Owner: Smart Stuff URL:http://www.smartstuff.se Join Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 10:30:12 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Ever growing archive of the world's smartest gadgets, inventions and ideas. Site statistics:Click here
Woot! Most popular ".se" site on Populicio.us. 2007-03-22 18:47:07 Since we put the Yahoo! Site Explorer widget on the site, we have been itching to explore the 9,360 9,383 links to Smart Stuff they say we have. Today we took some time and looked some of them over and among them we found this. We're the most popular
".se" site on Populicio.us! Don't know if this means so much, but it sure was fun. Thank you all Populicio.us users!
Toothpaste tube with integrated dental floss. 2007-03-22 18:45:35 Just like everybody else we do not floss enough. And if it were not for the little Hummingbird (that we posted on a while back) we would not be flossing nearly as much as we do. To that end, here is a new idea for a toothpaste tube with a built in roll of floss. This will obliterate the "I forgot to buy floss" argument forever. It is called Floss'n'Cap and as you can see it is from Aquafresh. It has been on the market for a while, but we have not seen it in Sweden. If it sells reasonably well, we would not be surprised if there is a Colgate and/or a Pepsodent version on the shelves pretty soon. The tube won a silver award in the 17th DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation in 2004, and it is USD 3:50 a piece on Dentist.net. Read more:Toothpaste
, dental
Bicycle brake pads with LED brake light. 2007-03-25 14:13:09 These are brake
pads for ordinary "V" type bicycle brakes. Only they have a red LED light
that lights up when you apply the brakes. The only back side is probably that they need batteries. Available from Swedish auto parts store Biltemas web shop for SEK 49:- (approx. USD 7:-) a pair. (Art.no. 27-287).
Potato chip maker for the microwave. 2007-03-30 15:30:25 One of these chip maker
s might very well be the next addition to our ever growing kit of kitchen gadgets. But we do not have ordinary potato chips in mind for it. Instead, we are thinking of making apple chips for desserts like sherbet made from granny smith apples. The only thing you are supposed to have to do is slice the potatoes (or apples), put the slices in the stand, and cook in the micro wave for six minutes. The gadget is supposed to be available in Japanese stores, but you can get it from J-Box for USD 14:80 plus shipping USD 5:80. A similar product is on fiwa-shop on German E-bay for EUR 5:- plus shipping EUR 3:90.
Read more:Potato
, microwave
Skeppshult introduces auto shift bicycle. 2007-04-01 18:23:09 We saw this in an ad in the paper the other day. The new auto shift bicycle
from Skeppshult is called Arc Automat (gent's version) or Nova Automat (ladies) and features an eight-speed automatic gear assembly from Shimano. There is no information on how it works on the Skeppshult web site, which is pretty lame, but it could be the same auto shifter from Shimano we posted on earlier. If so, it is electric and gets its power from a dynamo in the front hub. We are going to have to pedal down to our local bike shop for a test drive, but since the bike is priced at SEK 9,895:- (USD 1,415:-) we are probably not going to buy one. At least not this year...
Smart hook for your headrest. 2007-04-02 21:01:56 This is a clever looking little hook that attaches to the headrest support in your car (providing your headrests with steel stick supports) and where you can hang your purse or backpack or grocery bag or the bag with take-out food from the sushi place. Or anything else that works better hanging than standing or lying down. We do tend to get a bit upset when the grocery bags fall over and we have to search for lemons under the car seats or when the miso soup spills all over the sushi. So for the SEK 19:90 (approx. USD 2:80) for 2 that Biltema charges, we think it's a both cheap and practical gadget (art.no. 39-206). Read more:Smart
Wall mounted home theatre projector from LG. 2007-04-05 01:29:15 This may be old-ish by now, but we have not heard of any other wall mounted home theatre
projector, so here goes. Hard working contributor Magnus I.B. mailed in this tip, and we are truly sorry it has been sitting in the mail bag for so long. The LG AN110 was the first (and at the time the only) home theatre projector that could be put on a wall, or placed on a small stand like in the picture above. Maybe it still is. Maybe not. In any case it is pretty smart, and had it been around a couple of years ago, we could have saved ourselves a bunch of holes in the ceiling... The LG AN110 won a design award in the Red Dot Awards 2006. Thanks, Magnus, for letting us know!
