Smart Stuff - The World's Smartest Stuff

Brush-on superglue. At last.

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 20:37:11 +0100

This should make a lot of glue jobs easier and lot less sticky. Most times you want to use superglue you only need the tiniest amount and this minute droplet of glue is more often than not quite difficult to apply properly. Spillage is commonplace along with the ensuing stickiness and sometimes also hard language. With any luck much of this will be over once this arrives in the mail. It's USD 9:93 on Amazon.

If you absolutely, positively want that door to stay closed.

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:19:14 +0100

We see this serious-looking door jammer as a travel accessory along with the portable smoke alarm and all the other stuff. There's no word of the weight of the thing, and it looks kinda hefty, but we'll just have to cut down on the skirts. Looks steady and simple enough and they say it should fit most doors. Available from Fancy.com at USD 48:- (approx. GBP 29:-), but we suppose they'll add shipping to that.

Help! What's that puddle under the car?

Sun, 19 Jan 2014 17:36:31 +0100

The Allstate company, like many others, runs a blog. On this blog, Allstate, among other things, shares this. A quick help to identify that fluid that suddenly appeared on the garage floor under your car. Could potentially be very useful.

Chemex - is this the world's best coffee maker?

Sun, 13 Oct 2013 17:51:56 +0200

Formed in one piece from Pyrex laboratory grade glass it was invented in 1941 by the German chemist Dr. Peter Schlumbohm (1896-1962) and it was out on the market around 1945 just as Americans were getting ready to re-start their lives after WWII. Shlumbohm won more than different 300 patents for a number of devices and no less than 23 of them are included in the MoMA's permanent collection even though they are not always on display. They are all inspired by the idea of the kitchen as laboratory, a line of thought that grew strong during the first half of the 20th century. Schlumbohm was fortunate, or smart, enough to leave Germany in 1936 and relocate to the USA where he developed his ideas and took out his patents. The Chemex coffee maker is his most successful invention and it is hailed by coffee aficionados the world over for being the simplest and the best. It is still sold un-changed and available in four sizes and it's from USD 37:50 (approx. GBP 23:50) for the smallest that makes three cups to USD 45:50 (approx. GBP 28:50) for the biggest that makes ten cups. The Chemex's are also available on Amazon-

Safer surgical gloves.

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 19:46:20 +0200

There's at least one aspect of human live where recycling is not a good idea. Medical clinics and hospitals. When you use sterile surgical gloves to protect the patients, it's vital that you use new sterile gloves every time. But. Accidents happen, from stress or mistakes. To try and avoid this, the Safe Cut Surgical Gloves have been prepared with a tab on the palm side so they automatically tear when you take them off. So this take on surgical gloves could very well mean another step towards safer medical care.

Smart way to organize your under-sink cupboard.

Sat, 05 Oct 2013 13:56:16 +0200

We found this idea on a blog called "sew many ways" written by an inventive soul called Karen. Karen found this on the net herself, but she has taken it an extra notch. It's all about the abyss we call the "under-sink cupboard". Here we keep all kinds of cleaners and detergents and all the other stuff we don't want anywhere else and, in our house at least, this space tends to get a bit messy from time to time. But with Karen's idea our cupboard from hell will become a much nicer place. The thing is to hang all spray bottles on a horizontal bar, like the ones you can find in closets. With all the spray bottles off the floor and thus out of the way, the rest will be much more manageable. Karen's picture above is pretty self explaining, but you can visit her blog for more details. Thanks, Karen!

Shovel with extra added footstep.

Wed, 02 Oct 2013 11:09:33 +0200

During the later part of summer we visited a site where a group of enthusiasts had re-created a charcoal stack like the ones built in Sweden during the infancy of industrialism. The charcoal produced at hundreds, or possibly thousands, of these small charcoal burning sites were crucial for the development and running of the Swedish iron industry from medieval times up to about 1945 when the last one was put out. We won't go into the principle behind charcoal stacks (you can read about it here), but instead focus on this shovel we found in use at the site. Someone made an improvement to an ordinary shovel by adding an extra footstep, probably to make it easier to use your foot to push the blade into the ground. Unfortunately no-one at the site knew who first made this improvement, or if it's specially made for use at charcoal sites, but maybe one of our readers has seen this before and could enlighten us?

