Today’s Kickstarter Creativity Spotlight focuses on balloon mapping. What the heck is balloon mapping you may ask?
Balloon mapping is sending a camera up on a balloon, snapping photos, and stitching them into a map. Over the past year and a half these fine folks have built a global mapper community and this is your chance to participate in all the excitement…
Continue reading… “Balloon mapping kits by Mathew Lippincott”
Sex-selective feticide is warping the balance between male and female births and consequently skewing the sex ratios for the rising generation.
The world over the past three decades has come to witness an ominous and entirely new form of gender discrimination: sex-selective feticide. The feticide is implemented through the practice of surgical abortion with the assistance of information gained through prenatal gender determination technology. All around the world, the victims of this new practice are overwhelmingly female and occurs all around the world. In fact is is almost universally female.
Continue reading… “War on baby girls goes global”
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Pirates and file-sharers, rejoice! The Missionary Church of Kopimism (just say it out loud) has been recognized as a religion in Sweden:
Since 2010 a group of self-confessed pirates have tried to get their beliefs recognized as an official religion in Sweden. After their request was denied several times, the Church of Kopimism – which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols – is now approved by the authorities as an official religion. The Church hopes that its official status will remove the legal stigma that surrounds file-sharing.
All around the world file-sharers are being chased by anti-piracy outfits and the authorities, and the situation in Sweden is no different. While copyright holders are often quick to label file-sharers as pirates, there is a large group of people who actually consider copying to be a sacred act…
Cycling transportation gets a boost in Sweden.
If you want to find an unassuming place where bicycling is a way of life and nobody makes a big deal about it, head south. The south of Sweden, that is, where the small university town of Lund has a big bicycle habit. They just don’t advertise it.
In Lund, 60% of the populace bikes or takes public transport to go about their daily tasks. And then there’s Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city – only 20 miles southwest of Lund. Malmö also doesn’t have a reputation for fantastic biking. But some say it is the country’s best biking city – ahead of both Stockholm, the capital; Gothenburg, the second largest Swedish metropolitan area, and a host of smaller bike-friendly burgs…
Continue reading… “A new cycling superhighway. Not in the U.S.A.”
Skunk Juice magnetic ear buds
At CES in Las Vegas this past week I “Got Hooked Up” with Skunk Juice magnetic connecting ear buds. These earbuds are great for kids or adults who want to hook up with their friends’ music or videos.(Pics)
Continue reading… “‘Get Hooked Up’ with Skunk Juice magnetic ear buds”
Space gas has its consequences.
Humans produce two flammable gases: hydrogen and methane. Flammable gases accumulate in an enclosed space and can ignite. Astronauts are humans who spend lots of time in enclosed space. The logic is irrefutable. So, what’s the risk to farting astronauts?
Between 1968 and 1971, researchers Edwin L. Murphy and Doris H. Calloway published three, count ‘em, three studies on flatulence. The 1969 paper was about astronauts and their farts, specifically a study to determine the level of flatulence produced by difference astronaut space diets. Picturing how the study went brings into focus the many indignities astronauts face for their shot at space travel…
Continue reading… “The danger of farting in space”
Good things come to those who stretch
Quote of the Day – “If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?” – – Scott Adams
Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”
TP-LINK’S Dancebot
TP-Link had an incredibly articulated dancing robot as a means of getting people to visit their booth at the Consumer Electronics Show so they could promote their TL-WR700N mini wireless pocket router. (video)
Continue reading… “Incredible TP-Link dancing robot”
The researchers hope their discovery can be exploited to combat obesity by increasing people’s sensitivity to fat in their food.
Scientists thought the human tongue could detect only four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salt and bitter. Then a fifth was discovered, “umami” or savory. Now, researchers have identified a previously-unrecognized “sixth taste” – fat.
Unless you work at the Pentagon, the key locks on your desk drawers are probably easy to compromise. So with their new Covert, the folks at Quirky figured that a drawer lock can’t be picked if it can’t be found.
The sliding locking mechanism comes with adhesive tape for a temporary solution, but if you were hoping for any kind of real security you’ll want to screw them in. Once installed on the inside of a drawer the mechanism is completely invisible, and the only way to open it is with an included magnetic key that lets you slide the latch across…
Continue reading… “Quirky’s invisible drawer locks only open with a magnetic key”
The death of a beloved pet can be a traumatizing experience, and most people love their pets as they would any other member of their family. But would you pay $50,000 to clone a new version of your beloved pet from the DNA of the deceased? The lady in this clip didn’t hesitate to head over to South Korea, shell out the cash and clone her deceased dog Trouble, and she seems to have no regrets about her decision…
Continue reading… “Woman pays $50k to clone her dog”
The “Star-Turn” installation was made as part of a fundraising effort Help for Heroes, a charity for wounded war veterans. The installation featured a geodesic dome that protected riders of a static Specialized Sirrus bike, which when pedalled, would spin attached armatures mounted with a helix of tea light candles each.
According to the press release, Munro’s design was inspired by accident..
Continue reading… “Museum’s geodesic dome houses human-powered light show”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.