Poison-Sensitive Chopsticks

James Turrell's light prints, a $1 microscope, contamination-detecting chopsticks and more in our weekly look at the web

Anyone who has ever suffered from food poisoning can attest to the value of smart chopsticks—a new development from a Chinese tech firm Baidu. Sensors in the chopsticks pick up certain chemical combinations in food, and trigger an indicator LED. Blue means safe, red means beware. As a final perk, the chopsticks also connect to smartphones for a full breakdown on why an alert was …

A Graphic Design Bible, Reissued

James Turrell's light prints, a $1 microscope, contamination-detecting chopsticks and more in our weekly look at the web

Before Helvetica, there was Standard Medium—and Standard Medium was leading subway riders the right way, according to the 1970 NYC Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual by Unimark’s Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda. The historical document is essentially a “Rosetta Stone” for graphic designers, and is now seeing a second life after a rare copy of the manual was found in the basement of Pentagram’s NYC …

Beans to Farts Explained

James Turrell's light prints, a $1 microscope, contamination-detecting chopsticks and more in our weekly look at the web

Many may wonder about the link between legumes and gas. Thanks to Men’s Health, Rami Niemi and this wonderful video the knowledge is now easily digestible. There are a lot of scientific facts across the one minute explanation, but the animation is also entirely endearing. It’s long-been one of life’s little mysteries, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, we now know the biology …