inventions
Crazy Toothbrush Injects You with Caffeine, Medicine as You Brush
Maggie Lange · 05/16/13 03:18PMText-Friendly Umbrellas Will Be the Worst Thing to Happen to Sidewalks
Maggie Lange · 05/09/13 01:31PMAs a shared thoroughfare, the city sidewalk works best when its users maintain an acute awareness of their surroundings. This should involve recognition of fellow flaneurs, nearby vehicles, and the general pace of pedestrian traffic. There is an iffy yielding system. While it seems like organized chaos, there are rules to the side of the road.
This Sci-Fi Boob-Shaped Bra-Dryer Is the Latest in Unsolicited Technology
Maggie Lange · 03/28/13 04:24PMThe Creator of Dilbert, the World's Greatest Genius, Has Had Another Brilliant Thought
Hamilton Nolan · 07/02/12 02:35PMScott Adams is the guy who writes Dilbert, a cartoon beloved by suicidal office workers across America. Scott Adams is also, not to brag, the smartest person in America, judging simply by the quantity of thinly-veiled self-regard which drips off of each and every post on Scott Adams' blog, especially the rapey ones. Scott Adams' genius possesses such a breadth and girth that it often crowds everything else off the internet, forcing Scott Adams himself to take on the task of pointing out just how big of a genius Scott Adams is.
'Camel Toe Advocate' Invents Camel-Toe-Proof Panties
Maureen O'Connor · 05/18/12 01:08PMAs part of Gawker's ongoing effort to keep readers apprised of innovation in the underwear supplement industry (fart-neutralizing undies, penis-enhancing undies, calorie-absorbing undies, sexy period undies) may I now present Camelflage, "the original visual privacy undergarment" for eliminating camel toe with a labia-obscuring insert.
Child Genius Invents Awesome Monster Trap
Danny Gold · 03/08/12 08:27PMYoung Audri succeeds in inventing a "Rube Goldberg" machine to catch monsters. He also succeeds in making the rest of us feel very, very lazy and unaccomplished.
Federal Drug Warriors Destroy Old Man's Water Bottle Business
Lauri Apple · 11/24/11 05:56PMWorld's Most Expensive Tea: Panda Poop
Maureen O'Connor · 11/14/11 04:34PMCan Your Homemade Rockets Do This?
Lauri Apple · 10/11/11 04:47AMEverybody say hi to Qu8k ("quake"): An artisanal rocket made by Derek Deville that zoomed 121,000 feet above the surface of Planet Earth in only 92 seconds. Deville launched Qu8k on September 30 from Nevada's Black Rock Desert (the same spot where the Burning Man Festival of the One Percent takes place). The 14-foot rocket weighs 320 pounds, yet looks so skinny. Must be muscle mass.
The Poop-Powered Toilet Bike of Japan
Maureen O'Connor · 10/06/11 04:05PMThis Automated Pizza Vending Machine Has a Built-In TV
Maureen O'Connor · 10/05/11 04:26PMA Fruity, Functional Piano You Can Eat
Lauri Apple · 10/04/11 05:38AMFruit is so versatile: You can eat it straight from the store, eat it later, eat it baked in a pie or muffin, or not eat it at all—just let it rot away and feel guilty about wasting food (the fruit flies will console you). You can also use it to make your own Resistor Jeltone: an edible, functional toy piano.
Man Receives Patent to Build 'the Ultimate Snowman'
Lauri Apple · 09/24/11 11:56AMBack in 2006, Ignacio Marc Asperas sent the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office a 25-page application titled "Apparatus for facilitating the construction of a snow man/woman." Earlier this month the Office finally approved his application, and starting this winter Asperas will begin suing everyone who builds snowmen without his permission.
The Bike Repair Vending Machine That Sells Parts, Tools, and Snacks
Remy Stern · 07/23/11 02:03PMIt's happened to every biker. A flat tire in an inconvenient place on your commute, and the nearest bike shop is a long walk away. Most casual bikers don't carry extra tubes or tools with them; and so any repair work on the road can mean an end to a bike ride, and potentially leaving your bike locked up somewhere slowly rusting as you forget about it in your frustration. That's why the idea of the Bike Fixtation is so brilliant: a place for you to buy new parts and then install them yourself.
Finally, A Way To Do Your Grocery Shopping In the Subway
Adrian Chen · 07/05/11 11:08AMA South Korean grocery chain has launched "virtual grocery stores" which let customers buy groceries simply by scanning a code on a poster in the subway. Because what could be a more appetizing place to purchase food than the subway?
Airplane of the Future Makes Flying More Needlessly Complex Than Ever
Adrian Chen · 06/14/11 12:17PMThe Navy Will Fight Pirates with Lasers
Brian Moylan · 04/11/11 03:11PMWelcome to the future, people. The U.S. Navy has perfected a high-energy laser that can be aimed from a ship and can set another boat's engines on fire. The military thinks it will be perfect to prevent attacks by smaller vessels, so pirates being zapped with lasers won't be something you'll just read about in comic books anymore.
The 18 Most Suppressed Inventions Ever
Rich Bard · 04/07/11 10:45AMThroughout history there have been countless attempts to discourage new technologies only to protect other people's self-interests. Below are some of the most suppressed inventions ever.
10 Inventors Killed by Their Own Inventions
Richard Blakeley · 03/17/11 10:40AM
From the invention of the wheel to the rise of nuclear power stations, man has always attempted to harness the power of nature-sometimes resulting in disaster. Here are ten inventors whose own inventions ended up killing them.