I don’t know what it is about Formula 1 cars that makes people want to replicate them using the most unusual materials.

This time it’s Puma’s turn to make a life-size Formula 1 car out of cut-out shoe boxes.  The cardboard model was created in collaboration with UK-based Ben Wilson Design, and is meant to represent Puma’s ongoing relationship with motorsports.

The cardboard car was obviously very difficult to make. According to Ben Wilson himself, many Puma shoe boxes were used, especially in the development stage. First a real Formula 1 vehicle was scanned, then ‘ripped’ to pieces on the computer, and put together out of shoe box pieces, cut with an oscillating cutter.

The shoe box Formula 1 car is now on display at a Puma store in Chicago.

via PSFK

Chayne Hultgren, an Australian street-performer who goes by the name of Space Cowboy managed to swallow 18 sharp swords in one gulp.

31-year-old Chayne has been practicing the art of sword-swallowing since he was just 16 years old. Back then he started out by swallowing a garden hose, which he still uses as practice for the more dangerous stunts. After a few years of swallowing hoses, he finally moved on to steel swords.

According to the Space Cowboy himself, sword-swallowing is not as dangerous as it looks, if you know how to do it. It takes years of practice, meditation and knowing your own body. He says it took a while before learning how not to gag and controlling his internal organs.

The Space Cowboy Hultgren entertains Sydney passers-by for a living, swallowing swords all day long, but this time it was special. The crowd gathered near Sydney Harbor witnessed a new Guinness Record being set, as our hero slipped 18 swords down his throat, and towards the stomach, missing the heart by less than an inch.

The previous record of 17 swords, each of them 2 feet 4 inches long, was set by the same Chayne Hultgren.

Charles Guan, a young student at MIT, has built a Shopping Go-Kart that reaches a top speed of 30 miles per hour.

LOLriokart, the name Guan chose for his invention, was built using an ordinary shopping cart, discarded wheels and the engine from a high-performance golf-cart. Although he could have opted for a stronger engine that would have pushed the LOLriokart to a speed of 45 mph, he decided to go with a smaller one that allows him to switch between a walking pace speed and 30 mph.

The wacky kart features a custom steering system and because all components are positioned on the wheel line, it has a low center of gravity even when he’s inside. In case something goes wrong and the brake system fails, LOLriokart also has an emergency red button that cuts all power to the engine.

it may not met all safety regulations, but for one year’s work and a budget of just $300, LOLriokart is quite something. Well done sir!

Watch the road test at the bottom.

via Popsci

You won’t be able to drive it, but you can sure take a bite out of it.

One of the weirdest Formula 1 cars ever is on display at the Royal Plaza on Scotts, in Singapore and you can see it live until September 27. A Culinary Executive Chef led a team of 6 chefs, 2 artists, 2 technicians and 5 volunteers in an effort to create the largest bread Formula 1 car in Asia. They succeeded and the result is simply delicious.

The team from the Royal Plaza on Scotts used 15 kg of yeast, 14 liters of water, 2 kg of salt and 10800 ml of food varnish to create 1,000 loaves and 22 different kinds of bread. It took $15,000 and 549 hours of assembly work but I’m sure they’re all very proud of their achievement.

Be sure to check the making-of video at the bottom and for more photos just click here.

via Klik.tv

Bord of just swimming and diving for no reason, the Germans came up with a sport that spices things up, underwater rugby.

Never thought a game like rugby could be played underwater, did you? To tell you the truth I didn’t imagine it either, but this goes to show you anything is possible. Underwater rugby is pretty simple, teams of 12 (of which 6 can be in the water at a time) battle to get a ball into two metal baskets, set at opposite sides of the pool.

The ball is filled with a saline solution, which makes it heavier than normal water and slowly sinks instead of rising to the surface. This allows strong players to throw and pass it for a few meters, despite the drag of the water. There aren’t many rules in this sport, players have to stop opponents from scoring, at any costs. It’s even permitted to sit in the basket to block a player from scoring, but if you can’t hold your breath long enough, you’ll have to go up for air and leave the “goal” exposed.

Check out the short video at the bottom, to get an idea of how underwater rugby is played and head over to uwsport.de, for more details on the sport.

via Yofavo

An eBay user made an-awesome-looking replica of the Tumbler Batman drives in The Dark Knight, using a go kart and some parts available on eBay.

tully712 is now selling the plans needed to build the Tumbler and you can buy them from here. The winning bid now stands at $30.08.

Here’s a much better-looking replica of Batman’s Tumbler, but it’s also a lot more expensive.

via Neatorama

To celebrate Michael Jordan’s induction into the Naismith Memorial, Gatorade teamed-up with an advertising company to create one of the oddest mosaics ever.

Using an image of “His Airness” leaping towards the basket, 14, 641 Gatorade Limited Edition Jordan bottles and 200 lightboxes, a giant drinkable mosaic was created. The unusual creation was first tested in an enclosed space, before being transported to an outdoor basketball court, in Chicago’s South Side, where hundreds of curious Michael Jordan fans awaited to see their idol recreated from Gatorade bottles.

via: Total Pro Sports

Check out the video at the bottom:

It might sound like an exaggeration, but the root bridges of Cherrapunji are indeed alive. Unlike most parts of the world, these bridges are grown, not built.

Known as the wettest place on Earth, Cherrapunji is home to some of the most amazing plants. One of these is the Ficus elastica tree, a sort of rubber tree that grows a ind of secondary roots from higher up in the trunk. The War-Khasis, a local tribe, noticed this plant and realized its potential.

Using hollowed-out betel nut trunks, the tribesmen are able to direct the roots in whatever way they like. When the roots grow all the way across a river, they are allowed to return to the soil, and over time, a strong bridge is formed. It takes up to 10-15 years for a root bridge to develop, but it becomes stronger with each passing year and are known to last for centuries.

Boulders and stones are placed among the rubber tree roots for an easier crossing. The living root bridges of  Cherrapunji are incredibly sturdy, able to sustain more than fifty people at a time.

via rootbridges

Wilcraft is an innovative vehicle specifically designed to ensure ice-fishermen return home safely from their fishing sessions.

It might not be the coolest car you’ve ever seen, but then again, it wasn’t built to win awards for its look. Wilcraft was built for ice-fishing, but it also drives on snow and water without sinking. Its wide tires create a pressure of only 130grams per square meter, even with a load of up to 250 kg.

Wilcraft also features a tent to protect you from bad weather and a 5-cm-thick insulated floor that keeps you nice and warm on the coldest ice. You too can be the proud owner of a Wilcraft, for the (not so) small price of $10,450.

Keep in mind you won’t be able to race this baby, since it has a top speed of just 30km per hour.

Well, I think the name Mocha Lisa fits it best, and it wasn’t exactly painted in coffee, but recreated from thousands of coffee cups.

Mocha Lisa was created during The Rocks Aroma Festival, in Sydney, Australia and attracted the curious eyes of 130,000 people in just one day. This incredible coffee masterpiece took 8 people three hours to complete as well as 3,604 cups of coffee and 564 pints of milk.

The 20ft by 13ft replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s La Gioconda was created by adding various amounts of milk to the cups of coffee. I have to say the sepia effect achieved is simply incredible.

There’s a making-of video at the bottom, if you’re interested.

Photos by Alison Lyons/Solent

via Daily Mail