Hasta La Gadget!

What’s your favorite thing to see explode? Never thought about it? How could you. I think it might have to be the watermelon The hard outer shell of the fruit makes for perfect fragmentation, the watermelon’s shape holds an explosive pretty darn well and its red flesh makes for colorfully gory splashes (especially against the green shell). Plus, it’s watery so the explosion range is fantastic. I don’t think it’s a competition. Just look at the SlowMoGuys blowing up a watermelon and try and think of something better to blow up. The watermelon looks like some super bomb from Mario Kart.

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Summer is right around the corner, which means you’re going to be wanting to have a watermelon with you at nearly all times as it’s never a bad time to chow down on a slice of refreshing watermelon. But the trick to eating a watermelon is to keep it as cool as possible up until you slice that sucker open, which unfortunately for the human body, means we’ll have to lug around a cooler as well. That is – unless you have your own portable watermelon fridge.

The portable mini-refrigerator / heater is called “Tama-chan” and comes from Japanese manufacturer Joynbond. You can power Tama-chan simply by connecting it to your car’s cigarette lighter socket, although it’s unknown just how long the cooler will keep your watermelon nice and chilled for without needing to be recharged. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Bandai Unveils Vending Machine That Targets Elderly Women, Dispenses Handkerchiefs, Asus Cube With Google TV Launched,

I’ve rarely had to use a handset with my smartphone, maybe that’s because I don’t talk much on it, and most earphones tend to have built-in microphones, so they are perfectly capable of acting like handsets. However, if you talk a lot on your phone, and like the feeling of an old-school handset, check out this funny-looking one, shaped like a banana.

The Banana Radiation-Proof Handset does exactly what its name says, protect your brain from harmful cellphone radiations – all while looking like a monkey’s favorite fruit. It connects via a 3.5 mm audio jack to a bunch of different phones, including iPhones, Motorola and Blackberry phones. Yes, this banana goes well with Apples and Blackberries.

It’s available in 8 different colors over on Amazon and costs $21.99(USD). It’s definitely something fun to give in a gift exchange or as a prank – or to your pet monkey who knows how to use a phone.

[via Fancy Crave]

Australia’s Department of Agriculture has announced that its researchers have made a breakthrough that will send shockwaves across beach resorts and tiki-themed restaurants around the world. Through careful breeding they’ve managed to produce a sweet pineapple that also tastes like coconut, reducing future Pina Colada recipes to just two ingredients. More »

Carbon nanotube-based sensors are good at sniffing out all kinds of things, but applying the cylindrical molecules to a substrate has traditionally been a dangerous and unreliable process. Now, researchers at MIT have found a way to avoid the hazardous solvents that are currently used, by compressing commercially available nanotube powders into a pencil lead-shaped material. That allowed them to sketch the material directly onto paper imprinted with gold electrodes (as shown above), then measure the current flowing through the resisting carbon nanotubes — allowing detection of any gases that stick to the material. It works even if the marks aren’t uniform, according to the team, and the tech would open up new avenues to cheaper sensors that would be particularly adroit at detecting rotten fruit or natural gas leaks. For more info, sniff out the video after the break.

Continue reading MIT pencils in carbon nanotube gas sensor that’s cheaper, less hazardous (video)

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MIT pencils in carbon nanotube gas sensor that’s cheaper, less hazardous (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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