Link About It: This Week’s Picks

BMX biking in another dimension, explaining Earth to aliens and cooking bacon with lasers in this week's look at the web

1. Nigeria’s New Malaria Test Will Save Thousands of Lives The world’s first urine malaria test will soon be available in Nigeria, marking a major advancement in the battle against the disease. Like pregnancy tests, the malaria test uses a dipstick to detect the Plasmodium parasite inside a sample of urine. Because of its ease of use and quick diagnosis time (just 20 minutes), the …

The Objects That Inspire Facebook’s Director of Product Design

Facebook’s director of product design, Margaret Gould Stewart, often turns to physical products when looking for inspiration. In an interview with Fast Company, Stewart reveals how some of her favorite items—including her grandfather’s old drill, a set of plates designed by Eva Zeisel and an ancient Inuit fish hook—have influenced her work. As she explains it, “Part of the creative process is looking for analogies …

Practical DIY Designs From ’70s Book Nomadic Furniture

Long before build-it-yourself furniture behemoths like IKEA came along, thrifty homeowners turned to DIY projects to furnish their spaces. Many of these people looked to the pages of Nomadic Furniture—a book published in 1973 by designers Victor Papanek and James Hennessey—for advice on “How to build and where to buy lightweight furniture that folds, inflates, knocks down, stacks, or is disposable and can be recycled.” …