Five-year-old Edith Fuller correctly spelled jnana to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. She's the youngest competitor in the bee's history. Read the rest

Drones have really upped the aerial photo game, so SkyPiixel's winners for their annual contest include some really remarkable shots, like the caravan above. Read the rest

Last week, around 70 people participated in a "Space-out Competition" by the Han River in Seoul, Korea. According to Korea Bizwire, "The contestant who remained in the most stable, spaced-out position without falling asleep would be declared the winner."

“I get most stressed when I’m waiting for my boss’s approval or listening to his never-ending lectures,” said one contestant. “I’ll get in trouble if I’m spaced out like this at work, but here, apparently, I’ll get a prize."

From Korea Bizwire:

The players competed for 90 minutes. The rules were rather strict. They were not allowed to look at their cell phones, doze off or fall asleep. It was also prohibited for them to sing, laugh, or speak, any of which would lead to disqualification. The contestants’ heartbeats were checked every 15 minutes to see how comfortable they remained in their spaced-out positions.

Read the rest

Want free VIP tickets to Boing Boing's favorite annual music event, the Treasure Island Music Festival taking place on the San Francisco Bay, October 17-18? This year, you will be thrilled by the unique musical stylings of The National, deadmau5, FKA Twigs, The War On Drugs, Chvrches, Father John Misty, Lower Dens, Jose Gonzalez, and more than a dozen other acts. Our pals at Noise Pop, co-promoters of the event with Another Planet Entertainment, have gifted us a pair of VIP 2-Day Tickets (a $630 value) to pass on to Boing Boing readers! VIP includes access to a nice viewing area beside the main stage, tented lounge with full bar, special VIP food sellers, and private restroom facilities (yay!). To win the passes, we are continuing our annual tradition of the Treasure Island Music Festival Haiku Contest!

Here's what to do:

Write a Haiku about why you want to attend the festival! The Haiku must consist of three lines, with the first line containing 5 syllables, the second containing 7 syllables, and the third line containing 5 syllables. Then post your Haiku to the Boing Boing forum right here. You have until 11:59pm PDT on Thursday (10/1) to enter. We'll pick our favorite Haikus and email you at the address you used to create your forum account. (Or you can list an alternate address in your entry.) On Friday (10/2), I'll post our three finalists who will each receive a Boing Boing t-shirt! On Tuesday (10/6), I'll announce the winner of the VIP tickets. Read the rest

For eight years in a row 31-year-old Joey Chestnut was the champ of Nathan's Famous annual hot dog eating contest in Coney Island, New York. But yesterday he was out-gorged. Gobbling 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes, Matt Stonie, a.k.a. Megatoad, de-throned Chestnut by 2 dogs. And this wasn't a fluke – Megatoad is a competitive eater who turns eating into a sport.

“We don’t just go up there and eat hot dogs. We practice for this. We prepare our bodies,” Stonie said after winning. “It was a tough contest. Joey brings it all. I had to push really hard to beat him. But I feel great.”

Nathan's Famous has been throwing this contest on Independence Day for over 40 years, and the event draws a crowd of thousands. Read the rest

Congratulations to Boing Boing reader Gary Theut (elDetroit) who won our annual Treasure Island Music Festival haiku contest! Read the rest

San Francisco's influential Noise Pop Festival kicks off on Tuesday (2/25) with a week of amazing indie music, films, panels, and parties. The musical lineup includes Dr. Dog, Real Estate, Bob Mould, Rogue Wave, Throwing Muses, Laydtron, Lord Huron, Mark Kozelek, and dozens more acts at clubs around the city! (Above, Throwing Muses' "Fish" from 1986.) Our pals at Noise Pop gave us a pair of badges (valued at $150 each) to get a Boing Boing reader and a pal into all general admission (non-seated) concerts, films, happy hours, the Noise Pop HQ, and other events during the festival. As is our tradition, we held an acronym contest and asked you to tell us what NOISE POP is an acronym for. Competition was tough but happy mutant Daemonsquire won with this gem:

NOISE POP: Not Only Impeccability Sounds Excellent: Passion Outranks Precision!

Thanks to everyone who entered and we hope to see you at Noise Pop 2014! Read the rest

Next Tuesday (2/25) marks the start of San Francisco's long-running Noise Pop Festival, a weeklong smorgasbord of fantastic indie bands, arts, films, talks, panel discussions, and parties at venues all around the city. Personally, I'm jazzed to see Bob Mould celebrating 25 years of Workbook (!), Mark Kozelek, Throwing Muses, Com Truise... the list goes on and on. (Above, Bob Mould's video for "See A Little Light.") And I can't wait to finally watch Mistaken For Strangers, the documentary about The National's 2010 tour and the relationship between The National's singer Matt Berninger and his brother Tom who made the film.

