This article shows how unbelievably innovative students can be, Kranium Design (lighter, stronger, safer) via  GOOD IS (make sure you watch video):

When Anirudha Surabhi was a grad student at the Royal College of Art in London, he was in a bike accident. Even though it was a minor crash, and Surabhi was wearing an expensive helmet, the next day he learned that he had a concussion. He spent three days in the hospital. He wondered why the helmet hadn’t worked—and decided to explore the problem for his thesis project.

It turns out that bike helmets are not as safe as they’re portrayed to be. Over the last few decades, Surabhi says, some helmets have gotten more aerodynamic and better-looking, but they haven’t gotten any better at protecting us from injuries.

As he began working on his design, Surabhi looked at the anatomy of a woodpecker for inspiration. When a woodpecker slams its beak into the trunk of a tree, the impact is cushioned by a special micro-structure between the beak and head. By mirroring that structure—after testing 150 different materials—Surabhi was able to create a helmet that can withstand three times greater impact than a standard helmet.

BTW, Heba of Eatluv recently pointed out this amazing cardboard bike and its designer. I guess the helmet and bike would make a truly cool pair. Is it time to hold a cardboard hackathon or innovation contest? Anyone up for that kind of contest? Also, both seem like kickstarter type of projects — anyone know if they are up on crowdfunding pages?

via A Stronger Bike Helmet, Made of Cardboard and Inspired by a Woodpecker | Health on GOOD.