Archive for the ‘inventions’ Category
Herman Miller and Japanese “botanic artist” Makoto Azuma have collaborated on the AstroTurf Chair, a spin on the former’s iconic Aeron chair, which is unique in its standing as one of only a few chairs to be included in the Museum of Modern Art’s Permanent Collection. According to Colossal, in the coming weeks the chair will be displayed at Miller’s recently opened Tokyo store. (Colossal via @JailbreakJason)
The only nostalgia I have for childhood is Little League Baseball and nap time. August’s Little League World Series quells the former’s, but at this point it’s almost surreal to think that every afternoon we were obligated to sleep for somewhere between 30 minutes and one hour. Sure, in other parts of the world this luxury has translated into adulthood (see the siesta), but for us here in the USA, it’s work, work, work, and nap when you’re dead. And you know what? I think there’s something incredibly unjust about that. Enter architecture/design firm Studio KG, inventors of the OSTRICH — a portable and comfortable- (if not mildly claustrophobic-) looking “micro-environment” meant to both encourage and facilitate impromptu desk-dozes at any point during the day — who are attempting a solution to this problem. In their words:
Consider me (via Gizmodo)
It’s not often that we see a new product invention and think, “Wow, that has the potential to be absolutely huge.” Well, such is the case with Blocklets, these interlocking pieces of laser cut wood-acrylic that snap together to form anything from sculptures to furniture and even an Arduino-based Trebuchet (I didn’t know what that was either: watch the video). In an interview with Geek Dad, Blocklets’ inventors, Mark & Gabe, explained the purpose of their creation:
Which is why they decided to keep Blocklets a Creative Commons project: “Together, we all have more great ideas than any of us can separately, and we can take advantage of that to help each other out. We love the idea of system that anyone can modify and use. What we give up in control, we’ll gain many times over in innovation, good will, and ideas. We think the trade-off is well worth it.” Blocklets just reached its funding goal of $22,500 on Kickstarter, but that shouldn’t discourage potential pledgers, as some great rewards are up for grabs. For instance, pledge $1,000 and they’ll build you a coffee table! (Check out all of the rewards and a bunch of fun promo videos here.) With products in general, it’s impossible to predict future success. But just by looking at the playful functionality of Blocklets and the open source ethos of its creators, I think it’s safe to say that they have the potential to build a powerful community around what they’re doing. And passionate supporters at the ground level goes a long way in taking something from obscurity and into the mainstream. Blocklets are manufactured in Raleigh, North Carolina, and they will be available to purchase in the next few weeks.
While it would have been easier and less expensive to get his Desktop Dumpsters made from plastic at a factory in China, designer Ryan Christensen instead welds each one by hand from 25-35% recycled steel. The lids are even hand-made, a wood/plastic composite that’s made from a mixture of plastic bags and sawdust. Measuring in at 11.5″ x 9.25″ and weighing a substantial nine pounds empty, each miniaturized dumpster is one-of-one thanks to decoration by one or more artists. Christensen says he also has plans to release a blank, DIY version in the near future. I personally dig the idea of using it as a flowerpot, like in the image above, but spending $250 on a holder for my azaleas simply isn’t in the cards. Check out a few more pics after the jump.
Our friend Shed Simove is in the midst of a social experiment: He’s trying to get his new book, What Every Man Thinks About Apart From Sex, to the top of charts on Amazon. The catch, because with Simove there’s generally (and wonderfully) always a catch, is that the book is actually blank. Yep, 200 pages of nothingness! (Help Shed and pick up a copy of the quickest read in the history of literature for under eight bucks.) In a guest blog over on Smarta.com, a portion of which we’ve pasted after the jump, Shed explained how this “novelty book” came to be, why he’s doing this, and how it’s selling thus far (pretty good!).
These exciting visions of the year 2000 were created nearly a century ago in 1910. They represent our grandparents’ ideas for inventions to improve life in the future. The innovations run the gamut from getting your hair cut by robots to getting your booksmarts through a wood chipper. I’s thought that the vignettes were made to accompany food. The original images are on view in Paris here. Click through to see why your iPhone ain’t all that. - Jeremy Eau De Play-Doh
Posted:
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
in Branding, geeks, Gifts, inventions, mashups, pop culture, Proddities, products
Pick up a bottle (or five) here. [Via Geekosystem]
Swedish street artist Akay built a robot, or “instrument of mass destruction,” that uses perfectly-aligned spray cans to paint rainbows on walls. The “Robo-Rainbow” is shown in action in the video above, which was filmed and edited beautifully by Mudlevel. Muppets with People Eyes
Posted:
Friday, December 31, 2010
in inventions, mashups, Movies & Culture, People, pop culture, The Internet
Muppets with People Eyes, a new single-subject Tumblr by Wonder-Tonic, is delightfully creepy. No Cookie Monster yet, though. Check out a few more after the jump. *Update: COOKIE MONSTER!
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