The Year In Ideas

popo writes "The New York Times Magazine has a review of the year's most original and interesting ideas. They include "The Tornado in a Can" ("A contained cyclone, it turns out, is very useful for pulverizing things") and David Stevenson's real-life proposal to dig to the center of the Earth. by sinking heavy iron through the Earth's mantle."

Comments

We could build it...

[ToddUGA95]

On the moon and call it a "Death Star." Then we hold the world ransom for....one million dollars!

Someone had to say it...

[philthedrill]

But I think the farmer (with his Tornado in a Can idea) has been watching too many Roadrunner cartoons.

Breaking the laws of physics

[Anonymous Coward]

A garbage-processing plant in Pennsylvania will go online with its Windhexe next month; the machine can turn two tons of trash into one ton of sterile powder.

Wow, it's a device that violates conservation of mass!

Re:Journey to the center of the earth

[Camel Pilot]

Furthermore the article states there is still a need for some "clever engineering" concerning the instrumentation.

Sure and "clever engineering" is all thats stands between us and terraforming Venus.

So can I get an "Invention of the year" award for my idea of using one of the moons of Jupiter (i am sure the greenies would whine about using ours) as an extrasolar vehicle/colony so that humans can explore the local region of our galaxy? The propulsion idea still requires some "clever engineering"

Well, no shit?

[Lord Kano]

They include "The Tornado in a Can" ("A contained cyclone, it turns out, is very useful for pulverizing things")

In other news, I have just concluded a study that has found that a glass of water, it turns out, is very useful for quenching thirst.

Come one now, if they can clear trailer parks in 30 seconds, isn't this just a progression of logic?

LK