Cornell Chronicle:

Once you pop the top of a tube of potato chips, it can be hard to stop munching its contents. But Cornell researchers may have found a novel way to help: Add edible serving size markers that act as subconscious stop signs.

As part of an experiment carried out on two groups of college students (98 students total) while they were watching video clips in class, researchers from Cornell’s Food and Brand Lab served tubes of Lays Stackables, some of which contained chips dyed red.

In the first study of the research, which is published online this month in Health Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association, the red chips were interspersed at intervals designating one suggested serving size (seven chips) or two serving sizes (14 chips); in the second study, this was changed to five and 10 chips.

Unaware of why some of the chips were red, the students who were served those tubes of chips nonetheless consumed about 50 percent less than their peers: 20 and 24 chips on average for the seven-chip and 14-chip segmented tubes, respectively, compared with 45 chips in the control group; 14 and 16 chips for the five-chip and 10-chip segmented tubes, compared with 35 chips in the control group.

Photo by Robin Wishna.

BusinessWeek:

Weather Underground, a site that compiles local data collected by 24,000 weather geeks with sensors on their roofs, this week released a free tool for businesses to use to look for patterns in their sales related to the weather. Anyone can punch in a location and time period to download a spreadsheet with detailed weather data. The file also has a place to enter daily sales (which comes prepopulated with fake sales numbers) and charts that show the sales numbers in relation to temperatures, precipitation, and dew point (a measure of humidity). The spreadsheet calculates the correlation between sales and those three weather metrics to show which have a meaningful relationship.

Weather Underground’s main business since it started in 1995 has been targeting ads on its site for brands that want to reach consumers during certain weather conditions. Companies can, for example, offer getaway deals to Hawaii during nasty winter storms, or hawk lawn furniture and garden supplies on the first sunny weekend of spring.

Brad Templeton:

There’s a lot of excitement about the potential of autonomous drones, be they nimble quadcopters or longer-range fixed wing or hybrid aircraft. A group of students from Singularity University, for example, has a project called MatterNet working to provide transportation infrastructure for light cargo in regions of Africa where roads wash out for half the year.

Closer to home, these drones are not yet legal for commercial use, while government agencies are using them secretly.

Here’s one useful idea: A small set of medical drones scattered around the city. Upon emergency call, they can fly, via a combination of autonomous navigation and remote-human-operated flying at the end, to any destination in the city within a couple of minutes. Call 911 and as soon as you say it’s a medical emergency the drone is on the way. When it gets there, the human operator lands it or even sends it in a balcony on tall buildings with balconies. Somebody has to carry it to the patient if they are far from the outside.

When it gets to the patient it has a camera and conferencing ability to a remote doctor can examine the patient and talk to people around the patient to ask them questions or give them instructions. It also could contain one of those “foolproof defibrillator” modules able to deal with many kinds of heart attacks. They are already in many buildings but this way they could be anywhere. It’s more useful than a taco.

This is the most niche cleaning business I’ve seen all week!

Melone had a brainstorm.

“I used to clean houses while I was in college, and my brain started ticking – why not start a cleaning business, by moms for moms,” said Melone. “A business where you could take your babies with you while helping out working moms by cleaning or organizing for them, all while creating jobs for other new moms.”

She found a line of organic cleaning products, Clean Irene, which were a perfect fit for the business – and now they are local distributors of the national product line.

On a recent Friday, they are working in Nashua, sprucing up Katie Olivier’s kitchen. It’s the first time Olivier has used a cleaning service.

Cassandra Daily:

The hottest act at last month’s Coachella wasn’t one of the young artists who found neon-painted festival fame through the blogosphere, but an iconic rap star resurrected from the grave. Debates about whether the stunt was imaginative or exploitative persist, but so stirring was Hologram Tupac’s performance that rumors of other dead rock star tours have been swirling about in the weeks since.

Photo by .

Think of Lydon Baty as the modern version of the bubble boy. Although his body is usually safely at home, to guard against germs his bodies can’t handle, his mind isn’t trapped there. It travels around by robot.

