Qwiki: The Future of Information Technology?

Aside from the big news that AOL would acquire TechCrunch during their latest disrupt conference, there was another major piece of news that many of you guys I’m sure would be interested in knowing. Quite simply it can only be described as the future of information technology as we know it. Meet Qwiki, the first step towards technology that could revolutionise the way we look at information on the internet.

 

Internet users at the moment have a number of tools at their disposal ranging from a simple Google search to a perhaps little bit more in depth Wikipedia article summarising the search term in question. However the internet has evolved in such a way that it’s become so loaded with information that as normal human beings we simply do not have the mental capacity or the ability to process and take in all this information. It simply becomes an information overload.

 

In steps Qwiki, a technology that aims to transform experiencing information from a chore into an experience. Doug Imbruce, one of the co-founders and CEOs of Qwiki, describes it as transforming information into an art form. Check out their demo video at the TechCrunch Disrupt Conference below.

 

 

You can sign up to their Alpha program here and be first to test out the new system.

Source: OneCoolThingADay

 

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• Qwiki Chosen as Top Disruptive Company at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco (nytimes.com)
• Qwiki clinches top disruptive company at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco (venturebeat.com)
• Qwiki wants to be the multimedia search engine of the future (venturebeat.com)

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World’s First HDR Video looks Stunning

HDR photography has really taken off in the last couple of years with DSLR’s and other consumer cameras importing this feature. Apple recently even added this feature to the iOS 4.1 update and well guess what, Soviet Montage have created the first HDR video. Trust me, it’s incredible.

 

If you don’t know what it is, it’s basically the process of creating three images. The first is under exposed, the second is under normal exposure and the third is over exposed. Then it’s post-processed and combined to create this High Dynamic Range photo. Now Soviet Montage have combined two Canon 5D Mark II’s into creating the world’s first High Dynamic Range Video. Check the footage below.

 

 

You can follow Soviet Montage’s work on Twitter here and I’m sure like me, you’ll be looking forward to the next video they release.

 

Source: The Daily What

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Star Wars Tractor Beam One Step Closer

In a Galaxy far far away, a lowly Corellion Corvette gets chased down by a daunting Imperial Star Destroyer which looms ominously into view. As it closes in on it's target, it fires and captures it's puny prey reeling it in on an invisible line through the emptiness of space. This as everyone knows is the beginning of Star Wars and as many will know, the weapon that the Star Destroyer fires is a tractor beam designed to capture other space vessels intact. Today Australian scientists have made a significant step towards the development of a real life actual Tractor Beam.

 

According to Inside Science:

 

The device works by shining a hollow laser beam around tiny glass particles. The air surrounding the particle heats up, while the dark center of the beam stays cool. When the particle starts to drift out of the middle and into the bright laser beam, the force of heated air molecules bouncing around and hitting the particle's surface is enough to nudge it back to the center.

A small amount of light also seeps into the darker middle part of the beam, heating the air on one side of the particle and pushing it along the length of the laser beam. If another such laser is lined up on the opposite side of the beam, the speed and direction the particle moves can be easily manipulated by changing the brightness of the beams.

 

This however won't work in the vacuum of space yet. So for now I guess we can only start dreaming of huge construction projects crane-free but with multiple tractor beams transporting heavy construction beams up to the top of large skyscrapers. That or at least I'll be able to pretend to be a Jedi once they make these mobile phone sized.

Source: Inside Science

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Fire + Wind = Fire Tornadoes

From the BBC comes a report of a fire tornado caught on camera in Brazil. The combination of an ongoing drought, a bush fire and swirling winds gave a perfect concoction for a deadly tornado.

Video Source: ITN News

 A 'fire tornado' has been caught on camera in the Brazilian municipality of Aracatuba, caused by strong, dry winds that fanned wildfires. A whirlwind of flames spiralling several metres high danced across fields, bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby road, before it disappeared. The phenomenon followed weeks of drought which have sparked brush fires across the country.

Source: BBC News

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Flamethrower vs Fire Extinguisher

So who would win in a fight between a Flamethrower and a Fire Extinguisher? This amazing music video from little known band Dancing Pigeons helps to shed some light on it.

It's an awesome music video as I'm sure you'll all agree and the song itself has managed to embed itself into my head and it doesn't look like it's going to leave for a while. (PS. watch the video in HD if you can to really appreciate Super Slo Mo Awesomeness) Click to read the rest of the article ...

