The Ultimate Swiss Army Knife

Modular phones, petrified bird photography, the Empire State Building's green roof and more in our weekly look at the web

Cumbersome? Yes. Ornate? Certainly. Over the top? Absolutely. The Wenger 16999 Swiss Army Knife from around 1880 has roughly 100 functions—some necessary and some superfluous. From a built-in saw to a piano tuner, this knife can help with just about any pre-digital task. It even has a fully functioning .22 caliber pinfire revolver for those impromptu duel challenges. Regardless of its ridiculousness, the knife is …

A Phone Worth Keeping

Modular phones, petrified bird photography, the Empire State Building's green roof and more in our weekly look at the web

When your phone dies, generally only one component has stopped working. Phonebloks is proposing a forward-thinking system—a modular phone built of replaceable and customizable parts, that could be repaired in the same way we fix cars. The message is sweeping the globe right now via the viral amplification service Thunderclap, where a video explains not only the issue with electronic waste but that this problem …

Growing Graffiti Moss

Modular phones, petrified bird photography, the Empire State Building's green roof and more in our weekly look at the web

Seemingly everyone is into growing moss script and graffiti these days, but there’s one girl who has it down to a science. Anna Garforth’s artwork thrives—it’s beautiful when it goes up, and even more interesting as it continues to grow and evolve. Inspired by the moss growing in the script on old grave stones, Garforth initially experimented in written graffiti and eventually mastered her technique. …