10 Tantalizing Technologies Revolutionizing The Consumer Landscape

What does a mobile phone, 5 ¼ inch Floppy drive, (for those of you who remember…) an ice chest, and a NASA space shuttle have in common? At one time or another each one of these very distinctly different items was considered to be the peak of technology. As bright new minds enter the development and engineering world’s everyday new advances, and sometimes brand new things altogether come about.

When the first cell phone call was placed in 1973 it blew everyone’s mind. Similarly when the floppy drive was created it meant that information was now mobile! You could save that important document and bring it down to the library and print it up (printers were extremely expensive around the time of their inception and therefore not common in many households.) Before all this NASA put a man on the moon using less computing power than today’s most common digital watches!

All these wonderful inventions were thought to be the pinnacle but as modern teenagers with their texting addictions have shown us (when I was a kid there was no such thing as texting without a stamp and a mailman.) technology will continue to evolve and knock us back on our laurels with its overwhelming awesomeness. But with all the ludicrous inventions hitting daytime infomercials like the “Perfect Bacon Bowl” and bizarre inventions from Japan (like the crawling baby onesie dust-mop Swiffer thingy for those of you who are unaware) it’s becoming increasingly difficult to sift through the haystack to find that shiny needle.

Today at To Infinity And…In Theory we’re going to take a look at the fast-paced technological landscape and dig through that haystack for you. Here’s a glimpse at ten inventions you may or may not have heard of before, but everything on this list has the potential to revolutionize how we live in this strange and ever changing world. From interesting novelty items like the Guitar Pick Punch to game changers like Amazon.com’s aircraft answer to same day doorstep delivery with unmanned Drones, let’s see what the brilliant minds of the world over have to offer consumers like you and I.

1.  The BioLite Camping Stove

Ever been on a hiking excursion through the wilderness before that lasted more than a week? (Intentionally I might add…) As a Boy Scout I know I’ve done my fair share. Nothing beats a nice warm fire on a chilly Autumn night while you swap campfire stories, but nothing can ruin the taste of your food quicker than smoke from an old moldy log, (unless you’re into that sort of thing.) also if the logs collapse in the pit and your equipment isn’t set right you run the risk of losing your meal into the fire pit itself. Companies like Coleman have camping stoves, and while they’re nice for those of us with R.V.s, they just aren’t much use to us hikers where packing only the essential with as little weight encumbrance as possible is key. So what to do?

Enter the developers of the BioLite! This little camping stove has taken popular science publications by storm since it hit the market. As seen in the picture above this nifty little wood burning gadget can save your life should you find yourself stranded, injured, and without any zap left in your phone, (even SIRI can’t help you without juice.) Also it reduces smoke emissions drastically cutting down on deadly carcinogen emissions that, if you do a lot of cooking over open fires, can build up over time and shorten your life.

It may not appeal to all the Outdoors types with a weight clocking in at 33 oz. but new more lightweight and compact models are in development to cut down on this problem. Also, if you feel like the model pictured above is too small and unmanly for you to carry, there is a home stove model available. BioLite was used during the relief efforts of Hurricane Sandy, it’s also been featured in publications like Time magazine, The New York Times, Huffington Post, and Popular Science.

If you still prefer the old isopropyl beer can stove over the BioLite I won’t blame you. The $130 price tag is a bit too rich for even my blood, but as more time and development go into this the price should come down to more reasonable levels. While I won’t be running out to buy one tomorrow, you can rest assured this is still on my radar.

If you’d like to learn more about the BioLite or pick one up you can by going to their website by clicking here.

2.  Solowheel

It’s a fast paced world. Either you keep up with the best or get mowed down like the rest. Well now the rest can keep up with the best with the Solowheel. Basically a minimalist’s unicycle Segway, for the rider under 250 lbs this little spherical skateboard that would’ve blown Marty McFly’s mind is capable of chugging along at a brisk pace of 10 Mph and can hold its charge for up to two hours depending on speed and the rider’s weight. With 1,000 Watt motor and a Lithium-Ion battery coupled with the ability to recharge itself slightly by gliding or braking could this strange little device be the answer to cheap, efficient, and green short distance travel?

Yes and no. While the creators at Inventist Inc. claim to have reinvented the wheel that’s not necessarily the case. It’s still round and rolls forward and while that dynamic may not have changed, they certainly have created an interesting little gadget worth a try. While the developer’s claim it is user friendly and relatively easy to use (and they have plenty of videos showing individuals gliding happily along seemingly effortlessly) and has a built in gyroscope to aide in balance it still requires some skill, patience, and a bit of practice to use.

While miniaturized and zero-emission self-propelled travel options aren’t exactly new to the consumer world this little guy has advantages motorized bicycles, Segways, and other similar options don’t. With a carrying handle on top to fold up and take with you it only takes up about the space of a briefcase, plus it doesn’t take very long to charge. Just rode it to the office this morning and out of juice? No big deal, plug it into the wall at work and it’s ready to take you back home at the end of the day.

