Quirky

Whether you’re making a meringue, a low-calorie omelet or any number of other dishes, sometimes you need just an egg white – without the yolk. Once you’ve cracked the egg open, you can try “pouring” off the yolk, or lifting it out with a traditional strainer-style egg yolk separator. Two new products, however, also give you the option of sucking it away.  Read More

Finding the perfect tool for any job can sometimes be a daunting task, especially when that job requires precision, such as with woodworking. So what could be a better tool than one that you can mold specifically for the task at hand? That's why several collaborators recently created Sandables, a set of sanding tools that can be reshaped like gritty modeling clay for more accurate woodworking.  Read More

These days, almost any traveler carries one or more gadgets with them wherever they go, from a smartphone to a tablet to a laptop or a camera. But once you're actually in an airport or hotel, trying to find enough outlets to charge all these devices isn't always easy. That's why one inventor devised the Pivot Power Mini, a travel adapter that transforms one electrical socket into four different outlets.  Read More

Because of the increased visibility that they offer, “third brake lights” have become standard on automobiles. Now, it's possible to buy kits that let you add such lights to the back of motorcycle helmets, although they typically have to be installed permanently. The Signal helmet light, however, can simply be strapped on.  Read More

Who hasn't had milk go bad in the fridge and not noticed until all the shops are shut? The prototype Milkmaid "smart jug" aims to solve this problem by detecting spoiled milk and sending a message to its owner informing them of the need to buy fresh supplies.  Read More

Seth Goldstein must hate doing up his ties even more than I do. I changed my lifestyle about four years ago so I'd never have to wear one again, but Goldstein has put countless hundreds of hours into designing a robot that can do the job for him. The 'Why Knot?' kinetic sculpture is hypnotic to watch, as the video after the jump shows – and it makes you wonder at the marvel of our human machinery when you see how difficult this simple task is for a purpose-built robot to replicate. Oh, and when you watch it in double-speed, it also sounds a bit like glitch techno music. Very cool.  Read More

One of the best things about the Internet, besides the sharing of ideas and bringing together like-minded people and all that stuff, is the opportunity it affords us to buy weird things. While said weird things can come in all shapes and sizes, often the most prized and intriguing are the one-of-a-kind handmade items. If that’s what you’re seeking, then one of the best places to look is on Etsy – for the uninitiated, it’s kind of like an eBay devoted solely to things that people have made themselves. We took a snoop through the website, searching specifically for quirky science and/or technology-related thing-a-ma-jigs. Here’s a look at some of what we found.  Read More

The new iPhone 4 finally has an LED flash but that hasn't stopped a bunch of manufacturers such as Quirky and Snapturelabs creating accessories for prior models. We saw another ripping contender at Computex last week in the form of the Holomagic which puts out an intense light from an LED from a battery case with plenty (285 mAh) of battery life and a choice of leather or plastic protective cases too.  Read More

More than a little reminiscent of Yamaha's bizarre Tenori-On, iNudge is a free online composition and sequencing tool that takes all the pesky music training out of making music. Playing with its neat grid interface, anyone can come up with funky little beats and make quirky electro tunes. It's a product of an age where musical talent can be completely divorced from the ability to manipulate strings, wind or membranes to get a desired sound - and it's a lot of fun. Have a try right here in your browser window, just click through.  Read More