hygiene
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What you’ll need to survive the California wildfires this summer
Gear and strategies to help you ride out this summer’s fire season. Good luck.
Super Nintendo World will open March 18th with strong COVID-19 measures
After the planned February 4th launch was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Super Nintendo World will open on March 18th.
Get ready to hear about Quip's new floss dispenser on all your podcasts
The podcasts you listen to will never be the same. That's because one of the biggest advertisers in the space, toothbrush subscription startup Quip, finally has a new product. On Tuesday, the company announced a refillable floss dispenser simply called Floss.
Oral-B's new smart toothbrush tracks movement with your phone
Oral-B debuted its Smart Series of connected toothbrushes last year, and at Mobile World Congress 2016, the company announced a new model. The Oral-B Genius touts Position Detection tech that uses motion sensors and your phone's camera to track your oral hygiene. Those bells and whistles keep tabs on location, pressure and brushing time to offer feedback on how well you're cleaning your teeth. All of those details come to you through the companion app on your trusty handset. In fact, there's a holder that comes with the high-tech toothbrush so you can put your phone on the mirror in front of you while brush.
Electric toothbrush mates simplicity with low-cost subscriptions
You could easily argue that many attempts at modernizing the toothbrush are overkill -- motion tracking and smartphone tie-ins are a bit much for cleaning that should only take a couple of minutes if you're doing it right. Quip (no, not that Quip) thinks there's a better solution. Its newly unveiled combination of a toothbrush and subscription service is just smart enough to keep your teeth in pristine shape. The electric brush's only proper trick is a vibrating handle that stops when it's time to scrub another section of your mouth. The real cleverness comes through the low-cost subscription model: you pay $25 to $40 for a starter kit ($5 to $20 for a non-electric brush) and $10 every three months for both new bristles and two tubes of toothpaste. It's decidedly cheaper than Goodwell's recently unveiled subscription model ($69 before the plan kicks in), and you can buy things piecemeal if you're not down with regular payments.
Oral-B's app-connected toothbrush now rescuing British teeth for £230
Oral-B's electric toothbrushes spin, vibrate and get into places your standard scrubber can only imagine, but none are more extravagant than the new "Smart Series" launched today. The Bluetooth-endowed brushes -- yes, they're a thing now -- pair with iOS devices (an Android app's due in August) and tell you how terrible your oral hygiene is, with the hope of improving it. Basically, the app allows you to choose different brushing routines, with your iPhone showing a timer (as well as news and weather reports to distract you from the dull task at hand), telling you when to move on to different areas of your chops, and notifying you when you're putting too much pressure on your teeth. Oral-B's actually had toothbrushes with similar functionality for many years, but they've all required additional hardware that's replaced by your phone in this new Smart Series. Kind of like a fitness tracker for brushing, the app will also store session data so you can build up a record of successful scrubs.
Oral-B's smart toothbrush wants to fix our dumb hygiene habits (hands-on)
Were we expecting to find a Bluetooth-enabled toothbrush here at MWC? No, we weren't. Did we physically put it to the test, after a long line of other exhibition goers? No, we certainly did not. However, we'd be more than pleased to show you how the Oral-B's SmartSeries 7000 might earn its keep. As you're about to see, the $220 gizmo can do plenty of things that normal toothbrushes can't.
Oral-B smart toothbrush will make sure you're following your dentist's advice
Two can play the smartphone-savvy toothbrush game, it seems. Procter & Gamble tells Reuters that it's releasing an Oral-B toothbrush (pictured above) that, like its Kolibree rival, will talk to your smartphone via Bluetooth to show how well you're cleaning your teeth. Dentists will play a more important role here, however -- they can program the companion app to make sure you're cleaning spots you tend to miss. Ideally, this will prevent the tendency to slack off following a check-up. The smart brush will be one of the priciest models in the Oral-B line at £199 ($331) when it ships in June, but it may be worth the expense if it spares you from any cavities.