Not literally. We’re not there yet. But Lydon has a robot surrogate who goes to school for him.

The first couple weeks were rough. On Lyndon’s side the setup was straightforward enough: Wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast — all the standard getting-ready-for-school stuff. Then open the laptop and log in to school. The interface is simple and keyboard-based, which is sort of a shame, because all it needs is a joystick or proper controller for the whole thing to feel like a video game.

But Lyndon never technically learned how to pilot the bot before the first day of school, so moving from Points A to B took some trial and error. He’d never even been inside the high school, so he was figuring out the controls as the same time he was figuring out the campus. “I ran into doors,” he says. “Teachers. Bathrooms. Girls.”

At school the bot’s novelty wore off fast, but it was even more valuable than expected. Lyndon’s wisecracking and attention-loving nature didn’t just make it easier for people to interact with him; it’s what’s kept him engaged. When Mr. Moeller had to chew out two girls for picking on Lyndon via the robot — taping paper over the camera eye, picking it up from behind and turning it around with Lyndon unable to see the culprits — their response was: “We’d be picking on Lyndon the same if he was here.”

“His personality helps out a lot,” says Kent Deville, Lyndon’s chemistry teacher. “A shier kid would have problems.” Lyndon isn’t afraid to call out when he needs help, and he uses the bot’s tricks to his advantage. He can zoom in, take photos of the whiteboard and homework corrections and refer back to everything later. “It’s like H.G. Wells,” Mr. Deville says. Kelsey Vasquez, a classmate, says Lyndon is actually more outgoing as the robot. “He’s shier in person,” she says, at least until he’s had time to relax. “I don’t think I could be as happy as he is.”

Lyndon Baty and the Robot That Saved Him

As our parents and grandparents get older, wouldn’t it be nice to have a way to unobtrusively monitor whether or not they’re eating, taking their medications or getting out of the house?

A new product, that will be shipping in July, makes it easy to just that.

Called Lively, it’s an elegant device that uses passive motion sensors, placed on objects around the house, to track and stay mindful of healthy habits. And Lively stays out of the way—no video cameras, nothing to wear—while sharing reminders and updates that let loved ones know your normal routine like getting outside, eating meals, and taking medications.

Video demonstration below.

When you think of entrepreneurship in prison, you probably think trading cigarettes for pinups or jello for protection money. A new program called The Last Mile hopes to change that.

The Last Mile hopes that through entrepreneurship, it can prepare convicts for employment and reduce recidivism. Considering these founders have never used the Internet or an app, their business plans were remarkable.

“It makes me feel like I’m already contributing to society” said Crisfino Kenyatta Leal, one of the first inmates to go through The Last Mile who presented at its first demo day in 2012. The program was set up by accelerator KickLabs, and funded by its founders Chris Redlitz of AdAuction and Beverly Parenti of First Virtual holdings, two succesful 90s tech companies. Investors, entrepreneurs, and authors like First Round Capital’s Josh Kopelman, MC Hammer, and AllTop’s Guy Kawasaki come in to mentor the inmates. Though these captive founders aren’t looking for funding now, many hope to launch their businesses once they earn their freedom.

Their demo day video is below.

San Quentin Prison Demo Day Gives Entrepreneurs Behind Bars A Second Chance

After years of telling consumers that eating too much salt was bad for their health, a new report from the Institute of Medicine at the behest of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention turns conventional wisdom on it’s head:

There [is] no rationale for anyone to aim for sodium levels below 2,300 milligrams a day. The group examined new evidence that had emerged since the last such report was issued, in 2005.

“As you go below the 2,300 mark, there is an absence of data in terms of benefit and there begin to be suggestions in subgroup populations about potential harms,” said Dr. Brian L. Strom, chairman of the committee and a professor of public health at the University of Pennsylvania. He explained that the possible harms included increased rates of heart attacks and an increased risk of death.

Want to make a million? Make something salty. People are salivating for it.

