Design
April 5, 2015

Remarkable 240-Year-Old Doll Automaton Can Write Actual Programmable Text

Designed and constructed in the 1770s, this extraordinary little doll is actually a self-operating machine that's believed by some to be one of the oldest examples of a computer. Known as “The Writer,” the automaton was built by Swiss-born watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz in order to entertain nobility and promote watches. In addition to “The Writer,” the ingenious craftsman created two other incredible doll automata with the help of his son Henri-Louis and Jean-Frdric Leschot.

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Art
April 4, 2015

Amazingly Intricate Laser-Cut Wood Relief Sculptures by Gabriel Schama

Oakland-based artist Gabriel Schama creates incredibly intricate, densely layered wood relief sculptures using thin, laser-cut pieces of mahogany plywood. He starts with a vector illustration that is sent to a laser cutter. Lasers carve designs into 1/8-inch sheets of plywood, which are then glued together and varnished. The result is a magnificently textured, mandala-like work of art comprised of ornate layers that twist, overlap, and intersect spectacularly.

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Art
April 3, 2015

Beautiful Scratchboard Portraits of Animals by Allan Ace Adams (Every Line is a Scratch)

To create these breathtaking portraits of animals, artist Allan Ace Adams uses a scalpel and an x-acto knife to scratch away a top layer of black ink to reveal the white clay underneath. Called scratchboard art, it's a time-consuming process that takes commitment and a fine level of detail. One piece can take hundreds of hours to complete due to the many layers of tiny scratches that have to b be made.

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Art
March 31, 2015

Mind-Bending 3D Tattoo Appears to Turn Man’s Arm into a Machine

Tony Booth, a tattoo artist and owner of Dabs Tattoo in Southport, England, has successfully made a man appear as if he's an android. On his arm, at least. This incredible tattoo looks as though it's carved from the skin, and what's beneath it is another layer of hex geometric patterning. It's unlike any tattoo we've seen before. The entire thing took 18 months and multiple tattooing sessions to complete.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.