15 Photos That Prove Japan Is Living in the Future

I haven’t had the opportunity to travel to Japan, but it is definitely at the top of my travel list. Why, you ask?

Well, all you really need to do is look at these photos. Not only are the people incredibly gracious, the food is great, and there are amazing sights to see, but the Japanese are really ahead of the curve as far as integrating technology into the day-to-day.

And these photos prove it. Take a look and start dreaming about your next overseas trip…

1. A robot restaurant!

2. That looks like a great dining experience.

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Just came to get sushi in Japan ?

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3. Coming right up!

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If all food was served like this… ??

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4. Or delivered by train.

5. Heated toilet seats.

6. Photobooths are on point.

7. Look at that vending machine.

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이건 뭐.. 거의 누들로드?: Afuri 라면편

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8. Tiny sleeping capsules.

9. Sparkling subway.

10. That’s gas station food in Japan.

11. Really nice desserts.

12. Food on the train is darn good, too.

13. That’s what you can get at a baseball game.

14. Fish for your dinner!

15. Museum design is fantastic.

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Borderless between art and science

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What year is it again? See what I’m talking about?

Like I said, way ahead of the curve…

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A Teenage Girl Invented a Simple and Innovative Way to Get Rid of Your Car’s Blind Spots

The creative spirit and innovation of young people is so refreshing! Sometimes, they have the best ideas because they’re thinking forward while a lot of us older folks are set in our ways. In other words, when a young person has an idea about something, listen up, because it might turn out to be a game-changer.

That’s what happened with a 14-year-old named Alaina Gassler, who came up with a project called “Improving Automobile Safety by Removing Blind Spots” for the Broadcom MASTERS competition, which features science and engineering projects from middle schoolers.

Gassler built the system with a webcam, a projector, and other 3D-printed materials, and together it all works to fill in the space that a car’s frame blocks from drivers’ view.

Gassler hails from West Grove, Pennsylvania, and she took first place in the competition and won the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize. Her invention works like this: she mounted a webcam outside the passenger side of the car, which steams a live video onto the inside pillar of the passenger side from a projector attached to the sunroof above the driver’s seat.

Gassler also resurfaced the interior frame with a retro reflective fabric to make the projection clear. She said the material “only reflects light back to the light source, which is the projector in this case. Since the driver’s eyes are next to the projector, the driver can see a crisp, clear image, and the passengers only see a black piece of fabric.”

Take a look at the video below to see it in action.

This is quite impressive, I must say. Great work, Ms. Gassler, and we’ll be looking for more work from you in the future.

These kids today, I’ll tell ya…

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15 Cleverly Converted Buildings

I love seeing repurposed buildings and structures. I used to live down the street from a Walgreens (#8 on this list) that was previously a bank, and they kept some very cool touches from the original structure.

Take a look at these clever conversions. I think you’ll be impressed.

1. A little different now…

My college used to be a shopping mall from mildlyinteresting

2. That is very cool.

My apartment building used to be a school. from mildlyinteresting

3. Pump iron where the tellers used to work.

This gym that used to be a bank from mildlyinteresting

4. I’d love to live in a place like that.

My house used to be a police station and my bathroom is an old jail cell, the original window is still in place from mildlyinteresting

5. Feel the history come alive.

Supermarket in Venice used to be a theatre from mildlyinteresting

6. Love the floors.

This thrift store used to be a bowling alley. from mildlyinteresting

7. Leave the bucket up!

This Jamba used used to be a KFC so they painted over the bucket from mildlyinteresting

8. Walked by here many times.

This Walgreens in Chicago used to be a bank, and now it has a vitamin vault from mildlyinteresting

9. Have a seat inside the vault.

The Subway I went to today used to be a bank. Instead of removing the vault they just added more seating inside from mildlyinteresting

10. Spooooooooky, isn’t it?

My apartment used to be a prison from mildlyinteresting

11. This is amazing!

This grocery store used to be a hockey stadium from mildlyinteresting

12. Just go ahead and repurpose that.

Local Mexican restaurant used to be a Chinese restaurant. Instead of painting over a mural, they just put sombreros on the pandas. from mildlyinteresting

13. Love that marquee.

This gym used to be a movie theater from mildlyinteresting

14. Another great awning.

This Walgreens built on an old movie theatre from mildlyinteresting

15. Drive on through!

My local Dunkin’ Donuts used to be a car wash so the drive thru is inside the building. from mildlyinteresting

Do you have any cool converted buildings in your town?

