Category: Breakthrough Thinking

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Breakthrough Thinking, Great New Product, New Discoveries, New Inventions, Recycling

Re-Wine is a clever recycling idea

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The Re-Wine redesign reuse system in action.

Re-Wine is a clever design that transforms from a reusable, biodegradable carrying case for your wine into a lamp shade that uses the empty bottle as the base. If you’re not looking for a new lamp, the case also has interlocking joints that allow it to be connected to other units to form a custom seat, table or shelf. The more wine you drink, the more modules you have for building lamps or other furniture! Now there’s an idea that’s sure to motivate people!

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Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Ecological Products, Great New Product

Street Lights powered by wind

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Tulipa

The whole world is all about green these days, and I’m not talking about money. There has been so much talk and fuss about global warming and climate change recently, that we all need to be more conscious about using our resources. And personally, I’m worried what kind of world we’ll be leaving our children and grandchildren one day…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Current Events, Health & Fitness, New Discoveries

How molecules move energy after light absorption

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MSU chemist Jim McCusker and postdoctoral researcher Dong Guo proved an 84-year-old theory.

The same principle that causes figure skaters to spin faster as they draw their arms into their bodies has now been used by Michigan State University researchers to understand how molecules move energy around following the absorption of light.

Conservation of angular momentum is a fundamental property of nature, one that astronomers use to detect the presence of satellites circling distant planets. In 1927, it was proposed that this principle should apply to chemical reactions, but a clear demonstration has never been achieved…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Great New Product, Green Friendly, New Inventions

This magic box harvests spare electricity from your microwave

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Harvest those stray rays.

Microwaves aren’t very smart. It generally has no idea what you’re trying to heat up, and if it’s (say) a burrito and not (say) a frozen turkey, a bunch of extra microwave… waves… are going to waste. This blue box can suck up all of those spare microwaves and turn them back into electricity that — wait for it — can power your microwave again…

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Award Winner, Breakthrough Thinking, Current Events, Food, Global Warming, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, People Making a Difference

Veggie-Fueled Pickup Truck sets new land speed record at 155 MPH

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A happy award winning Greenspeed crew.

In mid-November, the members of Greenspeed club headed to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to put their Chevy pickup truck to the test. Stripped of all aesthetics, running on a ’93 Dodge engine and burning an unorthodox fuel, it was there to challenge the land speed record for vegetable oil-powered vehicles: 109 mph. On its first run, it flew past that benchmark at 139 mph. On its second, it set the new bar even higher: 155 mph.

The journey to success was not a quick one. Dave Schenker founded the club at Boise State University with a group of undergraduates, with the intention of building the first super high-performance vehicle to successfully run on vegetable oil. He spent months raising the $125,000 from local sponsors to rebuild the old truck with the parts it would need to set a new record. He and the students spent much of the summer putting it together. They hoped to race in September, but couldn’t get everything together in time…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Great New Product, New Discoveries, New Inventions

Ordinary paper transformed into new touch screen display

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Touch Screen displays are usually associated with layer upon layer of electronic and chemical components. However, researchers have managed to turn regular old paper into a touch screen display using a sensor and color-changing inks. It could mean the beginning of interactive books, paintings, museum displays or even wallpaper.

Kohei Tsuji and Akira Wakita of Keio University in Japan are behind the new touch screen display, which has color-changing inks printed on one side, and conducting pastes painted on the other side to create an electric circuit. The effect is an interactive display that maintains the flexibility of regular paper (video after jump)…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, facebook, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Human Behavior

fPrivacy lets you control Facebook app permissions

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Change your permissions and change your Facebook life.

fPrivacy is a Chrome plugin that lets you granularly opt out of stalker-esque Facebook app permissions like “Post to my wall” or “Access profile info” whenever the app authorization dialog appears. Woohoo!

Creator Chad Selph made the extension because Facebook apps have been too grabby for far too long — taking an all or nothing approach to permissions…

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Analysis, Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, Food, Historical Perspectives

Microscopic views of Alcoholic Drinks

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Alcohol may never look the same again.

This is what champagne looks like through a microscope. About twenty-five years ago, Michael Davidson, a scientist at Florida State University, started putting alcoholic beverages under his microscope and taking beautiful pictures of what he saw. The results are lovely, especially after a few shots…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Culture, DIY, Economy, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Human Behavior, Money Talk

Happy 69 Year Old Lady Has Not Used Money For 15 Years

Heidemarie Schwermer, a 69-year-old woman from Germany, gave up using money 15 years ago and says she’s been much happier ever since.

Heidemarie’s incredible story began 22 years ago, when she, a middle-aged secondary school teacher emerging from a difficult marriage, took her two children and moved to the city of Dortmund, in Germany’s Ruhr area. One of the first things she noticed was the large number of homeless people, and this shocked her so much that she decided to actually do something about it. She had always believed the homeless didn’t need actual money to be accepted back into society, only a chance to empower themselves by making themselves useful, so she opened a Tauschring (swap shop), called “Gib und Nimm” (Give and Take)…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Entertainment, Great New Product, New Inventions, People Making a Difference

Pool disappears beneath stone slab

Stefan Kanetis’s mother loved her life as a dancer, but paid a price for it when she was in her later years. The wear and tear on her body made it difficult for her to get around. Her doctor suggested swimming, but getting in and out of a pool would be very difficult. So Mr. Kanetis invented a pool with a floor that raised and lowered…

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.