Just like the bugs with faces we portrayed a while ago, their cousins the moths refer to a similar tactic when dealing with predators: Scare the hell out of them by putting on a scary face. Or should we say wearing their heart on their wings? In either case, these tactics are quite cool, take a closer look!
Just like the bugs with faces we portrayed a while ago, their cousins the moths refer to a similar tactic when dealing with predators: frighten the hell out of them by putting on a scary face. Or should we say wearing their heart on their wings? In either case, these tactics are quite cool, take a closer look.
This above doesn’t only look cool in a Star-Trek kind of way but also has a cool name: Oleander hawk moth (daphnis nerii), often spelled Oleander hawkmoth. It can be found in southern Europe, Turkey, Africa and India. This moth with its distinct green “fur” (did you know moths could be that fuzzy?) has a wingspan from 9 to 13 cm.
The Atlas moth (attacus atlas) really doesn’t take any chances: Not only is it the largest butterfly species, reaching a wingspan of almost 30 cm, its wing tips look like snake heads (the forked tongue seems to appear any minute) and the rest of its wing design like a colorful, scary mask. No wonder it is so careful as its life as a butterfly is precious, lasting only ten days. That’s one busy, versatile moth!
This Luna moth (actias luna) seems the zen-kind of fellow, looking remarkably like a green Ganesh, the Indian elephant god and protector from all evils. The Luna moth actually has two equally long wing tips but this one is missing one, making it look all the more like an elephant trunk. That plus the half-closed eye spots and the tuft of white (hair) at the top – this could easily become a favorite! Its habitat is North America from Ontorio to northern Mexico and the warmer the climate, the longer their life span (minimum seven days) and the more generations (one to three) per year.
Speaking of favorites – this moth from Costa Rica takes the cake. Or better, the pitchfork. That face in the middle looks positively like the devil. This moth is a true master of camouflage with its inconspicuous brown coloring that makes it look like a run-of-the-mill garden moth. Unless it is turned around. Let’s hope its predator is not part of a satanic cult.
Now, from scary to cute – this Scalloped Oak moth (crocallis elinguaria) can be found in any English country garden. It is small (wingspan 2.5 cm) and adorable with its black, beady eyes peering through the Zorro-like mask (or blindfold?) and the fluffy brown nose. While its predators go “awwww” it’s already gone…
Now this fellow, a beige Angle Shades moth (phlogophora meticulosa) with a wingspan of 4.5 to 5 cm, is also a native of the UK. Though it has a similar colouring than the previous one, it looks positively scarier. Is it because of the framed eye spots and matching band at the wing tips? Or is it because of the moth body that seems to form a proper nose?
Here’s its brother, a dark brown Angle Shades moth. Though it is the same moth family, the wing patterns are distinctly different, making this one look more like a scary, tribal mask than a face.
Like moth no. 3, this moth reminds one remarkably of an elephant, which is why it is called Elephant hawk moth (deilephila elpinor) but it is actually related to the Oleander hawk moth – notice the similarities in wing and body shape and fuzziness. The pink pattern is amazing though, especially the spots that mimic those of a painted elephant’s trunk.
The wing pattern of this North American grey-and-black Cutworm moth (noctuinae) reminds of a mask. The symmetrical marks below the rectangular “eyes,” white in this specimen, are distinct features of cutworm moths.
Last but not least, Spirama retorta of the Spirama helicina family, a moth with an exotic wing pattern from Thailand is part of the noctuidaes. With the intricate woven lines and the frayed wingtips, it looks like the moth is hiding under a woollen rug. But it must be one hell of a predator that is being scared off by those eyes!
Finding your kitchen infested with insects would ordinarily put most people off their food and have them straight on to pest control, but not if they’ve been let loose by designer Sayaka Yamamoto.
One of the design duo BCXSY, Yamamoto created the useful metal bugs to resemble everyday kitchen utensils as part of a project called Little Wonders.
Finding your kitchen infested with insects would ordinarily put most people off their food and have them straight on to pest control, but not if they’ve been let loose by designer Sayaka Yamamoto.
