Growing numbers of parents are looking for ways to teach their babies to learn a second or third language, reports Jenny Anderson in the New York Times (8/19/10). Some are hiring foreign-language babysitters (-: while others are investing in products like Spanish in a Basket :-). In some cases, it's because it's easier to learn foreign languages at a younger age. In others, it's because the parents have some kind of connection to other languages. It's also because they think it will make their children smarter, although there's some debate over that.

"Once you are trilingual, your brain can break down new languages that make it so much easier to learn your fourth, fifth and sixth languages," says Simona D'Souza, whose three kids speak German, Spanish and English. Research does indeed show "that learning a second language makes it easier to learn additional languages." But psychologist Ellen Bialystok says that doesn't necessarily mean being multilingual makes you smarter. "There are documented cognitive developments," she says, "but whatever smarter means, it isn't true."

Ellen's own research finds that multilingual kids "tend to have smaller vocabularies in English than their monolingual counterparts," and that they "have to work harder to access the right word in the right language which can slow them down" -- if only by milliseconds. But research also shows that "bilingual children do better at complex tasks like isolating information presented in confusing ways," and some believe this flexibility can be helpful in science and math. "We view it as a gift we are giving him," says Nir Liberboim, who "hired a Peruvian nanny to speak only Spanish" with his 18-month-old son.

Mass customization offers irresistible opportunities to re-think brand identity.  By Beth Ann Kaminkow. (more)

In a delicious turn of events, the tanking economy made possible the resurrection of the late, great Polaroid instant camera, reports Eric Felton in the Wall Street Journal (3/26/10). The last plant making Polaroid instant film -- outside Amsterdam of all places -- was set to be demolished, and its machinery dismantled. But because of the economy, plans to bulldoze the factory and construct a new building were cancelled. And, as fate would have it, Florian Kaps, a Polaroid enthusiast, happened to catch wind of this, um, development, the day before workers were to begin destroying the machinery.

Florian, who had been selling remaining stock of Polaroid film online, managed to delay the destruction for a week while he raised enough funds "to lease the factory, acquire the equipment and get to work." Even though Florian had the equipment, he still didn't have the requisite chemicals for that very special Polaroid process. However, working with former Polaroid engineers, a new formulation was developed using readily available ingredients and "a sepia-tinted black-and-white film usable in the standard old Polaroid cameras" is now available online, at theimpossibleproject dot-com. Color film is promised this summer.

The remaining question is whether there's a sufficient market for Polaroid film, which once commanded the instant-pictures category, but fell on hard times with the advent of digital cameras. Still, some people -- artists largely -- have remained enchanted by "the film's otherworldly effects and quirky unpredictability." Some hobbyists meanwhile "were hooked on the strange, ethereal lull as the image seeps into existence before one's eyes." It's not likely that Polaroid's revival will put a "dent in the digital juggernaut," but, as Eric Felton notes, it's a happy moment "when the market increases our choices instead of narrowing them."

Reckitt Benckiser is rocking by rolling out "new technological twists on humdrum household products," reports Paul Sonne in the Wall Street Journal (2/11/10). Among these hits are "dispensers that ward off mosquitoes by releasing solution continuously throughout the night and electronic air fresheners that sense when people are in a room and deliver an extra pump of fragrance." Coming up is Finish QuantuMatic, a dishwashing detergent designed for men, "which requires just one pellet package for 12 washes."

Also in the works is a sensor-activated soap dispenser, the Lysol No Touch Hand Soap System (why didn't they just call it the iSoap?). As the name would suggest, it "releases a dollop of soap when it senses a hand underneath." As Reckitt ceo Bart Becht explains, "If you ever cut raw chicken in the kitchen you understand immediately why this is beneficial." The device "comes with soap and costs about $9.99 at Walmart ... Refills cost about $3.50." It is Reckitt's "most complicated innovation" to date, but is the result of a relatively simple approach.

Reckitt focuses "on categories that prove less meaningful to bigger players." It also eschews a big research-and-development organization in favor of "an unusually open appeal to product innovators outside the company ... in part by operating an open website, called IdeaLink, which advertises specific advancements the company is looking for and allows visitors to submit their proposals." This helps Reckitt move quickly, but also keeps it in touch with "what consumers want ... rather than thinking about what would simply be a cool thing."

