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Necrobotics, Electrified Chopsticks and Other Winners of the 2023 Annual Ig Nobel Awards

You might be tempted to lump the Ig Nobel Awards in with the Darwin Awards as simply a celebration of human stupidity – but it’s much more. Back in 1991 they were created to honor “achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think.” The award ceremony has the memorably brilliant requirement that … Read more

The Subscription-Fueled Future of Car “Ownership”

Last year, Mercedes launched a feature in their electric cars that would allow drivers to pay $60 per month for an “Acceleration Increase” that would boost their car’s acceleration speed by 1 second when going from zero to sixty. BMW announced (and quickly abandoned) their wildly unpopular idea of charging car owners $18 per month to … Read more

The Creator of the Greatest Software Ever Invented Just Died

Dennis Austin just died and I feel like he deserves a bit of a tribute. Maybe even a parade. He’s the co-inventor, along with Michael Gaskins, of the greatest software product ever imagined: PowerPoint. Yes, I said it. PowerPoint is the best software for communicators. I use it for everything. Giving talks. Designing images. Laying out … Read more

“Brotox” and the Men’s Cosmetic Procedure Boom

The cheek implant was the fastest-growing men’s aesthetic procedure this past year, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. This so-called boom in “brotox” procedures, which includes everything from lip augmentations to butt lifts, is evidence of a growing willingness and social acceptance among men to consider undergoing beauty procedures. It may also be an … Read more

7-Eleven Japan Tests Palm Scanner to Check If You Are Eating Veggies

Radar speed scanners slow down drivers by showing them how fast they are going. The awareness creates the behavior change. Could the same idea shift how we eat? In Japan, 7-Eleven is testing a Vege-Check palm scanner that “uses reflection spectroscopy to measure carotenoid levels in a person’s skin.” These are the biomarkers that can estimate the amount of … Read more

12 Wild Stories from a Nightlife Concierge in Ibiza

An alternate title for this article could easily have been: “Ibiza: Where Rich Assholes Go to Party.” That’s the impression you’ll pretty immediately have as you start reading these stories from a writer who spent just a week working as a concierge managing wealthy client demands at a top resort in “Ibitha” – as it’s often pronounced … Read more

What Is Prada’s New $650 Underwear Designed to Be Worn Without Pants Really Saying?

According to fashion industry insiders, Prada’s latest release of a $650 pair of underwear is “no surprise” given the brand’s track record of expensive essentials. What was unexpected, however, was how the brand seemed to be positioning the underwear as desirable outerwear without pants.  In conversation at a fashion industry event once, I recall hearing these runway … Read more

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Rohit is the author of 9 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.

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