With a $2,000 price tag it still clocks in at more of a novelty toy rather than a commuter’s solution to big city traffic and fast paced environments that is unlikely to replace foot power or bike’s as the end all method any time soon. Still, it’s a neat little invention perfect for a Saturday afternoon stroll up to the ice cream parlor.

You can read more about the Solowheel or even purchase one by visiting Inventist Inc.’s website by clicking here.

3.  Sugru

Need a comfortable way to prop that Galaxy Tablet up on the countertop as you rifle through a recipe while making dinner? Maybe that old hammer has seen better days but you don’t have a lathe to turn a new handle and want an eco-friendly alternative to buying rubberized or polymer grips for it. Maybe you’re a little kid at heart like me and want to up the ante of your plastic dinosaur and Lego collection by attaching colorful block wings to it and converting the Allosaurus into an Aerial Attacking All-out-asaurus.

Whether you’re looking to satiate your playtime needs with the kids or just want a better way to organize that jumble of keys without buying an expensive cabinet to hang them (in my experience, you buy them and still end up throwing your keys in the fruit bowl anyway.) English company FormFormForm has something in store for you.

Like a strange cross between rubber, modeling clay, silicone, and silly putty, this strange malleable substance may become your short answer to anything. Websites like Pinterest have dozens of articles and pictures circulating of people using Sugru to “hack” everyday items from kitchen knives to cell phones. When removed from the packaging, Sugru works a lot like silly putty, easily molded and shaped into many different sizes and geometric orientations, it’s when it hardens that the magic happens.

After a 24 hour curing period Sugru turns into a bendable and powerful adhesive suitable for a vast variety of uses. Want to remove it? Not a problem! Just cut it from the surface with a sharp knife to remove the majority of it. Use your fingernail and a napkin to get the pieces that hang around behind, (non-porous surfaces only!!!!) and with an 8 pack of the miracle malleable mud coming in at $25 (that includes shipping depending on your location) it may become your new cheap and far less messy method of patching up areas of your house.

To read more about Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh from Kilkenny, Ireland and her incredible invention and pick up a packet of the Play-Dough for adults visit Sugru’s website by following the link here.

4.  Guitar Pick Punch

The guitar pick. Best friend to players of the instrument worldwide. But if you’re anything like me and love to shred your six-stringed pal till your heart gives out then chances are, like me, you break a metric ton of picks every year. On top of that, it always seems like you need a pick at the worst possible times and there are just none to be found. Enter William Von Luhmann, inventor of the Pick Punch.

The Pick Punch looks more like a glorified stapler but it’s so much more than that. Got a bunch of expired credit cards lying around? Instead of chopping them up with scissors and throwing them in the trash why not turn them into guitar picks? With the Pick Punch you can turn boring and bland piles of plastic into picks as unique and diverse as your play style itself.

With its relatively small size and lightweight design (around 1.5 lbs) you can toss this little guy into your gig bag and, should you run out of picks midway through that rock show, you can snap a replacement out in less than a few seconds! For a $25 investment you can bet I’ll be adding this to my gig equipment in the near future.

To read more about The Pick Punch and to pick one up for yourself check out Von Luhmann’s website dedicated solely to his invention and DIY tips by clicking here. 

5.  Space Saving Furniture

It’s no secret that the human population is expanding on this Earth, but with the little blue rock we float on being 70% water, livable space is quickly becoming an issue. In places like Japan where there are a lot of people concentrated in tiny areas on islands, space saving furniture and domiciles have already become the new “in” thing. Resource Furniture’s ever growing line of multi-purpose furnishings is now looking to bring that same kind of compact living standard, right to your living room now.

With products like tables that fold out to expand from seating three to being able to host a Christmas dinner with the in-laws and an Ottoman that breaks down into 5 separate stools, there is no shortage of creativity in the masterminds of this company. Can only afford a one bedroom apartment but you don’t want to sacrifice all your tables and chairs to the Ikea store? That’s perfectly fine! Just head on over to Resource Furniture’s website by clicking here to see all their home decoration options available.  

6.  Consumer Drones

Yes. You read that correctly, Drones for the everyday consumer like you and me. These fearsome, flying death machines won’t be the robotic bomb filled warbots flying over The Middle East currently, but they operate on the same principle. But Drones have far better uses than military applications (Uncle Sam just has difficulty seeing the forest for the trees sometimes) and the guys at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas this year feel exactly the same way.

See that little fella pictured above? That’s the SenseFly eBee. Aerial toy developer Parrot teamed up with the Swedish company SenseFly to deliver the eBee to CES this year. What does it do? Cartography of course!

With a 96cm wingspan and a “shake it to start the motor and toss it in the air” interface this little guy is capable of surveying an area of 10sqkm in a single pass. What’s more is that not only can it detect geographical features and elevation levels; it does so with pinpoint accuracy, within 5cm. That’s pretty incredible if you ask me.

And why shouldn’t it be? With a price tag north of $10,000, this aerial mapper won’t be commonplace in everyone’s hobby closet any time soon, but it has the features to match the cost. Parrot and SenseFly have another model called the Swinglet Cam as well with a shorter flight distance but still the 16MP camera and mapping within 5cm of accuracy. Other companies at CES featured Drones as well. For the full report on CES drones head over to CraveOnline and check out their article. For more information on SenseFly and the eBee you can check out their website by clicking here.

