If you don't get very many text messages and often feel a bit left out of today's super-social modern life, there's a... pair of underpants that may be able to help you fit in. According to Discovery News, the technically enabled underpants, developed by Simavita, are a little on the grim side - they have the ability to send out text message alerts whenever the owner has had a urine-based control accident.
PANTS ALERT: On days like this we're reminded that being lazy writers is actually an OK kind of job
The SIMsystem detects moisture, then pops out an alarm to a disinterested carer, informing whoever's been left in charge of changing the pants of elderly or leaky people that there's been a spillage and the mop needs bringing to Room 216. Solids are presumably still detected the old-fashioned way.
The most interesting roof-tiling innovation you will read today, or even this week
Scientists at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society have made an exciting innovation in roof-tiling technologies. YES REALLY!
According to Science Daily, the "bio-based intelligent roof coating" has the ability to transform itself from a reflective surface that bounces away sunlight and keeps houses cooler in summer, to an absorbent version that soaks up light in winter, warming our houses and leading to fewer arguments with the wife about what temperature the boiler's thermostat should be set to and if everyone should still be wearing two jumpers around the house in April.
INTERESTING ROOF TILE: Has many of the same properties as one of the wife's flapjacks [Image credit: Science Daily]
"This is one of the most innovative and practical roofing coating materials developed to date," said Ben Wen, vice-president of United Environment & Energy. And if you can think of a more innovative roof coating material development, we'd very much like to read about it in the comments.
YouTube "Zeus" taken down by the FBI
If you're thinking of becoming a YouTube star by recording some sort of wacky and semi-incoherent rant that manages to 'go global' thanks to people laughing at you and how you've just ruined your internet reputation for the rest of your life, you might want to first take heed of the case of Norman Leboon - a self-styled madman who went a little bit bonkers on YouTube.
THINGS NEVER TO DO: (1) Joke about having a bomb in an airport, (2) say you're going to kill people on YouTube [Image credit: ArsTechnica]
After making the not-even-ironic threat to place "bullets" in the "head" of a congressman and also claiming all YouTube employees would "lose their first born sons", Leboon was promptly tracked down by the FBI, which sent Google a request for his video-uploading IP address and had him locked up the very same day.
He's been charged with threatening to murder, so bear that in mind if you're thinking about recording a rant in which you threaten to shoot someone at BT because your broadband speed test results have been coming up a bit slow for weeks.
