Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Enjoy a Single Glass of Red Wine Without Popping the Cork

Posted: 23 Aug 2013 10:00 AM PDT

coravin drink wine without opening bottle

If you’ve ever bought a bottle of red wine and, unable to finish it, covered the mouth of the bottle and then tried to drink a glass a few days later, you know what an unpleasant experience this can be. As soon as oxygen hits that complex beverage, it begins to degrade and pretty soon it ends up tasting more like vinegar than wine. The Coravin is a novel way to let you have one or two glasses without having to finish the entire bottle at once.

coravin 1000 wine drinking solution

The Coravin 1000 Wine Access System lets you enjoy a glass of wine without even having to remove the cork, preventing oxygen from degrading the wine. It does this with a needle which penetrates the foil and the cork. The Coravin then forces a little puff of argon gas into the bottle. The force of the argon causes wine to flow out from the needle but stops any air from seeping in. Because argon is an inert gas, it doesn’t affect the chemical composition (or taste) of the wine.

When you pull the needle out of the bottle, the cork expands to seal the tiny hole and keep oxygen out of the bottle. It’s a brilliant idea for restaurants and wine bars that sell wine by the glass – if they don’t sell the rest of the bottle by the end of the night, it won’t go to waste. For individuals, it will eliminate the conundrum of whether you should risk the bottle going bad or just go ahead and drink a whole bottle yourself.

Keep Going - Check Out These Great Related Dornob Articles:

Single-Serving Wine Glass is a Perfect Picnic or Party Ware

Dual Illusions: Beer Bottle & Wine Glass Sets Trick the Eye

Two Cuts Transform Old Wine Bottles Into 3 Useful Objects

Cork Flooring Tiles: Quirky Circle-Cut Wine-Stopper Corks

Color-Changing Shower Head Tells You When to Get Out

Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT

uji water saving shower head

High water bills getting you down? You can try knocking on the door, banging on the wall, or yelling at shower-hoggers, but they seem dead set on taking hour-long showers. The Uji is a device that uses visual cues to tell the offender when their showers have gone on a little too long.

color changing shower head

The shower head contains lights which gradually change from green to red the longer you shower. According to the two Tufts University students who invented the device, it has been shown to cut shower time by 12 percent. Once it’s released, the Uji will cost around $50 and will pay for itself in water savings in about seven months in a home setting and just three months in a school setting where many people use the shower each day.

Because the device is still being refined, there are a few grey areas about how it will work. The current model goes completely red after seven minutes. The inventors say that future models might be adjustable, with the user being able to set their desired shower time. A number of universities have already shown interest in the Uji, but it will be a while before it is released for home users.

...