7.  Vikuiti Rear Projection Film

Moving into 2014 we may already have 100’s of mediums for advertiser’s to channel their products through. But company 3M is rolling out the glass carpet for a new form of Budweiser beer bombardment. May I introduce to you, the Vikuiti (Pronounced Vi-Cue-It-Tee) Rear Projection Film, and while you may be thinking this is just another showy form of projection, I assure you, it’s much more than that.

The way it works is fairly simple. You roll out the black adhesive acrylic and cut it to match whatever shape you want it to. Then you can attach it to a piece of glass or acrylic like the cut-out of the spokeswoman above or you can just hang it in your store window. After being lit up from behind by the projector, it appears as though it jumps to life! The major benefit to this technology is that outside light sources don’t affect it, so you can see what you’re looking at even if the sun directly overhead is beating down on it. In some ways, advertisers are saying this is more useful than using LCD TVs in storefronts!

To read more about 3M’s RPF technology, applications, and purchasing you can visit the website by clicking here.

8.  Siri

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade I can almost bet that you’ve heard of Apple’s personal assistant Siri. With movies like “Her” hitting the entertainment landscape this past year featuring a human man falling head over feels in love with an A.I. (Let’s be honest though, if my phone sounded like Scarlett Johansson I’d be lovesick too!) I feel it’s important to talk about how far we are into that world.

While Siri may not be able to help you repel an alien onslaught multiple times (Wake up Chief…) or try to suck the oxygen out of your environment out of self-preservation (Sorry Dave…) she is quite handy for a multitude of things. But why is she so useful?

Siri is outfitted with specialized language software that not only can interpret what you’re saying but in a sense is capable of learning through it. In fact, she is so adept at this that outside developers are dying to get their hands on her. There has even been talk of Siri completely erasing Google entirely. I mean, why run all the way to your laptop to Google it when you just ask Siri where Capuchin Monkeys are native to?

She may not currently be the singularity but she is the doorway to it and the developer’s at Apple are fully aware of this. And if you still don’t believe me, try asking Siri about the Spike Lee Jones film and see what she says. Artificial women can be so defensive.

9.  Recon: Jet Heads Up Display

While development company Revision is on the cutting edge of HUD technology for the soldier, Recon developers have set their sights on the health junkie market. While the glasses won’t make you Geordi La Forge and get you a ticket aboard the enterprise, they have a variety of other applications that will appeal to the everyday cyclist.

With biometric displays like a heart rate monitor and blood pressure, at first glance it doesn’t seem like Recon is bringing anything new to the battlefield, but if you scratch a little deeper, there’s gold hidden underneath.

The battery pods are designed to be replaceable and with a $50 or so price range for the parts that doesn’t seem too bad. The two features that really shine on this (in my opinion) is the tracking feature and the ability to turn your afternoon bike ride into a home movie. With the push of a button on the side of the unit you can snap a quick picture (with better resolution than most cellular phone cameras) but if you double tap and hold the button a little longer on the second one your sunglasses turn into a video camera.

The tracking feature allows you to see on a map where your riding partner is located just by syncing the two devices together. With features like blue tooth, GPS, and others, these sports glasses could quickly sweep the athletic community by storm by being able to keep groups of multiple runners or cyclists in constant contact with one another, thereby allowing everyone to move at their own pace.

The Recon: Jet HUD and their other model the Snow2 geared toward the extreme winter sports crowd are still in prototype development stages. The current price tag is around $600 so you won’t see them on everyone’s head until that cost drops significantly. These glasses are powered by the Android Jellybean OS as its kernel but use an OS developed by Recon to run the glasses themselves. Weighing in at 1oz of visual goodness I can’t wait to get my eyes on a pair of these myself.

To read more about the Jet HUD or maybe pick up a pair for yourself you can head over to their website. To read about some hands on time with the machine check out this review over at DCrainmaker.com.

10.  OLED Foldable TV’s

Everyone loves wallpaper right? Well…maybe not so much. But companies like Samsung are looking to reinvent the wall glue with these new displays. CES this year was rife with cutting edge technology, especially the wearable kind. Let’s take a look at what they had in store for us.

Since the advent of high definition imagery the consumer marketplace has been flooded with options for the entertainment mogul like never before. Companies are looking to capitalize on this even further. Enter the OLED Foldable screen. The model featured above is flexible and lightweight enough to be worn on your arm while out for a jog.

The way an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) works is quite simple actually. OLEDs are solid-state devices composed of thin films of organic molecules that create light with the application of electricity. OLEDs can provide brighter, crisper displays on electronic devices and use less power than conventional light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or liquid crystal displays (LCDs) used today.

