Jeff Wysaski of Pleated Jeans wrote “Whether it’s a fat population, high rate of STDs or excessive tax rate, it turns out that every state ranks dead last in at least one unsavory category.” So he compiled a most unusual “worst of” list, featuring your favorite home state (Oh, poor, poor North Dakotans!)
Continue reading… “The United States of Shame”
Dubai’s “The World,” a collection of artificial islands designed to resemble a map of planet Earth, is reportedly sinking back into the water. From the Telegraph..
Continue reading… “Dubai’s Artificial Islands “Sinking””
What if detecting urban pollution was as easy as looking down at your neighbor’s chest? It is–if your neighbor is wearing one of the high-tech sweatshirts designed by NYU grad students Sue Ngo and Nien Lam. The shirts, designed for a class on wearable technologies, feature internal organs that change colors depending on the levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere…
Continue reading… “Color-Changing Shirts Sniff Out Air Pollution”
Dhar Mann, 26, and Derek Peterson, 36, are the owners of the weGrow marijuana superstore in Oakland, California. The 15,000 square-foot weGrow is just their first hit though. Mann and Peterson are also shooting a reality show pilot, training medical pot growers, and manufacturing high-end grow gear. They say they’re in contract on 75 franchise stores in 5 states and are considering an IPO. According to Mann, their vision is to become the “Wal-Mart of Weed.”
Continue reading… “Becoming The Wal-Mart of Weed”
Men, does “flat butt” syndrom bum you out? Well, there’s an uplifting news: now you can get off your duff and don a pair of padded underpants to give your booty more bounce.
The padded underpants in the spotlight are manufactured by a Canadian company appropriately dubbed BottomsUp, which operates under the motto: “Building a Better Bottom.”
When kids say fun and games, most parents are not happy. They are not happy that the learning progression is not in process during such activities, and their stand seems much justified. But that is, except in the case of two indoor games. One is the famous board game- Scrabble. Scrabble has been highly popular for decades now. Its bundles of fun for the children and the parents are happy as it helps build a voracious vocabulary. Yet another is the Rubik’s Cube. In the 1980s, people who could solve the Rubik’s Cube were considered geniuses and the faster they could do it, the better. Now what if these two were clubbed together ?
Continue reading… “Scrabble + Rubik’s Cube = The Scruble Cube”
Blobitecture example in Selfridges, Birmingham UK
Yet what is blobitecture? It is a term for an architectural school in which organic shapes are the aim, bulging, cellular, amoeba-like buildings its expression. Although the term did not appear in print until 2002, blob architecture had been used as an expression in architectural circles since the middle of the previous decade. Notably it was the New York Times which first brought it to greater attention, as part of William Safire’s On Language column. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Blobitecture – The Rise of Organic Architecture”
Literal.ly is a new blog by Nahum who also owns Oddee.
Literal.ly is made around the idea of taking pictures literally. You get an idea what this means if you visit the site. The picture above is called ‘Facebook.’
Continue reading… “Do You See Your World Literal.ly ?”
Here’s a good Boston Globe report on the first decade of Portugal’s bold experiment with drug decriminalization and increased treatment. Ten years ago, Portugal — whose drug problem had been spiraling out of control — decided to treat drug addiction as a public health matter, not as a criminal matter. They decriminalized possession of drugs, and increased treatment available to addicts, and experienced an immediate, dramatic and sustained drop in negative effects from drug use — though the use of some drugs went up…
Continue reading… “Portugal: 10 Years of Decriminalized Drugs”
Unilever is taking a Ben & Jerry’s factory in the Netherlands a green step forward: constructing a bio-digester that will convert the waste products from ice cream production and provide for 40 percent of the factory’s green energy requirements.
Made by Paques and expected to be operational a little later this year, the BIOPAQ®AFR is not like bio-digesters of old.
Paques describes:
After a successful test period, Unilever has opted for a new type of bio-digester from Paques, the BIOPAQ®AFR, in which natural micro-organisms (in this case more than 24 billiard (24•1015) little bugs!) ‘eat’ waste products and convert them into biogas. In this system, wastewater is purified by converting waste products from ice cream production such as milk, cream, proteins, syrups and pieces of fruit into biogas.
Continue reading… “Ben & Jerry’s Factory to Convert Ice Cream Waste into Energy”
Even as you look at this picture you are getting forgetful.
It’s common knowledge that drinking alcohol can impair your memory but what about simply suggesting that you’ve drunk alcohol?
Turns out, alcohol placebos can also impair your memory and judgment…
Continue reading… “Alcohol Placebos Can Impair Memory”
DAVID GARCIA STUDIO is an experimental architectural platform and has put forth some pretty awesome and thought provoking creations including this circular walking book case. From the site:
The Archive Series are investigations on space and books, aiming to blur the borders between art and design. Clearly non functional, they aim to appeal to the senses, creating a narrative which more often than not, reaches the absurd…
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.