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NEWS ABOUT: invention

Gizmo Lets Caffeine Freaks Inhale Their Coffee

Inhalable 3-course meal is next, say Harvard inventors

(Newser) - A Harvard biomedical engineering professor and his students have come up with the perfect solution for coffee lovers short on time—or cups. His company, Le Whif, has created a range of inhalable coffees, delivered via lipstick-sized tubes. The inventors say each tube holds as much caffeine as a shot... More »

The Quest for the Better Bagel Slicer

Plague of bagel-related injuries spawns new approach

(Newser) - You probably thought the dangers of bagel cutting were conquered 15 years ago with the invention of the Bagel Guillotine, the self contained slicer that offers no chance of injury. Tut, tut, grasshopper. In fact, bagel-related injury—BRI—is still rampant, resulting in almost 2,000 trips to the ER... More »

Human Blood Fuels New Light Source

Gruesome lamp intended to make point about energy usage

(Newser) - Figuring that people would use less electricity if they had to cut themselves to turn on the light, a British designer has cooked up the “blood lamp.” The ingenious bulb is full of luminol, a chemical forensic scientists use to check crime scenes for blood, LiveScience explains. Just... More »

Gadget Translates 'Woof' into Words

Japanese toymaker debuts dog translator next month

(Newser) - Ever wonder what your dog is thinking? The “Bowlingual Voice” from Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy claims to be able to tell you just that, the Telegraph reports. The device is made up of a microphone and transmitter on the collar that categorizes the dog’s utterances into one of... More »

Jackson's Legendary Lean: It's Patented

(Newser) - When Michael Jackson and his dancers leaned over at a gravity-defying angle for the “Smooth Criminal” music video, it was pretty cool. When he replicated the stunt for his live show, fans were flabbergasted. And MJ apparently thought the trick was worth protecting, ABC News reports: In 1992, he... More »

'Hardware Hackers' Get Handy

Programmers leave screens for soldering irons

(Newser) - Seeking an escape from the confined world of their computer screens, programmers are applying their technological know-how to the physical world, building and tweaking an array of devices with their hands, the Boston Globe reports. “My normal job is way up in the clouds,” said a programmer at... More »

Invisibility Cloak Takes 'Big Step Forward'

'Carpet' technique bends and flattens light around objects

(Newser) - Two teams of researchers say they're getting close to making a perfect invisibility cloak a reality, the BBC reports. The scientists—using a silicon-based material that eliminates the flaws of earlier, metal-based efforts—successfully made objects invisible at optical wavelengths by bending light around them and producing the illusion of... More »

Rubik's Cube Gets a Makeover

Inventor says Rubik 360 will be as maddening as the cube

(Newser) - Hungarian puzzle patriarch Erno Rubik promises his sphere will be as fiendish to tackle as his cube, the Melbourne Herald-Sun reports. The Rubik 360, which goes on sale later this year, features a transparent orb with colored balls that must be moved through spheres. Puzzle fans worldwide say they are... More »

Slankets and Snuggies: The Mockable Sells

The pitch ripe for irony, sells more than a blanket

(Newser) - Parodied by YouTube videos and mocked by Jay Leno, the blanket with arms known as the Slanket—or its knockoff the Snuggie—is getting a lot of attention for a useless invention, writes Dara Lind for Culture11. As Leno points out, “It’s like wearing a bathrobe backwards,"... More »

High-Tech Gear Floods Olympic Games

Maker of spring-soled shoe challenges the rules

(Newser) - The Michael Phelps-endorsed body suit is only one of the high-tech inventions at this year's Olympic Games, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. NASA-designed shoes, 3D motion-capture-designed bicycles, and a Nike PreCool vest have all garnered attention. But the most controversial is a spring-enhanced shoe that track and field athletes will... More »

Prize Philanthropy: A Winning Concept

Donors make innovators compete for cash

(Newser) - When the X-Prize foundation offered $10 million to anyone who could develop a viable commercial spacecraft, it didn’t just send innovators scurrying, and it didn’t just grab headlines. It also began the next big trend in philanthropy. Donors are in love with prize philanthropy, Portfolio reports, and causes... More »

10 Who Were Blinded (or Worse) by Science

Their work lead to big discoveries...and unfortunate death and injury

(Newser) - Knowledge may be power, but finding that knowledge can get you killed. List Universe ranks the top scientists killed or injured by their experiments.
  1. Galileo Galilei: The “father of modern physics” refined the telescope by staring at the sun for hours, resulting in near-blindness.
  2. Michael Faraday: A nitrogen chloride
... More »

Self-Fixing Plane in the Works

Self-repairing process mimics the way human body heals

(Newser) - British aerospace engineers are working on technology that could create self-repairing aircraft, Gizmag reports. In a technique very much like nature's healing process, resin would "bleed" out of damaged parts of the plane and harden, making a damaged aircraft strong enough to continue to fly until it could be... More »

New Gadget Strikes a Chord

Tuning electric guitar becomes hands-off job

(Newser) - One less thing is standing between you and a perfect jam session: tuning your electric guitar. A newly launched battery-powered compact device that mounts on the instrument's body is accurate to within 2% of a note, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "It's just a dream, being able to pick up... More »

Earliest Recording of Sound Finally Played Back

1860 snippet, made before playback even imagined, 17 years ahead of Edison patent

(Newser) - Thomas Edison and associates might've been first to hear recorded sound, but scientists have revealed they weren’t the first to create it, the New York Times reports. A 10-second recording of “Au Clair de la Lune” made in 1860—17 years before Edison patented the phonograph—has finally... More »

McMuffin Man Dead at 89

Herb Peterson invented fast-food breakfast in a sandwich

(Newser) - The inventor of the Egg McMuffin has died in his Southern California home at the age of 89,  AP reports. Herb Peterson began working with McDonald's in the advertising department, and later switched to the hands-on side of the business, owning six restaurants in the Santa Barbara area. Peterson,... More »

Tough Call: Book Says Bell Ripped Off Rival

Phone inventor likely copied competitor's patent application

(Newser) - Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell ripped off the idea from his rival Elisha Gray, a new book claims. In The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret, journalist Seth Shulman uncovers evidence that Bell took a sneak peek at Gray's patent documents with the help of his lawyers and a... More »

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