時代雜誌評出年25項最佳發明

The Real-Life Hoverboard
1.浮空滑板

The hoverboard—a type of skateboard that levitates like a magic carpet—had been a pipe dream since its fictional debut in 1989’s Back to the Future Part II. Now California-based tech firm Hendo has built the real thing.
還記得1989年的經典科幻電影《回到未來》中出現過的那個像魔毯一樣浮在空中的滑板麼？加利福尼亞的一家名爲Hendo的科技公司將電影裏的滑板變成了現實。

Hendo’s hoverboard can float only an inch or so above the ground, and even then only over conductive material like copper or aluminum.
雖然Hendo公司研發的這款滑板目前只可以離開地面懸浮1英寸左右，而且還必須在如銅或鋁這樣的導電材料上纔可實現。

But the technology that powers it could be revolutionary. Using the $450,000-plus it raised on Kickstarter, Hendo founders Jill and Greg Henderson plan to develop magnetic “hovering” tech to stabilize buildings during earthquakes, protect valuable works of art and more. “The hoverboard is the first step to bringing this technology to the world,” says Greg.
但是這項技術確實具有突破性意義。Hendo公司的創始人吉爾和格雷格用在美國慈善網站上籌到的45萬美元，做出了開發磁滑翔技術的計劃，希望能在保持地震中建築的穩定性、保護珍貴的藝術作品等方面得到應用。格雷格說：“這款浮空滑板是開發該項技術的第一步。”

The Supersmart Spacecraft
2.印度火星飛船探測器

Nobody gets Mars right on the first try. The U.S. didn’t, Russia didn’t, the Europeans didn’t. But on Sept. 24, India did. That’s when the Mangalyaan (Mars craft in Hindi) went into orbit around the Red Planet, a technological feat no other Asian nation has yet achieved. Building the craft cost India just $74 million. At that price, the Mangalyaan is equipped with just five onboard instruments that allow it to do simple tasks like measure Martian methane and surface composition. More important, however, it allows India to flex its interplanetary muscles, which portends great things for the country’s space program—and for science in general.
沒有國家在進行火星探測時一次成功的。美國沒有，俄羅斯沒有，歐洲各國也沒有。但是在今年的9月24日，印度成功了。印度火星飛船“曼加里安”號在那天成功進入火星軌道，完成了其他亞洲國家都未曾完成的科技壯舉。製造這艘飛船印度僅花了7400萬美元。飛船上裝有5個用來執行測量火星大氣中的甲烷等任務的設備。印度火星飛船爲印度創造了歷史，對於印度的航空項目以及整個科學界都意義重大。

A Reactor that Could Realize Nuclear Fusion
3.小型核聚變反應堆

In October, Lockheed Martin said it had achieved a technological breakthrough that will enable it to make compact fusion reactors small enough to fit on the back of a truck within a decade. The design uses “magnetic mirror confinement” to control the reaction. If Lockheed really can produce a workable fusion reactor, the world of energy may never be the same.
今年十月，洛克希德·馬丁公司稱他們已經完成了一項重大科技突破，能夠在十年內將聚變反應堆的規模縮小到在一輛卡車上就可進行。這項設計採用“磁鏡約束”技術來控制整個反應。如果該公司真的能夠製造出這種小型的核聚變反應堆，那將大大改變能源領域的現狀。

