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The Tantrum-Throwing Alarm Clock

We've posted lists of crazy and annoying alarm clocks before. Here's one that is guaranteed to drive you stark raving bonkers. It's the The Tantrum Throwing Alarm Clock. This clock starts to stir five minutes before alarm time, when it begins to glow. It's almost like the warning signs a child may give when he's ready to go off. Then he opens his mouth, stamps his feet, and starts to whine! You can tap its head for a snooze, but do it too many times and he'll throw a hissy fit anyway. The full-tantrum mode... READ ON

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The Corpus Clock & Chronophage

Stephen Hawking made some enigmatic allusions to "a new way to tell time" last week before he unveiled the Chronophage at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, England Friday. It's a sight to behold. Inventor John Taylor designed the clock to be frightening, since that's the way he views the passage of time. The clock is made of gold and includes six new patented inventions. The passage of time is marked by the beast on top. The monster momentarily stops the turning dial with its foot to mark the... READ ON

Article

Dream Car 123

It's a pyramid on wheels! The Dream Car 123 is an electric vehicle that holds only one passenger. Or maybe two people if they're small. Greg Zanis of Sugar Grove, Illinois developed the Dream Car to be both fuel efficient and safe. Safe like a tank. The exterior is covered with bulletproof plexiglass. The entire vehicle is lined with bubble wrap. Yes, bubble wrap. The bottom frame is heavy gauge steel. There are four motors (one for each wheel) powered by 80 batteries.  Of course it's heavy.... READ ON

Article

Solar Tree

Plants are the original solar generators. I once referred to the giant leaves on my pumpkin vines as "solar collectors" while explaining to my children how plants work. It makes sense to give plants the credit they... READ ON
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Article

Glowing Purse

The most basic and universal use of human technology is to light the dark places. Yes, heat is nice, but not necessary for so many who live in tropical zones. The need for illumination made fire a turning point in human civilization. Thomas Edison invented hundreds of useful items such as the phonograph and the municipal power grid, but he's remembered first as the inventor of the light bulb. Anyone with children, or who has ever been a child, knows that a little bit of light does a great job of warding... READ ON

Article

Treadwall

To expand on an old cliche: * Why do you climb that mountain? Because it's there. * Why do you climb that vertical treadmill? Because the mountain isn't there. * You've seen those knob-covered climbing walls at gyms and arcades. They may be fun, but when you get to the top, there's no place to go but down. Going down is a lot scarier than going up, because you have to look down. The Treadwall is a climbing wall that never ends. You don't have to stop climbing, you don't have to climb down, and you... READ ON

Article

Winglet, the Next Generation Segway

It's called a standup mover, a compact motorized transporter, and a partner robot. And that's just in the first couple of paragraphs of the press release. It's also been called a vertical mechanized scooter. What it is, is something like a Segway. Toyota has developed the Winglet through its Sony Robotics subsidiary. Competition for the Segway? Is that necessary? There are some differences in the two machines. The Winglet is more compact and weighs less than a Segway. Two of the three Winglet... READ ON

Article

The Clock of the Long Now

Most clocks are built to keep time on fairly short timescales: windup watches may run a few days between windings, torsion pendulum clocks go about a year between windings, battery-powered watches often go several years on a given battery, and of course electrical clocks plugged into mains power run as long as that power is provided. All of these inventions require continuous human intervention to operate, and even more attention to keep the clocks accurately set to the current time. But what if you're... READ ON

List

More Than Just a Toaster

In a world where computers, music players, game systems, and automobiles come and go, we manage to become attached to our toasters. This simple appliance makes our bread warm enough to melt butter and crisp enough to hold honey or jam. An oven or even a stovetop will do the same thing, but you'll rarely find a kitchen that doesn't have a toaster. Your Childhood... READ ON

Article

Clip Fan: Uncool to be Cool?

It's a solar-powered fan that clips to your hat! You'll get a cool breeze on your face when you're out in the sun. But do you want to? Coolest Gadgets says it better than I can:* This is one of those gadgets you can only get away with if you're either married, very old or completely shameless.  It is a solar fan which attaches to the bill of your hat to keep you cool while out antiquing or whatever it is people do that wear strange hats.  This ranks up there with the umbrella hats, both of... READ ON

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