A ‘Camera’ That Records Smells

[Click here to view the video in this article]







Ever notice how vivid and forgotten memories can be conjured up when you smell something?



This is because our sense of smell is thought to have a “direct link to our emotional memory”.



Designer Amy Radcliffe believes that smell plays an important role in how we “consume and record the world”. However, we have not been able to systematically capture and store it.



Her new project, the ‘Madeleine’, is a kind of ‘camera’ that captures smells instead of images. Radcliffe thinks that an “analog, amateur-friendly system of odor capture and synthesis” could profoundly change the way “we regard the use and effect of smells in our daily lives”.



To capture a smell, the funnel is placed over the object to be recorded, and a small pump then sucks the air over an odor trap that absorbs the particles that composes the smell.



Users can then send in their exposed odor traps to be developed at a lab. A small capsule and bronze disk is then sent back, allowing memories to be relived at any time.



Radcliffe is currently working with fragrance labs to further develop her concept.



Click to watch the video to see how the ‘Madeleine’ works:





















[via Amy Radcliffe and Guardian]

A Sustainable Flashlight Powered By Body Heat

[Click here to view the video in this article]







Ann Makosinski, a 15-year-old girl from Victoria, British Columbia has created a sustainable flashlight that can be powered by the body heat of a person’s hand.



Created for a Google Science Fair, ‘The Hollow’ was made with LED lights, circuits and Peltier tiles, which are capable of producing electricity when “one side of the tile is heated while the other side is cool”.



She also designed a PVC pipe handle that is “cut away in a certain area” so that the holder’s hand would come into contact with the tiles.



According to ExtremeTech, it reported that the flashlight worked, but the flashlight “worked better in colder temperatures (tested at 41 degrees Fahrenheit)” as compared to warmer temperatures.



“…the colder the surrounding temperature, the more the hand’s body heat can help the Peltier generate electricity.”



Altogether, Makosinski spent about US$26 to build ‘The Hollow’, which is able to produce enough light for over 20 minutes.



Watch the video below to find out more:













[via ExtremeTech]

A Traditional School For Gladiators In Training

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History geeks can now experience what it was like to be a gladiator in ancient Rome.



The Scuola Gladiatori Roma provides training for wannabe-gladiators, ranging from their “Gladiator For A Day” experience to their more extensive courses which can last up to months or even years.



In the “Gladiator For A Day” crash course, students first undergo a physical fitness test which ensures that they have the speed, strength, co-ordination and agility to be a real gladiator, before moving on to choosing their weapons.



After this, students are suited up with historically accurate armour and weapons, and heading to the training grounds straightaway.



The crash course ends after they face their trainer in the battlefield.



However, those who are more hardcore sign up for the full experience, which costs €25 for the first four months and €5 each month after.



Graduates from gladiator school get their diploma, or “Doctore” after they manage to beat their teacher.



With its rigorous training, this gladiator school is definitely a school of hard knocks.



Scroll down for a sneak preview of what it’s like in gladiator school.











































[via Oddity Central]

Infographic: Most Desirable Brands In The US, 2013

When it comes to branding, being 'desirable' is pretty much the aim of trade.



The following infographic summaries some of the top (and not-so-top) brands of 2013, in the US.



There are some expected 'top brands' like Amazon and IKEA, but also some 'underdog' brands to note, like Reese's and Pinterest.



What do you think about the ranking of brand 'desirability'?



Click to view entire infographic



Click to view entire infographic



[via Visual.ly, images via Brand-desire.com]

First Human-Made Object To Leave The Solar System

Since men landed on the moon, space has quietly continued to spur our imaginations and influence a lot of our movie culture. Understandably, we've also been pretty interested with whether or not we are alone in this universe.



In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 1 probe into space and now, roughly 36 years later, it is still on its mission and is currently "on the cusp" of being the "first human-made object to ever leave our solar system".



As NASA researcher Ed Stone describes it, “this strange, last region before interstellar space is coming into focus, thanks to Voyager 1, humankind’s most distant scout."



The exact date Voyager 1 will leave the solar system is unclear—nevertheless, after 36 years of venturing out and gathering data along with enough power to keep on going till 2020, it can't be too far off now.



Voyager 1 and its sister probe, Voyager 2, both carry a "gold record" that contains "images, sounds (including music from different time periods and cultures) as well as general information "about [human beings] and the Earth"—all of which can be useful if they ever come into contact with any form of extraterrestrial intelligences. You can have a look at what it looks like, below:







[via Forbes, images via NASA]

Infographic: Top 'Travel Nightmares' No One Wants To Encounter

Who would have guessed that over "26 million bags" go missing each year? Or that an approximate 200 mobile phones go missing each and every day?



