According to Marc Abrahams, the founder of the Ig Nobel Prize and the Annals of Improbable Research, some Korean businessmen own special suits that emit a pleasant aroma when rubbed. These suits allow the owners to remain fresh after very long days at work and play. Here’s Abrahams demonstrating the effectiveness of his peppermint-scented suit to a test subject.
Continue reading… “Scratch & Sniff business suit”
Scientists have identified a reason why some are underweight.
Scientists have discovered a genetic cause of extreme thinness for the first time, in a study published August 30 in the journal Nature. The research shows that people with extra copies of certain genes are much more likely to be very skinny. In one in 2000 people, part of chromosome 16 is duplicated, making men 23 times and women five times more likely to be underweight…
Continue reading… “‘Gene Overdose’ causes extreme thinness”
All clicked up.
The Japanese design firm nendo and the electronics company Elecom came up with this innovative mouse design. The Kandenchi has three buttons and a scroll wheel. It connects to a computer through a wireless hookup…
Continue reading… “Cylindrical Mouse”
Scott Beale says: “Cornell Creative Machines Lab wanted to see what would happend if two Cleverbot AI ChatBots had a conversation with each other.”
I think I’ve just seen the beginning of the end…
Continue reading… “Two AI chatBots attempt to have a conversation with each other”
Marketing can make you or break you.
We’ve all heard a marketing campaign at some point and thought, “that is just stupid,” but most bad advertising strategies just result in a few less sales than a successful campaign would have brought in. Sometimes though, a company will run a campaign that’s so idiotic that the company ends up losing thousands, if not millions of dollars. Take, for example, the Silo marketing campaign that said customers could get a new stereo for only “299 bananas.” When customers started actually showing up with bundles of bananas, the store had no choice but to give them stereos in exchange for fruit…
Continue reading… “5 idiotic marketing disasters”
Hi there. Wanna chat? I’m hip, scruffy and funny.
Over the years, there’s been a radical change in the way we interact with our networks of friends online. It used to be that we had a few of our friends (online or offline friends) on a service, allowing us to connect to friends through the Internet and see what their activities were. Where the Internet used to be a somewhat scary world full of strangers, we suddenly had friendly anchors to explore that world with. Sure, most of our friends weren’t online, or at least not using the same services, but the familiarity was comforting and the ability to see what a few of our friends were doing allowed us to find new content and new friends.
We fell in love with sites that made us feel like there are people out there who are similar to us, who we are talking to and having common experiences with. But then, some of these networks — Facebook and Twitter in particular — began to grow explosively…
Continue reading… “The Social Network paradox”
The first image of an electron’s path.
It was only two years ago that IBM showed us an image of a complete molecule, atomic bonds and all, but today’s news does that one infinitesimally-sized breakthrough better. Ladies and gents, behold the first image of an electron’s path.
Utterly amazing stuff! The IBM breakthrough was amazing enough, but now we have images of the electron’s orbital path around a nucleus! This is good, good news, because until now physicists only had models and hypotheses to work with…
Continue reading… “Fascinating first-ever images of an electron in orbit”
Scan that code for a shortcut to information.
If you raise the subject of QR codes among tech early adopters, you are likely to elicit a passionate response. Some people think QR codes, those scanable black and white squares on everything from billboards to product packaging, are on an unstoppable growth trajectory, while skeptics are quick to dismiss them as a fad.
This reaction is common whenever new technology formats or standards are being decided upon. Pundits want to exhibit their knack for predicting the future and stakeholders (of which I am undeniably one) want to make sure their format wins out. The general public, meanwhile, tends to lay in wait for a particular format to show dominance…
Continue reading… “Why QR Codes are here to stay”
A Floating Sleep Space From an Oily Place.
These pods are moored in a canal in The Hague. They used to be oil rig life rafts, but now they serve as hotel rooms. Except for an exterior lock and a chemical toilet, they remain in their original state. This way, you can get the true life raft-in-a-canal experience!
Continue reading… “Life rafts serve as hotel rooms”
If you were in space what would you get to eat?
Although launching food in space is a necessity, it doesn’t mean it has to be boring. The original space menu was bland, odorless and lacked texture, but times have changed and adding some flavor is essential for extended periods astronauts spend in orbit. You can’t expect an average meal on the International Space Station to be like a night at the Ritz, but no one’s complaining.
Continue reading… “Top 10 Best Space Food”
QR Codes are being embraced by Fox Searchlight Studios.
Fox Searchlight is shunning traditional promotional opportunities for its upcoming film Martha Marcy May Marlene.
Instead, the studio is rolling out an elaborate QR code campaign for the movie, which hits theaters on October 21.
Rather than go the traditional route of releasing teasers and trailers, Fox Searchlight opted to go digital…
Continue reading… “Movie Trailers released exclusively via QR Code for the first time”
Are you ready to show off your artistic prowess?
The DaVinci Institute is pleased to announce a “call for artists” for the Inventor Art Competition.
The theme of this competition is inventors and their great inventions. Inventors chosen may be contemporary or from any time in the past. They just have to show the mark of being a great inventor.
When you think of a great inventor, who do you think of? What invention did they create?
Continue reading… “DaVinci Institute announces Inventor Art Competition”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.