Put an Entire Galaxy Under Your Office Chair

A floor mat is unfortunately a must-have accessory if you don't want your office chair trampling down carpet, or tearing up a wooden floor. But thankfully you no longer have to just opt for a boring sheet of plastic. Underfoot Media creates chair mats printed with stunning images of the universe, so rolling over to get a printout feels like soaring across the galaxy.

Available in four-by-four foot squares for $185, or a slightly larger version for $220, the mats use awe-inspiring imagery captured by the Hubble telescope or the Spitzer space telescope. You might actually feel bad about putting what is essentially a work of art on the floor and rolling all over it, but on the other hand this is as close as most of us will ever get to enjoying a spacewalk. More here.

Turn Signal Gloves Vastly Increase Your Chances Of Surviving an Urban Bike Ride

Your average motorist is more used to sharing the road with other vehicles than cyclists. So instead of just relying on your arms to safely signal an upcoming turn, consider these $42 turn signal gloves which let both cyclists and motorists alike know where you're headed.

Usable with an included set of bike gloves or your own pair once they've been enhanced with a bit of velcro, the LEDs are triggered via a thumb-accessible button and can be used to signal a turn, or continuously flash for enhanced nighttime visibility. On a fresh set of batteries they'll flash for 120 hours straight, so you can safely get to and from work for days on end, or manually flash an SOS distress if you find yourself lost after a ride in the woods. More here.

How Canned Food Conquered the World

The BBC has a wonderful dive into the history of canning, tracing its origins from a technology designed to help expand and sustain the British Empire, to a miracle commodity of modern capitalism. And it almost failed before it ever got going.

Though he really stole the idea for canning from a Frenchman, Bryan Donkin is the man who developed the idea to help feed the Royal Navy. He was awarded a patent for the technology in 1813. Canned food was lauded by royalty and sailors alike—indeed, nobody had ever seen anything quite like it before. It made it possible to send familiar British food to sailors overseas, thousands of miles from home.

But the science of canning didn't get off to a perfect start. You see, canning preserves food, and keeps it fresh and tasty only so long as what goes in there in the first place was good. A scandal in the 1850s revealed that a huge amount of the canned "beef" being sent overseas was not fit for human consumption. Much of it wasn't even beef at all. The proprietor behind the operation implicated in the scandal ultimately cleaned up his act—as did the whole industry—and so canning survived long enough to become the supermarket commodity par excellence. Make sure to check out the whole BBC story here.

Razer’s Honoring Unauthorized 90-Percent-Off Coupon Purchases at a Huge Loss

Razer just said it's going to honor purchases made with a third party coupon that went viral this week, which gave users 90 percent off on the Razer UK store. That's kind of astounding.

The coupon was supposed to be used by a third party company to test Razer's shopping cart, but instead it got out and thousands of orders got through. It only included items on the UK store—so no Blade or Edge—but that's still a crazy amount of orders. Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan said on a Facebook status update that even though it was likely to cost Razer a TON of money, since the items are being sold well under cost, it still wants to do right by gamers. So it's honoring all sales on single purchases, but canceling those ordering multiples of the same item. Those buyers can still pick up one of whatever they ordered. Solid move, Razer. More here.

Apple Keeps Your Siri Data for Two Years

You thought that time you asked Siri about the weird mole on your toe was just between the two of you? Wrong. According to Wired, Apple hangs onto your Siri data for two years.

Privacy groups have been asking after Siri's info hoarding habits for quite a while, but this is the first time Apple has given out the explicit details. Although Apple does keep your data, it says the snippets it saves are completely anonymous and only used to improve Siri.

Here's how it works: when you talk to Siri, your conversation is sent to Apple for analysis. Random numbers are generated to represent you and the voice data associated with the virtual assistant. This code is different from both your Apple user ID and your UDID, but it's filed with your Siri logs. Once a specific file is six months old, Wired says the number is "dissociated" from the clip, but the clip is still kept on hand for up to 18 months. And if you turn Siri off, all of the identifying factors are deleted. So even though it's all anonymous, perhaps you'll think twice about what you're gabbing with Siri about next time. More here.

This Predator Helmet Can Make Even the Tiniest Vespa Badass

Motorcycle riders don't get a lot of respect from other drivers on the road, but who's going to dare cut you off when you're cruising around looking like an intergalactic game hunter in this awesome Predator helmet. It's built on an actual motorcycle helmet so it's properly safety rated, but has been enhanced with a sculpted outer shell, a dreadlocks mullet, and even a tri-laser scope.

Optional add-ons include a carbon fiber outer shell, tiny metal spears on the ends of the dreadlocks, and even a hyper-realistic airbrushed finish. For $780 it guarantees even Vespa riders a modicum of respect on the road, just be on the look out for highway patrolmen covered in mud. More here.

Why Do We Cry?

It’s All About the Benjamin Ice Cubes, Baby

Ask for your paycheck in cold hard cash. Your boss will laugh at you. So the most obvious alternative is literal ice in the shape of hundred dollar bills.