Yelp adding hygiene ratings to New York and San Francisco restaurant listings
Yelp is great for sizing up unvisited eateries, and soon some users will be able to complement review results with a side of hygiene inspection ratings. "Health Scores" will be added to listings in New York and San Francisco over the next few weeks, with Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago next in line. The most recent rating will show up on the restaurant hub, but go deeper and you'll find a history of recent inspections, including notes on any violations. A "new open data standard" called LIVES (Local Inspector Value-entry Specification) is behind the feature, allowing local authorities to add inspection outcomes straight into Yelp. We're sure users will appreciate the extra info when scoping out new places, or even checking up on old favorites -- but they might not like what they find. One example restaurant linked in Yelp's blog post has a Health Score of 92 out of 100, which sounds all good until you see one of the most recent violations was due to "Rodents / Roaches / Flies / Other Animals." Tasty!
Self-sterilizing door handle looks perfect for hypochondriacs, is as real as their ailments
The world of concepts is quite the wonderful place to behold, it's filled with electric supercars, cameras that only ever need one lens, beautiful BlackBerrys, and now... a self-cleaning door handle. The product of one Choi Bomi's hyperactive imagination, this gatekeeper continuously sterilizes itself with a UV light, only taking a break when you actually use it. A clandestine switch in the handle's frame is what toggles the sanitizing illumination on and off, a spark of cleverness that's earned the design a Red Dot award. That's great, now who hands out the awards for making economically viable, mass producible devices?
Klhip your fingernails with this $50 personal grooming device
We've never stopped to think that the world needed an "ultimate" nail-trimming device, but lo and behold, it now has one. Such is the modest tagline accompanying the Klhip nail clippers, which are composed of stainless steel and offer the not unheard of ability to collect your nail shards instead of ejecting them out into space. What's advanced (and award-winning) about its design is that you place pressure directly above the cutting blade, which is touted as being precise enough to omit the need for filing afterwards. If that sounds like the thing that's been missing from your bathroom cabinet, you can pre-order one for $50 ($80 with a leather case, visible after the break) for delivery in a month's time.
Robo-nurse gives gentle bed baths, keeps its laser eye on you (video)
When they're not too busy building creepy little humanoids or lizard-like sand swimmers, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology like to concern themselves with helping make healthcare easier. To that end, they've constructed the Cody robot you see above, which has recently been demonstrated successfully wiping away "debris" from a human subject. The goal is simple enough to understand -- aiding the elderly and infirm in keeping up their personal hygiene -- but we'd still struggle to hand over responsibility for granny's care to an autonomous machine equipped with a camera and laser in the place where a head might, or ought to, be. See Cody cleaning up its designer's extremities after the break.
Violight goes ultraviolent on your gadgets, leaves germ corpses in its wake
Violight has been in the business of UV-based germicide since way back in 2004, but now it's bringing its wares closer to our geeky hearts. Its new Cell Phone Sanitizer will nuke 99 percent of all germs and bacteria slithering around your phone or MP3 player, and it'll do it in under 5 minutes too. Or such is the claim, anyhow. Alternative applications for this ultra-versatile product include using it as gift packaging or as a display stand in stores -- you've got to love that added value right there. Some patience will be required before you lay down $49.95 for your very own UV zapper, as Violight's Sanitizer isn't hitting the market until at least October. Video teaser's ready right now, though, just after the break.
Bacteria-killing prototype relies on plasma, could obsolete hand washing
Time to get your science fiction hats on, but leave the fiction visor off this time. The BBC has gotten all hot and bothered today about a newly published research report indicating a significant advancement in the field of plasma-based disinfection of both healthy and wounded human skin. Yes, the same stuff that drives your big-ass television is also capable -- in a gaseous form -- of interacting with the oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor in the air to create a concoction lethal to bacteria and fungi, but innocuous to humanoids. The big breakthrough here is that mass production of such devices is finally possible at rates affordable enough to makes them commonplace in hospitals, tattoo shops and the like. Additionally, an argon-based "plasma torch" has been shown to accelerate wound healing, though it's not certain whether this happens through the particular effects of the plasma, or through the reduction of bacteria infesting the wound. The fact the researchers themselves don't know is both unnerving and strangely fun at the same time. We've got a shot of the prototype after the break and the entire paper is available at the read link, if you feel like a geek binge.
