Monthly Archive for May, 2010

From Michael M. Grynbaum at The New York Times…

In a city of world-class art museums and an instantly recognizable skyline, no image is more closely examined than the New York City subway map, the ubiquitous blue-and-taupe rectangle scrutinized by millions.

Now the subterranean icon is poised to get a spruce-up.

Next month, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will unveil a resized, recolored and simplified edition of the well-known map, its first overhaul in more than a decade.

Manhattan will become taller, bulkier and 30 percent wider, to better display its spaghetti of subway lines. Staten Island, meanwhile, will shrink by half. The spreadsheetlike “service guide,” along the map’s bottom border, will be eliminated, and the other three boroughs will grow to fill the space. More…

From Dezeen.com…

Italian design collective Acquacalda have designed a range of kitchen gadgets based on the laws of physics, including this device for pouring exactly equal amounts of wine into four glasses.

Called Applied Physics, the collection also includes a self-hydrating plant pot, a glass with a measuring reservoir, a bowl for weighing dry food in water and a vase that indicates the water level inside through its handle. More…