They say if you wear enough diamonds your neck will freeze. But if you prefer your currency closer to liquid form, Gamago's new eight cube tray will only set you back eight bones. And as an added bonus, (and main purpose of ice cubes if we're being technical here) the Benjamin cubes will keep your chalice chilled. More here.

Here’s What’s Inside Google Glass’ Box

Even though we've seen Google Glass be leaked, be announced, be presented, be demoed, be worn, be used and even be mocked, it's always represented some far off future technology that we never were sure if it would ever be real (in a I can't believe it's already here kind of way). But it's totally happening guys. And this is what it looks like. Brandon Allgood got his hands on the Google Glass box and revealed what's inside the future.

It's wonderfully clean packaging that includes two different visors, a carrying bag, a power adapter, a power cord and Google Glass. It looks like people in the Google Glass Explorer program are getting there taste (or I guess sight?) of Glass, the world is never going to be the same! Or something like that. More here.

TomTom’s New GPS Watches Are Easily Controlled With a Large Cyclops-Like Button

A couple of years ago TomTom partnered with Nike for what was one of the first GPS sport watches that didn't look like some monstrous fitness accessory strapped to your wrist. But now the company is parting ways with the swoosh and releasing a set of TomTom-branded watches called the Runner and Multi-Sport for those who like to fanatically track their performances.

Available sometime this summer for a yet to be disclosed price, both the Runner and Multi-Sport feature GPS and GLONASS (the Russian version) satellite tracking for fast and accurate location pinpointing, motion sensors for counting footsteps when training indoors, a ten-hour battery with the GPS functionality enabled, and a relatively slim 11.5 millimeter thick housing. And like the Nike+ SportWatch, TomTom is sticking with a monochrome display that can be used to monitor distance, fitness goals, or a targeted performance pace.

Both watches also feature a large multi-directional button that can be used in wet conditions, or with gloves, to navigate the UI. But TomTom is distinguishing the Multi-Sport version from the Runner with a built-in swimming motion sensor, an included dedicated bike mount, and optional Bluetooth cadence and altimeter sensors. More here.

Here Are Google Glass’ Tech Specs

Google just released the official specs for Google Glass (after releasing the API too) and the futuristic frames come with 16GB (only 12GB will be usable) Flash memory, 5 megapixel camera for stills, 720p video recording, Wi-Fi b/g, Bluetooth and a battery that can handle "one full day of typical use".

Fit
Adjustable nosepads and durable frame fits any face.
Extra nosepads in two sizes.

Display
High resolution display is the equivalent of a 25 inch high definition screen from eight feet away.

Camera
Photos - 5 MP
Videos - 720p

Audio
Bone Conduction Transducer

Connectivity
Wifi - 802.11b/g
Bluetooth

Storage
12 GB of usable memory, synced with Google cloud storage. 16 GB Flash total.

Battery
One full day of typical use. Some features, like Hangouts and video recording, are more battery intensive.

Charger
Included Micro USB cable and charger.
While there are thousands of Micro USB chargers out there, Glass is designed and tested with the included charger in mind. Use it and preserve long and prosperous Glass use.

Compatibility
Any Bluetooth-capable phone.
The MyGlass companion app requires Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher. MyGlass enables GPS and SMS messaging. More here.

YouTube Celebrates 57 Years of VCR With an Analog Video Mode

Do not adjust your computer screens. There's no problem with YouTube, other than the fact that it's getting a little misty eyed—by choosing to celebrate the 57th anniversary of the VCR with a little added analog character on its digital videos.

On plenty of YouTube videos you can currently find a small VCR button: click it, and the video you're watching will start to display some of those wonderful (awful?) characteristics that your old cassette player used to provide. It's a quirky way of celebrating the Ampex VRX-1000—commonly considered the world's first practical videotape recorder when it was launched on April 14th 1956 at the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters Convention. The device made a lasting impression on home entertainment, but thank goodness things have moved on. More here.

This Credit Card Sized Backup Battery Is a Different Kind of Charge Card

Unless you're completely killing your smartphone's battery on a daily basis, you don't need to haul around a massive backup battery. A single emergency charge is all most of us need for those days when we talk or stream more than we intended, which makes the Tarot's 1,500 mAh capacity the perfect balance of size vs. power.

At just 0.28-inches thick, Powerocks claims the Tarot is the thinnest backup battery you can buy. And while it's still considerably thicker than a credit card, it's certainly thin enough to slip into a heftier wallet. Like with any external battery the Tarot's got a USB port for charging/recharging and it's got enough capacity to fully recharge a single smartphone. So as long as you're not heading out into the jungle for a week, for just $35 it should easily serve all of your emergency power needs. More here.

Relax in Peace and Quiet Under This Sound-Absorbing Lamp

You usually don't expect a lamp to do much more than provide a little illumination and snazz up a room. But maybe it's time you should. Monica Armani's Silenzio lamps are made with sound-absorbing foam and fabrics so they chase away the dark and the decibels.

