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Wrong house gets torn down based on a Google Maps error
We've seen our share of GPS-guided mishaps, but what happened to the owners of a Texas duplex is particularly heartbreaking. Their house was torn down by mistake (no, this isn't the first time that's happened, it's not even the first time in Texas) after it was damaged by a tornado, and the demolition company apparently blames Google Maps for the error. They lived at 7601 Calypso Dr., and as you can see below, on Google Maps it lists the same location for that address as it shows for 7601 Cousteau Dr. --the home a block away that was supposed to be demolished. (At the time of this writing, both Apple Maps and Mapquest have what appears to be the correct listing for 7601 Cousteau Dr.)
This superheated knife toasts bread as you cut it
Tired of having to slice up your fresh bread before you drop it in the toaster? Colin Furze feels your pain. The homebrew inventor just built a toasting knife that -- you guessed it -- toasts whatever you're cutting. It ultimately amounts to a modified microwave transformer sending loads of heat to a blade, but it singes your soon-to-be meal about as well as you'd hope. You can even use it to melt butter as you spread it, like a kind of culinary steamroller. Is this practical for your kitchen? Probably not, but there's no denying that it'd be convenient for those hectic mornings when every second of breakfast-making counts.
Google Doodle celebrates Douglas Adams' 61st birthday
Here's to a hoopy frood who really knew where his towel was.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy app coming to the iPad, Don't Panic decal not included
Canadian indie developer Hothead Games is producing a Hitchhikers Guide app, aiming to replicate the titular guide itself (rather than the novels). When it arrives this fall, we can expect beautifully animated sequences describing the Babel Fish and Vogon Poetry -- but just a single word about planet Earth (the addition of the word "Mostly" should come in a second, more sinister update). Visit the holding page and you'll hear the unmistakably honeyed tones of Simon Jones who played Arthur Dent in the original TV and radio series. If he's voicing the guide then this will be a must-have for fans, taking over a role made famous by Peter Jones, and later Stephen Fry in the movie. As the app is iOS only, Android users should probably still panic -- or make a trip to their local laser etching station.
Don't Panic! Stephen Fry provides LittleBigPlanet narration
Don't panic, but famed British comedian and noted Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy voice (he's done the audio books and narrated the movie) Stephen Fry will provide narration for LittleBigPlanet. Media Molecule's Alex Evans made the announcement during a press briefing for the game, although he had the TV muted at the time. Seems fitting for when we make our whole sort of general mishmash.
