Traffic fatalities are down despite the fact that vehicle miles traveled is up.
Highway deaths have plummeted to their lowest levels in more than 60 years, helped by more people wearing seat belts, better safety equipment in cars and efforts to curb drunken driving.
Continue reading… “Traffic Deaths in U.S. Fall to Lowest in Over 60 Years”
April Fools Day is TODAY, and this is when you could get back at all those people who were not really nice to you; however, you could still go ahead and play some pranks on those you like and love as well, making April Fools Day one of the best holidays every year.
It is celebrated in most parts of the world and people either hate it or love it, but they just can’t ignore it. Now that the holiday is today, you certainly need to get hopping on all the wonderful pranks that might turn your loved or detested ones into gullible fools…
Remember the drug smugglers’ submarine that was captured by Ecuadoran police last year? The 75-foot boat was capable of shipping about 9 tons of cocaine. Jim Popkin of Wired wrote a detailed look at its design after reading a report by the US Navy:
The hull, they discovered, was made from a costly and exotic mixture of Kevlar and carbon fiber, tough enough to withstand modest ocean pressures but difficult to trace at sea. Like a classic German U-boat, the drug-running submarine uses diesel engines on the surface and battery-powered electric motors when submerged. With a crew of four to six, it has a maximum operational range of 6,800 nautical miles on the surface and can go 10 days without refueling. Packed with 249 lead-acid batteries, the behemoth can also travel silently underwater for up to 18 hours before recharging…
Imposter scams are now No. 6 on the FTC’s list of Top Ten Complaints for 2010.
Imagine getting an e-mail from the FBI. What would you do? Chances are you’d respond to find out what’s up. And bad guys who pretend to be FBI agents are counting on that.
Continue reading… “Government Impersonator Scams on the Rise”
Scientists in Spain hope they have found the fuel of tomorrow: bio-oil produced with algae mixed with carbon dioxide from a factory.
In a forest of tubes eight metres high in eastern Spain scientists hope they have found the fuel of tomorrow: bio-oil produced with algae mixed with carbon dioxide from a factory.
Continue reading… “‘Blue Petroleum’ Fuel Could Be the Fuel of the Future”
Gadget, gadget, do you have a pile of old gadgets?
We all have our preferences when it comes to buying and using gadgets. The way we purchase, care for, use, and dispose of our gadgets can vary widely. But when it comes to gadget ownership, it seems as though a few distinct personality types shine through. Awhile ago we made up two personalities, the Gadget Minimalist and the Gadget Gottahavist, as we took a look at energy savings. But now, we’re prying the lid to the can of worms open just a little farther and taking a more detailed look at the styles of electronics consumers. So it’s gut check time — which personality type are you, and how green can you get?
Continue reading… “The 6 Personality Types of Gadget Owners — Which Are You?”
Stink bugs
Stink bugs, the smelly scourge of the mid-Atlantic, are hitch-hiking and gliding their way across the country. Officially known as the brown marmorated stink bug, sightings of the pest have been reported in 33 states, an increase of eight states since last fall. (video)
Continue reading… “Stink Bug Epidemic Spreads to 33 U.S. States”
Krestel
Marijuana’s fibrous cousin hemp has a long history with auto makers. in 1941 Henry Ford unveiled a car body made primarily out of organic fibers, hemp included. seventy years later, the world’s first production-ready biocomposite electric car—with hemp as the “bio”—will finally hit the streets. The Kestrel, a three-door hatchback, is made of a “hemp composite as strong as the fiberglass in boats, yet incredibly lightweight,” says Nathan Armstrong, the president of Motive industries, Kestrel’s manufacturer.
Continue reading… “Krestel – The First Car Built Out of Hemp”
The First Fuel Cell-Powered Black Cab
It may not look much different than your average black cab on the outside (decals aside), but it’s quite a different story under the hood of this taxi, which has just been deemed road legal in the UK. Developed by Intelligent Energy, the cab actually includes both a fuel cell with a 30 kW net output and a 14 kWh lithium polymer battery pack, which combined promise to provide enough juice for a full day of operation — along with a top speed of 81 MPH and acceleration from zero to sixty in fourteen seconds. Londoners won’t be seeing them everywhere just yet, however, as the company only expects the first fleet to be ready sometime next year in time for the 2012 Olympics.
Continue reading… “UK’s First Fuel Cell-Powered Black Cab Hits the Streets of London”
In a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the Egyptian desert lies a truly remarkable catacomb containing the mummified remains of dogs and jackals.
Now, since this is Egypt, mummies aren’t exactly unusual – what made the Dog Catacomb so different is that it contains an immense amount of mummified puppies:
They estimate the catacombs contain the remains of 8 million animals. Given the sheer numbers of animals, it is likely they were bred by the thousands in puppy farms around the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, according to the researchers. The Dog Catacombs are located at Saqqara, the burial ground for the ancient capital Memphis…
Continue reading… “Egyptian “Dog Catacomb” Has 8 Million Mummified Dogs”
Almost every country in the EU last week approved the use of Meat Glue in food. Technically called thrombian, or transglutaminase (TG), it is an enzyme that food processors use to hold different kinds of meat together.
Imitation crab meat is one of the more common applications: it’s made from surimi, a “fish-based food product” made by pulverizing white fish like pollock or hake into a paste, which is then mixed with meat glue so that the shreds stick together and hold the shape wanted for it by its creator…
3D entertainment will never be the same again if one of the latest projects of researchers from the Osaka University, a 360 degree fog display, goes into mass production.
The 3D image is created with the help of 3 projectors that are focused on the fog display. One of the Japanese researchers got this idea after seeing a fog display in an entertainment park, so it is not a mistake to assume that inspiration may come in the strangest places. Each of the 3 projectors shows the object (in this particular case, a rabbit) from a different angle. As a result, the 3D effect is created and the imaged can be watched from multiple points of view. Directionality is the result of the fact that light gets dispersed by fog…
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.