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.”

Making a Box from a Greeting Card

My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Lee, first taught me to make these.  I remember going to my grandmother's house and proceeding to make a bunch of them for her.

Story of One Crime - Fyodor Khitruk (1962)

Gumbasia - Art Clokey (1955)

Gumbasia was Art Clokey’s first film, made in 1955 at the University of Southern California. It was a parody of Disney’s Fantasia, using stop-motion clay figures. This short film led to funding for his first Gumby film.

Let's Make some Great Fingerprint Art - Marion Deuchars

Let's Make some Great Fingerprint Art from Marion Deuchars on Vimeo.

The Postal System from A to B - Ruben van der Vleuten

This hidden camera adventure through the postal system, From A to B, began when Ruben van der Vleuten wanted to know, ”What happens when you send something by mail?”

So instead of sitting back I started a simple project to actually see it myself. I put a small camera in a box, build a timer circuit using Arduino and shipped it.

That’s as simple as it is. The timer circuit was set to make a 3 sec video every minute and make longer videos while the box was moving: to not miss on the ‘interesting’ parts.

…like conveyor belts! We love videos like this, not only because we get to see from a perspective that we’ve never seen before, but because it would make a great DIY project.

Check out van der Vleuten’s site to see more about the box, its innerworkings, and a highlights video with some real time clips.

My Financial Career - Gerald Potterton (1962)

An animated film based on Stephen Leacock's witty account of a young man's first brush with banking. When he tries to make his deposit, he is so intimidated by the institution that nothing he says comes out right. Directed by Gerald Potterton - 1962

Kew Gardens / LonelyLeap Collaboration Botany Videos

KEW GARDENS - Beyond the Gardens: The Fungarium from LONELYLEAP on Vimeo.\



KEW GARDENS - Beyond the Gardens: The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership from LONELYLEAP on Vimeo.

Most people know Kew Gardens as home of the world’s largest living plant collection but are not aware that it is also the location of an internationally important botanical research and educational institution. Going beyond the gardens as we know them, Lonelyleap produced two films for 2012’s Tropical Extravaganza Festival which showcase the behind the scenes work of Kew’s scientists whilst also exploring two of the festival’s themes, Earth and Air.

The first in the series explores the importance of fungi to all plants and ultimately all life on Earth through several members of the Mycology Department committed to the conservation and exploration of fungi.

The second film in the series looks at the work of the the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership in Surrey, home to 10% of the world’s plant diversity, and how the Seed Conservation Department is helping to save wild plants and habitats for our future.

And a bonus!

KEW GARDENS - Beyond the Gardens: The Plant Family Tree from LONELYLEAP on Vimeo.

The Dragon Hedge

Retired fan maker John Brooker was bored with his plain hedge in East Rudham, Norfolk, and so he decided to shape it into something more interesting. Note to self: it takes around 10 years to sculpt a hedge into a 100 foot long dragon-shaped topiary.

With extreme dedication and precision, Brooker used hedge clippers to sculpt six legs, a large head with pointy teeth, scales, and wings into what was once a simple, rectangular row of shrubbery. He spends three days every two to three weeks taming the ever-growing beast and has to climb up a pair of 6-foot-high ladders to reach the top. Photo by Damien McFadden.

via My Modern Met.

"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" (1941) - The Andrews Sisters

Nothing gets you moving quite like boogie woogie and The Andrews Sisters-Patricia Marie, Maxine Angelyn and Laverne Sophie-were brilliant at it. Here they are in a 1941 clip from Abbott and Costello’s Buck Privates.