Our friends at Noise Pop have kindly given Boing Boing a pair of Noise Pop 2014 Badges that will get you into all general admission (non-seated) concerts, films, happy hours, the Noise Pop HQ, and other events during the festival. The badges are $150 each but you can win a pair of them right here. As is our Noise Pop tradition, all you have to do is pretend that NOISE POP is an acronym and tell us what it's an acronym for. Post your entry in the BBS comment thread before noon PST tomorrow, Thursday February 20. We'll pick our favorite and announce the winner on Friday! (Please only enter if you really would attend.) Good luck and hope to see you at Noise Pop 2013! Read the rest

I've posted before about Ben "Ben and Jerry's" Cohen's Stamp Stampede project: Cohen is calling on enemies of corruption to stamp messages opposing the Citizens United Supreme Court decision on dollar bills. Citizens United allows for unlimited political spending, on the grounds that money is speech and corporations are people.

Cohen's running a competition to produce the best Stamp Stampede promotional photo: grand prize is a year's supply (52 pints) of Ben and Jerry's ice-cream.

The 2nd Annual Stampede Photo Contest is currently underway and will end on January 18. Read the rest

STRFKR (video above) is just one of two dozen artists performing at San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival on October 19 and 20. Also on the bill are Atoms For Peace, Beck, Sleigh Bells, Animal Collectiv, Tricky, Japandroids, Haim, James Blake, and many more talented performers. Our friends at Noise Pop, co-promoters of the event, have supplied a pair of VIP 2-Day Tickets (a $550 value) to give to Boing Boing readers! Last week, we launched our annual Treasure Island Music Festival Haiku contest. The three finalists below all win Boing Boing t-shirts. We'll announce the winner of the VIP passes on Tuesday, October 1. Meanwhile, a limited number of tickets are still available for purchase here. Congratulations to the Haiku masters below! Read the rest

photo:Josh Withers

The sound extravaganza known as the Treasure Island Music Festival will again surface in the San Francisco Bay on October 19 and 20. This year's line-up of two dozen performers features the likes of Atoms For Peace, Beck, Major Lazer, Animal Collectiv, Sleigh Bells, and Tricky. I'm personally jazzed to check out Atoms For Peace ('natch), Phantogram, and STRFKR! Want to attend the festival in style? The good people at Noise Pop, co-promoters of the event, have supplied a pair of VIP 2-Day Tickets (a $550 value) to give to Boing Boing readers! VIP includes a nice viewing area beside the main stage, tented lounge with full bar, access to special VIP food sellers, and private restroom facilities (yay!). To win them, we are continuing our now-annual tradition of a Treasure Island Music Festival Haiku contest! Here's what to do:

Write a Haiku about your favorite band performing at the festival. Here's the full line-up. The Haiku must consist of three lines, with the first line containing 5 syllables, the second containing 7 syllables, and the third line containing 5 syllables. Then post your Haiku to the Boing Boing BBS forum. You have until 11:59pm PDT on Tuesday (9/23). We'll pick our favorite Haikus and email you at the address you used to create your forum account. (Or you can list an alternate address in your entry.) On Thursday (9/26), I'll post our three finalists who will each receive a Boing Boing t-shirt! On Tuesday (10/1), I'll announce the winner. Read the rest

The Outside Lands music festival is happening in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on August 9-11! Headliners are Paul McCartney, Nine Inch Nails, and Red Hot Chili Peppers with more than 75 other performances as well, including Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Hall & Oates, The Head and the Heart, The National, Jurassic 5, and many more. We held a Twitter haiku contest to give away a pair of 3-Day VIP tickets (a $1090) value, and the stream of entries was terrific! Congratulations to Heather Shaw (@heatherlyshaw) who won with this delightful haiku:

As parents we don't Get out as much, but that just Means we'll rock out more

Runners-up Anna MacLachlan (@bananabelle) and Ryan Reyes (@pimplywimp) receive Boing Boing t-shirts! Thanks for entering and we hope to see you at the festival! A very limited number of tickets are still available here: Outside Lands

Video above: Nine Inch Nails' classic "Happiness In Slavery" (1992), directed by Jon Reiss and featuring the late Bob Flanagan, supermasochist. Read the rest

On August 9-11, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park erupts with the Outside Lands music festival, featuring more than 75 performances by an insanely-eclectic lineup of artists. This year's headliners are Paul McCartney, Nine Inch Nails, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. I'm most excited to see The Head and the Heart, The National, D'Angelo, and Thao & The Get Down Stay Down (video above)!