One of the design duo BCXSY, Yamamoto created the useful metal bugs to resemble everyday kitchen utensils as part of a project called Little Wonders.
The designs include espresso pots that look like weevils, cricket-shaped corkscrews and fly fish slices. The works are presented in glass-fronted display cases as you would present normal insects for viewing and are given specific (non-latin) names.
Sayaka reveals her inspiration for her Little Wonders collection on her website:
“When I was little I lived in the countryside, very close to the world of insects. I always enjoyed watching their many different shapes, colors and behavior – sometimes they made me scared and sometimes fascinated me.
“After I moved away from my parents’ house to the big city, I was seeing less insects and I almost started forgetting the great times I spent with them. In Little Wonders I evoke the same feeling as I had in my childhood and express those feelings in four different ways.”
Her four outlets are: Kitchen Insects – “graphic illustration of imaginary insects in a kitchen”, Hatching Yourself – a short movie inspired by the hatching of insects, featuring humans, Hotaru – a personal portable firefly in the shape of a small adhesive lamp to light up the darkest moments in your life, and Penna – a series of brooches inspired by insect wings.
Born in Japan, Yamamoto studied at the Hiko Mizuno Jewelry College in Tokyo before moving to the Netherlands, where she continued her studies at Design Academy Eindhoven, graduating in 2008. She now runs her own business with fellow designer Boaz Cohen.
This week, an eccentric British man, named Gordon Stewart, was found dead within a labyrinth of tunnels in his own home. It’s not that he lived in a mansion and therefore needed the tunnel system to get from room to room, far from it. He lived in a normal two-storey house, with mountains, and mountains, and mountains of garbage he’d collected over a 10 year period.
Those with cleanliness OCD and claustrophobia should click away now.
This week, an eccentric British man, named Gordon Stewart, was found dead within a labyrinth of tunnels in his own home. It’s not that he lived in a mansion and therefore needed the tunnel system to get from room to room, far from it. He lived in a normal two-storey house, with mountains, and mountains, and mountains of garbage he’d collected over a 10 year period. Each room was crammed with carrier bags, boxes, old furniture and any other junk the obsessive hoarder could get his grubby hands on.
The 74-year-old was often seen riding his bike around the locale and although he was a bit of a reclusive, he was recognized by neighbours. It was only when local residents realized they hadn’t seem him for several days that they contacted the police.
A concerned neighbor said Mr Stewart often “came home with a load of cardboard boxes and lived in his own world.”
When the police finally gained entrance to the seething rubbish pit they discovered an intricate web of tunnels throughout the interior of the house. They claimed the smell was so unbearable that a specialist retrieval team with breathing apparatus had to be called in to get the body out. It’s thought the man became disorientated and couldn’t find his way out of the rotting maze.
A monster of a street art show, cheekily dubbed MuTATE Britain, ran amok through December in London, leaving thousands of gobsmacked visitors in its aftermath. Billed as an “interactive multimedia pile-up”, the work featured at this free, non-corporate extravaganza leapt out like some orgiastic post-apocalyptic cybernetic experiment.
Lady of the Lamp, by Joe Rush (Mutoid Waste Co.)
A monster of a street art show, cheekily dubbed MuTATE Britain, ran amok through December in London, leaving thousands of gobsmacked visitors in its aftermath. Billed as an “interactive multimedia pile-up”, this free, non-corporate extravaganza didn’t disappoint. In a city where more conventional art exhibitions are as commonplace as rats in biology labs, the work featured here leapt out like some orgiastic post-apocalyptic cybernetic experiment.
Held at Behind the Shutters Gallery, a multi-storey warehouse space in Shoreditch, MuTATE Britain showcased a gargantuan collection of cutting-edge contemporary art, including live performances, video art and 3D installations.
