Sunday 4 March 2012

The house coat, the latest Japanese invention to escape earthquakes

The earthquake that hit Japan last year was the most destructive in the history of a country unfortunately accustomed to the tremors of the earth. Precisely because it is located in the Ring of Fire, Japan is the country in the world that has worked to develop technologies to prevent and mitigate the damage of earthquakes. Thelatest invention that comes from there is about halfway between science fiction and a 'chindogu', such as bright as useless inventions that can only emerge from amind Nippon: a house coat.

The levitating house is an invention of the company Air Systems Danshin works as follows: a sensor detects the earthquake, then activates an air compressor thatinflates a camera / mattress on the floor of the house. The house stands about three inches for the duration of the earthquake, and reverts to its original positiononce it is complete. Ingenious, right? Well we're not talking just a strange idea, but the system has been installed on at least 88 homes, according to the website of the company.

The house levitated, the company claims, is safer and cheaper than otheranti-earthquake systems: it costs a third and requires very little maintenance.Although designed primarily for private homes, the manufacturer claims to have a version for industrial facilities containing sensitive materials such as laboratories.What is not currently available from a giant version that is capable of erecting a building much heavier, for example a nuclear power plant.

This video shows the difference between being a grandparent without protection or a middle-aged Japanese protected by levitation.

A piano, some fries, a bar code, 3D puppets to a zebra ... really!

Big news in the world of zebra crossings

Drivers of Bristol (United Kingdom) are pissed by the zebra crossing that the council just painted near a school. Instead of using the classic white bands, the artists decided to throw the middle road and emulated the genuine drawings of zebras. Not being an official sign, protesting drivers, pedestrians and drivers maynot share common code and each differently interpret the symbol.

The controversial Bristol zebra crossing (zebra crossing) is just the latest in a long saga that puts these signs recognizable city halfway between art and advertising.Here are some of the crosswalks more surprising and original in the world

Where: Quebec (Canada)

What: visual metaphor of the ecological footprint of the American consumer, compared with that of an inhabitant of Bangladesh, whose impact would be equivalent to one foot

Where: Abbey Road, London (England)

What: A 3D simulation to cause a slight jolt to drivers and to remember that next time might not be a silhouette of Snoopy what are

Where: Paris (France)

What: A new twist to the above idea: the dolls become corpses here, to remind drivers that every year 7,000 pedestrians hit in Europe.