A one-of-a-kind gold cape that took four years — and one million spiders — to make, is on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The cape is made from spider silk — a material spun by a rare species of spiders from Madagascar. How do you collect the silk?

That’s what’s bothering PETA…

The spider is clamped by a sheet of wood with a half-moon aperture for its abdomen. In each hand-powered contraption are 24 females (they are always female). Handlers pull and spool strands from each spider’s multiple spinnerets. A gossamer thread is made from 96 twisted strands.

A PETA spokesperson said the process is like “factory farming”, adding ”[Using] silk that the spiders would normally have used to catch insects to feed themselves is as bizarre and unappealing as it is anti-environmental.”

I gotta say, the cape is gorgeous! I wonder if it gives you spidey-senses!

Kim

Sega has announced that bars in Japan have started to install urinal video games that are controlled by urine. Players have their choice of five games. One game measures the force of a player’s stream and translates it to wind in the video game. The harder a player pees, the harder the wind blows a girls’ skirt up to reveal her underwear. If the gamers stray too far from the sensor, the games cut off.

Before Sega, some video games had popped up in urinal around the world –here is a British reporter testing the games at a pub in England

Each unit is priced at $2,000. Could be fun to have at home — help the boys learn how to aim

Kim

Many vegetables, but particularly cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, contain compounds called glucosinolates. Some people can taste these compounds, finding them incredibly bitter, while others can’t taste them at all.

That said, recent research found that there is a gene (gene hTAS2R38 if you really want to know) that is responsible for the perception of these glucosinolates. So, if you have a ”sensitive” versions of the gene, you are a genetic “super-taster” — with more specialized taste buds on the tip of your tongue than the average person. Super-tasters rated broccoli and its related vegetables 60% more bitter than non-super-tasters!

Women are more likely to be super-tasters than men. And, interestingly, many chefs are super-tasters. Most parents probably assume that their children are super-tasters, given that so many children have an aversion to vegetables!!! Now, if you can’t stand black coffee, you also turn up your nose at bitter-tasting grapefruit juice, spinach, green tea, soy products & brocoli – you can blame your mom/your genes and announce proudly that’s it’s because you are super… well a super-taster at least!

Kim

Not only is the photo great, but the story of how the photo came to be is also pretty sweet! It all started last year when Michael Chrisman placed a pinhole camera in Toronto’s Port Lands and aimed it — as best one can aim such a camera — at the city skyline.

The camera was equipped with photosensitive paper that, for 365 straight days and nights, captured the light that crept through the pinhole. That’s 31,536,000 seconds — a normal photo is usually taken between 1/250th and 1/100th of a second…

On New Year’s Eve day, Chrisman trudged out to retrieve the camera and exposed paper inside — he was pleasantly surprised with the result. “I’m thrilled with it. It’s a very dreamy photo. This one has a soft and kind of foggy feel.”

Think of it as a time-lapse painting. The physical progress of the sun leaves a streak that shifts minutely each day. The daily on and off of building lights leaves only light, not dark. Once exposed, there is no way to undo it.

What makes this photo just stunning in my mind (and Chrisman thought that this was the most intriguing aspect of the photo) is the trails left by the sun as it moves through the sky daily and with the change in seasons. It looks so cool! I would buy this picture as a wall piece if I live in and loved Toronto!

SPECTACULOR!

Kim

I’d like to think that it’s because of yours truly!! Parents everywhere are just thinking: ”Wow! That Kim is one cool chick!!”

Actually, they are thinking that, but not for THIS Kim, but THAT Kim –> Kim Kardashian! ** eye roll! I totally think I am more deserving and a better influence!! haha

Yes! Time proclaimed this a sign of the Kardashians’ influence… we are doomed…

If we follow the gut feeling of our cousins below, another popular trend in 2012 will be A names. The list of New Year’s babies includes seven A names, including two Aubreys, an Akier, an Anya, and an Adrian. I wonder who inspired those name!

Nevada’s baby of the New Year was named Envy Essence-Faye… look out, world.

Kim

Actors and crew were seen and asked to leave many times but they would just come back the next day!

For the sixth episode, the creators had zombies running and dancing around the store! Can you imagine shopping at IKEA and finding zombies dancing around you?! hahaha How would you react?!

In response, IKEA has seen the show and said that the show is cool but they must ask permission to shoot in a store. Awesome!! not only do they make great meatballs, they have a sense of humour!

Kim

To watch — click and scroll down until you see the videos! Might as well start at the first episode!

This one I always love — check out THE BEST ADS OF 2011! I like that this site also gives a bit of background info before you watch the ad. Google & Volkswagen are definitely my top 2! That little Darth Vader kid was awesome — despite seeing no facial expressions, you could totally imagine his reactions!

Enjoy,

Kim

Textalyzer uses 4 engaging and challenging games to analyze your state of mind. Succeed in winning the games means you should be clear-headed enough to send out a coherent text. Fail and you are forbidden to send “that” text!!

You can also leave reminders to stop yourself from sending out text messages so you won’t regret your actions later. Plus, you can add “that guy/girl’s” name on a Forbidden list!!

The only problem is that you have to remember in your drunken state to use the app to send texts and not just write a normal text message on your phone!

I still think it is pure genius! Finally a way to prevent me from texting while drunk! 99 cents is worth it–right in time for New Year’s Eve!!

Kim

It’s only logical that the next step would be a cookbook!

So, with the help of his daughters Mary and Stella, as well as some of his famous friends (Twiggy, Vivienne Westwood, Kevin Spacey,…) MCCartney released a new cookbook called The Meat Free Monday Cookbook.

McCartney explained his latest undertaking: “Having one designated meat free day a week is actually a meaningful change that everyone can make, that goes to the heart of several important political, environmental and ethical issues all at once. For instance it not only addresses pollution, but better health, the ethical treatment of animals, global hunger and community and political activism.”

The Meat Free Monday Cookbook includes recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, and to make it even easier for you, it features menus for each of the 52 weeks of the year. Of course, recipes are all vegetarian, but I gotta say that some are pretty mouth watering! 

To find out more, visit www.MeatFreeMondays.com.

Kim

For the boys, Justin Bieber’s swish was the style most asked for. No swish on this photo — Beiber cut it off last February, so despite himself not styling his hair that way for the past year, it was still dubbed the most influential.

Both Emma and Justin were the fastest-rising searches for celebrity haircuts on Google this year. They kinda have the same do now! haha I guess I shouldn’t grow out my pixie cut!!

Kim