We've all seen how fashion frequently goes full circle and brings back designs our grandparents wore, but we would never have guessed the same for dowsing. Popular during ancient times, it was believed that a pair of simple divining rods could magically detect water underground.
(Credit:
ATSC (UK))
Seems dowsing is coming back, albeit with an unexpected angle. British company ATSC (UK) is selling a portable explosive detection device called the ADE 651, which brings bomb detection technology to another (magical) level with claims it can detect guns, ammunition, explosives, and even contraband items from more than half a mile through obstacles and even planes flying 3 miles overhead.
Amazingly, it uses no power source and all the operator needs to do is hold a pair of metal rods that will point to dangerous items via "electrostatic magnetic ion attraction." ATSC (UK) is selling the ADE 651 for between $16,500 and $60,000 each (depending on the source).
Despite the fact that the ADE 651 has been debunked by journalists and authorities (including Dale Murray, head of the National Explosive Engineering Sciences Security Center at Sandia Labs), the Iraqi government has purchased more than 1,500 units and swears by them. We all know a sucker is born every minute, but are the hoodwinked Iraqi soldiers depending on the ADE 651 to save lives, or the public to pay for these with their tax dollars?
(Source: Crave Asia via The New York Times)
These days, it always seems to come back around to food, and analyzing each other's food issues is pretty enlightening. Here are some tools to appease the inner food critic.
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EPISODE 141 |
Flint woman invents Corner Cap to keep boxes of food from spilling
World’s smallest microwave also has world’s worst name
Aero Blue Robot prepares to dish out unemployment to Japanese waiters
Chocolate scented calculator is torture for dieters
Hot Dogs to Go (thanks, engnr_chik!)
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(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CNET)
Cobra comes up with a new concept for radar detectors--GPS that warns you of existing driving hazards. Along with its 15-band detection, Cobra's XRS 9960G correlates your current location with a database of known red-light and speed cameras, as well as potentially hazardous driving areas. In our testing, we found the system works perfectly, although its alerts come a little too frequently, especially in an urban area like San Francisco, which has plenty of red-light cameras.
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EPISODE 116 |
Sheruken Magnets (thanks Shalin!!)
Bellysonic speaker pouch will soothe you and your pregnant belly
New baby storage concept: Wall mounting (thanks Shalin!)
Snore Pro to help frazzled wives
Remote, sound-emitting anti-barking devices
For the romantically inclined: Thermal leak detector
... Read more
Cobra XRS 9960G (click to enlarge)
My first radar detector only had a row of green and red lights and beeped when you got close to being nailed by a radar gun--awfully quaint in comparison to all that Cobra's 2009 radar devices can do. There are six new units in the line priced from $59.95 to $339.95, but the flagship models have all the new fun-fun features.
The XRS 9960G (pictured) and the XRS R10G can be used right out of the box with a GPS locator the size of a thumbdrive that plugs into a USB port on the side of the units (a feature carried over from current flagship, the R9G). This lets you receive alerts about speed and red-light cameras from Cobra's database, including what direction the alert is coming from and a picture-in-picture view of simultaneous GPS and radar/laser alerts. You can also add in up to 1,000 location-based alerts of your own and program in speed alerts to keep your speed in check.
Both also feature OLED screen (1 inch for the R10G, 1.5 inches for the 9960G), Cobra's Super-Xtreme Range Superheterodyne (S-XRS) technology to pick up on the fastest laser and radar guns, and 15-Band detection.
A device like this prototype would shine near-infrared light through the scalp and skull, then reflect light back depending on how much blood is circulating in the brain.
(Credit: World Intellectual Property Organization)As anyone who watches Dr. Phil has surely learned, standard polygraph tests measure responses such as blood pressure, pulse, and respiration rate to detect anxiety associated with guilt or lying. But a new kind of lie detector test could skip the psychophysiological gauges and head straight to the brain for answers on a subject's veracity.