No Benefit Seen in Sharp Limits on Salt in Diet

If you want to get on the show Shark Tank, and make a deal with the Shark’s, this excellent guide from Shopify will really be helpful to you:

How to Get a Deal on ABC’s Shark Tank

Indian Express:

Floppy oversized hats, top-notch SPF sunscreen, beach umbrellas — there are a million ways to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays, but we bet you’ve never heard of this one: the face-kini. All the rage on the beaches of China, the face-kini is a protective head mask that guards the skin from the sun. (They also protect against insects and jellyfish.) Face-kinis come in a variety of styles, cost less than $5, and are also often paired with full bodysuits.

While we feel strongly about protecting your skin, we have to admit the face-kini is kinda scary. It makes the wearer look like they’re staring in a horror movie, a la “Chainsaw Massacre.” And while we’re sure there are benefits to wearing these creepy masks, something tells us American women would rather slather on the sunscreen than put a face-kini on. We don’t see this trend catching on anytime soon … but then again, who ever thought neon would come back in style?

Mail Online:

Scientists still say they are desperate to learn the secret of ‘Starlite’ – and the inventor’s family may have it.

The material was the invented by the eccentric English inventor and former hairdresser Maurice Ward who had no formal scientific training and claimed he put it together on his kitchen table with a food processor.

It was unveiled to the world on the BBC TV show ‘Tomorrow’s World’ in 1991 during which he held a Starlite-coated egg up to a blowtorch.

Despite the extreme heat it was barely warm to the touch and was still runny inside.

Experts immediately realised its possibilities for things like aeroplanes, fire doors, spacecraft and dozens more possibilities.

Mr Ward, however, refused to play ball.

Over the following few decades his paranoia, capriciousness and need for absolute secrecy ruined all attempts to get it onto the market.

Photo by Emilian Robert Vicol

Ideas are a dime a dozen. The money is in the execution. Need proof?

For Seth Godin’s Alternative MBA program, nine innovators came up with 111 business ideas each. But ideas are only valuable when someone (like you) makes something happen.

What follows are our business ideas, free for the taking. Some good, some not so good.

1. Prepackaged school supplies based on the lists from the school districts.

2. Herbal Flavored Gum. MMM…rosemary.

3. Church issued credit card with automatic 10% for religious tithing.

4. Santa Delivery Service – A dressed Santa will come to your home during the holidays and deliver your gifts as Santa.

5. Local fresh restaurant that opens off-peak hours to hold cooking classes to locals.

6. Tattoo parlor for pets.

7. Clipping service for high school athletes parents.

8. Interview practice company – A company that will do mock interviews with you and give you feedback on your performance.

9. Be a sports team mascot for day.

10. Goldfish Burial Kit.

Editor Note: Some of these ideas are already available. For 989 more ideas, go here.

Photo by pukeycow.

A business card creates a physical connection and bond between you or your business and your customers.

Just like in a website, business cards can become great interactive elements, but with the added ability to have real textures, different materials and shapes.

We’ll take a look at 100 truly outstanding business card designs which show that there are truly no limits to the design of a business card.

Here‘s 96 more.

Dennis Anderson never expected to be homeless. After all, he had a college degree. (Sarcasm) Unfortunately, that plus the money he earned at his retail jobs in Massachusetts, barely paid the bills. So, on a whim, he packed up his car and drove across the country to the Oregon.

Where he found himself, without his low-paying retail job, with even less money.

But he did have ambition, and today he’s the owner of Anderson Soap Company, which manufactures flavored whipped soaps, lip balms and cosmetics.

You can read more of his story here.

Today, I learned that cremated ashes can be turned into crystalized beads if heated to high enough temperatures. The beads are usually blue-green but can also be pink, purple or black. In countries, like South Korea, that are rapidly transitioning from traditional burial to cremation (only 3 out of 10 South Koreans were buried last year, down from 6/10 a decade ago), ashes-to-beads companies are rapidly expanding.

