Tackling homelessness in the United States seems like a monumental undertaking, but every journey begins with a single step. For many homeless men and women in the Los Angeles area, a new invention called the EDAR is a step in the right direction. We at InventHelp would like to recognize this ambitious effort to curb one of our nation’s greatest ills.

The EDAR, which stands for Everyone Deserves a Roof, is a four-wheeled, tent-like home that’s designed to be waterproof, sturdy and mobile. Each unit is equipped with a mattress and a sleeping bag for comfort. An integral braking system keeps the unit from rolling away, and a padlock is included to prevent theft.

While the accommodations seem modest, EDAR owners like Brenda Gardenhire told CNN, “it’s like your own home, your own apartment, your own room.” Other EDAR owners jokingly refer to it as the “hobo condo.” Humorous moniker aside, it serves as a stepping stone to get off the streets and back into society.

Movie producer Peter Samuelson, of “Revenge of the Nerds” fame (one of Gadget Girl’s childhood favorites), has long been an advocate for impoverished and homeless children. As he rode his bike from Los Angeles to Santa Monica, he stopped along the way to speak with the homeless about their needs. A roof was the most common request by far.

Initially, Samuelson wanted to build a permanent shelter, but securing funds needed for the $3 billion undertaking in tumultuous economic times proved nearly impossible. The EDAR, on the other hand, costs about $500 per unit and serves as an economical alternative.

He partnered with the Pasadena Art Center College of Design to create the design concept, and the EDAR was born. Currently, the EDAR has a waiting list, and requests for more information on the EDAR have poured in from around the country and around the world.

We at InventHelp love to see inventors use practical innovations to create positive change. For more information on the EDAR and to see how you can help, visit their website at EDAR.org.

It’s time for InventHelp’s Gadget Girl to let the nerd flag shine! Even as a youngster, I loved the concept of teleportation. Blame it on the old Star Trek episodes I used to watch with my dad when I was a kid.

Today, when I’m sitting in Pittsburgh’s infamous bottleneck traffic, I still fantasize that with a flip of a button, I could be transported across the congested highway directly to the comfort of my desk.

Although it lacks the flair of “Beam me up, Scotty!”, scientists have nonetheless come closer than ever to moving teleportation from science fiction to reality. Scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute in Maryland have invented a way to teleport the quantum identity of one atom to another a few feet away.

Teleportation is a highly complex process involving lasers, quantum physics and a process called “entanglement,” which happens when two particles become “entangled” in a single entity. A change in one instantaneously changes the other – even when the other particle is across the room. Confused yet?

While scientists are still light years away from teleporting anything fun (like me), this concept could be applied to create faster quantum computers. The computers that you and I use today store information in binary code, or a series of ones and zeros. A quantum computer could, theoretically, allow one bit to be both one and zero simultaneously.

So far, the process is not very efficient. Only one of every 100 million teleportation attempts succeeds, and it takes a whopping 10 minutes to transfer one bit of quantum information. But, scientist say, a success rate as low as 1 in 1,000 could prove highly useful if the process can be refined.

Check out this interactive New York Times graphic on Quantum Teleportation. Oh, and “Beam me up, Scotty”! (Sorry, just had to get that out one more time!

Pittsburgh’s hard, cold winters seem to be endless. Around this time of year, everyone here at InventHelp is craving some sunlight. And even though I know it’s bad for me, once in a while I like to indulge in a nice dose of UV rays at the local tanning salon.

At the desk, the salon clerk asked me to place my index finger on a small scanner. Faster than you can say “melanoma,” this little fingerprint scanner read my print and associated it with my customer record. The clerk explained that customer theft caused them to implement the new security precautions. Many customers would buy a tanning package, he said, then let their friends go into the salon and use the package.

The Helios Biometric Fingerprint Scanner is one brand of tool that salons employ to maintain security. The reader confirms the identity of the patron before it lets them tan, preventing fraud.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl doesn’t want to sound paranoid, but the idea of my fingerprint floating around in a database somewhere gives me the heebie-jeebies. After some research, I discovered that biometric systems use the highest level of database encryption. This prevents unauthorized users from accessing the database and stealing critical information.

Besides confirming customer identity, the biometric tool can also be used to verify employees’ time clock accuracy as well as confirm their identities before allowing them access to the database.

Special thanks to the patient tanning clerk who took the time to explain how these biometrics tools work to this visibly excited InventHelp employee!

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl saw a commercial today for a household window cleaner that showed two clever birds trick a man into walking into a “streak-free” patio door. The commercial itself is pretty funny, but it plays off a sad reality.

