Infocult: Uncanny Informatics

Deep face

Two galaxies collide... then turn their synthetic, baleful gaze upon you.

As the official Hubble announcement calmly puts it:

MENACING-LOOKING 'FACE' FORMED BY TITANIC SMASHUP BETWEEN TWO GALAXIES

Behold:

The piercing "eyes" are the most prominent feature of what resembles the face of an otherworldly creature. This frightening object is actually the result of a titanic head-on collision between two galaxies.

Each "eye" is the bright core of a galaxy, the result of one galaxy slamming into another. The outline of the face is a ring of young blue stars. Other clumps of new stars form a nose and mouth.

The system is catalogued as Arp-Madore 2026-424, from the Arp-Madore "Catalogue of Southern Peculiar Galaxies and Associations."

(thanks to Steven "Here's Looking At You, Kid" Kaye)

Sinkhole devours bus

Gaia continued her war on the human race this week by devouring a bus in Pittsburgh.

(thanks to Jesse "Not the Lone Driver" Walker)

The terrifying face of the sun staring right at you

NASA shared this disturbing photo of the sun, which the cold-hearted scientists describe thusly:

Active regions on the sun combined to look something like a jack-o-lantern’s face on Oct. 8, 2014...

Gaze upon the hideous solar visage for yourself:
(thanks to Steven "I Warned You About the Black Sun But Did You Listen?" Kaye)

Behold the CreepyPhone

Faithful Infocult readers have been known to ask themselves unusual questions.  For example, "What if David Cronenberg designed a mobile phone?"

Finally we have an answer.

Marc Teyssier at Telecom Paris in France and his colleagues have devised an artificial skin for interactive devices that responds to touch. The skin is able to detect a variety of gestures, including sliding, stretching and rotation.

“I wanted to pinch my phone,” says Teyssier as the reason for designing the skin. The skin also responds to different gestures that mimic human emotional communication.

The artificial skin is programmed to associate different gestures with certain emotions. Sudden hard pressure on the skin is associated with anger and tapping is a means of seeking attention, while sustained contact and stroking are associated with providing comfort. 

A short video will amuse:

The artificial skin is made of three layers, consisting of a layer of stretchable copper wire sandwiched between two layers of silicone. Pressure on the skin changes the electric charge of the system. 

Onward: "The next step is to make the skin more realistic, including with embedded hair and temperature features."

Gothic car wash

An Ohio establishment improved the car wash experience by adding scary clowns.

(thanks to Thomas "Red Nose" Burkdall)

A sinkhole opens wide in Boston

The Earth continued its campaign of destruction against the human race by opening a large sinkhole in Boston.

Dispatcher Joey Aberle said the water main break created the hole, which he estimated to be approximately 10 and 15 feet across. The pavement was lifted and the water pushed the dirt out, he said.

No casualties reported... yet.

(thanks to Jesse Walker)