Jacques of all Trades

The next big thing? New beer can goes topless - TODAY.com

Sly Fox Brewing Company in Pennsylvania is the first American brewery to offer a solution to this firmly first-world problem with a beer can that can go topless. They’re calling it the 360 Lid.

“This technology allows the full flavor and aroma of the beer to hit the drinker’s senses,” Sly Fox’s head brewer Brian O’Reilly told TODAY.com.

The 360 Lid is basically the pull-tab top of soup can fused onto a traditional beer canister. To open it, you pull the tab up (a startling hiss of carbonation erupts as you do this) and then peel the lid away from the can, exposing a 1.75-inch-wide opening. Viola – instant beer cup!

And apparently (according to the article, anyway), not a risk for cutting your lip, although it would probably take a lot of perception-changing on that point to make this popular.

digg:

Wish your cellphone a happy 40th birthday today.

(via heyveronica)

Apparently, WMATA has not updated its trip planning tools (or at least their marketing) since using a pay phone was a common practice.

I’m not sure if this is better or worse than the Washington Post, which only recently (in the last year or two) updated the newspaper cover adorning its newspaper boxes from the mid-Clinton administration.

nasdaq:

The Holiday Season was the season for app downloads, according to this article from Fast Company.  There were a record-breaking 1.76 billion app downloads for iOS and Android during Christmas Week 2012.  That’s one for every four people on the planet!  

(via npr)

mothernaturenetwork:

When designer Mike Thomspon asked himself, “What if power came at a cost to the individual?” he ended up creating the blood lamp as a statement on energy conservation. This single-use lamp requires a drop of blood to be activated — a personal sacrifice that will really make you think twice before turning on the lights. The lamp’s secret ingredient is luminol, the chemical forensic scientists use to check for blood, which glows blue when it reacts with the iron in red blood cells.

15 bizarre green inventions

(via skyghe)

This sounds like my personal hell.  

abbyjean:

Never oversleep again! Start your day off right, feeling energized, happy and ready to party! With this easy to use alarm clock, you start the day dancing! This motion activated alarm clock does not turn off until you get out of bed and start moving. Great for people who oversleep, abuse the snooze, and dance party enthusiast. As an added bonus, the Dance Alarm Clock has a built in party features like Disco Ball, Glow Stick, our favorite Make it Rain, and more. You can also access the party features anytime to get the party started anywhere! Share through Facebook and Twitter. The Dance Alarm Clock will revolutionize how you start your day. (via Dance Alarm Clock for iPhone)

laughingsquid:

Mine Kafon, A Wind-Powered Land Mine Clearing Device

Highly useful technology for parts of the world that have been ravaged by previous wars, though it would likely be single-use.

(via good)

theanimalblog:

A puggle meets the new top toy for Christmas, Bandai’s TechPet, at Harrods in London. Hailed as a modern day Tamagotchi, the TechPet is a new app based toy, which allows users to interact and play with their very own robotic dog.  Picture: Rex Features

For the person who has everything except a pet?

theatlantic:

Behold, the Toothbrush That Just Saved the International Space Station

Yesterday the International Space Station, having battled electrical malfunctions for over a week, was repaired by a combination that MacGuyver himself would have been proud of: an allen wrench, a wire brush, a bolt … and a toothbrush.

Read more. [Image: NASA]

discoverynews:

20 Everyday Things We Have Because Of NASA

Landing MSL Curiosity on Mars has caused controversy about NASA’s budget. Many people are upset that NASA’s mandate serves no practical purpose, and the money could be put to better use. Every year, NASA publishes a list of items developed because of NASA’s work. Here’s a short list from Business Insider:

Artificial limbs
    Baby formula
    Cell-phone cameras
    Computer mouse
    Cordless tools
    Ear thermometer
    Firefighter gear
    Freeze-dried food
    Golf clubs
    Long-distance communication
    Invisible braces
    MRI and CAT scans
    Memory foam
    Safer highways
    Solar panels
    Shoe insoles
    Ski boots
    Adjustable smoke detector
    Water filters
    UV-blocking sunglasses

NASA did not invent:
    Tang
    Velcro
    Teflon

(h/t alexob)

(via think4yourself)