In this issue: STOCK OPTIONS FOR SOLDIERS COUCH SURFING E-TICKET TRENDS MASH-UPS GO MAINSTREAM BLOODLESS AUTOPSIES WHERE'S MY STUFF? WOOD SHEIKHS And much much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _, _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Keeping brains healthy since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 004 - May 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free monthly newsletter about new ideas, innovations and trends. If you'd like to receive regular copies simply click on subscribe. If you'd like to be removed from future mailings just click on remove. Subscribe: mailto:subscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com Remove: mailto:unsubscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com Tell the world about brainmail - forward this to a friend. ------------------------------------------------------------ > STOCK OPTIONS FOR THE MILITARY This is a really out there idea. An organisation called the New America Foundation has proposed that soldiers returning from Iraq should be given stock options in companies that have US military contracts or profit in some other way from the conflict. Ref: New York Times (US) > A NATION OF TWO HALVES A survey by YouGov says that approximately 50% of people in the UK think that Britain is a great place to live. The other 50% want to leave. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > ROBOWASH Scientists in Japan have created a robot that can wash your hair and apply conditioner. Ref: Women's Wear Daily (US) > PEOPLE SURVEILLANCE The US government is testing a device that can monitor the vital signs of people in large crowds and look for abnormal signs such as a raised heartbeat. Uses of such technologies would presumably include identifying criminals or terrorists that are about to do something they shouldn't. Ref: Various > PAPER TICKETS ARE HISTORY The airline industry says that paper tickets will be phased worldwide out by January 2008. Concert venues and sporting events will inevitably follow suit due to time and cost savings leaving customers to print out their own 'tickets' at home or in self-service kiosks. Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (AUS) > UNI-DIRECTIONAL LOVE Women may like their men rich and powerful, but a recent study says that men don't like their women too smart. According to the study there is a 40% decline in marriage prospects for every 16-point rise in female IQ.The opposite is true for men - a 35% increase in the likelihood of getting married for every 16-point rise in IQ. Ref: The Observer (UK) > TOO HOT TO TROT? Temperature is a fairly accurate way of finding out whether someone is sick or not but some areas of the body just aren't meant for thermometers. Enter the thermometer-in-a-pill. Just swallow this little baby and it sends back data to a handheld device. NFL athletes are among the first to pilot the new device. Ref: Wired (US) > MASH-UPS GO MAINSTREAM A mash-up is an unauthorised remix of a song whereby the instrumentals from one song are mixed with the vocals from another. For example,the vocals from Jay-Z's black album are mixed with the instrumentals from the Beatles white album to create the grey album! Highly illegal but also highly popular which is why you can now buy the world's first legal mash up on i-Tunes. Ref: New York Times (US) > ME POD You can buy birth-date birthday cards so why can't you buy birth-date i-Pods? (that play all the stuff you grew up listening to). Ref:www.nowandnext.com > PRO-AM REVOLUTION According to Demos (a UK think tank) the distinction between experts and amateurs is disintegrating. Historically societies have looked to experts for advice but this is changing thanks to developments like the Internet, which put information in the hands of everyone. So, in the future, we might see patients who are better informed than doctors. Ref: New York Times (US) > HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR WIFE TODAY? Researchers in the US say that women who receive regular hugs are less likely to suffer from depression. However, the same idea does not apparently work for men. Ref: American Journal of Psychiatry (US) > A BLOODLESS AUTOPSY One of the problems with traditional autopsies is that you have to cut the body open to take a look inside. Not any more. A team of Swiss scientists has invented a virtual (digital) autopsy based on computerised tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Once scanned, "corpses" can be saved on a hard-disk indefinitely. Ref: New York Times (US) > SKYSAILS A company called SkySails is experimenting with giant inflatable kites to pull ships across the sea. The idea is not to replace the engine but to use wind power to supplement the engine when the wind is blowing strongly in the right direction. Ref: New Scientist (UK) > BARBIE PHONE Toy company Mattel has teamed up with Nokia to create a Barbie pre-paid mobile phone. Kids can earn extra airtime minutes by doing tasks set by their parents. Ref: Trendcentral (US) > 50 FACTS 50 facts that should change the world is an interesting