What does a trillion dollars look like?

One of the most impressive public buildings in any country has to be the central bank. In the United States the central bank, known as the Federal Reserve, is headquartered in Washington, DC but there are 12 regional reserve banks. The amount of money at any one of these facilities is astonishing. In 2009 it was estimated that the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York City (the largest in the system) held $957,685,000,000 in reserve cash. This is almost a trillion dollars. To give you an idea of how much money is being kept at this facility we’ll take a look at the following illustration (which I found at PTM.org). Here we go…

This is your typical $100 dollar bill….
Here’s $10,000…
$1,000,000… (it can fit in your gym-bag)
$100,000,000…
$1,000,000,000…
and finally $1,000,000,000,000. (The little red dot to the left of the pile is a human being)

Aftermath…Tornado

These images of a the latest natural disaster to strike down with force have been making circles around the globe. A tornado in Joplin, Missouri. A devastating behemoth that measured about 2-miles in width and killed about 125 people and injured about 900 at the time of posting this. To show the extents of the devastation I wanted to include a few things that will hopefully illustrate how powerful this tornado was.

Area Map:

View Larger MapDriving Directions

 

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Video of from inside the tornado

 

 

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Before and after photos

 

The Aftermath… VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

You just can't keep people happy!!!

 

 

Union of Concerned Scientists: Cartoon April 2011

The de-evolution of music lyrics

Through the years, I (amongst many people) have noticed the steady degradation of the entertainment industry. Classical lyrical themes have been replaced by the shock factor of the “F” word. As someone who appreciates meaningful/up-building content I can truly say that things are taking a turn for the worst.

To highlight how meaningless lyrics are becoming I have posted a sample of lyrics from two different songs: Kashmir (Led Zeppelin 1975) and Like a G6 (Far East Movement 2010). Mind you, Led Zeppelin is probably not the most “exemplary” band but it goes to make the point: How times have changed. Go ahead and read ‘em…What is your take?

Lunch bags that act as anti-theft devices

Ever wanted to keep people from taking your lunch? Well...Here is the one device that will save your day. These bags come with painted insects that are sure to send those evil sandwich stealers to the toilet.

[via Like Cool]

Rock on baby!!!

Sharing a The Allman Brothers Band song with you from SoundHound

I just used SoundHound to find this song. Southbound by The Allman Brothers Band on Brothers and Sisters Open in SoundHound View Online © SoundHound Inc. 2011

China's Ghost Cities and Malls

Hilarious "Talking" Dog

Japan. The land of fascinating…packaging

Japan has long been known to be a country of innovation. Some of the coolest gadgets in the world come from Japan but Japan’s “coolness” is not limited to technology. There are other items that can be tagged with this descriptor. Such is the case of packaging…YES, packaging…as in “I’m sending something in the mail so I need a box” packaging. This morning (as I was doing my usual morning web-browsing at work) I found this off-beat article in one of favorite design site: 1st Web Designer. These packages follow a Japanese design style called “kawaii” (which means cute or cuteness in Japanese かわいい), and has been prominent since the 1970’s. I leave you now with some displays of kawaii packaging.

[via 1stWebDesigner.com]

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Sharing an INOJ song with you from SoundHound

I just used SoundHound to find this song.     Time After Time by Inoj on Ready for the World     Open in SoundHound       View Online       © SoundHound Inc. 2011

Gatling Slingshot Gun

One of my favorite office pranks is shooting rubber-bands...at objects OK!!! Occasionally I find ingenious rubber-band shooting devices (a.k.a. guns) in videos or other blogs. Today, I found a video on one of my favorite blogs that shows a really awesome rubber-band Gatling Gun. Behold!!! The Gatling Rubber-band Gun...

[via UberReview]