Mutoid Waste Co. installation
“It really worked and didn’t feel random or disjointed like so many group exhibitions do. It was edgy without being freaky. I mean this show could have been really scary.” Eva Branscome, Photographer
Phenomenal specimens of sculpture were built using recycled objects such as vehicle parts and scrap metal, and some of the works were brought to life via robotics. Great graffiti art was also on show, and various artists – Inkie and Eelus to namedrop but two – were invited to do all kinds of aerosol, airbrush, acrylic and other pieces on titanium aircraft panels salvaged following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Here, as throughout the exhibition, a wry take on war came to the fore, and sex was never far from the picture.
Red Angel, by Wreckage International (Mutoid Waste Co.)
MuTATE Britain was the brainchild of the Mutoid Waste Company, a travelling art collective spawned in the 1980s. They kick-started their career throwing illegal parties, where they transformed disused spaces like bus depots into other worldly environments with the sculptures and costumes they created. Influenced by sci-fi culture like the 2000AD comics and Mad Max films, Mutoid Waste became legendary for having the mettle to meddle with metal and other materials in ways that embodied brilliantly twisted imaginations.
Oopsy Daisy, by Eelus
One of the founders of Mutoid Waste, Joe Rush is no stranger to retrieving and reusing all conceivable discarded bits and pieces so that they take on outlandish new personas. The valkyrie-like Lady of the Lamp is a reworked tailors dummy of steel and cloth. Its name is a clear allusion to famous wartime nurse Florence Nightingale, but with its corseted hourglass figure it’s immediately sexualised. The headlamp face of this surreal mannequin stares down at you – and stares you down – in a piece that plays on power.
Triumph Heart, by Joe Rush
Another piece by Joe Rush, Triumph Heart exposes the vein of quirky humour as well as rare beauty behind the mechanical madness of his work. Assembled out of lipstick red steel and chrome Triumph motorcycle parts, “it’s this classic image taken from Catholic kitsch iconography – the sacred heart of Jesus – and transposed to be literally triumphant,” Eva Branscome pointed out.
Rush’s sculptures have been cast is bronze and collected by such luminaries as Damien Hirst and Ted Baker – testimony to the fact that his underground credentials have kicked down the door for more widespread critical success.
Pole Dancers, by Giles Walker (Mutoid Waste Co.)
Another member of Mutoid Waste, Giles Walker is a whiz in animatronics – the use of electronics to make mechanised puppets seem alive. Like Joe Rush, Walker is now also an internationally recognised artist and exhibits worldwide. His robotic Pole Dancers, which he tours with, caused a sensation at MuTATE Britain.
A megaphone-headed DJ flanks two pole-dancing girl robots watched by a heckling drunk in the audience, purported to be a self-portrait of the artist. The automatons are animated with 12-volt windscreen wiper motors and controlled via a PC – yet they move just like humans.
“The pole dancers moved smoothly, seductively gyrating,“ observed Eva Branscome. “The fact that the heads are like a cross between CCTV cameras and search lights is also a reference to the illegal street art culture.” A comment, too, on the way everyone is caught up in some kind of surveillance game, as the artist himself explains:
“We are now all living in a peepshow. Continually being watched by mechanical peeping toms. With this in mind, I wondered if it was possible to literally make a CCTV camera sexy using simple mechanics…and by using the imagery of a pole dancer question the roles played in voyeurism.” Giles Walker
Tamara Pt 3, by Part2ism
Taking off with themes parallel to other artists exhibiting at Mutate Britain, came acclaimed graffiti artist and music producer Part2ism with Tamara Pt 3. Not just a single aircraft panel but a whole section of aluminium aircraft wing was used for this giant aerosol and acrylic piece, which spanned two floors of the exhibition space. But let Eva Branscome, who collaborated on this article, have the last word – almost:
“The gasmask is a reference to the gear of the street artist – where it’s used to protect against spray can fumes – but has highly sexualised overtones in the context Part2ism chooses. He is painting on an airplane wing, a reused but otherwise useless object. This gives the grit back to this ‘for-sale’ piece of street art that other such works on canvas just loose in my opinion.”
Street art from the outer reaches done good in this dirty great beast of an exhibition.
