Awesome Leisure

We thought the only way to land a dart on a dartboard was to throw it through the air. This skilled “dartist” shows how it’s possible to place a dart right in the bullseye by tossing it into a vertical loop, where it spins around and hits the bullseye. If you have any doubt this was real, here’s the original How Ridiculous video.

Object manipulator SHAO shows off an amazing stage prop that can smoothly change shapes in the hands of the right performer. Designed by flow arts prop maker Thomas Foyk, this series of interconnected rods can morph from a cube into various other geometries.

It’s amazing what you can make with cardboard. The S shows off a fantastic cardboard blaster he built called “The Transformer.” Rather than cutting all the pieces with a hobby knife, he used a Two Trees laser cutter to get nice sharp edges and repeatable shapes. The blaster doesn’t just look incredible; it fires projectiles using exploding butane.

Based on their short film Scavengers, Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner’s animated science fiction series follows a spaceship’s crew who find themselves on a beautiful yet dangerous planet never visited by humans. After their ship is damaged and crashes on the surface, they must do what it takes to survive the hostile environment. Coming to MAX 10.19.2023.

This pocket-sized musical instrument from MicroKits is an analog synthesizer shaped like a cassette tape. It has a touch-sensitive 13-key keypad, which you can connect to other objects (like bananas) to turn them into keys. It’s got a built-in 1-watt speaker, a headphone jack, and controls for pitch, volume, octave shift, and a vibrato effect.

MTB rider and videographer Nikolaj Juhlsen takes us on a crazy-fast downhill ride illuminated only by the headlight on his bike. We’re guessing he’s practiced the run a few times in the daylight, given how flawlessly he performed the daring nighttime ride through the Austrian forest.

Enjoy a leisurely nap anywhere with this portable hammock stand from Kammok. The 15 pound stand packs up into a slim carrying bag and adjusts to fit any size hammock. It even works on rough terrain. A hammock is not included, but Kammok offers a variety of sizes and colors starting at $75.

Carnivores, you need this cookbook in your kitchen. Created by Cook’s Illustrated, the book Meat Illustrated provides a detailed yet understandable guide to working with every kind of cut of meat. The 440-page hardcover book is organized into 72 different cuts and includes more than 300 kitchen-tested recipes for beef, pork, lamb, and veal.

There’s a concept in the LEGO community of an “illegal” build – using construction methods that go against the traditional conventions of LEGO stacking. Brick Bending shows off a challenging but impressive technique that involves carefully combining dozens of 1×3 plates to form a robust, spine-like structure that ultimately gets turned into a wheel.

It’s always fun to hear our favorite albums played with video game sounds. FXSnowy took the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1991 smutty masterpiece Blood Sugar Sex Magik and covered it using the 16-bit sounds from the Super Nintendo games Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, and 3. All the best tunes are here, from Funky Monkeys to Breaking the Gorilla.

We recently stumbled upon the EZ Band, and we’re glad that we did. This Houston-based group of musicians has many talents, among them the ability to take alternative music and spice it up with their Norteño sound. This cover of The Strokes’ Last Nite is one of our favorites, but you should also check out their Smiths and My Chemical Romance tracks too.

A car-nut fantasy came true for Wayne Dick of Alberta, Canada, whose custom Chevrolet Corvair Rampside Truck won top honors at Hot Wheels’ El Segundo HQ in the toymaker’s coast-to-coast Hot Wheels Legends Tour quest to find real wild cars to recreate as genuine Hot Wheels toys.

Gin has been an anchor in Holland America Line’s history dating back to the cruise company’s start 150 years ago. To toast its big anniversary, HAL launched De Lijn gin to be exclusively served and sold on board its fleet. The result is a premium gin made in America and inspired by the Netherlands.

A lot has changed with music over the past 60 years, but memorable melodies will always be a thing. Music teacher Milo Andreo sat down at his electric piano and synthesizer to play the introductions to a single famous song from each year since 1963. Close your eyes and see how many you can name without looking at the titles.

Sliding, swinging, garage, barn. There are lots of different kinds of doors. The Brick Experiment Channel shows us how to make various kinds of doors using LEGO Technic parts and how to automate them to open and close with the twist of a dial. That sectional garage door works a lot like a real one does.

Daft Punk made music that was decidedly more joyful and danceable than the industrial metal sounds of Rammstein. That didn’t stop Talkbox Gus from mashing up the two groups. His performance of Du Hast sounds like a bonus track from Random Access Memories. His Daft-ified version of KISS’ I Was Made for Love You perfectly suits the disco-rock track.

Are you or someone you know a fan of classic TV shows? The book Behind the Screens: Illustrated Floor Plans and Scenes from the Best TV Shows of All Time features artist Iñaki Aliste Lizarralde’s hand-drawn floor plans and architectural renderings of iconic sets from 35 shows, including The Golden Girls, Friends, Seinfeld, and Sesame Street.

Chaos mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm revisits the fateful events of Jurassic Park. Only this version is told with LEGO minifig characters and is a bit goofier than Spielberg’s original dino thriller. We’re not 100% certain, but it appears that Jeff Goldblum voices the character he made famous. Streaming on Peacock 10.10.2023.

This slimline cooler bag lets you carry a six-pack of beer with you when you hit the links. It’s skinny enough to fit inside the outer pouch of many golf bags or can be carried solo by its handle or shoulder strap. Its interior is insulated, and it includes two ice packs to ensure drinks stay cool for all 18 holes.

Two of our favorite shops, Craighill and Art of Play have teamed up to create this perplexing puzzle. Its unique design allows it to be solved in two different ways. Option 1: arrange the eight aluminum pieces to fit inside a clear acrylic cube and set it on its stand. Option 2: fit the same pieces inside the cube, but this time, fit the stand in there as well.

Now you’re cooking with candy! This cookbook offers 40 dessert recipes that incorporate Toblerone candy. The unique mix of Swiss milk chocolate, nougat, honey, and almonds takes your sweet treats to another level compared to ordinary chocolate. Toblerone brownies and cupcakes, oh my!

We can always rely on lighting designer Tom BetGeorge for the best Halloween light shows. For his 2023 show, he kicks things off with a brilliantly illuminated performance of System of a Down’s Toxicity, complete with singing pumpkins, light-up spiders, gravestones, and fire cannons. Tom’s got more videos on the way, so subscribe to his YouTube channel.

Not to be confused with this Xmas classic, Joel Kinnaman stars in Silent Night, a bloody, violent holiday flick from famed action director John Woo. It follows the story of a man hellbent on revenge after his child is gunned down in the middle of a gang war. In keeping with its title, the film is all action without any dialogue. In theaters 12.1.2023.