New Products and Product Upgrades

Those amazing Japanese "washlets" pretty much do it all, from raising their lids in greeting as you enter the bathroom to washing and drying you off when you're done. Seems like Japanese toilets can do everything but fly... well guess again! read more »

In an effort to keep minimally processed vegetables fresher for longer, companies are collaborating in a new project to design super fresh packaging. Among the preservation techniques is one that many three-year-olds are sure to enjoy: edible packaging. read more »

If every burger was an inch or so wide, we would eliminate obesity... or not, because we'd just eat dozens of "Every Burgers" instead! read more »

I love solar energy, because it frees us from high electric bills and because it allows us to use the sun to power our electronics. If you want to learn about solar power the Waterproof 12V Solar Panel from Scientifics is a smart simple way to introduce you and your family to the power of the sun. It is light weight and 3 1/2 X 3 X ¾ inches in size. It is also encapsulated in a strong clear plastic shell which makes it durable, sturdy, waterproof and corrosion proof for outdoor use. In other words it can take the heat and a beating. read more »

To inform the public of the product without using traditional advertising, helium balloons were tied to a model's skirt, leaving only her legs exposed as she walked around the mall. read more »

N700 Shinkansen Bullet Train
Japan's new N700 model Bullet Train is a kinder, gentler choo-choo... kinder on the environment and gentler on its passengers. read more »

Flabby Road

There are few things that are as essentially Japanese as sumo wrestling, which is why the need to pad thinning ranks with foreign sumo wrestlers is a bone in the throats of Japan's cultural traditionalists. read more »

7-Eleven has gone all Simpsons for a month long in-store and online promotion tied to "The Simpsons Movie," which opens in theaters on July 27. read more »

The provocatively named "Ghetto Japanese Cellphone Holster" combines gleaming polished chromed steel and black patent leather to hug your cell in a grip the Marquis de Sade would envy. read more »

I'd like to say that there is a Guerilla Gardener in me just waiting to come out. Ask my husband and he would probably tell you that I can envision a garden growing just about anywhere in my city. I'm always pointing and saying things like, "Why not plant a tree here, or flowers there?" I imagine turning abandoned buildings into greenhouses, parking-lot grass medians into botanical delights, and highway medians into evergreen forests. read more »