Here's What's Awesome: NeighborGoods, Memory Spray

By Brady Carlson on Sunday, October 4, 2009.

Sometimes people ask me how it feels to write Here's What's Awesome, to share hundreds of awesome links with the world. And I tell them it makes me happy - as happy as a little piglet in a warm bath:

I can has borrow cup of sugar?
Online bartering is really coming into its own these days. You've heard about house swaps, and now there's NeighborGoods, a way for homeowners to share their stuff with the neighbors in pursuit of everybody having less stuff. So if you need that proverbial cup of sugar - or, more likely, a power tool for a project - you have a way to borrow it from someone nearby. (And if you don't send it back quickly, ReturnMyPants will send you a reminder e-mail!) [ReadWriteWeb]

Me and Your Nose, Remembering
If there's a word that's on the tip of your tongue, or an idea you had but you can't seem to bring it back up to the surface, maybe your nose can help. A German research team says the molecule interleukin-6 can help develop memories overnight when taken as a nasal spray. The researchers appear to be taking pains to qualify that they haven't proven it to be a memory-enhancer in other circumstances outside of nasal intake or nighttime memories, but if you'd like more vivid recollections of The Jay Leno Show, start spraying! [BoingBoing]

Nissan drives with the fishes
Whoever invents a way to end traffic jams is in line for a Nobel Peace Prize, given how much road rage will disappear overnight. Nissan says it's taken one step in that direction, by building robot cars that avoid each other the way fish do. It's not a perfect analogy, obviously - cars can't just go in any old direction, and fish don't have powertrain warranties - but the idea of building cars to essentially use the road in tandem instead of as individual entities might have legs - er, fins. The researchers also note that when cars aren't idling in traffic, they're wasting less gas, and reducing their carbon output. [AutoblogGreen]

Now it's your turn: share an awesome link in the comments. And then we'll all take five in a hot tub like piglets do!

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