Imagine, turning your entire living room wall into a football stadium to watch the Superbowl. Eventually you may even be able to stitch these little fellas into your clothing (although I’m not sure why anyone would want to go that far with their television obsessions…) or even attach one to the upholstery in your car! However with new OLED technology carrying a price tag a little south of $10,000 we probably won’t be seeing these pop up in your average household for quite a while. Older models of OLED tech is now retailing for around 2 to 3 thousand dollars, so if you have the extra money and want to see what it’s all about I highly recommend it.

For those of you that can’t afford hands on time with the device you can check out this article on HowStuffWorks.com about OLED technology, or you can check out some of the different models, prices, and features available by clicking here.

That’s it for now guys. I hope you enjoyed this article and yes, I do realize some of this technology has been around longer than this past year, however, not everyone has heard about all of it. I tried to make it so this list contained a little bit of everything for everyone out there.

Do you know some cool piece of technology that you’d like to see discussed here or feel like it deserved a spot on this list? That’s absolutely fine! (And totally awesome with me!) Feel free to tell me about it in the comments section. With the way the technology marketplace is changing every few minutes I’m sure I’ll be doing more blogs like this in the future.

Thanks for reading everyone! And if you enjoyed this piece feel free to share it around on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, or whatever other social media site you’re on. Happy learning!

-       Ryan Sanders

The Inquisitive Reader #1: What the Frick is Fracking?

Anyone who has been paying attention to ecological news in the last decade has heard the term “Fracking.” They’ve heard it praised and they’ve heard it demonized by the media, politicians, CEO’s, and environmentalists. But what is Fracking? The short answer is Hydraulic Fracturing but the long answer is much, much more than that.

No matter what side of the coin you fall on, whether you support it or are strongly against it, there is one factor that neither side can deny; it is a lucrative and profitable industry, and the methods don’t look as though they will disappear anytime soon.

The reason for Hydraulic Fracturing is simple. Natural gas. But how do we extract this natural gas by drilling into the Earth and causing it to crack? Furthermore, how did this gas get there in the first place, and what is it even made of? But perhaps the most burning question of all that’s on the tip of everyone’s tongue is plain and simple.

Is Fracking safe?

Yes and no. It has its upsides but there are clearly pitfalls to it. Here at To Infinity And…In Theory I have no political agenda so I’m not going to cast my vote for or against it. What I am going to do is talk about all of the sciences that coalesce into this controversial and complicated technique of extracting fossil fuels from miles deep within the crust of the Earth.

All Shale To The King, Baby

That picture above isn’t just any old gray rock. It’s a rock called Shale. In a sense this is the very substance the gas companies are after, or rather, the contents contained therein. See Shale is a fairly weak rock and at a molecular level there are lots of little pockets that form inside it. It’s the pockets that everyone’s after.

When organic material dies it decomposes and rejoins the Earth. The Shale forms around this organic material and sinks deeper into the planet. As pressures and temperatures rise the remainder of organic matter is essentially burned off and reduced to a gaseous form. This “Shale gas” is the final prize.

But in order to get this natural gas you can’t just extract it from Shale on the surface. It hasn’t had the time or the right conditions to break down the organic material trapped inside it. If you started fracking surface Shale all you would be succeeding in doing is looking like an idiot and wasting a lot of water. So for the purposes of the gas companies we need to drill.

The drilling process spans about 2 miles in total but it’s not all straight down. In fact after about a mile deep the drill makes a slight turn until the drill path resembles a one mile deep, one mile long “L” shape. It’s not because the drill has difficultly digging down any deeper, it’s because it only works if you do it this way.

As I said before, Shale isn’t very strong. Because of this there are already tiny micro-fractures that run across Shale deposits. Once the core is drilled out in the L shape exposing these fractures, hundreds of thousands (sometimes MILLIONS!) of gallons of water, sand, and various chemicals are thrust into the hole at extremely high pressures. Once it’s full, with nowhere else to go, it begins to seep and worm it’s way into the small cracks along the drill path. Once the Shale breaks the gas is released and pumped into tankers on the surface.

Is It Supposed To Burn Like That?

Hydraulic Fracking is comprised of several parts. First the Shale deposit must be discovered, second the land must be legally obtained for drilling rights, third millions upon millions of dollars must go into specialized equipment in order to ensure environmental and worker safety. After those three conditions are met, the science begins.

As I mentioned above the way the gas is extracted is by splitting the rock using a mix of water, sand, and chemicals. But the word “chemicals” can be a rather scary one to some individuals, especially when it comes to those in areas affected by Fracking.

I know what some of your saying, “shouldn’t sand and high water pressure be enough?” Yes, technically that would accomplish it to a degree, but it wouldn’t be nearly as lucrative as it is now. You need certain chemicals like Hydrochloric acid in order to stimulate the micro-fractures. This is what opens them up into larger cracks that can be broken apart by the pressure.

But using that Hydrochloric acid has a serious drawback. Turns out, acid is corrosive… (Gee, I’m so surprised…) and a corrosion inhibitor must be used to protect the drilling gear and other equipment essential to extraction and safety. For this chemicals like Formic acid and Acetaldehyde are used.

You need biocides to treat the water to prevent damaging byproducts from forming during the drilling process. For that various ammonium chlorides are used. There are a lot of chemicals that go into Fracking, from friction reducers to stabilizers; citric acid is even used to prevent precipitation of metal oxides.

