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Entries Tagged as 'consumer'

fda: cheerios are “a drug”

May 14th, 2009 · No Comments

The Food and Drug Administration says the promises of decreased cholesterol and heart disease prevention on Cheerios boxes mean that America’s best-selling cereal is not actually food, but a drug.
From the FDA’s warning letter:

Based on claims made on your product’s label, we have determined that your Cheerios® Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is […]

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Tags: americas · consumer · food · medicine · news · usa

1,000,000,000,000 bytes for $75

May 13th, 2009 · 5 Comments

I’ve just passed the dawn of my 28th year, and like the song says, I may be getting old, but I’m not old yet. Still, I’m starting to wonder if I’ve passed some magic age barrier that separates the people who are on top of technology from the people who aren’t. Does anyone […]

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Tags: consumer · holy crap · neato · tech

50 cars recycled to make one “bus”

May 11th, 2009 · No Comments

Sweden’s Flygbussarna bus company has built a 300-ton “bus” out of 50 crushed cars, to highlight the fact that each of its buses can potentially take 50 cars worth of emissions out of our air. They’re calling it a bus, but it’s really more a rectangular heap of twisted metal, with wheels tacked on […]

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Tags: art · consumer · curio · do something · environment · europe · neato · sustainability · transport

booty-shaking burger commercial for kids

April 24th, 2009 · 7 Comments

So you’re an advertising exec at Burger King. In these tough economic times, you reason, Burger King needs a children’s commercial that will grab attention and boost sales. Kids, you know, like Spongebob Squarepants. They also like rap. And lord knows, they totally dig a nice big bedonkadonk. There’s really […]

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Tags: americas · consumer · crazy · food · funny · media · opinion · pop culture · usa · wtf?

indian “people’s car” costs $2,000

March 23rd, 2009 · No Comments

Boasting an impressive 51.7 mpg (21.97km/litre) in city driving, the Tata Nano might be the cheapest and cleanest production car in the world. And at $2,000 apiece, India’s roads are going to see a lot of them.
The Nano has five seats, a maximum speed of 60 mph (about 97km/h), twice the fuel efficiency of […]

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Tags: asia · consumer · india · neato · news · transport

shanghai welcomes 6-storey barbie flagship store

March 16th, 2009 · 7 Comments

Mao would be pissed.
Along with a bar and hair salon, the store offers 38,000 square feet of blonde-haired, big-boobed dolls. Despite its location, only 10 per cent of the store’s dolls will look Asian, apparently because of Mattel research that indicates Chinese girls and young women want American-looking Barbies.
The GlobalPost reports:

The plan is to […]

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Tags: asia · china · consumer · curio · fun and games · pop culture

fancy mouth-rinsing toothbrush down from $1,750 to just $1.18

March 13th, 2009 · 3 Comments

It’s a pretty blindingly simple design — the Amron Experimental toothbrush has a little groove on the back that directs water from the tap into your mouth. I’m not sure how many people picked one up at the original price — or what’s so experimental about this thing — but if some sucker actually […]

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Tags: consumer · curio · design · funny · invention · movies/tv/video · neato

designer eyepatches

February 28th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Not that you were wondering, but the best-selling eyepatches at Eyepatches.com apparently include the Hello Kitty model, a camouflage one for stealthy folk, and something called “rhinestone butterflies” for the Dame Edna in you. For the festive among you, there’s also a nice selection of 53 holiday-themed models.

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Tags: consumer · design · funny · neato

make your own portable bike lane — with lasers!

January 20th, 2009 · 1 Comment

This portable laser-generated bike lane is the neatest simple idea I’ve seen in a while. But is it for real, and is it for sale?
From Yanko Design:

Only a small fraction of streets have dedicated bike lanes, and with an installation cost of $5,000 - $50,000 per mile, we shouldn’t expect to find them everywhere […]

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Tags: consumer · design · invention · neato · transport

new chinese mall for fake brand names

January 7th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Just a little stub of a post today — I’m swamped at the moment, and I my typing fingers need a rest after that little novella the other day on press freedom in Gaza.
A new mall in Nanjing, China will apparently host only stores that sell knockoff brands, such as “McDnoald’s,” “Pizza Huh” and “Bucksstar […]

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Tags: asia · china · consumer · copyright · curio