Whether you like it or not, sunburns from these balmy late summer days will soon give way to that dreadful dry skin of early winter mornings. It’s inevitable, and if you don’t prepare yourself now, it’ll be miserable. That’s right. It’s almost humidifier season.
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When kids love camp, they really, really love camp. And they’re not hard to spot since they never shut up about it—often into adulthood. So for those of you who relish the nostalgia of those carefree, summer days of yore, you’ll probably want to look away now. The blog English Russia has posted a collection of gorgeous, haunting, and totally creepy photos of abandoned Russian summer camps. Because golden childhood memories, it seems, don’t age so well.
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Cycling has always been a good way to exercise, but the Varibike aims to make it even better, by working out a larger number of muscle groups simultaneously.
The Varibike was designed as a work-out solution as well as a therapy solution. It coordinates and creates new synapses in the brain by using leg and arm propulsion. It has an intuitive inclination steering system, which will help build muscle. Thanks to selective pedaling, individual muscle groups are allowed to recover and regenerate during a ride.
In addition to the workout improvement, the makers of the Varibike say the increased input from both arms and legs can propel their bike up to 30% faster than conventional pedal-powered bikes.
The Varibike FR2 costs €3,999 (~ $5,350 USD). The FR3 adds separate freewheels to each arm crank, which allows you to use them side-by-side, in a rowing motion. It costs €4,499 (~ $6,019 USD).
[via Gizmag]
Houses like the Cloudy Bay Shack in Marlborough, New Zealand, make you wonder why anyone would ever choose to live in an apartment (besides, you know, money). This house has everything: lovely rural scenery, a brilliant layout and a bold modern aesthetic. And though those two things might not normally jibe, they actually work in perfect harmony here.
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I’m biased, but believe that—if you can swing it—biking is absolutely the best way to navigate the streets. That being said, conscientious riders are pretty much always going to be stuck toting two things around at their destination: lights and a helmet. The former will likely get swiped if accidentally left on; the latter is just plain clumsy, and not ideal to leave outdoors when the weather’s nasty.
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3D printing has come a long way, and it’s going to go even further, when everyone can easily purchase an affordable and fast 3D printer for their homes. We’ve seen lots of intriguing items output using 3D printing tech, and now a Dutch artist created this 3D printed skateboard.
Sam Abbott’s twin-tipped skateboard design was a bit too large for the 3D printer of 3DprintUK and their competition, but they managed to print it in 3 sections. The deck was assembled and joined together with numerous connector pins. The board is textured quite nicely on its underside, and there are plenty of cool details, which will make any skateboarder lust after it.
I wonder when I’ll be able to whip up something like this on a 3D printer at home. Hopefully pretty soon!
[via designboom]
Good news Star Wars fans. The automatic sliding doors at the grocery store are no longer your only opportunity to experience what life as a Jedi must be like. Dresden, Germany-based design shop Dreiplus has a new under-the-cabinet lamp called the AREA that lets you selectively illuminate and extinguish its LEDs with just a wave of your fingers. Who’s living in a fantasy world now?
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The Heinz ketchup bottle has become a mainstay of family dinners and greasy diners alike, and it’s for this precise reason that its iconic shape so often goes overlooked. The ketchup bottle’s familiar glass frame comes with a rich, fascinating history that, fortunately for us, Co.Design has been kind enough to dig up.
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Park Bomin, Jung Sumi, and Chu Yeunho won a Red Dot Design Award for what they believe to be a big improvement to the surgical gloves used in hospitals. The trio’s Safe Cut Surgical Gloves feature a pull tab that not only makes the gloves easier to remove, but also prevents them from ever being reused—intentionally or not—which helps prevent the spread of disease.
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For a lot of people, commuting can be quite exhausting, especially if all the seats are taken. There’s nothing wrong with standing up, because there’s the rail for passengers to grab on to for added support… unless the rail itself is covered in slimy stuff (ew), is out of reach or just too high for comfort.
The solution? Rail Reach.
The Rail Reach is a folding handle that attaches to the handrail, so you can keep your hands off of the latter, which thousands of hands have already touched and grabbed before you. If you’re on the short side, it also helps by giving you an extension of sorts, so you don’t have to stand on your tiptoes or reach too far to grab the handrail.
The idea to create the Rail Reach came to Justin Choy after he dealt with his fair share of problems while he was using public transportation.
Rail Reach is currently up for funding on Kickstarter, where a minimum pledge of $15(USD) will get you the standard folding version of it.
[via C|NET]
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