Sweet, Sweet Augmented Reality Cookies

For anyone who has been wanting to add a little something extra to a plate of sugar cookies, designer Mike Clare has the perfect ingredient: augmented reality decorations. The two-toned dough pattern creates a small grid for coding the cookies for augmented reality. And while the dough is a basic recipe from The Joy of Cooking, the measurement and assembly are actually fairly complex.

Mechanical Candle Adds Flare (oy!) to your Birthday Cake

Move over, ColorFlame. FastLites, and even the Candelabra can't hold a candle to (oh, you knew it was coming, might as well get it out of the way) the Blossoming Birthday Candle. Don't let the initial lighting fool you--after the initial eruption of fire and sparks, the candle opens up to reveal at least 15 petals, each with an individually lit candle rotating around sparks spewing from the center. Video after the jump:

Have Safe, Eco-Friendly Sex Using…Endangered Species Condoms!

The Center for Biological Diversity exists to educate the public about the dangers -- including human overpopulation -- that are threatening endangered species the world over. The Center's latest effort, though, is encouraging people to keep the Earth's lamentably overcrowded state in mind the next time they, um, help make the problem worse. (By getting it on!)

“Scrubbing” Turns Graffiti into Public Service

In the mossy, dirt covered tunnels of Leeds, England, Paul Curtis, known as "Moose" used a sock to scrub away the grime and create pictures in the contrasting white tile. And the eco-friendly new graffiti art known as Reverse Graffiti or "Scrubbing" was born.

Kitchen Geekery: The Folding Colander

 

Pasta is an important part of a balanced geek-diet, and this fantastic Folding Colander made by Joseph Joseph, while not the first folding colander we've ever seen, is certainly the most attractive.

This fierce draining machine folds completely flat once your pasta liquid has been properly extracted:

Your Walls Are Alive, And Eco-Friendly

Meet Wally, "the anysize, anywhere, modular living wall system," and siblings Woolly Pocket (free-standing floor model), and Woolly Vagabond (traveling live bag), all part of the family of felt and recycled water bottle planters from Woollypocket.com.

The “Twike”: Elmer Fudd’s Three-Wheeled Vehicle, or Twitter-Enabled Bicycle?

London's East Festival is getting a new pwomotional tool this year. From cult artist Peter Fowler and the Chance Collective, meet the Twike, a Twitter-enabled bicycle that aims to encourage festival attendance through online channels. The bicycle will be driven around the festival, which starts on March 4th, and is outfitted with a mobile device that will automatically send out a "tweet" every time it comes within the range of key festival areas. The creators hope that people will not only follow the bike online, but also follow it around the festival as it travels.  A Google Maps mash-up of the bike's path around East London will also be created at the end.

Rubiks Cubes Made of Food

Your parents told you not to play with your food: Try telling that to Adam Melonas, world-class chef and creator of these amazing scallop, fois gras, and roe rubiks cubes. Adam is Head Chef in Charge of the Lab at Paco Roncero, at 2 Michelin Star La Terraza del Casino at the ultra-exculsive Casino De Madrid. He developed this dish while coaching the 2008 Spanish team for Bocuse d’Or.

Scientists Tinker With Flower Fragrance Genes: Bacon-Scented Roses on the Way?

The next time you stop to smell the roses, you might be shocked to find an unfamiliar odor in place of the allergy-inducing floral bouquet. Scientists at the University of Florida have isolated the 13 genes that key for fragrance in flowers, and have already begun experimenting with how altering these genes affect both odor, and the taste of the fruit that develops later in the plants life cycle.