It’s time for the moon illusion. Since the angle of the sun will be just right, we’ll get a low full moon tonight, June 17th. Take a look at the moon and it’ll absolutely appear bigger than normal because it’ll be extra bright!

It’s not the atmosphere the makes it look bigger, in fact, the moon isn’t any larger at the horizon as it is when it is high in the sky. What causes us to think this is really the relative position of the moon to objects on the ground.

So… want to enhance the illusion for yourself? Don’t just look into your backyard with the moon over your neighbors house, or your rooftop… try to get far away from a city or a wide open spot where you can see houses in the distance. The moon will appear to engulf them all! Try it out, and report your experience here.

$10 to the best moon illusion picture that is snapped and sent in with 48 hours of this post!

If you’re thinking about getting a tattoo, here’s something you should know. Scary animals with subtle drop-shadows look much better than those without. Above, you will see the original image, that this man has had tattooed. Very cool, especially how the tail of the scary arachnid looks like it’s in the air and about to strike.

Next, look at the image below and you’ll see how I edited the image so there was no drop shadow. Now it just looks like a puny drawing on his arm.

So the moral of this story is this: If you get an animal as a tat, and you want it to look a little intimidating, then you need to use a drop shadow like this guy!

For those that don’t know, if you’d like to convert to a Kansas fan, all you have to say is Rock Chalk Jayhawk! 1899, which was the last year KU was 10-0, was the year in which I.R. Johnson patents the bicycle frame.

Here, we see a nice message of “Good things come to those who wait” reflecting in the mirrored reflection of the pint of beer. Love it! (Did you know we often get contacted about using our optical illusions and other mind-blowing tricks in advertistements? That’s because they work!)

Obviously, a shark would be super-cool. Post your best idea of what else you could paint in the pool!

http://www.youthink.com/quiz.asp?action=take&quiz_id=9827

He got more people interested in science than most people, and I think everyone who watched his show was instantly hooked. Personally, I use to crave watching his show as a kid. Wish there was a way to watch them again as an adult, now that I could really, really understand the science behind everything. I think the first pass around I was too young to truly appreciate hydraulics or thermodynamics.

Coming soon, as a tribute to Don Herbert, will be an optical illusion inspired by an episode of Mr. Wizard that I still remember to this day.

Think about it, without Mr. Wizard, you might not have been reading this!

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-ex-herbert12jun13,0,4867128.story?coll=la-home-center

This is cool — watch how to re-light a candle flame without touching the wick. It just jumps through the smoke! C’mon you gotta see it to believe this cool jumping candle flame trick!

And be sure to watch the end, where it shows it actually working in slow-motion. You can actually see the spark jumping down the page. And now, the Jumping Candle Flame!

UPDATE: Sorry, I just added the sound to help explain what is going on! Please rate 5 stars if you can.

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