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Margaret Atwood’s telepresence book-signing robot
There is no way for reasonable adults to argue that the most awesome car on the planet is the Eliica.
It’s an all-electric car developed by Tokyo’s Keio University — and it goes from zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds, has a top speed of 230 miles an hour, sports gull-style wings, and has EIGHT WHEELS. As SpaceMart reports:
“We will initially target the wealthy clientele usually using chauffeured cars as well as rich company owners for their private use,” said Hiroichi Yoshida, Keio professor for media and governance in the Eliica project.
“We are talking about something like watches — a machine combining motors and batteries. As its price can fall quickly in the future, we think it’s important to establish a superb brand image first,” he told AFP.
Apparently it’ll cost $260,000 US. For those of us proles who can’t afford that sort of bling — though can anyone afford NOT to have AN EIGHT WHEELED CAR?? — here’s the alternative: A papercraft Eliica! Click here to get the full-color PDF you can print out, cut up, then fold into your own tiny approximation of what the future ought to look like.
(Thanks to Wired for this one!)
I'm Clive Thompson, a writer on science, technology, and culture. This blog collects bits of offbeat research I'm running into, and musings thereon.
Currently, I'm a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a columnist for Wired magazine. I also write for Fast Company and Wired magazine's web site, among other places. Email or AOL IM me (pomeranian99) to say hi or send in something strange!
The “Milky Way Transit Authority” map
Should automobile software be open-sourced?
My Bookforum review of Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not A Gadget”
Molecular secrets of the “iron-plated snail”
» visit the Collision Detection archives
January 31, 2010 » 07:29 PM
V. A. To me death seems to be an evil.
M. What, to those who are already dead? or to those who must die?
A. To both.
M. It is a misery, then, because an evil?
A. Certainly.
M. Then those who have already died, and those who have still got to die, are both miserable?
A. So it appears to me.
M. Then all are miserable?
A. Every one.
January 24, 2010 » 03:22 PM
One of the more interesting trends is family, which came in at number five. Specifically, discussion about family, moms, dads, daughters, etc. jumped during 2009. With Facebook users getting older, this isn’t a big surprise. However, the fact that the mention of “kids” jumped by a factor of five this year is rather dramatic. It’s tough to know what this means, though. (via Facebook Unveils Most-Mentioned Topics of 2009
)
January 15, 2010 » 01:36 PM
BEYOND AWESOME. They are announcing a recall of the Plush Uterus “due to a potential choking hazard for children”. To apply for it, “Please send an email to the address below with the subject line, ‘UTERUS OPT OUT’”.
January 14, 2010 » 10:04 PM
“To order, please TYPE “YES” IN CHECKBOX BELOW TO AGREE YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PLUSH MUST BE KEPT AWAY FROM KIDS (it is a sex organ, after all). If it is not checked, WE WILL NOT SEND THE UTERUS.” (via @ibogost)
January 11, 2010 » 01:45 PM
I watched Space: 1999 back in the day, but I swear to god I do not remember this scene.
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