The Spira-Foam Car

It’s not very sexy, but it has a lot of other advantages conventional cars don’t.

Invented by Lon Ballard, the Spira-Foam Car is made out of common motorcycle parts, covered by six inches of foam. It’s powered by a 110 cc scooter engine that returns 100 mpg, has a weight of just 320 lbs and reaches a top speed of 70 mph.

Except for weight and fuel-consumption, the Spira-Foam Vehicle‘s specs don’t impress. But what’s most amazing about this strange car is it’s ability to function on both land and water. With the traffic nowadays you can just sail your way to work, if the surroundings allow it. Also, because of its spira-foam exterior, it offers a lot more protection in case of accidents. Sure, the Russian TREKOL did all this things, but I’m sure you’d go broke after a few refills.

Ballard says he can build a Spira-Foam Car using the parts off any bike, and he will soon start mass producing his invention, in Thailand.

I don’t know how expensive this wacky car will be, but if you won’t be able to afford it, you can also build yourself an amphibious bike.

via Jalopnik

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Audio Tower of Babel by Tivoli

What can you do with 1,000 Tivoli radios? That’s an easy one, build a 15-foot-high audio tower, of course.

Nicknamed the “Tower of Babel” this technological oddity was presented at the Milan Design Week 2009, to promote the audio supplier’s collaboration with Italian designer Giulio Cappellini. The Audio Tower of Babel was very popular in Milan, so it will be reconstructed in Moscow, London and Paris. Be sure to check it out if you’re into audio stuff.

You can watch the building process of Tivoli’s Tower of Babel, in the video at the bottom.

via Dvice

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The Giant Coconut Crab

I know what you’re thinking, but no, these are not stils from Starship Troopers, these giant crabs live right here, on Earth.

The Coconut Crab is the largest land-crab in the world, with a diameter of around three feet and weight of over nine lbs. As you might have guessed, this giant crustacean loves coconuts. It climbs coconut-trees, crushes their fruit with its powerful pinchers and scrap out the inside.

They are sold as pets in markets like Tokyo, but I find it hard to believe people would want such a creature in their houses. It’s not only their appearance and size, but also their strength. If you’re not careful, a Coconut Crab could easily crush one of your limbs. Just think, if it can crush a coconut, what could it do to your arm.

Coconut Crabs live on the islands of the Indo-Pacific region, but, unfortunately, their numbers are declining, due to loss of habitat and poaching. They are considered a delicacy by some people and it is said their flesh resembles the taste of lobsters.

via Scienceray

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Charlie the Spider-Cat

Cats are great climbers, that’s not a big secret, but a cat climbing up a 13-foot dry wall? Now that’s something you don’t see every day.

Charlie is a very special seven-year-old cat from Falkirk, Britain, who has the very special skill of climbing buildings. As you’ve probably guessed, this is the talent that got him the very cool nick-name Spider-cat.

Charlie began climbing up to his owner’s flat, on the first floor of an apartment-building, after he got bored of waiting for someone to open the front door of the building, after his daily walk around the bloc. One day he just went to the back of his owner’s home, took a long look at the obstacle in front of him and just jumped up the wall. Using his front paws for grip and his behind paws for leverage, he made it up to the first floor and started miaowing until someone opened the door for him. Since that faithful day, Charlie the Spider-cat has been climbing up the dry-wall on a regular basis.

Check out the incredible video of Charlie doing what he does best, after the photos.

Photos by PA

via Daily Mail

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SOBEaR – The Responsible Bartender

Are you one of those people that doesn’t know when they’ve had one too many drinks? If the answer is yes, SOBEaR might just become your best friend.

SOBEaR is the most adorable robot bartender in the world. Shaped as a panda teddy-bear for trustworthiness, he can tell you how drunk you are just by “smelling” your breath. The sensor is under his chin and the green, yellow and red LEDs on his chest and belly light up according to how drunk you are. If he feels you’re drunk enough he’ll pour you some juice, from one of his servo-controlled arms.

Of course you can just have SOBEaR hold two alcohol bottles, but what would be the fun in that?

via jmsaavedra

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SOBEaR v02 :: the responsible robot bartender from j saavedra on Vimeo.

Washing-Machine for Humans

It might sound like a futuristic invention, but Sanyo presented its washing-machine for humans way back in 1970.

Officially named Ultrasonic Bath, this human washing machine was introduced as a concept at the 1970 World Expo in Osaka. It was about 2 meters tall and the bather had to use a ladder to get in. After the desired water temperature was set, the 15-minutes-washing process would begin. First a 5-minutes pre-rinse cycle, spraying the baither with jets of hot water. After that the pod-shaped washing-machine filled up with water and a 3-minute massage-bath began. The soothing massage was supposed to stimulate blood circulation while cleaning your body. A 2-minutes rinse process followerd, and finally a 5-minutes drying program, in which warm air blasted the user, while infrared and ultraviolet light killed any remaining bacteria.

Unfortunately the Sanyo Ultrasonic Bath never made it into our homes, but the Japanese company did release HIRB (Human In Roll-lo Bathing), a compact washing machine for humans, used in elderly homes.

