April, 2008

New moms will receive a lot of advice before baby arrives, but now they can make a game of it with the high-selling BabySmarts game.

People concerned about the environment turned out in droves for the Global Green Expo, which was held at Liberty State Park in Jersey City from April 25 to April 27 to celebrate Earth Day, and they were met with scores of new, innovative products.

If you have children, you already know: They have boundless amounts of energy. No matter what you do, it cannot be contained, right?

Well, think again.

Those who have baby boys have undoubtedly been blessed with at least one surprise squirt during changing time. Now there is a product designed to avoid such an unfortunate event.

It certainly is economical. And the Frisper has high ratings. Let's take a look!

Dr. Martin Fisher, inventor of the MoneyMaker irrigation pump has won the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for sustainability for his invention. The pump, available now in three versions, has helped more than 300,000 African farmers become entrepreneurs and rise out of poverty.

A gizmo with an LCD panel showing preset programs, adjustable steam therapy, infrared therapy, 14 Vichy shower heads, a cooling face breeze, aromatherapy reservoir, music facility and capsule remote control. What am I talking about?

The Spa Capsule.

This Earth Day, Bon Appetit proposed a challenge to every one of us to reduce our carbon "foodprints" by 25 percent, because just our foodprints -- all the energy it takes to grow, process, transport and prepare food -- are responsible for ONE-THIRD of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Bon Appetit is serious about its challenge and it has started its campaign by giving us some help: a Low Carbon Diet calculator!

Baby food can be expensive and lack quality nutrition, which is why American parents are catching on to a European trend worth investing in.

Now this is something I've never thought about, but it's good, I guess, that someone has.... A way to tell your kids that you're going to the doctor and coming home with new boobs, a flat tummy, and (why not?) a new nose. These three cosmetic surgery procedures are so common in post-childbirth women, they have their own marketing package -- mommy makeovers.

Creating a mixtape has never been easier: search for songs, drag and drop your favorites into a playlist, customize your tape, publish and share with your friends. All online, free and environmentally friendly.

Researchers have taken another step toward turning animal waste into biogas on a large scale.

Farmers have long called the odor of farm waste "the smell of money" in hopes of converting it into a practical energy supply. Animal waste can produce methane, which can be used directly for energy or converted to either methanol or a mix of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This synthetic mix can then be converted to clean fuels.

To lose identification anywhere can cause considerable damage but the repercussions of doing so in a foreign country are inestimable. FlatterMe saves you from such a scenario.

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is responsible for more deaths every year than AIDS, breast cancer, lung cancer and stroke combined. If the heart is not defibrillated (therapeutically shocked) within a few minutes, the victim dies. Imagine how difficult it is to reach the victims of SCA in time to save their lives.

But, suppose we each carried our own personal defibrillator, say it was a feature of our cell phones?

If you have taken to serving drinks in dark rooms so your guests might miss the ugly spots and lint on your glassware, there may be a solution to your problem in the form of a product called Wubeez Glass Cleaning Cloths. Wubeez may sound like a name straight out of Bugs Bunny's mouth, but the cloths promise to do an adult job of removing spots, streaks, and lint from glassware!

One day, moon colonists may be growing their own food on the moon using a method recently developed by a team of researchers in Ukraine.

Combining the love of 1970s platforms with the still popular GameBoy handheld by sticking the two of them together are these super cool GameBoy Boots.

I, like most people used to think that bamboo, is extremely fragile though flexiible, and would definitely not be able to withstand hard knocks. I learnt that this is a misconception as proven by the Roof R06 Bamboo motorcycle helmet.

Whoever said that the best baby rooms are decked out in the latest and greatest? Sometimes going vintage is the hip thing to do, as is discovered by visitors to My Retro Baby.

Soft on the skin, highly sweat absorbent, highly breathable, antibacterial, UV protective, anti fungal, eco-friendly and innovative.

What am I talking about?

The newest textile around, bamboo clothing.

If you see something that looks like four hula hoops attached together with some sort of weird contraption in the middle hovering in the sky, don't automatically assume that it's a UFO.

From Aunt Bessie's web presence and the traditional kind of British food she's known for, like steak pies, home-style chips, and baked apple pie, you wouldn't think she'd become a trendsetter in the food arena. But she has created the United Kingdom's first main course on an ice cream cone -- the Banger and Mash Cone.

As the presidential race gets hotter and heavier, defenders of the right will call out the dogs to let those lefties know just what they think. Of course dogs don't have a vote, but they can bite, so you liberals better watch out. Among dozens and dozens of right wing political t-shirts for dogs, the top 10 are uniquely suited to the instinctive cleverness of a dog. Now, go gingerly ahead; these are some mean dogs!

