Back in my old New York apartment, whenever my roommate would jump on the bed, begin shrieking, and start dropping books on the floor, I knew exactly what the sound meant: a spider had infiltrated the house. Today, however, arachnophobes and dreaded bug-fearers the world over can breathe a deep sigh of relief: Eurocosm is featuring the greatest bug-catching device on the market, the Spider Catcher! The device works by simply squeezing a handle to open and close the bristles delicately around a... READ ON
If you're bored out of your gourd scrubbing your mouth out with the same old Crest and Colgate flavors (mild mint, strong mint, x-treme mint, peppermint, vanilla mint"¦ what sort of mint will they dream up with next?), Japanese company Breath Palette has got your solution. Dead set on spicing up your morning hygiene ritual, the company has created a 31-flavor toothpaste sample set (which will set you back about $160 at Neiman Marcus—no one said this was going to be cheap). So,... READ ON
CNN has an interesting piece today on how we might be able to recycle all those piles of junkyard tires: by turning them into sidewalks! While rubber squares are three times more expensive than concrete, according to the article they won't crack from tree roots or weather, fewer people will trip on uneven edges, and the bouncier substances will result in softer falls when kids and the elderly do take a spill. They also last a heck of a lot longer than concrete. Even more amazingly, the shock... READ ON
I for one love camping, but hate, hate, hate putting up tents. (I'd give it 3 hates on a scale of 1 to 4.) Anyway, despite my resenting the activity immensely, I somehow always find myself trying to set up camps alone and then end up tangled in tarps, pegs and strings. In any case, I saw this amazing tent on Kevin Kelley's Cool Tools site, and I think all my prayers have been answered. While the tent from Decathalon is a little heavy for hiking (it weighs in at about 7 pounds), once... READ ON
For some reason there's no commentary on this CNN video, but apparently spas in Japan have started offering hot curry treatment for spa-seekers. A little research on the net provided this insight: "... a few of the baths border on the bizarre. For example, a bath house in Osaka offers a curry bath which it asserts is the antidote for almost every nervous disorder and internal illness known to humans. This "treatment" is not just bath water with curry powder sprinkled in; this is a cauldron of hot, soupy,... READ ON
Sick and tired of how American universities operate, professor Gary Hull is setting out to launch a new, for-profit university. Dubbed Founders College, Hull hopes to do away with "publish or perish" atmospheres and tenured professorships, focus on education, and provide a "classic" liberal arts curriculum. It sounds like a gutsy experiment (he's also cutting the sports teams). Hull hopes to mold great communicators out of his students, and he's definitely talking big: The... READ ON
If you thought the unholy alliances between McDonald's & Monopoly, Lord of the Rings & Monopoly and Disney Princesses & Monopoly were terrifying (see horrific pictures above), check out the latest incarnation of the indefatigable board game. Sky.com is reporting that Visa and Parker Brothers have joined forces and eliminated all the paper money from a new version of the game. Instead of counting bills, players will use plastic in the form of mock Visa debit cards to keep track of their funds... READ ON
Continuing my theme today of all things wet, I saw this piece on OhGizmo, and found it completely mind-blowing. Apparently, the clever folk at the Akashima Labs in Japan have schemed up a way to actually "print" words on the surface of water using wave generators! Through insanely complex calculations, the generators force various waves to intersect, creating beautiful letters and images out of the water. And while each imprint only lasts a short while before fading away, the machine is capable... READ ON
According to UPI reports, this summer's massive drought has spurred public officials in Lubbock, Texas to plead their case to a higher authority "“ you guessed it, they're taking their case to God! In fact, town officials have decided to petition the Big Man with numbers by organizing a massive community prayer. Mayor David Miller, the City Council and the Lubbock County commissioners "are expected to adopt resolutions this week asking local residents to both pray and fast"... READ ON
In my daily quest for the unbelievable, or perhaps just things I'm curious who's buying, I found a George Foreman grill that plugs into your USB! (Is there nothing that George Foreman can't do.) While it's far less spectacular than, say, the spaghetti cooker featured on this video, I'm still pretty amazed that ThinkGeek is vigorously hawking the things. I guess it could come in handy on camping trips, or when you're in the mood to grill in your lab and Bunsen burners just won't do, but seeing as I'm afraid... READ ON
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The duffel bag is named for Duffel, Belgium, where the cloth used in the bags was originally sold.