Sweden's secret weapon. 2007-04-03 22:04:54 The fifties was a decade of cold war between the East and the West. Sweden
had a geographically precarious position between Nato and the Warsaw pact. Sweden also had one of the world's strongest air forces and made serious plans to build nuclear weapons. In spite of all the money that was spent (or invested, if you will) in defense during those years, hardly anything remains. Nothing except the only skin care product almost every Swedish male knows and have used. Försvarets Hudsalva, or Defense Forces Cerat. The cerat was developed during the fifties by the Swedish Military Pharmacy as a remedy for blisters and cold sores, but its uses quickly expanded as grunts discovered its versatility. It was used greasing bicycle chains and door hinges, as shoeshine, as a substitute for butter, for dry elbows, as ski wax and, it is rumored, as frying fat. Today this icon product is also used as lip cerat, paw ointment for dogs and much more. A 25 ml pack is SEK 29:- (approx. USD 4:-) at the Swed
G-Wiz. The electric car that's actually in use. 2007-04-06 00:49:39 We spent a few days in London recently. We had not been there for some time, so there were quite a few new things to discover. Among them we spotted these little city cars, that kept popping up all over the place. At first we thought they were a version of a EU moped car, but a closer look revealed they are smarter than that. They are electric. The car is called G-Wiz and it is available in two versions. The budget version comes in black only and has a little lower top speed and a little less range. It is GBP 6.998:- inc. VAT (approx. USD 14.000:-). The cheapest Smart Fortwo is GBP 6.770:- or about USD 13.300:-, but then you will have to add the cost of gas. The slightly up-market G-Wiz at USD 16.300:- has a range of 48 miles on a charge, can be coerced up to 45 mph, is available in any number of colors and with options like leather upholstery, AC, alloy rims, carpets, cup holder and a lot of other goodies. At GoinGreen who markets the G-Wiz, they claim to have sold more than 850 of th
The world's best taxi vehicle. 2007-04-06 20:00:05 This is not going to be a car blog, but while we are on the subject of London and road transport, we cannot but mention the classic London taxis. They are, at least from a passenger's point of view, in our opinion the best taxi vehicles ever designed. They are easily accessible, even for disabled persons, they are roomy, comfortable and have lots of space for luggage. The classic London cab has reportedly been made in over 100,000 examples since the first FX series was introduced right after WWII. The taxis are manufactured by LTI - London Taxis International, and the model we are most familiar with is the Fairway, introduced in 1981. The TX I and TX II came in 1997 and 2002 respectively. The brand new TX4 (there is no information as to what happened to the # III) is the latest addition. Interestingly, during our few days in London recently, we saw several examples of all the three latest incarnations. That would mean that the Fairways we saw in the street could be 25 years old and st
Forget jumper cables. Here's the car battery power backup. 2007-04-11 00:01:23 They call it Simple Start and it is a car batterypowerbackup
for those unfortunate moments when you have forgot to turn the lights off or left the radio on or something else that has sucked the power out of your car's battery. The Simple Start can sit patiently waiting in a large-ish glove compartment, charged from your home power or from any 12V power source. The moment you find yourself out of juice, you connect the thing to your cigarette lighter 12V socket and just sit back and wait until the light goes green and you can start up and be on your way. This will take some 10-20 minutes. And once you get the car running, you can spend the drive re-charging the Simple Start, so that it is ready the next time... From Black & Decker, it is USD 49:99 on Amazon. Read more:jumper
, cables
The perfect hard-boiled egg. 2007-04-09 15:54:42 Just as all previous Easters, we have been cooking and eating a lot of eggs. And just as all previous Easters we have discussed the same thing; how to boil the perfect egg. We have tried a lot of ways over the years, but this year's best (and probably all-time best as well) is a method attributed to all-american housewife Martha Stewart. Here are Martha's egg boiling tip: Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, and cover with one inch of cold water. Bring the water to a boil, cover, and pull the saucepan from the burner. Let the eggs rest for about 1.5 to 2 minutes for soft-boiled, 2 to 2.5 minutes for medium-boiled, and 12 to 13 minutes for hard-boiled. Then remove the eggs from the water. Soft- and medium-boiled eggs should be served immediately, while hard-boiled eggs should be plunged into a bowl of ice cold water, to prevent the yolk from discoloring. Why the hand boiled eggs should rest in the hot water for so much longer than the medium ones, we have no idea. But as lo
Remote controlled front door locks. 2007-04-12 18:23:09 A few years back there was a show on Swedish TV featuring where the British design firm SeymorPowell attempted to solve various everyday problems by applying industrial design knowledge. Unless we are completely mistaken one of the programs was about remote controlled locks
and alarms for ordinary homes. We liked the idea, but unfortunately the program ended in uncertainty wether the ideas would be produced or not. We cannot remember the name of the company involved, but the other day we stumbled upon the remote controlled locks from British Locca. These locks open via remote from up to 50 meters distance, and you do not even have to remember locking it again since they re-lock after a programmable time, from 1 to 120 seconds. The Locca locks are supposed to mount on almost any existing door, and they are sold through British locksmiths and D-I-Y stores B&Q. Locca are planning a launch in Sweden and they will be starting at about SEK SEK 1.200:- (approx. GBP 88:-). Read more:Remote
Grocery bag grips #13 and #14! 2007-04-11 15:58:01 This may seem strange, but without any really conscious effort we seem to have become collectors of grocery grips. You know, the little handles that lets you carry grocery bags without cramping your hands. Here are two new for the collection; # 13 and # 14. The one on top is the Helping Hands from Helping Hands. It is USD 19:95 for two. The other one is the One Grip from Space Savers and it is USD 5:- a piece. Link to all 14 grocery grips on the site! Read more:Grocery
Wanted! Information on Chaino, the chainless bike. 2007-04-11 15:56:34 We spotted one of these Chaino bicycles with a flat in a bike stand yesterday afternoon, and we must admit we had not heard of them before. As far as we could see, instead of an ordinary chain, it had a drive-shaft sort of arrangement, much like BMW motorcycles. It also seemed to have some gear shift arrangement. We vaguely remember a bike a bit like this for sale in a Muji shop in London in the eighties, but other than that we have not seen anything like it. Now we want to know more. Do you know anything about these bicycles? Were they nice bikes or disasters? Do you own one, or have you owned one? If you have any information, we'd love to hear from you!
