Japanese Provide An All New Slant on a "Square Deal For Every Man."

Imagine if you could stack a big, awkward fruit (like a watermelon) neatly in your refrigerator.  Picture the huge amount of space that could be saved in shipping if the wholesome goodness of the watermelon you love could be harnessed into a uniform shape and stacked as neatly as boxes.

Japan has envisioned a way for this dream to become reality and launched a new, enticing line of square melons.  By placing the melon in tempered glass cases it can be grown to exact sizes relative to refrigerator space!

Though a novel idea, the price of these custom dimensioned fruits will have to drop a good bit before they grab the eye of the US public.  At a whopping 10,000 Yen (Roughly 82.00 USD) per square watermelon, it is unlikely that the idea will become a huge fad in the US anytime soon.

However, if you can’t wait for an importer to bring these wonderful conversation pieces to a store near you.  You may consider purchasing a case to create your own!  I was able to find cases currently available on the web (from sites like square-watermelons.com) for under 100.00 USD.

Headache? Fever? Toothache? Forget Aspirin, Get Bayer Heroin Strong

Hard to believe, but in the early 1900s, Sears & Roebuck (along with a number of other stores) sold products made with opium, heroin, and cocaine.

Until the FDA was established to regulate food and drug safety in 1930, the purchase of dangerous, narcotic medicines was not regulated and nearly as normal and commonplace as buying Aspirin or Tylenol is today.  These substances were bought and sold on the open market by people who were unaware of their harmful (sometimes fatal) side effects.

Imagine waking up at night to give little Billy (a teething baby) a nice spoon full of opium or a new “safer” heroin injection to ease the pain.  If you felt a little groggy, you could get a jolt to start the day from a glass of Coca Wine (a liquid cocaine beverage).  When trying to loose some weight, you could purchase Dr. Rose’s Obesity Powder – a fast, “safe,” cocaine formula that quickly burned those unwanted pounds, nose tissue, and brain cells.  Try to imagine what must have happened to many of the children and adults that used these.

Even pope Leo the 13th apparently endorsed narcotics at this dark moment in pharmaceutical history: Mariani “Wine” (yet another cocaine beverage) was said to give you immediate health, strength, energy, and vitality (as well as providing a “cure” for the influenza virus).

A heroin kit was available for around $1.50 and came with a syringe, two needles and a carrying case.  Children were given Cocaine Toothache Drops that sold for 15 cents a pack.  Asthma was thought to be cured by inhaling the smoke or vapor of opium.

Which brings us to the current push by marijuana users to legalize the substance around the United States.  If we condone this drug, couldn’t we eventually see people fighting for rights to legally use much more harmful drugs like cocaine or even heroin?  By opening these doors it seems like we’d be taking a huge step back from what we’ve already learned was a really bad idea.

Sears & Roebuck Once Sold Opium, Heroin, and Cocaine by Benjamin F Sullivan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Below are some images I’ve compiled of these crazy medications that were available (pre FDA) in the United States.

Are radioactive batteries the portasble power source of the future? Photo: iStockPhoto

Ever wished you didn’t have to buy batteries quite so often? Well there may be a new, radioactive solution that could potentially keep your electronics cranking for years.

Researches from the University of Missouri have begun creating a incredibly long lasting battery that would help dispose of radioactive material while simultaneously providing a powerful, inexpensive, and compact source of mobile energy.

Of course, it seems likely that the public could have concerns about purchasing a radioactive battery and snapping it in a device like a pacemaker, mobile phone, or hearing aid, but, the technology seems to hold an almost irresistible allure after a number of potential issues have been put to rest by Jae Kwon, a developer of the project and professor at the University of Missori. Kwon has said “This is not a nuclear reaction. Nothing will explode; there won’t be a mushroom cloud on your property…”

So with all those obvious worries off the playing field, radioactive seems like the only logical way to go. Even considering that the new technology could quite possibly put a certain drum beating bunny out of a job – the longevity and zero risk of a mushroom cloud seem to make this a clear choice for the future of the battery.

Radioactive Batteries Could Keep Your Electronic Devices Cranking For Years by Benjamin F Sullivan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Based on a work at news.discovery.com.

These little insects shockingly love caffeine and nicotine.

Think you’re the only one that can’t wait to kick the day off with a fresh cup of coffee and a cigarette? Think again: a recent study at University of Haifa shows bees are nature’s little caffeine and nicotine junkies.

The study showed bees had a definite preference for flowers growing on tobacco trees (which contain nicotine) and citrus flowers (which contain caffeine). The bees took an even greater liking to flowers that had artificially heightened nicotine and caffeine levels.

Scientists believe that these plants have likely developed the substances to give them a decided edge when it comes to pollination.

Bees Are Nature’s Little Cigarette And Coffee Junkies by Benjamin F Sullivan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.dailymail.co.uk.

Billowing as much as 5 tons of sulfur pollution annually, 16 of the world's largest ships can create as much pollution as every car on earth.

Auto owners can feel a bit less guilty about contributing to the world’s pollution levels after some shocking statistics were released showing that just 16 of the wold’s largest ships are capable of producing as much harmful sulfur pollution as every car on earth combined. Most tankers run on an incredibly dirty, tar like, high-sulfur fuel called “marine” or “bunker fuel.”

The IMO (International Maritime Organization) created a policy agreed to by 169 countries over the past 31 years which currently allows ships to create 4,500 times more pollution than automobiles and permits the largest ships to pump as much as 5,000 tons of sulfur into the air yearly – compare this to the roughly 100 grams of sulfur pollution created by the average automobile.

Thankfully, the IMO intends to lower the hazardous sulfur levels to 3.5 percent (from the current policy allowing up to 4.5) by 2012 and eventually lower these levels to .05. This comes as especially good news, since at the current pollution levels, research suggests that as many as 64,00 people are dying yearly around the globe.

The Natural Oddity Was First Seen Hovering Over Western Moscow

A huge, luminous, halo shaped cloud was seen recently by millions of people looming over western areas of Moscow, Russia’s capital city.

The unusual occurrence has instigated a terrific buzz over the internet and many people are convinced this was no cloud, but a UFO.

Don’t look for little green men just yet though, moscow scientists and officials are certain that this was just a naturally occurring phenomenon, having stated over Vesti 24 that “It’s a purely optical effect, even if a spectacular one. You can see really strange things if you watch the clouds regularly.  Several air fronts have passed Moscow recently, including an inflow of cold air from the Arctic, and they combined to produce such a phenomenon.”