Terry Pratchett may write a mean fantasy novel, but he also forges one heckuva sword. In honour of being knighted last year, Sir Pratchett dug up 80kg of iron ore, sprinkled in some meteorites and made himself a proper weapon.
If you were on a battlefield, say, 700 years ago, Damascus steel mattered. The super-strong blades were fabled in their age, said to have sliced through the swords of foes and solid rock. Then we forgot how to make it.
ThinkGeek is now joking that its Samurai Sword Handle Umbrella should come with a warning label: “May incite SWAT teams.” The reason? Panic on a Georgia university campus.
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You might think you can’t live without your phone and laptop, but back when men were men and things made sense, a big fucking sword was all you needed. These days, however, swords are strictly for weirdos.
The first HUBO robot innocently rode a Segway. The HUBO 2 looks like he’s ready to turn into a killer ninja-bot as he practices tai chi, hones his swordsmanship has a drink when he’s finished.
Someone asked that question when the tiny shuffle came out, so we tried it. Well, we didn’t, but we found someone who did: The very sweet sword-swallower Heather Holiday, from the Coney Island Circus.