Mondays might not be your favorite day of the week, but the good news is that we’re all in this together ladies and gentlemen. As purveyors of prime Grade A web content, the SolidSmack crew has done some of the heavy-lifting to make sure you get your Mondays started on the right track. Welcome to The Monday List. Each Monday, we’ll link you up with some of the most insightful, informative, and socially-relevant stories to keep tabbed, bookmarked, reading listed, pocketed, or what have you. Be sure to check in each Monday morning for a new crop of freshly sprouted words curated straight from the source of your favorite homegrown ‘Smack.…

Don your favorite bathrobe, cream that coffee, and get comfortable with this week’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader. The Weekend Reader features a handful of the most interesting articles featured on the ‘Smack over the past week ranging from tips and tricks to inspirational designs, processes, and more. So lay back, relax and take a load off while reading the top ten stories on SolidSmack this past week. Oh and uh…don’t forget to shed some much-needed sunlight on your face, too. 2017 Solar Eclipse DIY Pinhole Sun Viewer If you’re too busy living on planet Earth to bother with the rest of intergalactic space, you might be surprised at the sudden loss…

Nuts and Bolts. They seemed to fall like a thin rain. We could hardly tell what they were at first but, sure enough, the puddles of oil magnified the miniature hardware. But every third or fourth one was something different. Something different indeed. And the there were more, until nothing but their gears were grinding into these links. Ivan Laliashvili – Ruins. Lots of them. And machines too. With the occasional massive beast and a delightful set of cel shaded creatures. Photographs of small worlds – German photographer Frank Kunert builds and photpgraphs tiny little scenes from tiny little worlds with the most fabulous tiny little detail. The Galaxy -…

Driving with an automatic transmission is like driving on easy mode. With the removal of the clutch pedal and the need to constantly switch gears, all the driver needs to do is basically point the car where it needs to go and step on the gas. But what makes driving an automatic transmission so easy? This what the Youtuber known as “speedkar99” is going to find out as he disassembles an automatic shifter. The purpose of an automatic shifter is to allow the driver to safely shift between driving modes without accidentally switching to the wrong gear. It is composed of an engine control unit (ECU) which connects to the…

It’s no secret that LEGO designers have always been drawn to supercars as inspiration for new LEGO sets. Whether it’s an F1 racer or a Porsche 911 designed to be assembled after the true-to-life factory assembly process, you can be sure that somebody at LEGO HQ has considered replicating it with the plastic bricks. But a full-scale McLaren 720S? Now we’re on a whole new level. With assistance from McClaren Automotive designers, a team of LEGO designers recently assembled a replica of the supercar with a staggering 267,300 LEGO bricks based on CAD data from the original aluminum and carbon fiber design. Presented at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the…

When it comes to being at the right place at the right time, nothing beats that old saying, “the best camera is the camera you have with you.” Perhaps the same can be said for sketchbooks—the best sketchbook is the one you have with you when inspiration strikes. Which is why the pocket-sized Field Notes have always been a favorite for designers and engineers. At just over $3 a pop, these no-fuss 48-page memo books are perfect for laying down rough ideas without worrying about wasting precious paper in a leather hardcover book. Plus, they’re the perfect size for throwing in a shoebox to keep a record of all those…