The most common demise of fish is due to negligence. If you go through life with a “can’t someone else do it” attitude, like myself, then pets really aren’t your bailiwick. Fish of all pets are the easiest to maintain and yet, some people can’t keep a goldfish alive longer than a week.

With Fifer, the fish feeding robot, fish finally get the attention they deserve.  Fifer calculates the density of fish in the water. It’ll send out sound waves to attract the fish then dispense the right amount of food.  This will train the fish into approaching the robot have them associate the sound waves with feeding time. There is also a plant on top which grows to represent the health of your fish. Fish need lovin’ too you know.

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When you get to the point where you’ve fucked with the Earth so much that normal plants just won’t cut it, you need alternatives. That’s why the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Mitsubishi and Tokki Corp. have developed a prototype solar cell module that resembles a living plant. With organic thin-film solar cells, the module is protected by a very thin film which improves the durability of the module, as well as prevents the entry of water and oxygen. In the future, you may see these organic solar cells incorporated into other elements of design such as architectural materials, clothing materials, living ware and toys.

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Yes, you read correctly: space beer. Sapporo Holdings, one of Japan’s largest makers of beer, have helped cultivate barley in space. Barley, being the resilient grain it is, is able to withstand a diverse range of temperatures making it an ideal plant to be cultivated in space. Sapporo has stated that they will not be producing the “space beer” on a commercial level, but will be brewing around 100 bottles total.

“In the future, we may reach a point where humans will spend an extended period of time in space and must grow food to sustain ourselves,” Sugimoto said.

Yeah, sustain their liver. Getting fucked up in zero-gravity sounds like a good time, but I hear vomiting is a strange experience in space. No matter. Cheers to space beer!

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How many times has your wife bitched you out for buying ugly kitchen appliances? I’m sure if you’re like any normal couple, it’s happened plenty of times and the both of you are sick of it. In comes the Salad Plant to save the marriage day!

Essentially, it’s a plastic plant when you have both tongs placed inside the pot. Yank the tongs out and you’ll become the ultimate salad-tossing machine. As an added bonus, you can use the pot to hold the salad. Sure, it’s a bit offbeat, but who isn’t these days? Plunk down $25 and make the wife happy.

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They’re not the most beautifully designed item you might want lining your home, looking much like a small cactus plant you can pick-up at your local convenience store, the Grobal is more than just normal kitsch, but a self-watering plant pot.

Water is sucked into the plant gradually through a reservoir on the bottom of the device. The Grobal might not be able to actually tell you when it needs more water, but you can measure the amount of water left inside through a small peek window, while a small opening above the window allows for easy refilling, though you’ll still probably need plenty of sun. — Andrew Dobrow

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