Have you ever wondered how plants grow in the weirdest of places like rocks, tree trunks, and the outside of houses? This phenomenon, based on the fact that plants actually do not need soil to grow, has been replicated by scientists in recent years. Called vertical gardens, green walls or sky farms, they try to bring green oases and even farming indoors. Portrayed by us in May 2008, the idea has since grown roots (pun intended).
How Living Walls, Vertical Gardens and Sky Farms Work
Have you ever wondered how plants grow in the weirdest of places like rocks, tree trunks, and the outside of houses? This phenomenon, based on the fact that plants actually do not need soil to grow, has been replicated by scientists in recent years. Called vertical gardens, green walls or sky farms, they try to bring green oases and even farming indoors. Portrayed by Environmental Graffiti in May 2008, the idea has since grown roots (pun intended).
Vertical gardens are today the most common green oases that we can see all around us, because they exploit the fact that plants actually do not need soil to grow, as long as they have water and the minerals found in soil. Plus, light and carbon dioxide to conduct photosynthesis, of which, in our urban environment, there should be plenty around. The picture that looks like an architectural drawing is taken at Singapore’s Changi Airport, the “green” Terminal 3 with a giant green wall. That should take care of that stuffy airport air once and for all!
Here’s another example of indoor green walls from the Emporium Mall in Bangkok. But what about the plants’ roots? We all have seen monuments taken over or destroyed by vegetation. Actually, roots cause damage to a wall only if they are allowed to grow deep inside it. And they will do that if water is not accessible on the surface, therefore leaving the plant to dig for more. Root-related damage to walls can therefore be prevented if water is given to the plants regularly, keeping the roots on the surface and so saving the inner wall.
For a detailed view of the vertical gardens concept, let’s take a lot at the work of French scientist Patrick Blanc, who has been setting up large-scale vertical gardens indoors and outdoors with the help of architects for years. Every one of Blanc’s gardens is comprised of three parts: a metal frame, a PVC layer and a felt layer. The wall-mounting or self-standing frame provides a layer of air and therefore thermal insulation. A 1 cm-thick PVC sheet is riveted onto that metal frame to ensure stability and waterproofing. Then, a layer of rot-proof felt is stapled onto the PVC, guaranteeing homogenous water distribution und room for the roots to grow.
To keep the wall alive, with nutrients enriched water is provided from the top so that watering and fertilisation becomes an automated process. Other than adding a bit of nature to our concrete jungles and cleaning the air, vertical walls are also excellent building insulators that keep energy costs low because they protect the building from the cold in the winter and act as a natural cooling system in the summer. The plants used can be seeds, cuttings or already grown plants. Plant selection depends on the climatic conditions of the region where the vertical wall is set up and lighting conditions. Blanc’s constructions have been set up in underground parking lots or other fully closed spaces without any natural light. Using plants that require less light and providing sufficient artificial lighting will keep the vertical garden going even in enclosed spaces.
What about weight?
Wouldn’t walls, especially indoor ones, cave in under the weight of this construction? Fortunately not because another advantage of soil-less plant cultivation is that the plant-supporting system is very light and can therefore be set up on any wall, regardless of size. The whole weight of one of Patrick Blanc’s vertical gardens for example, including the frame, is less than 30 kg per square metre.
But what about farming?
One couldn’t grow tomatoes, peaches, apples and peppers on a structure like this? Probably not but this is where sky farming becomes horizontal for a moment again: Plants are cultivated on a horizontal surface, but without soil and using hydroponic and aeroponic techniques: the first grows plants only in nutrient-rich water, the latter in nutrient-rich mist. And this can be done indoors, on every floor of a skyscraper for example, therefore making farming vertical again.
Why is sky farming or urban farming such a hot topic?
Because according to predictions, the world population will grow by 3 billion to 9.2 billion people by 2050, requiring 50% more of the current food supplies. With current farming practices, however, we would require additional land for farming, even bigger than the size of Brazil, as currently almost all food-producing land is already being farmed. Therefore, skywards seems to be the solution.