But don't expect that sitting underneath the Silenzio to be anything like putting on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. At the most it will help minimize echos and prevent sounds from deafeningly bouncing around a large room like an underground cavern. And if you live in a house full of screaming kids and barking dogs, it's probably a worthwhile investment. More here.

This Twisted Cabinet Wants to Strut Across Your Living Room

If you're not living inside some kind of Beauty and the Beast nightmare, all your furniture is mercifully inanimate, but the Walking Cabinet gets you halfway there. It won't actually stroll across your living room, but it looks like it wants to.

Designed by Markus Johansson, the walking cabinet appears to have been frozen mid-strut either on its way down some kind of a furniture fashion runway, or triumphantly headed home after a fantastic date with a beautiful coffee table. The illusion of movement isn't just an opporunity to make really bizarre anthropomorphic furniture jokes either; it actually allows multiple units to be slid together and connected into one, longer cabinet.

The Walking Cabinet is just a design project for now, so don't expect one to come strolling into a storefront near you anytime soon. But if you drink enough and tilt your head sideways, you should be able to get a similar sort of look out of all your current furniture. More here.

Don’t Worry Cyclists, There’s a Swiss Army Knife For You Now Too

Weighing just 99 grams and folding away into a compact package that's easy to pocket, Victorinox's new Swiss Army Bike Tool is the perfect weapon against misaligned handlebars and other on-the-road cycling emergencies.

Instead of a folding design, the tool disassembles into an L-wrench with an adapter for eight included bits, a set of tire levers, and a bright orange plastic case for holding everything together. But for $48, where's the token cork screw, plastic toothpick, and emergency nail file? More here.

The Sun Just Shot Off the Biggest, Most Spectacular Solar Flare of the Year

Early this morning, while most of us were resting peacefully in our beds, everyone's favorite flaming ball of plasma decided to give NASA's cameras a little show. More specifically, the Solar Dynamics Observatory managed to capture our sun's biggest solar flare of the year thus far.

Classified as an M6.5, it's not the hugest solar flare—that honor belongs to the X-class. But it was at least enough to cause a "moderate" radio blackout that has since subsided.

And if it seems like we've been seeing more solar flares than usual these days, it's because we have. The sun's 11-year activity cycle is approaching its maximum, which it should officially hit by the end of the year. So if these incredible images are anything to go by, we're in for a few more treats over the next several months. All of which we can safely enjoy thanks to our lovely, protective atmosphere. More here.

There’s Gross Alternative Fuel Just Hanging Out in the Sewers

Everybody knows about using oil as a fuel source, but London is putting a new spin on the concept. Soon the city will be mining its own sewers to bring up glorious globs of old cooking grease and melting them down into fuel. Delicious.

The chunks of fat, oil, and grease build-up—affectionately(?) referred to as "fatbergs"—have been an ongoing problem in London's sewer system. When the waste isn't just clogging up drains, it's making its way down further and clogging up the sewers. But now, a new power station is set to generate 130 gigawatt hours a year from the clogs—enough to power almost 40,000 homes. And that's a good enough excuse to go sewer-grease mining.

Some of the fat-generated energy will go back into running the local sewage works where the chunks of fat-ore are being mined, establishing a gross little cycle that should benefit just about everyone involved. Except maybe the grease-miners. And while using food-waste to produce energy is great, you'd ideally set up a way to do it that doesn't involve first clogging and then de-clogging sewers. But in the meantime this is a solid solution. More here.

Apple and Yahoo Are Working Together for Deeper Integration on the iPhone

Apple, which hates Google, is supposedly working with Yahoo, who will take anybody's love at this point, to figure out how "Yahoo's services can play a prominent role on Apple's iPhone and iPad", according to the WSJ. This actually shouldn't be too much of a surprise as data from Yahoo Finance and weather already pops up on the iPhone.

Apple and Yahoo are supposedly in talks about using Yahoo's content from Yahoo Sports (which is fantastic), Yahoo News and other Yahoo websites through Siri. It'd presumably be like how sport scores and stats can pop up in Siri right now—Yahoo would feed more of its content and data to iPhone users. That's not a bad thing.

The WSJ says Yahoo has also "contemplated ways" to replace Google as the search engine for iOS but the idea "remains a long shot" because of Yahoo's partnership with Bing (Bing powers Yahoo, after all). That would be a bad thing. A non-Google search engine would make for a worse experience. More content—especially if it's the good Yahoo content—on the iPhone could be a good thing. Siri needs to get better. Can Yahoo make it better? More here.

Intel’s Thunderbolt Is About To Get Twice As Fast

Thunderbolt's makin' like greased lighting. Intel has just introduced the newest revision of the interface and it will be capable of 20Gbps in both directions (as opposed to the previous 10). In other words, fast enough to transfer and play 4K video simultaneously. And it's all backwards compatible with old ports and cables to boot.

Intel just made the announcement at NAB 2013, but it'll be a little while until the speed hits end-users; production isn't scheduled to kick into high gear until 2014. Of course all that delicious throughput is limited to devices that support it, but it'll be a lovely burst for that small portion that do. More here.