The following infographic highlights some of the most tiresome and worrying travel 'disasters' that could happen to anyone on a journey.



Moreover, if time is of the essence in your travels, some data about the airports with some of the highest percentages of flights delayed in the US are as follows:

Newark, NJ (EWR)—23.83%

San Francisco (SFO)—21.78%

Chicago Midway (MDW)—20.1%

Miami (MIA)—19.35%

Houston, TX (IAH)—19.29%



While it might be impossible to fly through other states to get to your destination, perhaps this information can help you provide yourself with more buffer time.



Finally, another useful list on this infographic would be the list of 'Five largest cities exposed to natural disasters.' These include: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Kolkata, India; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Mexico City and Tokyo, Japan.



Have a look at the full image below:



Click to view a larger version



Click to view a larger version



[via Visual.ly, images via Hotspotshield.com]

The Hilarious, Comic Effect Of "Unnecessary Quotation Marks"

Bethany Keeley-Jonker is a Georgia-based blogger of a popular site called the “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks'.



Since 2005, she has been featuring very entertaining images of "signs, products, and other items" that prominently display indiscriminately used quotation marks.



When it comes to quotation marks, the old adage of 'less is more', holds true.



Enjoy some of her images below—and don't "forget" to "submit" and share your "contributions" if you happen to see any, "yourself":































































[via Laughingsquid.com, images via Unnecessaryquotes.com]

Voyager 1: First Human-Made Object On The Verge Of Leaving The Solar System

Since men landed on the moon, space has quietly continued to spur our imaginations and influence a lot of our movie culture. Understandably, we've also been pretty interested with whether or not we are alone in this universe.



In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 1 probe into space and now, roughly 36 years later, it is still on its mission and is currently "on the cusp" of being the "first human-made object to ever leave our solar system".



As NASA researcher Ed Stone describes it, “this strange, last region before interstellar space is coming into focus, thanks to Voyager 1, humankind’s most distant scout."



The exact date Voyager 1 will leave the solar system is unclear—nevertheless, after 36 years of venturing out and gathering data along with enough power to keep on going till 2020, it can't be too far off now.



Voyager 1 and its sister probe, Voyager 2, both carry a "gold record" that contains "images, sounds (including music from different time periods and cultures) as well as general information "about [human beings] and the Earth"—all of which can be useful if they ever come into contact with any form of extraterrestrial intelligences. You can have a look at what it looks like, below:







[via Forbes, images via NASA]

A 3D-Printed Exoskeleton Concept Provides More Support For Broken Limbs

Designer Jake Evill has created a 3D-printed cast concept that is more flexible and wearer-friendly than traditional plaster cast for break and fracture patients,



The design is dubbed the Cortex Exoskeleton and could potentially provide more structured support for broken limbs while also being lighter, stronger, and more convenient than existing traditional plaster casts.



Traditional plaster casts are usually made of a substance that, when mixed with water, solidifies around a skin of bandages.



Evill’s Cortex Exoskeleton concept addresses those factors of traditional casts' lack of waterproof ability by using advanced 3D printing techniques. An X-ray of the break is combined with a 3D scan of the limb, and then a custom sleeve is printed, complete with extra “membrane” structuring around the exact point of the injury.



The cast is left hinged and unfastened, so that it can be fitted around the wearer and then snapped shut, using integrated fasteners. Even when closed, however, the limb is still open to washing – and the cast itself is waterproof – while also being slim enough that a regular shirt sleeve will fit over it.



The nylon structure would take some time to print, roughly three hours it’s estimated, from the algorithmically-calculated CAD plans, but once produced would immediately be durable; that’s unlike existing casts, which demand a period of up to three days to set fully solid.



















[via JVNK]

A Giant Green Bin In Cophenhagen Reminds People To Keep The City Clean

[Click here to view the video in this article]







The city of Cophenhagen is on a mission to become the cleanest city in Europe before 2015. To accomplish their goal, household product brand Vipp has created a giant green bin as a reminder to keep Cophenhagen clean.



The giant bin is 8:1 in scale of their original pedal bin, 8.2 feet tall and over 6 feet wide. It weighs 1763.7 lbs. and has a volume of 3,800 liters and has all of the usual features a regular Vipp would have--like a pedal, lid, and their logo.



Watch its journey below:



















































[via Design Milk]