Orca Whales eat Sharks?

It would seem that the nickname of “Killer Whale” may not be too far from the truth. Populations of Orca whales have learnt how to intricately overpower sharks. It would appear that Orca’s hunt by flipping sharks upside down which renders them paralyzed! They then proceed to “karate chop” them and then later devour them.

 

According to Dr Ingrid Visser, an Orca scientist for the past 17 years:

 

The orca will use its tail to drive the shark to the surface. They don't even touch it. Using an up-thrust of its tail it creates a vortex which pushes the shark up on they current they create with their movements.

 

Once the shark is at the surface, the killer whale pivots and lifts its tail out of the water and comes down on top of it like a karate chop.

 

The orca then grasps the shark and turns it upside down - suggesting that they may somehow understand shark biology.

 

When sharks are quickly flipped upside down, they enter a paralysed state known as 'tonic immobility'.

 

They always eventually turn the shark upside down," added Dr Visser. "At that point the shark cannot fight back, it has been a successful hunt and they can feed.

 

So who else wants to start the “Don’t Free Willy so quick” campaign?

 

Source: Telegraph

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Chewbacca Riding A Squirrel Killing Nazis

In probably one of the most awesome pictures I’ve seen in a while, here is Chewbacca riding a giant squirrel killing Nazis.

 

Is there anything more I need to add?

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Let the Battle of the Real World Mechs Commence!

Mechs are plain and simply the ultimate wet dream of any self-respecting kotaku or tech geek. There’s nothing that can describe the pure awesomeness of an armoured humanoid figure standing taller than the average building raining all amounts of hell on it’s intended recipient. Well it seems that our dear friends over in the Far East have taken this wet dream and decided to turn it into a reality with what appears to be little more than an arms race for the greatest mech ever constructed.

 

I’ve posted in the past about the real life Gundam in Tokyo before on T.U.S but it appears other inventive individuals have taken to this as a geek off challenge. Ever since the mega Gundam was built in Tokyo in 2009, there have been many many models built since to rival this behemoth. So below are just some of my favourite to date (click to enlarge any of the photos):

 

Bandai’s RX-78-2 Gundam, Tokyo Japan

 

On March 11th 2009, in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Gundam anime series, Bandai built this mammoth of a 1:1 real size scale of their famous RX-78-2 model Gundam. This epic figure that towered over Tokyo reached a staggering 60 feet into the air which approximates to the same height as a decent sized city block. However it doesn’t just stop there, the head of this Gundam actually moved and emitted lights and lasers from over 50 different places on it’s exoskeleton along with 14 jets of mist for special effects. Quite an awesome feat to live up to. (NB, it must be noted that this mech was only up for a few months but is due to be relocated to another place in Japan, now equipped with a Saber!)

 

 

UPDATE (10/08/2010): A very cool time HD time lapse video has been thrown out onto the internet and wow is it stunning.

 

 

Chinese student Bi Heng’s ‘Kwansformer’, Beijing China

 

This 9.7 meter tall giant of a mech was constructed from the remains of a “Jiedang CA10 military truck”. It in fact was constructed by a 26 year old student for his class project at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) and took just one semester to complete. The Mech was designed and based around the famous Chinese general, Guan Yu and copies the same “Green Dragon Crescent Blade”. Heng now aims to create a series of Kwansformers which include the Monkey King and the Beijing Olympic Torch. So far he has been offered money for his current Kwansformer but has rejected it citing, “Trasformers are a cherished memory of the post-80s generation, but these people are still not rich enough to buy my work.” However at a cost of around $43,000 to build, if this at least doesn’t get him an A then I’m not sure what will.

 

 

Tetsujin 28, Kobe Japan

The 60 foot tall Tetsujin 28-go was erected in honor of it’s creator Mitsuteru Yokoyama for which Kobe is his birthplace. This mech aside from it’s sheer awesomeness has done more than just look awesome. It’s apparently having a profound effect in Kobe, a city devastated by the Great Hashin Earthquake (1995), as that it’s bringing in millions of tourists that would not otherwise have come. So mechs really can be a force for good.

