Developed by Dr. Afsaneh Rabiei at North Carolina State University, the metallic bubble wrap is designed to provided added protection in areas that are only a few millimeters thick. As compared to a same-sized piece of ordinary metal, it’s said to be 20 to 30 percent lighter while offering 30 to 50 percent more bending strength. Its tensile strength is essentially the same.

Additionally, it’s more heat- and chemical-resistant than plastic or polymer materials.< … Read More → "Metallic bubble wrap could be popping into consumer products"

Created by Hong Kong-based architect Gary Chang, the beautiful fortress is nestled in the hills near the Great Wall. The long, narrow Chinese hotel uses space in really interesting, unconventional way, with a series of undetectable compartments hidden under notched floorboards that open to reveal different programs. Pull up one of the convertible pieces, and you’ll find sinks and a bathroom. Remove another, and there’s a library and a study. Another conceals a sleeping … Read More → "A hotel full of secret rooms invites an epic game of hide-and-seek"

In the field of magic, theft is rampant. Close-up magic wholesalers steal from close-up magic wholesalers. Parlor manipulators steal from parlor manipulators. Large-scale illusionists steal from large-scale illusionists.

Why do they do it? Because they can.

David Copperfield spends years developing illusions, perfecting patter, and mastering misdirection. And then lots of large-scale illusionists steal his style, his jokes, his presentations. ”French law protects artists much better than U. … Read More → "Can you patent a magic trick?"

In 2010, Matthews embarked on the Great British Knot Experiment, enlisting kids in eight schools to put string—some of which was looped (with each end clipped together to form a tiny circle), others unlooped—in boxes, jumble them around, and then report the results. Matthews found that looped string formed knots one tenth as often as unlooped string of the same length. In other words, uniting the ends of your earbud cables—with, say, a paper clip—will keep knotting to a minimum.

This finding is a godsend for anyone who has … Read More → "How untangling headphones could stop epidemics"

One of the advantages of map apps over traditional paper maps is the fact that with an app, the user can zoom in on one area of a map – no having to spread a whole paper map out just to look at one part of the city. British product designer Anne Stauche decided to level the playing field a little, with her map2 zoomable paper map.

In its completely folded-down form, the … Read More → "Paper map “zooms in” as you unfold it (video)"

… Read More → "Motorcyclist notices coffee cup on back of moving SUV, grabs it and returns it"

To create the shed’s frame, the boat was fixed atop four telegraph poles plonked judiciously on a hillside amid Wales’ Cambrian Mountains. (The views aren’t at all bad, either). Aluminum-framed windows were salvaged from a 1940s caravan, and others were “borrowed” from Holland’s farmhouse. Walls are a mixture of corrugated metal and, for a taste of the Neolithic, wattle and daub.

Inside things take a turn for the high tech. The shed’s PV panel … Read More → "Recycled, solar-powered, boat-roofed wonder wins Shed of the Year"

This is where being alerted to the fact this this isn’t just a tummy trembler, it’s actually a potentially devastating 7.5 on the Richter scale would be useful – because it could save your life.

Unfortunately, early warning systems are hugely expensive pieces of infrastructure to build from scratch.

So a team from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created an app that uses the accelerometer in your smartphone, and … Read More → "Predicting earthquakes and saving lives – with smartphones"

… Read More → "3D printing with liquid metals (video)"

Yamamoto’s work borrows from traditional Hindu and Buddhist meditation mandalas—which are created as a form of meditation and swept away shortly after completion—and they have an incredibly short shelf life. A piece begins when Yamamoto sits down, usually on a gallery floor, and begins to draw using a bottle of salt that functions as a pen. This phase can take weeks, and the public is often invited to … Read More → "Artist creates (and destroys) drawings from thousands of pounds of salt (video)"