There are very broad U.S. government definitions of "meat by-products." They can include, and often do, any portion of any mammal including eyes, bones, head, digestive systems, and even a certain proportion of feathers and hairs.

Summer’s on its way, and that means parents are searching for innovative ideas to keep kids cool during vacations and muggy days. The Cold Seat is the perfect product for parents of fussy infants and young children who hate traveling in hot cars or living in swimming pool-free homes.

Sometimes, it's the simplest invention ideas that are most successful. Melvin Eaker and Dan Cooper, the founders of E&C Manufacturing, are hoping their Sodamatic Vending Machine will fit into that category.

Instead of dispensing a single can or bottle of soda or water, the vending machine doles out 12 packs. That can come in pretty handy for folks having get togethers or those who just want an ample supply of caffeine or water without having to actually run into a store.

Babies and pacifiers go together like butter on a bun. If your baby is no exception, you’ll love a new line of t-shirts perfectly suited for little suckers.

Bacon and maple syrup. Sounds improbable as lolly-pop flavoring, but Lollyphile would disagree. The one month old company sold out of its first batch of Maple-Bacon Lollyphiles in little more than a week. It took two weeks to have another batch to sell and they're back in stock, but exclusively for my readers until Thursday...

Taking innovation to a new high, My DNA has patented a revolutionary new process to create your individual fragrance. Join me in welcoming to the world personalised DNA basaed perfume.

Create art and music with the wave of your hand. This interactive audio-visual art installation generates sounds and images that reflect the relationship between the viewer's movements and changes in space.

Talk of innovation in fashion and beauty....The hot Catherine Zeta Jones reportedly washes her wonderful tresses with caviar.

You read that right...

I was delighted to find this Twirling Spaghetti Fork, by Hog Wild, that eliminates the need to suck or slurp your spaghetti. Yes, I'm aware that many think that sucking and slurping is the fun of eating spaghetti, but I wonder if this motorized Spaghetti Fork doesn't provide some fun of its own....

As soon as pharmacists develop an antibiotic, the bacteria it's aimed at begin developing resistance almost immediately. Now, a new study has shown an even more extreme comeback: some bacteria are literally eating our most potent antibiotics for breakfast.

Ever look at your closet and see all those empty coathangers hanging from the racks? David Mach, a sculpture and installation artist, creates gorgeous art from wire coathangers.

Ever dreamt of designing your own clothes, and wearing your creations?

Imagine This, a New York-based company has launched a product called Designer's Portfolio which shall help every girl realize her dreams of being a fashion designer.

Imagine drifting off into dreamland with the constellations as your companion. Now this is possible for nurseries and the bedrooms of young children (and even adults), thanks to the Twilight Turtle, the newest creation by Cloud B.

If you are planning on dying - and let's face it, we all are - you might be trying to answer the following question: Burial or cremation? Well, now there is a third option - resomation.

In the summer of 2007, Season Two of American Inventor aired. One of its contestants, Elaine Cato, introduced the Six in One Backless Bra. In the season finale of American Inventor, Elaine Cato was announced as the runner up to the Guardian Angel (a fire alarm for christmas trees). Norah Alberto, a Senior Style Director from Maidenform, came on stage and offered Elaine a chance to work with Maidenform. Nine months later and just in time for the spring fashions, Maidenform and Elaine Cato has announced the production of the Breakthrough Backless bra by Maidenform®.

Sometime in the future, 200-pound bugs may be roaming around the forests. That's not due to any increase in oxygen levels, but rather because these bugs are robots whose job it is to extinguish forest fires.

In the world of Yachts usually, the bigger the better. Sabdes new 50m Superyacht breaks through that stereotype and sets the bar even higher by putting the environment first.

For those whose morning buzz lacks glow, don't give up! A new breakfast cereal promises to top your morning off with speed and efficiency. The first tester of Captain Buzz's Spazztroids went 27 days without sleep, after eating only one bowl of the cereal. During that time, he was able to speed through required doctoral course work and complete his PhD dissertation on "The Hallucinations of a Sleep-Deprived Mind."

If you are looking for a different way to depart this life, perhaps it's time to take a look at Celestis, a Texas company that will begin launching human cremated remains to the surface of the moon by 2009.

For many people, the arrival of spring also means the arrival of rain. This is something we are used to and it's hard to imagine normal levels of rain keeping us from our daily errands. But until the invention of windshield wipers, drivers caught in a spring shower would be a little stuck.