 

 

 

Optimus Prime, Beijing China

 

Now for a mech with a more western twist, there now stands a 40 foot tall Optimus Prime looming over Beijing. Built across from the Green Dream Park in the Northwest of the city, this Optimus Prime was built entirely from recycled parts, that’s 5 truckloads of recycled parts apparently and weighing in at over 6 tonnes. So yup, think of this as the environmental mech helping to save the world one tin can at a time.

 

Shoichi Nakamoto’s Z-Gundam, Okayama Japan

 

Another product of an inspired youth was born in the hillside of Okayama. Shoichi Nakamoto’s largely unknown Gundam is impressive in that not only was it built single handedly, it’s large and complex enough a structure to house it’s own little cockpit. Yup, that’s right, you can actually sit in this mech and with a number of gears and levers, may one day pilot the giant suit.

 

 

 

So which is your favourite? Let me know on Twitter, Facebook or in the comments section below. Personally, my favourite is still the RX-72 in Toyko. It’s a mammoth of a beast and if rumours are true that they’re adding a Saber to it’s hand, well that’ll do me just fine.

 

Sources: Weird Asia, Pink Tentacle, Bitter Swee, AsianBeat, Danny Choo, Mechadamashii

Technorati Tags: mech,gundam,tokyo

 

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Lagoa Multiphysics 1.0 Engine will blow your mind

A guy by the name of Thiago Costa over at Lagoa Technologies Inc have released a “teaser” video of it’s very promising graphics engine, Lagoa. This demo video shows off a multiphysics simulation performed by the engine and I must say it looks to be a very very impressive piece of kit. It’s definitely one of those “seen, to be believed” type of demos.

 

 

This isn’t your average pre-rendered video either. Instead all the tasks are performed virtually on the fly and solely relying on the calculations of the Lagoa engine. The types of things simulated in the engine are things like plastic deformations, liquid movement and things generally breaking apart and/or melting. What’s for sure is that in the not too distant future, we’ll be creating physics engines that will be so realistic, we won’t be able to tell them apart.

Source: TechCrunch

Technorati Tags: Lagoa,multiphysics engine,graphics

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One Hong Kong Apartment: 24 Rooms

In the bustling and crowded city that is Hong Kong, physical space is very much at a premium. Living space in particular in this city at least is as precious vertically as it is horizontally with towering apartment blocks and offices dominating the Hong Kong skyline. One apartment in particular however stands out above all else in this densely populated urban metropolis. It belongs to Gary Chang, a 47 year old designer whose turned his tiny 7th floor apartment into a fully fledged 24 roomed living space.

 

Here is a video taken from the Discovery Channel showing Gary Chang and his amazing apartment: (to skip the intro, jump to 0:40)

 

Quite an ingenious method of converting a tiny 344-square foot apartment into 24 different layouts. I especially like the way he’s got a mirrored floor and ceiling which not only hides the tracks and all but really makes the room look a lot larger than it actually is.

 

This is a biography of Mr. Chang’s life as taken from the New York Times:

 

Mr. Chang, 46, has lived in this seventh-floor apartment since he was 14, when he moved in with his parents and three younger sisters; they rented it from a woman who owned so much property that she often forgot to collect payment.

Like most of the 370 units in the 17-story building, which dates to the 1960s, the small space was partitioned into several tiny rooms — in this case, three bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a hallway. Mr. Chang’s parents shared the master bedroom (though when they first moved in, his father lived in the United States, where he worked as a waiter at Chinese restaurants in various cities). His sisters shared a second bedroom, and the third, almost incredibly — although not unusually for Hong Kong — was occupied by a tenant, a woman in her 20s, whom Mr. Chang remembers only for the space she took up.

Mr. Chang slept in the hallway, on a sofa bed.

…

Mr. Chang was then working for the P&T Group, an architectural firm, and living in a rented room near the University of Hong Kong, where he had studied architecture. His mother suggested that he take over the lease on their old apartment, “because the rent was unusually low,” he said. Instead he bought it, for about $45,000.

He had been itching to tear down the walls since his teenage years, when he sketched new designs for the family home, and he then began in earnest. In the last two decades, he has renovated four times, on progressively bigger budgets as his company, Edge Design Institute, has grown. His latest effort, which took a year and cost just over $218,000, he calls the “Domestic Transformer.”

Source: NY Times

The apartment is as stylish as it is functional and really is, quite amazing.

