LATEST NEWS

Pepsi EX Extra: All the Caffeine of Coffee in a Cool, Carbonated Can

by Steve Levenstein

Pepsi Japan's new workplace coffee alternative, Pepsi EX Extra, offers a hot coffee cup's worth of caffeine in a cool can of carbonated cola. As Pepsi puts it, “Enjoy the shot of cola with strong caffeine, for long working hours.”

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British Airways Uses Social Media & UK Addresses For Olympics' #HomeAdvantage

British Airways Uses Social Media & Local Addresses To Build #HomeAdvantage For Olympics

by Ron Callari

In an ingenious TV commercial that we're sure Don Draper would have approved, British Airways is utilizing the distribution channels of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to extend their rallying cry for a "Home Advantage" at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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Biodegradable Portable & Reusable Drink Bottles Sport Can Camouflage

by Steve Levenstein

Can those cans and battle the bottles! Japan's ongoing “eco” movement for environmental friendliness and sustainable living seems to have even influenced the appearance of plastic water bottles... these ones look like cans.

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Political Cats Create New Bill To Save Russian Felines

by Lady Bee

Zarathustra ran for President of Russia. Hank is running for Senator in Virginia. Two cats, worlds apart, but both political, and both sworn to do good for the world, no matter what.

Chinese DIY Tractor Truck Gets Electrical Poles Rolling One By One

by China.new

How do you get ridiculously long and massively heavy electrical poles to your construction site without hiring an expensive, purpose-built transport truck? If you're in China, DIY! Workmen in Wenzhou get their poles to the holes quickly, cheaply and one-at-a-time thanks to a little ingenuity and some very loose traffic regulations.

World's First Pear Genome Sequence Announced by Joint China-US Research Project

by China.new

Fruit fans rejoice, pears could be getting bigger, tastier and more resistant to drought and disease! Now that researchers from the Chinese-American "International Pear Genome Cooperation Group" have finished the world's first pear genome sequence, we can expect new high-yield, high quality, low-input varieties of pears to land on store shelves someday soon.

Blue Curry Adds Odd Color to Tokyo Cafe's Menu

by Steve Levenstein

On a diet and looking for a light meal? Try a light blue meal instead: Tokyo's Tea Room 2525 has brought back a turquoise temptation from last summer, disingenuously dubbed "Blue Curry Loss of Appetite". It's a great way to get the blues while losing weight.

'Happy Farm' Online Game Inspires Eco-friendly Pig Cottages

by China.new

A Chinese pig farm project inspired by the hugely popular online game “Happy Farm” has seen over 500 eco-friendly pig cottages spring up in the coastal province of Jiangsu. Though these swine are living fine, don't get jealous: their luxurious digs are intended to encourage tastier meat.

iPhone 5 Ice Pop Comes in Mango and Pear Flavors

by China.new

The iPhone 5 has been released in China... and it's delicious! Unless somebody from Apple Inc "calls out" the manufacturer on this frozen ice pop's provocative name, hungry Chinese will be chilling their choppers on iPhone 5 brand Mango and Pear flavored frozen fruit snacks all summer long.

Door Handle Cover Keeps Klutzy Kids From Kabob-in' Their Noggins

by Steve Levenstein

The puzzlingly named “Waffle Handle” stops evil doers, er, evil doors, from inflicting pain, injury and subdural hematoma's on your precious snowflake's pristine forehead. If you don't have them, shame on you: you're a bad parent who's bad and should feel bad.

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Siri Takes Lead From SNL's Self-Deprecating Humor Making Apple Butt Of Joke

by Ron Callari

Does anyone remember when iPhone prototypes were left behind in Silicon Valley bars only to be found by those looking to make a quick buck while providing the techie world with an advance sneak peak at Apple's latest iteration? In both cases, Apple execs were none too pleased and subsequent police investigations and threats of litigation were filed against Gizmodo and ex-Apple employees responsible.

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From "Finish Line" To "Shut The Mother F-er Down": OTB Employees Struggle To Be Heard

by Ron Callari

If one was to ask what happened on December 7, 2010 and 2011, most folks would reference the 69th & 70th-year anniversaries of Pearl Harbor. Few people would know or care that New York's Off-Track Betting Office doors were shuttered that first year, depriving thousands of workers from earned health benefits. And on its anniversary date the following year, it marked the day that OTB worker Patti McCole entered the hospital for brain cancer.

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Tornado Beer Dispenser Puts a New Twist on Draft Beer

by Steve Levenstein

The Tornado Beer Dispenser from Japan's Asahi Beer invites toasting tipplers to go “Bottom's Up!”... literally. The dispenser injects draft beer into the base of a specially designed plastic mug, in the process creating a short-lived alcoholic vortex of epic proportions.

The Big City Dog Whisperer In New CBS Series "Dogs In The City"

by Lady Bee

CBS is presenting a first for network TV; a dog whisperer straight from New York City, a Manhattan-based professional 'dog-guru,' who visits homes with dog problems just like cable stars Cesar Milan and Victoria Stilwell. His name is Justin Silver, he's self-taught, and he's all New Yorker!

Calcium Supplement Study: Your Bones Or Your Heart?

by T Goodman

Though the majority of physicians recommend calcium supplements for bone strength, some to women over 40, but most just to postmenopausal women, there have been studies that indicate that such supplementation is not the best medicine for heart health.

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Pepsi Salty Watermelon is Pepsi Japan's New Sweet Seasonal Treat

by Steve Levenstein

Another season, another new & exciting Pepsi flavor! This time around the drink designers at Pepsi Japan have reached back to a traditional Japanese summertime treat, salted watermelon.

British Inventor's New 'Parking Patch' Finds You A Parking Space And Calculates Your Parking Fines!

by Myra Per-Lee

Ever drive into New York City? Most people don't, unless they have a garage space for $750 a month. The odds of finding an available parking space in NYC are about as high as winning the Mega Millions. But Adrian Bone of Lewes, England, has invented a 'Parking Patch' he hopes will solve two parking issues in Brighton, a city south of London on the English Channel, a city far smaller than NYC or London. But first Brighton, then the world!

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Is Buffy, The Mobile Slayer, Facebook's Ace In The Hole?

by Ron Callari

Being left behind on the mobile landscape has motivated countless bloggers and techie prognosticators to cyberventilate as to FB's future. Based on an 11th hour stock devaluation by the company themselves (see previous post, "Facebook's IPO Morality Tale…"), coupled with the claim the company can't survive in the public sphere relying solely on ad revenues, Zuck has ridden a roller-coaster of criticism in one week's time that has cast yet another shadow over the world's largest social network.

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Aston Martin's Lagonda SUV Concept Spies Well-Heeled Chinese Drivers

by China.new

Aston Martin Lagonda Limited, famed for its high performance GT sports cars favored by the likes of James Bond, reckons its future lies far to the east of MI6 headquarters in the garages of China's rich and famous. The super-luxury 4x4 Lagonda SUV is expected to cost a pretty moneypenny and would likely leave 007 shaken, not stirred.

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Coin Laundry Calls When Your Clothes Are Clean

by Steve Levenstein

Kyoto Laundry Service announces "Hello Call”, Japan's first coin-operated laundry voice information service. Got things to do and people to see? No problem, your machine will phone when it needs more detergent, more change or more repairs.

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