This is the 18 foot long (5.5 meter) Thai abacus, the world largest non-electric calculator. It is used by a Thai pharmacist in the resort town of Rayong, 205 km (127 miles) southeast from Bangkok. The owner uses it to calculate drugs bills and it is said to be faster than a normal calculator.

[via Redferret]

In 16th August, 1960, Joe Kittinger lifted off from the earth in a helium balloon called Excelsior III and rose to a height of 102,800 feet that’s around 31,300 meters. Once he reached the edge of the space, he jumped off with his parachute. He is the first man in the world who did the skydiving from the edge of the world. Check it out after the jump. Read more…

Can you imagine having this on your finger? This is the “Ring Pistol”, uses small ammo and fires at the push of a small trigger. It is an antique, not for sale. Take more looks after the jump. Read more…

Do you know that bowling is an ancient sport game? Archaeologists have discovered primitive bowling balls and pins in an Egyptian tomb dating to 5200 BC. But the pinsetter was invented by Gottfried Schmidt in 1936 so you are thinking how the pins are reset before that. Yes, they have pin boys that time. The picture above is from Library of Congres showing pin boys working in Subway Bowling Alleys, 65 South St., B’klyn, N.Y. Hmm… wondering how much was the pay for a pin boy that time.

[via Neatorama]

How many Nokia phone you have use? 5, 10, 20? Check out this image showing the Nokia’s phone history timeline, from 1982 – 2006. Wow! Click the image to enlarge.

[via New Launches]

In the 1920s, there was actually a futuristic-looking railplane system. It was built by George Bennie. The system was propeller-driven and designed to make daily trips to and from Glasgow / Edinburgh. This is railplane had a speed of 120mph. But unfortunately, the project was canceled due to World War II. More pictures and video after the jump. Read more…

The Mil V-12 was developed by the Soviet Union during the 1960s. It is a gigantic aircraft that had a maximum takeoff weight of 231,485-pounds and featured dual rotors, at the end of each wing. It was said a failure as it is too large and poor maneuverability. There were two prototypes were built. Video after the jump. Read more…

Back in 1972, this is when Philips released their N1500 video cassette recorder. It was large and used half-inch tapes, mounted on co-axial reels. It got a maximum recording time of 60 minutes. The N1500 was $1249.52 that time and soon they released the N1502, new version which features a digital timer. More pictures after the jump. Read more…

The Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel (MMMBT) was completed in 1992, the 4.6 mile-long (7.4 km) Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 664. The tunnel goes under water to allow the ships to move across. The MMMBT cost $400 million to build, and it includes a four-lane tunnel that is 4,800 feet (1,463 m) long, two man-made portal islands, and 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of twin trestle. More pictures after the jump. Read more…

Halloween is coming soon. It’s time to show you some spooky pictures. The one above is the portrait of “The Brown Lady”. They said that the ghost was actually Lady Dorothy Townshend, wife of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount of Raynsham, residents of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England in the early 1700s. There was rumors said that Dorothy had been the mistress of Lord Wharton before married to Charles and Charles suspected Dorothy of infidelity. According to the legal records she died and was buries in 1726, but it was suspected that her funeral was a sham and that Charles has locked her in a remote corner of the house until her death many years later. Check out more of these pictures and stories at knbc.com.

[via Neatorama]