One of these companies, Bonhyang, uses very high temperature to melt the ashes until they crystallize and can be shaped as beads, during a 90-minute process. This way the remains are clean, don’t smell bad, don’t mold (like Bae Jae-yul, the company’s owner, claims ashes do), and people can take them along anywhere.

According to Bae, the technology was first used in the 90s, by a meditation organization, but the process wasn’t perfect so it didn’t catch on. He saw its potential, bought the technology and spent years perfecting it before launching it on the market, once more. He claims Bonhyang has an edge over the competition because it only uses a person’t remains to create the beads, whereas its rivals add minerals. Turning ashes into beads costs around $900.

Ashes-to-beads businesses were also launched in the United States, Europe and Japan, but they weren’t very successful because most it was too weird, the article reported.

Photo by Nadja Antonova/ShutterStock.

WSJ:

Dingy teeth were once relatively common. But after a 1989 scientific article touted the use of low levels of hydrogen peroxide, pressed against teeth, to improve smiles, companies began producing whitening products and dentists began hawking them.

Entrepreneurs jumped in quickly. The Food and Drug Administration classifies teeth-whitening products as cosmetics, and drugstores were soon selling strips that consumers could paste on at night while watching TV. Promising a faster fix, dentists, salons and mall kiosks began offering on-site treatments. Those customers typically bite down on a tray of goopy whitening agent and sit in front of LED lights that are said to enhance the transformation process.

Dentists generally charge between $300 and $700 for a whitening session, which isn’t normally covered by insurance, while nondentists charge between $100 and $150, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Photo by sheff/ShutterStock.

Is your clipboard bullet and stab proof? The Ballistic Clipboard from Impact Armor Technologies is. It was designed after a local law enforcement agency requested a way to protect their officers during traffic stops gone awry.

According to the company, the clipboard, which weighs less than two pounds, will stop multiple hits shots from 9mm, .357, .40 and .44 magnum rounds.

Video below.

According to Fast Company, David Rees may well be the world’s first and only artisanal pencil sharpener.

Yes, it’s real,” says David Rees of his budding pencil-sharpening business.

“It’s as real as artisanal cheese-making or artisanal honey production or artisanal anything else that’s part of this movement.” Unlike his electric counterparts, Rees promises the “care and attention” your No. 2s deserve.

For $15, he’ll whittle one to a fine point, and mail it back with a baggie of shavings and a certificate of authenticity. To date, roughly 80 lead-heads with a well-honed sense of irony have used the service.

“I’m hoping I get some repeat customers — people who need touch-ups or resharpening,” he adds, noting that, over time, one No. 2 could yield revenue north of $100.

Photo by David Rees.

At $20, it may not seem like a light bulb worth buying. However, when you consider its solar-powered abilities, it’s hard to believe no one thought of it before!

The solar-powered light bulb by Nokero holds roughly enough energy to power the bulb for 4 hours. According to The Washington Post, the bulb is perfect for emergencies, and for people in third world countries living without any electricity for light.

The significance of Katsaros’s invention is that it stands to provide light for the 1.4 billion people who live beyond the reach of a power grid, as well as for those who use kerosene lamps to light their homes and workplaces. The potential elimination of kerosene lamps was what inspired Katsaros to name his company Nokero — as in “no kerosene.” Kerosene is a relatively expensive fuel source that can be harmful to consumers’ health.

Katsaros, while considering how best to market the product, concluded that his largest market was in the developing world. But, rather than create a charitable organization, Katsaros made the choice to establish a company through which he could sell the bulbs for profit. Nokero has sold thousands of bulbs to nonprofits and NGOs that distribute them for free, but Katsaros says he believes in creating “smaller entrepreneurs around the globe” that can further foster local economic growth, according to an Aug. 14 CNN report.

Photo by Nokero

A reader wrote:

My wife is interested in starting a Bed & Breakfast. She think’s it’ll be all roses, but I’m not sure. Do you have any information about what it’s really like?

