Via Twist Street, I wanted to click on nearly every link on this list but here are my four favorites:
1. In the 1980's in San Francisco,
there was a racket at one point where gangs would slash seats with knives so they’d have to be re-upholstered, generating overtime pay for BART workers and extra orders for materials suppliers. Specific patterns would be cut in so they’d know who to pay for the 'favor,’"
2. There's a cafe in Tokyo staffed by robots remotely operated by disabled people:
"Avatar Robot Cafe DAWN ver.β” is a permanent experimental cafe operated by OryLab Inc, where people who have difficulty going out for various reasons remotely operate our avatar robots OriHime and OriHime-D from their homes and hospitals, to provide service
3. Russia has experimented with drones trailing several kilometers of fiber optic cable to defeat radio jamming.
4. For the first time since 2015, Casio produced a new flagship calculator:
the S100 exudes an air of luxury unlike any calculator before it. The hairline-finished machined aluminum body's exquisite appearance invites being held. A diamond cut is applied to the outer edge, creating an elegant highlight. Everything from the visibility of the gorgeous LCD screen to the satisfying haptic feedback of each button press has been refined to the smallest detail.