Paper City - Maciek Janicki

The fragility, the intricate detail, and “the charming rise and fold” of a Paper City. Animation by Maciek Janicki.

Systems at Work - United States Postal Service

In an incredible display of high-tech machinery, United States Postal Service: Systems at Work takes us step-by-step through their assembly lines, from the Advanced Facer-Canceller System (AFCS) — capable of processing 30,000 pieces of mail per hour — to the men and women of the USPS who keep things running smoothly from mailbox to mailbox.

The high-drama music might seem a bit over the top in the beginning, but by halfway through, we were absolutely riveted by the high-speed, clockwork capabilities of how mail, magazines, and packages of all sizes are delivered all across the country, all thanks to the United States Postal Service.

Theodore Gray's Periodic Table Table

Wolfram Research co-founder and author Theo Gray has made the most amazing Periodic Table table for his collection of elements! And he’s collected so many in a variety of forms over the years… liquids, solids, bottles of gases, crystals, and cheeky substitutions. What a great, hands-on way to experience what could otherwise just be a bunch of memorized letters and numbers.

Related reading: Gray’s wonderful book The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe.

DIY Egg Geode

A pretty spectacular science experiment: how to make an Incredible Egg Geode. 

Your egg geode is formed through a process called sedimentation. The heated alum solution contains suspended particles of alum powder and as the solution cools, these particles of alum begin settling. When the alum particles settle towards the bottom of the beaker or glass, they begin crystallizing. With the alum-covered egg at the bottom, the alum particles from the solution begin attaching themselves to the egg. Covering your egg in alum powder beforehand gives the suspended alum particles a surface to which they can more readily attach themselves. The particles that settle onto the surface of the egg crystallize, and you will also see crystallization on the bottom and sides of the beaker or glass.

Animated Hair Cartoon (1925) and History of Early Animation from UCLA

From the UCLA Film & Television Archive, this is Animated Hair Cartoon, No.18 (1925), from Max Fleischer‘s Red Seal Pictures. Beyond it being fun to watch one face change into another, these images also come together as a pop culture time capsule from the early 20th century. From the historian’s notes:

The “Animated Hair” films, featuring artwork by “Marcus” (not well-known animator Sid Marcus, but a caricaturist for the original humorous Life Magazine) were relatively easy for the studio to produce, using one artist (his hand usually seen on screen drawing the image) and the gimmick of manipulating one caricature with stop motion to create a second caricature (usually by rearranging a hair-do). For example, in this entry, playwright George Bernard Shaw becomes baseball commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis, and Charlie Chaplin morphs into Buster Keaton. Audiences were thrilled. Fifty one “Animated Hair” shorts were produced between 1924 and 1927. This entry (No. 18) was released on July 11, 1925.

Also featured: Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, Samuel Gompers, Elsie Ferguson, and “Babe” Ruth.

And here’s more about UCLA’s Archives of Animation, from Fig. 1:

Bob's Birthday - 1993

This film took home an Oscar® for Best Animated Short Film. When Margaret plans a celebration for her husband Bob, she underestimates the sudden impact of middle age on his mood. A witty, offbeat animated portrait of a frustrated dentist wrestling with the fundamental issues of life proves that birthdays (and surprise parties) can be very tricky indeed. Directed by David Fine & Alison Snowden - 1993

My Mom is an Airplane - Yulya Aronova

Why Do Clouds Stay Up?

Quilting in Space - Karen Nyberg

NASA Astronaut Karen Nyberg, a lifelong lover of sewing, is inviting fellow crafters to join her in stitching together a global community space quilt. Nyberg, in the final weeks of her mission, recently shared a star-themed quilt square she was able to complete inside the International Space Station. Now, she's inviting quilters from the public to create their own star-themed quilt squares to help celebrate her mission and passion for the quilting arts. The International Quilt Festival and Nyberg will work together to have the squares stitched together for display at the 40th annual International Quilt Festival in 2014 and other public displays. Nyberg's complete biography.

 For more information about Nyberg's personal sewing hobbies

Alfred Russel Wallace's Personal Cabinet - NSF

To know where modern biological science began, take a look at the incredible and extremely well-preserved collection within Alfred Russel Wallace’s personal cabinet, as showcased in this video by the National Science Foundation:

Discovered by a Washington, D.C., lawyer in search of antique furniture, this is truly a Cabinet of Wonders, for inside is the 1700-specimen personal collection of 19th Century British naturalist, field biologist and contemporary of Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace.

From the Washington Post:

There are butterflies and beetles, moths and shells. There’s a small bird. Flies. Bees. Praying mantises. Tarantulas. Seedpods. A hornet’s nest… “I think it’s a fabulous thing,” said David Grimaldi, curator of invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. “I think it’s a national treasure, actually.”