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STRESS RELIEF
This eye-catching bike path is not only effective, but also improves
safety after dark. Courtesy of Strabag.
SOLAR BIKE PATH LIGHTS THE WAY
Urban planners in the Polish town of Lidzbark Warmins-
ki are testing a novel concept—a solar-charged bike lane. The
luminescent path reflects the accumulated sunlight from
the day and glows in the dark for more than 10 hours come
sundown. At a cost of roughly $31,000, the new lane is about
6 ft wide and 330 ft long. The path is the brainchild of TPA
Instytut Badan Technicznych and installed by Strabag, both
European firms that specialize in creating and integrating
innovative technology. Glowing blue phosphors were cho-
sen as construction materials to be consistent with the local
landscape. tpaqi.com, strabag.com.
Ball-shaped stone object from South Africa. Courtesy of Judy Maguire.
STONE BALLS MAKE HANDY TOOLS
Scientists once thought spherical stones found in South Africa were used as
tools, but new evidence indicates they were also weapons for defense and hunting.
The research combines knowledge about how modern humans perceive an object’s
throwing affordance with mathematical analysis and evaluation of these stones as
projectiles.
“Our study suggests that the throwing of stones played a key role in the evolution
of hunting,” says Geoffrey Bingham, professor in the psychological and brain sciences
department at the Indiana University Bloomington. “We don’t think that throwing is
the sole, or even primary, function of these spheroids, but these results show that this
function is an option that warrants reconsidering as a potential use for this long-lived,
multipurpose tool.”
The use of these stones, which date from between 1.8 million and 70,000 years
ago, has puzzled archaeologists since they were unearthed at the Cave of Hearths in
South Africa’s Makapan Valley nearly 30 years ago. Researchers used computation-
al models to analyze 55 ball-shaped stone objects from the South African site, find-
ing that 81% are the optimal size, weight, and shape for hitting a target at a 25-m
(82-ft) distance. The team also simulated the projectile motions the spheroids would
undergo if thrown by an expert, as well as estimated the probability of these projec-
tiles causing damage to a medium-size prey such as an impala. For more information:
Geoffrey Bingham, , .
Yui Matusmoto, 4, plays with Edwin the
Duck at his home in Tokyo. Courtesy of
Yuri Kageyama.
RUBBER DUCKY
ENTERS DIGITAL ERA
Billed as the world’s first smart
duck, Edwin the Duck from Pi-Lab is
yellow, cute, and waterproof, just like
the traditional rubber ducky floating
in many bathtubs. The difference is Ed-
win also reads and plays music. And he
quacks rather than squeaks due to in-
ternal electronics. In addition, motion
sensors turn Edwin into a game control-
ler and he can even tell a story or play a
song through the use of a free iPhone or
Android app. Further, as a child moves
Edwin up and down, an animated Ed-
win on the app swims or flies, or selects
a response in a game or quiz. Tap on Ed-
win’s wing and a light in his head turns
him into a nightlight—but one that can
also tell a bedtime story or play a lullaby.