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Have You Seen This? A more polite car horn
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Mark Rober, former NASA engineer and current YouTuber, said those standard options arent enough, and said cars should have a way to give a courtesy honk that politely informs other drivers of something other than an emergency. - photo by Angie Treasure
Angie Treasure
KSL.com
Published: Jun 16, 2017, 1:41 PM


ON THE ROAD Driving can be stressful.

Ill never forget first hitting the road in drivers education and being completely mortified by the experience. Everything moves faster when you're driving than it does as a passenger. Theres the tricky trouble of figuring out how to slow down into turns and brake smoothly, and when your high school boyfriend is in the backseat observing your first time driving on the freeway, that leads to endless ammunition for shaming you down the road (literally and figuratively).

Another part of whats challenging when driving is effectively communicating with other drivers. There are two civilized and built-in ways to do this: using the turn signal and the horn.

Mark Rober, former NASA engineer and current YouTuber, said those standard options arent enough. According to him, cars should have a way to give a courtesy honk that politely informs fellow drivers of something other than an emergency, like when its time to move forward at a light or let someone know theyve left something on top of their car. Rober makes the point that a less jarring horn sound could lead to less road raging and more general courteousness.

In the video posted to YouTube, Rober installed three extra honks in his Volkswagen Jetta, the most used of which is two super quick chirps of the horn to get the point across on the road or to pedestrians without seeming aggressive. (Youll have to watch the video to see what the other two buttons do.)

The video makes a case for more options than the standard horn and includes instructions on how to customize your own setup, using fairly inexpensive parts and a little engineering know-how.

Do you think that cars should have more than one honking option? Let us know in the comments below!
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.