Inventor Inspired by Wallace and Gromit
A five-year-old boy is thought to be the youngest person in the United Kingdom to patent an invention.

"Sam Houghton [...] was just three when he came up with a double-headed broom to collect large debris and fine dust simultaneously," BBC News reports.

The boy, whose invention is now patented, was in part inspired by animated inventors Wallace and Gromit.

Barcode Art
When it comes to retail packaging, UPC barcodes are a necessary but boring feature. Typically, they come in the same size and the same shape.

But, as Inventor Spot points out:

Somebody in Japan finally figured out that as long as optical character readers (OCRs) can recognize the encoded information, nothing else really matters. The next step was to work hand-in-hand with manufacturers to liven up their barcodes and by doing so, create an innovative new way to attract consumers' attention.

Apparently, in Japan nowadays, artistic barcodes are everywhere. The theme typically matches the actual product inside, but just as often it doesn't.

Who knew that the stale parameters of barcodes could simultaneously serve their intended function while being artistic?

(Images above: D-Barcode via Dark Roasted Blend)

Can Testosterone Make You Rich?
The higher a financial trader's morning testosterone level, the more money he'll likely have made before the close of business, according to a recent study of London stock traders that found elevated hormone levels coincided with above-average profits.

When financial-market traders start the day with high testosterone levels, they typically end the day with higher-than-average profits, concluded University of Cambridge researchers who measured morning and afternoon levels of the hormone in 17 male City of London traders over eight consecutive business days.

The researchers suspect that testosterone may increase a trader's confidence and willingness to take risks. (Of course, too much testosterone could be dangerous, as previous studies have shown that testosterone injections can cause men to make irrational decisions.) The researchers also measured levels of cortisol, a hormone that is released in response to stress, and found that the traders experienced spikes of cortisol during times of high volatility in the markets.

The findings were made public earlier this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. (via Time)

Smallest Jet Plane Ever Made
The BD-5 is the smallest jet plane ever made. It has enough room for a crew of one: the pilot. Max takeoff weight: 1,100 lb (530 kg). Maximum speed: 300+ mph (500 km/h).

The Terrible Twos
Apparently, young stars are a lot like toddlers: they want to start showing their independence.

This Spitzer view shows a stellar version of the "terrible twos" — the stars are beginning to move away from their formative cloud, seen in red and green. Jets can be seen coming off the young stars as they make their way into the cosmos.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. A. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)

Cheers.