Wireless Electricity
4.無線充電

We already have wireless Internet and wireless phones. Why, then, are everyday appliances still shackled to the wall? To be sure, there are a few power-mat chargers for small gadgets like phones. But WiTricity, based in Watertown, Mass., is thinking big. Its technology—involving a plug-in coil that creates a magnetic field, which in turn powers objects as far away as 8 ft. (2.4 m)—has been tested on Toyota electric cars (with charging mats), Intel PCs (with charging pads) and more. Within 10 years, says CEO Alex Gruzen, rooms could be wired so that all appliances—lamps, TVs, stereos—pull power from a central charging base.
我們已經有了無線網絡和無線手機，那爲什麼日常的家用電器還離不開牆上的插座呢？目前手機的無線充電已經實現，但是來自美國馬薩諸塞州沃特敦的WiTricity公司決定讓無線充電走的更遠。他們研發的技術包含一個可以產生磁場的插電式線圈，能夠爲距離在8英尺（2.4米）以內的電器進行充電。目前該技術已經在豐田的汽車和英特爾的個人電腦上成功實驗。該公司的CEO亞歷克斯·格魯澤在十年之內該技術會被應用在房間裏，到時候包括點燈、電視、音響等所有電器都可以通過一個集中的充電設備進行無線充電。

3-D-Printed Everything
5.全能3D打印機

A machine that can build any object. It sounds like a sci-fi fantasy, but thanks to the rise of 3-D printers—devices that can build objects from digital blueprints, usually by layering plastic or other materials—it is rapidly becoming reality.
一臺“想要什麼就生成什麼”的機器，這聽起來像是科幻小說裏纔有的東西，不過因爲有了3D打印機，所以現在只要有數字結構圖，再加上塑料等一些材料，我們確實能夠實現在一臺機器上生成想要的所有物體。

That’s a boon for consumers and corporations alike. In the past year alone, middle-school students have 3-D-printed stock cars for physics lessons, scientists have 3-D-printed tissues for human organs, and GE has used 3-D printing to improve the efficiency of its jet engines. “This is one of those technologies that literally touches everything we do,” says Avi Reichental, CEO of 3D Systems, whose 3-D printers produce candy (as shown above) and musical instruments, among other objects.
無論是對消費者還是對企業而言，3D打印機都是一種福利。在過去的一年時間裏，中學生用它打印了物理課要用的小汽車，科學家們用它打印了病人所需的器官組織，通用汽車公司用它提升了發動機的效率。3D Systems公司的CEO阿維稱：“這是一項能夠讓我們獲得任何東西的技術。”該公司的打印機曾打印出糖果（如圖所示）、樂器等物品。

Watches that Redefine Smart
6.蘋果Apple Watch

Most smart watches have proved to be anything but: they try to shrink down the experience of using a cell phone, with clunky results. Apple’s Watch, by contrast, wholly reimagines the computer for the wrist, using a novel interface that combines a touchscreen and physical buttons. Besides telling time, the Watch can send messages, give directions, track fitness and make wireless payments. It’s also an attractive piece of fashion, with high-end Edition models that feature 18-karat gold.
許多智能手錶都只是將智能手機的屏幕壓縮到了手錶的大小，觸控和操作都很難精準。而蘋果公司的這款Apple Watch對智能手錶進行了重新思考，採用了觸摸屏和物理按鈕相結合的全新界面。除了報時，這款手錶還可以發信息、導航、追蹤管理健康狀況以及無線支付。而且它外表高端時尚，採用了18克拉鍍金的錶殼。

The Smartphone that Puts Privacy First
7.以保護私隱爲主的智能手機Blackphone

Nearly half of Americans don’t feel safe sharing private information over a cell-phone call, according to Pew. So how can phone owners conceal their data? Enter the Blackphone, a smartphone designed to put privacy above all else. The device runs a customized Android operating system stripped of features that might make data vulnerable, like calendar sync. But even with a Blackphone, users should be careful about what they type or upload. As Blackphone CEO Toby Weir-Jones explains, “It’s dangerous to assume anything is a magic invisibility cloak.”
根據皮尤研究中心的調查，有大約一半以上的美國人認爲打電話時個人的隱私信息並不安全。那麼手機用戶如何保護自己的手機數據呢？使用以保護私隱爲主的智能手機Blackphone吧！這款手機裝有簡化版的安卓系統，把一切可能影響信息泄露的要素全部去掉。不過即使用了Blackphone，你也要小心，不要隨意下載軟件。正如Blackphone公司的CEO託比說的那樣：“不要認爲有任何東西可以成爲神奇的隱形衣，那樣很危險。”

