Digital Journal — Check out news, gadgets and technology from around the world. Pick up some new jokes, hear some shocking revelations and read a whole bunch of useless facts to impress your friends at dinner parties. This is Digital Journal‘s Bits & Bytes section:
Saving History
In 246 B.C., 6,000 clay figures of soldiers and horses were buried with China’s first emperor, to protect him in the afterlife. When farmers discovered these life-sized terracotta warriors in 1974, the find was said to be the “eighth wonder of the world,” requiring sensitive care to preserve
the antiquities.
Enter RAE Systems, a company that builds chemical and radiation sensors. A wireless sensing network detects any pollutants or changes in atmospheric gases at the archaeological site, with the goal of preventing any damage to the already history-worn figures. These preventive services have already helped history buffs enjoy a slice of Chinese culture: A recent exhibit at the Shanghai Museum displayed two polychrome warriors, considered the most precious in the collection. No touching, please.
Knight Ridin’
Developed by Swiss car designer Rinspeed, the new “Senso” car lives up to its name by collecting biometric data and reacting to individual drivers. Based on the driver’s mood, Senseo can adjust light patterns, music and even smells for the asphalt-eater.
Micro Melons
In the age of the iPod mini, small is in…and edible. Miniature watermelons were named one of 2004’s best inventions by Time Magazine, which claimed a seedless five-pounder from Seminis is “sweeter than its larger cousin.” What’s next, pocket pineapples?
Stunned!
On to some shocking news: North American police forces are gobbling up stun guns and the industry leader, Taser International, has seen its revenue quadruple in three years. The business boom is overshadowed by several lawsuits claiming stun guns to be fatal, and an Amnesty International report calling for a ban of the weapon designed to deliver 50,000 volts of electricity.
Advice for a Price: $16,700 Per Minute
On The Apprentice, Donald Trump urges his protégés to think big, but soon the advice won’t come so cheap. In an agreement with The Learning Annex, Trump signed a record speaking fee of $1 million (US) per hour to present three classes titled “How to Succeed in Real Estate.”
Eye Candy
Dinner with your partner. Business luncheon. Walking the terrier. All these distractions tear you away from watching a good flick but Korea-based Accupix has the solution: sunglasses that play DVDs. The MPG-230M uses a tiny LCD display filled with 180,000 colour pixels, and powered by AA batteries. The only catch? Mobile movie-lovers still need to carry with them a DVD player or
a TV attached to a tuner.
Go Hef Yourself
Hugh Hefner’s velvety lifestyle was once fodder for teenage daydreams, but now those teens (and their parents) can wander through Hef’s cleavage-filled wonderland in the video game Playboy: The Mansion. Available for PC, PlayStation2 and Xbox, the game resembles a saucier version of Leisure Suit Larry, and allows your Hef avatar to make out with giggling Playboy Bunnies. Invite celebrity guests ranging from bare-all cover-girl Carmen Electra to Tom Arnold (who, God willing, keeps his clothes on).
Lego My Ferrari!
Ever wanted a stylin’ Ferrari F2004 Formula 1 car? Toronto’s Sebastian once did, so he constructed a quarter-scale model (four-and-a-half feet long) with 25,000 Lego pieces, featuring adjustable air suspension, a working V10 engine and pneumatic transmission. Now if only he could shrink Michael Schumacher…
Advertising Went to his Head
Andrew Fischer of Omaha, Nebraska, sold ad space on his forehead for $37,000 (US) to a snore-remedy company. Auctioning his epidermis on eBay for one month, Fischer said of his body billboard: “I doubt I’ll be getting much sleep over the next four weeks.” (For more on weird advertising gimmicks, check out Digital Journal’s Spring 2005 issue!)
Hits from the Chong
From the Hollywood toker who brought you the film Up in Smoke comes a live theatre production called The Marijuana-Logues, a toker’s take on the saucy Vagina Monologues. Chong and company are touring North America until early May, with
a Toronto stop on April 30. (For more on the science and business of marijuana, check out Digital Journal’s Spring 2005 issue for exclusive and in-depth coverage!)
Control The Robot
The world’s first cell phone-controlled robot launched in Japan recently, using Bluetooth technology. Within a range of 10 metres, the robot can be made to walk or jump. No word yet on whether version 2.0 will do a hula dance.
Sexual Hard Drive
Scientists invented a machine that measures how dead-sexy you’re feeling. Dubbed the “hornometer,” it studies electrical activity in the brain to analyze, well, horniness.
When Zit Remedies Kill
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against Accutane, an acne drug that lawyers allege increase the risk of suicide and gastrointestinal disease.
The New Asian Steroid?
Japanese researchers found that drinking four cups of green tea a day can boost exercise endurance. Green tea contains catechins that already counteracts obesity and tastes oh-so-relaxing after an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet.
Laughable Labels
The eighth annual Wacky Warning Label Contest (no joke) announced its winners recently, and a toilet brush warning “Do not use for personal hygiene” took top honours.
This article is part of Digital Journal’s national magazine edition. Pick up your copy of Digital Journal in bookstores across Canada. Or subscribe to Digital Journal now, and receive 8 issues for $29.95 + GST ($48.95 USD).