When searching for anything on sky farming, one name keeps coming up: Dr. Dickson Despommier, professor of environmental sciences and microbiology at Columbia University. His web site describes in detail why and how skyscrapers should be turned into crop farms for fruits, vegetables and grains or even self-sustaining skyscraper farms that also produce clean water and energy. For anyone who has holiday cash to spare, he’s also set up a web site that lets you pledge money for a vertical farm in New York City.
Critics argue that producing more skyscrapers would not only look ugly but also take away green spaces. If traditional agricultural land made redundant by sky farms were reforested or turned into a park, more green, outdoor recreational areas would be available. Another point of critique is that real estate prices would prevent sky farming from moving into city skyscrapers but there might not be a choice as it is predicted that by 2050, 80% of the population will live in urban areas. Through migration, but also urban sprawl and population growth that will turn today’s villages into cities. Sky farms and cities are meant to go together as the city provides the density and infrastructure needed for sky farming while benefiting from clean air generation and energy.
And what about combining a sky farm skyscraper with vertical gardens, making it a green ecosystem inside and out? Though this might be a dream of the future, we can start with rainwater harvesting or do-it-yourself vertical gardens for home use. This picture shows OCAD student Michael Tampilic’s VERT Rain Terrace that won second prize at the 2008 Rocket industrial design show. According to Tampilic’s web site, it was designed for the “suburban backyard gardening lifestyle” that aims to help the public water system during crunch times while creating a living wall at the same time.
Whoever wants to join the trend solely for aesthetic reasons might want to try a do-it-yourself kit from one of the many enterprising providers. Construction, maintenance and watering system should be checked carefully though to avoid surprises.
Few people venture into the heart of the Kara-kum desert, but those who do are drawn by an eerie bright light that illuminates the night sky for miles around. From afar a glowing red light seems to float on the horizon, enticing onlookers ever closer to peer into what seems like Dante’s Inferno.
Few people venture into the heart of the Kara-kum desert, but those who do are drawn by an eerie bright light that illuminates the night sky for miles around. From afar a glowing red light seems to float on the horizon, enticing onlookers ever closer to peer into what seems like Dante’s Inferno. Only when they arrive at the edge of the pit do they realize the bright lights are the dancing flames of a deep burning crater, known to locals as ‘The Doorway to Hell’.
This vast sinkhole in Turkmenistan was created many years ago by a Soviet gas company drilling for potential resources in the area. Reports of the expedition vary; some say the pit was created as early as the 1950s, another says 1971.
When drilling started, the rig suddenly disappeared into the ground. It had drilled into an underground cavern, the roof of which had collapsed, forming a 60 meter-wide, 20 meters deep. It was also rich in natural gas, which was now largely unusable and escaping into the atmosphere.
Some bright spark then thought, to contain the noxious gas, that it would be a good idea to burn it off, and so ignited the crater. Since then, the gas riddled pit has been burning indefinitely, and shows little sign of letting up.
There is now a lucrative tourism trade surrounding Turkmenistan’s Doorway to Hell, so good in fact that a small village has erupted near the pit. Darvaza is now home to about 350 inhabitants, who live a semi-nomadic lifestyle in the region and often set up their home near the burning sinkhole. With all that gas being released into the air, let’s just hope they’ve got strong stomachs and a poor sense of smell.
Don’t expect any in-flight entertainment in this modified version of the Boeing-747. The real action is more likely to be taking place outside. This military jumbo jet is equipped with the latest in airborne laser weapons technology, for identifying, tracking and shooting down missile threats. Don’t be fooled by the innocent-looking snub nose. This thing packs a punch.
With a range of up to five miles at a flying height of 10,000 ft, this 40,000 pound chemical laser, which is fitted to an adapted Boeing 747, can take accurate aim at speeds of up to 300mph. This modified military jumbo jet is equipped with the latest in airborne laser weapons technology, for identifying, tracking and shooting down missile threats.
The YAL-1 Airborne Laser (ABL) has been some twelve years in the making. Now, after various stages of testing and the odd hold-up, it looks likely to be given the green light for an in-flight missile shoot-down sometime in 2009.
