SquidSoap, a fun hand soap designed to teach kids to thoroughly wash their hands, shoots a small amount of black ink with the soap, which is removed only after washing for 15 to 20 seconds. The Company references a study that shows children who wash frequently wash their hands miss 30% less school than children who don’t wash frequently.
[thanks, strange new products]
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is offering a microeconomics course this fall through its iCampus, which will be taught via an online video game!
The principles of microeconomics are taught by “following an alien species that must learn how to survive after crash-landing on a futuristic, post-apocalyptic earth.” This is an awesome glimpse into the future of interactive learning.
[thanks, Mark Wallace!]
The official website for the upcoming movie Snakes on a Plane has an innovative marketing feature, an option to request the voice of Samuel Jackson call someone you know with a personalized message via 7 questions asked on the site - check it out!
Also, you can personalize your myspace page with a Snakes theme.
Ralph Lauren has an interactive window display at their store in Manhattan. It’s even possible to purchase items via the window, which has a credit card reader and on-screen keyboard. Now “window shopping” has new meaning! [thanks, David Polinchock]
For a related interactive display retail concept, click here.
The technology to foresee traffic in real-time (vs. snapshots) will soon be a reality. Acura and Cadillac have started to bundle the technology into their navigation packages. IntelliOne Technologies is testing its Need4Speed technology, which gathers data by tracking the movement of mobile phones within cars to provide real-time traffic conditions. [via autoblog]
Tate Britain displays British art from 1500 to today, and has devised a new way of viewing its displays with a range of themed ‘Collections’ on its website. The collections suggest a number of personal journeys you could take, reflecting different moods and enthusiasms, and offers you the chance to create your own collection. [Thanks, Reynold D’Silva]
Also, a patent-pending, remote controlled crib rocker! [via neatorama]
Parker Brothers has launched a version of Monopoly in the UK that utilizes an electronic credit card system to keep track of payments and debts.
[I am traveling again this week, so posting may be slow until next week. Thanks, Matt]
Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI) has commissioned aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin to design a supersonic airplane: the Quiet Supersonic Transport (QSST), a 12-seat supersonic civilian jet that could come to fruition by 2013. The QSST will travel 1.6 times the speed of sound (Mach 1.6), or 1,200 miles per hour. A patented design is expected to produce a sonic signature 1/100 that of the Concorde. [thanks, Paul Marks]
Check out this TED video of Jeff Han’s demonstration of an intuitive, touchable UI.
Also, Stanford student Manu Kumar is developing technology called Gaze-enhanced User Interface Design, or GUIDe, which allows one to browse and switch between applications by simply moving your eyes. A Mercury News article describing the project is available here.