New Scientist pointed us to a patent filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization that proposes detecting lies via near-infrared spectroscopy. Basically, a device would shine near-infrared light through the scalp and skull into certain parts of the brain. Seeing how much light reflects back would indicate oxygenation levels, which vary depending on how active the brain is at a given point and could yield information on the neural pathways underlying the cognitive as well as the emotional aspects of deception.
To measure the light, the patent filers, headed up by Dr. Scott Bunce, a professor of psychiatry at Philadelphia's Drexel University College of Medicine, have come up with a flexible sensing device that would fit around the head. Neural activity could be transmitted to a processor through wired or wireless means, according to the patent, and results could be made available after post-test averaging, or in real time, while the subject is being tested.
The inventors cite heightened reliability as the main advantage of their method. Conventional polygraphy, they say, suffers from a lack of specificity in differentiating guilt from fear or anxiety, and that can contribute to an unacceptably high level of false positives.
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(Credit:
SourcingMap)
We really don't know what to make of this gadget, for a variety of reasons. First there's the odd combination of features--memory card reader, flash drive, USB charger, and a UV counterfeit money detector, of all things. Then there's the $9.99 price, which can barely buy a keychain these days. But weirdest of all is the design: a ladybug.
One can't help but wonder what goes through the mind of an engineer who comes up with something like this. Actually, it's probably just as well that this twisted thought process isn't applied to something even more bizarre. Whatever the case, this gizmo certainly lives up to its billing as a "multi-functional" device. Whether anyone will want this particular combination of functions, of course, is another question.
(Credit:
Thumbs Up)
If you're one of those Wi-Fi moochers who's always looking for a discreet way to score a free connection, this gadget may be a perfect solution. Rather than having to boorishly whip out a obvious detector, you can pretend to be checking the time while surreptitiously looking for the nearest hot spot on a "Wi-Fi Detecting Watch."
This handy gadget promises to detect signals within a radius of more than 100 yards--an American-style football field--while featuring a full complement of wristwatch features such as a chronograph, alarm, calendar, and water resistance up to 328 feet. The best part for all concerned: It means you can finally throw that Wi-Fi detector shirt in the wash.
The Trax430 by Uniden is part of the company's new line of GPS devices.
(Credit: Uniden)This idea is so obvious, no one thought of it until now. Uniden is launching a line of interoperable GPS devices and radar detectors. Uniden's Trax line of GPS devices offer standard functionality, such as route guidance, text-to-speech, and either a 3.5- or 4.3-inch screen. The Trax line uses NavTeq maps, and has what Uniden says is the fastest satellite acquisition among its competitors. Uniden's line of radar detectors is the LRD series, which detects X, K, KA, VG2, Laser, Ultralyte Laser L2, and Pro Laser 3 guns. Apparently, you will be able to plug the radar detectors into the navigation units. The GPS display will show detected radar guns complete with its approximate location in relation to the car.
We can imagine a lot of possibilities with a system like this. Each detected radar gun could be logged by the GPS device, so over time you could build up a database of speed traps. If this data could be shared on a Web site, you would end up with a pretty comprehensive database of speed traps. Maybe put into a Google map application? Kind of like the manually created Speed Trap Exchange.
(Source: Automotive.com)
(Credit:
Chinavasion)
Given the fascination that gadget makers have always had with the pen, something like this Wi-Fi detector was probably inevitable. After all, we've certainly seen stranger combo writing instruments, including everything from cameras and DVRs to SD card readers and, our personal favorite, aromatherapy.
The latest is a natural progression from the "Auto Detective Pen," which warns when you're in the vicinity of a wireless signal that could be used to operate a spy cam or other surveillance equipment. (Chinavasion makes both devices, but at least the hot-spot-finding version isn't based solely on paranoia.)
Using two button cell batteries, the pen has four LED lights that indicate the strength of Wi-Fi signals up to 30 meters away, according to 7Gadgets. And you can even use the pen itself to write down the best locations. How analog.