Hammock with integrated tent. 2007-04-13 13:03:34 I think we've always wanted something like this. Ever since we learned about how the British SAS rigged their campsites during the colonial fighting in the jungles of Malaya, we have tried to do the same thing ourselves. First the hammock, the an extra rope above it, and finally a mozzie net and a rain cover. Sometimes it has even worked. Now everything is available in one neat package from Swiss Tammock. Hammock
, mozzie net and tent. 2 kilos. EUR 250:- (approx. USD 335:-) from Tammock.
Smartest beach chair? 2007-04-17 21:06:42 The post on this pretty cool and clever beach chair is courtesy of a tip from Smart Stuff reader Rauz L. (thanks!) who found them on the Gadling travel blog. The two sticks or posts on the chair, or rather backrest, is pushed into the sand and that's it, folks! Consider the amount of unprintable language and injured hands you could safe by not having a folding chair. It should be easier to bring along to the beach, too. The "chair" is made of plastic, designed by Lawrence Laske, and available from Design Within Reach for USD 30:- a piece or 2 for USD 50:-.
Propane container handle. 2007-04-19 14:18:59 We are all surrounded with smart gadgets and inventions that we often take for granted and never think much about. When we were going to exchange our propane tank recently, it struck us we were actually holding one such invention in our hand. We have used this combined valve cover and carrying handle lots of times without thinking about its actual smartness. Instead of the ordinary valve cover you attach this handle and get a cover and a carrying handle all in one. We have no idea who the inventor is, but we want to extend our congratulations and thanks for a smart and useful invention. Read more:Propane
Magnifier attaches to your bathroom mirror. 2007-04-22 17:04:42 Magnifiers lets one see details in one's face that one hardly knew existed. And sometimes even stuff one was better off not knowing about. But of course they are very handy when one's vision is no longer 20/20. This product is called Spegelzoom (Swedish only), and it is a pretty smart magnifying lens that attaches to any mirror with the integrated suction cup. The lens gives approximately 3X magnification and its inventor, Annika Winell, was nominated to the "Best female inventor" award in 2007 by the Swedish Inventor's Association. The Spegelzoom is SEK 895:- (about USD 132:-) on the company website. Read more:bathroom
Stairway with smart storage. 2007-04-28 12:53:19 Don't know if this can be retro-fitted, but even if it does not; this is an idea we are going to keep in our special smart ideas drawer until such a time when we are building or renovating a staircase. From the picture it looks like they have installed drawers in just a couple of the steps, but imagine doing it in all the straight ones. With three pairs of shoes to a drawer and let us say ten steps, that makes room for 30(!) pairs of shoes.
Read more:Stairway
, storage
Electrically powered wheel barrow. 2007-04-25 22:56:13 A while ago, when we posted on the rare (in Sweden anyway) two wheel
ed wheelbarrow from Canada, we had a quick response telling us there are such wheel barrows available in this country, too. Perhaps Smart Stuff reader Ã…ke G. read those posts, because he has sent us an e-mail with information on yet another take on wheel barrows. The power barrow. Ã…ke's business, Electro-Mobile, sells these barrows, so naturally he is looking for some publicity. But since we like the idea, he's gonna to get some. Almost any old wheel barrow can be converted to electrical power with Ã…ke's kit. It comes with a wheel with an electric motor in the hub to replace your old one, a battery pack and a throttle/reverse handle. The conversion kits starts at SEK 5.550:- (about USD 820:-), but you could also choose to buy a new ready-made power barrow for SEK 6.525:- (approx. USD 970:-).
