Spider Silk Cape Goes On Display

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Spider Silk Cape Goes On Display

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday January 18, 2012 @09:00PM from the 1-million-thread-count dept.

fangmcgee writes "Before anyone asks, no, it's not bulletproof. But that doesn't mean that the glistening yellow cape—the world's largest garment made entirely from spider silk—isn't a massive feat of engineering to be marveled. Now on public display for the first time at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the textile gets its unearthly gleam from the undyed filaments of the golden orb spider, a species of arachnid commonly found in Madagascar."

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Obligatory Futurama... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 21:06 · Score: 5, Funny

http://theinfosphere.org/Spiderians
1. Re:Obligatory Futurama... by Nursie · 2012-01-18 21:13 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  One art please! /zoidberg
Arachnaphobia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 21:30 · Score: 0

Just knowing that it is made entirely from spider silk makes it look creepy to me. I even shudder at thoughts of wearing it.
1. Re:Arachnaphobia by michelcolman · 2012-01-19 04:02 · Score: 2
  
  But if the silk is made by a caterpillar, you're OK with it? Not creepy? (Try to imagine the crawling caterpillar producing the thread)
2. Re:Arachnaphobia by Samantha+Wright · 2012-01-19 04:28 · Score: 1
  
  But unlike mulberry silk from silkworms, in which the hapless pupa is boiled alive in its cocoon, the spiders were released into the wild at the end of each day.
  I... don't think it's doing as much crawling as you think.
  
  --
  Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
3. Re:Arachnaphobia by Dr_Terminus · 2012-01-19 22:05 · Score: 1
  
  You'd be surprised, but there are some dwarves out there who have entire outfits made of spider silk.
4. Re:Arachnaphobia by tehcyder · 2012-01-19 22:08 · Score: 1
  
  But if the silk is made by a caterpillar, you're OK with it? Not creepy? (Try to imagine the crawling caterpillar producing the thread)
  Well, yes, spiders are vile, creepy monstrosities self-evidently transported here from an alternative universe of horror by a malevolent race of fiends.
  
  Whereas caterpillars are cute and turn into butterflies.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Bulletproof? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 21:31 · Score: 5, Funny

Sure, bulletproof would be nice, but what I really want to know is whether it'll let me block creatures with flying.
1. Re:Bulletproof? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 22:13 · Score: 0
  
  Only if you have a tall forest that are willing to climb.
2. Re:Bulletproof? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 22:31 · Score: 0
  
  So you're asking if it's an equipment that gives you reach?
3. Re:Bulletproof? by khallow · 2012-01-18 23:11 · Score: 1
  
  Sure it'll block flying creatures, but then you take lethal damage from your insurer because you scuffed it.
4. Re:Bulletproof? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 23:47 · Score: 0
  
  Thank you, Captain Obvious.
5. Re:Bulletproof? by KhabaLox · 2012-01-19 04:28 · Score: 1
  
  I'd be happy if it just let me traverse the web the wizard just dropped on the entire party.
  
  --
  Ceci n'est pas un sig.
6. Re:Bulletproof? by Rhacman · 2012-01-19 06:21 · Score: 2
  
  Spidersilk Cape (1 forest)
  
  Enchant Creature
  
  Sacrifice Spidersilk Cape: Enchanted creature can block flying until end of turn. You may sacrifice a spider you control to return Spidersilk Cape to your hand instead of moving it to the graveyard.
  
  It seemed a shame that an object of such beauty was ultimately betrayed by its utility.
  
  --
  Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
7. Re:Bulletproof? by snemarch · 2012-01-19 08:12 · Score: 1
  
  You ruined it :-(
  
  --
  Coffee-driven development.
8. Re:Bulletproof? by Rhacman · 2012-01-19 12:14 · Score: 1
  
  How's that now? It's not a real card (unless by blind luck), I just had fond memories of playing MTG and was musing on what kind of card it would be.
  
