InventorSpot

If you have ever seen a blimp in the sky the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 may have crossed your mind. It's a terrible and scary story. The kind of story that makes a person never want to ride one of these things, but blimps have come a long way since then. In fact, recently a group of French engineers equipped a helium blimp with solar panels. 

You could take a 5 minutes shower to reduce your carbon footprint or you can step into an eco-friendly shower that powers on when you step in and conserves water. Several students designed a shower like this for a student project. It is touch sensitive and green.

In the competition to get your attention on a product, marketing firms utilize a lot of tricks.  One of them is to subtly place phallic imagery into an ad in hopes that it will filter somehow into your subconscious and lead you to purchase the product.  Read on for a few examples...

In some places (like where I live) it's too hot to turn off the AC unit and open up the windows. On some days temperatures can reach over 100 degrees, that's why our AC stays on all the time. Asking us to take off more clothes to cool off and conserve energy would leave us naked, so how do we, the consumers, stay cool and cut down on our carbon footprint? We could try an AIR-igator.

Can you smell Barbeque in the air? Does it make your mouth water, but your eco-conscious keeps you from grilling? If you worry about the eco-friendly hazards of grilling, check out these innovatively green pit alternatives below before you decide to never grill again.

Remember the almost waterless dishwasher prototype I wrote about last month? Now, there is news of an almost waterless washing machine prototype set to go on the market in 2010. The eco-washing machine is so planet-friendly it could have an "environmental impact of taking two million cars off the road."

Somewhere in Los Angeles California a sustainable meal truck, the Green Truck, is delivering meals made with organically grown ingredients. To find the truck's location a customer can track it via a GPS tracker, twitter or by phone. So, a customer can always know where the truck is parked right now.

New York med student and artist Satre Stuelke started a project in 2007 called "Radiology Art" in which he takes x-ray scans of ordinary objects.

There is a new project in the works from scientists at the University of Rochester with the ability to make incandescent light bulbs more energy efficient as well as brighter than ever before. All it takes is a few bright UofR scientists, a powerful laser and a few quadrillionths of a second.  

Pierre Javelle, a French photographer of culinary magazines, and Akiko Ida, a Japanese cooker, photographer and artist have collaborated together to make these unique works of art.

My husband and I are spring cleaning our home and garage. In doing so we have realized shelves would come in very handy for organizing our stuff. Below is a list of unique storage ideas I came across in my search for making shelves out of recycled material. 

Around here the rain has not fallen in weeks. This is why the grass remains short, but the rain will come and when it does it will pour and the grass will grow tall quickly, which will mean, time to mow. Fortunately, there is one more planet-friendly lawnmower on the market to consider using when you mow your lawn.   

Don't worry too much about giving your dad too many ties for Father's Day every year. Ties can be recycled, upcycled, reused, refashioned and crecycled into new, sometimes very pretty things. Look at all the wonderful and inventive ways to use old ties below. 

I think solar powered gadgets are amazing, so I have put together a list of solar powered gift ideas for Father's Day.  If you still need to buy a gift for your dad or your baby's daddy take a look at the list below. You might just find what you are looking for or think of something better along the way. Either way, I hope it helps.

In January of this year I introduced you to Alexandra Guerrero the Chilean designer who recycles cigarette butts into clothing. Today I introduce you to Tom Deininger. Tom also upcycled cigarette butts into something: art. In fact, he recycles a lot of found objects (cigarette butts, toys, bottle caps, etc) into art.

Swedish design company Humans Since 1982 has created a prototype of a digital clock from 24 analog alarm clocks, whose hands come together to create a digital display of the time.

'Disturb Me' is an interactive light installation, meant to connect people to their environment through the medium of sound, producing colored orb projections that change hue, drop off physical surfaces and collect to form pools of color.

Move over Japan. China's making huge strides in the field of weird and wacky. Check out this crazy bicycle with a pentagonal wheel on the the front and a triangular one on the back. It was developed by Chinese inventor Guan Baihua who believes that people will want to ride the bike because it requires more effort than a conventional bike, and thus provides a greater workout for the rider.

I’m not a big fan of chandeliers. They’re too much glitter and glamour for me, but every now and then I will come across a unique chandelier that just sparks my interest. Below is a list of trash to treasure chandeliers I think are absolutely innovative.

Today the marketing of the individual is as important (if not more important) than the marketing of a company.  The business card is usually quite effective - until you end out receiving a gazillion cards that are all the same shape and size.  People have started getting very creative in the way they market themselves.  Some of these are quite brilliant.  Others make you ask, "How am I gonna fit that in my pocket?"