links for 2010-08-03


  • The Washington Hotel in Akihabara has created a “railway room” to attract densha otaku guests.

    The train room features an L-shaped train “diorama”, two meters by three meters in size, with a detailed recreation of a railway snaking around a replica Akiba and Tokyo Tower.

  • These famous tragedies are well documented, but over 500 rocket strikes, many with significant death toll, remain obscure. We've mapped out some of the impact sites above, with more to follow when we can access further information. Make sure you zoom in and check satellite view. Commonly, an area hit by a V-2 is now covered with a car park or 1960s housing estate. These areas are usually devoid of mature trees, and still stand out over 60 years on.
  • America's First Avenger will battle his foes on the streets of Manchester and Liverpool during filming on the big-budget superhero film.

    Manchester's Northern Quarter is to be transformed into 1940s New York for a dramatic car chase in Captain America: The First Avenger.

    It has been chosen by Hollywood studio Marvel Productions for the company's first film shoot outside the US.

  • In 1971 the Soviets commissioned the Kamov Design Bureau to develop a one-man, collapsible helicopter to fit into a 500mm torpedo tube and be assembled in 15 minutes. The result was the KA-56, and it almost worked.