|  |  |  | | | | | Andrew Liszewski's posts | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Packing light is the name of the game when you visit the great outdoors. Carrying a big pot to boil water is a challenge. But the awkwardly-named Jompy lets you leave that pot at home—it heats water directly from a jug.
It's hollow aluminum tubing, coiled into a disk, with two inlets leading from the coil. You simply fasten tubing to an inlet, connect one end of the coil to your water bottle or hydration bladder, and then position the aluminum tube coil over a roaring fire or hot stove. Water passes through the coil and exits a second tube, the end of which can spout hot water into a dehydrated food pouch, a dishwashing basin, or an outdoor shower. The coiled design means there's far more surface area to absorb the fire's heat, allowing the largest version of the Jompy to boil a liter of water in as little as 45 seconds. It also transmits heat from the fire below, so you can place a pan on top and cook at the same time. It's a camp kitchen multi-tool, and the designers also see it as a way to reduce disease risk in areas without access to clean water. The Jompy is available in three sizes, with the smallest version designed for backpackers. It sells for around $80, and the largest version—which can accomodate a small expedition—sells for about $95. [Jompy via Gizmag] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Nika Zupanc calls this elegantly minimal workspace her Homework Table. But work is probably the farthest thing from your mind when you feast your eyes on it since the table's devoid of drawers and clutter thanks to a clever retracting accordion file.
A small brass crank on the side of the table looks like a few turns will result in a scary jack-in-the-box clown jumping out at you. But it's instead used to raise and lower an expansive set of folders that can be used to hide documents that would otherwise take away from the table's stripped-down aesthetic. It is available for purchase from Rossana Orlandi, but the fact that they're not forthcoming with the price on their site means it's probably one of those obscenely expensive pieces. [Nika Zupanc via Architizer] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  This special harness should finally stop your tiny fashion-accessory dog from escaping through the rungs of your backyard fence. Even though it looks like it was inspired by humorous YouTube clips of dogs carrying big sticks through small openings.
Believe it or not Hammacher Schlemmer is asking $30 for this setup which can probably be easily recreated with a single chopstick and an elastic band. It won't look as polished as this solution, but either way your dog will certainly be embarrassed having to wear it. [Hammacher Schlemmer] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  There's no shortage of iPhone cases with built-in backup batteries, but the JuiceTank is the first to instead incorporate a wall charger. So you can leave your charging cable at home, but still top off the battery wherever you find an outlet.
Desgned by Lloyd Gladstone and Jesse Pliner, the case incorporates all of the necessary charging electronics, including the plug. But it manages to stay thin thanks to the prong's clever split-folding design—an innovation that will probably be borrowed by other manufacturers for their own wall warts. The JuiceTank's creators are currently trying to raise $125,000 through Kickstarter to put it into production, and if you are one of the first 400 people to back them you can reserve one for just $40. But if you decide to wait until they're available for sale, you can expect to shell out at least $70 instead. [Kickstarter via Ubergizmo] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Those giant power-line transmission towers that keep high-voltage cables safely off the ground have been re-born as miniature versions that can do the same for the mess of USB, power, and headphone cables cluttering up your desk.
These miniature transmission towers were created by Daniel Ballou, the same chap behind the Who's There Chair from a few days ago. They're made from bent wire with a chrome finish and feature hooks and channels for supporting whatever cables you want lifted off your desk. The wiring is still visible, of course, but the clever idea takes a sort of camouflaged in plain sight approach that definitely works. But if all your gear is wireless, the tiny towers should work just as well for holding rope licorice instead. [Ballou Projects via The Fancy] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | A do-it-yourselfer by the name of technocrat (possibly not their real name) has created this fantastic t-shirt with a working version of the YouTube loading animation that everyone has patiently spent time staring at. Using an Arduino, a 9-volt battery, and eight ping-pong balls with a white LED inserted into each one, the ring of dots lights up in sequence, endlessly chasing its tail waiting for a non-existant video to load. A giant F5 refresh button would have really completed the costume, though, since that's everyone's secret weapon for getting a YouTube clip to finally load. [Hack a Day via Technabob] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Over the years there have been many theories as to why spiders don't get caught up in their own sticky webs. But it's only recently that researchers have finally figured out that it's actually a terribly clever combination of anatomy and technique.
Early theories suggested spiders' legs were covered in a non-stick coating, or that they simply tip-toed around their trap. But by videotaping how they moved with a microscope, Dr. William Eberhard and Dr. Daniel Briceno discovered the arachnids employed a three-pronged approach. First, spider legs are covered with hundreds of little hairs that serve to decrease the total surface area the web can stick to. Second, spiders use a very careful walking technique with movements that let the strands of web slip off very easily. And third, it turns out those hairs are covered with a special chemical that prevents the web's sticky coating from adhering. Obvious human applications include developing even better non-stick coatings by further analyzing the chemicals covering a spider's leg hairs. And the study will no doubt be embraced by the insect world, as they work to develop vital life-saving web escape systems. [BBC via Neatorama] Photo: Shutterstock/Balazs Justin | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Photographer Tom Welland still enjoys shooting and experimenting with actual film, and recently he discovered that putting a fresh roll through the dishwasher resulted in beautiful, Instagram-like distressed results. Which is ironic given everyone uses Instagram for film-like results.
The process involves removing the film from its canister, running it through a dishwasher cycle, leaving it for a couple of days, blowdrying it in a dark room, and then rolling it back up and shooting. He cautions against passing them through a commercial lab, though, since the added chemicals could mess up its developing solutions. So if you want to attempt a similar experiment, keep it DIY all the way. [Tom Welland via PetaPixel] Photos: Tom Welland 
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