The Cooler that Powers Your Party
8.派對用冰箱Coolest Cooler

For more than 60 years, coolers have done a fine job putting party refreshments on ice. But that wasn’t good enough for Ryan Grepper. “We wanted the cooler to be a place where people gather—to have all the things that make a space somewhere you’d want to hang out,” says the former medical sales rep.
六十多年來，冰箱在派對上的作用就是提供冰塊。但是這對瑞恩·葛雷博來說並不夠。“我們想要冰箱裏有參加派對的人想要的所有東西，想讓冰箱能專供派對使用。”瑞恩說。

The result is the world’s smartest all-purpose party starter. It stores food and drinks, sure. But it also touts a blender (“for vodkaritas,” Grepper offers), an LED lid light (“to see if you’re reaching for beer or Clamato juice”), a USB charger (“so nobody’s phone dies”), a Bluetooth speaker (for tunes) and big wheels designed to navigate many terrains (beach, parking lot). “I just want to make the coolest cooler out there,” says Grepper. Hence the name: Coolest Cooler.
有這樣想法的結果就是世界上最精緻小巧、裝備齊全的派對專用冰箱誕生了。它當然可以冷藏食物和飲料。但是除此之外，它還有攪拌機（可以做雞尾酒神馬的）、LED照明燈（使你在拿啤酒或果汁時看得更清楚）、USB充電器（這樣就沒人會忍受手機沒電之苦了）、藍牙音箱（當然是爲了派對上的音樂）以及適合在沙灘、停車場等移動的全地形輪子。“我只是想發明一個世界上最酷的冰箱。”瑞恩說，所以它的名字叫“Coolest Cooler”。The Car that Makes Electric Enticing
9.寶馬電動車i3

For the most part, electric cars have been slow, sexless and stolid to drive—or stunningly expensive. But the I3 from BMW is different. In addition to getting 70 to 110 miles (113 to 177 km) on a single three-hour charge, its novel design allows drivers to use a single ­pedal to both accelerate and brake (press down to go, ease up to stop), which results in more energy-efficient driving.
電動汽車通常給我們的印象就是速度慢、長得醜、反應遲鈍，價錢還貴。但是寶馬的I3車型改寫了這一切。單次充電三小時可供行駛70-110英里（113-177千米），除此之外，I3加入了單踏板同時控制油門和剎車的設計（踩踏板加油，鬆踏板制動），這將更加節能高效。

The Chip that Stops Your Slouching
10.“擡頭挺胸”提示器Lumo Lift

You can probably guess why so many people have posture that causes back pain: “We simply forget” to stop slouching, says Monisha Perkash, whose company, Lumo BodyTech, created the ultimate reminder. Once users clip the Lumo Lift, a chiplike gadget about the size of a thumb, onto their shirt, it analyzes neck and spinal positions and vibrates when they’re less than ideal. Although the system isn’t perfect—it can buzz when you lean for necessary reasons, like taking a phone call—it has exceeded internal sales goals.
爲什麼有些不良姿勢會導致背痛可是人們還是會那麼做呢？很可能是因爲我們“忘了擡頭挺胸”，不知不覺就駝背了。Lumo BodyTech 技術工作室對此給出瞭解決方案，其坐姿矯正產品Lumo Lift是一款提示器，夾子形狀、拇指大小，用的時候夾子衣服上，它能在脊柱、脖子做出不良姿勢時發出提示。雖然這款產品也有瑕疵，比如在你必須要做某些不良姿勢時也會發出提示音，但它的銷量已經超出了內部銷售目標。