Seekin’ and a-destroyin’: artist’s impression of the airborne laser in action Image: Missile Defense Agency
The ABL is a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL), assisted by six infrared sensors and two kilowatt-class solid-state lasers. Watt? Basically, the ABL’s infrared sensors detect the bright hot exhaust plume of a missile that’s boosting off up to a few hundred kilometres away. Within seconds, the two lower-powered lasers track the missile’s course and pinpoint an impact spot, while adapting to atmospheric distortions like air turbulence.
Moments later, in comes the big gun, the COIL itself, which is made up of six SUV-sized modules to the rear of the plane. The laser beam travels down the length of the aircraft, the huge turret in the nose swivels towards the target, and telescope mirrors inside steer the beam onto the missile. It fires for three to five seconds, heating and softening the missile’s shell so that – boom! – it blows up mid-flight. Cue the high fives and victory whoops.
Is that a gun in your cockpit? The ABL’s turret, reckoned to be the world’s largest Image: Missile Defense Agency
But are there any drawbacks to this missile-zapping laser, for the environment and for people?
The directed-energy laser is fed with a compact mixture of chemicals not unlike rocket propellant. To get the COIL’s iodine molecules excited and emitting the photons that do the damage, they’re mixed with hydrogen peroxide and potassium hydroxide – chemicals found in hair bleach and drain cleaner. Chlorine gas is used too – nasty stuff employed in warfare for its noxious effects – but traces of it are said to be removed from the exhaust gases. Not exactly rose water, then, but not quite mustard gas either.
According to one report, during a five second burst the high-octane laser produces enough energy to power an average American home for over an hour. This may not seem dazzlingly energy efficient; but once it has been built, firing such a pure energy weapon carries a fraction of the energy cost of launching equivalent missiles, with the extra resources and fuel they require. A fraction of the actual cost too, so good news for the military budgeters.
So what else might this sharp-shooting addition to the missile defense system have its sights trained on?
Though the laser could be deployed against other aircraft, their jets probably wouldn’t give off enough heat to be detected effectively by the ABL’s infrared sensors. Elsewhere, ground targets would be tricky to track; and firing the laser down through the atmosphere would weaken the beam – which wouldn’t be potent enough to penetrate tough armoured vehicles. That said, somewhat more ominous plans are afoot to expand the ABL’s scope against other traditional targets. Watch this airspace; just be sure to wear your mirrored shades.
Collateral damage, meanwhile, should in theory be minimised by the ABL’s surgically precise targeting. However, there is the rather less surgically precise danger of debris from destroyed missiles falling on civilians in enemy territory and people in nearby countries. There’s also the small chance of birds flying into the 1.5m-diameter laser beam and being vaporised – particularly as it’s invisible to the naked eye – though the risk should be reduced by the brief duration for which it’s fired. Some comfort for ornithologists then.
Shoot to missile-kill: the ABL in flight Image: US AirForce
Though it might not exactly be on every environmentalist’s New Year wish list, with its lethal speed of light capabilities the ABL is sure to be a smash hit with the gung-ho as well as the Star Wars geeks. Stay on target.
If a good friend of usually normal intelligence suddenly insisted they saw little blue men, you’d be inclined to think they had lost all their faculties and would carefully hide all alcohol from sight, that or they’ve been watching too many reruns of the Smurfs. But until only recently the chance of seeing not only blue men but blue women was a very high likelihood, especially if you frequented the Appalachian Hills of Kentucky.
Illustration of Martin Fugate and his family. Some reports say Martin was not blue but was a carrier of the methemoglobinemia gene.
Image via NClark
If a good friend of usually normal intelligence suddenly insisted they saw little blue men, you’d be inclined to think they had lost all their faculties and would carefully hide all alcohol from sight, that or they’ve been watching too many reruns of the Smurfs. But until only recently the chance of seeing not only blue men but blue women was a very high likelihood, especially if you frequented the Appalachian Hills of Kentucky. In fact, you’d see whole families of blue people.
Stemming from one French immigrant, Martin Fugate, who moved to Kentucky in 1820, the blue families were to become legends in their own rights, all because of the color of their skin.
