An Australian underwear maker for men has launched a new line of tightie-whities which are woven from banana fibers. No joke. The design department at “AussieBum” decided to make these briefs as eco-friendly as possible. Beyond the typical cotton threads and elastic Lycra in the undies, one-quarter of the fabric is made of bananas, without smelling like them. Apparently, the underwear is not only lightweight but also very absorbent. 27% banana fiber is as high as they can go, because as one spokesperson put it,” naturally, you can’t really add anymore banana fiber than that because it might be a bit squishy”. Nice…

By the way – AussieBum won’t comment if their underwear looks like bananas…

Remember back in the day when we concertgoers held up our Bic lighters and waved them from side to side during certain songs or to request an encore? Then when lighters went away, for a while, those lame glow sticks were used. Well now, the Bic lighter company wants to reclaim its rightful place at rock concerts but in a 21^st century way. Bic has released a free Bic Concert Lighter app for iPhones, Google Androids and BlackBerries. Users can actually flick their Bic (complete with the authentic “flick” sound of a Bic lighter) on their phone and hold it above the crowd. Rock on!

It would seem that the environmental message has even reached the hallowed halls of Maranello. Over the next decade, Ferrari will introduce a host of new technology that will make its cars lighter, smaller and more aerodynamic in a bid to improve their fuel efficiency.  Ferrari said it took the wraps off its green prototype “in recognition of growing interest in North America in alternative sources of energy.”  They say the “ultimate aim” is to cut fuel consumption and emissions on the car by 40 percent by 2012. Ferrari’s green machine shows that the company “can offer the technological solutions the market demands without impinging on the distinctly sporty, high-performance character and supreme driving pleasure of the unique cars it builds at Maranello.

As a Ferrari spokesperson put it, “If the Prancing Horse is to live to be a hundred, then it must breathe cleaner air. This is the future of Ferrari.”

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10 to the 27th power is a colossal number, but will it be accepted as being hella big?  Seems the slang word coined here in Northern California has been proposed as a worthy entry into the field of scientific measurement when calculating enormous numbers. Austin Sendek, a physics student at UC Davis, wants the number of 10 to the 27th power — a trillion trillions — to officially become “hella” big. Ya gotta love this!  Along the lines of using the “kilo” prefix for kilometers or “giga” for gigabyte, Sendek is petitioning the International System of Units (SI) to use the term “hella” to describe really, really big measurements; such as the size of the universe. (now THAT’S big!)  “The diameter of the universe is 1.4 hellameters,” Sendek said. “You know if someone says that’s ‘hella meters’ you know exactly what they’re talking about.” Under Sendek’s proposed terminology, you would say the mass of the earth is six hellagrams, and the power of the sun is 0.3 hellawatts.  Sendek started an online petition on his Facebook page.  He now has more than 23,000. Though the idea started partially in jest, Sendek said it would be a great way to give “props” to Northern California. “It’s another way to honor Northern California colloquialism and turn it into actual science,” said Sendek.

Hella cool…..

Exciting news for folks who take frequent trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Now there’s “Glow-in-the dark” toilet paper! Yes, the soft florescent glow of the toilet tissue makes it easy to find the roll when ya gotta go in the dark.  Convenience, however, has its price – we’re talking almost ten bucks a roll!  One reviewer of the florescent TP gushes, “It’s actually the most useful glow-in-the-dark product ever!  If you plan on going camping make sure you take a couple of these rolls. This way you’ll be properly prepared should the call of nature visit you in the middle of the night.”

And if you take a night hike,  be sure to step over anything that glows…

Congratulations to Sacramento International Airport which has scored the top rating among California airports in a national customer satisfaction survey. Our airport bested the likes of airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. The findings come from the annual J.D. Power and Associates’ 2010 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, which is based on 24,000 surveys filled out by fliers at airports in 2009. It focused on airport accessibility, baggage claim, check-in process, security checkpoint, food and retail, and overall facilities, and….Sacramento International Airport kicked butt!   So next time you travel, look around our find facility and know you are surrounded by greatness – and Cinnibons, and Governator T Shirts, oh yeah, and the suitcase structure down in baggage claim…..

Any skater will tell you a sleek, clean ice rink is heaven. No bumps, no tears, no shavings that stick to your blade. Unfortunately, getting ice so smooth and beautiful is not a green practice. Typically a diesel or gas or propane belching box of a machine rolls along the ice .  If a rink is resurfaced once an hour–which is not uncommon–the space fills with carbon monoxide and other particulate matter. It also just takes a lot of energy to make the things work. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics will use electric grooming machines to clean the ice. The Olympic Committee made a commitment to be as green as possible. In doing so they asked the two major grooming companies to come up with electric equipment. The cost for one is double what a diesel machine costs, but it can clean the ice for about .25 and one charge can power 30 cleanings.  Here’s to a green ice rink!

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Drunken pub fights in England are set to get safer with the invention of a strengthened beer glass that health authorities hope will cut the huge bill for treating inebriated brawlers.The traditional pint glass has been redesigned so it is harder to smash, and even if the new models do get cracked over someone’s head,  the dangerous shards of glass are held together by a layer of resin. Apparently, glass attacks cost health authorities an estimated $2.7 billion annually, and official figures put the number of attacks each year at around 87,000. England’s Home Secretary Alan Johnson praised the new models and said the properties of the current pint glass are to blame for much of the country’s alcohol-related violence.

Wait – the glasses are to blame?   Seriously? What about the drunk humans?

There’s no denying that roses, those Valentine’s Day staples, convey a romantic mood, but unfortunately, most conventional blossoms are grown using loads of pesticides, then shipped from South America to retail outlets around the globe. Consider presenting a single stem instead of a dozen. It’ll make a dramatic impression, while reducing your impact for the day. If you’re a think-ahead type, ordering online through outlets that carry organic buds is another smart option. Look for the VeriFLora certification, which indicates sustainable growing. Worldwide, approximately one billion Valentines Day cards are sent out each year-that’s a lot of virgin paper that ends up in the trash. But who doesn’t get verklempt when a card’s sappy sentiments brings a tear to the eye? This year, skip the fuzzy-puppy-hugging-a-heart approach, pick up your desk scissors, and channel your inner school child. It’s time to go old school and ride out the workday by creating an original Valentine from the scrap paper and magazines lying around the office.

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