The Tablet that Replaces Laptops
11.微軟Microsoft Surface Pro 3

Microsoft’s latest “hybrid” bundles the power of a laptop into a svelte 12-in. tablet and can run desktop apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. That, as well as a slim, detachable keyboard cover and a built-in stand that makes the Surface usable on a desk, makes it more suitable than other tablets for professionals like doctors and businesspeople. No wonder organizations such as Coca-Cola and Seattle’s Children’s Hospital have adopted it in droves.
微軟最新的“混血產品”Surface Pro 3是一款擁有12英寸屏幕的平板電腦，但卻擁有筆記本電腦的強大功能，可以運行word、excel等辦公軟件。除了纖薄小巧，還擁有可拆分的鍵盤防塵罩、內置可立於桌面的支架，這都使得這款平板比其他平板更適合醫生、商人等專業人士。所以可口可樂公司以及西雅圖兒童醫院等紛紛成爲Surface Pro 3的用戶也就不足爲奇了。

The Ring that Alerts You in Style
12. Ringly智能戒指

Like many professional women, Christina Mercando keeps her smartphone in her purse, which meant she was constantly digging it out to check for important notifications. But what if she could get that info from something she was already wearing, much as pants-wearing men can feel a phone buzz in their pocket? That’s the thinking behind Ringly, a line of rings that can be programmed to glow when wearers get an email from their boss, a text from their Uber driver or any number of other can’t-miss communications.
和其他職業女性一樣，克里斯蒂娜也把智能手機放在包裏，這意味着她爲了不漏掉重要信息得不停地將手機從包裏掏出掏進。但是如果她能從自己身上戴着的某種東西上查看信息會怎麼樣？就像男士們把手機放在口袋裏，有信息時能感到震動一樣。這就是Ringly這款戒指的設計初衷，它能夠通知用戶有短信、有通知和有來電等其他不能錯過的重要信息。

The Pillbox that Gets Personal
13.私人化藥盒

“I grew up in a family that owned and operated a pharmacy,” says T.J. Parker, who knows firsthand how confusing it can be for people to track which meds to take when, especially if they fill multiple prescriptions. That’s why the e-pharmacy he runs now, PillPack, doesn’t traffic in bottles. Instead, every two weeks, patients are sent a dispenser, which has their medication—all of it—sorted into a ticker tape of tearable packets, organized by date and time.
“我家開有一間藥店，我在那裏長大。”帕克說他非常瞭解人們在買藥、吃藥時的那種困惑，尤其是當人們手裏有好幾種藥方的時候。所以帕克開了一家電子藥店—電子藥盒。與傳統的瓶裝藥不同，每隔兩週病人們會從電子藥店收到一個包含所需藥物的分配器，裏面裝着按日期分類的塑料藥包。

Bananas that Prevent Blindness
14.富含維A的超級香蕉

In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 30% of kids under age 5 are at risk of going blind—among other conditions—for one simple reason: they don’t get enough eye-nurturing vitamin A. But what if the bananas that make up a lot of their diet could be re-engineered to deliver it? That’s the idea that struck Australian biogeneticist James Dale when he visited Uganda in the early 2000s. With backing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dale and his team began developing a vitamin-A-enriched “superbanana”; human trials start soon in the U.S. “These bananas could potentially solve” a major health problem, Dale says.
在撒哈拉以南的非洲地區，5歲以下的兒童中有超過30%的兒童處在可能失明的危險中，原因非常簡單，他們缺乏對視力起重要作用的維生素A。那麼能不能讓在他們日常飲食佔很大比例的香蕉裏富含維生素A呢？這是澳大利亞生物遺傳學家詹姆斯在二十世紀初訪問過烏干達後就一直在思考的問題。在比爾和梅琳達·蓋茨基金會的幫助下，詹姆斯和他的團隊開始研究富含維A的超級香蕉，人類臨牀試驗不久會在美國進行。詹姆斯說，這些香蕉有望解決非洲地區的健康問題。

