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It is red. It looks like Pac-Man. And it is pretty enough to sit on your kitchen counter. What is it? After brooms, toothbrushes, and toolboxes, it’s time for kitchen sponges to get a design upgrade. The Mitts sponge was specifically designed for fragile stemware. It fits into your hands like an oven mitt and works a bit like a beak (or, indeed, Pac-Man). An incision in the middle of the sponge lets you wrap it around the rim, while two finger slots help you control the opening of that incision. “So, you have the dexterity you would get from bare hands, but protected by the sponge,” says Daniele Orellana, who cofounded Mitts with her husband, Lee Kojanis. [Photo: Mitts] The duo estimates that over the past few years, they have broken at least 10 glasses while washing them. (Kojanis holds a WSET Level 3 wine certification, so fine wine, along with fine stemware, is a constant in the household). And when the two dental professionals first sat down to brainstorm ideas for a better sponge, Orellana had just broken another two handblown glasses, worth about $80 each. “Frustration was brewing,” says Kojanis with a laugh. At the time, the market seemed split in two categories: high-function and low-aesthetic sponges you wouldn’t want to keep on the side of your sink; or sponges that look good but don’t work well. Many in the latter camp were too abrasive and too bulky to swirl around fine stemware. “We wanted a hybrid that had aesthetic appeal,” says Kojanis. Orellana and Kojanis, who self-funded the entire project, envisioned Mitts as a multifunctional sponge that was designed for wine glasses but could do an equally good job at washing a knife, or brushing kitchen shears. They developed the concept over the course of one weekend, then worked with New York agency Creative Engineering to develop some prototypes. [Photo: Mitts] By far, the hardest part turned out to be the base the sponge sits on. “I was a big pusher for the base,” says Orellana, who knew the sponge would need a container to drain into, and also aspired to use it as a sculptural little vessel for her jewelry. After experimenting with various formats or different shapes, sizes, and materialsincluding two versions with one and two prongs to prop the spongethey landed on a rounded base that looks a bit like a pebble made of resin. The sponge is meant to stand on it vertically, which helps it drain, while a shallow recess hugs it in place. For now, Mitts is available in red and yellow (a nod to the main wine varietals) though the team is hoping to introduce more shades in the future. The pipeline could also include narrower Mitts for champagne flutes, and a microfiber drying cloth with a Mitts twist. But for now, the pair is focused on their first product. “We love our jobs too much,” says Kojanis. “This has been great side hustle, and we would love to perfect the product we have on the market.”
Category:
E-Commerce
Philadelphia recently rolled out bus-mounted AI cameras that capture people driving personal vehicles in dedicated bus lanes. Innovations like this are necessities because so many people suffer from Car Brain. Cities have long grappled with an infuriating dilemma: illegally parked cars that choke bus lanes, inflate commutes, and discourage potential riders away from public transit. Recent studies show that lane obstructions increase bus delays 20% to 30% during peak hours. But now cameras mounted directly on buses provide real-time solutions by using sophisticated computer vision and machine learning, instantly identifying offenders and automating ticketing. It bypasses the heavy costs (and limited reliability) of human enforcement. How it works Unlike typical cameras, the bus-mounted AI systems dynamically adjust to shifting environmentslight changes, weather conditions, and unpredictable circumstances that we so often encounter in urban environments. Besides the obvious benefit of keeping bus lanes clear, the technology generates data to optimize bus routes, traffic signal timing, and overall network efficiency, strengthening the backbone of a multimodal transportation system that integrates buses, bikes, pedestrians, and private vehicles. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"","headline":"Urbanism Speakeasy","description":"Join Andy Boenau as he explores ideas that the infrastructure status quo would rather keep quiet. To learn more, visit urbanismspeakeasy.com.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.urbanismspeakeasy.com\/","colorTheme":"green","redirectUrl":""}} Philadelphias Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) launched their Automated Bus Camera Enforcement Initiative in April 2025. Deployed on more than 150 buses and trolleys, the system started issuing $100 fines after a 30-day grace period. And the results were immediate: fewer lane blockages and more on-time buses. On the West Coast, LA Metro deployed a similar technology in early 2025, issuing nearly 10,000 citations in the first few months. This effort boosted bus speeds by as much as 36% and also reduced collisions by 34%. (Thats a great reminder that keeping bus lanes clear benefits all road users, not just people riding the bus.) Faster travel times Beyond Philadelphia and Los Angeles, cities nationwide adopting automated enforcement report 10% to 30% reductions in bus travel times. Chicagos and New Yorks early pilots show rush-hour speed gains of up to 25%. Faster buses attract more riders and reduce the number of car trips. The AI systems also provide real-time insights into traffic patterns, violation hot spots, and infrastructure bottlenecks. New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority used camera data to adjust signal timings, cutting bus delays by an additional 5% in key corridors. In Philadelphia, SEPTA is experimenting with dynamic routing, where buses adjust paths based on real-time congestion data. Scalability is another strength. Washington, D.C., and San Francisco plan to launch AI bus lane programs by late 2025, with ambitions to share data regionally. This could lead to coordinated networks where transportation