  --
  Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
the link the link the by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 21:36 · Score: 0

link is dead and gone.
1. Re:the link the link the by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 21:39 · Score: 0
  
  uh no?
2. Re:the link the link the by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 22:03 · Score: 1
  
  The V&A site is here: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/g/golden-spider-silk/ not much information but a nice picture.
3. Re:the link the link the by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 06:02 · Score: 0
  
  uh yes?
That's remarkable, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 21:44 · Score: 3, Interesting

Godley spent five years collecting and harnessing over 1 million spiders in special “silking” contraptions to extract their threads, 24 critters at a time.

On average, 23,000 spiders yield roughly 1 ounce of silk, making the process intensely laborious and time-consuming.
I am amazed and impressed, but a part of me goes "wtf was the point?"
Ah, well. That's one heck of an art project.
1. Re:That's remarkable, but... by M8e · 2012-01-18 21:55 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, why is an british art historian wasting his time on an art project?
2. Re:That's remarkable, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 23:36 · Score: 1
  
  More importantly, whose money is he wasting?
3. Re:That's remarkable, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 04:26 · Score: 0
  
  You realize that many projects done in educational institutions don't always have a "point." Heck, chemistry was once regarded as useless. And this sucker just may pay for itself. Didn't see the thing about the other spider-silk garment breaking all the records for attendance to a single exhibit? People are interested in this stuff.
  Besides, spider silk has some interesting properties. If I remember correctly, it *is* stronger (pound for pound) than kevlar. That cape may not be bullet proof but that doesn't mean they can't use the stuff to make bullet-proof armor that's lighter than the current stuff. Now, if only they didn't eat each other...
4. Re:That's remarkable, but... by phantomfive · 2012-01-19 05:10 · Score: 1
  
  From the article:
  
  An 11-foot-long prototype of the spider-silk textile debuted at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 2009, where it broke all records for most number of visitors to a single exhibit.
  Presumably, if that many people want to see it, some people might want to buy it, too. They might end up making a profit on it.
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
5. Re:That's remarkable, but... by tmosley · 2012-01-19 05:19 · Score: 1
  
  Chemistry was NEVER regarded as useless.
  
  I was honestly hoping to read that they used some new method of silk production to make this, but no, just a lot of WASTED labor.
6. Re:That's remarkable, but... by del_diablo · 2012-01-19 06:50 · Score: 1
  
  Chemistry was Alchemy, and Alchemy was a sink to put your useless monarch money extorted from the peasants. Alchemy was considered as "might be amusing once per year, and may produce gold, but the record tells us its unlikely".
  Chemistry was useless before it became Chemistry.
7. Re:That's remarkable, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 07:01 · Score: 0
  
  Chemistry evolved from part of Alchemy. Alchemy was the study and philosophy of the transmutations of the universe, to put it simply. That whole gold thing was just to fund the research for the elixir of immortality, which was to give them enough time to properly study alchemy. Often the church looked down on alchemy and it's practitioners, making it illegal at various times and places.
  The practical side of alchemy was very useful in the pre-science world. Did you realize that alchemists were the only ones that could provide aluminum? There's a real crown that still exists that is half gold, half aluminum.
  Before you think Hollywood portrayals are accurate, think about how often your car has exploded when it's been bumped, or how many dozens of shots you've been able to fire with that 6-shooter revolver without reloading.
8. Re:That's remarkable, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 10:17 · Score: 0
  
  I seem to remember that making spider-silk items is a bit of a dying art - so it might be that he did it partially to document the process?
9. Re:That's remarkable, but... by mug+funky · 2012-01-19 17:24 · Score: 1
  
  alchemists of the time were always saying transmutation was "about 10 years away".
  btw, it gave us the alembic, which gave us whisky. so it's not a waste in my book.
10. Re:That's remarkable, but... by tehcyder · 2012-01-19 22:13 · Score: 1
  
  alchemists of the time were always saying transmutation was "about 10 years away".
  So they were the AI/singularity fanboys of their time?
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Hey... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 21:52 · Score: 0

This makes no sense. Spiderman doesn't wear a CAPE! What was the point of this?
All kidding aside, is the cape all sticky and yucky, or does it feel (to the touch) like an ordinary silk (worms' butt's silk) garment?
1. Re:Hey... by smi.james.th · 2012-01-18 22:27 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  TFA does describe some of the processing of the garment, so I'd assume that it would be wearable like normal silk.
  It's apparently also supposed to be very light. Is it strong too? Or is the point just to have done it because it was there? If its properties end up being worse than silk-worm silk then there isn't really much point.
  