 

LiveJournal Tags: Hong Kong Apartment,24 rooms

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Guillaume Nery Underwater Base Jumping

Another item from Dan Trachtenberg’s awesome blog One Cool Thing A Day blog of underwater base jumping. French world champion free diver Guillaume Nery specialises in Constant Weight free-diving. In this movie, he dives in the world’s largest sinkhole: Dean’s Blue Hole, just off the west of the Bahamas. That’s a good 663 feet deep towards the ocean floor. If you’re wondering how deep that is, just take a look below. And for the record. He did the entire dive, on a single breath of air.

 

 

Check out the astonishing video after the jump.

 

 

(For the record, Guillaume Nery never reached the bottom of the sinkhole as to do so would have made his head implode, the film was done just to demonstrate underwater base diving and made to artistic effect.)

 

Guillaume Nery and myself decided to use our time during a freediving competition at Dean's Blue Hole (deepest blue hole in the world) to make a short movie. Since a long time Guillaume wanted to make the link between freeding and base jumping. Our goal was to emphasise on esthetic images and innovative camera moves. [Julie Gautier: Camerawoman]

Source: Huffington Post

 

Source: One Cool Thing A Day

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• Freediver Plunges Into the Abyss [Image Cache] (gizmodo.com)
• Guillaume Nery Base Jumping UNDERWATER At Dean's Blue Hole (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)

LiveJournal Tags: Guillaume Nery,Dean's Blue Hole,Underwater Diving

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Epic Light Warfare Short Film

An awesome short film done by young asian film maker, Freddie Wong. This short film lasts just over a minute but demonstrates the use of lights with camera’s performing long exposures. In it Freddie depicts a street gunfight of epic proportions using nothing but clever camera tricks and many LED lights.

 

Click the jump for the superb demo of light warfare.

 

 

Freddie gives a short tutorial and a behind the scenes video demonstrating how you could make your own “Light Painting”.

“The idea behind light painting is that if you open the shutter, you can draw lines by moving the flashlight around in front of the lens. So hold the shutter open, get in front, and try drawing something in the air. If you have a camera flash, you can have someone stand in place, and flash them. Then have them hold still and draw around them. Experiment!”

Source: Freddiew.com

 

Also make sure you check out the rest of his videos which I might add, are also pretty awesome and can be found here!

 

Related articles

• Light Warfare, An Action Packed Demo of Light Painting (laughingsquid.com)
• Light Warfare Replaces Violence With Epic Photography [Art] (gizmodo.com)

LiveJournal Tags: light painting,freddie wong

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Iron Baby rocks the Internet

So this video has totally blown around the internet like a Wildfire in a dry brush. This is a video made by Canada based film maker Patrick Boivin and comes off the back of the success of the Iron Man 2 movie. So far the video has racked up 2.7 million views on YouTube just under Patrick’s YouTube channel. Anyways, check out the movie after the jump and I hope you enjoy it as much as I certainly did.

 

 

He [Patrick Boivin] and Jocelyn Strob Simard, whom he met while working on Quebec sketch and commercial-parody television show called Phylactère Cola, decided to do a video based on the Iron Man franchise.

The twist: Boivin decided to cast his baby daughter Margaret as the star. The mini-movie has already been viewed far more than 2.6 million times.

Simard, a 3-D artist, did all the effects himself, including making the Iron Man costume, which Boivin’s daughter wears to combat evil stuffed animals.

Boivin directed the clip. The pair spent two months producing it. It cost them virtually nothing except their time, since they had all the equipment and the expertise to do it. The only money they spent was on stuffed animals and toy weapons.

Source: The Star 

 

For more information, “The Star” has an in depth background on the video here.

 

Source: Daily Mail Online

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• Iron Baby Takes YouTube By Storm [Video] (inquisitr.com)
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• The Internet Coos Over "Iron Baby" [VIDEO] (mashable.com)
• PATRICK BOIVIN - Iron Baby (dekku.nofatclips.com)

 

LiveJournal Tags: Iron Baby

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Lost Generation

A short and sweet post for you today with this great video entitled “Lost Generation”. It’s one of those videos you’ll smile at as you watch and will want to see through to the end. Enjoy!

Video appears after the jump...

Apologies for the lack of background information, if anyone would like to fill in the details of where this is from or what the purpose of the video is then, please leave a comment.