and sometimes disturbing book about the inequalities between countries. For example, in Kenya the phrase kitu kidogo means 'something small' (i.e. a bribe). In 2001 the average Kenyan household paid 16 bribes a month which amounted to 33% of total household spend. Or how about the fact that each cow in the European Union (EU) is subsidised by US$ 2.50 per day which is more than 75% of African people have to live on. Ref: 50 facts that should change the world (Icon books). > CHIPS WITH EVERYTHING The term 'ubiquitous technology' refers to the fact that in the future computer chips will be inside almost everything. This means that we can communicate with objects and objects can also communicate with themselves (thus creating networks) or talk to the people that made them. Hence, it's not a giant step to imagine shoes that tell you when they need to be replaced or cars that drive themselves to the garage to get fixed. Ref: The Australian (AUS) > HOW TO SAVE WITHOUT MONEY A direct selling venture in Germany called Sparschwein (meaning piggy bank in German) is a business that helps people to dig out valuable items in their homes and sell them for cash on eBay or other auction sites. The company handles the sale in return for a commission and the money is then invested in a standard savings account with Deutschwein Kredit Bank. The company bills itself as the word's first bank that allows people to build up savings without using money. Ref: Springwise.com (Neth) > GARAGE INVENTION Bad drivers can now buy a laser guided garage-parking aid to stop them crashing into the wall. Ref: Sunday Times (UK) > ASKING FOR HELP The EU Commission plans to make it a legal requirement that all cars sold in Europe be fitted with distress beacons that will call for help in the event of an emergency. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > PARKING FINES A THING OF THE PAST? Sydney City Council in Australia is installing parking meters that will call drivers on their mobile phones 5-10 minutes before their meter expires. Some of the meters will also accept payments by mobile phone to extend the parking period. Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (AUS) > WOULD YOU LIKE CHILDCARE WITH THAT? A 4,000 strong chain of petrol stations in Japan is planning to introduce child-friendly areas, massage chairs and cafes in 50% of their service stations by 2007. Ref: Iconoculture (US) > SIGHT AND SOUND Oakley MP3 sunglasses come with earphones and either 128 MB or 256MB of storage space. What for? To plug into your computer and download songs! Ref: Time (US) > ALOE ALOE Now that someone has started selling aloe vera impregnated fabric (to make baby clothes feel softer), how long before someone starts to put the stuff into cotton wool for ear buds or even tampons? Ref: www.nowandnext.com > FACE SPACE A company in Canada called TatAd claims to have 1,000 people on its books that are willing to have company logos tattooed on their faces, arms and noses for a fee. And it's not just eBay cranks who are auctioning off their body parts either. Toyota recently paid for 'skinvertisers' to walk around Times Square in New York with logos of the Scion TC Coupe (temporarily) tattooed on their foreheads. Ref: The Times (UK) > WHERE'S MY STUFF? StuffBak is a US company that produces stickers with a difference. Each sticker features an ID number that members attach to everything from phones to i-Pods.If you find a stickered item you call a toll-free number or consult the StuffBak website and then drop the item off at a UPS store. Finders are rewarded with US $20 worth of StuffBak labels for their own use thus perpetuating the cycle. Ref: Springwise.com (Neth) > SOY CLOTHING China is the world's biggest exporter of cotton textiles and one of the world's leading producers of Soy beans so it comes as no surprise that a Chinese company has invented soy based fabrics. Benefits include the fact that soy based clothing is more eco-friendly. Ref: Redriff.com (US) > PARANOID COOKS Microban International has launched anti-bacterial stone for kitchen tops and work surfaces. Ref: Time (US) > SEE THROUGH BUILDINGS This might be taking the trend for corporate transparency a bit far, but someone has invented see through concrete. Obvious applications include see through security barriers and giving the appearance of space and light in small houses and apartments. Ref: New York Times (US) > WI-MAX Wi-Max is a long-range version of Wi-Fi, which instead of working over 100m works over 10km. In theory it's a good idea but unfortunately the number of Wi-Max equipped products on the market is exactly zero because nobody can agree on industry standards. Ref: The Economist (UK) > HOUSES FOR LOCALS ONLY Outsiders who want to buy second homes in the Yorkshire Dales (a national park in the UK) have been banned from doing so under new restrictions aimed at keeping locals in and wealthy second home owners out. This is the third area to impose such a ban and is a response to escalating house prices which price locals out of certain areas. Ref: The Daily Telegraph (UK) > SLOCAL TREND Slocal is the name for things that are made locally and enjoyed slowly. Examples include slow meals using local ingredients and local labour. Ref: Oliver Freeman > WOOD SHEIKHS Countries such as Finland and Austria that are rich in woodland areas are known as 'wood sheikh' nations. In Finland, for example. 