Oddity Central

Oddity Central


Japanese Boutique Sells Jeans That Have Been Worn for at Least a Year

Posted: 29 Dec 2016 10:06 AM PST

The Onomichi Denim Project, a chic boutique in Onomichi, Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture, is a popular destination for denim enthusiasts looking for a pair of truly special jeans. The shop is well-known around Japan and even abroad for selling premium jeans that have been worn by select members of the local community for at least one year.

Selling used jeans, or any other type of clothing for that matter, is not exactly a new business model, but Onomichi Denim Project is not your average second-hand denim retailer. Created in 2013, as a collaborative effort between local designer Yoshiyuki Hayashi, textile expert Yukinobu Danjo, and Discoverlink Setouchi, an organization that aims to supports local industry, the minimalist boutique aims to draw attention to the city’s top-quality craftsmanship and its people in a unique way. Plus, while used denim is generally sold at a discount, these particular jeans actually get about twice as a expensive after being worn by somebody almost daily, for at least a year.

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Chilean Inventor Creates Hammer and Saw-Proof Work Gloves

Posted: 29 Dec 2016 06:37 AM PST

Coming up with effective hand protection in dangerous environments like construction sites has been an elusive goal for many years, but Chilean inventor Jorge Sgombic claims to have finally come up with a truly safe solution.

Boots with built-in toe protection have become a requirement on most construction sites these days, so foot safety is no longer an issue, but the human hands are an infinitely trickier problem. Protective gear companies are actively trying to strike the perfect balance between functionality, mobility and safety when creating new work gloves, but so far the results have been unimpressive. Workers still have to put up with the excruciating pain of banging their fingers with large hammers, or, even worse, slice part of them off in gory work accidents. But Jorge Sgombic’s  innovative Mark VIII safety gloves aim to fix this problem.

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Couple Receive Hundreds of Mysterious Letters Addressed to Santa Claus, Fulfill Them All

Posted: 29 Dec 2016 05:37 AM PST

Every holidays season for the past six years, Jim Glaub and Dylan Parker receive hundreds of letters to Santa Claus at their New York apartment. No one knows why this has been happening, or when exactly it started, but the two don’t much care. They’re just focused on making sure that every sender receives a Christmas present from Santa.

Even before 2010, Jim and Dylan used to receive a few letters addressed to Santa Claus, but they simply brushed them off as a “weird occurence”. But that year they got almost 400 of them, for some reason. “It was one batch after another,” Jim recalls. “We would dread opening up the mailbox because we knew 25, 30 letters would pour out.”

The letters are mostly from kids in the New York area, or from parents writing on behalf of their kids and asking for a miracle, explaining that they have fallen on hard times and could use a bit of help with presents from Santa Claus. Most letters ask for clothes, toys, and even turkeys for the Christmas dinner, and Jim and Dylan do everything in their power to make sure that their wishes get fulfilled.

miracle-on-22nd-street

Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Dornob | Design Ideas Daily


Buy or DIY: These Tiny Wooden Houses Are Full of Gorgeous Timber Details

Posted: 29 Dec 2016 06:00 AM PST


You know how some people love that "new car smell" so much they spritz its bottled approximation around their vehicles once it has worn off? It's actually made up of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which are off-gassed into car interiors by all those plastic components. In other words, it's toxic. Breathing that chemical cocktail while you're driving is bad enough, but what kind of impact would it have if you were sleeping in your car, too? That's a valid question asked by many prospective owners of RVs, who want the freedom of a small mobile dwelling but not the odors and health concerns that could potentially come with it. Read more…

10 Amazing Apps to Help You Sleep Better

10 Amazing Apps to Help You Sleep Better

Link to The Wondrous

10 Amazing Apps to Help You Sleep Better

Posted: 28 Dec 2016 09:19 PM PST

You are exhausted after a long day of work. Changing into one of your most comfortable night suits, you look at the bed. Even the sight of attracts you. The sheets are warm and cozy. The pillows so soft. The mattress all firm.  All you are looking...