Source: One Cool Thing A Day

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Superb Parkour Animation

Everyone loves watching Parkour. The combination of jumping and climbing around urban cityscapes is both captivating and graceful. This here is a melding together of both Parkour running and stop motion paper craft is the creation of both Serene Teh (designer) and Noel Lee (post-production) and is in my opinion, a truly creative piece of animation. 

Click the jump to check out the superb animation.

According to her Vimeo profile the lead designer on this Parkour project, Serene Teh, is a graphic design student living in Singapore. She’s had “work experience in a production company doing exhibition design and festive decors.” Although she doesn’t have very many works under her belt, it looks like she’ll have a bright future if she maintains this clearly creative streak.

Illustrated with technical pen,frame by frame. I admit it might not be the best, or the quality isn't perfect, just a shot at animating the old flip book whatever-you-call-it way. =D

The audio I used is Dr Dre Rap beat, not sure who's the artiste..

Post production credits goes to Noel Lee for his patience in piecing the sequence up together!

Source: LineBoil.com

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LiveJournal Tags: parkour stop motion serene teh

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A Watch born from the Fires of Mordor … Almost

This jumped straight to the top of my wish list as soon as I saw it. Remember that volcano that’s been causing a bit of mischief across most of Northern Europe during Spring 2010? Remember? The unpronounceable Eyjafjallajökull volcano? Well a designer by the name of Romain Jerome has added to his fantastic collection, a limited edition watch that was fashioned out of the very rock and ashes of the now infamous volcano. Just look at it. The attention to detail is quite astonishing, never mind whether or not it had genuine ash in it or not. This surely has to go on most watch lovers watch list (too easy I know). That said you’ll have to fork out quite a fortune for this undoubtedly rare timepiece. So instead join me as I weep in happiness over something that quite simply can only be described as awesome.

 

 

A quote from Romain Jerome’s website:

 

With this unique Eyjafjallajökull-DNA model, RJ illustrates the legends of our time and the mythologies that will forge the memory of the 21st century. A timepiece with its finger on the pulse of the latest events, designed with ash from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull which is itself as one of the most intimate symbols of our global contemporary emotions.

 

Self-winding mechanical movement
Bezel: Steel and ash from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano
Case: Steel & black PVD-coated steel
Dial: crafted from ash ejected by the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano with red fissures representing the lava that spurted up from the core of the planet.

 

You should check out the rest of Romain Jerome’s collection as the moondust and Titanic watches are quite epic too.

Source: Geeky-Gadgets.com

   

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• The Incredible Eyjafjallajökull (joshspear.com)
• Dramatic image of Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud (blogs.discovermagazine.com)
• Latest Satellite Image of the Eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano (spacefellowship.com)
• One-of-a-kind volcanic watch uses ash from last week's eruptions (dvice.com)
• Romain Jerome Creates Eyjafjallajokull DNA Watch (shoppingblog.com)
• Who Wants A Watch Containing Volcanic Ash From Last Week's Icelandic Eruption? [Watches] (gizmodo.com)
• The volcano.The video. (vostok.es)
• Photo: Icelandic Volcano Begins Erupting Again (wired.com)

LiveJournal Tags: Eyjafjallajökull watch romain jerome volcano

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Spectacular Shadow Art

These are the works of Kumi Yamashita, an astonishingly amazing artist whose use of light and shadows is quite truly breathtaking. It may look like just a series of simple shadows, but with such complexity and meaning behind the images, it’s easy to be taken aback with the talent on display. Here are just a few images I picked out which really caught my eye. She doesn’t just perform art with shadows but also with thread art and scratching on credit cards. Quite simply amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Kumi Yamashita

 

LiveJournal Tags: kumi yamashita shadow art

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A Piece of Musical Magic

Sometimes there are things you find that pop up across your RSS feeds and can only be described as magical. This is without a doubt one of them.

 

Produced by Spanish group “Herraizsoto & Co” is a piece of musical genius. A mixing together of the song “Soy Tu Aire” and what can only be described as paintbrush art, it really does redefine interactive music but I think it really can only be described when you try it out for yourself. You’ll find it quite hard to resist a smile too.

 

Labuat – Painting a Song

 

Also below I’ve posted a translation of the song for those who are interested:

 

I’m made of air,

I’m made of water.

I make tiny furrows on the melted wax of your desire.

And, slowly, very slowly, I come into your tickles.

I make myself comfortable, I put you out to make you laugh.