  --
  One thing I know, and that is that I am ignorant...
2. Re:Hey... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 04:15 · Score: 0
  
  This makes no sense. Spiderman doesn't wear a CAPE!
  But THE CAPE! does.
  Six seasons and a movie!
3. Re:Hey... by Culture20 · 2012-01-19 05:01 · Score: 2
  
  Spiderman doesn't wear a CAPE!
  Not true. Spiderman 2099 (canon) wears a web-capelet, and Spiderman Unlimited has a web cape. http://dma9fall07b.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/spiderman_unlimited.png
Am I missing something? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 22:33 · Score: 0

You can find golden orb spiders all over the world...
1. Re:Am I missing something? by jo_ham · 2012-01-19 00:58 · Score: 1
  
  You're missing the word "commonly" that is in the summary.
2. Re:Am I missing something? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 02:05 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah, just like: "There are trolls and douchey know-it-alls all over the internet, but they are "commonly" found on /."
It is stronger than Mithril? by ciderbrew · 2012-01-18 22:35 · Score: 4, Funny

I'm sure it cost more than the whole shire to make. On the BBC, Horizon "Playing God". They show a lab that has altered the DNA of goats so they produce spider web protients in their milk which can be harvested.Makes production more feasible. [ As they have 8 legs you get more mutton too :)] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mgxf
1. Re:It is stronger than Mithril? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 23:17 · Score: 0
  
  I'm sure it cost more than the whole shire to make.
  On the BBC, Horizon "Playing God". They show a lab that has altered the DNA of goats so they produce spider web protients in their milk which can be harvested.Makes production more feasible. [ As they have 8 legs you get more mutton too :)]
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mgxf
  
  8 legged goats that produce mutton and silk - that's magic.
2. Re:It is stronger than Mithril? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 02:54 · Score: 0
  
  Except this doesn't actually work: the protein is broken down as part of the process and loses a lot of the desired properties
3. Re:It is stronger than Mithril? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 06:43 · Score: 0
  
  citation needed.
that's it? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 22:35 · Score: 1

All that work and _that's_ what they decide to make?
captcha: scarves
1. Re:that's it? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 04:45 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah. I would have made some Y-fronts to wear on the outside of my trousers.
Spider Goats by Teknikal69 · 2012-01-18 22:35 · Score: 1

Kinda weird just before I read this I was just watching a show (Horizon - Playing God) where they were showing spider goats which are basicly geneticly engineered goats which make a lot of silk. I don't know if that's progress or just scary.
Like aluminium I suspect by JanneM · 2012-01-18 22:44 · Score: 5, Interesting

Aluminium was once phenomenally rare and expensive. Napoleon had a set of highly valued plates made of the stuff. Breakthroughs in manufacturing made it a cheap, common material. I suspect this will go the same way, with synthetic versions becoming a utilitarian material among others. The cape will become an amusing historical footnote.

--
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
1. Re:Like aluminium I suspect by BetterSense · 2012-01-19 02:18 · Score: 2
  
  I doubt that. What will really happen is some giant corporation with a lot of patent lawyers will buy the "intellectual property" of synthetic spider silk and it will remain expensive, nobody will do any development work with it, and it will just be an interesting high-tech material used by people that either have a lot of money or are above having to worry about IP law (but I repeat myself). So you will see it in military and aerospace equipment and that's it.
2. Re:Like aluminium I suspect by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 02:46 · Score: 0
  
  If you live in USA. I doubt chinese factories will give damn about IP
3. Re:Like aluminium I suspect by StikyPad · 2012-01-19 04:02 · Score: 1
  
  Why would we see it at all? TFA lists no practical advantage of using the material -- it was just an art project. With no advantage as a textile, it would only be useful as a luxury item anyway, and while I've no doubt that there's an eccentric millionaire or two about who might be interested in such a garment, it's no real loss for the rest of us that we're "stuck" with traditional materials.
  
