Bits of Binary

Binary Cross-Stitch

2012-01-21T00:27:00.001Z

A cross-stitch of the ASCII encoding an engineering project manager's last name. Talk about retelling an old story in a new way... welcome to the modern age of binary craftiness! This fine example of the 1's and 0's came from a post on a Craftster forum.

Binary Cuff Links

2012-01-19T00:07:00.002Z

These binary cuff links from English Cufflinks are actually no longer available, but they sure would have awakened the dapper in any self-avowed geek. According to Geek Alerts, these silver beauties were available as recently as 2008.

The Binary Bookstore

2008-12-01T17:57:00.003Z

The Binary Bookstore. Conceptual art . The best thing about these books is that you don't have to read them... you just kind of get it. These binary translations of "Genesis," "Romeo and Juliet," and "War of the Worlds" retell classic stories in a new way: with machine language... Each volume is packed with nothing but 1's and 0's (ahem... and punctuation for "readability").

Find out more about the Binary Book series.

The Binary Dress Shirt

2008-10-07T20:43:00.002+01:00

For the binary lover who wants to get ahead, this classic binary dress shirts is not only a button-up but also covered with thousands of binary digits. That's right, 1's and 0's cover the entire shirt. From Rhombuswear...

It's Funny Because It's True.... or False

2008-10-04T18:46:00.000+01:00

It's Funny Because It's True.... or False. A binary cartoon with moving pictures and only three syllables... two for"zero" and one for "one." What's the punchline? "01101"!!! Ha ha. Hilarious.

A Binary Pillow

2008-09-30T20:32:00.002+01:00

From GeekSugar, this pillow encapsulates the good stuff. Soft and comfortable, you can rest your head upon all 48 of the 1's and 0's necessary to encode the word "Pillow" in hardcore ASCII binary.

Binary Sudoku. It's Only Zeros and Ones

2008-05-15T20:43:00.003+01:00

Binary Sudoku. It's Only Zeros and Ones. From Erasable Games, a machine-readable version of the classic game of sudoku. Replace the digits 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, and 9 with their binary equivalents (1, 10, 11, 100, 101, 110, 111, 1000, and 1001), and you've got a game that even a machine can understand. I just wish that the squares were bigger...

Binary Dominoes

2008-03-13T21:51:00.004Z

Binay Dominoes. Brilliant. Tiles that can always be played, as each tile has one of two choices: one dot or no dots. Hmmm. Are doubles hard to come by? If I were to design a game based upon powers of two, I would definitely consider dominoes. What an easy way to represent a one... one dot....

An entry in the prototypes contest by www.worth1000.com

Binary Nail Polish

2008-03-06T22:38:00.004Z

Binary clothing? Nope. Binary jewelry? No Way. Binary art? Maybe... It's binary nail polish, straight from a nail boutique in London, England. This binary manicure spells out "SilverAJ" (the name of the nail artist). For a mere £30, you too can encode your name in 1's and 0's across your fingernails.

Check it out at warrenellis.com!

Poetry, Painting, and Binary Art

2008-02-24T11:15:00.004Z

Using two different sized squares, Sai Sriskandarajah’s “The Waste Land” translates the TS Elliot poem into a machine-readable aesthetic. Departing from the industry standard ASCII subset of Unicode encoding, the artist has devised his own five-digit binary representation of the alphabet. Without set dimensions, this binary artwork may be displayed with a near-limitless number of renderings.

From the WRT: Writers Response Theory Blog

Beethoven's Fifth... in Binary

2008-02-13T20:16:00.002Z

Beethoven's Fifth... in Binary. Well, actually only the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth translated into binary by 3M. An advertisement which trumpets their proprietary digital mastering system, this visual depiction of 1's and 0's is another stunning example of the way in which binary can be used to represent information. Inherently continuous, sound is most often represented as a wave. 3M developed their digital mastering system to leave as few gaps as possible when the sound wave is translated into discrete binary chunks...

Build Your Own Binary Clock

2008-01-23T19:12:00.000Z

For the electronically-minded, a binary clock tutorial. John Hall has built several different versions of a clock that tells time in binary. Each iteration of his binary clock uses LED lights to represent different powers of 2. Several other backyard binary scientists have also submitted pictures of their own binary clocks. There's even a picture of the circuit board from inside the infamous ThinkGeek binary clock (manufactured by Anelace)...

A Binary Card Trick

2008-01-14T20:47:00.000Z

You put a deck of cards in your pocket, and invite anyone in the audience to call out a number between 1 and 15. Then you reach into your pocket, you take out a set of cards whose sum is the number that was called! How can you perform this magic trick?

The magic of Binary!

Amazing.

From Su, Francis E., et al. "Binary Card Trick." Mudd Math Fun Facts:

Every number between 1 and 15 has a unique representation as a sum of some collection of the numbers 1, 2, 4, and 8 (the four powers of two represented by a nibble, i.e. four bits). Before the trick starts, pick an Ace, 2, 4, and 8 and put them on top of the deck, and then put the deck in your pocket. Then when a number between 1 and 15 is called out, take the binary decomposition of the number, and use that to determine which of the first four cards you will pull out.

