Yale University researcher Marsha Guess recommends that female cyclists should raise their handlebars above the level of the seat in order to avoid genital numbness. She concluded this after examining 48 female cyclists, using a biothesiometer to measure how sensitive their genitals were to vibrations after riding with the handlebars at different heights. Her study, "The Bar Sinister: Does handlebar level damage the pelvic floor in female cyclists?" is published in a recent issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine. More info here.
That staple of the “and finally” news item is under threat in the UK today, after a local council handed down an £80 ($130) fine to the owner of a skateboarding dog.
Jonathan Fell of Brighton, England says that his Lakeland Terrier, called Bodhi, likes nothing more than riding his board round the town’s streets, but in doing so he is violating local by-laws that insist all dogs must be kept on a leash. Previously, the council has threatened Fell with an ASBO (a civil restraining order) for failing to control his pet, now he has 14 days to pay the fine or face a court appearance and a potentially much larger fine (Newslite).
Build a better mousetrap, it is said, and the world will beat a path to your door. The implication being that there are some problems which are just crying out for a solution. And then there are the solutions crying out for a problem - those inventions that, while inspired, are just a tad “out there”. It is this later category I shall be celebrating today.
First up, how clean is your cow? This age old problem has nagged at the minds of farmers down the ages, are their cows clean enough? And why isn’t there an easier way to clean cows? Well these merchants of the soil need worry no more thanks to a Swedish company that has developed the fully automated “cow wash”. Supposedly improving the health and yield of cows that use it, the cow wash uses a free swinging revolving brush to groom the cows while simultaneously stimulating their circulation. Apparently the cows enjoy using it and the makers DeLaval have sold over 30,000 in Sweden alone (Daily Mail).
Bigwigs in the US military will also soon be able to sleep sounder in the knowledge that the men under their command are safely in their underpants. We’re not just talking about any undies though, these have been specially designed by University of California professor Joseph Wang. Not only will his techno-trunks monitor the vitals of the personnel wearing them, they can even administer painkillers or antibiotics as the situation demands (Post Chronicle).
And if your pants don’t save you, at least your modesty will be preserved when you are taken to hospital, all thanks to the University of Montreal. For it is from that fine establishment’s School of Industrial Design that our next invention hails, a hospital gown that isn’t quite so revealing. The DUO gown is the brainchild of Noemie Marquis and Denyse Roy and consists of two overlapping panels, front and back, that is easy to put on and requires no fasteners making life simpler for both patients and staff (Medical News Today).
Meanwhile British scientists have been working on an altogether sterner cover. Nicknamed “bullet-proof custard” by its inventors, Bristol based BAE systems have developed a liquid armour consisting of layers of Kevlar combined with a secret “shear-thickening” liquid that hardens as force is applied. The company’s eventual aim is to produce lighter, more-flexible body armour for the military (BBC News).
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Flight, South America, Mental Health and Insanity