  --
  https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
4. Re:Like aluminium I suspect by mcgrew · 2012-01-19 04:26 · Score: 1
  
  I doubt that. What will really happen is some giant corporation with a lot of patent lawyers will buy the "intellectual property" of synthetic spider silk and it will remain expensive
  For twenty years when the patent runs out. Inventors are much better off than artists, who have to wait 95 years to use any artistic innovations (innovations like Howlin wolf's "uh how how how" which he sucessfully sued ZZ Top for).
  Twenty years isn't that long (inless you're 25), 95 years is literally FOREVER. I'll be 60 this year, and no music or movies made in my PARENTS' lifetimes have entered the public domain, but I've lived through plenty of outdated patents. The problem with patents isn't that they grant a limited time monopoly, but that they are extremely expensive but if you have the money they're trivial to get patents on the most obvious of "innovations".
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
5. Re:Like aluminium I suspect by Samantha+Wright · 2012-01-19 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  Congratulations for noticing! Now, you can sit back with me and laugh as the engineers try to make up more concrete reasons for why this was posted on Slashdot.
  
  --
  Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
6. Re:Like aluminium I suspect by tlhIngan · 2012-01-19 04:57 · Score: 2
  
  Why would we see it at all? TFA lists no practical advantage of using the material -- it was just an art project. With no advantage as a textile, it would only be useful as a luxury item anyway, and while I've no doubt that there's an eccentric millionaire or two about who might be interested in such a garment, it's no real loss for the rest of us that we're "stuck" with traditional materials.
  Spider silk is one of the strongest materials around. With an equivalent diameter, it beats out steel, carbon fiber and other materials that are used in construction.
  The only problem is that spider silk is extremely hard to come by - spiders don't produce much of it, and definitely not enough to be of practical use right now.
  There's a ton of work in researching ways to get more production ready volumes of the stuff. Synthetic silk, genetically modified silkworms (used for making regular silk), etc.
  It'll be too expensive for clothing, but as a cloth for composites, it's definitely got appeal.
Potentially fascinating only,.. by AbRASiON · 2012-01-18 23:12 · Score: 3, Interesting

What are the capabilities of this silk? How is it superior to regular silk? I see no real facts just that it's made of spider silk and took a while? It would take me a while to fasion a life size bridge out of Lego - it doesn't mean it would be stronger than a real bridge.
?
1. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 23:43 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  There was a previous article showing that spider silk is stronger than steel weight for weight. Very cool and useful for a number of things.
2. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by spectrokid · 2012-01-19 00:10 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Many different kinds of spider silk. One spider will typically produce several kinds depending on need (tensile strength, stickyness, elasticity). But the strongest kinds will typically blow even carbon fiber out of the water when it comes to tensile strength. Lots of difficulties to overcome still, but it is a fascinating field of research
  
  --
  10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
3. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by MrKaos · 2012-01-19 00:15 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  What are the capabilities of this silk? How is it superior to regular silk? I see no real facts just that it's made of spider silk and took a while? It would take me a while to fasion a life size bridge out of Lego - it doesn't mean it would be stronger than a real bridge.
  ?
  But consider that a spider's web isn't lego so the real question is whether a bridge made from spiders silk would be stronger than a bridge made from lego? And if you had lego made from spiders silk, fashioned into a lego mindstorm robotic spider, would it make even stronger spidersilk lego blocks?
  That why they have spiderman not legoman -- duuuuh. Lego doesn't have a spidey sense.
  
