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.
Carnival + Chinese New Year + Italian military band: this unruly cultural mash-up took place in Milan to bring in the year of the pig recently.
Celebrations of capodanno cinese were a bit toned down in size and scale compared to last year, there was little about it in the papers probably because it fell during carnival.
There were no good vibes at Italy’s latest parking lot of love on Valentine’s day. Police shut the park down before the Fiats could pull into the 73 spots available.
Called the “Lovely Park” in grammatically-challenged English, the structure in southern city of Bari would have been open for action 24 hours a day, charging the amorous €3 ($3.80 circa) an hour for privacy and safety. Continue reading
A new electronic mooring system billed as a boon for pampered boaters is also good for the environment since it eliminates the need for dropping a coral-killing anchor.
The Italian-engineered MarPark system, launched on an experimental basis last summer in a few protected areas in Liguria and Sardinia, lets boaters cruise into idyllic bays and hook a rope with a rubber ring to a smartbuoy. Simple as that, they’re safely harbored, no anchor necessary. Full story by zoomata editor Nicole Martinelli on Wired.
Next time someone tries to steal your man, pull a cord inside his jacket and send the interloper packing. Designed for increasingly paranoid city dwellers, it’s easy to imagine other uses for a stylish “Defence Jacket” presented at Italian fashion fair Pitti Immagine this week.
This metrosexual-worthy waterproof silver number with a fur collar by Ivy Oxford features a “parachute cord” to pull in case of emergency.
It sets off 130-decibel alarm, one notch above the world’s loudest screamer and the threshold for pain. If that’s not enough to get rid of any annoyance that comes your way, the jacket also comes equipped with pepper spray in a hidden pocket. Consider yourself warned.
Centuries after his death, Antonio Stradivari’s violins still define excellence in the musical world.
What about the instrument he never made?
Sifting through some papers at the Stradivari museum in Cremona about three years ago, professor Andrea Mosconi came across the maestro’s sketches for a viol (aka viola da gamba), unlike any of the ones Stradivari crafted. Continue reading
Victor, a British transplant here in Milan, was recently ordered by his Italian dentist to buy a “bocchino.”
You’re not sure what that is? Well, you’re not alone: he wasn’t sure either. (It’s a good thing, too, because the word is also slang for “blow job.”)
Prescribed fabulousness.
After a grueling cleaning session with a material that smelled and tasted suspiciously like lemon Ajax, the dentist had no doubts. Victor must get himself this “bocchino” immediately. Slightly alarmed, he asked the dentist where to buy one.
“Oh, right. Just go to any tobacconist,” il dentista replied. “Shouldn’t cost you more than five euro.”
Completely baffled, Victor stopped at a café with the “T” symbol front and inquired about this mystery tooth-saving device.
“The guy looked at me for a second,” Victor recounted. “Then put a few cigarette holders on the counter. I went for a black-and-gold one. ”
Makes perfect sense. Victor is a smoker. His dentist understands that it is unlikely that Victor will actually stop smoking, so he orders him to use a cigarette holder that will stain his teeth less.
Victor, amused at what he describes as “prescribed fabulousness,” is perhaps puffing a bit less these days, if only because huddling outside for a ciggy break at work it is just, uh, slightly affected – when you use a holder.
This reminds me of the first dentist I ever went to in Italy. Limping by on a stolen bike trade and a sporadic gig selling leather backpacks at the San Lorenzo market in Florence, my dentist visits lagged behind the prescribed every six months. (I’d done better with writing semi-regular aerograms to my grandmother – you can’t manage everything.)
Expecting the worst, I was surprised when the dentist said there was nothing to worry about, it was likely that I’d make it to my 80s with the original set.
His only recommendation? Floss once a week.
“Once a week? You mean, once every SEVEN days?” This went against every law of good American dentistry. Maybe I hadn’t heard right.
“Once a week, yes,” was the somewhat impatient reply.
“Isn’t that supposed to be once every 24 hours?” I insisted.
“Sure, except you’ll never floss every single day. But you’ll remember to do it once a week, right?”
He may just be the wisest man to ever probe a molar. Dentists (and doctors, too, at least in my experience) are a lot more laid back in Italy. They don’t pronounce diktats you’re unlikely to follow and then feel guilty about. Sensitive gauges of human nature, they offer advice that you’re likely to take. They’re on your side. The tell it like it is.
Sure, Italians aren’t exactly known for sporting brilliant pearly whites, but the general philosophy must work or Italians wouldn’t live to be one of the oldest populations on the planet.
Anyway, it’s a lot less hypocritical than ending dental check-ups with a lolly.
Researchers in Italy have high hopes for a new wind-power generator that resembles a backyard drying rack on steroids. Despite its appearance, the Kite Wind Generator, or KiteGen for short, could produce as much energy as a nuclear power plant.
Here’s how it works: When wind hits the KiteGen, kites spring from funnels at the ends of poles. For each kite, winches release a pair of high-resistance cables to control direction and angle. The kites are not your Saturday-afternoon park variety but similar to those used for kite surfing — light and ultra-resistant, capable of reaching an altitude of 2,000 meters.
KiteGen’s core is set in motion by the twirl of the kites; the rotation activates large alternators producing current. A control system on autopilot optimizes the flight pattern to maximize the juice produced as it sails on night and day. A radar system can redirect kites within seconds in case of any interference: oncoming helicopters, for example. Or small planes or even single birds. Full story by zoomata editor Nicole Martinelli on wired.
