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African bike-moped does 50 km per liter.
2008-03-18 23:47:00
This is a motorized bicycle, made in Kisumu, Kenya and purchased in Kakemega. The tank can hold about two liters (about 0.5 US gal.) of petrol (gas) and can theoretically get around 50 km (about 31 miles) a liter. They cost around 7,000 Kenyan shillings (about USD 107:-). To start the bicycle you start pedaling manually, then you flip a switch on the left handle that starts the engine. Then you have a normal motorcycle throttle control on the right side. It's a bit like the iconic French VelóSolex mopeds that were the preferred simple and cheap transportation for millions of French for almost sixty years.
More About: Bike , Liter , Moped , African

Double suction cup fixes bowl to bench.
2008-03-17 20:30:00
The Sticky Bowl has been designed to attach mixing bowls securely down to a flat surface. It basically provides an extra hand in all types of kitchens, whether you?re working on your own or with others. Sticky bowl can also be applied to plates, bowls and platters. One side has been designed bigger than the other to accommodate a larger range of bowl sizes. On the side are easy to find release levers. AUD 19:95 (ca USD 18:-)
More About: Double , Bench

Adjustable candle holder grips (almost) any candle.
2008-03-17 20:29:00
Joakim Norin and Erik von Schoultz (the guys who created the "Drosselmayer" nut cracker) has done it again, it seems, with a clever adjustable candle holder that accepts almost any candle without carving the candle or stuffing the candle holder. It will accept candles with a diameter from 17 to 40 mm (about 0.6 to 1.5 inches. Just turn the top and the bottom grips the candle. SEK 360:- (about. USD 60:-).
More About: Candle

Camcorder with 16GB SSD + SDHC card slot.
2008-03-17 20:28:00
We do not write much about new electronics, but we will make an exception fort this new Canon HF10 camcorder. If we are not mistaken it is the first camcorder with a 16GB SSD that can record up to six hours of video. And if that is not enough, it has a slot for SD/SDHC memory card, if you need additional memory. This should have been enough even for Andy Warhol in his day. The downside is perhaps that its memory only lasts for 3 hours, so an additional battery might be a good investment. Other features include 12x optical zoom, HDMI out, built-in electronic lens cover, built-in video light, 3.1 megapixels photo shot, and more. It will be available, among other places, no Amazon from May first.
More About: Card , Camcorder

Winner of Smart Stuff Readers Choice Award 2007. PlayPump!
2008-03-14 15:12:00
The PlayPump is a children's merry-go-round hooked up to a water pump and water storage tank. The idea is simple and smart. The kids spin the merry-go-round, which works a water pump that pumps water into a storage tank just a few feet away. Each installation can pump up to 1,400 liters per hour. The initial investment is USD 9,000:-, and maintenance costs are covered by advertising. Besides the benefit provided by access to clean water, the pump can also improve the situation of girls and women, who would otherwise spend hours each day fetching water instead of going to school. The pumps are manufactured and installed by South-African Roundabout Outdoor Ltd., with funding coming from an international coalition of governments, NGOs, companies, foundations and individual donors. See a link to our previous winners after the jump. Thank you all for voting!/Ed.
More About: Readers , Smart , Stuff , Award , Choice

A lock you can re-program yourself.
2008-03-14 15:08:00
Lock maker Kwikset has announced the SmartKey. Its main feature is anti-bumping technology, which supposedly makes the lock un-pickable (bumping is probably the easiest way to break a lock, using just a hammer and a dummy key). The SmartKey lock can also be re-keyed by the owner. You put in your old key, hit a "learning" button inside the lock, swap in the new key and that key is immediately paired with the lock.
More About: Program , Lock

Shinfin - a swimming fin you can walk with.
2008-03-14 15:07:00
Shinfin is a different kind of swim fins. Instead of putting the fins on your feet like ordinary swim fins, Shinfins are made to be put on your - you guessed it - shins. This demands a different swimming technique, where you move your legs at the hip rather that at the knee. The advantages compared to regular swim fins are more or less obvious, and are to a large extent about ergonomics. Shinfin says that their fin gives a lot more natural swimming movement. This can only be determined by a test swim, but just the fact that you can walk in them, and use all sorts of water sports equipment, goes a long way in our book. The Shinfins are AUD 99:- (approx. USD 92:-) on the site. Thanks to Kirsten for the tip!
More About: Swimming , Walk

Safety belt for your fly.
2008-03-12 17:11:00
Lisa Sjövall writes in to let us know about her invention, the ZipHolder. As far as we can tell it is an elastic thread that you first fasten on your zipper, and then around your pant's button. In place the ZipHolder will hold the zipper in place and you do not risk any sudden slide-down and involuntary exposure. SEK 39:- (about USD 6:30).
More About: Safety , Belt

Ratchet powered mixer.
2008-03-12 17:10:00
You run the mixer with a squeeze of your fingers. Or several, we suspect. The ratchet mechanism and the supposedly highly efficient blade makes mixing vinaigrettes and powdered mixes quick and easy. The pitcher and the mixing blade are dishwasher safe; the ratchet mechanism must be hand washed. 2-cup capacity. USD 9:95.
More About: Mixer , Ratchet

