Innovation

Calling All Inventors! Casting Call For Season 3, INVENTION USA!

by Myra Per-Lee

Last night was the premiere of Season 2 of The History Channel's inventor show, Invention USA. No sooner did the season begin, that casting calls for Season 3 of the hit series get on the road too. So now inventors have another chance to strut their stuff before the casting directors and the show's hosts, Reichart Von Wolfsheild and Scotty Ziegler.

Mayor Booker SNAPS To Social Media Food Stamps Challenge

by Ron Callari

When TwitWit, who goes by the handle @MWadeNC tweeted Newark Mayor Cory Booker that "nutrition is not the responsibility of the government," a gauntlet was laid that is now being played out in Twitterville as well as the real world. Booker (@CoryBooker), a prolific member of the Twitterati has amassed celebrity status with a Twitter following of over 1.2 million, while TwitWit whose profile describes herself as a "Daughter of the American Revolution" has only 1008 (as of this posting).

Logicool Washable Keyboard Rinses Clean After Sloppy Spills

by Steve Levenstein

Spilled Pepsi (or worse) on your keyboard again? No need for a China Crisis if you're rocking the Logicool model k310 washable keyboard. This good-looking peripheral can take a wiping and keep on typing while other keyboards snap, crackle and pop their way into meltdown mode.

Diving Helps Keep Pigs Healthy, Makes Bacon Tastier

by China.new

It's raining swine, hallelujah! A Chinese pig-farmer's porkers perform daily dives from a 10-foot tall platform because, according to the farmer, the exercise results in healthier pigs that grow faster and taste better.

How LEDs Light Up Your Life in Ways You Never Imagined

by Gadgetry Inc

So you might have taken one look at the title and went, "LED lights? What does that have to do with me?" Well, if you're well aware of what it can do and what people around you have been doing with it, then you'll agree that it has a lot to do with you.

Lucky “Year Of The Snake” U.S. Dollar Notes Now On Sale

by China.new

Care to help the U.S. government dig itself out of debt by buying new dollar bills for $5.95 each? Me neither but these aren't just any dollar notes, they feature “lucky” serial numbers beginning with “8888” and they're packaged in attractive red & gold folders to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Year of the Snake.

Chinese Hospital Nurses Respond to Emergencies on Scooters & Bikes

by China.new

Race ya to the patient! China's MCH Institute has issued nurses in its neonatal department three kick scooters and five bicycles, because real emergencies demand a wheelie fast response. It works, too: in real-world testing the “assisted” nurses arrived an average 7 seconds faster.

1 comment

Bizarre By Design: The Top 10 Weirdest Japanese Buildings

by Steve Levenstein

Japan may be the place where conformity is king but their architects never saw the memo. These 10 weird, wild and even wooly Japanese buildings take the concept of multistory strangeness to a higher level, albeit one that the elevator will still stop at.

1 comment

Greening Up Electronics: Recycling and Reusing to Reduce Emissions

by Gadgetry Inc

Electronic waste is one of the biggest problems that affects not only America, but also the rest of the world. Most electronics (or the parts that make them up) are full of toxins, and simply throwing them out will have detrimental impacts on the natural world. The good news is that electronics can easily be recycled, and oftentimes, they can also be reused.

Restored Fresco Curry: A Tasteful Tribute to a Terrible Touch-Up

by Steve Levenstein

Japanese artist, blogger and curry cook Takeda Take has taken the disastrously (but hilariously) botched restoration of the Spanish fresco “Ecco Homo” to a new, delicious level.

Hello Kitty Bathroom Tissue Really Makes Scents

by Steve Levenstein

Hello Kitty doesn't just look cute, Sanrio's most popular character EVAR now enchants our olfactory bulbs with the sweet scent of strawberry or melon! And what better place for Japan's queen of cute to emanate these awesome aromas then your bathroom?

Burger King Japan's “BK Pumpkin” Burger is a Happy Halloween Meal

by Steve Levenstein

Burger King Japan is rolling out the limited edition, sliced squash embellished “BK Pumpkin” Whopper on October 26th, just in time for Halloween. Two slices of fried pumpkin not enough for you? Drop an extra 100 yen on the “Pumpkin Bomb”, a BK Pumpkin with 10 (count 'em, 10!) pumpkin slices.

3 comments

Put Your Money Where Your Tweet Is? Battleships, Horses & Bayonets, Oh My!

by Ron Callari

With the presidential election only 2 weeks out, both campaigns are fully cognizant of the impact of social media and how one meme can sway opinion within minutes of it being uttered. At no other time in U.S. history has the combination of messaging on TV and Twitter become so intertwined. However instead of paying the hefty fees of a TV ad, the presidential contenders incur less cost by purchasing Promoted Tweets and Trends, and ironically utilize the free medium of a TV debate to drive the traffic.

6 comments

“Thunder God Vine” Shows Promising Results Against Pancreatic Cancer

by China.new

“Thunder God Vine”, a staple of traditional Chinese medicine, has proven to be remarkably effective in destroying pancreatic cancer tumors in lab mice. Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Center state the next step is beginning clinical trials of the drug involving human pancreatic cancer patients.

3 comments

Can 'Romnesia' Be Used In 'Words With Friends?'

by Ron Callari

Words With Friends is a multi-player word game developed by Zynga. It's popularity got a boost from Alex Baldwin's infamous riff with a stewardess when he refused to turn off the game during take-off. Similar to the rules of Scrabble, players can choose to play with a friend or a random player found online. President Obama has chosen to play the game with undecided voters using a new word he coined this past week. . . called "Romnesia"

3D Printed Resin Clock Radio Features Retro Nixie Tube Display

by Steve Levenstein

Japanese designer electronics manufacturer Inter-Culture has introduced a trio of retrofuturistic nylon resin clock radios that combine cutting-edge 3D printing technology with the warm Cold War-era glow of high-voltage Nixie tubes.

1 comment

Attention Economy: Driver Behind Twitter's Acquisition of Video Firm Vine?

by Ron Callari

Remember the political refrain “it’s the economy, stupid!” first uttered in the 90′s by Bush the First and probably more applicable today then it was then, as evidenced by the vitriol spewing all over the current contentious presidential election campaigns?

3 comments

Students Make Transportation Energy Efficient In Viet Nam

Solar vehicle invented by Vietnamese students

by Myra Per-Lee

Many international universities are fostering students' natural curiosity and ingenuity to create new products to help their fellow citizens. Such is the case at HCM City University of Transport where, as the name implies, Vietnamese students focus on developing new, efficient forms of transportation. Recently, they revealed prototypes of the students' solar-run scooter and a new battery-operated wheelchair that can be produced at a much lower cost that those produced in western countries.

Brass Knuckles iPhone Case: Tough Love for Your Smartphone

by Steve Levenstein

The Knucklecase for the Apple iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S cushions your smartphone from life's hard knocks while helping callers get a grip on any situation. Sure it's as subtle as a punch in the nose but if you don't like it... tough!

1 comment

Calling All Inventors! Edison Nation Launches Open Search For Innovative Products

by Myra Per-Lee

Have a unique and patentable idea that you've not been able to move off first base? Edison Nation has just the answer for you in its newest search for ideas. It's an open search! So, you can submit one or more of your ideas in any category of products - home, garden, office, etc. to the Open Innovative Product Search.

3 comments