Birds do have a hard time spotting windows, causing them to crash into a window at full speed. The impact can severely injure or even kill a bird. One inventive Ottawa boy felt that something had to be done to reduce these accidents. His solution? An ultraviolet, bird-shaped decal that birds can see but humans cannot.

Eighth grader Charlie Sobcov has loved birds ever since his family took a trip to Costa Rica four years ago. He learned on the trip that many exotic bird species could disappear forever because of issues like global warming. He was later horrified to learn that about 500 million birds a year in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada die as a result of crashing into windows. A large number of these accidents occur when skyscrapers interrupt the birds’ migratory path.

So, for his science project this year, he decided to devote his research to devising a way to save birds’ lives. While bird-shaped decals already exist, they’re normally painted and can block the view. Charlie’s ultraviolet plastic decals improved on this design, and he’s hoping that more businesses and households will catch on.

“It’s like putting a big stop sign in the middle of the window,” he told CBC Radio’s All in a Day. “The ’stop sign’ lets birds know the window is solid, but is nearly invisible to humans.”

We at InventHelp hope to see Charlie’s invention in stores sometime soon!

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl remembers growing up watching cartoons that depicted what life would be like in the future: robot maids, condos in space and (of course) flying cars. While these visionary predictions mostly remain fodder for science fiction programs, the dream of the flying car is becoming a reality.

Developed by a British inventor and a team of engineers, the “Skycar” took off from London to embark on a groundbreaking, 3,720-mile trip to Timbuktu in Mali, West Africa. The trip is the consummation of 18 months of painstaking research and development.

Now, if you’re like me, you may be envisioning the Skycar as a Jetsons-like space pod. That’s far from the truth. Less “pod” and more “buggy,” the Skycar is an all-terrain vehicle with a massive rear propeller and fabric wings. These flexible wings can be compacted and stored in the vehicle when it is land-bound, and they can be released immediately for quick takeoff. Check out the Skycar in action on YouTube.

The cabin is a tight squeeze, but it can fit a pilot and a driver. In this case, the pilot for the Skycar’s maiden voyage is veteran adventurer Neil Laughton. He expects to reach his destination in February.

The inventors are hoping that the biofuel-powered, road-legal Skycar will appeal to the general public more than some other esoteric “flying cars” that have come before it. We at InventHelp will be sure to update you on the Skycar’s maiden voyage. Perhaps I’ve watched too many cartoons, but I’m still hoping to fly around in a space pod in my lifetime!

We at InventHelp love a good prank, especially when it comes wrapped up with a bow!

Maybe you have an older brother who played too many tricks on you as a kid, or an uncle who’s made you the butt of family jokes every Christmas. If so, GotchaBoxes just might be your ticket to payback.

GotchaBoxes, sold by online satire fake-news outlet The Onion, are decoy gift boxes made to look like strange and useless gadgets. The exterior of the boxes are splashed with flashy, tongue-in-cheek ad copy. When the gift recipient opens the box, she or he (if manners are intact) must awkwardly pretend to fawn over the gift. You, of course, smile sweetly and ask how they like it.

Consider the Peaceful Progression Smoke Alarm, featuring sounds of the rain forest. “Awake to your next fire calm and refreshed!,” boasts the cheerful box. Of course, this idea is not only illogical, it’s downright dangerous. Or the USB Toaster, which allows your computer to toast a single slice of bread. “Don’t be tethered to the kitchen! Take your toast…to go!”

Inventor Arik Nordby, a graphic designer from Minnesota, got the idea in 2004 after a birthday party for a friend’s young son. The boy was visibly dismayed when a toy came wrapped in a box for a coffee pot. Nordby saw huge prankster potential in the invention, and eventually The Onion came on board. The Onion sells the boxes for $7.99 apiece, or $19.99 for a set of four.

Since you don’t want to be a total Grinch, you can put a real present inside of the gag box. Unless, of course, your prank target has been a bad boy or girl this year!

If you’ve been brave enough to venture out into holiday shopping traffic this week, InventHelp’s Gadget Girl is willing to bet you’ve heard a car horn or two. Aggressive drivers are just one of the reasons that I’m doing most of my holiday shopping online this year.

Henry Ford, a well-known inventor, decided to include a rudimentary horn on his revolutionary Model T. In Slate Magazine, writer Dave Johns describes this early horn as a “grapefruit-sized squeeze bulb affixed to a twice-looped brass trumpet.” Cars and their horns have come a long way since then, but have drivers evolved at the same pace?

Ever since first automotive horn rolled off the assembly line, drivers from New York to New Delhi have honked their way through the highways. The automotive horn’s origins are noble – it was invented as a “collision-avoidance device.” But, if you’ve ever lingered a second too long at a stop light, the chorus of horns that blare in protest demonstrates how the horn is more for scolding other drivers than avoiding accidents.

