Illusion
April 6, 2018

8 Mind-Bending Optical Illusions Explained

Lilac Chaser Illusion Stare at the center black cross for about 10 seconds. What do you see? At first, a gap appears in between each lilac disk for a few seconds. Then, in its place, a blurred green disk appears to be “chasing” the violet dots, moving in a clockwise direction. And if you look long enough, the lilac disks will disappear altogether, and you'll just see a green disk moving in a circle.

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Resources
April 5, 2018

Illustrated U.S. Map From 1932 Shows the Medicinal Plants Native to Each State

Renowned for the rarity of its cartographic treasures, the David Rumsey Map Collection is a one-of-a-kind organization. Over half of its 150,000 historic documents—including one of the world's largest maps—has been digitized, allowing the public to explore the charted world like like never before. One recent addition to this virtual library is the Medicinal Plant Map of the United States, a vintage guide to each state's pharmaceutical flora.

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Art
April 4, 2018

Clever Artist Uses Pasta Maker to Create Duplicate Collages From a Single Photo

Avant-garde artist and self-described “alchemist” Kensuke Koike crafts collages with a surrealist twist. Rather than use a simple pair of scissors or a tried-and-true X-acto knife, Koike often creates his pieced-together works with an unconventional tool: a hand-cranked pasta maker. For his latest magic trick, Koike uses the machine to perplexingly produce duplicate copies of a single dog portrait. So, how does he do it?

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Sculpture
April 3, 2018

Life-Sized Wire Animal Sculptures Look Perfectly at Home in Natural Environments

Artist Candice Bees is a woman of many creative talents. Formally trained as an illustrator, her practice has since shifted into making wire animal sculptures. But she hasn’t abandoned her drawing sensibilities; instead, she bundles the metal wire into dense forms that have an energetic quality to them, as if she scrawled them in pen and ink. Bees’ work is informed by the countless hours she’s spent around different species of animals.

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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.