Photo credit: Cool Ideas
In 1943, as the Netherlands struggled under Nazi rule, Hub van Doorne, co-founder of DAF, dreamed up a vehicle so outlandish it could only thrive during these times Meet the DAF Mobile Raincoat, a three-wheeled oddity that blended car and motorcycle with a bold streak. At just 80 centimeters wide, it could squeeze through a regular door—a feature that wasn’t just smart, it was a subtle rebel yell.
Arcade games have a habit for whisking us back to carefree days. For anyone who remembers pounding away at boxer machines, testing their punch on a cushioned target, a fresh challenger has stepped up to test a different kind of might: the Decopin Buster. This bizarre Japanese invention trades fists for fingertips, daring players to flick a target with enough zing to score big.
In 1993, a game slipped into the world with barely a whisper, known only to a handful of players in Japan. Officially called TRIPITAKA 玄奘三蔵求法の旅 (Xuanzang Sanzo’s Journey for the Buddhist Scriptures), it emerged as a sequel to the cult classic Cosmology of Kyoto. Decades later, this obscure title has been resurrected from the brink of oblivion, thanks to the tireless efforts of video game academic Bruno de Figueiredo.
Smartphones have grown into pocket-stretching giants, with screens often exceeding 6 inches, making one-handed use a distant memory for many. Enter the Bluefox NX1, a compact Android device from a Chinese manufacturer that dares to shrink things down with a 4-inch display. Launched in China for as little as $83, with a global version expected soon, the NX1 is a curious blend of modern tech and iPhone-like looks.
Back in the ‘90s, Magic Eye autostereograms were a cultural fever dream, turning bookstores and living rooms into staring contests where squinting at a chaotic color swirl could unlock a hidden 3D scene. These single-image illusions felt like sorcery, but they were a clever trick of neuroscience and barebones creativity, as a new LGR video from Clint Bas reveals, diving into the DOS-era Stare-EO Workshop that let anyone diving into the DOS-era Stare-EO Workshop that let anyone create these mind-bending visuals on floppy drive-equipped computers.
Bagged milk, Canada’s kitchen oddity, just got a gamerific glow-up with Xbox Canada’s Xbox Series X Milk Pitcher, a quirky nod to the console’s futuristic vibe. You drop a plastic milk pouch into this jug, snip the corner, and pour—same old ritual, but now with a 1.3-liter vessel that screams Microsoft’s flagship aesthetic. It’s practical, eco-conscious, and a bit weird to anyone unfamiliar with Canada’s milk-in-a-bag obsession.
A temporary tattoo that reads your mind sounds like something ripped from Netflix’s Altered Carbon, but researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have made it real. This isn’t about inking your face for style—it’s a paper-thin, wireless device that sticks to your forehead and tracks your brain’s activity, promising to keep tabs on mental fatigue in high-stakes jobs like piloting or surgery. Dubbed the “e-tattoo,” this invention could redefine how we monitor cognitive strain, and it’s as comfortable as it is clever, despite its looks.
Four Unitree G1 robots, each controlled remotely by human operators, squared off in a tournament-style brawl dubbed “Unitree Iron Fist King: Awakening!” The format was straightforward: three two-minute rounds, with points scored for strikes—one for a hand hit, three for a leg strike. Knockdowns or failure to recover within eight seconds carried penalties. The event unfolded in Hangzhou, near Unitree’s shiny new 10,000-square-meter factory, and it was as much a test of tech as it was a crowd-pleaser.
On a sun-drenched Friday afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the air hummed with anticipation, not for the scream of IndyCar engines but for something far more peculiar: the rumble of six 27-foot-long hot dog-shaped vehicles. Oscar Mayer’s iconic Wienermobiles, those fiberglass frankfurters on wheels, rolled onto the hallowed 2.5-mile oval for the inaugural “Wienie 500,” a race that was equal parts spectacle, nostalgia, and pure Americana.
