Researchers in Italy are investigating the subjective acoustic qualities of church architecture in one of the most extensive scientific inquiries yet.
By studying the best-sounding spaces (and the worst), the researchers hope to assemble practical design criteria for new churches. The data can also provide the clergy with some considerations on what music works best in existing places of worship. More from zoomata editor Nicole Martinelli here.
MILAN, Italy — The NicStic is a cigarette-size plastic tube with a rechargeable heating coil that vaporizes tobacco instead of burning it.
Pop a filter on the end of the tube, and in seconds it is warmed up enough for a nicotine fix without the smoke. Because it has no smoke, it also has none of the tar, arsenic, cadmium and formaldehyde of regular cigarettes; it also passes muster with local anti-smoking laws here.
“I actually don’t mind doing a bit of vogueing with this,” said Victor Chambers, a former model and steady smoker, who tried the device at a reporter’s request inside a crowded local bar. “Shivering in the rain for a smoke is just so last season.” More from zoomata editor Nicole Martinelli over at Wired.com.
Forget the water dispenser and ice cube maker: a new fridge made in Italy has a front-door beer tap.
Called HomePub this chic, stainless steel fridge holds a five-liter keg and can keep the beer bubbly for up to three weeks. Price not listed.
You’d think Italians would be more interested in a vino dispenser, but Bel Paese residents have developed a taste for beer in recent years.
Italian multimedia designer Diana (aka Bianca Foulon) is launching her first collection of virtual togs in Second Life for media agency Interzone March 8.
Timed to coincide with celebrations for International Women’s Day, models hit the catwalk on the Interzone Island at 1p.m. SL time or from 10:00 p.m. GMT.
Diana/Bianca hopes the fashion line, called Gina’s, will encourage indie designers from the Bel Paese to create more moda for this new world.
Zoomata editor Nicole Martinelli has been tapped to model and is furiously practicing graceful turns with the keyboard in hopes of not falling off the runway.