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Saturday, June 20, 2015

'Back to the Future Part II' inside-out jeans now available IRL

IMAGE: OUTTIES/FRAN VEALE

BY CHRIS PERKINSJUN 07, 2015

It's 2015 and we don't have hoverboards or flying, time-traveling DeLoreans, so we'll have to settle for a pair of inside-out jeans.

A new Kickstarter campaign is developing specially designed jeans to be worn inside-out just in time for Oct. 21, 2015 — the date Marty McFly travels to in Back to the Future Part II — which is unofficially called "Back To The Future Day."

SEE ALSO: 12 'Back to the Future' technologies coming in 2015

Called "Outties," they aren't like wearing a normal pair of jeans inside-out; these have pockets, belt loops and a fly that are all accessible from the outside. Creator Ross O'Mullane aims to raise €9,000 (around $10,000), and has received about half that amount at the time of this writing, with two weeks left in his campaign.

You'll have to pay at least €88 (around $100) to get a pair of Outties

You'll have to pay at least €88 (around $100) to get a pair of Outties, while larger pledges will be rewarded with multiple or custom pairs.

"When I started working on Outties full-time, my wife's disbelief jumped from 'ha ha really?' to 'seriously?' so even if you think it’s a crazy idea, please help my marriage by supporting this campaign!" O'Mullane says on the Kickstarter page. "I love theBack to the Future movies. Making Outties has become my dream."

So if you're a massive BTTF fan and want be the life of any Oct. 21, 2015 party, or if for some reason you don't like jeans the way they're supposed to be worn, this is the Kickstarter for you. Meanwhile, we'll be holding out for a pair of Nike Air MAGs, a.k.a. Back to the Future shoes.

A water bottle that glows when you should drink more water

IMAGE: HIDRATEME

BY KATHLEEN WONG

These days, water bottles are colorful and trendy. But smart water bottles that remind you when to drink? Not many.

HidrateMe water bottle emits a glow when it senses you might be dehydrated. Former data analyst Nadya Nguyen and her team developed the smart water bottle, which uses a sensor and smartphone app to act as a friendly little hydration buddy looking out for your best health.

SEE ALSO: What $1,500 in Rent Gets You in 11 U.S. Cities

The free Bluetooth-syncing app tracks how much water you drink and also estimates how much you should drink based on your physiology, like height and weight, as well as your location, like elevation and humidity. And if you're a fitness fiend, it'll connect to your Fitbit or Jawbone to account for loss of water due to exercise. The team collaborated with physicians at Kansas University to help calculate this information.

The bottle has collected over $200,000 for its $35,000 Kickstarter campaign, with bottles starting at $39 and a delivery date of winter 2015.

The idea came to a sluggish and headache-y Nguyen in July 2014 while on a bus ride after volunteering for 10 hours on a day when she forgot to drink any water. "I thought I was pretty conscious about hydration, and it just reminded me how easy it is to forget when life gets busy," Nguyen tells Mashable.

Dehydration is often a forgettable and unpleasant occurrence that can range from mild to dangerous. It can cause headaches, dizziness and muscle cramps.

So Nguyen convinced a few fellow University of Minnesota alums to join her in the September 2014 Startup Weekend powered by Google For Entrepreneurs in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 54 hours, they created a prototype using a Nalgene bottle and a sensory board attached with Nguyen's hair tie. They scored third place.

Their next step was to quit their jobs and join the three-month intensive mentorship program, Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator Program by Techstars, which aims to fund the next tech in mobile health.

Don't worry, the Tritan plastic water bottle won't become another annoying alarm clock. You choose the time intervals you prefer to drink at, such as every 30 minutes, and if the bottle notices you didn't take a sip, it'll glow as a reminder. Nguyen calls this feature "really personal," aimed at being helpful.

So while purchasing HidrateMe becomes a choice of lifestyle preference, the bottom line is remember to drink up.