Tell us about them and share some photos in the comments, please!

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10 Random Facts About All Sorts of Stuff for You to Ponder

We’re serving up some good facts for you here today!

So sit back, relax, and let’s learn about a bunch of different subjects together.

Start now!

1. Do you know anyone who might need this?

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2. That makes sense…

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3. Placebo sleep.

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4. I’ve always wondered about that…

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5. This can’t be real!

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6. You’re not alone, fruit flies…

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7. Two kinds of nostalgia.

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8. I love this!

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9. I did not know that!

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10. Please don’t tell me this.

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Nothing like a good fact set. NOTHING.

Please feel free to share with your family and friends…it might do them some good.

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10 Simple Ways You Can Help out the Environment

There are always little things you can do to help out the environment. Even if they seem inconsequential to you, taking small steps adds up – especially when countless other people are out there doing the same thing.

So try to implement these habits into your daily lives, and we’ll all be better for it in the long run.

Cause we’ve got a crisis on our hands, and every little bit helps.

1. Turn down the brightness on your monitor.

Desk Upgrade

You can save up to 20% of your monitor’s energy just by adjusting your brightness from 100% to 70%. Go on and do it now…I’ll wait.

2. Think about your music streaming.

Headphones

A study says that today’s music streaming might produce up to double the greenhouse gas emissions as compared to music streaming in the early part of this century. Consider downloading music instead of streaming and do a little research about which streaming companies use cleaner energy.

3. Streaming devices are important, too.

RCS_7989 - IPad - Game Changer

A gaming console might use 30 to 45 times as much power to stream a movie than a regular media player.

4. Order more.

Package

If you buy things online, order more than one item at a time. This cuts down on delivery and packaging in the long run.

5. Search engines matter.

Search engine optimization

Different search engines give back to the environment in different ways. For instance, Ecosia donates ad revenue to plant trees and, according to their website, they run net carbon negative. Do some research and see which ones are doing green work.

6. Unplug it.

Apple...Unplugged

When you’re not using your charger, unplug it. Simple as that. Phone and laptop chargers draw electricity even if you’re not actively charging a device, so give those breakers…a break.

7. Or use a surge protector.

Surge protector

Surge protectors with an On/Off switch are a good option too for those hard-to-reach plugs.

8. Get on that bike.

Kamilah on a Bike

Biking may actually be faster than driving a car in some American cities, so hop on that bicycle of yours to get to where you’re headed.

9. Spam is bad.

email-spam

Roughly 62 TRILLION spam emails are sent each year. Something you may not think about often: sending email actually has a carbon footprint from servers working. Which means those spam emails equal about 20 tons of CO2 each year. So go ahead and hit the “Unsubscribe” button, please.

10. Buy used and vintage clothes.

Thrift Store

According to The Economist, “From the pesticides poured on cotton fields to the washes in which denim is dunked, making 1kg of fabric generates 23kg of greenhouse gases on average.” Seems like kind of a waste, doesn’t it? So consider heading to the thrift store instead of grabbing a new flannel.

 

Give us some of your tips as well in the comments!

We’re in this together, so let’s all do our part, okay?

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Google Maps Is Adding Alerts for Speed Traps and Other Road Incidents

Are you one of the drivers out there who sticks to Waze for navigation purposes because it lets you know other useful info, such as where police cars are hiding in wait to give you a speeding ticket? Well, you can soon switch to Google Maps and enjoy the same perks.

Google Maps is finally adding this feature to its own navigation system. Users will be able to report speed traps, crashes, road closures, construction, slowdowns, disabled vehicles and objects on the road. Some of those updates are already available on Android devices, but they’re now being rolled out globally to Apple users as well.

Photo Credit: iStock

“This feature has been one of our most popular on Android, and we’re excited to expand it to iOS,” Google Product Manager Sandra Tseng wrote in a recent blog post.

“Google Maps has always helped people get from point A to B in the easiest way possible. Today, we’re adding more tools that reflect real-time contributions from the community so you can stay even more informed when you’re behind the wheel.”

Photo Credit: Google

Submitting a report through Google Maps is simple and streamlined. You simply tap on the + sign and then click “Add a report.”

Unlike on Waze, there’s no option to add comments or photos to your report, so there’s less detail available — but also less clutter.

This is exactly the sort of thing I like in an update. It’s easy, it’s useful, and it makes me actually want to bother to go through with downloading new software.