No truth to the rumor, apparently, that P&G's Gillette is about to roll out the first ever ten-blade razor, reports Ellen Byron in the Wall Street Journal (2/12/10). "It's not about the blade count," says Matthew Wohl, general manager of male new products and shave care at Procter & Gamble. "Men tell us their number-one need is comfort ... They tell us they want less tug and pull, less irritation." Indeed, on average, "men need to pull through 10,000 to 15,000 beard hairs," and use 150 strokes to do so.

But rather than adding more blades, Gillette "is promising several technological advances" when it introduces its new Fusion ProGlide razor, in both manual and battery-powered versions, this June. These include "blade edges so fine they can only be seen at high magnification, a 'snow-plow guard' that prevents hydroplaning and a new ergonomic grip that improves traction." All of this innovation will come at a price, of course -- a pack of four of the manual cartridges will run $16.99, and the battery-powered $17.99.

This represents "a 15 percent premium to regular Fusion blades, which already run about twice the average price in the category." The ProGlide has been under development for several years, and has been tested on 30,000 men, including current and former P&G CEOs Robert McDonald and A.G. Lafley. Gillette currently "holds more than three-quarters of the U.S. market for razors and blades," with its Fusion line bringing in "$1 billion worldwide each year." Stew Traub, a Gillette research director, is mum about any future innovations, saying only, "I will never say we won't add more blades."

M.I.T. researchers have re-invented a bicycle wheel "that captures kinetic energy released when a rider brakes and saves it for when the rider needs a boost," reports Sindya N. Bhanoo in the New York Times (12/15/09). Called the Copenhagen Wheel, the technology consists of "a sleek red hub" that "can be retrofitted to any bike's rear wheel." It employs "the same technology used by hybrid cars ... to harvest otherwise wasted energy when a cyclist brakes or speeds down a hill. With that energy, it charges up a battery inside the wheel's hub."

The device "includes sensors that track air quality, a meter that logs miles and a GPS unit to track routes. All that data can be sent via Bluetooth to a rider's smartphone and shared with others." It all sounds very cool, but Steve Hed of Hed Cycling Products, thinks it misses the mark. "Just the basic bike is so hard to beat," says Steve. "The latest thing now are the simple, fixed-gear bikes, so simple and light you can throw them over your shoulder."

William Mitchell, also of M.I.T., is skeptical, too: "Regenerative braking hardware adds mass, complexity and cost, and the energy efficiency gains from it turn out to be surprisingly limited," he says. Michael Lin, one of William's doctoral students, is working on a plug-in bike, saying his "priority is to create a bike that is a true transportation tool." But Christine Outram, project leader for the Copenhagen Wheel, says the goal is to "get more people on bikes." And even Steve Hed admits that the Copenhagen Wheel could find a niche market among commuters and the elderly. "For my mother it would be perfect," he says.

If you're worried about spreading E. coli bacteria in the kitchen, Tom Little has just the gadget -- "a hands-free paper towel dispenser," reports Joyce Wadler in the New York Times (1/14/10). It's called the Clean Cut Touchless automatic paper towel dispenser, and as Tom explains, "Say you're cooking chicken and you had E. coli on the chicken -- once you grab the roll, you're passing whatever bacteria are on your hands to the rest of the roll." The germs, says Tom, "live, just like when you touch the door handle at the convenience store." Everybody Panic.

The Clean Cut was just one of many new, household gadgets -- innovative or not -- populating the International Home and Housewares "sneak preview" show in Manhattan last week. If you're still concerned with swine flu, there's "the Crane Cool Mist humidifier. Crane also makes a kids' version, shaped like penguins, leopards and elephants, for instance. Crane's Katie Sotor says the humidifiers are perfect for kids, given that the FDA says you shouldn't give over-the-counter cough meds "to children under age four."

If your paranoia is of a different sort, Black & Decker has what it calls the World's First Wall Mount Shredder & Messaging Center, an all-in-one shredder and magnetic bulletin board. Whimsical parents might like Head Chefs, "a line of kitchen tools for children" where the handles are shaped like bodies with the heads replaced by spoons and stuff like that. Finally, for the weight-conscious, there's "Slimware, a line of melamine plates ... decorated with patterns that recommend portion sizes for vegetables, carbohydrates and proteins." The big housewares show will happen March, in Chicago (link).

