The Amazing Stuff

Prosthetic technology is improving every day. But recently, it’s also gotten a lot more stylish. Open Bionics, which works to create and distribute low-cost prosthetics to people worldwide, just teamed up with Disney to create character-themed prosthetics for kids.

And the best part? All of the designs were given to the company royalty-free by Disney, so kids can channel their favorite characters for a more affordable price.

Designs include characters from the Avengers and Star Wars franchises, as well as from Frozen.

Open Bionics hopes to make prosthetic limbs accessible to all, and they also hope to remove the stigma attached to missing limbs. In an interview with The Independent, CEO Joel Gibbard said, “The power of these prosthetics is that the public perception is completely different. All of a sudden, they’re not being asked how they lost their hand. They’re being asked where they got their cool robot hand, how does it feel, and how does it work?”

The company, a startup, was granted $120,000 by Disney, and their specialists worked in Disney’s labs while creating the pieces.

They might look like toys, but they’re actually very advanced prosthetics.

Their movements are controlled by the electrical signals given off by the wearer’s muscles. What’s more, the lights and motors that make the hands seem so appealing to kids are actually feedback systems that let doctors and specialists know about how the kids and their prosthesis are interacting.

According to Gibbard, the kids who tested them out really liked them, and they picked up on how to use them very quickly.

The Star Wars models can also be personalized, so they light up with the user’s favorite colors.

Gibbard also hopes that the stylish nature of these prosthetics will remove the stigma that comes with having a missing limb, especially for children.

(via My Modern Met, The Independent)

In the future, Open Bionics hopes to be able to produce prosthetics that cost less than $500, which would make them more accessible to a greater number of patients in need. You can see their other work on their website, and on Facebook.

You might have noticed the recent trend of artists all over the world reimagining Disney princesses in new ways. These pieces range from sexy, to scary, to…well…downright weird.

Explore this strange and kind of unsettling fad with us!

This artist turned Disney princesses into characters from Game of Thrones.

Mulan as Brienne of Tarth isn’t a huge stretch, really.

See more of DjeDjehuti’s artwork, including more princesses, on their deviantArt page.

Other people took them in slightly less G-rated directions, like artist Andrew Tarusov, who’s famous for his Disney pin-ups.

See more of his sultry (and sometimes NSFW) artwork on Instagram.

Other artists, like illustrator Sakimi Chan, wondered what Disney characters would look like if you swapped their genders.

Sakimi Chan has even more of these pieces over on her deviantArt and Tumblr pages, including some male characters as women and some non-Disney characters, too!

Other people, like illustrator hyung86, wondered what they might look like in the modern day.

Hyung86’s Disney University series imagines Disney characters (including the animal ones) as modern-day college kids. See more on deviantArt.

Here’s where things get weird.

Snarkier denizens of the Internet began to poke fun at the fad, and started turning just about everything into Disney princesses. Here they are as hot dogs. Get the recipe here, because you know you want to.

They also became sloths.

And, for some reason, bowls of lukewarm water.

And this is just scratching the surface of the Disney fad. We’ve seen zombie hunters, zombies, real-life versions of the princesses, historically accurate costumes, and a lot more. It’s pretty amazing that these films have touched the lives of so many people and inspired so much original artwork (and, um, hot dogs). What’s your favorite Disney princess makeover?

Tony Collier, 26, and Corinne Jones, 25, recently got engaged. Instead of dressing up and posing awkwardly for the camera, they decided to reenact one of their favorite movie scenes for their engagement photos. The staged photoshoot will give you serious envy when you see exactly which movie they chose and how beautiful the shots came out…

You may remember one of the best Disney movies of all time, 101 Dalmatians.

Well, these two lovebirds decided to recreate one of the most romantic scenes from it, since it’s Jones’ favorite flick.

They subbed out the dalmatians for their own family pups…

Which added an adorably personal touch!

Besides, they pretty much caught the essence of the scene spot-on, dalmatian or not.

It also helps that Jones’ cousin is Melissa Biggerstaff, a super-talented photographer.

Usually, she only shoots shows and events as Rusty Lion Art, but she made an exception for family…

And boy, we’re glad she did!

The couple met when they were in the University of Illinois’ marching band.

They both played baby tubas — Collier on baritone and Jones on the mellophone.

But back to these Disney-inspired engagement photos…they’re just so much fun!

And they totally make sense for the couple — these two both went to work for Disney after graduating.

Every true Disney fan is probably jealous right now!

After their dream jobs became reality, they knew they had to recreate their own Disney story in the suburbs of Chicago.

Now, Collier works in special education and Jones is a high school music teacher.

Clearly these two were meant for each other if they’re both down to go to this extreme in the name of Disney!

You have to admit: it really paid off!

(via Imgur)

These two are getting married next summer, so wish them luck with the rest of their wedding planning!

And be sure to check out what else Melissa Biggerstaff can do with a camera over on her Facebook page!