New Planets Are a Google Doodle

The news that NASA discovered an exoplanet system some 40 light-years (235 trillion miles) away from Earth—three of which are in the habitable (or Goldilocks) zone—was a big deal yesterday. Never a company to be too late to the party, Google created a very cute Doodle celebrating the seven planets. With Earth, our moon and each of the “new” planets having their own, sweet personality, …

Campaigning for a Permanent Bowie Memorial in London

Crowd-funders are hoping to raise a whopping £990,000 for a permanent David Bowie memorial statue in London. The campaign, known as “This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll,” is planning for a three-story red and blue lightning bolt statue—honoring Bowie’s iconic Aladdin Sane character—to be erected across from the Brixton tube station. It would be the first Bowie sculpture since his death, and fall upon the same road as …

Japanese App Locates the Closest Vacant Toilet

Japanese telecommunications company KDDI has created one of the most useful apps ever—especially for people with small bladders or small children. Not only does the app locate the nearest bathrooms, it also lets users know if the toilet is vacant, thanks to sensors on cubicle doors that alert when they are open or closed. While testing is happening in office buildings first, if it’s successful …