Line-drying your clothes just got a lot easier! Australia-based laundry detergent maker OMO has developed a smart clothespin that sends you updates on your wet laundry hanging outside. It’s called Peggy and syncs to your smartphone via Wi-Fi, then alerts you with up-to-the-minute notifications on the temperature, humidity, and sunlight … Read More → "Smart clothespin tells you when your laundry is done"
The Inca Empire covered vast parts of South America, uniting distant cities in Chile, Peru, and even Argentina with well-engineered highways. Sophisticated agricultural systems and architecture allowed the Inca to live on the steep slopes and jagged peaks of mountains. And they did it all without money or markets as we know them. Instead, Inca leaders had an elaborate system of tributes or … Read More → "Mile-long “Band of Holes” in Peru may be remains of Inca tax system"
The London Marathon was held earlier today, and among its runners? Astronaut Tim Peake, orbiting above the Earth on the International Space Station, and he set the world(?) record for running a marathon in space.
Interestingly, he’s not the first astronaut to tackle this feat: that honor goes to Astronaut Sunita Williams, who posted a four hour, twenty-four minute run time in 2007’s Boston … Read More → "Tim Peake beat the record for running a marathon in space"
[H]e is silent throughout Hamlet because he is dead (though this condition doesn’t stop Hamlet’s father). Nonetheless, because Yorick appears in one of the most famous scenes of Shakespearean drama, some actors want to play him. So they have bequeathed their skulls on the condition that they be used in performances of Hamlet. Hyperallergic reports:
Read More → "Actors have been dying to play the skeletal role of Yorick in ‘Hamlet’"
A new billboard in Brazil aims to attract and kill mosquitos, as part of a campaign launched by two advertising agencies. The “Mosquito Killer” billboard, created by the agencies Posterscope and NBS, emits carbon dioxide and a lactic acid solution to mimic human breathing and sweat. Mosquitos that are lured to the billboard become trapped inside, and eventually die.
via < … Read More → "This billboard kills mosquitos by mimicking human sweat"
Fallen Furniture is a studio in Bath, UK that takes old aircraft parts and turns them into luxurious pieces of furniture. This chair made from the cowling of a Boeing 737 engine is among them. Its polished aluminum cover brightens up a room. And despite the weight, it’s perfectly balanced, so it spins easily.
via Read More → "Chair made from a jet engine"
In a new scientific study, researchers conducted acoustical analysis of Queen singer Freddie Mercury’s singing voice. While he spoke in a baritone voice, Mercury had a tremendous singing range. But his real vocal superpowers were a rather unique vibrato combined with his ability to use subharmonics, like a Tuvan throat singer. The Austrian, Czech, and Swedish scientists report on their research in the journal Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology</ … Read More → "Scientists are studying what made Queen singer Freddie Mercury’s voice so amazing and unique"
Many aerial drones now feature a Follow Me mode – that’s where they can be instructed to autonomously fly along above you and shoot video as you ski, cycle, run or otherwise move about. However, what happens if you’re a scuba diver? Well, in the near future, you might buy an iBubble. It’s a submersible drone that tracks its user as they swim underwater, using a proprietary … Read More → "Underwater drone follows and films scuba divers"
Interested in building and programming your own robot? You might want to give Antbo a try. Billed as the “insect robot designed for anyone with an inquisitive mind,” it’s a programmable entry-level kit for beginners or anyone with a casual interest in robotics.
via Engadget
Read More → "Antbo is a robot insect companion anyone can build"
If even half of the businesses hankering to get drones into US airspace are successful, these skies will soon be a whole lot busier than they are today. Looking to avert gridlock at altitude, NASA has been working on an air traffic management system for drones and today is carrying out its first coordinated testing, looking to see just how well it accommodates flights at different locations across the country.</ … Read More → "NASA puts nationwide traffic control system for drones to the test"