If you want to see a complete list of chemicals used in the process you can by clicking here. Most of them are fairly harmless, some can be deadly in massive quantities, but the vast majority of gas companies in the U.S. stand behind the Environmental codes and regulations laid out for them, however I cannot speak for all.

From Sea To Shining Sea

Depending on where you live you may or may not see Fracking equipment moving into your neighborhood anytime soon. But it might not be so bad if you did. See here in America, if you own the land above the resource, you own the rights. And if you own the rights, you got them by the…well, you get the picture.

See the company has to first purchase the drilling rights to your land from you. After that happens, if the well begins producing, you begin seeing royalty checks. In a BBC documentary titled Fracking: The New Energy Rush a rural farmer from Louisiana becomes an overnight millionaire, receiving monthly checks close to half a million dollars in royalties once the wells began producing.

The map above should give you a pretty good idea based on where you live in the United States whether or not you have a chance at becoming a Shale-ionaire (Sorry, watch the documentary, couldn’t help myself.). It’s important to know that even if you’re in an area rich in Shale, it doesn’t mean they can just start drilling.

You need a lot of open area for the piping, storage, and drilling equipment. If you live in a big city, it doesn’t matter if you own that whole acre parcel of land, gas companies aren’t interested. Sorry to shatter your Beverly Hillbilly fantasies, but I figure it’s better to do it now then to wait for you to run out and rent a backhoe.

Perhaps someday there will be another method of extracting the gas that will allow us city slickers to get in the game, but it doesn’t look like that will be any time soon. Experts estimate that there is more Shale gas in the United States than there is oil in all of Saudi Arabia. Perhaps that’s why operations and explorations are underway in 30 states already, with more supporters jumping aboard every day

But for every supporter there is opposition. And like most scientific advances, there are great benefits to mankind, but there can potentially be catastrophic side effects. Next, let’s talk about some things that can go horribly wrong, what variables can cause these events to occur, and what steps can be taken to prevent these problems from happening again in the future.

Subterranean Politics

As much as I despise politics in any form and have no wish to discuss them in a sacred place of Science, it’s impossible to talk about Fracking without getting into them to a certain extent. The two have practically become synonymous with one another. On one side you have the environmentalists screaming at the politicians to put a stop to this Mother Nature manslaughter. On the other side of the fence are the politicians brimming with cold sweat over energy dependence. No matter how you look at it there’s no clear winner in any of this.

It’s hard to deny that we’re dependent on foreign oil. You also can’t deny that we are a very, very resource hungry country. We’re a developed nation after all with a lot of people, so it’s no wonder our consumption is so high. Fracking could lead to cheaper methods of powering foundries and chemical plants, effectively bringing jobs back that were once phased out to overseas labor. The cost of foreign labor would actually be more expensive than the mined Shale gas to run them here.

Energy independence may be a tantalizing notion, but poking a stick a mile down into our planet and pressurizing it till it explodes may not be so much. The long term effects of Fracking are relatively unknown as this technique of mining really into came into full swing around 2007. One thing is certain though, the Earth’s crust never intended to be drilled into and hyper-pressurized without fighting back at some point. Fracking destabilizes the geological structure in a region; if you do it too much you can sink that area, and trust me, if you’ve ever seen a sinkhole its way less fun than it sounds.

There’s also the problem of underground water supplies. In Pennsylvania it’s been noted by chemical engineer, Robert Jackson, that 115 out 141 shallow well water sites were contaminated with high levels of methane. Not just methane created by microorganisms around and in the well. The levels were far too high. They came from within the Marcellus Shale due to the destabilization of Fracking in the region.

Pipes can break (looking at you BP), casings can rupture, and chemicals and gas can leak out. Most of the chemicals are contained well below the drinking water line so the risk of contamination from them is extremely minimal. However, if a pipe breaks while pumping gas to the surface; it can leak out, contaminating water sources.

New safety measures need to be taken into account in order to ensure this doesn’t happen again in the future. But there’s one thing that reading all this should’ve brought to your attention that’s positive. If there’s all this new work coming into town…

Then by default it has to create jobs.

While some jobs on Fracking sites require specific training and skillsets in order to perform your daily duties, others are as simple as trucking water, sand, and other materials in and out, basic heavy machinery operation, and a general understanding of industrial construction. That may sound imposing, but believe me, there are many out of work contractors out there who have more than a general understanding about an extensive lot of different specialties.

But there are some towns that aren’t happy with this. The sudden economic boom has raised the standard of living in some areas and not everyone has been able to find work with these companies. It’s actually brought an entirely new plethora of social issues along with it raising the public’s questionable and doubtful eyebrows about fracking, and the last question on our list…

Is Fracking worth the risk?

So What The Frack Are You Saying Exactly?

In conclusion I will simply restate what I said at the beginning of this article. I am in no way trying to push any political agenda with this piece so please don’t mistake some of my sarcasm for anything but that (I have been told I’m rather cynical at times.) I will say two things however to close this out and you may take them or leave them.

