Sir Isaac Newton famously said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,” which essentially meant that no matter how impressive his own accomplishments were, they wouldn’t have been possible without the brilliant thinkers of the past who laid the groundwork for him.
Indeed, this quote applies as much to scientific discovery as it does bold paradigm shifts in art. The development and increased complexity of both, whether they embrace or reject the ideas of the past, built on them because somebody launched an idea into the void.
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We have to start somewhere and both those who set up that starting point and those who knew what to do with it deserve credit for their work.
And so, we celebrate the brilliant ideas of past and present.
We all need a place to leave our umbrellas, but we definitely also want them back.
And as unpleasant as it is to think about, some people can grow some light fingers when they’re desperate enough for some shelter from the rain.
For that reason, this umbrella stand gives you a way to keep your own secure while making sure it doesn’t make a mess inside this restaurant.
Those old Roadrunner cartoons may have seemed simple enough, but there were some intense narrative rules behind them.
I guess they figured that the cartoon doesn’t work as well if we’re essentially rooting for Wile E. Coyote. These rules seemed as effective as possible to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
After all, if we’re asking in frustration why Wile E. doesn’t just order a pizza if he can get all this Acme equipment, we’re much less likely to blame the roadrunner for anything.
While this simply isn’t possible everywhere, it’s pretty amazing that whoever’s in charge of maintaining this Japanese street was able to keep things this clean.
Normally, the acidity that can come with normal, polluted streets wouldn’t be survivable for these koi fish, but we can clearly see that this street is very different.
One of the reasons is that there are apparently no motor vehicles driving around here.
Here we see an artist in London making some fairly convincing fake noses back in 1921.
Unfortunately, there’s a very good chance that his services would be in high demand due to the wounds that so many people at the time would’ve experienced during the First World War.
Given what we know about how a lot of clothes are manufactured, we might harbor some dark ideas about who is making what we wear.
One California clothing company, however, has decided not to leave that up to our imagination and just tells us whose hard work went into the finished product.
Thanks, Diego.
You’ve likely noticed that some people can get really creative when they protest, but it turns out that’s not a new phenomenon.
Here we see that a protester at the 1976 Democratic National Convention in New York City has made a frankly terrifying costume that shows what would happen if then-President Gerald Ford was in a Peanuts cartoon.
For those lacking context, this person is implying that Ford’s pardon for predecessor Richard M. Nixon was about as easy to get as Lucy’s counseling.
This promotional campaign from the World Wildlife Fund looks particularly ugly, and that’s the point.
That’s because the more pixelated each animal looks, the more vulnerable their populations are.
You probably don’t like the look of what’s going on, and neither do they.
It obviously occurred to the owners of some drug stores in the Czech Republic that we use way more plastic bottles than we need to.
For that reason, they installed these machines that allow customers to refill their bottles of dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, and fabric softener without having to get a new one.
While plastic can leach into single-use bottles that we try to reuse and drink out of, that’s not such a big problem for our clothes and dishes.
This dog park rope station is clearly a hit with this pooch, but it’s even better than it looks.
That’s because it rotates so if the dog is particularly frisky and wants to tug the rope in random directions, this will have no problem accommodating it.
This tampon book may not be that useful here, but it was likely much appreciated in Germany.
That’s because while many products have a 19% value-added tax in Germany, books get a reduced tax rate at 7%.
The Female Company obviously didn’t think it was fair for period products to be taxed so high when they’re a necessity, so they found a clever way around the regulations.
Apparently, the German government saw the problem with how this tax worked because tampons and menstrual pads are now eligible for the reduced tax rate as of January 1, 2020.
Twenty-four years after it was released, a fan named Kaze Emanuar has modded Super Mario 64 for co-op play.
So now, anyone who didn’t think Luigi got a fair shake in that game can proudly play as the underrated Mario brother.
Apparently, this breadbot is capable of baking fresh bread in about six minutes.
While it may not replace the hard work that a real baker puts into their creations, it’s still pretty amazing that people can get hot, fresh bread from a vending machine without even waiting long.
Going to the dentist can be a pretty intimidating experience for a kid, so one made their office a little more welcoming.
Here we see a Gamecube and an Xbox set up to ease the young’uns into the experience with some classic gaming.
Although it shut down over 60 years ago, one idea that Imperial Airways introduced to the aviation world is just as much of a lifesaver today.
As we can see from the banner, this flight from London to Paris in 1925 was the site of the world’s first in-flight movie.
Although we certainly have more choices for in-flight entertainment than the silent film The Lost World nowadays, we may not have had the chance if they didn’t lead the way.
I’ll admit that I suck at pool, but those who have long mastered the game can now experience a whole new challenge.
For some reason, it seems that someone has developed a Z-shaped pool table.
Although it’s unclear if this makes the game easier or harder to play, it definitely seems like it would take some getting used to.
While this may seem as though it was designed as some funky techno-pen, that’s not what any of the parts inside it were manufactured for.
Instead, someone took the components out of an old phone to give this pen some electronic flair.
