Just What We Needed Dept.: A Banana Slicer and a Corn Dekerneler

I do go on about minimalism and doing more with less, and complain about what the Unclutterer calls Unitaskers, usually kitchen gadgets that serve a single, mostly ridiculous purpose. I mean really, how hard is it to slice a banana? How long does it take? I did like one comment on Book of Joe : “Who knew Lorena Bobbit was an inventor?”… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Just What We Needed Dept.: A Banana Slicer and a Corn Dekerneler

Just What We Needed Dept: Plastic Stamp Cuts Toast Into Tastier Strips

Image via PerpetualKid It’s been awhile since we’ve added to the “Just What We Needed” pile, but this item was too much — it had to be tossed onto the heap. This is one of those pieces of plasticrap that when you see it, all you can do is tilt your head to one side and think, “Yep, it’s because of stuff like this that we’re in this mess.” ..

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Just What We Needed Dept: Plastic Stamp Cuts Toast Into Tastier Strips

Ask Pablo: Metal vs. Plastic Cutlery

Image Source: Neil Kandalgaonkar Dear Pablo: Which type of silverware is better for the environment: stainless steel or plastic? My office uses disposable everything and I am trying to make a change

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Ask Pablo: Metal vs. Plastic Cutlery

Just What We Needed Dept: More Useless Kitchen Accessories and NSFW Yet

“Don’t be someone who needs help carrying a banana. That’s not who you are” You don’t need a lot of stuff to be a good cook; Mark Bittman says “”A stove, a sink, a refrigerator, some pots and pans, a knife and some serving spoons,” I answered. “All else is optional.” But what amazing options there are, those single purpose kitchen gadgets that take up so much space

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Just What We Needed Dept: More Useless Kitchen Accessories and NSFW Yet

The Mother Of All Traffic Jams, 9 Days And Counting

Xinhua via Global Times The Beijing-Tibet Highway has been having a bit of a traffic jam- for nine days so far. The Traffic Bureau says the cause is “insufficient traffic capacity”, which Bike Portland thinks is “hilarious….too many cars maybe?” Other wags have noted that “it’s quicker to wok.” But drivers aren’t leaving.

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The Mother Of All Traffic Jams, 9 Days And Counting

Just What We Needed Dept.: A Drive-Thru Car Museum

Sigh. While we write about a world after cars, where people live in walkable cities, Francesco Gatti is building a drive-thru museum in Nanjing, China

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Just What We Needed Dept.: A Drive-Thru Car Museum

University of Florida’s Entry At Solar Decathlon Mixes Old Ideas, New Technology

Images from University of Florida, from site or via designboom We always say that one of the ways we can design new buildings to use a lot less energy is to design them like old buildings, that Everything New is Old Again , particularly when it comes to getting rid of air condition… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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University of Florida’s Entry At Solar Decathlon Mixes Old Ideas, New Technology

From the Just What We Needed Dept: A Credit Card Holder with Button-Activated Card Selection

Photo via Curiosite In case you were in need of a piece of useless junk, we bring your attention to the Credit Card Holder . It holds six cards, which can be ejected from the holder by pushing the button associated with that type of card.

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From the Just What We Needed Dept: A Credit Card Holder with Button-Activated Card Selection

Just What We Needed Dept: A Gas-Powered Snowboard

The Mattracks Powerboard speeds up to 18 MPH, powered by a 200CC 4 cycle engine. My first reaction was “yeah, right, who needs this?” but in fact, there isn’t much good that can be said about driving two hours to get to a hill where you are electrically winched up to the top of a hill covered by artificial snow, so maybe this isn’t as bad as it looks at first glance

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Just What We Needed Dept: A Gas-Powered Snowboard

Tar Sands Are Misplaced Money – Same Amount Could Decarbonize Europe or Lift Nations Out of Poverty

photo: Danielle Scott via flickr. I hope I need not tell you that the development of the Canadian tar sands is an unmitigated environmental disaster . We’ve gone over that one at least a dozen times.

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Tar Sands Are Misplaced Money – Same Amount Could Decarbonize Europe or Lift Nations Out of Poverty