Easy filling sports bottle.

Water bottles and sports bottles have been notoriously hard to fill. At least if you have been trying to re-fill them in narrow wash basins in gyms and sports halls. There is simply not enough room to hold the bottles upright under the tap to fill them. One person who saw this problem too, but unlike the rest of us did something about it, is Anna Axelsson, who designed a sports bottle with an extra nozzle that could fit under wash basin taps. With her Binibottle she won a gold medal in the Finnupp inventor’s contest, only 15 years old. The bottle, that takes one liter (about 34 fl. oz.) is available in (Swedish) sport equipment stores and it is SEK 30:- (about USD 4:60).brbr

Samsung Armani phone has rape alarm.

The new Samsung Armani cellphone comes with a built-in rape alarm. All one has to do, apparently, is pre-program the number of one’s five closest relatives and trusted friends under a special contact group, and whenever one feels threatened, just press the volume button four times to set off the safety feature. The phone will then send an SOS text messages to those numbers. The integrated GPS tracking system will also activate so that one can be easily tracked down. We think this is a great idea, so we will join Gadget Guild in demanding that this feature be made a standard on all new cellphones.brbr

Rosendahl lemon juicer.

We have a hard time resisting a new take on citrus juicers. This time it is well known Danish designers Claus Jensen and Henrik Holbaek who have come up with the lemon twist citrus screw. The idea is simple, and usage uncomplicated; just screw the steel twist into the lemon, squeeze a bit, and watch the juice emerge from the end. It is USD 39:95 at Nova 68, which is quite a bit more than every other citrus juicer we have ever mentioned, but after all it is Rosendahl… brbr

Built-in, folding urinal for the home bathroom.

From yesterday’s water purifier and citrus juicer there is only a small step to today’s folding urinal. One thing leads to another, as they say. Home urinals may be the next big thing in bathrooms, but we suspect the ladies may have a tendency to slow the process down. We mean, how great is it to use the bathroom with a urinal in nose height right next to you? Well, this particular urinal may make the whole family think again. First of all it helps, like all urinals, the males in the house avoid making those nasty yellow spots on the rim of the toilet, which the ladies surely will appreciate. Secondly, it folds into a recess in the wall after use which makes it almost invisible, or at least hardly noticeable when it is not in use. Thirdly, the flushing of the folding urinal is only supposed to use 10 ounces of water, which is a lot less than the toilet uses. The only drawback may be that the whole thing is made of plastic, which, at least to us, seems less hygienic than porcelain. If your are interested in this kind of home improvement, it is USD 295:- at Mister Miser.brbr

New water purifying straw.

Drinking water straight from the tap may be OK in Sweden, but it could definitely get you into big trouble in many other places. Buying bottled water may be easy in many places, but there are surely a lot of places in this world where that is not yet an option. So, what do you do? Use water purifying tablets? Sure, but the taste… Perhaps a better idea is getting a water purifier like the iStraw, here. There are several different products available that does more or less the same thing (see the list of links below). The iStraw is a lightweight polycarbonate straw that boasts its own internal filtration system. Most contaminants found in water are removed thanks to the micro-filtration process employed by the iStraw, and would be an essential item to bring along on your the next camping trip. The iStraw is capable of filtering up to 500 liters (132 US Gallons) of water before a replacement is needed. It retails for GBP 20:- (about USD 40:-).brbr

Shop Early for 2008 Calendars!

Etsy_calendars_2

As you know, I am a bit of a calendar freak. I love unique, graphic calendars that pretty up mundane spaces. Last year I missed out on the  limited edition desk calendar from Mav at Port2Port Press, so I thought I better start shopping early if I wanted to score one. While on the prowl I found some other lovely options available at Etsy.

1. 2008 Desk Calendar Ilee’s beautiful graphics come to life with letterpress, silkscreen and had painted accents.
2. Places I Have Been / 2008 Wall Calendar Abstract celebrations of the world’s greatest cities by JHill Design
3. Letterpress Calendar Sherwood Press’ folded calendar can be hung on the wall or carried with you like a day planner.
4. 2008 Desk Calendar Cecily Ink’s great color combos will brighten up your year.

If you also missed Port2Port’s letterpress calendar, Mav will have 2008 Calendar’s for sale in her Etsy shop, along with Holiday Cards, on November 15th.