The Th!nk electric car enters production.

Almost exactly one year ago we posted on the little G-wiz electric car, we’d found on London’s streets. Now we’ve discovered that the Norwegian electric car project, Th!nk, is about to enter into production of its City model. The company hopes to produce 1,200 cars in its Aurskog, Norway, plant this year. Meanwhile Th!nk apparently has secured financial backing from US partners and are planning to set up a plant in California, too. It has been a bumpy road for Th!nk since the first prototype was introduced in 1991. The TH!NK City model (in its fifth incarnation above) first entered production in 1999, when the Ford Motor Company was a major shareholder and sunk some USD 150 million into the operation. Ford pulled out after four years, and the company was more or less put to pasture. Norwegian investors, however, supplied fresh funds in 2006, and now they are ready to start production again. If the Th!nk lives up to its promises it could be a serious competitor to the Smart city car, a model still using the traditional internal combustion engine. The Th!nk company also has more prototypes in the wings, among them a convertible (Open) and a four-door version (Ox).brbr

Bicycle with electric motor assist.

It’s not exactly cheap, but it could be a steal anyway. The Electric Motion Systems’ E+ electrically assisted bicycle could prove to provide a major improvement in your health, the health of the planet and, of course, the health of your finances. After the initial investment you could improve your health by biking to work instead of driving, you would use much less gas, and subsequently spend less money. The E+’s electric motor is situated in the rear hub and the battery in the front. This could make the bike a little front heavy, but we’ll reserve any opinions on its handling until we’ve had a chance to test drive it. Other things are more obviously smart, like the regenerative braking, which enables the battery to get charged each time the rider brakes, and the the handlebar-mounted LCD display which shows speed, distance traversed, battery level and whether or not cruise control is enabled. It is a hefty USD 3,495:-, but considering the price of gas lately…brbr

Cane flipper.

Upright a cane using just one foot. Just apply pressure on the tip to raise the cane to its upright position. The rubber tip can also serve as a cane stand when you’re not using it. Fits most canes. USD 12:95.brbr

Folding balcony.

Lots of people who own condos in old buildings in Sweden are looking to add balconies. Balconies are rare in buildings from the turn of the century (the one before last) and it seems everybody wants one. Now the planning authorities never allow balconies to be built facing the street, but it’s okay to put them in back in most cases. If you’re looking to add a balcony, here’s a novel take that can make you reconsider the traditional box. It’s been dubbed the BloomFrame and it transforms a standard window frame into a balcony. It can be installed in both new buildings as well as retrofitted to older buildings. The idea comes from Hofman Dujardin Architects.brbr

Pill bottle magnifier.

What can we say? There’s almost nothing as important as being able to read the text on a medicine bottle. This clip-on 2x magnifier fits most prescription bottles. Just clip magnifier to bottle swing lens outward to magnify text. Folds inward for compact storage. USD 7:95.brbr

Hanger for five pair of pants.

We were actually looking for something entirely different, when we happened to stumble on this five pants hanger on Ikea. We’ve never seen it before. Now, someone might mail us and tell us it’s been in the store for years, but it’s the joy of discovery that counts. And that it looks very clever. USD 3:99 at Ikea.brbr

Stackable thermo glasses.

We’ve covered thermo glasses and other thermo insulated kitchen stuff before, but this is as far as we know the first time someone has made the glasses stackable. They keep drinks hot or cold, and does not occupy the entire cupboard. Now, they’re not as pretty as some of the other glasses we’ve shown you, and they don’t have a cool brand name. But if you’re only shopping for function, our guess is these glasses will do just fine at a fourth of the price (at least compared to the ones we found at MoMa recently). Glasses are dishwasher, freezer and microwave safe. Available in two sizes; 8 oz. and 11 oz. The small ones are USD 16:95 and the big ones are USD 21:95.brbr

Israel to install AA missile defense on airliners.

According to reports, Israel will be outfitting its airliners with defense systems designed to thwart missile attacks. The defense will probably be a system with flares, designed to distract an incoming missile’s heat-seeking mechanism. It will be installed first on planes flying to destinations considered dangerous, i.e Africa and parts of Asia. The need for a missile defense system was recognized in 2002, when an Israeli passenger jet was targeted after takeoff by Islamic militants using shoulder-fired missiles outside Mombasa, Kenya. The rockets missed, but spurred Israel to find a way to protect its airliners with a defense similar to that already used by its air force. (The picture does not show an Israeli airliner, anyone reasonably familiar with aircraft can see that, we just wanted to show you what firing a massive bunch of protective flares looks like.) Then imagine this over airports all over the world…brbr

The world’s 50 best restaurants according to S.Pellegrino.

Mineral water firm S.Pellegrino, together with a bunch of others, have come out with a list of the world’s fifty best restaurants. The list is an orgy in food pr0n for the culinary crowd, us included. And, to our delight, we discover that there’s a Swedish among the fifty; the Oaxen Skärgårdskrog, a really nice place indeed. What we don’t understand, however, is why the two in our opinion best Swedish restaurants; Edsbacka Krog (two Michelin stars) and Mathias Dahlgren, are not on the list… Anyway, according to S.Pellegrino, the best restaurant in Europe (and the World) is Spanish El Bulli (chef-patron Ferran Adrià in the middle of the top row). The second and third best restaurants are British The Fat Duck and French Pierre Gagnaire respectively. Want to see more of the world’s best eating places? See our list of the fifty complete with links after the jump.brbr

Walking-stick headlights.

This is something we never thought we’d see. But. Here it is. A headlight for your walking-stick. Just switch on and head out into the night. The LED light can be rotated 360° and the clasp should fit most canes. The light can even be set to flash, which might be would be a good thing if grandpa should happen to stray into the street. The cane light is USD 12:95.brbr