We love well-designed toys here at SolidSmack but still, you may be thinking, “This is just a plastic turtle”. Well, believe it or not, this wee plastic turtle is a toy… and a bit of a dark, foreboding, guilt-laden memorial to all the marine life killed off by mindless waste disposal. But more than that, it’s turning waste into a beloved turtle toy for a child or your own collection of turtle memorabilia. Shaken by the number of animal deaths caused by oceanic waste and the theory that, in 2050, there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish, Claire Matthews created Greta The Great – a plastic turtle…

It may sound like a movie plot starring you and Tom Selleck, but a team of engineers at The Washington University in St. Louis, led by associate professor of biomedical engineering, Baranidharan Raman, has spent the last few years developing cyborg insects. A $750,000 grant, which was given to the team in 2016 from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), has since been used to study the extraordinary olfactory senses found in locusts to sniff out certain chemicals. Yes, like a bomb-sniffing dog, but smaller and with a tendency to devour crop fields. The idea behind the study was not to invent a new method of uncovering explosives but to…

Anyone who has spent any amount of time baking/cooking/experimenting will know the tedium of measuring ingredients but outside of pre-measured packets what could make it easier? Cass Caps work much like your ordinary measuring cups, only instead of a key ring of clinking metal cups, you have a specially designed cap-of-sorts that screws onto your spice jar. Say what? It’s true. Have a look. You set the caps to one of two options: either at ¼ tsp or ½ tsp. Once you’ve set the measurement, you just turn the bottle over, give the cap a twist, and you’re done. Need more than that? Just twist it multiple times for larger…

I apologize for not publishing a Friday Smackdown in so long! What happened??W! Well, I took a little break over the summer and got carried away with the laziness. Do keep sending exciting and interesting things you see throughout the week and I’ll wrap it up with the best inspiration, art, music, photography, and more I’ve found as well. On to the smackdown. Clouds of a silver razor haze settled over the timber’s edge. The strength of their small band was buffered with sticks and logs, hibiscus pools, and old stump wood stools. They could fasten the cords to its base, lift it to steady its legs, but it would…

While I’m not much of a coffee drinker (the drink I’m holding in my picture is actually tea), I know some people can’t start the day without a good cup o’ Joe. Easy when you’re at home but, when outdoors, it can be challenging to brew a solid pot of coffee. So how can you elevate your outdoor coffee experience? Great outdoor coffee is what VSSL JAVA (“Vessel Java”) specializes in. Instead of using instant coffee or pre-ground coffee, the JAVA allows you to hand grind your coffee beans to create an ideal cup of coffee outdoors or wherever you may be. Ultimate Travel Coffee Grinder The aircraft-grade aluminum body…

If you’ve ever tried to kayak before, you’ll know the real predators aren’t the ones you find in the water; they’re the ones hiding out in rental stores. Renting a kayak can cost you an arm and a leg, but what can you do? Even if you happen to have your own kayak, transporting it isn’t exactly easy. The Foldable Kayak The Origami Paddler by Tim Niemier isn’t cheap by any means (it costs a little less than $300), but it’s cheaper than many options, plus it doubles as a paddleboard and helps solve the problem of kayak transportation. Instead of straping a bulky oblong watercraft to the roof of…