The Hot List: Volume 36

Every week we sift through a truly amazing amount of “stuff” in the dozen or so hours we spend online—you know, the time spent not driving sweet cars. A lot of the cool stuff we find has to do specifically with new cars, naturally, but there’s also a huge amount of awesomeness that doesn’t completely fit in the normal Winding Road world. Once, we were in the habit of simply reading, watching, or talking amongst ourselves about this web detritus, but recently we thought it might be a good idea to start sharing it with you all. Thus, The Hot List.

 

We aim to bring you a list of the most interesting bits of information we run across. Ten worth-knowing-about things that may or may not be related directly to the world of cars, but all of which we think our typical enthusiast readers will be able to really dig into. We don’t know, from week to week, what will show up on this list, which is part of the fun for us and for you.

Read, enjoy, and comment. If you happen to know of something that you think would make for a good inclusion on next week’s list, drop us a line at [email protected].

 

 

 

 

You could own a piece of history if you bid on this steering wheel. It was used by Ayrton Senna in the 1984 Brazilian Gran Prix—his Formula 1 debut! The wheel is signed by the man himself. It is expected to fetch between about $19,000 and $26,000.

 

 

 

 

This homebrewer has created an Android-powered beer tap. It uses a Zoom tablet to authenticate the thirsty customer’s badge, who then selects which beer they’d like to chug. The KegDroid then pours out a measured amount of (in this case foamy) beer. Imagine a whole army of these little fellas in every room of your house. That’s The Future, count on it.

 

 

 

 

Admit it, you have trouble keeping your houseplants alive. We know, they can’t tell you when they’re thirsty. Well, Koubachi has a solution for you. Its Wi-Fi Plant sensor sits in the soil, and monitors water, temperature, and light, then sends that information to an app on your iPhone or computer. It’ll let you know when you need to water or fertilize your best friend.

 

 

 

 

These are just some pictures of old car wrecks from the 1930s to remind you how the times have changed. It’s also sort of a photo gallery of dudes wearing hats. Look at all those hats!

 

 

 

 

Designer Tony Weichselbraun has penned this electric urban concept car based on the BMW Isetta. It’s tiny, cool, and hard to tell which end you’re looking at. Weichselbraun imagines it as a car-sharing platform, meant to charge inductively at sharing hubs.

 

 

 

 

Digital Artist Steve Payne has taken George Dawe’s portraits of Russian Generals from the early 1800s, and he has replaced the heads with those of today’s male celebrities. From Clint Eastwood and Robert Downey Jr. to Mr. T and Eminem, they all look remarkably like the real deal.

 

 

 

 

This four-seat private plane uses hybrid power to fly up to a 310-knot maximum speed. It is essentially a range-extended electric vehicle, only it flies. It is now available for order for $495,000.

 

 

 

 

Snugpak now offers this Chrysalis sleeping bag with a built in LED light. It will keep you warm down to -4 degrees Fahrenheit. It also offers a built in light, so you can easily identify whatever that critter was that just crawled into your pajamas.

 

 

 

 

Need a little more tenderness in your life? Make calls with the Hugvie and it will give you hugs while you talk to your loved ones. It even has its own heartbeat. Bet you can’t guess where it was invented.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday! Don’t forget to blow out eat your candle! This chocolate candle melts into a delicious gooey frosting when lit, covering your treat with its sugary gooness.