The Curio

Robots that look like humans. One of the weirdest and most inspiring things I can think of. Whilst this particular robot does look somewhat creepy, at the same time it does look reasonably human, and indeed is designed to closely mimic human behaviour in one particular scenario - a patient in the dentist’s chair.

But, as usual my mind is in the gutter, and after I read this posting over on the excellent Pink Tentacle blog, I thought of an entirely different application for this kind of technology.

Simroid: Dentistry in the uncanny valley (video) ::: Pink Tentacle:

“Kokoro says that for an extra touch of realism, Simroid exhibits a gag reflex when instruments are inserted too far into her mouth.”

If I owned one I would call her Priss, obviously.
Enough already.

Curious Expeditions » Blog Archive » Red Skeletons:

“Housed in the Dominican Monastery in Dubrovnik, Croatia, is a fantastic coral reliquary. The polished red coral branches delicately hold up a fragment of saintly arm bone.”

Welcome to the “Turkey Drop”.

Turkeys Tossed From A Plane Once a Year, Yellville, Arkansas:

“The problem is that wild turkeys can’t fly very well. Some of the birds would splat on the pavement. Some that landed safely ended up being chased around town.”

390-Million-Year-Old Scorpion Fossil Is The Biggest Known Bug:

“The gigantic fossil claw of an 390 million-year-old sea scorpion, recently found in Germany, shows that ancient arthropods - spiders, insects, crabs and the like - were surprisingly larger than their modern-day counterparts.”

[Via]

MAKE: Blog: The Ambiance Enhancer (retro MP3 player):

“I bought a pair of vintage Cannonball Empire headphones off Ebay and I disassembled and gutted them. I then transplanted the working parts of a Sony MDR-006…”

The BBC is covering this latest attempt on the Zombie Walk world record. The US still holds the record, and it looks like Wales wants a piece of the action.

Mae’r BBC yn adrodd ar gais diweddarol o’r record byd “Cerdded fel Zombï”. Yr U.D. sydd yn cadw i ddal y record, a mae’n edrych bo’ Cymru am ddod i mewn i’r ffrae.

Thanks to Gareth for the translation.

The wait is over! Join me in the car as I commute for about half an hour. In this episode:

• Why do dogs chase me when I’m jogging?
• Get your eyes tested
• Theory of everything. Possibly.
• Memento Mori
• Previous Curio Podcast mentioning Victorian post-mortem photography
• Beautiful Bronze Skulls (via I Want Your Skull)

Music from The Podsafe Music Network is from Howard Jones (yes, the Howard Jones) with “Revolution Of The Heart”.

 

 Standard Podcast [28:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

Surfer dude stuns physicists with theory of everything - Telegraph:

“An impoverished surfer has drawn up a new theory of the universe, seen by some as the Holy Grail of physics, which has received rave reviews from scientists.”

Zombies Are Coming:

“Chances are, you have already seen this public service announcement. However, as we intend to reach the uneducated masses and bring them up to speed on zombie awareness, we felt it worthwhile to show this.”

The Indonesian fisherman named Dede was also featured in the October 2007 edition of the Fortean Times. There’s hope for him though, as a US Doctor, Anthony Gaspari, thinks he has a cure for this remarkable condition:

Tree man ‘who grew roots’ may be cured - Telegraph:

“An Indonesian fisherman who feared that he would be killed by tree-like growths covering his body has been given hope of recovery by an American doctor - and Vitamin A.”

Dr Gaspari says he has never seen anything like this before - but I wonder if he is familiar with the case of this Eastern European (Romanian?) man who has a similarly bizarre condition?