Sweethearts, the heart-shaped candies with phrases printed on them, were revamped in time for Valentine's Day 2010. For the first time in 145 years Necco changed the recipe. To get rid of the admittedly chalky taste, banana and wintergreen flavors were replaced with green apple and blue raspberry. The candies' colors were also brightened; and the new sayings came from a consumer contest, with "TWEET ME" and "TEXT ME" being among the ten sayings chosen. Sweethearts are the #1-selling, non-chocolate Valentine's Day candy with 6 billion made a year. That's a lot of "sweet-talk".
Looking a bit farther into the future Barbie, the world's most popular fashion doll, will have new careers. Over the past 50+ years since being created by Mattel in 1959, she's had many careers, but 2009 was the first year the public voted on them. With over 500,000 votes cast for 2010, career #125 will be Computer Engineer - with binary-code-patterned T-shirt, pink-framed glasses, pink laptop and Bluetooth earpiece. Career #126 will be News Anchor - with pink suit, news folder, camera and microphone. Previous jobs have included princess, ballerina, McDonald's cashier, paratrooper, astronaut, and U.S. president. Didn't anyone but Ken vote for Mother Barbie?
GlowCaps are pill bottle caps that remind people to take their medicine. The caps flash orange when it is time for a pill. If a pill isn't taken within an hour, the cap plays a melody. Anyone still forgetting to take their medicine receives a call or text message within a few hours. Although these caps are sold online for $99, the manufacturer expects in the future they'll be free add-ons to pills distributed by pharmacies. Because the World Health Organization estimates drug adherence is only 50% among chronically ill people, GlowCaps literally encapsulate the hope of wireless technology.
Finally, way into the future is Aircruise, a Seymourpowell concept for a vertical, floating hotel. Ten luxury apartments, dining room, bar and lounge would accommodate 100 guests/crew. The giant, hydrogen-filled airship would be approximately 265 meters tall, with large, hydrogen fuel cells providing onboard power and some drinking water. The cruising speed is calculated to be between 100 and 150 kilometers per hour, enabling the hotel, for example, to cruise from London to New York in 37 hours. Because various views of the world will be seen from thousands of meters above ground, Aircruise vacations will undoubtedly be priced just as high.
Looking a bit farther into the future Barbie, the world's most popular fashion doll, will have new careers. Over the past 50+ years since being created by Mattel in 1959, she's had many careers, but 2009 was the first year the public voted on them. With over 500,000 votes cast for 2010, career #125 will be Computer Engineer - with binary-code-patterned T-shirt, pink-framed glasses, pink laptop and Bluetooth earpiece. Career #126 will be News Anchor - with pink suit, news folder, camera and microphone. Previous jobs have included princess, ballerina, McDonald's cashier, paratrooper, astronaut, and U.S. president. Didn't anyone but Ken vote for Mother Barbie?
GlowCaps are pill bottle caps that remind people to take their medicine. The caps flash orange when it is time for a pill. If a pill isn't taken within an hour, the cap plays a melody. Anyone still forgetting to take their medicine receives a call or text message within a few hours. Although these caps are sold online for $99, the manufacturer expects in the future they'll be free add-ons to pills distributed by pharmacies. Because the World Health Organization estimates drug adherence is only 50% among chronically ill people, GlowCaps literally encapsulate the hope of wireless technology.
Finally, way into the future is Aircruise, a Seymourpowell concept for a vertical, floating hotel. Ten luxury apartments, dining room, bar and lounge would accommodate 100 guests/crew. The giant, hydrogen-filled airship would be approximately 265 meters tall, with large, hydrogen fuel cells providing onboard power and some drinking water. The cruising speed is calculated to be between 100 and 150 kilometers per hour, enabling the hotel, for example, to cruise from London to New York in 37 hours. Because various views of the world will be seen from thousands of meters above ground, Aircruise vacations will undoubtedly be priced just as high.
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