via Huffington Post
Let me just set up this story. There’s quite a famous ‘street artist’ called Banksy (you may have heard of him) who was ground-breaking and innovative (see his ‘This is not a photo opportunity’ stencils for details). Every great artist has imitators, and Hanksy may well be the best modern example of this phenomenon. Take something, imitate it with a twist, make me smile. Simple, really.
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Ever wished your mobile would, you know, just interact with you more? Well now all your prayers have been answered*. The Hugvie is a new mobile phone accessory (admittedly quite a large one) that emotes. How does it work? You shove your phone in the head of this thing and hug it during your call. Then it measures your heart rate and reacts accordingly – it ‘comes equipped with a vibrating device to produce a heartbeat’ so it feels like you’re holding a real person** There’s a video showing how it works (which made me smile, only due to the serious faces the users are wearing), but there’s no way I’ll sully this post with such inanity (which is saying something).
* If this is the sum total of all your prayers, I’m sorry.
** If you think this could ever replace a real person, I’m sorry
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Time now for some domin-OhMyGosh goodness. From massive organised events to true bedroom warriors, these guys and girls have the patience of saints and hands steadier than mine. A quick sample of awesome:
There’s a whole slew of these videos, collated for your enjoyment, and guaranteed to make you smile. Putting them all back in the box would be a right pain though, wouldn’t it?
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via Huffington Post (again, but I’m making no excuses)
Deep in the Colombian mountains, buried in a halite mine, sits the Salt Cathedral. It’s an actual place of worship, just 500 feet underground. And carved from salt. Pretty cool. Made me smile.
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As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, recycling and environmental awareness is drilled into us fairly regularly. This TED talk from Portland (where, incidentally, I’m headed in a couple of weeks) shows how using the ‘interstitial suspension’ of paper towels can cut paper usage by 571,230,000lbs in the U.S. alone.
Not the usual content for this feature, but it made me smile. Why? The way the guy delivers the message. You will forever remember ‘Shake. Fold’
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Quick Grins
An MIT student has built an actual working Mario Kart (sadly without the ability to fire mushrooms). Rainbow Road domination is the next step!
Florida-shaped pancakes? Not a problem with these skillets made in the shape of every U.S. state.
You teach your kids to memorise their address should they ever be lost. But your parakeet?
Are you a cute little kitty cat confronted by a big, nasty pitbull? Not a problem, bust out your lightsaber and have at it.
Seen anything that has made you smile this week? Let me know in the comments, or drop me a line on the Twitter, using #MakeMeSmileMonday so I’ll find it.