The Wheel that Gives Bikers a Boost
15.智能電動單車輪

We know that biking is good for us and good for the environment. But getting around on a bicycle can seem daunting, especially in a large city with a hilly terrain. To lessen that burden, Cambridge, Mass.–based Superpedestrian has developed the Copenhagen Wheel, a standard-size wheel—it can be attached to the back of most bicycles—that boasts a rechargeable, battery-powered motor. Depending on rider preferences, entered through a smartphone app, the motor can kick in power throughout the ride or just on hills.
衆所周知，騎自行車既能鍛鍊身體，又能保護環境。但是騎着自行車四處走有時候也需要勇氣，尤其是在山多的城市裏。爲了減輕這方面的負擔，劍橋大學研究人員研發出了Copenhagen Wheel，它是一款尺寸標準、可反覆充電、可獨立安裝於任何一輛自行車後輪並使其成爲“電動自行車”的輪子。根據騎車人的不同喜好，通過智能手機的應用，輪子還能夠自動調節動力。

The Seamless Sign-Language Translator
16.手語翻譯平板

For the millions of deaf people who cannot speak, everyday communication often requires costly human translators and tedious note writing. Enter the Uni, a tablet and attachment that leverages motion-sensing cameras and voice recognition to translate American Sign Language into spoken words—and spoken words into text—in real time. “The need for this is so great,” writes Ryan Hait-Campbell, CEO of San Francisco–based MotionSavvy, who is deaf.
對上百萬的聾啞人來說，日常交流需要大量懂手語的人的幫助或者是繁瑣的書面交流。而這款UNI手語翻譯平板，配備有感應器、麥克風等裝置，可將美式手語翻譯成語音，還能把語言翻譯成文字。“這個太棒了。”研發出此款平板的MotionSavy公司的CEO萊恩說道。萊恩自己就是一位聾人。The Selfie Stick
17.自拍杆

If 2013 was the year in which selfie became a buzzword, then 2014 was the year selfies became a cultural phenomenon. Look no further than a recent Pew report, which found that at least a quarter of Americans have shared a selfie on a social-networking site (including Ellen Degeneres, Kim Kardashian and President Obama).
如果說2013年“自拍”只是一個熱詞的話，那麼2014年自拍就已經成爲了一種文化現象。通過皮尤研究中心最近的調查就知道，至少有四分之一的美國人在社交網絡上曬過自己的自拍照（這其中包括艾倫•德傑尼勒斯、金•卡戴珊以及總統奧巴馬）。

Sensing a new market, several companies have launched devices designed to streamline the selfie-taking experience. The selfie stick (produced by multiple brands), which enables users to position their smartphone beyond arms’ reach to get better photo angles, “adds genuine value,”says Van Baker, a mobile tech analyst at the research firm Gartner. “I’ve seen a lot of people using it.”
一些公司看到了其中的商機，紛紛推出各種幫助自拍的“神器”。自拍杆的出現避免了自拍的人用手舉相機的不便，幫助提供更好的自拍角度。“這個發明非常實用，”Gartner研究公司的移動技術分析師範•貝克說，“我看到很多人都在用。”

The Filter that Fights Ebola
18.埃博拉病毒過濾器

What makes the Ebola virus so frightening is its speed. In a matter of days, it can pump out enough copies of itself to overtake the immune system. But the Hemopurifier, a specially designed cartridge that attaches to a dialysis machine, can tip the balance back in the body’s favor: its lectin filter attracts Ebola viruses and sucks them from the blood as it flows through. It’s been used only once, on a patient in Germany, but it did the trick—effectively curing his Ebola infection. In the future, doctors hope similar tech could be used on viruses like hepatitis.
埃博拉病毒之所以如此令人恐懼，原因就在於它的傳播速度相當快。短短几天時間裏，它就能瘋狂自我複製到足以攻擊免疫系統的地步。這款圓筒狀的Hemopurifier是一款能與透析設備連接的特殊裝置，它能夠對已經感染埃博拉病毒血液進行過濾。目前它只在德國一名患者身上使用過一次，但它有效地治癒了病人的病毒感染。醫生們希望類似的科技產品也能夠應用在肝炎等病症上。

