Tag Archives: sponge

Homer Simpson Disappearing Into Bush Kitchen Sponge Holder

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As far as sponge holders go, this is a great one.  3D-printed and sold by Etsy shop Tecnopla, this green kitchen sponge holder makes Homer Simpson appear to be disappearing into a bush, just like in the now meme-ified scene from The Simpsons Season 5 Episode 16 ‘Homer Loves Flanders’. Now all you need is a holder for your glass washing brush that makes the blue bristles appear to be Marge’s hair, and your kitchen sink will finally have the Simpsons theme you never knew you needed, but now can’t possibly live without.

The Simpsons Sponge holder (say that ten times fast) costs $12.15 and measures approximately 3.75″ x 2.75″ x 2″. It was designed for holding a thick scouring sponge like the one seen in the photo above. It is NOT designed for holding a shower scrunchie in the shower, but that’s not going to stop me from doing it anyway or my wife from asking what the hell Homer is doing in the shower hiding in a bush.

[via BoingBoing]

‘Oleo Sponge’ may be the key to cleaning up after oil spills

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Cleaning up after an oil spill isn't an easy job. Just ask Exxon Mobil, or, for a more recent example, BP. Current clean-up methods include skimming it of a body off water's surface or burning it. Neither are ideal for a few reasons, but beyond impac...

Spongeworthy: This Sponge Holder Looks Like a Tiny Bed

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We’re always looking for ways to make ugly household stuff look appealing. Household sponges are pretty unattractive. They don’t go with your decor. They just sit there waiting for the next dish to wash, and eventually start to get nasty over time. Well, Clean Dreams is a sponge holder that looks like a bed, in an attempt to make your kitchen counter cuter.

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It’s a little plastic bed with integrated pillows and a lattice bottom so that your sponge can catch some much needed zzzzzzs. It will also help your sponge to dry, which means less bacteria.

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Cute or crazy? You make the call. It was created by Tel Aviv design firm Wishlist, and is available for pre-order from Ototo Design if you’re okay with a sponge crashing in your kitchen, and not paying you rent.

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[via Bored Panda via Geekologie]

Injectable ‘smart sponge’ controls diabetes, presents new targeted drug delivery method

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DNP Targeted drug delivery via sponge

Diabetics might appreciate high-tech glucose sensors when they're available, but the option for other advanced treatments is certainly intriguing. Take, for example, this new method developed by North Carolina State University researchers that uses injectable sponge to control blood sugar levels. No, it's not the same sponge you use to clean at home -- the material is made out of a substance taken from crab and shrimp shells called chitosan. This spongy material forms a matrix that's approximately 250 micrometers in diameter, where a rise in blood sugar causes a reaction in the pores that leads to the drug's release.

Fighting diabetes is but one of the things this miraculous sponge can be used for; developed further, it could even "intelligently" release anticancer drugs whenever the chitosan reacts to tumors or cancer cells in close proximity. Seems like medical technology is getting smarter with each passing day.

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Source: North Carolina State University

Scientists find that graphene can be used to build lasers

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Scientists find that graphene can be used to build lasers

You already know that graphene can be used to make transistors, solar cells and even Sennheiser-quality cans. But if you think that's about as cool as the carbon material can get, listen to this: It can also be used to make ultrashort-pulse lasers. According to scientists from a smattering of institutions, the atomic-scale chickenwire material has the ability to absorb light effectively -- much like a sponge -- over a broad range of wavelengths. It can then release the light it absorbs in quick bursts that last a few femtoseconds each (with one femtosecond lasting one millionth of one billionth of a second), which is what ultrashort-pulse lasers do. With graphene as a component instead of traditional materials, scientists could develop a laser as small as a pencil that's immune to thermal damage typically caused by intense beams. The finished product, if ever someone actually concocts one, could be applied across a variety of fields -- everything from pollution monitoring to medicine. For those unafraid of technobabble, there's plenty more in the source link.

[Image credit: Michaelpkk, Wikimedia]

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Source: Nature

Alt-week 8.18.12: Graphene sponges, zero-g athletics and tweets in space

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Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Alt-week 8.18.12: Graphene sponges, zero-g athletics and tweets in space

We see a lot of crazy stories here at Engadget, especially when we spend our week poking around in dark and scary corners of the internet specifically in search of them, just so you don't have to. We consider it a service almost. One that we're delighted to provide, we must add. When else would we be able to share such delights as an astronaut triathlete, soft, color-changing robots and a recent response to a thirty-year-old alien broadcast? Exactly. This is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 8.18.12: Graphene sponges, zero-g athletics and tweets in space

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Alt-week 8.18.12: Graphene sponges, zero-g athletics and tweets in space originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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