from New York Times mags 9th annual year in ideas called “it happens when nobody is watching” and placed in a bus shelter in Berlin, was a one-time installation sponsored by Amnesty International. When a person in the shelter was looking at the poster, he saw, along with the words, a photograph of an amiable [...]

A nice metaphor involving mice on wheels .

One talented artist has found a use for old music cassette tapes.

Fro the New York Times magazine 9th annual year in ideas. Nature may well be the art of God, but that isn’t keeping mere mortals from trying their hand at it. This year, a group of British engineers recommended building a forest of artificial carbon-filtering “trees” across the United Kingdom to combat climate change; and [...]

[youtube id = xCpViu8kY3o] For the full 50 minute talk, watch this. It’s well worth it.

A cool steampunk desktop computer design from here.

From Yahoo. Here’s a fairy tale that could only happen in the movies. Man makes YouTube video. Goes to Hollywood. Gets pots of money and a movie deal. Except this story is true. An unknown producer from Uruguay, Fede Alvarez, shelled out about $300 to create a cool video of a robot invasion in Montevideo, [...]

If you bought a book by Belgian’s most famous crime writer, Pieter Aspe, you got this bag.

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. Here’s one. The OneDown mousetrap swings upright from horizontal due to a rodent’s own weight to clearly indicate that it has been trapped. There is no risk of snapping the fingers and creating any mess or smell as the trap doesn’t [...]

With the flick of a switch, Philips Electronics may have just dramatically lowered America’s electric bill. In September the Dutch electronics giant became the first to enter the U.S. Department of Energy’s L Prize competition, which seeks an LED alternative to the common 60-watt bulb. Sixty-watt lights account for 50% of the domestic incandescent market; [...]

I thought this was funny, maybe for no other reason than because it’s so nerdy! See here for more.

From a series entitled “27 Vintage Ads That Would Be Banned Today.” Oh how things have changed.

What’s the secret weapon that will give a business an unfair advantage over its competitors? No, we’re not talking industrial espionage or insider trading. We are referring to creativity.  Here are 6 tips for how to make your business more creative. (there are many more in our book!) 1. Celebrate mistakes. It’s okay to fail. [...]

When you’re done with this cardboard box you can tear it up and plant it. Seeds embedded in the recycled card will grow up to 100 trees. See more here.

From the New York Times 9th annual year in ideas April, the world was introduced to Ruppy, the first known fluorescent dog. In natural light, Ruppy seems to be an almost-normal beagle — though his paws look as if he has stepped in pink ink. Under ultraviolet light, the effect is quite evident: he emits [...]