Starbucks figured out that it could simplify its banana bread if it simply substituted more bananas for artificial flavoring, reports Bruce Horovitz in USA Today (10/28/09). "We can just put more bananas in and do the same job," says Sarah Osmer, who directs health and wellness for Starbucks. To make sure its customers didn't miss the point, Starbucks "handed out samples of the new banana bread along with index cards listing the ingredients." The chain is taking a similar approach with Vivanno, a fruit smoothie drink, that's made with just "four ingredients: milk, juice, banana and natural protein fiber powder."

Wait a minute -- does "natural protein fiber powder" really qualify as a single item? Hm. Anyway, the smoothie keeps Starbucks on trend, which is toward fewer ingredients in its food items. According to Datamonitor, there was "a 64.7 percent increase in new products using the word 'simple' or 'simply' in the product" between 2005 and 2008. Lynn Dornblaser of Mintel says that simpler products, with fewer ingredients stand to compete well in the year ahead. The reason is that consumers assume that items with fewer ingredients are probably healthier, and so "simple" has become the new "organic."

As Michael Pollan observes, "The food business has always been ingenious at turning any criticism into a new way to sell food." Michael is of course famous for popularizing the idea "of buying foods with five or fewer ingredients." And while less processed food is probably better for you, Michael probably wasn't talking about unprocessed fat and sugar. But that's what Haagen Dazs is talking about with its "Five" line of ice cream, which contain just five ingredients -- "milk, cream, sugar, eggs and one natural flavor, such as mint." The company says Five "already accounts for 10 percent of the brand's business." Nutritionist Marion Nestle notes that this is "savvy marketing that consumers are buying right into."

Even before Hurricane Katrina hit, the Falstaff brewery in New Orleans had been converted into apartments, and the Jax brewery into a shopping mall, reports Nick Kaye in the New York Times (3/2709). But since the storm devastated the Crescent City, at least three breweries are trying to return it to its former glory as a "regional beer capital." Among them is Heiner Brau, which began brewing in late 2004 and shipped its first bottles "just about one week" after Katrina hit.

After the storm, Heiner Brau also tried to keep the city supplied with another local favorite, Dixie, whose brewery was wiped out, but couldn't keep up with the demand. Henier Brau is run by a German immigrant, Henryk Orlik, who says he's been brewing beer since he was 16 and knows no other life. So he's keeping N.O. "hopping" with "a light floral Kolsch and a dark brown Maerzen year-round, as well as a rotation of five seasonal brews." He joins Abita, a Katrina survivor, "known as the Southeast's oldest and largest craft brewery."

Abita has been around since 1984 and now ships to 40 states, but "may be the consensus local beer of choice." Abita also runs a brew pub, and among its offerings is "Abita Restoration Pale Ale -- a brew created after Katrina that Abita used to raise about $550,000 for the rebuilding effort." Other specialities include "the new Satsuma Harvest Wit, a blond ale made with a type of mandarin orange grown in Louisiana." Meanwhile, NOLA Brewing Company was launched post-Katrina by Kirk Coco, who has no prior experience as a brewmaster, but sees his brewery helping "to rebuild this city," adding: "We should be the capital of Southern brewing again." ~ Tim Manners, editor.

If you've got an extra $5,000 kicking around after buying a Maybach 57 Zeppelin, you might want to spring for the perfume atomizer option, suggests Phil Patton in the New York Times (3/1/09). By the way, the base price of the Maybach 57 is $520,000, while "the larger Maybach 62 lists for more than $600,000." The atomizer is "an illuminated Plexiglas globe" (what, no crystal?) that sits "on the rear console."

Backseat passengers can control it via "a thumbwheel," while the driver can use "a button near the steering wheel ... It comes with three glass perfume vials; two fragrances by Givaudan of Switzerland" come with the package. But if you prefer something other than the Maybach-supplied scents, you can insert your own aroma. Either way, the thing "shuts off automatically after 10 minutes or so."

If that's all too much, then you can get something like it for less at your local auto parts store or carwash, such as Scent a Vent's Elegant jar, which comes in vanilla and attaches to your air vent. A company called Animal Farm makes something similar that's shaped like a "fluffy pink pig." A variety of automotive atomizers are also available via Auto Freak, an accessory store: "There is even aromatherapy, offering tranquility in the form of a Midnight Lavender spray bottle," courtesy of a company called ... Carma. ~ Tim Manners, editor.