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What can one AA battery do? Although there’re many answers to that question, the most surprising one in fact comes from the Las Vegas’ CES, during which XPAL Power launched its SpareOne mobile phone and announced that the SpareOne can work for 15 years simply relying on one AA battery. The compact cellphone is mainly designed for phone calls, thus it doesn’t come with so many functions as other mobiles do. But that on the other hand makes it really ideal and suitable for outdoor adventurists who want to stay in contact, but without the worry of losing a more valuable device.

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Surely it’s dangerous to cycle in the evenings no matter what kinds of tools you’ve chosen to avoid the possible dangers, but this Lightning Vest is still here to offer you with more protection, by reminding the drivers and pedestrians of your existence. It’s hand-netted from a custom developed 3M reflective material, loose and large enough to be worn outside T-shirts, jackets or coats. It’s also very durable, lightweight and compact to fit into even your pocket.

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Scientists from China have recently brought good news for people who seldom want to clean their clothes: the self-cleaning clothes. The new material was created by coating titanium dioxide and nitrogen on cotton fibers, and those two elements will break down dirt and kill microbes once exposed to the sunlight. Additional nanoparticles using silver and iodine are also adopted to accelerate the discoloration process. Of course the self-cleaning clothes can be washed with water too, as the special coat is claimed to be robust enough to withstand washing and drying.

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Pocket sandwiches developed for the U.S. army now features a much longer guarantee period that what we’ve ever imagined, as it can actually last for 2 to 3 years without refrigeration! Can you believe that?! The new technology to make these sandwiches is announced to focuses on taking care of the entities like water and oxygen that are responsible for decay, so that they can last a much longer time than ordinary sandwiches. What’s better is that the sandwiches will taste still fresh and good even after a long time of storage, and that’s really the best part we appreciate.

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Based on their observations and researches of carol, scientists from Stanford University have developed a new technology to produce cement by mimicking carol’s action of taking in minerals and CO2 to build its hard exoskeleton. Therefore, during the construction process of the new cement, the material actually absorbs CO2 and dissolves it instead of releasing CO2 as common cements do, so as to benefit to the environments. The new cement is durable too, strong enough to last for a long time.

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What will the next-generation fluorescent lights be like? “D’Light” from H_Design can offer us a possible answer. Made of heat resistant tempered silicone material and LEDs, the D’Light is expandable and durable, saves both your efforts to install the light tube and your money spent on electricity bills. It can fit into different sizes of lights too, and all you need to do is to hook it to one end and expand the length to the other side. Easy and practical as that!

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Foldable, portable and practical, the ‘Radler Trail Camp’ by Timberland is a lightweight and water-repellent shoe quite suitable for outdoor activities. It is especially excellent for the foldable design, featuring a zipper along its sole so that the shoe can fold along its center when not in use. With that unique feature, even with simply one bag you can take almost ten pairs of shoes at one time, as they take up really small space indeed.

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Lighter than paper but stronger than steel, the Minimal Backpack is so tough that it can even be used to hold bricks or steels. It’s waterproof too, so quite suitable for outdoors use, especially in rainy or snowy days. When not in use, simply roll it, place it in your pocket up and you’ll never feel it a burden.

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The Bank of Canada has decided to release new $100 bill made of a plastic polymer all over the country. Due to its special material, the new bills are harder to counterfeit, longer to use and cannot be destroyed by liquid. These plastic bills are expected to be used for up to 22 years, which is 1.5 times longer than paper bills. As the $100 bills are widely accepted by Canadian people, the bank announced that $50 bills, $20 bills, $10 bills and $5 bills will also be released by the end of 2013.

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Launched by Japan-based Panasonic, this is the world’s first LED bulb that uses clear glass to show the light source. It features a single filament, coming with a power of 4.4 watts while lasting for over 40,000 hours. Requiring no time to get prepared, the bulb offers 100% of the light once you switch it on, and thus quite ideal for public places like the stairs and toilets. As a bonus, the bulb is announced to get a high efficiency, even remaining high lumen of 70% at end of life.

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Italy’s largest producer of brushes “Venice” now brings us with its biodegradable brushes and combs made from cellulose acetate that is derived from cotton. Free of dyes, these new brushes appear in a slightly milky transparency, making it nice and comfortable to see.  Moreover, the brushes and combs are durable too, featuring a good ability to server you for a long time.

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Wood, stone, steel… Forget those traditional materials used to build furniture, and have a look at these carbon fiver furniture set. They all have merely thin surface plate that measures 1 cm, but can actually bear great strength and work for a long time. As an additional bonus, the carbon fiber furniture is very lightweight, so you can conveniently move it in or out of rooms according to your needs.

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The first high-efficiency OLED on plastic was claimed by researchers from the University of Toronto recently, which is deemed as an important development that may lead to more durable and “impact-resistant” displays. The flexible OLEDs were invented by adding 50-100 nm thin layer of tantalum oxide onto plastic, thus to achieve the same refractive index as that of heavy metal-doped glass. The new technology is believed to be producing OLEDs with a low cost, while promoting the efficiency and durability of OLEDs in the meanwhile.

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Totally unbelievable… a pen sharpener cannot come with a much simpler design than the Twist! It is constructed of merely a stainless steel sheet, bent to mimic a sharpener. So if everything can get a simple basic design, will the environment left with less footprints? We hope so.

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The Compact Café Table by Sigurd Larsen is no doubt the best furniture you can ever find if you’re someone concerning both a stylish design and strong functions. Made from recycled paper and resin, the table and benches set is suitable for either interior or exterior use, according to your different needs. When viewing from the front, these four pieces of furniture are rightly displaying their nice thin lines… So cute!

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