  --
  My ism, it's full of beliefs.
4. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by ciderbrew · 2012-01-19 00:17 · Score: 1
  
  The strength and elasticity of spider silk make it a good candidate for a broad range of medical and industrial applications. You can google it and get a lot of very dull web pages as a result.
5. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 00:30 · Score: 0
  
  It'd still get posted here tho.
6. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 00:39 · Score: 0
  
  I read somewhere that if you had a rope made of spider silk and thick as a paper pen you could stop a flying Boeing ...
7. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 01:51 · Score: 0
  
  I was actually wondering if I could build a house by printing over-sized lego blocks... Probably wouldn't be worth all the resin I need to buy to make the blocks in the first place so maybe spiders would be better suited?
8. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by hey! · 2012-01-19 02:08 · Score: 1
  
  It would take me a while to fasion a life size bridge out of Lego - it doesn't mean it would be stronger than a real bridge.
  Semantics nazi here.
  If you built a life size bridge out of Lego it would *be* a real bridge.
  That is all.
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
9. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by zurmikopa · 2012-01-19 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  A real bridge made out of Lego almost certainly wouldn't be stronger, but it would still be awesome.
  This one is both awesome *and* probably stronger.
10. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 03:21 · Score: 0
  
  Imprecise use of technical language on my slashdot?
  Spider silk (of any kind) does not have greater tensile strength than kevlar or carbon fiber. It does have some desirable properties (toughness) but its tensile strength isn't high enough to drive much research itself unless it could be produced extraordinarily cheaply.
11. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Sulphur · 2012-01-19 03:27 · Score: 1
  
  I read somewhere that if you had a rope made of spider silk and thick as a paper pen you could stop a flying Boeing ...
  Only if you can hold your end of it.
  --
  Will competition doom the Cape Spiders?
  "It wears you", just pay shipping and handling for a second one.
12. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by X0563511 · 2012-01-19 03:44 · Score: 1
  
  What, pray tell, is a "paper pen" ?
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
13. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by X0563511 · 2012-01-19 03:45 · Score: 1
  
  ... at least until the first breeze comes along!
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
14. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by digitalsolo · 2012-01-19 04:01 · Score: 1
  
  The opposing option to a "plastic pen" ?
  
  --
  Just another ignorant American.
15. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by hey! · 2012-01-19 04:20 · Score: 1
  
  I never claimed it would be a *good* bridge.
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
16. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 04:31 · Score: 0
  
  The TSA, Homeland Security, and the FBI have all noted your desire to bring down a 747. Attempt to wear no capes next time you board a plane...
17. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 05:24 · Score: 0
  
  It is five times stronger by weight.
18. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 07:13 · Score: 0
  
  Fact check much?
  Average spider silk tensile strength is about 1500Mpa, comparable to steel.
  Carbon fibre is 3000Mpa
19. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Solandri · 2012-01-19 07:45 · Score: 1
  
  Obligatory TED talk.
20. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 19:00 · Score: 0
  
  Wrong. Carbon nanotubes are the strongest known "fiber". Spider silk would be one of the strongest natural fibers, but not the strongest. Man can make much stronger materials.
21. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by X0563511 · 2012-01-19 19:59 · Score: 1
  
  I know of plastic pens, metal pens, and a combination of the two. I don't think I've ever seen a pen (or pencil) made of paper.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
22. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-20 20:29 · Score: 0
  
  I have seen a few, they are usually "plastic pens" where that tube in the middle is made of recycled paper/glue instead of plastic.
23. Re:Potentially fascinating only,.. by mosb1000 · 2012-01-25 22:25 · Score: 1
  
  Toughness is highly desirable in body armour. If you could afford it, a bullet proof vest made from spider silk would weigh 1/5 to 1/10 as much as a comparable Kevlar Vest. Since you can't domesticate these spiders, there's no way to make production of these fibers cost effective at this time. But there certainly is a lot of interest in it.
  Being weaker than steel, it's hard to imagine it would ever be used in structural applications.
Washington Monument by Bueller_007 · 2012-01-18 23:41 · Score: 4, Informative

Not many people know it, but the apex of the Washington Monument is made of aluminum. At the time, it was the largest piece ever crafted anywhere in the world and it was a precious metal. Only two years later, aluminum became completely worthless when the Hallâ"HÃ©roult process for mass production of pure aluminum was discovered.
1. Re:Washington Monument by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-18 23:49 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  when the Hallâ"HÃ©roult process was discovered.
  Gezundheit.
Spider silk isn't sticky by Moraelin · 2012-01-19 00:46 · Score: 4, Informative

Spider silk isn't sticky by itself. It's essentially some very long protein filaments, same as worm-butt silk.
What makes spider orbs sticky is that the spider then deposits small droplets of glue along the threads.
But even spiders produce non-glued silk all the time. E.g., when a spider lowers itself by dangling on a silk filament, it doesn't bother putting glue on it.

