Sneaky Thinkings

Burton Tron Raptor Boot: “

Inspired by Disney’s sci-fi classic and its upcoming sequel, the Burton Tron Raptor Boot ($270) takes the company’s lightest weight boot and gives it a splash of day-glo graphics. Apart…

Visit Uncrate for the full post.“

(Via Uncrate.)

Airbus interior designer creates Space Shuttle for honeymooners [Sex In Space]: “

Yelken Octuri designs interiors for Airbus, but in his spare time he creates fanciful, futuristic airplanes. This is my favorite – a special Space Shuttle for people who want a honeymoon suite in space. More »

(Via Gizmodo.)

Facebook Predicts When You’re Likely To Get Dumped [Data]: “

Facebook status updates can be creepy and revealing, but they can also help predict when you’re likely to find yourself dumped. Naturally, there’s good news and bad news to be found in the data. More »

(Via Gizmodo.)

Huge Virus Breakthrough Could Mean a Cure For the Common Cold [Video]: “

Researchers at a Cambridge lab have found that our bodies can fight viruses not only outside cells but inside them, too, a discovery that will rewrite textbooks and one that could save millions of lives by vanquishing the common cold. More »

(Via Gizmodo.)

FTC Says POM Wonderful Not So Great:

The FTC wants to see some proof that the pomegranate ingredients in POM Wonderful’s products can actually treat heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction, which is what the company says in marketing and packaging materials.

POM Wonderful tends to mention studies that prove its products’ effectiveness in treating those conditions, but the FTC says such claims are ‘false and unsubstantiated,’ because the studies either didn’t show what POM claims, or they weren’t valid studies. In the case of erectile dysfunction, the FTC says the study POM points to actually didn’t show pomegranate to be any more effective than a placebo.

In a separate action, the FTC has come down on POM Wonderful’s former head of scientific and regulatory affairs, and he has agreed to stop making any health claims that aren’t supported by actual scientific evidence.

On its website, POM Wonderful claims that it stands behind the studies, and that ‘we do not make claims that our products act as drugs. What we do, rather, is communicate, through advertising, the promising science relating to pomegranates.’

‘FTC Complaint Charges Deceptive Advertising by POM Wonderful’ [FTC.gov]

(Via Consumerist.)

Ben & Jerry’s Dropping “All Natural” From Labels:

After the Center for Science in the Public Interest complained last month that ‘all natural’ doesn’t include things like alkalized cocoa and hydrogenated oil, Ben & Jerry’s announced yesterday that it will stop using the phrase on its ice cream cartons.

It won’t change any recipes, though, so if you’re obsessed with a particular flavor you can rest assured it will still come with the same amount of alkalized cocoa, hydrogenated oil, dinosaur-shaped nuggets, pretzel hoops, and so on.

(Via Consumerist.)

Old Oil Rig Converted Into Brand New Vacation Spot For Scuba Divers [Travel]: “

Only 120 diving and snorkeling permits are granted near Sipadan island each day and lately some of those have been going to folks using an old oil rig‘s elevator to drop right into the perfect waters. More »

(Via Gizmodo.)

Blockbuster is Officially Bankrupt [Blockbuster]: “

As expected, Blockbuster has filed bankruptcy today in the US, after shuttering over 1,500 stores in the past year. The remaining 3,000 or so stores will stay open—though for how long, who knows. [Bloomberg] More »

(Via Gizmodo.)

This Chip Might Bring Perfect Reception to Your Home, Without Resentment [Femtocell]: “

So it’s a quandary. Your house is in a service dead zone, and you don’t want to shell out $150 more for something you’re paying for already. What’s worth more, principle or a functioning phone? That decision might be over. More »

(Via Gizmodo.)

Pope’s astronomer would be pleased to baptize an alien “no matter how many tentacles it has”: “

Guy Consolmagno, astronomer to the pope, is profiled in the Economist. He says intelligent design is ‘bad theology’ that has been ‘hijacked’ by American creationist fundamentalists. He also would be ‘delighted’ to discover intelligent extraterrestrial life.

Consolmagno curates the pope’s meteorite collection and is a trained astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican’s observatory. He dismissed the ideas of intelligent design – a pseudoscientific version of creationism. ‘The word has been hijacked by a narrow group of creationist fundamentalists in America to mean something it didn’t originally mean at all. It’s another form of the God of the gaps. It’s bad theology in that it turns God once again into the pagan god of thunder and lightning.’

(Hey, you guys won against the pagans centuries ago. Why kick them when they’re down?)

Pope’s astronomer says he would baptise an alien if it asked him

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(Via Boing Boing.)