No one needs to know that you never need to use the other cards!

Representing Binary Digits

2008-01-02T21:58:00.000Z

Modern computing is based on the binary numbering system, in which a 1 indicates TRUE and a 0 indicates FALSE. Current electronic technology typically dictates the use of an electrical charge to indicate a 1, while the absence of an electrical charge indicates a 0. Kevin Roche of IBM has been researching new ways of representing binary digits by using electrons. Electrons have two distinct methods of spinning, Up and Down.

"We are hoping to use it to store data, to transmit data; to do all the things we do now with charge but to use the spin property of the electron instead," said Mr Roche.

Read more about using particle spin to represent binary.

Binary Power in a Convenient Book

2007-12-20T02:29:00.000Z

Educational activities related to powers of 2, Binary Power is a book designed to help students learn fundamental concepts related to the binary numbering system. This instructional tool includes a range of activities, from deciphering the postal zip code system to investigating computer design and memory.

A Ring with A Secret Binary Message

2007-12-13T22:08:00.000Z

Though deviating from the typical Unicode associations between numbers and letters, Green Karat produces a ring which has an engraved binary message (of up to 20 characters). Similar to a simple decoder-ring, artist Gideon Weisz uses 1 - A, 10 - B, 11-C, 100-D, ... Engraved tracks represent a one, and blank tracks represent a 0, a perfect one-two combination for representing binary digits!

A Binary Comic Strip with Robot Slam Poetry

2007-12-02T18:21:00.000Z

Originally published by http://www.drinkatwork.com/, this comic strip features a robot slam poetry contest. Spitting machine language, it's a battle of wit, nerves, and steel to see which contestant can intimidate the other first with a jarring combination of binary digits (1's and 0's)... There's nothing better than slamming in binary.

Leibniz - The History of Binary

2007-11-21T19:52:00.000Z

Though he initially dismissed the importance of binary numbers, Leibniz was again inspired to develop a system of binary symbols and logic when he came across the Chinese I, Ching. Back in sixty-six (1666, that is), Leibniz couldn't think of a way to apply binary to real life. He did, however, contribute much more...

DigiColor Binary Game

2007-11-18T02:16:00.000Z

DigiColor has created two versions of their colorful binary counting toy. One small and one large, both plastic games are really cool. Colorful plastic balls travel down a binary tree and land in the appropriate bit bucket to represent the sum of the decimal numbers to the left of each toy. A good way to learn simple binary arithmetic, because four bit binary involves only the decimal numbers 0 -15 and the first four powers of 2.

Howtoons.com Counting in Binary Poster

2007-11-18T01:55:00.000Z

Beautiful! Drawn by the creative artists at Howtoons.com, this is an excellent demonstration of how to count in binary with your hands (and feet). Fingers and toes are used as binary digits (pun definitely intended), providing a visual reminder that 1 indicates True and 0 indicates False.

Learn how to count in binary with your fingers and toes by downloading the Howtoons.com poster.

I Love You in Binary

2007-11-18T01:30:00.000Z

Really nice! Using ASCII encoding to say "I Love You" over and over with binary digits. Originally published at http://xkcd.com/99/. Nothing says "I Love You" more than 0's and 1's....

Watch an Octopus Count in Binary

2007-11-18T01:18:00.000Z

Nice! An animated video of an octopus learning how to count in binary. Originally created for an introductory computer science class at Rutgers University. Watch how each tentacle represents one bit. Eight tentacles = eight powers of 2! A great way to teach students how to learn the basics of binary arithmetic.

An Interactive Binary Game from Cisco

2007-11-18T01:04:00.000Z

From Cisco, this interactive Flash game makes learning how to translate between binary and decimal fun. Rows of blocks continue to generate as you click each bit to turn it on or off. Designed to help students learn binary in preparation for work with IP addresses (the CCNA certification), this is a fantastic example of proprietary learning gone right.

Play the Binary game!

The Art of Binary and the Fibonacci Sequence

2007-11-17T22:56:00.000Z

Most math students learn about the Fibonacci sequence during their studies (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, ... where the next term is the sum of the previous two terms). In this case, a binary plot is used to represent each term in Fibonacci sequence with it's binary equivalent. Each bit is represented by a pixel, 1's are colored black and 0's are colored white. Seems to be a rather significant fractal pattern emerging...

Find out more here!

A Customized Binary Bracelet

2007-11-17T22:28:00.000Z

Andrew Goss puts a digital spin on the classic ID bracelet by translating letters and dates into binary code. Looks like he's using 8-bit ASCII encoding... The perfect way to keep track of your robots.

Find out more about this binary creation.

A Binary Marble Adding Machine

2007-11-17T21:44:00.000Z

Matthias Wandel demonstrates his fantastic creation: A Binary Marble Adding Machine. Made of wood, the machine uses marbles to represent binary digits (6 bits).

Read more about the 6-bit Binary Marble Adding Machine here!.