KNIGHT WATCH

IS "WHEN PIGS FLY" NOW?

On behalf of the military, scientists have invented men's briefs that are able to save lives. Electronic biosensors are printed on the waistband of the briefs. Because the waistbands will be in constant contact with skin, the underwear can measure blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs. In the future wearable biosensors will be available to the general public to be used in home-based health management. They can be used to monitor the elderly and to monitor for potential strokes, diabetic changes, blood alcohol levels, etc. Wearable biosensors will provide a 21st century way of "briefing" doctors.

For a 2-week period in June 2010 a billboard in North Carolina smelled - another 21st century invention. The billboard showed a fork piercing a piece of meat and emitted the smell of both charcoal and black pepper. A high-powered fan at the base of the billboard spread the smell by blowing air over scented cartridges. According to a Bloom grocery chain spokesperson, the scents would be blown at 7-10 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. - commuting times. The billboard was promoting a new line of beef products available at Bloom grocery stores. If the billboard was successful, Bloom is sill smelling "cents".

By 2011 there will be flying cars - that's according to the Terrafugia Corporation in Massachusetts. The "Transition" is a car-plane with wings that unfold in one minute for flying and fold back up for driving. The plane is designed to fly under 10,000 feet, has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds including fuel and passengers and gets about 30 mpg when being driven as a car. The Transition's base price is $194,000. Options like a radio, transponder and GPS are extra. Another option is a full-plane parachute - especially handy if this invention doesn't meet the manufacturer's high hopes.

By 2015 Italian industrial designers, Marina Colombo and Sebastiano Vida, plan to launch their superyacht - super because it will also be a submarine. This aerodynamic vessel will be equipped with integrated systems of stabilization and its hybrid engine will switch from diesel to electric propulsion when it submerges. Among other luxuries the 218 feet "U-010 Undersea Yacht" will have a relaxation parlor, sauna, lounge bar and spiral staircase. However, constraints in design in order to build a cruising yacht that can also withstand the pressures of a deep sea environment could result in this futuristic yacht/sub being sub-standard.

WHO ARE THE INVENTORS OF INVENTIVENESS?

Joseph Carnevale, a student at North Carolina State University, made a 10-foot, roadside monster using orange-and-white, safety barrels. The smiling monster leaned toward traffic, right arm extended with thumb out, as if  hitchhiking. After Carnevale was arrested and charged with 2 misdemeanors, hundreds of people in Raleigh wrote to the city, saying they liked the sculpture and wanted Carnevale’s charges dropped. The company that owned the $120-barrels didn’t press charges, wanting to use the monster for advertising. Unfortunately, because Carnevale was already on probation, he faces 6 months in jail. By stealing the safety barrels, Carnevale stole the show.

Georgie Davis, a British fashion student, designed a dress with mobile-phone maker Sony Ericsson as part of a school project. The project was to incorporate modern technology into today’s fashion. The result was a dress that lights up when the wearer’s mobile phone rings. Actually, it’s the translucent, white scales that decorate the right shoulder of the dress that light up. They also move. The knee-length, sleeveless, white dress is also designed to be connected to the wearer’s phone via Bluetooth wireless technology so the wearer can hear it ring too – making the dress quite a little number.

Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg unveiled the “Solar Impulse”, a prototype solar-powered plane they plan to fly around the world in 2012 after 2 years of test flights for the $98-million project. With the wingspan of a Boeing 747 and weighing less than a small car, the plane will be flown day and night using approximately 12,000 solar cells, rechargeable lithium batteries and 4 electric motors. Flying at about 44 mph, the flight will be made in 5 stages, with airtime lasting up to 5 days per stage. Because solar panels are necessary for day flying and charging batteries for night flying, the need for sunlight is a “plane” fact.

John Joseph Houghtaling, who died in 2009, was also an inventor. In 1958 in his New Jersey garage he invented the coin-operated Magic Fingers machine, which was a feature in motel beds in the 1960’s. For 25 cents the guests got 15 minutes of relaxing vibrations. Although Magic Fingers made millions, Houghtaling continued inventing. In the mid 1970’s he invented a machine that reads magnetic strips on plastic cards. He also expanded his coin-operated business with a scale that gives customers their weight and a lotto number. Houghtaling, however, was a self-made winner.