Solid Rain

Coffee as Viagra, car crushing, Tokyo in high-def and more in our weekly look at the web

Mexican chemical engineer Sergio Jesus Vaelasco has created instant water. Using a highly absorbent polymer scientifically known as potassium polyacrylate, the tiny crystals absorb about 500 times their size and begin to look like much large, water-filled salt crystals. Originally intended to make diapers more absorbent, Vaelasco’s blend for Solid Rain has shown dramatic benefits when planted among crop fields and dry climate gardens. Watch …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Coffee as Viagra, car crushing, Tokyo in high-def and more in our weekly look at the web

1. Gary Card’s Abandoned Amusement Park Renowned set designer Gary Card has created larger-than-life, fantastical works for everyone from Lady Gaga and the New York Times’ T Magazine, to the London concept store LN-CC. In his first solo exhibition, “Abandoned Amusement Park Attraction,” Card pushes the cuddly against the sinister at the Eternal Youth Gallery in East London, which is housing colorless, distorted cartoon forms …

The Anti-Social App

Coffee as Viagra, car crushing, Tokyo in high-def and more in our weekly look at the web

Smartphone technology has allowed people to connect and share their lives in unprecedented levels. While this is often considered a positive feature of modern life, sometimes you just want to keep a low profile. The recently launched Hell is Other People app is crafty way to avoid people you know. Using social network check-ins, the app creates safe zones a reasonable distance away from hot …