Ingesting elemental silver can also turn the skin blue. This man, Paul Karason, rubbed colloidal silver on his face and skin many years ago to treat a skin condition, which made him slowly turn a bluish/grey color.
Image via Wunderkabinett
Their story came to the attention of medical researchers in the early 1980s when 9th generation Fugates (now with the surname Stacy, through marriage) gave birth to a child named Benjy. He was a dark blue color immediately after birth, which caused panic among the medical team, and after carrying out a hoard of tests, mainly for heart and lung problems, the doctors found nothing of note. The only clues to the child’s diagnosis was when the grandmother piped up, “Have you ever heard of the blue Fugates of Troublesome Creek? My grandmother Luna on my dad’s side was a blue Fugate. It was real bad in her.”
Born with the condition methemoglobinemia, the Fugates and their affected descendents suffered from a rare hereditary blood disorder where there is excessive methemoglobin in the blood. The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary states methemoglobin is “a brownish-red crystalline organic compound formed in the blood when hemoglobin is oxidated either by decomposition of the blood or by the action of various oxidizing drugs or toxic agents. It contains iron in the ferric state and cannot function as an oxygen carrier.” Because the circulating blood is less oxygenated those with the disorder appear various shades of blue, depending on how seriously they are affected.
Methemoglobinemia is a recessive gene, which means it can only be passed on if both parents carry the gene. So the chances of Martin Fugate meeting and marrying someone who carried the ‘blue’ gene were pretty slim, but that’s what happened. Martin Fugate and Elizabeth Smith went on to have seven children, four of them reported to be blue.
Lorenzo and Eleanor Fugate. Lorenzo was also known as ‘Blue Anze’ and was mentioned in Trost’s The Blue People of Troublesome Creek.
Image Hazard Kentucky via Appalachian History
Researcher Cathy Trost, who compiled the most comprehensive history of the Fugates to date, says:
“The clan kept multiplying. Fugates married other Fugates. Sometimes they married first cousins. And they married the people who lived closest to them, the Combses, Smiths, Ritchies, and Stacys. All lived in isolation from the world, bunched in log cabins up and down the hollows, and so it was only natural that a boy married the girl next door, even if she had the same last name.”
And so, after ten generations, from Martin Fugates father, ‘blue’ people roamed the hills of Kentucky.
It was only when researchers investigating Benjy Stacy’s case discovered a report in the Journal of Clinical Investigation by EM Scott in 1960 that a cure appeared likely.
The article pointed to an absence of an enzyme from the red blood cells called diaphorase, which Scott found was lacking in some indigenous Alaskans he had studied previously. Trost explains:
“In normal people hemoglobin is converted to methemoglobin at a very slow rate. If this conversion continued, all the body’s hemoglobin would eventually be rendered useless. Normally diaphorase converts methemoglobin back to haemoglobin.”
The descendants of the Fugates were then tested, and they too lacked this enzyme. Springing into action, doctors studying the Appalachian clans considered Scott’s findings and found their own methemoglobin converter – a dark blue dye called methylene blue.
Trying to convince members of the blue clan to have blue dye injected into them so they would revert to a natural skin tone must have been harder than trying to find the cure, but one couple conceded. Minutes after the methylene blue was administered the blue tinge to the skin was gone.
Since then, it’s thought that all the Fugates and their relations have been treated – records claim that by 1982 only two of three family members had methemoglobin. We’re guessing they’ve been sorted by now.
So, the next time you’re feeling slightly persecuted, spare a thought for the Blue Fugates, a small populace in America who had skin as blue as blueberries and no doubt endured taunts that only Willy Wonka’s Violet Beauregarde could understand.
It may seem like a pipe dream for someone to come up with a viable solution to stop the endless logging in many parts of the world. Logging that is driven by people’s materialistic needs, usually the very same people who bemoan the loss of our rainforests and the effects of global warming. Yet one company, Triton, who have been in business for a number of years, discovered perfectly adequate resolution quite a while ago.