Charging cradles for cellphone, iPod and PDA. 2007-04-24 20:38:40 Isn't it funny how things tend to come in two's or three's? What made James M. mail the tip about Driinn (A) the other day? And why should we stumble upon the Load-Thing (B) among old posts on Swissmiss today of all days? It is either a very strange synchronicity, or ideas are sort of suspended in mid air for people to grasp. Anyway. Both these inventions are designed to hold your mobile, PDA or iPod
or whatever you need to have charged. The Driinn is hard plastic, available in five (or possibly six) colors and cost EUR 5:- (approx. USD 6:80) on Driinn's website. The Load-Thing is delivered flat and must be folded into a cradle, is available in three colors and they will charge you EUR 9:90 (about USD 13:50). Read more:Charging
, cellphone
Auto-loading shotgun that ejects shells straight down. 2007-04-30 14:44:22 Being left-handed reduces one's choice in guns quite a bit. An autoloader, for instance, that ejects spent shells right in front of one's face has never seemed like a good idea, even though it is probably not really dangerous. We have never seen an autoloader with the ejection port on the left side, but now we have found an even better solution - the auto-loading shotgun that ejects spent shell straight down. We want to give Remington a big hand for eliminating the left/right problem altogether. The Remington 105 CTi has also has newly designed inner workings in kevlar and titanium to save weight and extensive recoil reduction. Expect to pay somewhere around USD 1,300:-.
Sandals with a secret stash. 2007-04-29 12:10:31 Previously we have posted on the hidden pocket travel socks and the secret stash
cap. Now the time has come for the hidden compartment flip-flops. Inside the sole there is a tray you can use to hide credit cards, keys, money and other small and flat stuff. The sandals comes from Reef and they are USD 46:- on Spydersurf webshop and others. Alas they seem to be available in ladies sizes only. Read more:Sandals
Dell launches hard drive free laptops. 2007-05-03 11:43:01 Besides the fantastic 100 dollar laptop (now unfortunately priced at USD 175:-) Dell is the first manufacturer (we have heard of) that seems to make a serious attempt to market laptops
without the usual hard disc drive
s (HDD). Instead they offer a 32GB flash memory or solid state drive (SSD) in two new products just launched. The flash memory in the Dell machines is the same as in music players and USB memory sticks, only bigger. The advantages are obvious; no moving parts, no spinning fan(?), quicker start-up and access among others. But 32GB? We have 120GB right here and we are longing for more... The new laptops are priced at USD 549:-, but they are so far only available in the Americas.
Read more:hard drive
Clay and sand evaporation fridge. 2007-05-02 12:57:36 This smart preservation device for foodstuffs was invented in 1995 by Nigerian engineer Mohammed Bah Abba. The Pot-in-pot cooler consists of a small earthenware pot nestling inside a larger one with wet sand filling the space in between. As the water in the wet sand evaporates, it extracts heat from contents of the inner pot thus cooling them. The pot cooler is one of many clever ideas shown at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York in its in "Design for the other 90%" exhibition opening 4 May 2007. Here's a link to a preview story and slideshow in the International Herald Tribune.
Funnel for s-l-o-w fluids. 2007-05-01 18:10:59 Getting to use the last of the shampoo or ketchup can be hard. Modern packaging is not exactly designed to help us get everything from the bottle. In that case maybe this funnel could be helpful. It can be used as an ordinary funnel in the usual way, or to connect two bottles together like in the picture on the left. Then you can let the bottles with the s-l-o-w running contents be for as long as it takes. A task that could be very time consuming and irritating should you have to hold them yourself and wait and watch. From Home Trends. USD 10:95 for two. Read more:Funnel
First to know. Smart Stuff on e-mail or RSS. 2007-05-01 18:02:55 Regardless of your preferences; e-mail or RSS, you can always be notified when we've added some new smart stuff to the site. Pick one of the links below to subscribe to the Smart
Stuff News. It's free, and you can always unsubscribe whenever you like. And, since you might want to know; we will NEVER EVER give or sell your address to advertising. Use the first link to subscribe to the e-mail news letter, the second to get our feed via our own server, and the third to get our feed via Feedburner. Read more:First
Sock saver II. 2007-05-07 15:40:23 The fact that socks disappear in the laundry seems to be global phenomenon. It probably occurs everywhere where there are washing machines and tumble dryers. There are also different ideas on solving this problem; we wrote on one the Opair sock saver a couple of years ago, and now we have found the Sockpro. Sockpro is a small rubber disc with star shaped hole in the middle where you stick your socks before washing and drying them. The little rubber disc keeps the socks together during laundry and drying, and makes sure they do not get lost. The Sockpro is USD 19:96 for a pack of 80 in four different colors.
Lemon ball. Juice without the mess. 2007-05-07 12:16:55 And we loved our citrus trumpet so much. But this thing is very smart, too. With the added benefit of (almost) mess-free operation. The lemon ball is called Squeeze-Me and it is designed by Jaime & Mark Antoniades. It is available on Generate for USD 27:-. A bit on the steep side, maybe... Read more:Lemon
, Juice
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