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Maps of Gotham City

In a city that's notoriously hard to navigate - here are some helpful maps.

Cartographer: Eliot R. Brown. high res version (two more after the jump)

high-res version

high-res version

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The Middle of Nowhere, Part 1: Norilsk

Norilsk, Russia is the northernmost city in the world.

Book your tickets now.  More images and a short video after the jump.

From 1935 to 1956 Norilsk was home to the Norillag Labor Camp, part of Russia's gulag system.  It is home to the world's largest heavy metal smelting complex.  Over 4 million tons of cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, arsenic, selenium and zinc are released into the air every year, making it one of the most polluted places in the world. About 100,000 people currently live in Norilsk.

This map from 1996 shows the extensive damage to vegetation:

The average low temperature in January: -23°F.  The record low: -63F.  That's no typo. -63°F

From Wikipedia: "It is covered with snow for about 250–270 days a year, with snow storms for about 110–130 days. The polar night lasts from December through mid-January, so there is no sun for about six weeks. In summer the sun does not set for more than six weeks."

An interesting map of the city:

Finally, to see Norilsk in all its frigid, hellish glory, check out this short video:

Norilsk from Artem Zamashnoy on Vimeo.

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Check out this step-by-step reconstruction of the Early Jurassic dinosaur, the Heterodontosaurus.

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Sony's Cassette Killer

Introducing the first consumer CD player ever made - the 1982 Sony CDP-101.

The unit sold for around $1000 at the time of its release. Check out the original Sony TV Commercial for the unit. (after the jump)

Notice the cassette deck banished into the shadows in the Sony Brochure below.

Ironically, the "digital audio revolution" would eventually kill the Compact Disk.

In all its bulky glory:

And finally, a video of this dinosaur in action:

  One more glamor shot of this tank:

If there's one thing that's missing from modern day electronics, it's the over-sized, satisfying buttons.

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The Racist Origin of the Word "Bulldoze"

From one of the most interesting websites on the internet: The Online Etymology Dictionary: bulldozer (n.) "person who intimidates by violence," 1876, agent noun from bulldoze (q.v.). Meaning extended to ground-clearing caterpillar tractor in 1930. bulldoze (v.) by 1880, from an earlier noun, bulldose "a severe beating or lashing" (1876), literally "a dose fit for a bull," a slang word referring to the intimidation beating of black voters (by either blacks or whites) in the chaotic 1876 U.S. presidential election. See bull (n.1) + dose (n.). Related: Bulldozed; bulldozing.

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Watch the largest aircraft in the world, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, take off.  It was designed by the Soviet Union's Antonov Design Bureau in the 1980s.  The name, Mriya, means dream, or inspiration in Ukrainian. Turn your headphones up and listen to the roar of this mechanical beast.  (Skip to 4:00)

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Bulldoze Paris and Build...This?

In 1925, visionary and massively influential modernist architect Le Corbusier unveiled his "Plan Voisin".  His idea was to replace Paris with a symmetrical, efficient metropolis designed for the automobile. More images and 3D fly-through after the jump.

This type of urban design was a symptom of the Modernist architectual movement.  In a world full of old, congested, dirty cities with narrow roads built without cars in mind, these type of re-imagined cities were the urban design equivalent of spring cleaning.  Knock down the chaos and build a serene, orderly, spacious city.  Refreshing.

As one could imagine, the everyday reality of these type of designs is a stark contrast from the lofty ideals that spawned them.  From the sky, or the drafting table, the city looks nice and tidy.  Organized and clean in comparison with the bird's nest of old world roads.  However, from the pedestrian's eyes, you don't experience the grand design. Your environment will mostly consist of concrete slabs and open fields.  It simply doesn't translate to human scale.

The city center was to be a transportation hub centered around the automobile.

The towers were all identical.

This plan never garnered any serious support, but the effects of this movement can be seen in cities worldwide.  Flyover highways, concrete government plazas and huge public housing projects are all a result of the Modernist movement. Many historical treasures as well as entire neighborhoods were lost.

For now, Paris is safe.

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Alex Varanese's alternate 1977 artwork. Check out more here.

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China's Ancient Astronomical Clock Tower

3,103 years ago, Su Song engineered an awe inspiring hydro-mechanical astronomical clock tower.  38 years later it was dismantled by the invading Jurchen army.   More pics after the jump.

Su Song's revolutionary "celestial ladder" chain drive:

Cross section:

Luckily Su Song's life achievement in engineering are preserved in his text, Xinyi Xiangfayao or "Essentials of a New Method for Mechanizing the Rotation of an Armillary Sphere and a Celestial Globe".  It is currently being held in The National Museum of China.

Su Song's wiki

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Dead Media: The Digital Compact Cassette

You've probably heard of the Sony backed MiniDisk, but there was a lesser known equally doomed format, the Digital Compact Cassette.

Birthed in 1992 by Philips, DCC players were backward compatible with standard cassettes, touting CD quality sound with the ability to record.  More pics and video after the jump.

There were some advantages to this updated cassette.  The tape was protected with a metal cover and did not tangle or unwind.  This made the protective case used for standard cassettes unnecessary. Artwork could be directly printed on its flat faced front.

Digital track information could be stored on the tape, allowing for a CD-like interface.

Check out this commercial spot put out by Philips:

And here's a player in action:

The DCC format was quietly discontinued by Philips in 1996.

Check out the wiki.

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Watch this amazing Zenith television commercial from the late 70's.

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Whales used to be fuzzy

50 million years ago, dolphins, whales and porpoises (Cetaceans) used to be furry land mammals.

This is what a the skeleton of a dolphin flipper looks like.  Note the vestige of an ancient hand. (Illustration by Bryan Christie via Nat Geo)

You can also find a vestige of a pelvis in a few types of whales:

Evolution of Cetaceans wiki

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Cars That Aren't a DeLorean: Part 1

The DeLorean DMC-12 has transcended its physical form into cultural iconography.

For over three decades, its distinct, evocative design has managed to ignite our collective imagination. It's an expression of pure 1980's sci-fi futurism captured and compressed into a physical object.  To most, the legendary DeLorean is a stand-alone stylistic aberration. However, its signature geometric, boxy-yet-sleek form was actually a short lived design trend in the 70s into the 80s.  This ongoing series will be introducing these lesser-known, visually stunning creations.

There were no suicide doors, but a hatch on the front which revealed what can best be described (if this not-so-subtle nod was intentional) as a cockpit.

It's impossible to get any more 70s futurist than this.

The car was immortalized in the 1988 cinematic masterpiece, Michael Jackson: Moonwalker.  Jackson is cornered by a gang of baddies in a smokey alleyway  He may or may not transform into a Stratos Zero.

Bertone's vintage promo

Lancia Stratos wiki

More pictures!