Smart glasses are a thing! Not augmented reality, but an actual pair of glasses that can sense what we're trying to look at and make it easier to see it clearly as our eyes age and lose some of their ability to focus.  Plus:  the National Paper Doll Convention begins today with the theme of “Mystery, Murder and Mayhem.” I'd like to know what kind of mayhem a convention full of paper doll enthusiasts can cause. 

Stanford develops ‘autofocals’ – glasses that track your eyes to focus on what you see (Stanford University)

National Paper Doll Convention  

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On this day in 1982, a dude named Larry Walters entered aviation history as the pilot of a craft called Inspiration I - which was a lawn chair attached to 42 large weather balloons. Plus:  the story of some high school students in Toronto, Ontario, who used a weather balloon to launch a Lego figure into near space. 

Up, Up, and Away! Did Larry Walters soar above Los Angeles in a lawn chair attached to helium weather balloons? (Snopes) 

Teens Put Lego Man in 'Space' (Actually Stratosphere)   

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Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a system to unprint the printing on standard printer paper, in a way that uses less energy and material than the conventional paper recycling process.  Plus: the new Medi-Teddy aims to make a trip to the hospital a little more fun - or at least a little less scary - for kids, and the inventor is a kid herself. 

New Unprinting Method Can Help Recycle Paper and Curb Environmental Costs (Rutgers)  

12 Year Old Girl Invents an Adorable Teddy Bear That Hides IV Bags Making Infusions Less Scary to Children (Laughing Squid) 

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A team at Technion–Israel Institute of Technology developed a way to use medical glue to bind human tissue together instead of stitches and medical pins. They heat it up using, essentially, a hot glue gun - one that they hopefully don't leave in with their craft supplies. Plus:  the World Egg Throwing Championship is back in the UK community of Swaton, Lincolnshire!  

Technion team develops medical glue to replace stitches in serious injuries (Times of Israel) 

World Egg Throwing Championship 

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I'm traveling to Buffalo, New York for a book event today, so I thought I'd celebrate one of the city's beloved foods: sponge candy. Meanwhile, an ice cream shop in Buffalo has done what you might expect an ice cream shop in Buffalo to do: add Buffalo sauce to the ice cream.  

Buffalo sponge candy (Atlas Obscura)

A treat with heat: Lake Effect Ice Cream unveils wing-sauce flavor (Buffalo News)

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Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias could do it all - she was an Olympic gold medalist, champion golfer, basketball and baseball player, vaudeville performer, celebrity and more. Once she won the US national track and field championships by herself - as in, she was a team of one and beat teams that had over a dozen athletes. Plus:  check out the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence Race, a footrace that manages cover 3,100 miles but just one city block. 

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (WomensHistory.org) 

"Babe Didrikson at the 1932 Olympic Games" by Lindsay Parks Pieper, from the book Replays, Rivalries, and Rumbles: The Most Iconic Moments in American Sports

Babe Didrikson (Famous Texans)

Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence: The 3,100-mile race around a New York block (BBC)

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Today is #BourdainDay, where we celebrate Anthony Bourdain's enthusiasm for traveling, eating, learning and especially for going off the beaten path to really get to know people and recipes and places. In that spirit, we talk about food trucks with personalities big enough to match their culinary skills. Plus: a team at Delta Airlines made a barbecue grill into the side of a jet engine. Now that's travel food.

12 Weird And Wonderful Food Trucks (Car Buzz) 

This BBQ Grill Is Built Into a Jet Engine (Technabob)

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The Curiosity Rover takes selfies on Mars - so how does it do it without having its robot arm in the foreground of every shot? Plus: the University of St. Andrews teaches grey seals to sing the "Star Wars" theme. For research.

Why Don’t We See the Curiosity Rover’s Arm When it Takes a Selfie? (Universe Today)

Curiosity Rover Report (June 13, 2013): Curiosity's Cameras (NASA on YouTube) 

Grey seals copy human speech and music (University of St. Andrews)

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Earlier this month a prototype mower in Germany set a new world record by going from zero to 100 miles an hour in 6.29 seconds… while still cutting grass! Not bad for an invention that's not even 200 years old. Plus: this weekend is the grand finale of the annual Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest in New York City, which is... exactly what its name suggests.

Lawnmower sets acceleration speed record in Germany (UPI) 

The History Of The American Lawnmower (CBS News)

A Brief History of the Lawnmower (Popular Mechanics)

British Lawnmower Museum  

The 2019 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest  

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Bycatch is what fishing boats catch that they're not trying to catch. It's bad for them, their nets and the bycatch - especially for turtles, which are difficult to disentangle from gillnets. But new research suggests illuminating nets with LED lights may warn turtles away and reduce bycatch. Plus:  the floating ball challenge is a sight to behold: a boxer keeping a 20 pound medicine ball floating on the power of his punches.

Illuminated Nets Could Provide A Brighter Future For Sea Turtles (NOAA) 

Floating Medicine Ball (The Awesomer) 

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