I agree with the politicians to the extent that we are far too dependent on foreign sources for our energy resources. The biggest doorway we have to reopen is making it cost effective for big companies to have the incentive to move back to our shores and open old factories again. This will be the key in bringing jobs back to America.

I also agree with the environmentalists in that current methods of Fracking aren’t foolproof and some companies choose to take immoral (and often dangerous) roads in order to turn a larger profit. More research needs to go into improving methods and equipment in order to safely extract the gas without disturbing the geological composition of the area to a catastrophic degree.

This hot button issue will continue to cause media fire storms and public outrage in the future, but I hope this article gave you a better understanding of what Fracking really is.

-       Ryan Sanders

Thanks for reading, and as always if you enjoyed this article and found it insightful why not share it around! Knowledge is more fun when it’s socialized! Happy learning everyone and for further reading follow any of the links below.

-       Article about job potential and probable social crisis

-       Scientific American article on groundwater contamination from methane release within Shale

-       Article stating chemicals used in Fracking do not cause groundwater contamination

6 Fairly Fuzzy & Colorful Animals You Likely Never Even Heard Of

From the strange genetic structure of the Duck-Billed Platypus to the deadly carnivorous perfection of the Great White Shark who hasn’t had a need to evolve for eons the world is filled with peculiar little creatures, from the big to the small. We’ve talked about strange animals before (Check out the Spotlight on Extremophiles series from last month. The first entry can be found here.) like the Olm and the cave dwelling sulfur breathing fish. But now let’s talk about some animals that are strange but aren’t going to invade your nightmares for months to come.

        1)          The Peacock Spider

He may look like a grumpy old man spider yelling at kids to get off his lawn but in fact that’s the mating dance of the peacock spider. When this fuzzy looking fella wants to do the horizontal eight legged orchestra with another he shows off his funky dance moves. (Talk about Saturday Night Fever!) But this little guy isn’t just shaking his booty to get some booty; he’s actually dancing for his life!

See when a male approaches a female of this species it is actually prey walking up to a predator. Instead of seeing the male as a potential suitor the female often sees their initial approach as an opportunity for lunch. If his dance is found suitable the next step is…you guessed it, freaky-deaky spider sex.

And freaky it is indeed. The peacock spider’s genitalia doesn’t involve a penis. It actually spins a sperm web and loads it into its mouth appendages after the female lets him close. He has to delicately move past her fangs in order to fertilize her. And he doesn’t brave this treacherous path once, but twice.

The Peacock Spider hails from Australia and considering almost any multicellular organism over 1 nm can kill you, it’s nice to know this 6mm adorable jumping spider packs no venomous punch to humans. To watch him boogie down you can check out the videos at Wired.com

.2)      The Pygmy Jerboa

No it’s not some weird miniature kangaroo/chicken/mouse hybrid but that fuzzy little bugger is about as adorable as what that combination would make. The Jerboa is a desert dwelling rodent found in various areas of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. He can hop about 9 feet high. That’s pretty darn incredible considering this cute little guy only clocks in at two inches long. This is what gives the Pygmy Jerboa the grand title of “World’s Smallest Rodent.”

Like most rodents, the Jerboa doesn’t stand at the top of its food chain. In fact it is the prey of many a desert owls. Because of this it has evolved the energy efficient method of hopping to evade predation and also an incredible sense of hearing. In fact, if you were to take an X-Ray of a Jerboa, pretty much all you would see is a set of teeth attached to a very big pair of ears.

Jerboas are nocturnal and also hibernate throughout the winter. It will maintain two separate burrows. A summer and a winter home. In the winter burrow it hibernates but in the summer burrow is where the young are raised. Its diet consists of plants, beetles, and some insects however it does not consume hard seeds. It’s also important to note that even though he may look like a chipmunk-squirrel evolved to adorable perfection he doesn’t store up food.

To watch a video of the Jerboa raising scientist’s “Oh my Awwwww!” factor to the maximum head on over The Huffington Post.

3)           The Olinguito

I know what you’re saying right now and I agree. That little teddy bear looking guy is the cutest thing on this list so far. This two pound carnivore from the jungles of Ecuador and Colombia has actually been on the radar for about 100 years now but it wasn’t until fairly recently it was given a class all of its own.

The other unique thing about this little furball is that it’s been hiding in plain sight all along! Originally the Olinguito was thought to just be an Olingo but when it wouldn’t breed with the other Olingos it began to baffle scientists. It wasn’t until this past year that they figured it out by using genetic analysis.

Olinguitos are closely related to the Raccoon family and is officially the first carnivorous species discovered in the America’s since 1978. Sure, insects, arachnids, amphibians and other small creatures are discovered all over the world routinely, but a carnivore is a very rare find. The last one discovered was the Colombian Weasel (not nearly as adorable as this guy.)

Being that this is technically a new species not much accurate information is available on him. Hopefully in the coming year’s research will lead to more on how he behaves in the wild, other places he lives, and what he likes to do for fun. For now I’ll just picture him dancing on a colorful ball wearing a fez waving to the crowd. That seems adorably suitable.

