For the home security buff who has everything, here comes X-Flex blast protection wallpaper.
According to Popular Science:
X-Flex is a new kind of wallpaper: one that’s quite possibly stronger than the wall it’s on. Invented by Berry Plastics in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this lifesaving adhesive is designed for use anyplace that’s prone to blasts and other lethal forces, like in war or natural-disaster zones, chemical plants or airports.
The super-strength stuff can keep walls from collapsing after an impact, and also prevents debris from exploding inward into the room. The wallpaper comes in a roll with a sticky backing; for some counter-insurgency home decorating, you simply remove the backing and press the sheets to the walls. In less than an hour, an entire room can be covered.
X-Flex manufacturer, Berry Plastics, plans to release a commercial version soon, which could actually be very useful if you happen to live in a hurricane zone.
To see how X-Flex holds up, PopSci gave the wallpaper the old wrecking ball test. See the video here.
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The U.S. Military has been after a vomit-inducing weapon for years. The idea is to use flashing lights that can make an enemy so dizzy, he hurls (and thereby becomes disoriented and unable to fight).
But while the government has sunk millions into creating the perfect spew-ray gun, a couple of hardware hackers recently slapped one together for around $250.
From Wired.com:
Using a flashlight from Sears, a set of three-dollar LEDs, a nine-volt battery, and a heat sink ripped off a PC processor, they managed to put together a functioning dazzler-cum-vomit-beam. And then they published step-by-step instructions on how you can build one, too.
Click here for the video, if you think your stomach is strong enough.
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The domain of unmanned spy planes is expanding beyond war zones—last month the British government announced plans to use these flying robots to help out police at home. But here’s a more feel-good use for unmanned drones: Researchers at the South African National Health Laboratory Service want to use these robots in the service of medicine, converting them in electronic carrier pigeons to move supplies.
South Africa has many remote areas that are difficult to reach, especially when the weather turns bad. So scientists want to send in the robots. The researchers had South African entrepreneur Jaco Davel create a smaller and cheaper unmanned aerial vehicle that could be launched by hand; these unmanned craft could be preprogrammed for landing, or hospitals could control them manually.
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Have you ever seen those aquarium ornaments that look like shipwrecks? Well, the U.S. Navy is applying that idea in real life.
In 2006, the Navy intentionally sank one of its old boats off the coast of Pensacola, Fla. The U.S.S. Oriskany, which had served in the Korean and Vietnam wars and launched the last bombing mission of Sen. John McCain, became an “artificial reef.” The Navy has 59 decommissioned ships sitting around and nothing to do with them—while most will become scraps, some might become reefs. But is sinking more old ships really a good idea?
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Last Friday night between 10:15 and 10:30 pm, six airplanes flying into Sydney Airport were victims of the city’s first coordinated laser attack, in which some miscreants shined lasers at the folks operating the flying tin cans carrying lots of people. The potentially dangerous maneuver provoked the government to consider banning laser pointers or classifying them as illegal weapons. (Shining laser beams at aircraft is already punishable by two years’ jail time and fines of up to $30,000.)
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