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Smart News / Smart News Ideas & Innovations

Cool Finds

Mount Everest Climbers Are Now Required to Haul Nearly 20 Pounds of Garbage Off the Mountain

The new rule is meant to help tackle the estimated 50 tons of garbage currently sitting on the mountain

New Research

Female Computer Scientists Make the Same Salary as Their Male Counterparts

Only 20 percent of programmers are women, though

Trending Today

Outside the Americas, Knives Are Often the Weapon of Choice in Homicides

More than 130 people in Kunming, China, were injured when about ten men and women wielding knives began stabbing others at random

Cool Finds

Eight Million Tons of Illegal E-Waste Is Smuggled Into China Each Year

Despite the health and environmental issues, a thriving black market makes China the world’s biggest e-waste importer

Cool Finds

Forget Driverless Cars, These People Want to Make Driverless Cargo Ships

While drone ships aren’t around the corner, they’re probably coming soon enough to keep ship workers up at night

Trending Today

A Drug Company Tried to Block the Use of Pentobarbital in Executions, But U.S. States Are Finding Ways Around the Ban

In 2011, the Danish company behind the drug, Lunbeck, banned the sale of pentobarbital for execution purposes.

Traditional Space Saver in Boston

Cool Finds

Cities Across the Country Say: End Savesies on Snow Days

Car owners save shoveled parking spaces with weird household items, and officials say it’s got to stop

Cool Finds

Reusing Hotel Towels Actually Does Make a Difference

Laundry accounts for 16 percent of hotels’ water usage, which translates into significant energy costs

Trending Today

The EU And Brazil Are Planning to Sidestep the NSA With a $185 Million Cross-Atlantic Cable

The EU and Brazil are partnering to lay new fiber-optic cables across the Atlantic

None

Cool Finds

This Incredible, Folding Design Could Change How Doors Work

It’s about time the door industry got a little more exciting

Cool Finds

This Baby-Making App Is Taking on the Task of Insuring Against Infertility

Those who do not conceive after 10 months receive funds for infertility tests from either a public pool they contributed to or from their employer

Trending Today

Tech Companies Are Trying to Make NSA-Proof Encrypted Phones And Apps

From encryption apps to encrypted phones, telecommunications companies are pushing back

Cool Finds

Naples’ Dog DNA Database Tracks Owners Who Don’t Clean Up After Their Pets

U.S. condo building picked up this idea, and now Naples is spreading it across a city

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New Research

Computer-on-a-Ring Reads Text Out Loud

MIT’s prototype FingerReader reads text aloud

Om nom nom.

Cool Finds

Smart Business Plan: Selling Girl Scout Cookies by Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Somebody should get a “smart businesswoman” badge

New Research

Prison Education Systems Can Keep People From Being Incarcerated Again

But education budgets in prisons were slashed during the economic recession

A green light on the back of the Armatrix iP1 shows the gun is armed. When disarmed, the light is red.

Cool Finds

Will Smart Guns Actually Save Lives?

Smart guns, like the Armatrix iP1, will only fire for their owner

Cool Finds

China’s Growing Number of “Baby Hatches” Allow Parents to Anonymously Give Away Their Children

China will install at least two baby hatch facilities in each of the country’s provinces

Cool Finds

Caffeine Kick Not Doing It For You? Try a Mild Electric Shock—The Pentagon Is

Direct jolts of electricity to the brain give a burst of alertness

Can you see me now?

Cool Finds

To Avoid Deer Strikes, Finland Is Painting Deer Antlers With Reflective Paint

Attempts to keep motorists from hitting animals usually center around making cars and roads safer, but the Finns are heading straight to the source

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