Tag Archives: Sairica Rose

Madrid’s scooter taxis offer affordable rides

November 6, 2012 – 3:04 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Madrid’s Mototaxi has hit the streets to offer intrepid passengers scooter taxis. Eight 2-wheeled wonders can be hailed for a modest €1.50 flag-down fee (Abc.es, 17 October 2012). Passengers are provided with a helmet, and the promise of a quick zip to their chosen destination at around half the cost […]

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Spanish smart bed makes itself in less than a minute

May 15, 2012 – 12:57 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Making one’s bed could be a thing of the past for tired, busy or just plain lazy consumers who invest in an Ohea smart bed (Ohea.eu, March 2012). The Spanish-made bed is equipped with a device that automatically straightens the bedding in a mere 50 seconds once it has been […]

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Spain: Crash Therapy helps consumers de-stress by destroying things

April 3, 2012 – 11:40 am

by Saricia Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Spain’s Crash Therapy lets consumers unleash their inner beast and smash a selection of household items in the name of catharsis (Abc.es, 16 February 2012). The frazzled and the fraught can drop by the firm’s premises in Valencia and, for a basic fee of €20, let rip on 25 everyday […]

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Sliding scale: Spain gets its first fish vending machine

February 28, 2012 – 11:58 am

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING A fishmonger in Spain’s Basque region has come up with a novel way to serve fresh fish in a flash. By installing a vending machine in the doorway to their shop, the owners of Pescadería Martín Arrandegia invite customers to stop by round the clock (ABC.es, 12 January 2012). Whether […]

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Tattoo removal up as Spaniards compete for jobs

February 7, 2012 – 12:43 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Ink on the skin can blot candidates’ job prospects — so claims Barcelona’s Planas Clinic, which has seen an 81% rise in demand for laser tattoo removal since 2008 (LaVanguardia.com, 27 December 2011). As job competition increases in Spain, these former fashion statements are becoming a pain. Rafael Serena, head […]

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Dutch airline lets passengers pick seatmates

January 31, 2012 – 1:48 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Romance and friendship can blossom in the most unlikely of places. Even on aeroplanes. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines “Meet and Seat” service, to be launched in early 2012, will enable passengers to choose their seatmate based on their social media profiles (Wired.com, 16 December 2011). The service will invite users […]

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Austrian credit card watch makes contactless payments

January 24, 2012 – 3:39 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Watching what you pay takes on a new meaning with Austrian watchmaker LAKS’ watch2pay credit-card timepieces (watch2pay.com, December 2011). Watch2pay enables wearers to make contactless MasterCard payments using their watch. Family-run firm LAKS claims that its wearable hybrid system is a world first. Watches come with MasterCard PayPass pre-pay cards […]

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Left on the shelf: Swedish dating site cooks love from scraps

January 17, 2012 – 2:21 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Speed-dating, pairs dating, pet dating … green dating? Swedish farmers’ co-operative Lantmännen matches singles to share leftover ingredients on eco-friendly dinner dates (Lantmannen.se, December 2011). Restdejting (Leftovers Dating) is a heartwarming endeavour to reduce waste, based on Lantmännen’s assertion that every fifth bag of food in Sweden is thrown away. […]

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Finland: Brain stimulation headset claims to banish SADness

December 13, 2011 – 2:59 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) sufferers can open their ears to Valkee: a Finnish device claiming to treat the disorder by shining light through the ear canals (Gizmag.com, 9 November 2011). Common treatments for SAD — also known as the winter blues — include regular exposure to bright artificial light that […]

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Final frontier in fragrance? Dutch swallowable scent

November 8, 2011 – 2:10 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING If beauty comes from within, why can’t fragrance? Swallowable Parfum is an ingestible perfume capsule that is said to emanate fragrance from within. The Dutch-designed capsule contains synthetic fragrant lipid molecules that mimic the structure of the fat molecules naturally found in the body. These lipids are metabolised by the […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Global, Health/Beauty | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Daylight savings: Spain unveils nocturnal solar power plant

November 1, 2011 – 11:24 am

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Gemasolar, near Seville, Spain, claims to be the world’s first 24-hour thermosolar power plant (DiariodeSevilla.es, 5 October 2011). The plant’s 2,600+ mirrors concentrate the sun’s rays to create superheated liquid salt during the day. The salt retains enough energy to generate power throughout 15 hours of darkness. Inaugurated on 4 […]

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Treading lightly: Danish petrol stations offer bike pit stops

November 1, 2011 – 11:21 am

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING What can a Norwegian oil company offer Danish cyclists? Statoil ASA has installed bike-care stations at petrol stations in Copenhagen (Copenhagenize.com, 15 September 2011). The bike pit stops occupy unused wall space at existing petrol stations. They feature a life-size bicycle pictogram with a pull-down shelf to lift and hold […]

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Denmark taxes fatty foods to curb obesity and heart disease

October 25, 2011 – 3:55 pm

by Saircia Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Denmark is introducing Europe’s first “fat tax”, raising the price of fatty foods in a bid to reduce heart disease and help Danes shed pounds (Telegraph.co.uk, 29 September 2011). From October 1, Danes will pay 35 cents more on a pack of butter, 9 cents on a packet of crisps […]

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Netherlands theatre offers to book the babysitter

October 4, 2011 – 3:37 pm

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Amsterdam’s Theater Bellevue is helping liberate parents to see films and shows. In September 2011, the theatre added a babysitter booking facility to its ticket reservation system (Springwise.com, 7 September 2011). The Bellevue has teamed up with the Babysitter Central Kriterion agency to offer childminding to Amsterdam consumers booking advance […]

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Driving change: Netherlands tests per-mile car tax

September 15, 2011 – 8:49 am

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING The Netherlands government is road-testing a meter that would tax car drivers according to how many miles they cover (NYTimes.com, 11 August 2011). Wirelessly connected to the internet and GPS, the system calculates a charge for each journey using a mileage-based formula that also takes account of a car’s fuel efficiency, time […]

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