Get a lazy susan to help organize your fridge.

Sat, 28 Sep 2013 18:53:16 +0200

Our fridge is always brimming with bottles and jars with condiments of all kinds. Everything from sweet chili, mayonnaise, sambal oelek and sardelles to Tabasco and sun dried tomatoes in oil. Plus everything else I dont have the time to count. The point is we have far too many of these jars and bottles and there's not enough room on the inside of the door for them all. So some have to be placed on shelves and then the ones in the back is invisible and had to get. But a lazy susan like this one might make things better. Chances are we'll try it when we find one the right size. Ikea has one for USD 7:99 (UK; GBP 5:50), but it's way too big. Besides it's made of birch wood which does not feel optimal in the fridge.

Balcony table with integrated flower pot.

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:36:23 +0200

A balcony table is more or less a necessity if you have a balcony. This Balkontisch table has a built in flower pot (can also be used to house herbs for cooking) and comes from Stadt Bedarf. Made from recyclable polyethylene designed by Michael Hilgers. EUR 138:- (approx. USD 186:-).

Screw your cup into the sand.

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 20:14:28 +0200

Minji Jung, Barcelona based designer and artist, has come up with this idea for a mug that won't fall over if you place it by your beach lounger. The mug har simply been given a screw-down bottom that can be turned into the sand for safe keeping. The mug is made from ceramics and it's still a concept, but with a little luck it could become reality. [Via] OT. The building in the background resembling a sail is the W Hotel in Barcelona and the picture is most likely taken from the La Barceloneta beach.

Rocking chair with cradle.

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 19:12:14 +0200

How's baby sleeping? Hard time getting to sleep without a bit of rocking? With this rocking chair you can supply that sleep inducing rocking motion without working up a sweat. You could probably even watch the telly or get your evening tweets sent while your'e working. The Rocker Cradle rocking chair is, as you might have suspected already, not a mass produced item. It's a serious work by a master craftsman. His name is Scott Morrison and he won the People's Choice at the 2006 Western Design Conference with it. You could order one for yourself, but you better bring out the big bucks because he wants USD 15.000:- for it. Shipping will be added.

RELATED
A while back we wrote a piece on another fine woodworker who had created another fine example of a unique rocking chair. He's name is Hal Taylor and rocking chairs is a specialty of his. He created the perfect rocking chair for parents who wants serious story telling sessions with their kids but have too many children to put them on their lap at the same time.

Power generating shocks for EVs and Hybrids.

Wed, 18 Sep 2013 12:07:05 +0200

German gearbox manufacturer ZF are cooperating with American Levant Power in developing a new project that, if everything goes according to plan, will result in integrating shock absorbers into the drive train of electric and hybrid vehicles. The system is called GenShock and is supposedly the world's first active shock absorber with the capability to charge the vehicle's batteries. With it, EVs and hybrids should get better range on the road.

Polaris starts making air-free tires.

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:38:16 +0100

We've mentioned flat proof air-free tires previously. The tech has been interesting, but so far we've not seen anybody willing to go all the way and start manufacture. Until now, when ATV and snowmobile company Polaris announces that they are going to do just that. Our guess is they aren't going to put wheels on their snowmobiles, but rather equip the ATVs they are selling to the US armed forces with flat proof tires. And who knows? Maybe someday flat proof tech will come to the civilian market, too.

New Skoda Octavia - with a real power outlet.

