features. It is a new instrument and a tool to find new and interesting musical and atonal sounds using the unique lo-fi characteristics of cassette tapes." As for those unique sounds, hear for yourself below.READ MORE -http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/21/mellotron-walkman-keyboard-crudman/

SPANISH SIDE RELEASE WEIRD AWAY KIT

Sometimes, in the middle of a hearty game of football, a player needs a quick snack to perk up his energy levels.
However, snacks are expensive. Consequently, it makes more sense to simply design a kit that looks like a snack - then the player can just munch on that. That might well be the reasoning behind CD Guijuelo's new away kit - a strip modelled on delicious ham.
The club is based is in Salamanca, an area of Spain known for it's tasty jamón iberico - that might also have something to do with it. That doesn't mean it isn't still pretty bizarre.
Still, as strange football kits go, this isn't the worst we've seen. Plus it's making us hungry for ham, which is sort of nice in it's own way.READ MORE

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/spanish-side-release-incredibly-weird-6253650
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8 WEIRD WAYS HUMANS ARE TRYING TO PROLONG LIFE

Obtaining eternal life is a mainstay on humankind’s bucket list, though doing so would obviously negate the idea of a bucket list altogether. We’ve been at it for millennia, and while we can be pretty pleased with the role of modern medicine in steadily increasing our lifespans, we’re yet to make the big discoveries that will effectively be the modern-day equivalent of the elixir of life. A healthy diet, a good exercise routine, and a ‘positive attitude’ are all well and good, but where is that potion of eternal life from Death Becomes Her? Where are all the Sylvester Stallones and Mel Gibsons being rejuvenated after years of cryogenic freezing? And how the hell do those waterbeds in Interstellar keep people alive for so long? Throughout the ages, humankind has conceived life-extending ideas that have ranged from the fatal to the brilliant – in that order. Where once upon a time whole nations would pursue eternal life based on myths and legends, today scientists are discovering methods for extending our lives that actually look pretty promising. Eternal life may be some way off, but doubling our lifespans might not be. Here is a list of ways that humankind has worked on – and continues to work on – expanding our lifespans by 30, 50 or 100 years. READ MORE-

SPACE How did Saturn Moon Tethys get Those Weird Stripes?

NASA’s Cassini mission has been orbiting Saturn for over a decade, so you’d be forgiven in thinking that it’s seen just about every weird feature on the ringed gas giant and its fascinating system of moons. But in new observations beamed back from Cassini, icy moon Tethys has only now decided to show off its mysterious stripes. ANALYSIS: Moon Tethys ‘Hangs’ Off Saturn’s Rings Using clear, green, infrared and ultraviolet spectral filters, during a flyby in April, Cassini’s cameras were able to create a color-enhanced view of the 660 mile (1,060 kilometer) wide ice-encrusted moon. And that’s when mission scientists saw them — long stripes of red discoloration arcing across the surface. Although stripes that appeared slightly red have been spotted in previous flybys, the angle between the Saturnian system, the sun and Cassini has not been ideal. But as Saturn’s northern hemisphere has been entering summer these past few years, the northern stripes on Tethys have gradually come into view and now Cassini has recorded vivid red features that at first appear to be fairly young on geological timescales.READ MORE -http://news.discovery.com/space/how-did-saturn-moon-tethys-get-those-weird-stripes-150731.htm

15 weird risk factors for kidney stones

Anyone who's ever passed a kidney stone before has probably wondered how something so small (usually, anyway!) can cause so much pain. Unfair, we know. About 1 in 11 people will suffer from a kidney stone in their lifetime—and once you've already had one, you're about 50 percent more likely to have another. More bad news: At one time, stones primarily affected men, but new research shows that this gender gap has almost closed, possibly due to the rise in obesity. Most kidney stones are a solid mass of minerals that have congealed and lodged itself somewhere in your urinary tract. The majority of them are made of calcium—usually a combination of calcium and oxalate, but, in rarer cases, calcium and phosphate—and, to a much lesser extent, uric acid. Now for the good news: With a few dietary and lifestyle tweaks, you might be able to slash your odds of ever suffering from a kidney stone again—or, even better, prevent one entirely.READ MORE -http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/07/25/15-weird-risk-factors-for-kidney-stones/

MOZZIE FESTIVE IN RUSSIA

IN RUSSIA A FESTIVAL MARKING MOSQUITO SEASON BEGINS SOON. COMPETITIONS INCLUDE TASTIEST GIRL WHERE ENTRANTS STAND NEXT TO A MOSSIE - INFESTED POND AND WHOEVER IS BITTEN THE MOST WINS.GIRLS WITH THE THINNEST PINS CAN WIN MOSQUITO LEGS CONTEST,THIS EVENT LASTS 3 DAYS IN BEREZNIKI.

Alice Anderson at the Wellcome Collection review – a weird, wired world

Wellcome Collection, London From old TVs to obsolete telephones and even a staircase, Alice Anderson mummifies things in copper wire. It may sound banal – but it’s an art that gets some very curious and uncanny results Bellows by Alice Anderson Mystical and strange ... Bellows by Alice Anderson. Photograph: Wellcome Collection Jonathan Jones Friday 17 July 2015 15.09 BST Last modified on Saturday 18 July 2015 00.01 BST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Shares 37 Their funeral wrappings glisten fierily in the spotlights that pick them out in a theatrically darkened space. All our yesterdays are here, the things we use and throw away, lost and found in spidery cocoons. Alice Anderson wraps things in copper wire. It is a banal description of an art that gets some very curious and uncanny results. Telephone, 2013, by Alice Anderson Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telephone, 2013, by Alice Anderson. Photograph: Wellcome Collection This might be in a museum a thousand years in the future, dedicated to the strange artefacts of the 21st century. Why, archaeologists will ask, did the people of that time choose to mummify their old TV screens, obsolete telephones and loudspeakers? Was it a bizarre religious attempt to apologise for the culture of waste that was at that moment eating up the planet? An electric guitar has been swathed over and over again, the thin thread, wrapped tighter and tighter, entirely containing the instrument so you can see its shape but, up close, cannot make out its strings or fretboard. In caring for it, Anderson has muffled it. This guitar will never wail another solo. Nor will the pipe she has swaddled in copper wire ever again be smoked. This is not a pipe – it is a mummy. It is a ghost. Anderson is hardly the first artist to have wrapped up everyday objects. Wrapping is in fact a great modern tradition. Anderson’s guitar recalls the shamanistic German sculptor Joseph Beuys who wrapped a grand piano in grey -READ MORE -http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jul/17/alice-anderson-at-the-wellcome-collection-review