Those wacky Germans. Who else would think of creating the world’s "strongest artificially generated tornado" inside a car museum?
The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, to be exact, and the twister has been officially given the thumbs up by the Guinness Book Of Records. The tornado measures 34.4 metres high and, in typical German fashion, was designed not as an attraction but as an innovative way to channel smoke out of the building during a fire.
As fire fighting technologies go, this has to be one of the coolest looking. Even if it was an accident.-Martin Lynch
Sometime today, mobile operator 3 is expected to take the wraps off a mainstream Skype phone that will allow users to make free calls to friends with Skype numbers without needing to be on a PC.
The new phone, sporting a special Skype button, will allow people on the go to use Skype but, while users will be able to call Skype numbers, the phone will not support SkypeOut – the Skype service that lets users make cheaper-than-normal calls to regular phone numbers.
The Skype phone will not cost any more than a regular phone contract, according to early reports, and will be available under both Pay Monthly and Pay-As-You-Go contracts. Here’s some of the features you can expect.
* 2 Megapixel camera
* Photo editing and effects function
* Video capture
* MP3 player
* Inbuilt equalizer which enhances reproduction delivering great bass
* Simple navigation for browsing the library
If there’s any more interesting details after the launch later, I’ll throw them up.-Martin Lynch
With the clocks having just changed to plunge us all into true winter darkness, here's a timely little timepiece that manages to capture that Halloween spirit almost 400 years after it was meticulously hand-crafted.
Our man at Watchismo turns up some great timepieces, from the luxury Vulcania to the Best Watches of The 1970s, comes this Skull clock resting on crossed shin bones and mounted on a brass tri-pod. Built in 1610, the hinged skull reveals the intricate mechanism.
"The movements of the automaton jaw and the snakes in the eyes are controlled by two six-spoke cams driven by the fusee and revolving twenty times an hour, so that the jaws take three minutes to open and then close suddenly while the snakes alternately pop out of, then return back into, each eye socket, twice a minute. Height 14 cm, including the base. Back plate signed."
Got to love those snakes popping out from the eye sockets every minute. This grisly little number just sold at auction in the US for £67,000. Jump to see the whole clock.-Martin Lynch
Behold! A guitar, an amp and a plectrum – the three faces of the one, true Rock God.
The only problem is that they are really, really small and are, in fact, a cleverly disguised 1GB MP3 player and speakers. Meet the U Rock Mini Guitar MP3 Player & Amp, with the guitar measuring 16.5 x 5.5 x 1cm and the amp coming in at 9 x 8 x 5cm.
The mini-guitar – the player - looks the real deal with details including strings and machine heads, while sacrificing modern contrivances like LCD displays and glowing buttons. Hell, it wouldn’t be a rock guitar if it didn’t sacrifice something.
The stereo speakers are hidden inside the amp and the guitar even comes with a wee stand for your desk. The plectrum is for show but there’s a lanyard for wearing it around your neck if you really are a rock god. They even throw in headphones.
Reassuringly, the whole kit only comes in black. Full details after the jump. Yours for £50.-Martin Lynch
The new phone, sporting a special Skype button, will allow people on the go to use Skype but, while users will be able to call Skype numbers, the phone will not support SkypeOut – the Skype service that lets users make cheaper-than-normal calls to regular phone numbers.
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