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:27:39 +0100

We've written on Skoda before and focused on a few smart ideas. Ideas that no other car manufacturer (as far as we know) has come up with. First there was the smart double hatch/trunk lid of the Skoda Superb, then the clever holder for an ice scraper on the inside of the gas filling lid on the Skoda Rapid. Now, as we're browsing through some promotion pix of the new edition Skoda Octavia we find that the car seems to have been given a real 220V outlet in the back seat. You will have to excuse our ignorance, but we've not seen any such outlet in a family car before.

PS. We should also take the place to mention something we've been thinking of adding for some time now. It's not exactly new, but smart just the same. The Skoda Superb has a compartment for an umbrella in the back door panel (pic below). The compartment is supposed to let water out so you can put your wet brollie in there and not get the floor all wet. Pic taken with my phone. DS.

Bike lock that goes inside the seat post.

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:10:56 +0100

It's too early to get the bike out, at least where we live, but it's never too early to start ogling bike gadgets. This wire lock slips inside the seat post to hide when you don't need it. That means you can't forget it at home. It's supposed to lock both bike and seat if you tangle it up the right way. It's a Kickstarter project so it's unfortunately not in production yet. We hope it will be, though. By today they have USD 37,857 of the USD 48,000 they want to start production. But there's only five days to go, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Splitting rocks with wedge and shims.

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:20:03 +0100

Our latest post was about knives, tools that mankind has used in some form or other for at least two and a half million years. This time we'll highlight another tool, not as old since it emerged during the Iron Age, but one that has been used at least since the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids some time around 2,000 years BC. And, just like the knife, wedges and shims are still used today basically un-changed in spite of some 4,000 years of progress. Here's a Christmas gift for the dad who already "has everything".

More after the jump!

Be a better cook.

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:04:56 +0100

The knife, or rather the knives, are every cook's foremost tools. You may slam us with mandolins and salamanders, with woks and sauciers. The knife is king. With this app, or maybe app-book, you can learn about knives, which you need, which knife is for what job, and how to use them in the best and safest way. Sounds good? Head over tio iTunes and get yours right now. It's only USD 2:99:-. Our copy is downloading as we write.

New, childproof spray bottle.

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:23:40 +0200

An American scientific study published in 2010 stated that spray bottles were the most common cause of chemical injury to children in the home. The researchers found that between 1990 and 2006 more than 267.000 children ages five or younger were injured by ordinary domestic cleaning products packaged in spray bottles. The study triggered other researchers at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in cooperation with the Ohio State University to start work on a design for a safer spray head. The new design makes it virtually impossible for children under six years old to use spray bottles, since children that age can't coordinate the two grips required to access the bottle's contents. When the grip is released the safety is reset automatically. The new design is patent pending and the inventors are currently looking for manufacturers willing to license the product.

Smart cable helps move files.

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:06:47 +0200

The fact that by 2012 moving files between computers is still pretty complicated is surprising if you think about it. Of course there are servers and USB sticks and SD cards and a lot more, but aren't they really just work-arounds when all you really want is to drag and drop the files you want to move? Now, if you're looking for an easier way to shuffle data, you might want to look at this. With this cable you'll get access to both desktops and be able to move all the files you want by dragging and dropping. It's said to work with PC -> Mac, Mac -> PC, PC -> PC och Mac -> Mac. It's not cheap: it's USD 126:48 (approx. GBP 79:-) but if you do a lot of data moving it might be worth it.

Goodyear introduces self-inflating tires.

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:57:58 +0200

The new technology is going to be demonstrated during the on-going International Automobile Show (IAA) for commercial vehicles in Hannover. The tech, in short, works like this: A regulator inside the tire senses when the pressure drops below a pre-set value. When this happens, the regulator opens to allow air into the pumping tube. As the tire rolls along the road, the tube will be deformed at its lowest position, thus making a pumping action and pushing air to the inlet valve. When the regulator feels the pressure is back to normal it closes until next time. If this system works as advertised it clearly has a potential to save both on fuel and tire wear, which could mean lots of cash in trucking. Goodyear calls their invention Air Maintenance Technology and there's a lot more to read after the link.