Snaps bottles with built-in thermos.
2008-03-12 17:09:00
Maybe they are not really meant to be bottles for snaps, but that was our first thought when we laid eyes on them. The bottles have a built-in thermos effect, i.e. the space between the walls helps keep the fluid inside at temperature, be it warm or cold. They are made from heat resistant, micro safe glass and have a bottle top. Capacity 16-oz. USD 99:- at MoMA. Expensive? Well, yeah, but they would look just great on the table...
More About: Snaps , Bottles

Bed with own elevator makes more room.
2008-03-11 23:18:00
We have seen quite a lot of different ideas for loft beds, or elevated beds, or whatever you like to call them. And we are not talking about murphy-beds here. Many of these ideas have been used, or suggested, for small apartments where you really need the extra space. Now, elevated beds or loft beds need a lot of headroom. You can hardly even contemplate getting one for a modern apartment. You need something from the turn of the century before last. Now here is another idea that might actually work even in apartments of more recent vintage. French Bedup (site in French) makes a smart bed with its own elevator, that lifts the bed almost flush to the ceiling when it is not in use. They are from EUR 2.810:- (approx. USD 4.300:-) if we are not totally mistaken.
More About: Room , Elevator

Color coded cutting boards for fish, meat, veggies, etc.
2008-03-11 23:17:00
These four color coded polypropylene chopping boards are designed to help keep different kinds of foods separated and avoid cross-contamination. The red one os for meat, the white for already cooked food, the blue is for fish, and the green is of course for vegetables. They come in a plastic box with no-slip rubber feet. We particularly like the little tabs... From MoMA store at USD 85:-. Design by Damian Evans.
More About: Meat , Color , Fish , Cutting

Stain removing tips and tricks.
2008-03-11 23:15:00
The School of Fiber Science and Technology at the University of New South Wales have prepared a simple and easy to understand table of good solid tips for removing stains. We have covered some of these tips before, but check it out anyway. These people should know what they are talking about!
More About: Tips , Tricks , Tips and Tricks

Skoda Superb gets a sedan trunk AND a hatchback.
2008-03-10 13:13:00
It will not arrive in Sweden until September, but via Skoda Auto's home page we have found pictures of Skoda's (we think) quite unique solution with double trunk doors. With the Skoda double door on the new Superb model (based on the VW Passat) you can either open the trunk like on an ordinary sedan, OR choose to open it like on a large hatchback! why did not Saab come up with this? They could have used the publicity.
More About: Sedan , Hatchback

Make a flash diffusor from an old film canister.
2008-03-10 13:12:00
A stroke of genius, we dare say. After about five minutes' work with ruler, pencil and scalpel we have our own diffusor for the Lumix DMC-FZ20. The only little hitch was that the pop-up flash on the Lumix is so wide we had to cut the canister from opening all the way to the bottom. This meant that the lid would not stay on by it self, but a little superglue fixed that. The difference between using the "naked" flash and the diffused one is easy to see. Too bright parts and dark shadows are softened, and the pictures appear much more balanced. Now all we have to do is remember to bring the little thing.
More About: Flash , Film , Make

The Knork revisited - here are two Swedish examples.
2008-03-10 13:11:00
After our post on the knork the other day, Smart Stuff reader Peter K mailed us to remind us that there are at least a couple of Swedish takes on the knife/fork combo. There's the classic hot dog stand fork (left) that has been developed and manufactured by Merplast in Ängelholm since the 60s. The hot dog fork has a serrated edge, but as far as we know it only really works for right-handed people. Peter K also says that a Knork is pretty similar to a pastry fork. And he's got a point, there. We have not been able to find a representative pastry fork, but we have a picture of the Gense hors d'oeuvre fork that looks like it has knife edges on the sides. Thanks to Peter for the mails!
More About: Examples

Micro mini bike tool.
2008-03-07 15:53:00
This very, very compact bike tool is probably the smallest we have ever heard of. It sports five different Allen wrenches and one Philips screwdriver bit and the whole thing can be folded to the size of a walnut. Since the tool is so small, it cannot do the toughest jobs, but it will handle most of the tinkering you will need to do on your bike.
More About: Bike , Tool , Mini , Micro

Prize winning telephone designed for the elderly.
2008-03-07 15:52:00
Telephone manufacturer Doro has won a French design prize - The Janus Award - for their senior telephone called MemoryPlus 319ph. The phone is specially designed to be easy to use by elderly people. Design by Ergonomidesign design firm.
More About: Telephone , Elderly , Winning

Smart measuring jar.
2008-03-07 15:51:00
Sometimes measuring the exact right amount of a liquid can be a pretty messy affair. And this is especially annoying when handling oil or chemicals. Enter this pretty smart double compartment measuring bottle. First measure by letting some liquid into the smaller measuring compartment (1). Then check to see if you got it right (2) and adjust if need be (3). Finally pour the desired amount (4). USD 8:-.
More About: Smart

Braille marked beer cans.
2008-03-06 16:51:00
Japanese brewers have begun stamping Braille dots on top of their beer cans. In Braille, the dots read "alcohol" though some of Kirin Brewery's cans spell out "Kirin Beer ". Alcohol Braille identifiers on beer cans are just one more way the visually impaired are given extra consideration in Japan. Braille raised dots can also be found on handrails leading to and from underground subway stations, where they state the name of the station.

