bookofjoe

A book written in disappearing ink

From the Los Angeles Times:

In Buenos Aires, small bookshop and publisher Eterna Cadencia has been wrestling with the question of the role of books in a digital age. These days, e-books seem more important, more interesting, than their print counterparts. How can print books take on a measure of urgency?

Eterna Cadencia’s answer seems, at first, counterintuitive: It printed a book with disappearing ink.

The book, "El Libro que No Puede Esperar" ("The Book That Can't Wait"), comes sealed in a plastic wrapper. Once the wrapper is removed and the book is cracked, the ink begins to age; it's got a lifespan of less than two months. Just months after being opened, "The Book That Can't Wait" is filled with nothing but blank pages.

That makes the book unputdownable in an entirely new way.

Who wants a book that will self-destruct in 60 days? Turns out, Argentine readers do. Eterna Cadencia sold out of its entire first disappearing-ink printing in a single day.

Habla español?

Blog de Eterna Cadencia está aquí.

[via Paul Biba]

Chewing Gum Lighter

 

$7.99.

Rolls-Royce builds 150,000-piece LEGO engine

From Tested: "Rolls-Royce and professional LEGO house Bright Bricks have constructed a 675-pound model that's probably a bit too large for your display shelf."

More: "Rolls-Royce built a half-scale model of its Trent 1000 engine, used in the Boeing 787, out of 152,455 LEGO pieces. The engine weighs 675 pounds and measures five feet in diameter. Heavy — but the real thing weighs almost 13,000 pounds, so you have to give hollow LEGO bricks points for efficiency."

And: "Why drag a real engine to the Farnborough International Airshow when you can wow people with a smaller, lighter LEGO model that took eight weeks to construct? Rolls-Royce grads and apprentices worked with Bright Bricks to assemble more than 160 components into one awesome plastic engine. Check out the process in high-speed time-lapse [top]."

[via Wired and Paul Biba]

Cube Tube — Vertical Ice Cube Tray

That's different.

What's with all the vertical stuff all of a sudden?

From The Green Head:

"You'd think we'd have perfected the art of making ice cubes by now yet there's always room for improvement, as evidenced by the cool new Quirky Cube Tube. This unique vertical ice cube tray eliminates the middle ground of water spillage between filling the tray and placing it in the freezer. Just fill the tube with water, insert the divider, seal and freeze — no spills. Once frozen, it gets even better, because you get to whack the flexible bottom against a hard surface to crack the ice and relieve a little stress at the same time. Then you can easily drop one cube at a time into your drink. A cool idea that's still in development."

Helpful Hints from joeeze: Carry-on bag size limits for each airline

 

Nooz you can yooz that won't make you snooze.

 

From Luggage Online: "In order to keep the passenger compartment uncluttered and safe, the airlines place rules and size limits on the luggage that each traveler can carry on the plane. The primary rule is the size limit stating that bags carried on board must be small enough to store below your seat or in the overhead compartment. Currently the basic rule is that carry-on baggage must be no taller than 22 inches, no wider than 14 inches, and no deeper than 9 inches. In many cases, you'll also have to contend with limits on weight. We've gathered the restriction details of some of the more heavily traveled airlines here."

Nose Straightener

From the website:

.................................

Do you have a complex about your nose? Then reach for the Hana Twin Nose, a much cheaper alternative to plastic surgery — and it doesn't hurt, either!

The makers reckon that 20 minutes per day is enough to strengthen and straighten your nose to help you achieve that perfect nasal profile you so desire!

After slipping this clip gently into your nostrils, the supports on either side will help balance and push up the bones and contours of your nose to give it an overall sharper, straighter shape — less round and more graceful.

.................................

$62.

Last will and testament of Jane Austen

From Hey Oscar Wilde!: "Written three months before her death. With the exception of a few small legacies, she left 'everything' to her sister Cassandra."

[via The National Archives UK and Richard Kashdan]

Magazine Hanger Chair

Designed by Seung Han Lee who wrote, "The chair was made from stainless steel and its main purpose is to save space."

"It was inspired by the idea of combining a bookcase and a chair to make them one functional object."

I'd say it worked.

[via Bem Legaus!]