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The Real Robocop

T-34, known as robocop, was developed by two Japanese tech firms, Tmsuk Co. and Alacom Co.

This smaller version of the popular 90s robotic super-hero travels with a speed of up to 10km/h and can be controlled by someone who sees real-time images through a cell-phone. The small robot is equipped with motion sensors that detect movement, and can hurl a net to trap the intruders.

The T-34 robocop is an improves on the common security sensors that often trigger false alarms. With the use of the built-in camera, anyone can examine the location from anywhere, via there mobile phones.

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El Caminito del Rey

Often shortened to El Camino del Rey, this dangerous walkway has claimed many lives in recent years.

El Caminito del Rey was built in 1901 as a connection between the power plants of Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls. It took four years to finish and in 1905 Alfonso XIII, King of Spain, crossed the walkway for the inauguration, thus giving it its name, The King’s Walkway.

Built along the steep walls of a narrow gorge, in the Malaga region, El Caminito del Rey has deteriorated severely in the last years and after four people died crossing it, in 1999 and 2000, the authorities decided to close it off to tourists. It’s only 1 meter wide and it stands 300 meters above the river floating in the area. Onlly a small part of the walkway has handrails and much of the concrete  walkway has collapsed, leaving only the steel beam that originally held it up.

Despite the efforts to keep tourists away from El Caminito del Rey, many still sneak past security in search of adrenalin-induced thrills. In 2006, the regional government of Andalusia approved a restoration plan of 7 million euro.

Watch video at the bottom

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The Netti Pot Nasal Solution

Have you ever tried pouring salt water into your nose? No, not for fun, but to cure a runny nose or treat sinusitis. Most people have never heard about Netti Pot, but this is an ancient and simple Ayurvedic remedy used especially by Yoga practitioners.

The Netti Pot method basically consists of pouring slightly salted water into one of your nostrils and allowing it to clean the sinuses until it comes out your other nostril. It might seem a little awcward at first, but after a while you’ll get used to it.

Check out the video at the bottom to see how Netti Pot works.

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The Dream Controling Machine

 Watch a cool video of a cheap, easy-to-make and fully functional dream controlling device that will chase away your every nightmare. It’s, well…everything you ever dreamed of.

The Lucid Dream Machine, gives you the ability to take control of the action in your dreams without waking up, it’s like your awake inside your dreams and fully aware of the fact that your actually dreaming.

The machine works by flashing two red LEDs in your closed eyelids while your sleeping, these make your eyes receive light, and send the information to the brain making it alert but not affecting your sleep, you gain consciousness and wake up in a dream. Once you hit that point you can do whatever you want here are some crazy examples : fly, jump off buildings, skydive, have sex, eat cars, imagination is the limit !

You have free access to the natural reserves of Adrenaline and Melamine which your body holds “people often take heavy drugs like “Methamphetamine” to unlock these magic potions” .

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The Incredible Surfing Mice

Mice aren’t the most water-loving creatures in the world, but apparently Australian Shane Wilmott has trained his three little mice not only to love water but also to ride the waves on surf-boards. Shane says this way he has merged his love for surfing and for his three little rodent pets. Make sure you watch the video at the bottom of the post.

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Sarah Palin Stripper Contest

Sarah Palin is probably the most popular figure in the US right now, there’s no doubt about that and entrepreneurs are using their image to gain some profit or some serious exposure that will ultimately turn into…profit. After the porn parody Nalin’ Palin, where industry star Lisa Ann played republican VP candidate and the Sarah Palin Halloween costumes that were a big hit, the owner of The Paradise Club, a strip club in Las Vegas, organized a contest for Sarah Palin look-alikes.

The contest attracted Palin look-alike strippers from all over the country and the winner got a $10,000 prize and a trip for 2, at the Washington DC inauguration, whether Palin wins or not. The girls were judged by their appearance and ability to debate.

Some girls really look like Sarah, check out the pics and video to see for yourself:

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Karate Monkey

Not only people want to learn kung-fu and karate. Humans strive to learn the monkey-style kung-fu while monkeys try to learn our karate. It looks like this little monkey is on the right track, it’s even trying our cuisine. Seems only normal, since we eat bananas every day.

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The Steel House

Designed by its owner, Robert Bruno, the Steel House is built entirely out of steel and weighs at about 110 tons. That’s a lot of steel, if someone was to sell the house for raw material alone, they’d probably fetch something around $30,000. But that’s just small change for a project that Bruno has worked on for 28 years, ever since he saw a similar sculpture and thought it would be nice to actually walk through something like it.

The interior of this unusual house built in Lubbock, Texas, is also made out of forged steel and it was all made by hand.

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Heatherwick Rolling Bridge

When the Heatherwick Rolling Bridge is in its horizontal position, there’s nothing remotely strange about it, just another steel and wood-made bridge in London. But that all changes when it curves up until its two ends touch, to let boats pass. When curled, Heatherwick Bridge resembles an old watermill wheel.

Heatherwick Studio’s Rolling Bridge opens every Friday at noon but if the winds exceed 30 mph, the hidraulics may be unable to handle them, so the bridge doesn’t open.

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