Gallery: These Weather Vanes Spin When There's Bad News
Photo: John Marshall01Whithervanes014
Until November 2, these headless chickens will be decorating the rooftops of five venues in Folkestone, England.
Photo: John Marshall02Whithervanes003
Created by Detroit design duo Rootoftwo, the chickens are powered by Raspberry Pi computers that are wired to read through Reuters news reports.
Photo: John Marshall03Whithervanes004
They can detect keywords used by the Department of Homeland Security to watch social media for terrorist threats.
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Depending on the level of severity, the chickens light up green, blue, yellow, orange, or red.
Photo: John Marshall05Whithervanes013
Folkestone residents get to have a say as well: they can tweet at the *Whithervanes* either a #keepcalm or #skyisfalling hashtag, to indicate their own feelings about the news.
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