The AC that Lowers Your Energy Bills
19.超省電空調

Americans spend more than $11 billion each year to blast their homes with air-conditioning, releasing 100 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air. Experts say a sizable portion of that is waste. IT consultant Garthen Leslie realized as much while driving to work last summer in Washington, past rows of empty-looking houses with humming window units that could not be turned on or off remotely. There had to be a better way. “So I sent an idea to Quirky,” he says, referring to the GE-backed site that turns people’s concepts into creations. Four months later, they had a prototype.
美國家庭每年花在空調上的費用超過110億美元，向空氣中排放的二氧化碳量超過1億噸。專家稱其中相當一部分都屬於浪費造成的。IT顧問甘森·萊斯利去年夏天在華盛頓開車去上班的途中也意識到了這一點。由於無法遠程操作，所以成排的空房間裏空調嗡嗡的一直開着。應該能有個好的解決辦法的。“於是我把我的想法告訴了Quirky公司，”萊斯利說。GE有網頁專門負責把人們的想法變成好的設計。四個月之後，他們開發出了產品原型。

The Aros air conditioner, which has sold nearly 50,000 units since its May 2014 release. For one thing, it’s elegant, with a sleek white exterior that’s almost Apple-esque. It’s smart too. Thanks to a companion mobile app, Aros can track owners’ movements via GPS and turn itself on and off depending on their proximity to home. It also tells people exactly how much money they’re spending to cool their residences.
這就是Aros空調，自今年5月上市以來，已經賣出了將近5萬臺。一方面它的外觀簡潔優雅，全白的機身有點蘋果產品的味道。另一方面它是智能的。通過配套的移動應用，這款空調能夠定位主人的位置並根據主人與家的距離遠近自動開關，還能夠直接告訴你已經使用了多少度電。

The Prison Room that Helps Inmates Relax
20.放鬆用牢房

For 23 hours a day, the 200 inmates in solitary confinement at Oregon’s largest prison see nothing but a tiny, white-walled cell—an experience some research suggests can heighten mental illness and make prisoners prone to suicide attempts and violence. Last year, officials began letting some of them spend their free hour in a first-of-its-kind “blue room,” an exercise space where a projector plays video of open deserts, streaming waterfalls and other outdoor scenes. That imagery, says creator Nalini Nadkarni, who studies how nature affects behavior, is designed to calm prisoners, “much in the way we walk through a park” to relax. Inmates have responded so well that guards now use blue-room time as a way to pre-empt bad behavior.
在俄勒岡州最大的監獄裏，200多名單人牢房裏的犯人一天中有23個小時面對只有狹小的白牆，據調查稱，這種體驗使很多犯人患上心理疾病，並且有暴力或自殺傾向。去年，官方開始嘗試在自由時間向犯人們開放叫做“blue room”的放鬆用牢房，在這裏可以邊做運動邊欣賞投影儀中播放的沙漠、瀑布等風景影像。設計者娜里尼稱，研究表明這些自然風景畫面能夠影響人的行爲，因此可以幫助犯人們平靜自己，“就像我們在公園裏散步那樣放鬆”。這種牢房在犯人們中的反響很不錯，一些監獄已經使用該種牢房作爲預防惡劣行爲的一種方法了。

The Tablet Toy that Gets Physical
21.兒童用互動平板計算機

Like many kids, Pramod Sharma’s daughter loves the iPad. But “when her face is glued to the screen, six inches away, all day long—I wasn’t too happy,” he says. So the ex-Google engineer and his former colleague, Jérôme Scholler, devised a way to bring virtual play back into the real world. Osmo’s “reflective AI” attachment enables the iPad camera to interpret physical objects—allowing kids to mimic an onscreen pattern with colored tiles, for example, and get rewarded for doing it correctly. “Many kids can play at once,” says Sharma, “so it becomes more interactive and imaginative.”
和許多孩子一樣，夏爾馬的女兒也非常喜歡玩兒iPad，但是夏爾馬說：“當她整天都捧着它，像是把臉貼在上面似的，我真的很擔心。”所以這位前谷歌工程師和他之前的同事一起設計了一種方法把虛擬遊戲與現實世界結合在了一起。這款Osmo是一個包含應用與配件的學習工具套件，可以將iPad平板電腦變成以孩童爲中心的增強現實裝置，比如讓孩子按屏幕上呈現的圖形擺放彩色卡片，做對了就可以獲得獎勵。“孩子們可以一起玩，”夏爾馬說，“這帶來更多的互動，也能激發孩子們的想象力。”

