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Iron pumping designs

Lost: 
Trust: These barbells are not going anywhere 
Adjustability: You are either the "right" height, or you are not supposed to use these.
Incremental adjustability: Divisions/differences in weight have been (arbitrarily) predetermined.

Gained: 
Security: (see "Trust")
Visual + Spatial sense of progress: As you increase in strength, you physically progress to a new set of barbells, which increase in weight along a continuum.
Safety: With a limitation of height comes a (planned?) corollary limitation of users' ages, preventing those unable to reach the bar from using these (though also excluding mature individuals who are "vertically challenged").

Better? Worse? Subjective.

Different? Absolutely.

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0 responses   //   Posted 4 months ago

Medicinal memory-trigger

Out front of a combination photography shop and Chinese traditional medicine dispensary, fresh medical ingredients have been cut up and set out to dry in the afternoon sun, filling the entryway with herbal fragrances. As Chinese medicine focuses more upon prevention of illness (rather than the treatment of illness), the olfactory and visual presence of these drying ingredients in this high foot traffic area may serve as effective (if unintentional) advertising for the clinic; the thoughts of passersby may be drawn towards the last time they imbibed Chinese medicine, or may cause them to reflect upon their health (or the health of their loved ones).

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0 responses   //   Posted 8 months ago

Diabetic tea

The traditional Myanmar diet means that often above a particular age it is assumed that one is at least partially suffering from adult-onset diabetes. Acknowledging the glacial speed of behavior change (there aren't many things that palm oil and condensed milk cannot improve the taste of, after all), some savvy teashops such as this one, along with savvy grocers (such as City Mart) have begun targeting this segment of the population.

However, having with some duress from a friend (thanks, Daniel) tasted this tea, I can say with certainty that diabetic-friendly tea that actually tastes like tea instead of like one is drinking a cup of dirt remains a very significant and yet-to-be-exploited opportunity. 

Tastes won't be changing anytime soon - will the market change first?

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0 responses   //   Posted 12 months ago

Three Solutions

Three different countries, three different approaches, same problem.

Underhand pitch: What common problem are shredded plastic bags tied to a de-bladed fan, golf tees stuck into the top of drinks, and a plastic bag of water swinging on a rope meant to solve? A hint lies in the water-filled bag photo, with the woman using a newspaper to lend some (visual/superficial) support.

Curveball: Which photo was taken in which country?

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0 responses   //   Posted over 1 year ago

Fitting to Flushing

Pull the wires threaded through the plastic fitting to flush. Does the thought of grabbing what are most often used as electrical wires attached to something filled with water tickle your danger instincts?

Also, what signals does the filled bucket of water nearby indicate? Is it that the "hand-washer" (or as my friend affectionately refers to them, the "bum-blaster") is also not conventionally functional, or that, once having flushed, it is expected that you fill up the tank for the next user to save them the momentary panic of thinking the toilet is not working? 

How does the gap in knowledge between experiencing a non-(conventionally)-flushing toilet and knowing the necessary steps to get it working vary between different contexts? How involved is one mentally prepared to become in their ablution experience? If there were a way of obtaining this knowledge further in advance, what (whose) behavior would it change, and how? When/for whom/how is it appropriate to call for "expert assistance" when faced with such an unexpected difficulty?

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0 responses   //   Posted over 1 year ago