Preparing for BlizzCon: There will be funk
BlizzCon approaches! Preparing for BlizzCon is your regular source for tips on how best to prepare for Blizzard's gaming extravaganza. These helpful hints are particularly suited for convention rookies. But if you are a con veteran, we'd love to hear your advice and wisdom in the comments as well.In almost every one of this series, someone has requested in the comments that we all practice good grooming before attending BlizzCon this year. But it doesn't matter if we post odor preventing techniques here, broadcast them on The WoW Insider Show and it gets picked up by international news -- there is still going to be funk at the con. Not even Anna Torv being photographed wearing a "Well-groomed Geeks are HOT" t-shirt is going to prevent the offending smells coming from some of the attendees. In the interest of promoting tolerance, I'm going to give explanations for some of the odors you will be smelling.
Hearth to hygiene with World of Warcraft soap
A World of Warcraft fan has taught herself to make soap. Yes, soap. The amusing thing is that she taught herself to make a specific kind of soap -- soap shaped like WoW's hearthstones!It won't teleport you to the bathtub, but in theory it should at least help you stay hygienically sound. So prove those false stereotypes of MMO players as smelly, pimply slobs wrong! You can buy the soap in pairs for $14.87 at her Etsy shop ... if you're into that sort of thing. The male writers (at least) at Massively will probably pass, because buying special soaps might compromise our masculine credibility. We prefer simpler, more manly soaps (whatever that means).[Via WoW Insider]
Ear Scope turns wax removal into primetime entertainment
If there's one thing more satisfying than picking one's nose, it's shoving a finger or Q-tip deep into your ear canal and emerging with that big hunk of wax which has been muffling your hearing for the last few weeks. Now ear cleaning is usually part of a multi-tasked routine -- you dig around in there while watching TV, taking a bath, or sitting in a meeting -- but if you'd like to take your aural hygiene to the next level of fun and excitement, Japan's Coden has just the tools to kick it up a notch. Imagine if you can the wild and crazy times you could have with the company's line of Ear Scopes, which combine a pick with a small video camera and allow you to actually watch what's going on while you scrape around and try to avoid puncturing your eardrum. The GXL model comes with a personal eyepiece which is employed in the manner pictured above, while the Ear Scope TV sports a separate LCD screen for a bigger view and possible screening sessions for your weirdo friends. The 'Scopes start at about 16,800 yen ($140), but the hours of enjoyment you'll get from viewing your own ear pr0n are priceless. Also, if anyone owns one of these, please send us some screencaps of your favorite picking sessions: we'll take the best action shots and post 'em up in a gallery. Keep reading to check out the ESTV along with some hot in-ear footage... [Via Plastic Bamboo]
Ultreo toothbrush uses ultrasound, but can it clean teeth?
Riveting news from the world of dental hygiene: the Ultreo ultrasonic toothbrush has officially launched, promising what sounds like the ultimate brush session -- oh you know, "ultrasound waveguide technology" and "precisely tuned sonic bristle action" and stuff like that. Unlike traditional sonic units that only use audible frequencies of 20Hz to 20,000Hz, Ultreo uses a tuned sonic / ultrasonic (over 20,000Hz) combo to offer more enamel-rattling power without compromising the user's veneers, bridges, or general safety. There's a programmable replacement indicator that prompts a brush head switch-out every 3 months, and the 2-minute auto shut-off timer makes sure you don't cop out too early. For about $149.00, true tooth-o-philes can sink their chompers into this latest addition to the bourgie toothbrush market.[Thanks, Eric B]
USB shaver keeps facial hair under control
While we actually gave away a shaver not too far back to help the, um, hygienically challenged out there, leave it to Brando to deliver the first shaver geeks will actually use. Joining the gazillion other oddities that sufficiently eliminate the "lonely USB port" syndrome, this bathroom necessity features a floating double-head system, "ultra thin outer foil," low power consumption, snazzy blue LEDs, a revolving USB plug, and an on / off switch. Completely rechargeable via your trusty USB port, this gives a new meaning to "portable shaving system," and gives you one more reason to just spend the night in your office versus fighting that awful rush hour traffic. So if you're looking to drop a not-so-subtle hint to that beastly friend of yours, you can wrap this sucka up for just $22.