The Coaching Basketball
22.智能籃球

This basketball comes embedded with nine sensors and a Bluetooth chip that sends performance data to a mobile app—allowing players to measure, say, the arc of their jumpshot. If something’s off during game play, the voice of a coach (via the app) can even implore you to “go faster” or “snap your wrist.” “We get excited when we see someone improve,” says Michael Crowley, whose company, InfoMotion Sports Technologies Inc., makes the 94Fifty Smart Sensor. And apparently, that’s happening a lot: Crowley says InfoMotion has sold close to 100,000 balls.
該款籃球內嵌有9個傳感器和一個藍牙芯片，可以向手機應用中傳送訓練數據，使球員可以評估跳躍時的狀態。在比賽的時候它還能結合應用通過告訴球員“跑快點”“抖手腕”等對其進行指導。“當我們看到有人因此技術得到提高時，感到非常興奮。”製造這款94Fifty 智能籃球的InfoMotion體育科技公司的總裁邁克爾說。目前爲止，該款籃球已經賣出了將近10萬個了。

Wrappers You Can Eat
23.可以吃的包裝紙

“Edible wrapper” sounds like an oxymoron—unless you’re WikiFoods founder David Edwards, who has devised a way to encase yogurt, cheese, ice cream and more in shells strong enough to hold their shape (in water, heat and cold) until you take your first bite. The secret lies in science: Each shell is made of particles of dried fruit or other natural substances that are tiny enough to be electrically attracted to one another; they are combined with calcium and sugar to strengthen the form.
“可食用包裝紙”聽起來似乎有些矛盾，但WikiFoods的創始人大衛可不這麼想，他發明了一種用來包裹優格、芝士、冰淇淋等的包裝，在水裏、高溫或低溫時都能保持形狀，直到你開吃的時候。這其中的科學原理在於，每張包裝紙都是由乾果或其他天然材料的顆粒做成，這些顆粒相互吸引，通過鈣和糖來固定形狀。

Screens that Showcase Digital Art
24.電子藝術相架

“There are so many artists” making beautiful works on and for computers, says digital artist Jake Levine, referencing the burgeoning Tumblr community (among others). But putting that art on physical walls has been nearly impossible. Levine’s Electric Objects, the sleek, 22-by-13-in. flatscreens are wired specifically to display art.
數字藝術家傑克說網上有很多好看的藝術家的作品，但是卻不能將它們掛在牆上。於是設計了這款電子相架，它大小爲22×13英寸，專門用來展示藝術品。

Action Figures that Empower Girls
25.女性英雄人物模型公仔

Studies have shown that girls’ career ambitions can be heavily influenced by their playthings. But when moms Dawn Nadeau and Julie Kerwin started searching for female action figures that were athletic and empowering—as opposed to dolls like Barbie, most of which cannot even bend their limbs—they were dismayed to find … none. So they designed and commissioned a firm to build their IAmElemental series of action figures. Each figure embodies a different “element” of heroism, like persistence or honesty. “The idea that girls could save the world—that’s a very powerful fantasy,” says Nadeau.
研究表明玩具能夠深入影響女孩的職業夢想。但是當已爲人母的道恩和朱莉去尋找那些除芭比以外的女性人物模型時，失望的發現很多模型連手臂都無法彎曲。所以她們聯合一家公司推出了IAmelemental女性英雄人物模型公仔。每種模型都包含一種不同的英雄人格特點，如堅持或誠實。道恩稱：“女孩也能拯救世界的想法，是一種非常有力量的幻想。”