4)           The Pampas Cat

If you aren’t spewing rainbows from all the cuteness yet then all you need do is look at the picture above of a female Pampas cat and her kittens. Fairly small when you consider the size of most feral wild cats, these little rascals resemble long haired domesticated cats. But don’t be fooled by their fuzzy appearance and try to pet one should you be hiking through the grasslands and forests of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, or Colombia. They are wild, and they will likely attack you. (Especially around her babies!)

The Pampas Cat warrants further study as it was recently split from another species known as the Colocolo when it was discovered; much like the Olinguito to the Olingos, there was no interbreeding. Its hunting habits are still rather unknown but sources say its diet consists of small rodents and birds at night, but there are also reports of it attacking livestock and poultry near farms.

The Pampas Cat clocks in around 3 feet long with its tail included and despite being adorable and looking like it would fit in in your local studio apartment, it’s an elusive little creature. But just like humans, the look on that female Pampas Cat in the photo above, is clearly a look every mother has worn when they’re infant was screaming in their ear.

Hang in there kitty!

5)           The Angora Rabbit

The Angora Rabbit, unlike every other one on this list so far, has been around for a very, very long time. In fact, it’s one of the oldest domesticated rabbits and about a dozen varieties of the Angora Rabbit exist, four of which are recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders' Association (ARBA); they are English, French, Giant, and Satin. Other breeds include German, Chinese, Swiss, Finnish, Korean, and St. Lucian. How prestigious!

This fuzzy bunny may look like it accidentally got caught in a dryer but it’s actually bred for its long soft wool. It comes from Turkey and didn’t even appear in the United States until the 20^th century. There are also Angora Cats and Goats as well but personally I think the puffy white rabbit pictured above takes the cake for “holy crud that’s cute!” appeal.

As with most rabbits its diet consists of high fiber but this is of utmost importance for this particular species. Since rabbits ingest their fur when they groom themselves (and as you can see we’re talking about a lot of fur here) it’s essential for them to avoid bowel impaction which is life threatening. Along with a high hay diet it’s a good idea to clip their fur at least once every 180 days. It’s also a good idea because Angora wool is a sought after material in the clothing world and depending on the quality, can fetch a good sum.

The above rabbit is an English Angora and he probably won’t be hopping anywhere fast any time soon. To learn more about the different breeds of Angora Rabbits visit the Wiki page here.

And now, last but not least, our final animal is…

6)          The Red-Sided Garter Snake

Regardless of your feelings on snakes and spiders there is no denying the two featured on this list are of a very colorful and attractive variety. And what’s even better than that? Neither of them is venomous! The Red-Sided Garter Snake is native to North America and while its bite is bad news for its froggy prey it’s only mildly irritating to humans.

A fairly good swimmer the Red-Sided Garter snake is active mainly during the day and when threatened will retreat into nearby rivers, ponds, or creeks. Some species of this snake are capable of surviving lower temperatures than most other North American snakes. (This is probably good considering the massive cold snap that just came through freezing America solid!)

Its dinner isn’t limited to just frogs and toads either. The Red-Sided Garter Snake will go after rodents, birds, fish, their eggs and offspring, it doesn’t matter. You could say this lavishly multi-colored guy has a distinguished palate.  It makes its home in grasslands, forests, and farms, usually near some body of water like a stream or pond.

Garter Snakes differ from most other species of snakes slightly in that they actually “Chew” their food before swallowing it. Where other snakes like a Viper, Cobra, or an Asp have large powerful fangs that are easily capable of piercing flesh, muscle, and in some cases even bone, and injecting potent venoms into their victim, the fangs of garter snakes are relatively small and weak. Because of this they compensate by repeatedly biting their prey therefore injecting more of their venom into the animal and aiding in an easier digestion. (For the snake…not the victim obviously…for the prey it’s still bloody terrible I’d assume)

Well I hope you enjoyed this list of 6 animals I find utterly adorable and perhaps I’ll have to do this again in the near future. As always if you enjoyed this feel free to share it around on Facebook and Twitter. To Infinity…And In Theory also has a Facebook page of its own now so head on over and like that too by clicking here! Thanks for reading everyone and happy learning!

-       Ryan Sanders

-       To see adorable animalswith hilarious overdubs check out this episode of BBC’s hit show Walk on the Wild Side.

The Color of Sand...Not as Bland as You Think

Ever been to the beach and got sand in your eye and said, “Darn that smarts!”? Well take a look at the picture above. That’s why. Lots of sharp, jagged, geometric characteristics comprise the miniscule grains of sand we find lying around us every day. Seems kind of incredible since every time we look at it all we see is an amalgamation of khaki color. How could each grain of sand be so unique in shape, size, and be so colorful? On our first day back from my little winter break here at To Infinity…And In Theory we’re going to explore sand. From its formation to its composition, and even a little bit about why it’s so much more important than just that annoying beach dirt that gets stuck in your swim trunks.