I do. In fact, in today’s Wall Street Journal, there’s an article that attempts to dissuade potential bed and breakfast owners from entering the biz. Here’s one horror story:

She realized that B&B management often required her to be more friendly than she felt: “There was an artificial instant intimacy to be affected when my paying guests arrived.”

Burned out by what she saw as guests’ demands for her company, Ms. Shelley-Grielen began to avoid them when possible. “I would retreat to the kitchen and close the door, with its sign that spelled out, ‘Private.’ “

But some guests just wouldn’t leave her alone, Ms. Shelley-Grielen says. Too often, she heard the invitation: “I hope you’ll be joining us.” She came to view such offers as “command performances” from which “I didn’t have the option to bow out.”

Beyond that, chores that she envisioned as routine proved more daunting. For instance, when laundering sheets and towels, she donned disposable gloves. “This is the part of the business I hated most,” she says. “I tried not to think about [it].”

Just as she saw the guests intruding on her privacy, she felt she was encroaching to clean bedrooms and baths. Worse, she felt demeaned. “No matter how many times I reminded myself that I owned the place, I still felt like a maid,” she says.

Photo by SFC/ShutterStock.

via Hammacher Schlemmer.

This inverted bumbershoot forms a waterproof cocoon around a small dog, enabling canine and master to maintain a walking regimen in inclement weather. The umbrella’s 29″ diameter canopy is made from 8-gauge clear polypropylene that sheds rain, sleet, and snow while allowing an unfettered view of your walking companion. Not only does the umbrella eliminate the excuse “it’s too wet for a walk” from a dog owner’s lexicon (to the delight of most canines and the amusement of most spouses), it prevents moisture from getting spread throughout the home, along with the unpleasant scent of a wet dog. The tip of the umbrella hooks to your pet’s leash to keep it from straying beyond its protective canopy. Sturdy stainless steel shaft and ribs with a white plastic crook handle.

Most people think of submarines as they are for military use. However, Hugh Fulton has brought them down to a personal size with his creation, the Q Sub, reports 3news.co.nz.

The Q Sub is named after an inventor – not Q from the James Bond movies, but Uncle Q – that’s what Mr Fulton’s nephews called him because they couldn’t say ‘Hugh’.

“It’s like a car,” he says. “You look out there, you see where you are going and you can see within a metre of the floor.”

The viewing windows are part of what sets Mr Fulton’s design apart from the dozens of other personal submarines on the market worldwide.

The Q Sub can also plane on the surface at a speed of almost 40km/h and dive to a depth of more than 120m.

The Q Sub will undergo sea trials in around two months. From there, the designers hope to take it offshore and put it on show to the super rich at boat shows in Monaco, Dubai and Miami.

Costing more than $1.2 million, it will be out of the price range of most.

Photo by Pascal

How long does it take the plastic jug in your fridge to break down? Green Bottle has produced an alternative option which can be recycled or added to a compost. Best of all, it only takes approximately 5 weeks to decompose, reports The Random Forest.

Martin Myerscough realized that he was sitting on an immense idea when his son brought a papier mache balloon from school. He stated that the price and the speed of production for making these paper bottles is comparable to plastic bottles.

Green Bottle was funded with £4.5 million from private investors and advertising agency Mother, and is attempting to raise £1 million more from new investors. Green Bottle will attempt to produce a billion bottles in three years.

Currently, the company has a deal to supply the milk bottle, starting with 15 Asda stores, which is just the starting point before their nationwide release in supermarket chains later on in the year.

According to the managing director of Green Bottle, Andy Brent, he was pleased to join the starting phase of the company since “it was probably the best consumer idea I’ve ever seen in my career.”

Screenshot from Green Bottle

The Week: “Breaking up is hard to do. And for Craig Dershowitz, it’s getting awfully expensive. The 34-year-old New Yorker’s ex-girlfriend, Sarah Brega, took their dog, Knuckles, when she moved to California after their split, and he’s suing to get the puggle — half pug, half beagle — back. So far, he has spent $60,000 on the cross-country legal fight.”

Photo by Rick’s Photography/ShutterStock.