Want to attend? Our friends at Outside Lands provided us with a pair of 3-Day VIP tickets, a $1090 value, to give away! Two runners-up will receive Boing Boing t-shirts! Here's how to win:

1. Come up with one Tweetable haiku (5/7/5) about why you want to attend Outside Lands! (Single Tweet only.) 2. Tweet your haiku before 11:59pm, Sunday, July 14, @boingboing and @sfoutsidelands. 3. Wait patiently until Monday when we will announce the winner and runners-up here and on Twitter!

Good luck!

Above: Thao & The Get Down Stay Down's "Holy Roller" from their album We The Common. Read the rest

Bas writes,

3D printing is being condemned in the media because of the potential for printing guns. Engineers at Michigan Tech believe there is far more potential for 3D printers to make our lives better rather than killing one another. To encourage thinking about constructive uses of 3D printing technology Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Lab and Type A Machines is proud to sponsor the first 3-D Printers for Peace Contest.

A fully assembled Type A Machines Series 1 3D Printer goes to first place and a MOST RepRap 3D printer kit will go to the second prize winner who create designs that enable 3D printers to encourage peace. Winning open-source designs will discourage conflict (e.g. designs for appropriate technology in the developing world to reduce scarcity or designs that improve economic development -- see examples and pictures). Designers are encouraged to consider: If Mother Theresa of Ghandi had access to 3D printing what would they print? What kind of designs could help reduce military spending and conflict while making us all safer and more secure?

Michigan Tech has already saved tens of thousands of dollars using 3D printable scientific and engineering equipment and our labs have developed 3D printable tools to test water quality, recycle waste plastic and found that 3D printing consumer goods is better for the environment than shipping conventional goods from China. Jo

Anyone in the United States may enter and there is no cost to enter. Here's the guidelines. Deadline for submitting entries: September 1, 2013

Michigan Tech Launches 3D Printers for Peace Contest Read the rest

San Francisco's influential Noise Pop 2013 indie music, arts, and film festival kicks off its 21st year next Tuesday, February 26. The stellar lineup this year includes Califone, Yacht, Toro Y Moi, Grandaddy's Jason Lytle, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, DIIV (video above), and dozens more musical performers, along with documentaries, art shows, panels, and other events. Our pals at Noise Pop gave us a pair of badges (valued at $150 each) to get a Boing Boing reader and a pal into all general admission (non-seated) concerts, films, happy hours, the Culture Club day of workshops and creative sessions, and other events during the festival. Noise Pop's Dawson Ludwig came up with the grand contest idea of asking you to pretend that NOISE POP is an acronym and tell us what the initials stand for. There were a slew of great entries but we managed to pick a favorite! The winning acronym came from Marissa Pike:

NOISE POP

noisemakers overtly inject songs effortlessly.

played out perfectly.

Marissa and a friend have scored a pair of Noise Pop 2013 Badges. What fun they will have making the scene next week. Congratulations, Marissa! Thanks to everyone who entered and see you at Noise Pop 2013! Read the rest

Next Tuesday, February 26, marks the start of Noise Pop 2013, the 21-year-old San Francisco festival celebrating indie music, arts, and film across more than a dozen venues in the city. Wanna go? The musical lineup alone is marvelous, including the likes of Body/Head (Kim Gordon's new noise duo), The Fresh & Onlys, Toro Y Moi, Starfucker, Amon Tobin, Califone (video above), Yacht, Sonny & The Sunsets, Caspian, and many, many more. There are also excellent movies -- like "See A Little Light" about Bob Mould, "Punk in Africa," "Bad Brains: A Band in DC," -- art shows, talks, and panel discussions over the course of the festival, which runs until March 3.

Our pals at Noise Pop have kindly given us a pair of Noise Pop 2013 Badges that will get you into all general admission (non-seated) concerts, films, happy hours, the Culture Club day of workshops and creative sessions, and other events during the festival. The badges are $150 each but you can win a pair of them right here. All you have to do is pretend that NOISE POP is an acronym and tell us what it's an acronym for. Post your entry in the comments below before 11:00 AM PST tomorrow, Thursday February 21. We'll pick our favorite and announce the winner tomorrow! (Please only enter if you really would attend.) Good luck and hope to see you at Noise Pop 2013! Read the rest

My friends over at my old stomping ground, The Mary Sue, are currently running a contest that will award two lucky winners the very fancy-looking 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition Blu-ray of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. What do you need to do to win this? Fan art -- your best cosplay, drawings, anything that you create that is inspired by Blade Runner (and can be submitted as a .jpg file), The Mary Sue wants to see it, and then they will give you prizes! But not if you get a replicant to do it for you. Visit the site for more details. (via The Mary Sue) Read the rest