Flying may be the fastest way to get you from Point A to Point B, but it comes with its share of annoying disturbances. One of the worst is the pain and hearing interruptions that happen when the pressure in the passenger cabin changes. It isn’t a problem for everyone, but for some people it’s a seriously annoying issue that can last far longer than the flight itself. Quirky plans to produce a set of earbuds that will equalize the pressure in your ears when you fly.

The idea comes from inventor Clark Bish, who is a longtime sufferer of air travel-related ear pain. According to Bish, 2.5 billion people suffer from this particular type of discomfort, and Bish’s own condition is severe enough that it persists for days after he flies. His earbuds, dubbed Equalizers, work by creating an airtight seal between the earbud and the ear canal. This seal cuts off the inner ear from pressure fluctuations in the plane cabin.

Thin air tubes let the user manually adjust the pressure in each ear. They also work as actual earbuds, allowing you to listen to music or white noise during your flight. A button lets you turn off the music and let in outside noises so that you don’t have to take the earbuds out. Putting the earbuds in when you board and leaving them in until after the plane lands will eliminate the problem of ear pressure pain altogether. The product isn’t yet in production, but Quirky is developing it; hopefully by the next time we have to fly we’ll be able to ditch the chewing gum and, pop these little guys in, and avoid the annoying ear pressure and popping altogether.

The post Ear Pressure-Relieving Earbuds Make Flying Less Painful first appeared on Gajitz.

Rubber stamps are crazy popular among the crafting community, and they also happen to be crazy expensive. Crowdsourcing manufacturer Quirky has a pretty fantastic idea for stamps that can be exactly what you want them to be – and they’re even reusable so you can make a different design when the mood strikes you.

With Pixit, you start with a surface full of little “pixels.” Draw a design on the pixels using the special dry-erase pen, then use the opposite side of the pen to lock down the appropriate pieces. Once the pixels are locked in and you’ve got a cute pixellated image that you love, use the stamp pad to spread the picture all over the place. When you want to change to a different image, you just wash the stamp off, unlock the pixels, and start over.

The pixels that are meant to be locked down stay locked down, and those that are meant to stay up lock in the “up” position until you release them. Your design is secure until you decide to change it. Obviously, using little square pixels to design your stamps means that you won’t get super-detailed pictures, but they’ll be all yours. Although Quirky hasn’t yet revealed a price or given a release date, they’re doing market research now to determine interest and appropriate pricing.

The post Build Your Own Customized Rubber Stamp, Pixel By Pixel first appeared on Gajitz.

Jumping rope is one of the best cardiovascular exercises there is, and the fact that it can be done just about anywhere makes it even more appealing. Jump ropes are traditionally cheap and simple, but this one from Quirky adds a little modern technology to the mix.

The Revolve jump rope is a futuristic take on the ancient jump rope design, adding in electronics that track the time you’ve been jumping, your number of jumps, your calories burned, and your heartbeats per minute.

The associated app remembers your workout info from one jumping session to the next, letting you set challenges for yourself and work toward certain goals. There’s even a coached workout option that’ll keep you in line.

Revolve is Bluetooth enabled so it can easily communicate with the app. It has leather grips and high-quality parts to keep you jumping for a long time to come. Crowdsource think tank Quirky is currently working on developing the idea.

The post Jumping Revolution: Bluetooth Enabled Next-Gen Jump Rope first appeared on Gajitz.