--
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
1. Re:Spider silk isn't sticky by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 03:17 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Actually most spiders produce something like 5-7 different kinds of silk protein, with a separate organ for producing each. The strongest being dragline silk, which makes the structural part of the traditional bug-catching web and earns the "stronger than steel" reputation. The "glue" is actually another type of silk, which I believe is typically combined with *yet another* kind of silk to produce the actual bug-catching part of the web. Fascinating stuff, I wish I had a link to the recent TED talk on it.
  As an interesting side note, spider silk gets many of it's properties from the intricate structure imbued by their sophisticated spinnerets. Even if the recent silkworm gene-tweaking experiments managed to hit 100% spider-silk protein instead of 20%, the silk would still be significantly weaker since the silkworm's "extrusion nozzle" can only create a much cruder fiber.
2. Re:Spider silk isn't sticky by X0563511 · 2012-01-19 03:40 · Score: 1
  
  Why do those "streamers" then stick to things, though? Is it some other effect (eg static, surface tension)?
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
A cape? by RoccamOccam · 2012-01-19 01:14 · Score: 4, Funny

No capes! -- Edna Mode
1. Re:A cape? by Bill+Currie · 2012-01-19 01:43 · Score: 1
  
  That line alone would have been enough to make that movie good (there were plenty of other good bits, too: most definitely not the usual Hollywood used pablum).
  
  --
  Bill - aka taniwha
  --
  Leave others their otherness. -- Aratak
2. Re:A cape? by Sulphur · 2012-01-19 03:37 · Score: 1
  
  A motivational speaker who used a cape was short on time, so he put it on early.
  When the cops stopped him, they asked if he decided to drive today.
Re:Orb Spider reproduction by TISM by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 01:22 · Score: 0

Your comment was annoying and juvenile. Best that nobody else has to see it.
That's interesing and all... by The+Grim+Reefer · 2012-01-19 02:27 · Score: 1

... But I think this spider research project was a much better use of time and money.
Not on display...yet by tdc_vga · 2012-01-19 02:46 · Score: 1

The article is wrong, the cape doesn't go on display until the 25th link. So don't pop over and try and see it until next Wednesday.
Yellow? by Yvan256 · 2012-01-19 03:26 · Score: 1

...the glistening yellow cape...
That's an understatement. I loaded the photo of that cape in Photoshop to check the value of that yellow and I got "#ZZZZ00".
1. Re:Yellow? by Spykk · 2012-01-19 06:24 · Score: 1
  
  Good ol' base 36 color values, where #GREEN0 is blue and #BLUE00 is green. At least they got #RED000 right.
Units! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-19 03:43 · Score: 0

From the admittedly short article:

On average, 23,000 spiders yield roughly 1 ounce of silk, making the process intensely laborious and time-consuming.
This information is useless without a unit of time, though I'd image that it's probably per day. Some details as the the engineering problems which had to be overcome would have been nice as well.
it is strong by tempest69 · 2012-01-19 06:37 · Score: 1

Very strong.
jump to 1:20 ish.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june11/nova_01-19.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z07dB3sKTs
TED: The Magnificence of Spider Silk by gknoy · 2012-01-19 07:21 · Score: 1

Until you mentioned it, I didn't know it existed. I think I found the link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/cheryl_hayashi_the_magnificence_of_spider_silk.html
But it's beautiful by sChatwin · 2012-01-19 14:26 · Score: 1

I know this is a nerds' platform, but did nobody notice that this is gorgeous? The detail, the color, the design. Unfortunately I showed it to my wife and now she wants one...
Re:Orb Spider reproduction by TISM by MrKaos · 2012-01-23 09:12 · Score: 1

Your comment was annoying and juvenile. Best that nobody else has to see it.
I guess the same can be said about your identity.

--
My ism, it's full of beliefs.