Cardboard dioramas that double as detailed portraits

Japanese artist Kuronushi specialises in shadow art and glues together hundreds of pieces of cardboard to create themed dioramas that project a shadow artwork when light is cast on them from a certain angle.

For example, for a scene inspired by the Wizarding World of Harry Potter featuring a broom-riding Hogwarts student and a half-moon, the installation also casts a detailed portrait of Harry Potter when seen from a certain angle.

Kuronushi creates art as a hobby. He was inspired to experiment with shadow art after seeing the shadow of his toddler daughter being projected on a wall on a sunny day. He noticed that her silhouette also resembled something else, so he decided to replicate the ‘magic’ in the comfort of his own home, using cardboard and a lamp.

Brain-like blobs on the beach stuns locals

An Aussie woman was shocked to find bizarre brain-like blobs washed up on a beach in Lauderdale, around 20 miles southeast of Hobart. The blobs were not rocks as they felt soft after she touched them.

Images of the blobs have gone viral on social media, and there is certainly a resemblance to human brains.

The creatures are known as sea squirts, that often wash up on other objects and surfaces, such as piers, ships, and rocks. Sea squirts are collectively known as ascidians, with over 80 of these species found in Sydney alone.

Robotic wolf keeps wildlife at bay in Japan

At various places in Japan, people have been facing trouble due to animals like deer, monkeys and bears, who rampage their fields and often attack. Researchers have come up with a robot that looks like a wolf to scare away these animals.

The robot wolf, called Monster Wolf, is used in places like golf courses, roads, farms and train tracks to keep animals away. Monster Wolf has a wolf-like mask and looks real enough to scare animals, but not so real that it tricks people. It’s a mix of new technology and old traditions.

The company that makes it is looking into making it even better, with features like GPS navigation to chase away animals when they get too close.

Spider removed from woman’s ear canal

A 64-year-old woman in Taiwan heard clicking and rustling sounds for several days, due to a small spider in her ear canal.

Dr Tengchin Wang, director of the otolaryngology department at Tainan Municipal Hospital, co-wrote a case report for the New England Journal of Medicine, detailing the case of a woman who sought treatment in April.

On the woman’s complain, a doctor looked into the ear and discovered a small spider and its discarded exoskeleton inside the woman’s ear. They used a suction tube to remove the arachnid and its exoskeleton.

Wang did not feel any pain from the spider’s presence because it was only 2 to 3 millimetres in size — about .08 to .1 inches.

Published in Dawn, Young World, November 18TH, 2023