#2469: PressupPacer

I have a problem counting whilst doing anything else. In particular, when attempting a number of press-ups, I tend to lose count (…3 is a number 😉

Today’s invention is an app which allows an exerciser to place their phone/tablet on the gym floor below their head.

As their nose touches the screen, the counter increments by one (but only if the frequency of press-ups is neither too low (resting in between) or too high (relying on momentum, rather than muscle strength).

An added bonus is that you can record amusing images of your face approaching and receding from the screen. Over time, the gasping, reddening and sweating should lessen -providing evidence of improving fitness, in theory.

#2468: ToothTunes

OK, I seems to be developing a dentist obsession. I have spent a lot of time in my local tooth emporium being force-fed Radio 2. It is god-awful, chatty pap. Certainly not anything that would relax me pre-surgery.

Today’s invention is simply a way for everyone to enjoy their treatment a little more.

When I make an appointment, the system currently emails or texts me a reminder. In future, I could reply to confirm and provide login details to my Spotify account, even specifying a playlist, if I fancied that.

On I walking into the treatment room, a dental nurse accesses my records (stored online) and with them my music, which plays automatically.

#2467: BookWarm

Now that we have the internet, today’s invention is a way to use books for more than mere information.

Imagine a room with several bookcases against the outside walls. Given the cost of heating and the implication for environmental ecopocalypse, books would be printed on insulative paper which also has holes cut randomly into the margins of every page (shown in red).

These would hold pockets of stationary air and provide the room with greatly increased thermal insulation.

#2466: TextileTest

Manufacturers spend huge amounts of time and money testing materials for durability.

Today’s invention provides a benefit to customers, whilst getting them to undertake some free crowd-testing activity.

Imagine an office chair designed to accept standardised fabric inserts. Inserts would be supplied in large numbers of different types to the company buying the chairs. This gives people the chance to choose something about their working environment and it also prolongs the life of office furniture -which often gets dumped once it starts to get shabby in only a few areas.

The chair manufacturer would be able to note people’s choices of colour and fabric and also monitor how long each lasted.

These inserts could even be made from eg clothing fabric or materials destined for car seats.

#2465: FogFlicker

When you are driving in dark, foggy conditions, conventional foglamps don’t seem to help much.

Today’s invention is a new operating regime for car lights in heavy fog or dark, misty conditions.

Using your high beams only lights up the roadsigns too brightly, as well as the mist itself and this can be quite disorientating. Just using the sidelights allows you to see further ahead in fog, but the roadsigns and markings are then less visible.

I’ve noticed that simply flicking between full beam and side lights, at a frequency of about 2Hz, illuminates both the road ahead and the roadsigns really effectively.

Cars would be equipped with a ‘dark+fog’ lighting regime in which this flicking would be performed automatically. It might be effective to have this frequency increase with vehicle speed (although keeping well below flicker fusion frequency.

#2464: Horrifilter

Medics and other health professionals take a lot of time gradually building up their own resistance to the sight of blood, decay and other dramatic bodily processes.

Dentists in particular sometimes need to show their patients the insides of their mouths, however. So keen are they to point out the finer points of dental surgery that they sometimes forget this disgusts patients -and may even scare them.

Seeing a super-sized, full-colour image of a mouth, even my own mouth, is something that fills me with enough horror that I usually forget to listen to the message about improved flossing technique, or whatever.

Today’s invention is a way to detune emotional response to such images. Automatic processing of the video image would be done in real time so that the pictures shown to patients would be just a sequence of normal-size diagrams. This would be achieved by using time lapse, conversion to greyscale and edge detection filters (as shown)… so that the impact of the usual sloppy, textured, bloody mess would be neutralised.

#2463: AccommoDash

Today’s invention is intended to help people who have trouble adjusting their focus from the road ahead to the details of their dashboard.

It might also benefit from some extra illumination in the form of a directable, soft focus pen light.

#2462: ScreenSwap

Windscreens are vulnerable to flying rocks. When a bad break occurs, it’s not safe to drive with restricted vision, so you may choose to punch out the remaining glass.

Nobody likes having lumps of safety glass blowing into their face though, so it usually means a two-hour wait by the roadside, until the Expensive-Screens-R-Us van appears.

Today’s invention is a sunroof window which can be popped out and used instead of a holed windscreen.

This would be made bigger than the windscreen itself, so that it could be quickly clamped in place over the windscreen aperture and enable a quick, safe ride home (or to your friendly local garage).

For people who live in rainy countries, there might be a two-layer sunroof option. One could be extracted to replace the windscreen, whilst the other keeps your head dry.

#2461: Bonuspice

Vending machines are the ultimate self-checkout system (I generally hate self-checkouts, but vending machines don’t yell at you). It’s always nice to get a free gift and doubly so when you are forced to act as your own check-out person at the supermarket.

Today’s invention is a self-checkout incorporating a small vending machine which communicates with the till itself. This could be loaded with packets of eg spices (or other sauces and condiments).

When you happen to have bought ingredients which could be used to make a particular meal, the machine automatically gives you a free recipe and a packet of appropriate spice.

#2460: GravelGliders

I bought one of these chassis washers to help protect my car from the salt which my local council throws around liberally, most of the year.

It works well, although Karcher have now suddenly withdrawn the accompanying underbody wax fluid from sale (maybe it was toxic/flammable??). I’ve explained how little that impressed me.

I was also unimpressed that they showed no interest in licensing today’s invention. The chassis washer is great on neatly laid German flagstones, but on anything less flat, like gravel, its tiny wheels just bog down and become a plough.

So…skids. These would press into the washer, in place of the existing removable wheels. It’s clearly not rocket science, but makes the original product a lot more versatile at a small extra cost.