Image via Oregon Manifest
It’s called Merge and it’s a prototype bike designed by Pensa and Horse Cycles with city riding – and storing – in mind.
That means it needed to be lightweight to carry up and down stairs, a compact size to navigate between cars, and the frame had to hold some hidden amenities. USB charging and lighting, a fender, lock cable, and a spring-loaded retractable aluminum rack all fit into the frame and completely disappear when not in use. The USB port is linked to a generator in the front wheel so devices can be recharged while cycling.
The impressive ride was created for The Bike Design Project.
— Adventure Capitalist
Image via tnooz
Ever dreamt of just walking out your front door and onto a flight? A new app called Flight Tonight makes that dream a reality.
The app finds flight deals from your location that depart today. You can literally book your ticket as you’re on the way to the airport. Or if you’re feeling really risky, just show up to the airport first. I just tested the app to see what’s leaving out of New York City tonight. The options ranged from $201 to Nantucket, $224 to Akron, $245 to Rochester, and $281 to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. It would have to be an 8-day trip but I’m thinking of heading to the airport now…
— Adventure Capitalist
Image via FoodBeast
FoodBeast as discovered an ice cream for the curious, Bill-Nye-loving child in all of us – and for those of us who just can’t seem to pay attention to something that stands still.
The ice cream, dubbed Xamaleón, has been described as having a “mixed fruit-like taste.” It starts out a pale shade of blue, and then, with the help of a “love elixir” and, you know, saliva, it changes colors. The magical dessert’s inventor is a Spanish physicist named Manual Linares explains that the color change is rooted in the harnessing of temperature and oxidation.
Next, Linares tells FoodBeast, he’s working on an “ice cream that glows in ultraviolet lights,” to help you ‘scream while you untz untz.
— Gastronaut
Image via Kickstarter
Measuring is the hardest part of baking (or so we’re told. We’re more of the walk-down-to-Dominique-Ansel folks). Thankfully, here’s now a Kickstarter campaign designed to take the human error – and human mess – out of measuring the ingredients for any recipe.
Meet PantryChic, the new kitchen product just waiting for your dollars and support. This handy gadget stores all the ingredients you’ll ever need in airtight canisters, then, with the touch of a button, can measure out exactly the right amount and dispense it in seconds. The microprocessor “registers” the type of ingredients as soon as the PantryChic-system canister is attached to the standing machine, and can even work with Bluetooth-enabled tablets, phones and computers with a “recipe walk through” system designed to make cooking and baking utterly thoughtless. Now if only we could find a way to make those ooey gooey homemade cookies healthful…
— Gastronaut
Image via Cool Material
Ey so Reebok now makes bacon. Yeah. I’m not sure what to say. I mean I like bacon, but I feel that bacon comes with a certain, you know, lifestyle. One that requires sweatpants as formal clothing, not shaving, chilling on your couch, and playing the Destiny Beta a lot. Now if Reebok is making bacon does that mean bacon is a health thing?? I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Reebok made it for Crossfit, which after a lot of internet sleuthing I’ve discovered is a workout routine where you do push ups until you make Captain America cry. Sorry, Cap, maybe you should have been working on your push-ups instead of polishing your shield. BURN.
— Culturazzi
Image via Taxi
There’s a kind of tongue and cheek checklist out if you’re interested in owning your own “hipster bar.”
The checklist has everything you need to get real street cred with the people that matter: those who use Yelp to find places to take Uber to. You gotta make sure that your bar has a theme (preferably one that originated before 1945), that your bartenders are dressed like jerks, and that your prices start in the mid to high twenties. Hey, just like your bar theme!
Bars are cool, but they’re so, you know, 2014. Nowadays I do all of my drinking out on country porches in a rocking chair. Also I don’t drink anymore. The new thing is just to put the glass next to you and absorb the alcohol through osmosis. We call it “amoeba-ing.”
— Culturazzi
Image via Venture Beat
The makers of the Yo app are jumping on the Snapchat bandwagon. Their version of a self-destructing messaging app is called Mirage. You gotta admit – the name is kinda genius.
What makes this app different from Snapchat is that users can send photos, 15-second videos, audio, or text to contacts who don’t even have the app yet. When users sign up, all contacts are loaded into the app. With a simple touch to the contact name a message is initiated regardless of whether or not they contact is a Mirage user. Pretty simple. Almost as simple as Yo… I see a trend here. Will you download Mirage?
— IT Girl
Image via Design Milk
If you want to be a productive worker, your desk setup should be of utmost importance. You might be one of those creative who works better in chaotic environment, but a little organization never hurt anyone.
The UNITI Stand is an aluminum multi-device organizer that streamlines your entire iMac workspace – but it’s not just for Apple products. The stand elevates your monitor to a more comfortable viewing height while two magnetic detachable docking cradles let your favorite smartphone and tablet live upright while charging. As a bonus, an audio jack stays easily within reach. The sleek design turns any desktop into a sophisticated workspace.
Back it on Kickstarter now to secure your own deluxe stand for $219.
— IT Girl
Image via Selectism
Cycling around Manhattan can sometimes be a practice in futility. There are tight spaces, unpredictable weather, and the need to stow and carry cargo.
Fortunately, Pensa and Horse Cycles came together to create Merge. The name could possibly reference the way the bicycle has been merged with a lot of other functions essential to solid urban riding. The top tube of the bike, beyond just looking cool, provides housing for a number of hidden features, including a USB charger, back fender, and even a rack. And a dynamo generates power for built-in lighting.
But the most urban-friendly feature: a kickstand.
— Digital Gentleman
Image via Crumpler
By now we’re all accustomed to using high-technology to plan our travel, and we’re outfitted from here to Tuesday with fancy apps, cameras, and other gadgets to help us wring every drop of vacation from our vacations. But sometimes its the low-tech stuff that can have the most consistent impact on our journeys. For me, it always comes back to a bag.
Like other experienced travelers, you probably only pack one bag, and that bag is a carry-on. This summer Smarter Upstarter is keen on the new Vis-á-Vis Cabin from Crumpler. Long known for their excellent camera bags, Crumpler have outdone themselves with this new line of luggage, seeming to have thought of everything from built-in security mechanisms to clothes compression to handle-switching. The hard-shell “Cabin” version will fit in virtually any overhead bin with a little room left to spare, and come with a lifetime guarantee. Happy trails!
— Smarter Upstarter
