《時(shí)代》周刊評(píng)出2014年度最佳發(fā)明

23. Wrappers You Can Eat

可食用的包裝

“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. “可食用的包裝”聽(tīng)起來(lái)自相矛盾——除非你是WikiFoods公司首席執(zhí)行官戴維?愛(ài)德華茲。他發(fā)明一種(在遇水、遇熱和遇冷時(shí))保持不變形的外殼，可以把酸奶、奶酪、冰激凌及其他食物裝入其中，在你張口咬開(kāi)之前不會(huì)變形。這其中的奧秘來(lái)自科學(xué)：每個(gè)外殼都用水果干或其他天然物質(zhì)的顆粒制成，這些顆粒小得足以因?yàn)閹щ姴煌嗷ノ核鼈冇峙c鈣和糖混合起來(lái)，以加固外殼。

24. Screens that Showcase Digital Art

數(shù)字藝術(shù)展示屏

“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, which has raised almost $3 million in funding, aims to change that. The sleek, 22-by-13-in. flatscreens are wired specifically to display art. Their brightness dims in tandem with sunlight, and their matte finish blocks glare so they resemble actual paintings. And a companion smartphone app lets users switch what is displayed on a whim.

數(shù)字藝術(shù)家杰克?萊文說(shuō)，“有如此多的畫(huà)家”在電腦上或在為電腦創(chuàng)作美麗的作品，他指的是日益紅火的Tumblr等網(wǎng)上社區(qū)。但把這種藝術(shù)掛到墻上卻一直幾乎是不可能的。萊文的Eletric Objects公司旨在改變這一現(xiàn)狀。該公司生產(chǎn)的光滑的平板顯示屏規(guī)格為22×13英寸，內(nèi)置了網(wǎng)絡(luò)連接，可用來(lái)顯示畫(huà)作。它們的亮度可與陽(yáng)光同步變化，表面的磨砂處理可消除反光，從而營(yíng)造油畫(huà)般的質(zhì)感。配套的手機(jī)應(yīng)用使用戶可隨意切換顯示的內(nèi)容。

25. Action Figures that Empower Girls

讓女孩變得強(qiáng)大的動(dòng)作玩偶

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 using funds they raised on Kickstarter—$162,906 to be exact, more than quadruple their goal—they designed and commissioned a firm to build their IAmElemental series of action figures, meant to portray women as heroes with strong personalities. 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.

研究顯示，女孩的職業(yè)抱負(fù)在很大程度上會(huì)受到玩具的影響。然而，當(dāng)唐?納多和朱莉?克爾溫兩位母親開(kāi)始尋找與芭比娃娃截然相反的健壯、強(qiáng)勢(shì)的女性動(dòng)作玩偶時(shí)，她們卻沮喪地一無(wú)所獲。于是，她們籌集了16.2萬(wàn)多美元，設(shè)計(jì)了自己的“我是強(qiáng)者”系列動(dòng)作玩偶并委托一家企業(yè)生產(chǎn)，這些玩偶意在把女性塑造為具有強(qiáng)勢(shì)性格的英雄。每款玩偶都代表一種不同的“英雄主義”要素，例如恒心或誠(chéng)實(shí)。納多說(shuō)：“女孩可以拯救世界的概念是一種非常有力的想象。”

（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Helen 編輯）