Today, Honda announced the UNI-CUB — personal mobility device that's very similar to the Segway. But unlike the Segway that's mainly used for outdoors, the much smaller UNI-CUB is a one-person scooter for indoor spaces. Honda first announced the personal transpo system back in 2009, and the UNI-CUB that you can see in the video above is the latest update to its design.

The lithium-ion battery-powered machine has a compact design with a seat fashioned like a saddle. Honda claims it's easy enough to balance, but we bet the injured, the sickly, and the elderly who have the most use for something like this would have a hard time getting used to riding it.

The UNI-CUB can move in any direction you choose, no matter where you're facing. To control it, you only need to shift your weight toward one direction or use its smartphone app. While it's not yet ready for release, Honda will be testing the UNI-CUB in June at Japan's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

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When cabs were cash only, cabbies got short shrift. Now, the digital age is putting cash in their pockets

Tipping: It's a pain. Not so much because we don't like rewarding good service — we absolutely do — it's just that we never have any idea what's customary to tip for service outside a restaurant. I mean, what do you tip a New York City cab driver, 10%? It turns out that's exactly what most people used to tip cabbies — 10%. Used to, that is, until cabs were forced to install touch screen payment systems that accept credit cards.

See, those screens offer you four different potions for tipping: a 30% tip button, a 25% tip button, a 20% tip button, and a keypad for entering in your own tip. It turns out that people are lazy and love using those buttons — according to research from NYC developer Joshua Gross,  the average tip has more than doubled to 22% since. That's a total of $144 million of additional tips per year.

[Source via TheNextWeb]

This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca

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Add this to the increasing number of unusual weapons straight out of a sci-fi movie: A repurposed Nerf gun equipped with a Tesla coil that can shoot up to 20,000 volts of electricity. This electrifying gun created by Rob Flickenger was inspired by the fictional Tesla gun from the steampunk graphic novel The Five Fists of Science. It may not make as much fashion statement as this crazy-looking Tesla coil hat, but it sure looks dangerous.

Flickenger used an old iron-cast Nerf gun for the weapon's body and a 3D printed porcelain case to house both the Tesla coil and a high-voltage switch. To make this weapon work, all you need to do is pull the trigger like you would with any other gun. But since this is a Tesla coil-powered weapon, expect to see lightning instead of bullets. Check out the video below to see the lightning gun in action.

[Image credit: Rob Flickenger]

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This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

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