If you're looking for a nice little DIY project for your garage, maybe you should consider building a cooler in the shape of your smartphone's operating system logo. That's whats going on in the picture above, and it actually looks pretty cool. Of course, you could always just drink beer out of a pre-existing cooler but A) it won't up your nerd street cred and B) you won't get featured on the Internet unless you do something awesome.
Head to Engadget for the full story and a video detailing the construction of the above vessel.
It seems like someone "discovers" how to saber champagne once a year or so and puts it up on the Web. We unearthed a champagne sabering video back in 2009, and our man on the street Andrew has found a video from 2007 that was just covered by the folks at science fiction site IO9. Andrew's take:
Here is the annual "how to saber" video - this time a month too late to be useful for New Years. However, (author Esther) writes a pretty humorous post with some interesting science and technique behind sabering. I'm surprised to see this on IO9 though - perhaps the "Lightsabering champagne" comment at the end grants it access to the sci-fi realm.
In fact this is a lot more interesting than the typical "ZOMG U CAN OPENZ BOTTLEZ WITH SWORDZ!!1!" post, which is what we more or less did - though we stick with our original seppuku advice. We were pretty fascinated with IO9's explanation of why you the bottle doesn't go all shardy when you saber it open. That's right Andrew - Esther blinded you with SCIENCE.
Everyone we know is familiar with the concept of "beer goggles" - that moment when your reproductive standards plummet after a few drinks. We've always wondered exactly what calls it, and sort of just chalked it up to "booze impairs your judgment" and left it at that. The judgment thing, after all, explains why we're much more prone to get into trouble after half a bottle of gin than half a bottle of iced tea, right?
Turns out that might only be the half of it, and the real culprit could be symmetry. Yes, we know, you've never elbowed your buddy in a bar and said "check out the symmetry on that girl," but the truth is, you're definitely factoring it in, even unconsciously.
A recent study in the journal Alcohol has found a reason why some of us might find people we normally would consider ugly to be handsome: we stop noticing facial symmetry.
Symmetry probably isn't a feature that you'd list as a must-have when dreaming up your ideal man or woman, but we tend to find more symmetrical faces to be the more attractive ones, possibly because symmetry is an indicator of good genes and good health.
Check out the methodology of the study and read more at Smithsonian Mag.
Did that title get your attention? It certainly got ours when we saw it emblazoned across the cover of a book (the full title of which is Absinthe & Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on the Art of Living Dangerously). Most of the books we cover feature cocktail recipes and other quasi-safe ideas but this one we love because it's DANGEROUS. We have a feeling you, our debonair yet thrill-seeking reader, will love it too.
Written for reasonable risk takers and suburbanites who want to add more excitement to their lives. This daring combination of science, history, and DIY projects explains why danger is good for you and details the art of living dangerously.
Yes, that's right - we said Bosch, like the power tool people. While this bottle-opening beauty isn't available here in the states right now, you can get your hands on it at Amazon UK if you're drooling over it as much as we are. Just think of the BPMs (Bottles Per Minute) you'll achieve with four volts of cordless power!
It's really just a 4-volt Bosch screwdriver with a funky corkscrew attachment, but we're going to ignore the fact that the tool can be used like any other screwdriver and pretend that it can only be used for opening wine bottles.
No word on whether you can get just the attachment for your existing cordless screwdriver, but we can always dream. [via the handsome gentlemen over at our sister site Tool Snob]
We realize this is a liquor site, not a music site, but we just stumbled across this new video from Korpiklaani, a fun band that loves to sing about drinking. So if you're in the mood to hear a Finnish folk metal band sing about a Mexican liquor, today's your day. [via Blabbermouth]
If you ask most people what is the best drink to pair with cheese, it's a safe bet the bulk of them will say "wine." We've had it burned into our brains that wine and cheese taste great together and are easily paired, but while in some cases it may be true, wine isn't the only libation you can pair with your favorite dairy treat.
At the tail end of 2010 the folks at Serious Eats put together a nice little treatise on pairing cheese and beer, and they submit the pairing can be far superior with beer over wine.
Here are three simple reasons that beers go better.
1. In general cheeses and beers speak at the same volume level on the palette.
2. Beer's carbonation makes an excellent foil for the creaminess and fat of most cheese.
3. The refreshing aspects of most beers offer a fine complement to the salt in many cheeses.
That said, you can't just pair any cheese with any beer and expect bliss.
We agree with the sentiments, and we've never seen it put so concisely why beer and cheese are such a delicious combo. Check out their full article for a nice little rundown on pairings that work.
In a fit of state pride, we also grabbed some great pairing information specific to Vermont cheeses from the iFoodTV and Cabot Cheese websites. If you're not a local woodchuck (or even if you are) you can also check out some great recommendations and pairing tips from ArtisinalCheese.com.
So what excellent beer and cheese pairing information did we miss out there on the Web?
I don't know what to say about this glorious contraption. One part transportation, two parts heaven with built-in kegs and taps, pizza sleeves and even a solar-powered boombox. On top of that, it's got a figurehead on the front in the form of a creepy-ass doll. Do want - but these things are custom-built so we imagine we'd have to get in line.
Now that the 33 trapped Chilean miners are home safe, we suppose it's time someone released a product referencing them. Actually someone probably has, and this one isn't cashing in as much as being clever, because this seems pretty tasteful. Finally - if you're just dying to find out how Florencio Alvaros tastes, now's your chance.
Each bottle is named after one of the rescued miners and numbered in order of their resurfacing. Each bottle comes in a tube representing the Fénix 2 rescue capsule, and is buried beneath a layer of rocks. As recipients dig out their wine, they reveal a replica of the message sent up to rescuers which exclaimed "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33", meaning "We are okay in the refuge, the 33 of us".
News and tips on all things alcoholic, including beer and wine, breathalyzers, cocktails and spirits; plus drink recipes, booze reviews and more. All the news that's fit to drink.
Google Android-Shaped Beer Cooler
Did that title get your attention? It certainly got ours when we saw it emblazoned across the cover of a book (the full title of which is Absinthe & Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on the Art of Living Dangerously). Most of the books we cover feature cocktail recipes and other quasi-safe ideas but this one we love because it's DANGEROUS. We have a feeling you, our debonair yet thrill-seeking reader, will love it too.
[via 
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
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