[[ This is a content summary only. To view full photos and content visit thewondrous.com ]]

Oddity Central

Oddity Central


Meet the Kindhearted Businessman Who Throws Grand Weddings for Fatherless Indian Brides

Posted: 28 Dec 2016 09:53 AM PST

In India, it is expected that the bride’s family organize and especially pay for the wedding, so when a young woman’s father (the main bread earner) dies, she can almost certainly forget about having a wedding, especially if she comes from a poor family. Most often than not, widowed mothers simply don’t have the means to marry their daughters. That’s where Indian real-estate tycoon Mahesh Savani comes in.

Ever since 2008, Mr. Savani has organized weddings for over 700 fatherless brides, not only paying for the event itself, but also giving each one of his new “daughters” a substantial dowry  (gold, jewelry, furniture, home appliances, etc.) worth around 400,000 rupees ($5,900). At each wedding, the successful businessman also steps up to play the role of their father and perform their 'kanyadaan' – the traditional ritual of giving away the bride. From that moment on, the girls become his daughters.

mahesh-savani-weddings9

Would You Pay $30,000 to Have a Beer Tailored to Your DNA?

Posted: 28 Dec 2016 05:38 AM PST

A London-based brewery has recently launched a unique service that uses cutting edge genetic profiling to create “the world’s most personalised beer”, based on the client’s DNA profile. And it “only” costs £25,000 ($30,550).

Ciaran Giblin, the brewmaster of Meantime Brewery, was the world’s first brewer to have a beer tailored to his own DNA, and was so satisfied with the result that he teamed up with a personal genetics company called 23andMe to offer this bespoke service to other beer enthusiasts with money to spare.

“Having been aware of the potential of at-home genetic mapping, I sent a simple saliva sample to 23andMe; the results gave me the tools I needed to develop a recipe based on the elements my senses are most attuned to enjoy,” Giblin said. “I’m delighted with the result and opportunity it has given us to really push the boundaries of innovative, personalised brewing.”

dna-based-beer

Kissenger – The Smartphone Accessory That Lets You Kiss over Long Distances

Posted: 28 Dec 2016 04:39 AM PST

Long distance relationships are always tough, and the lack of physical interaction is one of the main reasons for that. There’s no substituting human touch, yet, but rapidly-advancing technology already provides some intriguing alternatives. One such example is the Kissenger, a smartphone peripheral that allows users to kiss over long distances.

The concept of long-distance kissing has been an intriguing research concept for over half a decade now. Back in 2012, we wrote about the Kissenger, a solution created by Dr. Hooman Samani, Director of AIART Lab (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Technology Laboratory) in Singapore. It consisted of two internet-connected bunny-shaped robots with big silicone lips that could send the touch of human lips between each-other to (sort of) simulate a kiss between two human beings. Samani described it as a “a physical interface enabling kiss communication”.

The Kissinger made international news headlines when it was originally revealed, but it never translated into an actual consumer product. However, the idea of transmitting human kisses over long distances remained popular, and, earlier this month, Emma Yann Zhang, a Computer Science PhD student at City University London, presented her own take on the idea, also called the Kissenger.

kissenger

Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Dornob | Design Ideas Daily


The Ekster: A Secure, Trackable, Stylish, Skinny Wallet

Posted: 28 Dec 2016 02:00 PM PST


There's nothing quite like the sinking feeling of panic when you think you've lost your wallet, running around in a cold sweat retracing your steps, patting down all the pockets in every jacket and pair of pants you own, envisioning slick crooks cackling as they buy plane tickets to hot climes on your dime. The Ekster smart wallet aims to put a sense of ease in your pocket with its several-pronged defense strategy and trackability. Read more…

Fuel Your Inner Builder With the Flexo Bendable Building Block and Tendon System

Posted: 28 Dec 2016 06:00 AM PST


Entrepreneurs have an uncanny knack for experiencing a situation and turning it into a new idea or invention. Case in point: Mark Stolten was waiting for his appointment with a physiotherapist for treatment on his torn bicep tendon when he was gazing at cross-section images of the complex inner workings of the human body. The networks of tendons and muscles that added a flexible dimension to bones intrigued him, and he says he suddenly saw the human body as a marvel of "perfect engineering. Read more…

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