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LONDON BRIDGES ROLLING DOWN (AND UP)

The world’s first “rolling” bridge is located on the Paddington Basin in London.

Rather than a conventional opening bridge mechanism, consisting of a single rigid element that lifts to let boats pass, the Rolling Bridge gets out of the way by curling up until both ends meet.

“It’s about time. Those old drawbridges were only good for dramatic car chases and drunk captains.”

by Gerard Blanton Brand Futurist The Republik Corporal Creative Ops

Photo Credit: via Toxel.com – Flickr

MEN OF THE WORLD

Globalization.

Think it’s a new term? Think again.

More than a century ago, Victorian engineer Alexander Stanhope St. George devised plans for an enormous telescope, called the Telectroscope, that would allow visitors to see from one side of the world to the other through an immense underground tunnel. In May of this year, St. George’s vision became a reality thanks to his great-grandson, a British artist who stumbled upon his late relative’s plans and created what’s essentially a piece of public art visually connecting people in London and New York together in real time through cables simulating an underground peek through the Atlantic.

“Are you more impressed with the guy who faced ridicule for thinking so far ahead of his time or the one who executed it nearly a century later? Makes you wonder how many of today’s ideas that are met with resistance will become a reality in a hundred year’s time.”

by Mike Randall Brand Futurist The Republik Captain Strategic Ops

Photo Credit: Matthew Andrews | Artichoke