Archive for September 25th, 2009

A Futuristic Rubik’s Cube

What you see before you eyes is what a Rubik’s Cube would look like if it was made from glass. Just be careful not to drop it. Although, having said that, having a cube made out of glass could be a pretty clever marketing strategy. From my own experience, people often struggle with Rubik’s Cubes, they then get frustrated and throw the cube onto the floor, there is then a 50% chance that they will proceed to stamp on the cube and beat it senseless. Unlike the traditional plastic cube, the glass one would obviously smash and hence need replacing… You get my drift.

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World’s Loudest Alarm Clock!

Have trouble waking up in the morning? You won’t anymore with this ear-splitting alarm clock hack. It can wake up the dead!

I’m A Fan Of Stuck Tic-Tacs

Chris Robinson likes tic-tacs, in fact he’s so fond of them that he collects, photographs and uploads stuck tic-tacs to his website.

Here’s what he had to say on the subject:

“I’m a big fan of Tic Tacs; there’s always a rattle coming from my trouser pocket. Unless the last couple of Tic Tacs are stuck.
I’ve been collecting the stuck ones.”

If you’re a fan of those tic-tacs with minds of their own, who are prepared to risk everything by holding on, despite being shaken, flicked or hit against a table, to prevent being eaten, then take a look at this gallery.

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Hacked Big Mouth Billy Bass Fish Speaks Tweets

Take a look at this video, in which some bright spark decided to hack a Big Mouth Billy Bass fish so it would read Twitter updates.

He planted an ARM microcontroller into it’s head so that it would read tweets. Initially an MBED chip implanted in the fish would repeat .wav files from an SD card, but Dan Ros thought having the fish say recorded phrases was just boring so he came up with the Twitter idea, attached an Ethernet wire and wrote some MBED code.

Here’s a visual representation of how Billy works:

Billy went offline recently, but now he’s back online, so feel free to tweet him @mbedmicro, and watch him read your tweet live here.

‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy!’

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Impressive Paintball Art

I have to say, this paintball art is very impressive. It was created by Colombian Pop artist Bon Yurt, and as you can (hopefully) see, it’s a portrait of Marilyn Monroe. Here is a time elapsed video of the paintball painting action.

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And The Winner Of The Worst Gadget Of All Time Is…

Whilst there are many pathetic gadgets out there that have been brought to market by crazy inventors wanting to make a quick buck, one stands out as being the worst of the worst – the shower radio.

That’s right, the shower radio has been voted as the worst household gadget of all time due to it’s tuning issues, not to mention the fact that it was impossible to hear over the sound of the tumbling water – hence making it completely pointless.

Battery-powered candles came second and the electric nail file was third. The classic 1980s SodasStream drink-maker was fourth and the Teasmaid was fifth.

The Sheilas’ Wheels Home Insurance study of 3,000 women also revealed the television as the greatest household gadget ever made.

Here’s a run down of the full results for the best and worst gadgets in history:

TOP 20 WORST HOUSEHOLD GADGETS: 1. Shower radio 2. Electric candles 3. Electric nail file 4. Soda Stream 5. Teasmaid 6. Pancake maker 7. Fondue set 8. Electric fluff remover 9. Facial tanner 10. Egg slicer 11. Deep fat fryer 12. Hair crimpers 13. Electric popcorn maker 14. Waffle iron 15. Electric carving knife 16. Digital photo frame 17. Back scratcher 18. Electric can opener 19. Electric facial massager 20. Mini disc player

TOP 20 GREATEST HOUSEHOLD GADGETS: 1. Television 2. Microwave 3. Vacuum cleaner 4. Hair dryer 5. Kettle 6. DVD player 7. Hair straighteners 8. Mobile phone 9. Telephone 10. Laptop 11. Television remote control 12. Digital camera 13. Alarm clock 14. Electric toothbrush 15. Computer 16. Bathroom scales 17. Toaster 18. Electric shower pump 19. Iron 20. Mp3 player ENDS

Some of you may not agree with these results, so from your own experience, what is the worst gadget you have ever owned, and why? Are there any gizmos in the above lists that you think shouldn’t be there? Let us know.

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The Red And Green Apple With A Split Personality, Beating Odds Of 1:1million

A fruit grower from Devon, England, has beaten odds of more than one million to one, in growing an apple which was split exactly half green, half red down the middle.

Horticulturists say the colourings on the apple are probably caused by a random genetic mutation. In such cases, the red side usually tastes sweeter than the green side – because it has seen more sunshine during its growth.

John Breach, chairman of the British Independent Fruit Growers Association, said: ‘I’ve never seen this happen before to a Golden Delicious. It is extremely rare. It is an extreme mutation.

‘There has been the occasional case of this type reported. If there was a whole branch of apples with the same colouring then fruit experts would get even more excited.’

‘Web-Bot Project’ Makes Prophecy of 2012 Apocalypse

There has been a lot of speculation as to a potential apocalypse on December 21, 2012, which is the day that the Mayan calendar ends, and now “web-bot” technology has moved apocalyptic prophecy into the internet age, predicting that the world will end on that very day.

Conspiracy theorists on the web have claimed that the bots accurately predicted the September 11 attacks and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and that they say a cataclysm of some sort will devastate the planet on 21 December, 2012.

The software, similar to the “spiders” that search engines use to index web pages, were originally developed in the 1990s to predict stock market movements.

The bots crawl through relevant web pages, noting keywords and examining the text around them. The theory is that this gives an insight into the “wisdom of crowds”, as the thoughts of thousands of people are aggregated.

Its latest and most sweeping prediction is that 21 December 2012 signals the end of the world, possibly through a “polar shift” – when the polarity of the Earth’s magnetic field is reversed. Believers claim that as well as the bots, the 2012 apocalypse is predicted by the ancient Mayan calendar, the Book of Revelations, and the Chinese text I Ching.

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