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Standard QWERTY keyboards are used in China…

Standard QWERTY keyboards are used in China. Chinese users are familiar with the sounds that Latin letters make, and they type in the way their characters sound when spoken out loud. Software then translates the sound they typed into a Chinese character.

10 Interesting Facts to Help You Get Through This Loooooong Week

Will this week ever end.

It feels like it’s taking FOREVER.

But, wait! I have a good idea about how to fix this.

Facts! Great facts that will challenge your brain and soothe your soul.

Let’s get started!

1. It’s mostly water weight.

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2. Rejection leads to later problems.

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3. That’s totally disgusting! Yay humans!

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4. Oh, it’s real…

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5. Typical male behavior.

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6. Are you good at this?

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7. This is amazing.

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8. Be on the lookout…

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9. A symbol of grace and poise.

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10. Wow…that’s really something…

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That’s a little better, right?

Now let’s power through the rest of this damn work week together!

The post 10 Interesting Facts to Help You Get Through This Loooooong Week appeared first on UberFacts.

Take a Look at This Giant Ocean Cleaning Device That Removes Plastic Waste from the Water

There is a giant swath of floating garbage (we’re talking twice the size of Texas) in the Pacific called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Thousands of tons of plastic debris is brought together by swirling ocean currents and kept in place by those same forces.

Aside: Is this where Garbage Pail Kids are born? We need to investigate.

Plastic and other trash, like discarded fishing nets, pose large and often deadly issues for marine life, a sad fact that has convinced scientists and conservationists that we need to fix the problem.

Now, there may be an answer.

The Guardian reports that the non-profit Ocean Cleanup has engineered a giant, floating device that can remove plastics safely from the water. They’ve been working on the device for seven years, but only recently put it into action with positive results.

The cleaner captures trash with a large folding arm, everything from large cartons, crates, and other fishing gear, to tiny microplastics as small as a millimeter wide. Its U-shaped barrier drops a net below the surface and, as the current moves, traps pieces of trash moving along at a good clip.

Fish, if you’re worried, are able to swim beneath it.

Ocean Cleanup founder and CEO Boyan Slat confirmed at a press conference that the invention is “catching plastics,” and tweeted out a picture of all of the collected debris.

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Das System @theoceancleanup macht sich die natürlichen Ozeanströme zu nutzen um Müll zu sammeln und zu konzentrieren. Es besteht aus langen, luftgefüllten Schläuchen aus Gummi, die an der Wasseroberfläche schwimmen und Plastikmüll auffangen. So kann der angesammelte Abfall abgetragen und entsorgt werden. ♻ Seit 2016 wird das System immer wieder in unterschiedlichen Meeren getestet. Zunächst in der Nordsee und seit 2017 auch vor der kalifornischen Küste. Die gesammelten Informationen und Erfahrungen halfen The Ocean Cleanup weiterzuentwickeln und zu verbessern. 2018 startete endlich das große Sammelsystem, welches 2019 erneut verbessert wurde und nun erfolgreich Plastikmüll sammelt! Sollten die Ergebnisse weiterhin positiv bleiben wird das System an weiteren Orten der Welt eingesetzt. Übrigens ist das System für Fische ungefährlich, da diese einfach darunter hindurch schwimmen können. ? Folge uns für aktuelle Infos und Trends zur Plastikvermeidung ✅ Quelle: https://theoceancleanup.com ? #theoceancleanup #oceancleanup #oceancleanupproject #müllsammeln #müllsammelaktion #plastikfrei #plastikvermeiden #plastiksammeln

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“Our ocean cleanup system is now finally catching plastic, from one-ton ghost nets to tiny microplastics! Also, anyone missing a wheel?”

The process of developing the device has taken most of Boyan’s adult life – he presented the idea at a TEDx talk when he was just 18, and it has gone through many failed attempts before finally reaching this sweet success.

The team learned from the various mistakes, and they are now able to capture even more types and sizes of plastics than they first imagined. It’s easy to pick up on their excitement in this statement:

“Our team has remained steadfast in its determination to solve immense technical challenges to arrive at this point. Though we still have much more work to do, I am eternally grateful for the team’s commitment and dedication to the mission and look forward to continuing to the next phase of development.”

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001 B successfully completed the clean up test!

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Ocean Cleanup is going to start improving their device based on what they learned during this exercise, including work on a full-scale cleanup device that can endure tough conditions and have enough space to store large amounts of collected plastics while at sea.

Good people going good work. May there be more of them coming up through the ranks.

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