《時代》周刊評出2014年度最佳發明

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”聽起來自相矛盾——除非你是WikiFoods公司首席執行官戴維?愛德華茲。他發明一種(在遇水、遇熱和遇冷時)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，在你張口咬開之前不會變形。這其中的奧秘來自科學：每個外殼都用水果干或其他天然物質的顆粒制成，這些顆粒小得足以因為帶電不同而相互吸引：它們又與鈣和糖混合起來，以加固外殼。

24. Screens that Showcase Digital Art

數字藝術展示屏

“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.

數字藝術家杰克?萊文說，“有如此多的畫家”在電腦上或在為電腦創作美麗的作品，他指的是日益紅火的Tumblr等網上社區。但把這種藝術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狀。該公司生產的光滑的平板顯示屏規格為22×13英寸，內置了網絡連接，可用來顯示畫作。它們的亮度可與陽光同步變化，表面的磨砂處理可消除反光，從而營造油畫般的質感。配套的手機應用使用戶可隨意切換顯示的內容。

25. Action Figures that Empower Girls

讓女孩變得強大的動作玩偶

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，女孩的職業抱負在很大程度上會受到玩具的影響。然而，當唐?納多和朱莉?克爾溫兩位母親開始尋找與芭比娃娃截然相反的健壯、強勢的女性動作玩偶時，她們卻沮喪地一無所獲。于是，她們籌集了16.2萬多美元，設計了自己的“我是強者”系列動作玩偶并委托一家企業生產，這些玩偶意在把女性塑造為具有強勢性格的英雄。每款玩偶都代表一種不同的“英雄主義”要素，例如恒心或誠實。納多說：“女孩可以拯救世界的概念是一種非常有力的想象。”

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）