1960’s Dance Fever

Aside July 24, 2022 Markozen.com Music

Close Calls

Aside July 23, 2022 Markozen.com Images

In pictures: Hot weather sweeps across UK

Aside July 22, 2022 Markozen.com Environment, Geography

Photographs from the day when high temperatures are forecast across the UK, with London set to be one of the hottest places in the world.

The sun rises in Mevagissey Harbour in Cornwall — The Sun rises in Mevagissey Harbour, in Cornwall, on the day UK temperatures could hit 41C.

Fishermen in the early morning light — Nearby, fishermen are out to land an early catch.

People preparing to enter the water in Penzance, Cornwall — In Penzance, Cornwall, swimmers took to the water just after sunrise.

A home in Berkshire with it's front window covered — A homeowner covers the front windows to try to keep out the sunshine.

Cracked footpath — A country path in Dunsden, Oxfordshire, is dry and cracked because of the lack of rain in the recent hot spell.

A newborn Bolivian squirrel monkey keeps cool at Chessington Zoo, in Surrey.

Horticulture student Muhammed Ismail Moosa waters the plants in the Palm House at the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew — At the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in south-west London, horticulture student Muhammed Ismail Moosa waters the plants in the Palm House.

Paddle boarders in Bristol — Paddleboarders make the most of the cooler morning, in Bristol.

A police horse is given water from a bucket — Police horse Zorro drinks water from a bucket on Whitehall, in central London.

Mother and daughter beside a pond — Joanne Dunwell and her eight-month-old daughter stay cool in the ponds in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh.

A member of the Queen's Guard receives water to drink — A soldier of the Queen’s Guard is given drinking water outside Buckingham Palace, in central London.

Woman's feet in a river — A woman keeps cool by dipping her feet in the River Thames near Chertsey, in Surrey.

Women on a punt on the River Cam — Visitors to Cambridge take to the River Cam.

Mother and daughter outside their front door — Jasmine Bowers with her daughter, who is eating a lollipop outside their home in north Belfast.

Assistant horticulturist Katie Martyr at a weather station — Assistant horticulturist Katie Martyr checks the readings for the previous 24 hours on Monday morning at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, which previously recorded the UK’s highest temperature of 38.7C (101F ) in July 2019.

Beekeepers at work — Elsewhere at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, beekeepers check on the beehives. They add extra water pots and place cardboard on top of the hives to help mitigate the impact of extreme heat.

People swim in the tidal pool during hot weather at Perranporth Beach in Cornwall — People swim in the tidal pool at Perranporth Beach in Cornwall.

A person standing under a water sprinkler outside Queen Elizabeth II Centre in central London — A woman keeps cool beside a water sprinkler outside Queen Elizabeth II Centre in central London.

People in a paddling pool in a park — People sit in a children’s paddling pool which was filled by a council parks vehicle in central London.

People walk in the sun in Greenwich Park — A man walks in the sun in Greenwich Park on what is already the hottest day of the year across the UK.

BBC

Boston Dynamics reveals new ‘SpotMini’ robot that can help around the kitchen

Aside July 21, 2022 Markozen.com Technology

The robotics firm has revealed its latest creation – a dog-like robot designed to help around the house. Best known for its impressive humanoid ‘Atlus’ and infamous gas-guzzling ‘BigDog’ robots, the company has now come up with something a little more consumer-friendly. Known as ‘SpotMini’, this quadrupedal contraption looks a bit like a small dog and is equipped with a special arm attachment that can enable it to do everything from dropping empty cans in the bin to putting dirty glasses in to a dishwasher. A recently released YouTube video also shows how the robot is able to climb up stairs and recover from a fall – a feature hilariously demonstrated thanks to a conveniently placed banana skin. Whether the robot will ever be available for consumer purchase however, epecially given Boston Dynamics’ recent financial difficulties, remains to be seen.

Giant Car Shredder is Insanedestruct!

Aside July 21, 2022July 21, 2022 Markozen.com Machines

Car, meet giant shredder machine. Giant shredder machine, meet car. Oh dammit, you’re going to eat the car. It’s always fun to watch giant shredders tear up and break things but it’s even more fun when they turn something that’s big and really hard to break—like a car—and just go through it like it’s some rag doll toy plaything.

Wisconsin man suctions 10 cans to his head for Guinness World Record

Aside July 21, 2022 Markozen.com Bizarre, Offbeat

July 15 (UPI) — A Wisconsin man with unusual skin suction recaptured a Guinness World Record by sticking 10 cans to his shaved head.

Jamie Keeton, aka “Canhead,” or “Canpa” to his grandchildren, originally set the record for most drink cans placed on head using air suction in 2016, when he affixed eight cans to his head and had them remain in place for at least 5 seconds.

Keeton’s record was broken by a Japanese man who stuck nine cans to his head in 2019, leading Keeton to recapture the title this year with 10 cans.

Keeton, who turned his ability to stick objects to his head into a lucrative career, attributed his unusual skill to a medical condition.

“I actually have a skin condition that’s not named yet where my skin pores literally suck in oxygen,” Keeton told Guinness World Records.

The condition has caused objects to stick to his skin since he was a child, but Keeton said he didn’t realize the extent of his abilities until he shaved his head for the first time and went to a ball game.

“I was trying to cool my head down. I dried it off first, grabbed a can of pop, and just started cooling my head down,” he said. “As I was doing that, they hit a homerun and I went up to grab it and missed, and then I was like ‘Where’s my drink?’ It was stuck to the back of my head.”

Keeton said his head suction has led him to some unexpected places in life.

“I now have made it into a business. I market for people’s companies and go to events where they pay me anywhere from 10 to 20 thousand dollars a weekend,” he said. “All because of this condition, I got to meet so many celebrities. And what’s really funny is that they actually come up to me and ask me for photos. They know me before I see them.”