In developing countries like India and China, a new generation of drivers seems content to honk their way to Noise Pollution City. Some cities through the years have banned honking at night, or even all together. Memphis in the 1950s was called “the quietest city” thanks to a tough horn law.

We at InventHelp would like to remind you to be careful with your horn usage as you rush to shop for the latest gadgets this holiday season. It just goes to show you that what starts as a safety invention can quickly become a noise nuisance in the wrong driver’s hands!

We at InventHelp love this time of year not only for the holiday cheer, but also because football playoffs are just around the corner! I don’t know if there’s anything that could make us love our hometown Pittsburgh Steelers any more than we already do. Except, maybe, watching them in 3D.

Sound too futuristic? Think again. Testing is already underway for 3-D broadcasting. Invite-only test audiences in Los Angeles, New York and Boston have already seen the future of sports broadcasting – and it sounds pretty exciting.

3ality Digital – the company behind the “U2 3D” concert film – is overseeing production and transmission. Technicolor Digital Cinema is providing the satellite transponder time and digital downlink services.

James Cameron, director of the mega-epic Titanic, is helping these inventions along by renting out his cameras to Fox Sports. And if these innovations go well, you can leave your 3-D glasses at home. Many supporters of 3-D television believe that the awkward blue-and-red glasses audiences donned to view films in 3-D will become as passé as smoking in the theater.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl can hardly wait to see my favorite team in black and gold fly across the field and into my living room (figuratively, of course). Plus, the broadcasts aren’t limited to just NFL games. If you’re a hockey buff, a boxing fan or a baseball nut, you too may have a 3-D sports experience to look forward to!

And if you’re not a sports fan, we at InventHelp think it’s never too late to become one!

With the development of instant communication mediums like email, text messaging and cell phones, any person that we ever want to talk to is just a click or dial away. That’s not always a good thing, especially after a night at the bar.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl certainly doesn’t participate in this behavior, but I’ve HEARD about folks who’ve had one too many at happy hour and – gasp! – decide that it would be a good time to send an email to that ex who dumped them, the boss who fired them or the friend who betrayed them.

And even though it feels good at the time, chances are they’ll regret it in the morning.

That’s why the ever-clever Google developed Mail Goggles, a new feature in Gmail that aims to prevent those “What was I thinking?” moments. The name is a clever play on “beer goggles,” which is the tendency to overestimate the attractiveness of a potential partner due to intoxication.

To activate the Goggles, Gmail users should click the “Settings” link at the top of a Gmail page, then go to the “Labs” section. Users should preemptively pick times and days – so, if you hit the pub on Friday nights like clockwork, schedule the Goggle to kick in around then. Then, if you arrive home and you’re feeling…well, chatty, Google will require you to solve some basic math problems to see if your cognitive skills are intact.

Gmail engineer Jon Perlow was inspired (like so many inventors) by personal experiences. “Sometimes I send messages I shouldn’t send. Like the time I told that girl I had a crush on her over text message,” he said on the company blog. “Or the time I sent that late night email to my ex-girlfriend that we should get back together.”

If he could come up with a way to prevent “drunk dialing” or “drunk texting,” the overenthusiastic communicators of the world might wake up with less of a hangover. And truth be told, even InventHelp’s Gadget Girl has sent out an email that was best left in the draft folder!

Colonel Harland Sanders invented one of the most famous recipes in American history: the blend of 11 herbs and spices in his Kentucky Fried Chicken. And as this handwritten, 68-year-old recipe is prepared to be transferred for the first time in decades, company executives are wringing their hands with anxiety.

InventHelp knows just how important the fine details of any invention can be. So, we can certainly understand why this legendary recipe is being monitored under extremely high security as it is moved to from corporate headquarters to an undisclosed location.

Just to give you an idea of how protected this recipe is, only two company executives at any time have access to it. The company refuses to release the names or titles of the execs. Its multiple suppliers produce only a portion of the entire blend and have no idea what the other suppliers are producing.

KFC, part of the fast-food company Yum Brands Inc., hired off-duty police officers and security guards to help with the transfer. The recipe invention will be contained in a suitcase that is handcuffed to the security lead and driven away in an armored car.

The yellowing sheet of notebook paper includes the exact portions of each herb and spice, and is signed by Colonel Sanders himself. Although others have tried to copy the recipe, company executives say the real recipe is so surprising that no one else has come close.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl isn’t a fan of fast food, but after writing this blog I have to admit that I have a hankering for some good old fried chicken!