Whale fins inspire more efficient fans.
2008-03-06 16:44:00
Toronto-based Whale Power Corp. is using the fins of humpback whales to help design a better fan (and, hopefully, wind turbine). US scientists discovered some time ago that the little bumps on the Humpback whale's fins result in less drag and better lift when compared to a smooth fin. A fan blade with similar bumps makes the fan quieter, more efficient, and better at pushing down air, according to Envira-North, the company that has licensed the WhalePower design. Fans using WhalePower's design could use 20 percent less energy, and now that fans are incorporating the design, WhalePower will continue to work to apply the idea to wind turbines.
More About: Inspire , Efficient , Fins

Knife + fork = Knork.
2008-03-06 16:42:00
We have previously posted on a couple of of fork/spoon/knife combinations, but for some reason we have missed the Knork. The idea came to Knork inventor Mike Miller while eating pizza with a group of friends. Trying to cut and eat pizza with just a fork, he realized he had a better idea. After several years he pursued a patent by researching and developing a prototype. He took a regular fork and covered it in auto putty with the hopes of creating a multi-functional utensil. After taking pictures of people of all ages using a regular fork, Miller combined all this into one utensil that was suitable for all ages and right or left handed users.
More About: Knife

When you need an extra hand.
2008-03-04 14:15:00
The extra hand has an 18-inch long, flexible, stay-in-place goose neck. The rubber-tipped steel clamps at both ends can grasp most anything, letting you use both hands to get the job done. Good for holding instructions, work lights, flashlights, tools, etc. USD 24:95.
More About: Hand , Extra

Portable water purifier.
2008-03-04 14:14:00
With the BottomsUp water purifier, all you have to do is fill any PET type bottle with water, screw on the BottomsUp top, turn it upside down, and the water what comes out will be a whole lot better. Design by Samgmin Bae.
More About: Portable , Water

Weight loss pill in the works?
2008-03-04 14:13:00
The amount of fat that your body stores is regulated by a complex chemical network. We won't go into much detail here, but researchers have thought that interfering with these chemical pathways could perhaps reduce fat build-up. One promising substance, according to a group of researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, is a signaling molecule called neuropeptide Y (NPY) known to regulate feeding habits. The team at Johns Hopkins says a chemical belonging to a family of chemicals called butyrolactones reduces the amount of NPY produced by the brain, thereby reducing the appetite. The team has tested the idea in mice and says it can precisely control the amount of food mice eat by varying their dosage of C75. Extensive clinical trials will of course be needed before the efficacy and safety of C75 in humans can be established.
More About: Weight Loss , Weight , Works , Loss , The Works

A second life for old jars.
2008-03-03 16:19:00
Industrial designer Jorre van Ast (remember his Clampology we posted on a couple of years ago?) has come up with a way of re-using old glass jars. He has made new lids for them. The lids are made to fit a number of different purposes, like sugar dispenser, oil and vinegar, spice containers, etc. Check them out on Jorre's own site...
More About: Life , Second Life , Jars

A lock for the deadbolt lock.
2008-03-03 16:18:00
It appears that the bad guys have advanced to a point where they can open deadbolt locks using a method called lock-bumping. It's fairly simple and straight forward; you insert some sort of tool into the lock and hammer it stuck. Then you can turn the deadbolt with the tool. The solution is just as simple. It's preventing the deadbolt to turn. The Lock -Jaw is available for USD 19:95 on Amazon.

Office in a trunk.
2008-03-03 16:17:00
Everybody who works at home, or maybe just needs a workspace every once in a while should have a look here. If you're looking for unconventional office furniture, you might also find it suitable. The office box called Trunk Station can be folded up and rolled away when you don't need it. Available in several different colors on Japanese design shop Caina for JPY 198,000:- (about USD 2,000:-).
More About: Office

Eraser with 28 corners.
2008-02-29 11:16:00
It's called Kado-Keshi and it's an unusually smart eraser. It has an abundance of what is most often lacking in ordinary erasers. Sharp corners. The Kado-Keshi has no less than 28 corners, which should be enough for most applications. The eraser won the Kokuyo Design Award in 2002. (BTW, Kado means corner and eraser is keshigomu in Japanese). It's USD 2:50 on J-list.
More About: Corners , Eraser

Door mounted cat climbing device.
2008-02-29 11:14:00
Anybody with a feline in the house knows that the little critter likes to occupy the high ground. There it can look down on the rest of the world. Shelves, closets and other in-house heights are usually popular places, but many pet shops also sell dedicated cat climbing furniture. A new take on these is the idea for this door mounted cat climber by Angela and Jeremy Moser. The only question is what kitty thinks of anyone opening the door... It is also pretty costly; USD 200:- at CatLivin.
More About: Device , Door , Climbing