NEW IDEAS AND TRENDS (old)

FAIL Stickers Help You Label Your Life

by Jill Harness

FAIL stickers will help you caption life without having to take a photo and upload it to the internet. Now when you see funny, unintentional inuendos on office building signs you can call them out the world.

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Cafe Precious in Tokyo Offers Net Surfing in Style, 24-7

by Steve Levenstein

My wife is in Japan for a few weeks and she's emailing me from the Cafe Precious, an Internet cafe in Tokyo. I checked out their website and was amazed - cheap, flexible pricing gets visitors a wide range of services, His & Hers washrooms and 54 tasty menu choices.

Smell That? 10 of the World's Cheesiest Ads

by J. Barker

Cheese. I love cheese in all of it's forms. Cheddar. Gouda. Strange advertising campaigns. Yep, there's all sorts of cheese out there. Some are delicious. Some are... well, funny, scary, clever, confusing, twisted, and/or rage inducing. So, if you like cheese of many types, join me, dear reader, for a look at some really strange--and sometimes smelly--ads.

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Japan's Golden Age Seniors Get Smaller Silver Cups

by Steve Levenstein

In 1963 it was a rare and special thing for a Japanese citizen to reach the exalted age of 100. The government of the day decided to congratulate its annual crop of elderly centenarians - all 153 of them - with a lovely sterling silver cup in a crafted wood presentation box. Fast-forward 45 years and the cash-strapped government is groaning under the weight of nearly 20,000 golden agers hitting their 100th year. DOH!

Russian Academy of Sciences to Explore One of Jupiter’s Moons

by M Dee Dubroff

The Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences aided by European and NASA scientists are discussing the possibility of exploring one of Jupiter’s moons. The specialists gathered to discuss the potential problems, which may appear during research missions to Europa. Read on and …be amazed.

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History of the Rubik’s Cube: Madness, Fun and One Man’s Obsession

by M Dee Dubroff

Rubik’s Cube is an invention that has been torturing puzzle-lovers for decades, but one man in England has surely broken the record for perseverance. It took him 26 years to solve the mystery and he as well as his enduring wife are very relieved that it is all over. If you are a puzzle fan read on, and if you are not, read on anyway and be amazed at how deeply this silly toy has permeated our cultural psyches.

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Top Ten Twitter Songs of All Time

by Ron Callari

In Twitter's short 3-year lifespan, the rapid-growing microblogging platform has spawned over 6 million followers who not only blog in 140 characters or less, but have also penned and performed songs in its honor.

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Burial Space Running Out: Could Promession be the Right Option?

by Gloria Campos

I first wrote about biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak and her cryogenic technology with dead bodies in October of 2007. She was 8th and favorite on my list of eco-friendly burial options. Nearly 2 years later her freeze-dry technology is placed top of the list as a possible eco-burial option for East Lothian.

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Reducing Carbon Footprints, LED Luminaires Glow At Awards

by Myra Per-Lee

Light Emitting Diodes have their own competitions now that they are the "hottest" way to present lighting design. The Strategies in Light conference announced the winners of the LED Next Generation Luminaires™ competition this week in Santa Clara, CA.

Jones® GABA Has Every Intention Of Blowing Your Mind

by Toby

You know Jones Soda, the pure cane juice soda? Well, get ready for Jones GABA, the drink that intends to blow your mind!

When Gloomy Bear Meets Hello Kitty, There Will Be Blood

Hello Kitty Collaborates With World's Most Violent Bear

by Steve Levenstein

Gloomy Bear meets Hello Kitty... or is that Gloomy Bear EATS Hello Kitty? If this violent and disturbing character combo is any indication, the backlash against Japan's culture of cuteness may have begun.

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Need Some Help Haunting Homes?: Great Idea?

by Cosetta

Patent# US 6776687 is what is known as a Haunting Aid, and it is one of those ideas that makes one wonder exactly how much those people down at the patent office really drink every day. Glowing eyes via an LED is hardly another world or even another invention. Read on anyway and ignore that chill that just passed over your right shoulder.

Does Big Foot Have a Foothold in Siberia?

by M Dee Dubroff

For some hunters in Tashtagol, a small mining town in the Siberian region of Kemerovo, located on the Kondoma River, some strange things are going on concerning furry humanoid creatures that have been spotted on several occasions. Read on for more information, but…don’t forget to keep your camera close at hand.

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Bizarre 'Sand Puppies' Could Be Next Japanese Character Sensation

by Steve Levenstein

Naked mole rats dig deep into Japanese hearts... in a GOOD way. What were you thinking? The so-called "sand puppies" at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens just might be the next cute character sensation, and the Zoo is helping things right along by selling plush toy versions of the bizarre, bucktoothed rodents.

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10 Best Hamburger Fantasies Become A Reality

by Jill Harness

Sushi is so 2006 and bacon is totally 2008, but what random food fad is on the cool horizon this year? Burgers. Why burgers? They’re as all-American as you can get –even more American than apple pie and baseball, which are really just variations of German and British inventions respectively.

In honor of this great American feat of food engineering, I bring you the must-have burger gizmos of the upcoming year.

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Renewable Energy From Artificial Trees: SolarBotanic's Fascinating Designs

by T Goodman

Using wind and solar energy, SolarBotanic's plan for individual homes and energy grids may end up costing users 50 percent less than current solar systems. And, as SolarBotanic is quick to point out, its plan is far better looking than photovoltaic panels or wind turbines.

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City Night Lights Create Day Lights In Window Shades

by Toby

Finish interior designer Elina Aalto has created a novel window shade that comes in cities, instead of colors!

Google Earth: Atlantis Still Lost Among New Finds

by M Dee Dubroff

There is some embarrassment and quite a bit of denial surrounding the claim that the Google Earth mapping tool was used to discover a grid of streets in the ocean that were thought to be the lost city of Atlantis. Google Earth has had some amazing results and the entire Google search system has come further than even its creators could ever have predicted. Still, read on for more details, which confirm that the lost city of Atlantis is, alas, still lost.

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OLED Television Wallpaper Gives You a Room With a View

Toshiba Develops TV Wallpaper Using Nanotechnology

by Steve Levenstein

Future homes may not have televisions or room lighting, at least not as we know them. Research by Toshiba using OLED paper and nanotechnology may make tomorrow's wallpaper a glowing, interactive wonder.

99designs®: The Crowdsourcing Spot For Graphic Designers

by Toby

Leading a growing trend on the Internet for groupsourcing, the group 99designs® has set up a very popular spot for SMB's (small to medium businesses) and graphic designers to come together on projects. The idea is very simple: the business sets up a "contest" through 99designs and graphic artists from anywhere in the world can compete to win the contest. There are hundreds of contests going on at a time.