Sending messages in bottles has been around since at least the Ancient Greeks... but now as part of a promotional campaign, Solo, a soft drink company based in Norway, has built an 8-meter tall replica soda bottle outfitted with solar panels, a camera, and tracking technology and set it adrift in the ocean. [Click pic to enlarge]

Margaret Thatcher, who died Monday at the age of 87, was one of Britain's most accomplished, if controversial, politicians and prime ministers. Love her, hate her, there is something that lovers of dairy the world over have to thank her for: Baroness Thatcher, the legend goes, helped invent soft-serve ice cream.

TED, the non-profit organisation and website devoted to 'Ideas Worth Spreading', recently released its 2013 list of 10 “Ads Worth Spreading,” which recognises innovative and intelligent advertising people want to see and share with friends. Among them, and the only one in the food-bev sectors, is Coca-Cola's awesome 'Security Cameras' ad, a sweet reminder that while security cameras around the world capture some of the lowest moments in human behaviour - they also capture some of the most beautiful.

Produced at least as far back as 5 000 BC, beer has been with us for a long time. But the lifespan of individual beers is more likely to be measured in days or weeks rather than years or decades. The exception is if they’re preserved at the bottom of the Baltic Sea in a shipwreck. One such shipwrecked beer that is about 170 years old has been salvaged and analysed and will be reproduced using modern industrial techniques.

‘Beer goggles’, the phenomenon used to explain how a few stiff drinks can transform the plainest face into something much more attractive, has been revealed as a myth by a brain expert.

Has the impossible happened? Has someone built the first amazing microwave espresso maker? Possibly.

You don't have to invent an iPad or a smart phone to be labelled a clever innovator. Some of the simplest, everyday items are being tweaked in new ways that just shout "No brainer - why didn't I invent that!?" Just look at this new take on the humble tea mug - simply brilliant! Or not your cup of tea?