January 18, 2013
In an effort to help solve the shrinking bird population in urban areas, Dutch designer Klaas Kuiken collaborated with the Netherlands Society for Protection of Birds (Vogelbescherming) to create the Birdhouse Roof Tile.
The ‘Birdhouse Roof Tile’ was designed to provide more nesting places for birds in the city. Since birds often look to nest within the roofs of houses, Kuiken attached an archetypal birdhouse onto a standard roof tile.
(Link: enpundit.com, Photo by Klaas Kuiken)
Tags: bird house, birds
January 17, 2013
Boffins from Wageningen University, together with more boffins from the Radboud University Nijmegen have recently published a study showing that cry babies produce different feces than other babies. One to two-week-old cry babies apparently have twice as many proteobacteria in their poo and much less of other types of bacteria as compared to other babies, although the study does not say why. It also says that by giving cry babies probiotics, which are found in baby food, these babies will cry much less.
(Link: opmerkelijk.nieuws.nl, Photo of Crying baby by Chalky Lives, some rights reserved)
Tags: babies, feces, infants, poo, Radboud University, University of Wageningen
January 16, 2013
Holland’s horrible history comes to life in a dark dungeon of the city centre, complete with actors and rides depicting death, torture, illness and all kinds of creepy things dwelling beneath Amsterdam’s pretty canals.
Scary yet educational, experience it for yourself in English or Dutch with our 24oranges ticket giveaway!
How to enter: E-mail 24oranges at submissions (at) 24oranges.nl and we will randomly pick a winner before 31 January 2013. The winning tickets (2) will be sent to you by The Amsterdam Dungeon shortly after and are valid until January 2014.
Tell us why you like 24oranges in a few words and will we post the winning praise on our site as confirmation of the winner. We will also send the winner an e-mail to confirm that they have won.
To find out more about The Amsterdam Dungeon visit http://www.the-dungeons.nl
Feel very free to like us on Facebook as well. The more people like us, the more we can give away free stuff in the future!
(Link and photo: the-dungeons.nl)
January 15, 2013
The Italian radio hit ‘Il Pulcino Pio’ (The chirping chick) has a Dutch version: ‘Het Kuikentje Piep’. It reminds me of a modern version of the Old MacDonald nursery rhyme, but with a generous helping of auto-tune.
Since this summer the original Italian version has had more than 50,000,000 views, on its way to possibly match and beat (gasp!) Gangnam Style, which currently has over one billion views.
Carnival in the South of the Netherlands is less than a month away, and this is surely going to be played to drunken crowds in many cafes. It is also a fantastic way to find out what kind of sounds many animals make in Dutch.
(Link: www.volkskrant.nl, Photo of chicks by homer4k, some rights reserved).
January 14, 2013
For the second year running, the names Emma (girls) and Daan (boys) have been the most popular names given to newborns in the Netherlands.
Popular girls’ names were Emma, Sophie, Julia, Anna and Lisa.
Popular boys’ names were Daan, Bram, Sem, Lucas and Milan.
The Telegraaf got these lists from Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB), which manages child support in the Netherlands. Last year 86,000 girls and 90,000 boys were born in the Netherlands.
(Photo: Queen Emma as a girl in 1870 by an unknown photographer)
January 13, 2013
Daan den Houter invites artists to produce their own paintings on the same single canvas. Each individual work is on display for one week only in De Aanschouw, the only opportunity to view the painting. Subsequently, the canvas moves on to a new artist, who will add a new layer. (50cm x 60cm, oils, started May 24, 2002)
Shown here are layers 27 and 28 by Martijn in ‘t Veld and Wouter Boot respectively. De Aanschouw is an art gallery in Rotterdam. Currently the 91st layer is on display there. Trendbeheer writes that each new layer makes painting the next one more difficult.
(Image: partial screenshot of overschilderschilderij.nl)
Tags: Daan de Houter, painting, paintings
January 12, 2013
Have you ever hesitated to throw something in the trash because although you personally no longer had any use for it, it was still usable?
The incentive prize of the 2010 Dutch Design Awards was won by Waarmaker’s Simon Akkaya and his Goedzak, a transparent bag that you can use to put usable things out with the rest of the trash. Since it is transparent and has a bright yellow band, it should immediately draw the attention of any passer-by.
Not that lack of attention seems to be that much of a problem. In my experience when I have to throw away something like an old keyboard or tennis racket I just wait for a dry night and then put it out in the street by itself. The good stuff gets picked up in no time.
The name Goedzak, literally ‘good bag’, is a pun because it also means ‘kindly person’.
(Photo: degoedzak.nl. Link: Bright and Pop-Up City)
Tags: bags, Dutch Design Awards, garbage, Simon Akkaya, trash
January 11, 2013
Dutch coffin manufacturers are saying that the demand for large coffins is growing due to the increasing obesity of Dutch people. These coffins are far more expensive than the regular ones as they have to be made by hand. Moreover, 60% of Dutch crematoria have adapted their ovens to be able to cremate obese people, a bit like revamping your fire stations to make sure your big new fire trucks fit in them.
The National Organization of Crematoria says that businesses are now equipped to burn big people throughout the Netherlands, a process that lasts longer than normal due to the surplus fat and able to do so, as it is more difficult. Obese people should preferably be cremated at the beginning of the day when the oven is not yet at full temperature.
(Link: badnewsfromthenetherlands.blogspot.nl, Photo: Salem graves by by Alanna Ralph, some rights reserved)
January 9, 2013
The fire brigades of the province of Flevoland have purchased 14 new trucks, five of which do not actually fit in the intended fire stations. The vehicles are just too high, and the decision-makers knew that in advance, but still wanted 14 shiny new trucks so the region would all have the same trucks.
The municipality of Noordoostpolder where the five trucks don’t fit has to modify their fire stations, which will cost hundreds of thousands of euro.
Do the decision-makers have friends in the contracting business for the rebuilding of fire stations? Possibly. Couldn’t they have chosen another type of truck? Possibly. Maybe the fire stations are too old-fashioned anyways so what’s the problem? Possibly. Was money saved by buying 14 trucks at once? Possibly. Was the PR on this decision well-spun in the media? Not really.
(Link: www.omroepflevoland.nl)
Tags: fire brigade, Flevoland, trucks
January 8, 2013
We’ve posted about Priest Harm Schilder from Tilburg who had bell ringing issues a few times, attempting to defy the law using freedom of religion as an excuse.
Having lost that battle, he’s now moved on to ‘naming and shaming’, athough he insists this is not what he’s doing, by asking his congregation to pray for people who have decided to dechurch themselves. Schilder also calls these people up, a bit like a marketeer does, to find out why they decided to opt out, but can rarely convince them to change their minds.
The reasons people have apparently given the church for leaving is all the hate speech the Pope dishes out against homosexuals. I’m certain the bottomless pit of child abuse cases that keep cropping up involving the church is not exactly helping their brand name, either.
UPDATE On his blog, Schilder blames the media for twisting his words and blowing things out of proportion, but has caved and decided not to go ahead with his wall of lost sheep, calling it ‘risky’.
(Link: opmerkelijk.nieuws.nl)
