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Cool Green Inventions (Part 1)

August 5, 2010

 

For the green-eyed and bushy tailed, nothing beats the next clean thing. Read on for five fresh stunners hitting the green market today.

 

 

Bright Idea

A contender in the US Department of Energy’s L Prize competition (and a top-five invention-of-the-year pick by TimeMagazine), Philips’ brilliant LED bulb runs on less than ten watts, but beams the same luminosity as a 60 watt bulb. With 25 times the lifespan of generic bulbs, it could save enough energy to illuminate 17.4 million homes a year. Census crunch: That’s 7.4 percent of all U.S. homes! Now that’s mega-watt energy conservation.

 

Greener Cleaning

Recently, the market seems to be exploding with biodegradable products meant to protect our streams with chlorine- and petroleum-free suds. Eco-friendly product pioneer Seventh Generation has been ahead of the curve, developing Continue Reading…

Design

YouGoods Inventors Month Design Challenge

August 3, 2010

Inventors month

Do you have what it takes to become the next Thomas Edison or Benjamin Franklin? Are you sitting on a genius design or invention that is sure to be the next big thing? Then we want to hear from you!

In honor of National Inventors Month (the month of August), UncommonGoods is issuing a wide-open design challenge to find our next Uncommon Inventor or Designer. The fourth of our YouGoods product design challenges, this contest is looking for a product with a spark of inventive genius, a flash of innovation and something that makes us say, “Why didn’t we think of that?” Oh, and did we mention there’s a $,1500 prize and a chance to showcase your design at Makerfaire NYC?

Click here for more details and how to enter.

Check out some of our past YouGoods winners for inspiration.

Design

Care to Air Design Challenge

July 23, 2010

 

Care to Air

Just a friendly little reminder that this is the last week to submit  your entry to the Care to Air contest, which challenges people to design “the world’s most innovative, covetable, and sustainable air-drying solution for clothing.” Sponsored by Levi’s and Myoocreate, the contest prize is $10,000 to be split among the finalists, plus a chance to meet with some really cool judges, including our CEO and founder Dave Bolotsky!

If you’ve got an idea, please visit Myoocreate to submit. Entries are due by July 31. Good luck!

Design

Compostapalooza design chosen

June 10, 2010

We have another winner! Congrats to Jim Young who created the official design for UncommonGoods’s and Quirky’s ultimate composter based on winner Gail Loos’ idea – the Scrap-Cycler.  I love how thin and streamlined this is…it looks like it could fit in with any lifestyle and be pretty easy to use. Very cool!

Compostapalooza

Compostapalooza
Design

The Historical Conquests of the Bicycle

May 21, 2010

I’d like to start off this post with one of my favorite quotes about the bicycle from a Baltimore minister in 1896:

“[It is] a diabolical device of the demon of darkness … imbued with a wild and satanic nature.”

Whoa! Talk about a rough start. But that is the how the bike began. With criticism like this, it’s amazing that the bike even survived to modern times.

The bicycle has been rolling along now for nearly 200 years. It has undergone multiple transformations, endured harsh criticism and even changed the face of fashion. This seemingly simple machine inspired automobiles, plane designs and modern roads. It helped the campaign for women’s rights, expanded people’s worlds, and, today, it is enjoyed across the world over as a way to exercise, commute or just enjoy a nice day.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, in honor of Bike to Work Day, I present to you: the history of the bicycle!

Rolling through history

Imagine a bike made entirely out of wood: no means of steering, no brakes, no pedals and an animal head in front. That’s what the first versions of the bike looked like. Mede de Sivrac invented a two-wheeled device in 1790 that was basically a rocking horse with wheels. Although the origins of the bike are disputed, historians consider this invention an inspiration to the modern bicycle.

bike

In 1817, Karl von Drais replaced the head with steering bars and a less bulky design. Although primitive, the steering capabilities sent this version into further development. This slight alteration earned von Drais the title “Father of the Bicycle”, even though the invention was impractical for long-distance travel. Not to mention, it scared the locals. According to Riding High: The Story of the Bicycle by Arthur Palmer, adults and town leaders thought von Drais’ contraption was dangerous and threatened to expel him from the streets if he didn’t give up his crazy ideas.

Bike

Von Drais’ bike mainly was used for downhill riding and involved a lot of awkward pushing and coasting. Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a blacksmith from Scotland, didn’t find this propulsion method practical. In 1838, he added pedals to the frame, which allowed riders to propel themselves without touching the ground. This version was the first practical bicycle.

Continue Reading…

Design

Compostapalooza — it’s on!

May 17, 2010


compostapalooza

It’s time to get your compost on! UncommonGoods and Quirky have officially launched Compostapalooza — the quest to create the perfect composter. So, put your thinking caps on and get to work! The contest will run from May 17-26th and more information (as well as submission forms) can be found at Quirky. Good luck and get dirty!

Design

YouGoods: Buckle Up for the Seatbelt Chair

May 13, 2010

“I’m in the pursuit of happiness and I know
Everything that shine ain’t always gonna be gold
I’ll be fine once I get it, I’ll be good”

These are the Kid Cudi lyrics that Adam Barron — the winner of our YouGoods Vintage Vehicle Challenge — lives by. And with his spunky, take-charge attitude you better buckle your seatbelts because this guy isn’t planning on slowing down!

adam barron seat belt chair

Made of steel and junkyard seatbelts (don’t worry, he washed them!), Adam’s winning design, the eye-catching Seatbelt Chair, was a project originally created for an industrial design course at the University of Cincinnati where he had to incorporate 3 of 5 Japanese design principles: humor, craftsmanship, compactness, asymmetry and simplicity.

Seat belt chair

As Adam tells us, the final product was a result of trial and error, “When I originally designed this chair, I designed the shape of the frame before I chose to use seat belts. My original plan was to make the chair out of large sheets of bent plywood, but based on time, money, material, and space restraints, I had to consider other options. I wouldn’t say that I had a eureka moment, I just started exploring different materials, and wanted to use a thin and minimal material that would let the ergonomic research that I did on my frame speak for itself. ”

Continue Reading…