Solar Charging Vest Makes Pets Useful

What has your dog done for you lately? If you’re lucky, maybe you get something fetched once in a while. Big whup. Erik Schiegg hit on a way to make his dog useful for a change, by equipping it with a solar charging vest. The dog runs around outside all day, and Erik’s phone gets charged thanks to the solar panel on the dog’s back. While this may not be as efficient as a stationary solar panel, most of us don’t have the space or money for one of those, and this is a cheap and easy DIY solution to mobile solar charging… Think hiking and camping trips and stuff.

ohgizmo

Jan. 13, 1908: Pilot Flies Whole Kilometer to Win Big Aviation Prize

1908: French aviator Henry Farman makes the first official flight of 1 kilometer around a predetermined closed course. He wins a huge monetary prize.

When Farman first flew an airplane in 1907, it was a time when simply being a pilot meant you had a good chance of setting records. Within a few weeks of his first flight, the former auto racer quickly satisfied his competitive nature by establishing several flying records during the infancy of aviation, culminating with the first officially witnessed flight of a kilometer on a closed course.

The catch was that it was only the infancy of European aviation. The Wright brothers had been making such flights for several years — but secretly, so nobody in Europe gave them much credence.

WIRED - Day in Tech

Mystery object to whizz by Earth Wednesday

A mystery object from space is about to whizz close by Earth on Wednesday. It won't hit our planet, but scientists are stumped by what exactly it is.

Astronomers say it may be space junk or it could be a tiny asteroid, too small to cause damage even if it hit. It's 33 to 50 feet wide at most.

NASA says that on Wednesday at 7:47 a.m. EST, it will streak by, missing Earth by about 80,000 miles. In the western United States it may be bright enough to be seen with a good amateur telescope.

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