A Helpful App for Blind Subway Riders

A mobile app and guidance system concept called Lantern may one day help blind New Yorkers navigate the city’s convoluted subway system. The app works by communicating with bottle cap-sized beacons located around a subway platform, directing users to nearby turnstiles and notifying them if they come too close to a platform’s edge. The idea was conceived by Eugene Gao, a New York-based copywriter who …

Japanese Craftsmen Reinterpret Star Wars Scenes

Japanese craftsman have adapted the ancient practice of ukiyo-e wood-block printing to portray scenes from the Star Wars film franchise, creating the ultimate mash-up of tradition and science fiction. Keeping with the artistic styles of Japanese drawings, these craftsmen re-envision an icy battle scene from Hoth, Queen Amidala standing with R2-D2 and an image of Darth Vader. The prints draw eerie parallels between Japanese culture …

Google Salutes Ida B Wells in its Latest Doodle

Google’s latest homepage doodle recognizes fearless journalist Ida Bell Wells-Barnett aka Ida B Wells. At the young age of 25, Wells became co-owner and editor of Free Speech and Headlight, where she unrelentingly spoke out against racial inequality and civil injustices—and continued to do so late into her life and career. In a blog post, Google writes, “Today, for her 153rd birthday, we salute Ida …