And I sneak into this mess without knocking, without any warning.

I’m your air,

I’m your water.

You drink me, you chock on me, you breath me, I splash you, you swallow me.

And I linger, I play in your memories for a while, I put them under my petticoat.

I tear your wails to shreds, I create crazy fantasies

And I confuse your memory with the tip of my kisses.
I belong to air,

I belong to water.

I belong to air,

I belong to water.

I fly free, don’t tie me down, cause I’ll slip through your fingers.

Impassive, I turn impossible into unexpected just for you

And I build an improvised future on the insecure things

Where one and one don’t make two, and the others are unwanted

And they are no one, no one, no one, no one anymore.

I’m your air,

I’m your water.

I’m your air,

I’m your water.

 

Also if you have a look on their site, Herraizsoto & Co, and at their Latest Works, they have some pretty interesting work on big scale projection and Wii-motes with this project. Enjoy!

 

Source: OneCoolThingADay.com

 

LiveJournal Tags: Amazing,music,spanish,labuat,painting a song,onecoolthingaday,interative music

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Simo Häyhä makes Rambo look like a little girl

Image via Wikipedia

The story of Simo Hayha is one that can only really be described as epic bravery on a whole new level. This story of a simple Finnish farmer turned Rambo killing machine is something quite out of the ordinary.

 

The Year is 1939, and the flames of the Second World War are just beginning to ignite. The Soviets (rather foolishly) decide that Finland would be a good and easy country to march into and invade, so they throw 2 millions soldiers into the fray. No problems so far right? Wrong. If they’d known that Simo wasn’t best pleased with this, they might have just reconsidered.

 

After completing just one mandatory year in military training, the tiny 5”3 farmer decided to take matters into his own hands. He grabbed his trusty Mosin-Nagant rifle the “Pystykorva”, packed some food, took up a white camo suit and left for the woods.   He also only used Iron Sights on his rifle rather than the more accurate telescopic sights used in real sniper rifles, to make himself a smaller target, something that Russian snipers hadn’t quite figured especially when the sun reflected off their scopes all day long. That and he packed snow into his mouth so as to hide his breathing. Yup, snow into mouth. It was there that under six feet of snow, and  20-40 degrees below zero that Simo would set himself up for the Russians. Everyday he’d go out with just enough food for a day, and a few clips of ammo and along with his knowledge of the woods, go hunt commies.

 

(iron sight on the left, scope on the right)

 

Soon the Russians were beginning to hear rumours of dozens of their men being shot out in the open yet nobody knew who or what it was. It was here on that Simo Hayha became known as “The White Death”. The were so scared of Simo that they mounted entire missions just to kill this one man. They sent taskforces to hunt him down and guess what, he killed them all. Then they sent out specialist teams of counter snipers (Snipers trained to take out other snipers) and guess what, yes he took all of them out too. In fact over the course of 100 days, Simo has 502 confirmed kills with his trusty rifle (a further 40 unconfirmed) and with his SMG, another 150 or so, taking his kill count to a Halo-esque 705 kills in total.

 

After sending taskforces and counter sniping teams, the Russians ran out of ideas and used up their artillery to just carpet bomb the area. Yes you read it just fine, carpet bomb this one man. In fact they got the location right and poor Simo got hit by a cloud of shrapnel which tore his coat up, but guess what, he was just fine and totally unfazed. Lets see Chuck Norris do that.

 

On March 6th 1940, a Russian infantry got lucky and shot Simo in the jaw with an explosive bullet blowing “half his head off” according to eye witnesses. He fell unconscious and into a coma and was taken away back HQ to presumably be sent to the morgue. But nope, miraculously 11 days later he awoke from his coma on the exact same day the the Winter War in Finland ended. In fact he lived till he was 93 years young.

 

The Russians lost half the taskforce they sent over to Finland, more than 40 times that of Finnish casualties and Simo was awarded 5 medals for valour including the Kollaa Cross (the Medal of Honour equivalent). He has also been largely credited for having the most kills in Sniper history. Now why an awesome film hasn’t been made of this I don’t know. Makes Enemy at the Gate’s Vassili Zaitsev look rather insignificant doesn’t it.

 

Hats off to the great Simo Hayha, arguably the greatest unknown sniper of all time.

 

 

Technorati Tags: Simo hayha,sniper,warfare,world war 2,epic

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