toblerone

Amusing Planet educates us about an unusual geological formation that occurs in South Tyrol in the hinterlands of Bolzano, Rifiano and Merano called earth pyramids (piramidi di terra in Alto Adige, Südtiroler Erdpyramiden).
These tall pillars formed out of the moraine clay deposited by retreating glaciers during the last Ice Age and regularly alternating periods of drought and torrential rains that wash the soil away. The boulders atop these spindly, precarious-looking structures prevent the soil directly underneath from being eroded away, and especially in sheltered Puster (Pusteria) and Toblach (Dobbiaco) valleys where they are protected from the wind make some truly outstanding scenery. The spiky confection is a Swiss product and has a different inspiration—a portmanteau of the creator’s name (Theodore Tobler) and a type of Italian nougat whose shape is meant to recall the Matterhorn (Il Cervino). I think we will definitely need to make a special detour on our next trip south to marvel at these uniquely frozen landslides. 

petit voiture

Just a Car Guy graces us with the bracing find of a 1903 model of a De Dion-Bouton vis a vis voiturette (a four-wheeler) charging through the streets of Paris, outfitted with pneumatic tyres, patented by a French inventor named Alfred Ducasble, to ride rough-shod over the cobblestones without sustaining wear and tear. Gifted toymakers turned automotive engineers Georges Bouton and his brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux, under the patronage of automobile pioneer and marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, founded the automobile and railcar company in 1881 and originally made steam- and electric-powered models before turning to the internal combustion engine, and was until the 1920s the largest automotive manufacturer in the world, churning out a volume of two thousand vehicles annually from its factory on the banks of the Seine in Puteaux.

sphagnum, p.i.

From the science desk at Gizmodo we learn that algae are not monopolising the bio-fuel revolution and there’s another contender in the lowly but amazing moss. The superficial achievement of engineering a fragrant plant so a patch of one’s garden might smell of patchouli oil is just the beginning. If developed responsibly, moss could become a universal, self-sustaining medium (peat, turf was until modern times after all the only fuel resource we knew how to effectively collect and use) that could be genetically tinkered with on demand and deliver flavoured, edible, nutritious compounds to be moulded and presented as a mealtime skeuomorph, effectively the replicator from Star Trek.

iconoclasm

For its Branded in Memory project a marketing and demographics website challenged one hundred and fifty Americans (most of the corporate logos are global brands but there are some specific to American markets) to recreate—without peeking—a batch of famous marque emblems and afterwards arranged the entrants from least to most accurate. The results are pretty insightful and illustrate what logos reside in our conscious and which are somewhat less ingrained. Colours were consistently correct (unless one was attached to a logo that the company retired long ago). How would you fare? I think it would be a fun project to recreate this experiment for those (probably woefully uniform) shops on your local high street or for the labels from your usual grocery shopping inventory.