Live like the Jetsons

The homes will be part visible and part underground—providing structural support and protection from the harsh climate outside. Pics Courtesy/GoodMove

Many have often wondered what our planet will look like in the years to come. Architect Chris Lawson has gone one step ahead, envisioning the futuristic homes we could live in years down the road.

Lawson's new designs showcase the floor plan for four different types of conditions - life on Mars, a life underwater, a life in the clouds and an underground post-apocalyptic future. The project has been done in partnership with real estate development company GoodMove. Each home is built and designed with materials and shapes to withstand the elements of its environment.

Lawson shared how bubble-like domes would permit easier layering from the upper and lower level. Farming for crops can take place within these domes and solar panels installed outside the domes would promote self-reliant energy. The material would be made with either titanium, heavy-duty plastic or glass to be able to bear the weight of the structure and make the dome functional.

According to GoodMove, the overall shape of the flying home would most likely resemble the drones we see today, only 10 times bigger with gigantic propellers that would continuously spin to create the airflow needed to keep this flying home in the air. The build would need to be carefully placed - ensuring that there is equal weight distribution so the house can maintain its balance in the air.

The apocalyptic home would have to be built underground to provide optimal safety, so any opportunity to let light in is crucial. Hatch-like windows to surface domes or windows built in hillsides are options. And because fresh air is vital, future designers would consider some sort of external vent or tube to filter the air in. Mirrors would also be used to let light in, farm and grow crops for food. Domes would be the ideal structure for easy flotation and for aquatic living. Materials would likely be made of glass or plastic to hold up against the water.

Snooze mode off

A woman from China claims she hasn't slept in four decades, and she is still not tired

A resident of a village in Zhongmou County, Henan Province, Li is somewhat of a local celebrity in her community, because of her alleged ability to stay up through the day and the night. She claims to have gone 40 years without any sleep.

This has been confirmed by her husband and neighbours, some of whom actually put her to the test, only to fall asleep themselves. Li last remembered getting some sleep when she was five or six years old. Now in her mid-40s, sleep is nothing, but an old memory.

Data gathered during the 48-hour brainwave monitoring showed that Li did get light and moderate sleep like ordinary people, only not while laying down in bed with her eyes closed, but while conversing with her husband. Doctors described this phenomenon as "sleep when awake," a state similar to sleepwalking, where some of Li Zhanying's nerves and organs are still active during sleep.

Without a care in the world

A man was spotted drifting on a floatie in floodwaters believed to be somewhere in New York City, while smoking a hookah. In the now viral clip, the man is seen laying his head back on the raft and blowing plumes of smoke, while drifting in the murky waters, the torrential downpour pelting him from above.

Man can change pupil size

A 23-year-old student in Germany can reportedly shrink and enlarge his pupils on command, a feat previously thought to be physically impossible, a recent study revealed. The authors point out that while some people can alter their pupil size via "indirect methods", this person is instead able to directly control the sphincter muscle in his eyes to adjust the size of his pupils.

Man swallows Nokia 3310, undergoes surgery

A 33-year-old man somehow managed to swallow an entire imitation Nokia 3310 phone. Doctors from Pristina, Kosovo, removed the phone after it had been in the man's stomach for four days. It was too large for him to digest, and put his life in danger as corrosive battery acid could have leaked out.

Cat survives 52 days alone locked in a house

A cat somehow managed to survive 52 days locked in an abandoned house in the Dutch town of Vlaardingen, living off paper. At the end of last month, the new owners of the house in Vlaardingen were shocked to see a thin, visibly malnourished cat race past them as they opened the front door of their property.

Newly-weds send invoice to absent guests

A Chicago-based couple sent invoices to wedding guests that confirmed their presence at the event, but eventually decided not to attend. They had invited 109 guests. A model of the invoice posted on Facebook demands that the no-show guests pay $120, or $240 in case of a plus-one, as compensation.

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