Up, Up, and Away!…
Japanese photographer Natsumi Hayashi uses her blog, Yowayowa Camera Woman, to post her wonderfully whimsical series of self-portraits… in each of which she is levitating. (Explanation of the technique involved, here.)
[TotH to Kottke.org]
As we feel ourselves rising, we might spare a sweet thought for Aaron “Bunny” Lapin; he died on this date in 1999. In 1948, Lapin invented Reddi-Wip, the pioneering whipped cream dessert topping dispensed from a spray can. First sold by milkmen in St. Louis, the product rode the post-World War Two convenience craze to national success; in 1998, it was named by Time one of the century’s “100 great consumer items”– along with the pop-top can and Spam. Lapin became known as the Whipped Cream King; but his legacy is broader: in 1955, he patented a special valve to control the flow of Reddi-Wip from the can, and formed The Clayton Corporation to manufacture it. Reddi-Wip is now a Con-Agra brand; but Clayton goes strong, now also making industrial valves, closures, caulk, adhesives and foamed plastic products (like insulation and cushioning materials).
