Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
For all you holiday anglers, today’s featured Invention Award winner is something to aspire to: a fishing lure that doesn’t pollute once it ends up on the bottom of the lake. Ben Hobbins didn’t set out to clean up his local lakes, but his IronClads baits do exactly that. The Wisconsin inventor’s idea — fishing lures that are extra-strong, eco-friendly and nontoxic — solves a serious, if little-known environmental problem.
On the heels of the Obama administration’s announcement that it will move away from hydrogen fuel cell funding came an invitation from Volkswagen to visit the California Fuel Cell Partnership in Sacramento, CA and test drive one of their fuel cell prototypes. Well, why not?
It was kind of the natural progression, right? This Manoi Go robot kit from Japan already has a head start, going from a headstand straight into the splits all by itself. [YouTube via Boing Boing Gadgets, GetRobo]
Gamers, get ready for “Science Papa.” The upcoming Activision game promises to “turn living rooms into virtual laboratories” with 30 experiments, all on the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS stylus (or the iPhone).
While the streets of Mexico City once again host the packed crowds, dense traffic, and general activity familiar to capitolinos before the outbreak of swine flu, other cities have now moved to stop the spread of the disease. Here in New York City, a school assistant principal who contracted the flu died from complications related to the disease. However, even though Mitchell Wiener had an existing condition that contributed significantly to his death, 11 New York City schools remain closed.
The Obama administration is expected to announce that California’s strictest-in-the-nation gas mileage and emissions standards will now become a national standard. And surprisingly, U.S. automakers are actually happy.
Sex for a female Lake Eyre dragon lizard is sometimes like going to bed with a man and a roaring chainsaw. The male lizard bites her neck before mounting her. If he sinks his teeth in with too much vigor, he can chomp her spinal cord and kill her. So it’s no wonder the lady lizards are choosy about sex.
We’ve been waiting almost five months for the Palm Pre smartphone to hit stores. Now Sprint has finally announced the details: In two and a half weeks, you’ll be able to get the Pre for $200 (after a $100 mail-in rebate) in stores around the country. If you don’t have a Sprint retail outlet in your town, not to worry. Best Buy, RadioShack, Sprint’s online store, and even some Wal-Marts will carry the phone, too.
Researchers can figure out who was the Flava Flav of ancient Mesoamerica by checking out skeletons’ teeth. Dentists who lived up to 2500 years ago (who actually sound like they might be more talented than many tooth jockeys I’ve ever gone to) used to do an early version of grills — drilling into teeth and implanting gems like jade. Be sure to check out the picture of a skull decorated in this way. Also in today’s links: baby flamingos never see the light of day, an EPA manhunt gets underway and more.
Invention: GenShock The idea for an energy-producing shock absorber started humbly enough, just another wild invention tossed out during a late-night dorm-room bull session. Only, the students involved were among MIT’s best, and they actually went ahead and built it. Two years later, they’ve got a shiny Hummer H1, loaned by the manufacturer to use as a rolling testbed, and their GenShock may soon find its way into the military’s fleet of Humvees. |