I’ve found few ways to relieve stress that feel quite as good as going a few rounds with a punching bag. After a little while you get into a zone where you forget about all of the troubles of your day, and focus only on the bag. The best part is that it’s a pretty good work out to boot. Sure, most punching bags don’t make good company, but there is at least one that will entertain you as you beat on it.
This Love Hate Punch bag was designed by artist Stefan Gross. It is illuminated with a red light (likely to represent anger or stress) that gradually changes to white (likely representing peace) as you continue to strike it. If you let up too long or slow down, the color will return to its original state. This would actually be a great way to keep your pace during a workout, if only it were available for purchase.
The addition of wheels to a suitcase is probably one of the greatest innovations in travel the world has ever seen, but even the largest of wheels used on modern luggage can easily be tripped up by curbs, stairs, or even snow. However, none of those obstacles would be a problem for the Samsonite OBAG concept designed by Rooz Mousavi. The entire suitcase is one giant wheel which not only makes it easy to steer and maneuver, but also allows it to be dragged up a flight of stairs without ever having to lift it off the ground. The handle can be collapsed like on any other suitcase making it easy to store, and while the OBAG features a set of easy to access compartments on either side, I can probably wear more clothing than this suitcase could actually hold. So while it’s a great idea with a nice design, I’ll probably just stick with my standard, tiny wheeled luggage.
Artist Jamie O’Shea created this vertical bed more for artistic reasons than for mass production. The bed was displayed during the Conflux Festival in New York city. O’Shea used the bed to sleep for 40 minutes every 4 hours during the event which ran from September 11 to the 14th.
The bed contains a series of bolts that can fasten onto grates or in the cracks of a sidewalk to keep the user in place. Harnesses hidden under the clothing and leg and thigh poles support the weight of the sleeper. Back and neck supports keep the person comfortable while mirrored sunglasses and sound canceling headphones block out the rest of the world. And just in case it rains there’s an umbrella.
I suppose the vertical bed could be used for some tasks like standing in line for a new movie/concert/game but I personally wouldn’t want to ever give up my nice comfy bed.
It seems like every time that I go to move, there are no tape dispensers to be found in my house. I don’t ever remember getting rid of them, yet they all disappear. It’s not a big deal, especially since I don’t move all that often, but I really do wonder what happens to them. Needless to say, I’ve gone through a number of tape dispensers (from boxing tape to scotch tape) and this tapeWORM concept is definitely one of the most simplistic that I’ve seen.
This single piece of stainless ’spring’ steel flexes to fit on the inside of the tape roll with a blade on the outside for cutting. When installed, it works just like any other tape dispenser. When you’re not using it, the tapeWORM springs back to its original shape. The designer is planning to make these in a number of sizes for all different types of tape. Unfortunately there’s no word when they plan to mass-produce the product.
I’m fortunate to not work in an environment where I have to worry about my co-workers stealing my lunch from the office refrigerator. However, I’ve known a few people to have their sandwiches (or whatever) turn up missing when it comes time for their lunch break. It’s usually pretty obvious that their food was not taken by accident, which meant that someone decided that they were hungry enough to eat someone else’s lunch. So how does one protect themselves from lunchtime thieves? Make your food appear as repulsing as possible.
If you don’t mind eating gross food, you could always just make sure that you bring something that no one would want to eat. If that’s too much, then just disguise your food as something disgusting. These moldy bags will no doubt make sure that your food is passed up when someone goes scrounging for lunch. These appear to only be a concept for now, so you’ll just have to let your food grow its own mold.
A few days ago I brought you a clever entry from the 2008 Electrolux Design Lab competition that made it a lot easier for a group of roommates to share, or really not share, the food in their fridge. But here’s another design from Chiba University’s Nojae Park that would not only provide a group of roommates with their own mini-fridges, but a whole mini kitchen on wheels. The Kitchen Drawer is designed for the “internet generation” which was part of the 2008 Design Lab competition’s theme, and I guess that partly refers to those of us living in an urban area where space is a premium.
In addition to a mini-fridge, the Kitchen Drawer also includes an electric stove that allows you to select the size of the heating element depending on the size of the pot you’re using, a stainless steel plate for preparing and/or warming your food and a drawer to accommodate your dishes and cutlery. While it’s lacking the all important kitchen sink that’s needed for cleanup, the wheeled base and compact design means you could probably just roll it outside and blast it with the hose after dinner’s done.
I definitely think that one day we’ll all have access to some mode of flying transportation, but it won’t look anything like the flying car prototypes we’ve seen over the years, nor will they require the occupant’s to be trained as pilots. But clearly the designers at Moller seem to think differently, and their latest ‘prototype’ was created at the request of a Russian businessman who was tired of having to fight the traffic on his way into Moscow every morning.
Their solution is the Autovolantor, seen here in all its 1/18th scale model glory, which is based on a Ferrari 599 that features a few strategic modifications like an electric drivetrain and the addition of eight rotary engines needed to make it fly. On the ground, the Autovolantor could drive for up to 40 miles on a single charge, and when airborne it could supposedly reach speeds of 150mph for a whopping 15 minutes. And while the prototype will cost about $5 million to develop, if the vehicle ever went into production that price tag could drop to about $250,000. But don’t forget that you’ll also have to pay for insurance, which will not be cheap for the world’s first flying car.
Are you a hardcore geek that wants to let everyone know of your love for gadgetry even before they set foot in your house? Sure, you could put down a doormat with the word “welcome” written in binary, but some people might miss it. What you could do is change out your doorbell with one made to look like the enter key from a keyboard.
This is one of those designs that just makes you chuckle when you see it. It seems like a perfect match, the word “enter” on a doorbell; it just doesn’t get much better than that. This is only a concept idea, but I’m sure if you had an old keyboard, a Dremel and some glue you could make a pretty decent one for yourself.
The light bulb has been around for a very long time, and we’re all quite familiar with the standard shape. We’ve seen a lot of new light bulbs in the last few years as we focus more on bulbs that not only last longer, but are also more environmentally friendly. LED bulbs are supposed to be among some of the more eco-friendly kinds, and the designers at Frog Design think they’ve figured out a way to get LED bulbs into more homes.
It’s true that many people are scared of change, so why not make something new that looks just like the object it is replacing? These frogLight bulbs look just like the old incandescent ones we’ve known and loved for years. While I can’t argue that more people will likely buy them if they look like a normal bulb, I think you might need more than a single LED to provide the right about of lighting.
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