systems work in sync across city boundaries. The challenges Challenges exist, of course. People are right to be concerned about license plate data being collected and high fines issued for parking in bus lanes. In response, cities have limited data retention to 30 days, made non-offender information anonymous, and run marketing campaigns about the automated enforcement. But theres one way concerned citizens can avoid getting their license plate scanned and a ticket mailed to their housedont park in the bus lane. Automated bus lane enforcement (similar to speed cameras and red-light running cameras) will be a cornerstone of robust multimodal transportation. Reliable, on-time service encourages more people to use public transit instead of private automobiles. Remember, a well-run bus system is an express sidewalka piece of infrastructure that dramatically expands the number of destinations within walking distance. The moment we stop treating the bus as a social program and start treating it like an express sidewalk, we unlock a public good that meets people where they are and moves them forward. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"","headline":"Urbanism Speakeasy","description":"Join Andy Boenau as he explores ideas that the infrastructure status quo would rather keep quiet. To learn more, visit urbanismspeakeasy.com.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.urbanismspeakeasy.com\/","colorTheme":"green","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
Imagine you invest $500 to help a startup get off the ground through investment crowdfunding. The pitch is slick, the platform feels trustworthy, and the company quickly raises its target amount from hundreds of people just like you. Thensilence. No updates, no financials, not even a thank-you. Youve been ghostednot by a friend, but by a company you helped fund. This isnt just an unlucky anecdote. Its happening across the United States. And while it may violate federal law, theres little enforcementand virtually no consequences. Thanks to a 2012 law, startups can raise up to $5 million per year from the general public through online platforms such as Wefunder or StartEngine. The law was intended to democratize investing and give regular people, not just the wealthy, a chance to back promising young companies. But theres a catch: Companies that raise money this way are required to file an annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and post it publicly. This report, intended to show whether the business is making progress and how it is using investor funds, is a cornerstone of accountability in the system. As a professor of business law, I wrote the book on investment crowdfunding. And in my recent research, I found that a majority of crowdfunded companies simply ignore this rule. They raise the money and go silent, leaving investors in the dark. In most cases, I suspect their silence isnt part of an elaborate con. More likely, the founders never realized they had to file, forgot about the requirement amid the chaos of running a young business, or shut down entirely. But whether its innocent oversight or deliberate avoidance, the effect on investors is the same: no information, no accountability. This kind of vanishing act would be unthinkable for public companies listed on the stock market. But in the world of investment crowdfunding, limited oversight means that going silent, whatever the reason, is all too easy. Its not just 1 or 2 victims When startups go dark, they dont just leave their investors behindthey undermine the entire crowdfunding model. Investment crowdfunding was meant to be an accessible, transparent way to support innovation. But when companies ghost their backers, the relationship starts to look less like an investment and more like a donation. Its not just unethicalits illegal. Federal law requires at least one annual update. But so far, enforcement has been almost nonexistent. Concerned state attorneys general have encouraged the SEC to ramp up enforcement actions. This could work in theory, but its unrealistic in practice, given the SECs limited resources and broad mission. If nothing changes, the crowdfunding experiment could collapse under the weight of mistrust. Incentives worklets use them Fortunately, theres a low-cost solution. I propose that crowdfunding platforms hold back 1% of the capital raised until the company files its first required report. If it complies, it gets the funds. If not, it doesnt. Its a small but powerful incentive that could nudge companies into doing the right thing, without adding bureaucratic complexity. Its the same principle used in escrow arrangements, which are common in finance. In a home sale, for example, part of the money goes into a neutral holding accountescrowuntil the seller meets certain agreed conditions. Only then is it released. Applying that approach here, a small slice of crowdfunding proceeds would stay in escrow until the company files its first annual report. No report, no release. Unfortunately, crowdfunding platforms are unlikely to adopt this voluntarily. They compete with one another for deal flow, and any rule that makes fundraising slightly harder at one platform could send startups to a rival site. However, the SEC has the legal authority to update its rules, and this change would be easy to implementno new laws, no congressional fights, just a bit of regulatory will. Ive even drafted a proposed rule, ready-made for the SEC to adopt, and published it in my recent article, “Ghosting the Crowd.” The idea behind investment crowdfunding remains powerful: Open the door to entrepreneurship and investment for everyone. But if that door leads to silence and broken promises, trust will disappearand with it, a promising financial innovation. A tiny tweak to the rules could restore that trust. Without it, investors will keep getting ghosted. And the market might ghost them right back. Andrew A. Schwartz is a DeMuth Chair of Business Law at the University of Colorado Boulder. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Category:
E-Commerce
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