It’s pretty cool, huh?
If it weren’t for this man, Nintendo would probably still be limited to the playing card market.
As Wired reported , this was Jerry Lawson, an engineer at Fairchild Semiconductor who invented the first game console to accept multiple video game cartridges.
The challenging part of that was developing a system that didn’t damage the semiconductors involved, but Lawson was able to overcome that challenge and created Fairchild’s Channel F system, which paved the way for the Atari 2600 and the NES.
While it would probably be nightmarish to use this calculator from 1673, doing math would be even more nightmarish if it had never been made.
For this, we have Rene Grillet de Roven to thank. He was apparently the watchmaker for King Louis XIV, which sounds like exactly the kind of skill you’d need to develop a way to make precise calculations.
How do you solve a problem like Marias?
Specifically, in a nation that has many, many Marias? In Brazil, this doctor’s office gives them their own drawer.
At the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, art isn’t just for those with sight.
Blind guests can enjoy the classic artworks here with tactile representations, done in relief and with great detail.
Old meets the new with this interior decorating touch.
Instead of taking down all of the beautiful old wallpaper in this room, original to the 1885 house, the owners left a section up and framed it like artwork. So simple, but such a nice way to honor the home’s history.
Likewise, this aesthetician’s shop preserved the original brickwork as framed art.
Again, it’s a nice nod to the place’s history — dating back to 1780! — as well as giving clients the impression that they really understand aesthetics.
L.L. Bean sews “Hand-Me-Down” name labels into their clothes.
If you think about it, this label does double duty, not just allowing you to write new names as the article of clothing gets handed down, but also serving as a nice marketing tool. It really shows how much they believe in the lasting quality of their merchandise.
Before the development of AutoCAD, this is how urban designers laid out plans.
Which makes me wonder if anybody out there appreciates the advancement of computer technology on a day-to-day basis more than engineers.
When you want a tattoo that’s a little bit of everything.
This guy decided to get many tattoos in one, going with a hex grid that he then asked artists to fill in however they pleased.
You can’t make the shortcuts on a keyboard much clearer than color-coding them.
This is a removable cover for the keyboard, so it’s probably not practical for everyday usage, but when you’re still learning your way around the keys, it would be invaluable.
Back in WWII, some select Spitfires were painted pink.
Yes, pink, not the standard green we’re used to seeing in movies. The pink paint job allowed reconnaissance planes an extra edge of camouflage, as they were generally sent up at sunrise or sunset.
Two kinds of highly advanced technology came together to make this unique lamp.
The uploader had to have an MRI done of their brain, so they took that data and 3D printed themselves a lamp like no other.
These measuring cups graphically represent the fractions of a cup.
They’re no different than other measuring cups, when you get right down to it, but there’s still something amazing about these.
When it’s adjustable, you only ever need one calendar.
You just line up the day of the week that the first of the month falls on and you’re good go — although you might have to fudge February at the end.
Okay, partial credit to Goodyear’s glowing tires.
As a novelty, they’re hard to beat, but there are good reasons why they never quite caught on: they were too expensive, not to mention that a few miles of dust and wear killed the glow pretty quickly. Add in that they performed poorly in the rain or under hard braking and they just weren’t going to work off the showroom floor.
Credit to Goodyear for trying something innovative though — don’t you wish these were more practical?
Usually you get a pizza to eat during the game, not get a pizza *for* the game.
But this pizza chain’s boxes have some entertainment built right in, with a cardboard cut-out basketball game. Nice way to pass the time with the kids during intermission.
This motor tricycle is intended to accommodate wheelchair users.
Sure, these have been around for a little while, but I doubt the novelty has worn off for those who use them to get around. It’s freedom like no other.
This kitchen has a cooler built right into the floor.
While it may not be terribly convenient to bend all the way over to reach into it, some living arrangements are small enough that a space-saving idea like this is all but necessary.
As a low cost way to move dozens and dozens of melons, it’s hard to beat a canal.
You’re just putting their natural buoyancy to work. Will it get them to the marketplace? Maybe not. But it will get them around a farm quite nicely.
There’s a trend of people re-using old calendars that are relevant again.
I guess they don’t have adjustable calendars like the one above, but you have to appreciate old artwork and the like coming around to be admired once again.
What isn’t widely known about the Ottoman Empire is how much respecting and caring for animals was encouraged in its societies.
This old carved cobblestone serves as an enduring example of this attitude, as they were designed to collect water so birds and other street animals could drink from them.
Some good ideas came along a bit too early.
Like this electric tricycle, the C5, introduced in 1985. With today’s technology added in, it might just be a hot seller, but in the mid-’80s, it was a flop.
There’s no reason why your home’s pipes can’t be artwork.
I can’t even imagine how much time went into creating this intricate octopus valve system, but it certainly qualifies as unique, and the craftsmanship looks incredible.
In some hospitals, outlets glow green.
It’s a small touch, but nurses and orderlies will really appreciate it when they have to plug in any of the various electronics a patient might need without waking them up by turning on the lights.
