What happens when a tree rubs up against a power line too much? The power line asserts some authority, and the tree turns into a giant tower of flames. Neat! [CollegeHumor via Geekologie]

His process is a refined, high art version of Kirlian Photography—a photographic technique popularised in the 1930s. Buelteman places a whittled, near translucent flower directly onto colour film, then he sandwiches the subject between sheet metal and plexiglass—all of which is submerged in liquid silicone. Using jumper cables, the flower is pumped full of electricity which ionises the surrounding air and leaves a glowing corona on the film (the blue outline).

Then, Buelteman “paints” the film with a single fibre optic strand, adding an almost divine white glow to the image (which can take as many as 150 attempts to execute perfectly).

Buelteman argues that without lens glass distorting colours, his flowers have an unparalleled chromatic accuracy. You can judge for yourself in his new book Signs of Life and read more on the story over at: [Wired]

The Austrian times says that Maria Barbu was, in fact, in the tub while using Twitter when she likely reached to plug in her charger with a wet hand, electrocuting herself in the process. You smell that? Yeah, that’s a Darwin Award in the making. [Austrian Times]