The 50 best inventions of 2009Time names the 50 coolest things created over the past year, including vertical farming, the robo-penguin and tweeting by thinking. It has also listed the year’s five worst inventions.
Inventions
Meet the man who killed the letter
In 1971, engineer Ray Tomlinson was asked to find something interesting to do with the newly created ARPANET computer network. So he invented email, inadvertently changing human communication forever.
Scientists create landmine-detecting bugs
Scientists have used DNA manipulation to create a new type of bacteria that glows green in the presence of explosives, and may be the future of landmine detection
Crap you don’t need: the most stupid products ever invented
A definitive HuffPo list of the 15 stupidest products available for sale. Which is the most inane? Tinkles the toilet cat that hides under your toilet seat ready to scare your guests? Or the phallic shaped boob separator?
The world’s first Twitter-only gadget. Er, why?
Tech company Peek has created a hand-held gadget that only does one thing: tweet. For US$199, you can’t make phone calls, send SMS or check your email, but you can tweet on-the-go. Perfect for friendless geeks with no need for a real phone, we guess.
Toyota invents its own climate-cooling flower
Manufacturing the Toyota Prius produces more CO2 than normal cars, so the company came up with a novel solution: engineer a new species of flower to plant around factories that reduces the temperature and the energy needed for cooling, thus offsetting the carbon emissions.
VIDEO: Reinventing the mouse
With the rise of laptops and touch-screen computing, many have predicted the death of the computer mouse. But Microsoft is working on five cool new iterations of the device that integrates multi-touch technology to go well beyond the old point-and-click.
A slice of genius: the multi-purpose pizza box
Check out the GreenBox, an environmentally friendly pizza box made from 100% recycled materials that transforms into plates and a storage container for leftovers.
E-paper: the real “Kindle Killer”
Everyone (and by “everyone”, we mean “geeks and the media”) is fixated on what the Next Big Thing in e-readers will be. But what if e-readers aren’t the Next Big Thing at all? Check out e-paper, which allows hi-res, full-colour imagery.
Hydrogen-fuelled cars aren’t out of the race yet
Many have declared the development of hydrogen cars dead in favour of cheaper, simpler electric vehicles. But companies including Suzuki, Mercedes and Toyota are still quietly tinkering away at the technology.
The Frankencamera: the future of photography
Stanford University scientists have developed a new digital camera that works like an iPhone — allowing users to download applications and customise the device in infinite ways. It’s kind of like Photoshopping a photo before you even take it.
Learning from animals
Ten things that science and technology have pilfered from the animal kingdom, including bullet trains mimicked on kingfisher bills and vibrating walking sticks that copy bat technology (ever heard of ‘blind as a bat’?).
PHOTO GALLERY: Yesterday’s gadgets, today’s technology
Photos of gadgets once considered high-tech creations. Sure they’re primitive and funny, but many also foreshadow the technological innovations we’re seeing and using today.
VIDEO: Wireless electricity
“Wires suck” says electrician and innovator Eric Giler, so a team of
Video of the Day: Making dirty water drinkable
With much of the world lacking access to clean drinking water, a new portable filter that turns filthy water clean in seconds could prove revolutionary.