It may seem like a pipe dream for someone to come up with a viable solution to stop the endless logging in many parts of the world. Logging that is driven by people’s materialistic needs, usually the very same people who bemoan the loss of our rainforests and the effects of global warming. Yet one company, Triton, who have been in business for a number of years, discovered a perfectly adequate resolution quite a while ago, but only a handful of people know about it, or put the method into practice.
Beneath the surface of many lakes around the world stand sprawling underwater forests. Towering trees that may have been submerged for decades but are no less usable than trees plucked from land forests. It’s thought there are around 300 million trees lying in a number of lakes formed after valleys were flooded to make way for dams and reservoirs. These perfectly preserved forests could easily be the answer conservationists have been looking for.
Using a large submersible, remote-controlled logging machine, known as the ‘Sawfish’, Triton Logging Company are able to harvest up to 50 trees an hour. Sawfish operators use sonar navigation to guide the robotic lumberjack under the water. It latches on to the tree’s trunk and mechanically fells the tree. Inflatable airbags then bring the tree to the surface.
Since 2004, Canadian based Triton has used Sawfish to log Oosta and Lois Lakes in British Columbia, where it’s estimated 15 million of the world’s submerged trees lie. It also operates on three other continents. Their plan is to operate wherever possible in the future.
Why Has Sawfish Not Taken the World by Storm?
For all the wood lying underwater there are millions of acres more forest above ground. And by weird coincidence these forests are generally in places where people will work at any job to earn money for their family. But logging is often a catch 22 situation for many people caught up in the cycle.
A growing demand for wood worldwide as the global population increases, despite calls for the process to become more sustainable, does not help matters. To fulfil the demand loggers will work long hours for very little pay; it’s not an easy life. It’s the logging companies selling on the goods who make the big bucks, but now with an errantic financial market and fluctuating prices loggers will no doubt have to work even harder to earn the same money they did before the crisis, meaning more trees then ever will be felled. And so the cycle continues.
Prince’s Rainforest Project and Woodland Trust
Organizations like the Prince’s Rainforest Project and the Woodland Trust do what they can to spread the word on the plight of the rainforests and its inhabitants, of all species, but they can only do so much. Without other ways of logging being put into practice, our rainforests will continue to shrink at alarming rates. At least Triton Logging Company is forging a new way forward.
Since the iconic images of a were revealed in 1887 by English photographer Eadweard Muybridge, high-speed photography has come on in leaps and bounds. Multiple cameras are no longer needed to capture motion, just one, usually hideously expensive, camera is required (and some fancy equipment).
Since the iconic images of a moving galloping race horse were revealed in 1887 by English photographer Eadweard Muybridge, high-speed photography has come on in leaps and bounds. Multiple cameras are no longer needed to capture motion, just one, usually hideously expensive, camera is required (and some fancy equipment).
High-speed photography allows us to view things that ordinarily move too quickly for us register as a single image. Everyday events such as a drop of water falling into a bowl are suddenly transformed into liquid sculpture. Beauty and art replace the mundane.
Those who specialise in high-speed photography are masters of patience. Trying to capture the perfect shot takes some setting up, and although there are various ways to catch the images, seemingly frozen in time, many photographers have their own personal technique, which they guard closely. The most common technique is to use high-speed flashes with quick shutter times. The images are often then polished up in Photoshop, or some digital imaging package, but only the background and shadows are manipulated, the actual fluid shape is left untouched.
Water is often used in high-speed photography, as are other fluids, which are capable of producing infinite organic shapes, depending on how the photographer has set up the shot. Some photographers use specific equipment such as pipettes and drip feeders; others taint the fluid with color, resulting in sometimes strong and impressive images like these by Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) 2008 finalist, Vladimir Nefedov.
Vladimir is a recognized authority in the field of high-speed photography and manages the professional photographic studio, Prozess, in his native Russia. He says on his website (in Russian, so roughly translated):
“There is not yet a technique that could embody what occurs inside of us, and science has not thought up how to photograph dreams or happiness. Art of a photo is an attempt of visualization [of these things], made possible by manipulation of the images, given to us in the objective world and in sensations, they are then fixed using a camera, producing something imperceptible and unique…”
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