50% of all household heating is produced by burning wood in sophisticated computer controlled boilers. Ref: The Times (UK) > EYES EVERYWHERE According to John Gage of Sun Microsystems there will be two types of cities in the future. In some cities there will be cameras everywhere and the police will get the pictures. In other cities there will be cameras everywhere and the police and the citizens get the pictures. Ref: The Australian (AUS) > BURLESQUE IS BIG Burlesque is big again with a number of dancers, musicians and retailers like Agent Provocateur copying the forgotten artform. For those not into post-modern feminist display, burlesque simply means 'to mock' in French. Ref:www.nowandnext.com > STITCH 'N' BITCH We've covered knitting before, but here we go again. Some knitting circles in Britain are doing some weird things in the name of fashion. Recent examples include a group knitting in a Goth pub and a group of extreme knitters who knit whilst skydiving. Ref: The Times (UK) > LOTS OF ENGLISH IN CHINA There are almost as many Chinese learning English in China as there are people who can speak English living in the US, UK and Canada combined. Ref: Financial Times (UK) > FITNESS TRAINING FOR KIDS According to a number of fitness trainers in the UK, between 5-15% of clients are now children aged 8-13. The reason for this is partly that schools are cutting back on sport and partly that dual income couples have little or no or no time left to play outside with their kids. In the US, Fitwize4kids even runs kids only gyms. Meanwhile, a company called Body Experience in the UK is offering spa treatments for girls as young as eight. Ref: The Times (UK) > NO TIME FOR TEA Research in the UK says that young women are not drinking tea because it takes too long to make. Instead women are drinking bottled water which, according to experts, is responsible for a major increase in tooth decay among young people (because bottled water doesn't contain fluoride). Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > OLDER BUT NO WISER Traditional wisdom says that the older you get the less you drink. However, a study in the US has found that this is becoming less true with each new old generation. Ref: American Journal of Public Health (US) > GOOD THINKING A survey in the UK has found that people that are volunteers find it easier to get jobs and are less likely to be overweight than those that aren't. 17% of people aged 65+ in the UK are what experts call "socially isolated" - that is they have no daily contact with another human being. Ref: The Observer (UK) > ORGANIC RESTAURANTS LAG BEHIND A restaurant called the Ukiah Brewing Co is only the second restaurant in the US to be certified as fully organic. Sales of organic food grew by more than 100% in the US between 2000 and 2004 to USD $12.7 billion per year, but only 2% of food service sales are organic. Ref: Foodinstitute.com (US) > COUCH SURFING Couchsurfing.com is a website that provides travellers with introductions to people they can stay with around the world - for free. 'Accommodation' can range from a floor in Bondi beach to a room in a German castle. Ref: Trendcentral.com (US) ------------------------------------------------------------ : PREVIEW OF NEXT ISSUE 75% of people in the UK think that supermarkets are too powerful and would support stricter government controls. ------------------------------------------------------------ : STATSHOTS > 12 MINUTES Australians spend more than 3 hours every day watching television but only 12 minutes talking to their partner. Ref: Sydney Morning Herald (AUS) > 10,000,000 10 million households in the US don't have a bank account but about 8.5% of the same households own prepaid credit cards. This figure is expected to rise to 25% by 2006. Ref: Wall Street Journal (US) > 21 percent 21% of all copies of the hit album 'Genius Loves Company' were sold by Starbucks. Ref: Trendcentral (US) > GBP 233,600,000 The value of the market for pet insurance in the UK was £233.6 million in 2003 and is expected to rise to £355 million by 2008. Ref: The Times (UK) > +50% The number of female home owners has risen by 50% over the last decade in the US. Meanwhile, there has been a 5,000% rise in the number of female business travellers in the US since 1970. Ref: roadandtravel.com (US) ------------------------------------------------------------ : SUBSCRIBE TO BRAINMAIL Subscribe: mailto:subscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com Remove: mailto:unsubscribe-brainmail@nowandnext.com ------------------------------------------------------------ : EXTRA THINKING If you enjoyed this you might like this http://www.vodafone.com/flash/futures/ ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "Computers are worthless they can only give you answers" Picasso