Just Sand? Ha! Don’t Be Silica…

So what exactly is sand made of? Well that mostly depends on where your sand came from. Sand is actually tiny fragments of broken down igneous rock that is carried by wind, water, or even glaciers that usually ends up as sediment in bodies of water or as dunes and deserts on land. But typically speaking sand is mostly comprised of silica. You may more commonly know this as it’s mineralized form, quartz.

Coral, Gypsum, Hematite, lava rock, all of these are different particles that can form a grain of sand. When analyzed, this can give geologists insight as to where the sand came from, for instance, if the sample is high in coral content and many of its neighbor particles are rounded marble shapes, it’s safe to assume it was formed in an ocean where the rolling waters wore down the rough edges and smoothed it to a spherical shape.

“Every grain of sand is a jewel waiting to be discovered.” This was so eloquently phrased by doctor (and photographer) Gary Greenberg after he had turned his microscopes to sand. The microscopic seashells and fragments he found within the ocean sediment were absolutely stunning. You can see more of his wonderful photography here.

Get a Room You Dirty Dune

Ever seen a sand dune make love?

Want to?

If that’s the case, not only are you a rather strange individual but you’re also probably pretty patient too, because in order to watch a sand dune mate with another dune you’ll be standing in your respective desert for possibly a year, dependent on the size of your dune. As wind blows against some kind of a backstop and picks up small grains of sand it will blow them into a dune formation. If the conditions are just right the wind can also push that dune across the desert.

But what happens if a smaller dune runs into a bigger dune? Does it just get swallowed up and disappear? Nope. That sandy hill turns into Kitty Pryde from the X-Men and phases right through it! Sometimes the edges of the crescent shape break off the bigger dune forming two smaller dunes. This is the process scientists refer to as breeding and takes a rather long time to accomplish.

And here you thought sloths were slow…

The Sandy (And Itchy) Lap of Luxury

The picture above is the innards of a watch. If you look at number seven on the list it says “Quartz Crystal.” Quartz is made of silica, in fact, its silica in its mineral form. It may not be a precious jewel but scientists have discovered that it is indeed quite useful. Why? In short, much like metal, quartz can conduct electricity, but not just like metal; it prefers to do things a little differently.

The process by which Quartz operates a current is called Piezoelectricity. This is the ability to convert voltage when placed under mechanical stress. It’s not just Quartz; certain ceramics have this property as well. How it works is Quartz maintains a specific frequency standard. Because of this scientists know exactly how it will react under certain situations and be able to use it in a variety of electronics, from computers to TV’s and even your Xbox Ones and PS4s. Furthermore, most quartz nowadays found in our technology is synthetic, allowing scientists to further tweak and groom it to whatever frequency they need it to be.

Another use for Silica is something you may or not be aware of. Take a look out your window. I mean a good, hard, long look. What do you see? A yard? Your kids playing with the dog? Maybe the neighbor digging his truck out from under six tons of snow? There are a million things any given one of you could see at this moment outside your window. But chances are you all have one thing in common. The glass you’re looking through.

Windows are thought to be a modern invention but if this were Jeopardy you’d have just answered that question wrong. Glass windows were discovered in the ruins of Pompeii leading archaeologists to the conclusion that glass was a luxury item, afforded by the rich and divine. If you had glass windows, you were part of the Elite. (Granted back in those days if you had anything above a dirt floor and a thatched roof you could be considered Mr. Fancy Pants.) But where did it come from?

There was a Roman Naturalist named Pliny the Elder who had an answer. The ancient Phoenicians. Ever heard of them? Probably not, they aren’t exactly widely talked about in high school curriculum. They should be however, as they are credited with many important discoveries that we use today, including pottery, trade, and jewelry.

Mostly contributing to the fields of seafaring and navigation, the Phoenicians were quite a clever bunch. They had to be, they spent the entirety of their lives going from unknown to unknown. On one of these trips, allegedly with Pliny along for the ride, they made camp on a beach along the coastlines of modern day Palestine. They quickly encountered a problem. There were no rocks nearby to support their pots as they cooked their dinner.

As I said though, they were a clever bunch and they returned to the ship and gathered up blocks of Saltpeter to use to prop their cookware up. As they ate, drank, and burned their fires through the night something strange was happening beneath the flames. The saltpeter and the quartz were melting into an unknown fluid. As the fires died and morning came the fluid had hardened into a solid. This colorful substance became known as glass.

In closing, sand is much more than just a beach-goers crotch nuisance. It provides us with plates to eat from, windows to keep the cold out, watches to make sure we get to work on time, and radios to blast Pantera at ungodly hours. It can be used to filter our water, provide traction on icy roads, and give us the extra grit to finish the body of that walnut and maple guitar we’ve been building. Sand is much more useful than you probably came into this article knowing.

Sand is much more than just a pretty grain.

-       Ryan Sanders

For further reading on any of the topics above feel free to visit any of the below listed websites, and as always thank you so much for reading! Happy learning everyone!

-       LiveSciencearticle on how quartz operates in electronics

-       More info onPhoenicians and their discoveries

-       Discoveryarticle on sand composition

-       Wiki entry onPiezoelectricity