For those who don’t know, Schrödinger’s Cat is a thought experiment designed by Austrian scientisst Erwin Schrödinger in 1935 to demonstrate what he considered a flaw in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The experiment has been turned into the latest oracle gadget, and the geekiest and nerdiest one since the Magic 8 Ball — Schrödinger’s Cat Executive Decision Maker.
Photos of a cute kid wearing a handmade watermelon cap & shorts combo have gone viral in China. Be afraid, Fruit Of The Loom, be VERY afraid!
I recently bought one of those elongated spoons because I got tired of ending up with sticky hands all the time after getting the last few spoonfuls of peanut butter from the jar.
I’m sure many of you have a problem with the same thing. The good news is that this first-world problem might soon be resolved. How? By re-doing the jar.
You might be wondering, how do you re-do a jar? How do you “redesign” something that’s been used for many, many decades already?
Just ask the folks behind the Jar-with-a-Twist. They came up with the twist-jar that you’re supposed to twist so its contents are slowly “raised” from the jar so you can swipe at it more easily with your spoon or knife. It’s sort of like a giant lipstick, but for your peanut butter, salsa or jelly.
Its creators hope to make the jar affordable enough for mass production so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of having a jar that twists up.
[Reddit via Foodbeast via Laughing Squid]
The Kikkerland Design Crew has reinvented the traditional rubber eraser in multiple innovative and fun ways to brighten up your office space- Who wouldn’t adopt an office rhinoceros?
Some dads get their kids toy cars or iPads to play with, while others go the extra mile and make something that their kids will remember for their entire lifetime. Laurent Aigon is one of the awesome dads who went for the latter.
For the past five years, Laurent has been building this highly-detailed 737 cockpit simulator in his son’s room. He ordered the parts online and enlisted the help of Jean-Paul Dupuy, another enthusiast, to build it with him.
You might assume that Laurent is a pilot, but he’s actually a waiter with a passion for flying. It was always his dream to be a pilot, so while that didn’t happen in real life, he can sort of pretend to be one in the amazing simulator that he put together.
[Sud Ouest via Oddity Central via Gizmodo via C|NET]
Mattel’s Magic 8-ball toy has 20 answers, each one printed on a 20-sided die. Jason Poel Smith of DIY Hacks and How-Tos thought that that was 40 answers too few, so he made his own version of the fortune-telling toy that can have up to 60 possible answers. And he can cheat with it.
Smith could have used a 60-sided die – I know, I’m as surprised as you are! – but he opted for a more elegant solution. He split open a magic 8-ball and put a digital picture key chain inside. This way he can edit the toy’s answers by plugging the key chain to his computer via USB. I bet he placed 57 positive answers.
Shake your browser and turn it over. Outlook good? Then bring out your toolbox and head to Instructables.
[via MAKE]
Popping bubble wrap is pretty calming. It’s an unconventional means to deal with anger or frustration, but hey, it works and it’s way cheaper than a session with a therapist.
Taking bubble wrap to the next level is LA-based comedy “imaginator” Eric Buss, who came up with the fascinating contraption that’s aptly called the Bubble Wrap Bike.
The bicycle isn’t made of bubble wrap, although bubble wrap is a huge component of it. The front of the bike is outfitted to hold and dispense a sheet of bubble wrap as the rider goes along. The bike’s wheels run over the bubble wrap with each push to the pedal, popping it along the way.
It’s weird, it’s strange, it’s all about bubble wrap and I think it’s amazing in a cool-but-I’d-never-ride-this-myself sort of way.
On a side note, what a waste of good bubble wrap!
[via Reddit and DPaF via Laughing Squid]
If you’re running out of ideas for fun stuff to do with your family, then you might want to look to Feelday for some help. It’s touted as a “discovery guide for playful families” that provides suggestions for a variety of activities that every member of your family will enjoy.
Families can discover new activities “on the fly” and filter their finds according to their moods, schedules, ages, weather, and price. When you first visit the site, you’re prompted to key in your family’s mood, the date when you’d want to go on your next family outing, and your zip code. Feelday will then provide you with some activities scheduled near your area.
Our mission is simple: We help families find great local activities that are right for them. We help families get off of the couch and into the real world.
Feelday is currently available for families living in New York City, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, and Houston, and has a fairly limited number of activities in its database. If you live within these areas, give the service a try and let us know what your experience was like.
[via SwissMiss via Laughing Squid]
If you still like print photography and frequently send friends and family snapshots, then you might want to get a Stampede. It’s basically a large, pre-inked rubber stamp that transforms your photographs into postcards instantly.
There’s just something different about sending and receiving an actual photo in the mail, rather than just checking it out on a computer screen or a mobile device. All you have to do is grab a photograph, ink the Stampede, and stamp it onto the back of the photograph. It’ll instantly be stamped with all the stuff that postcards are printed with: address lines, the divider, a space for your handwritten message, and of course, the box where you’re supposed to affix the stamp.
Stampede is currently up for funding on Kickstarter, where a minimum pledge of $50(USD) will get you one of your own.
The Elements iPad app is one of the best alternatives to the traditional periodic table. But a mobile augmented reality company called DAQRI is working on something more interactive and intuitive. The company calls it Elements 4D, a set of building blocks that make learning about the elements fun and easy.
Elements 4D has a total of six wooden blocks. Each block face is dedicated to a single element. When you view a block face or faces through the Elements 4D iOS app, the block comes to life, showing a virtual representation of the elment. In the image above you see carbon and gold being represented. The app also shows additional information about each element, but its best feature is demonstrating chemical reactions. Simply by putting two block faces side-by-side, you’ll see what chemical compound they become, if any. It’s a virtual chem lab. You’ll need lots of blocks to make meth.
Pledge at least $25 (USD) on Kickstarter to get Elements 4D blocks as a reward. Note that you have to pledge at least $75 to get all six blocks. Aside from being expensive, another significant downside of Elements 4D is that it currently only has six blocks. That’s just 36 faces, but we know of 118 elements. I guess DAQRI can release more blocks in the future, but then that would add up to hundreds of dollars. I’ll stick to The Elements app for now, but Elements 4D is a great example of the educational application of augmented reality.
[via The Next Web]
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