TIME's Best Inventions of 2008
From a genetic testing service to an invisibility cloak to an ingenious public bike system to the world's first moving skyscraper — here are TIME's picks for the top innovations of 2008
37. Smog-Eating Cement
Take ordinary cement. Mix in an agent called a photo-catalyzer (titanium dioxide, if you really want to know), which speeds up the natural process that breaks down smog into its component parts. Now start paving things with the stuff. That's what they're doing in Segrate, an Italian town near Milan. The smog-eating cement is called TX Active, and the Italian firm Italcementi spent 10 years developing it. Now there's a busy street in Segrate that's covered with it, and Italcementi claims it has reduced nitric oxides in the area by as much as 60%. Bonus: buildings made with TX Active stay cleaner too.
View the full list for "TIME's Best Inventions of 2008"Latest Lists
Most Popular »
- No Churchgoing Christmas for the First Family
- Why Brittany Murphy Is Worth Remembering
- How Panera Bread Defies the Recession
- Israel vs. Hizballah: Drumbeats of War
- The Pentagon Prepares for a Missile Attack from 'Iran'
- Obama, a Favorite Son, Will Perk Up Hawaii's Holidays
- In Germany, a Disturbing Rise of Right-Wing Violence
- Has the Alleged Fort Hood Gunman's Imam Been Silenced?
- Climate Change: How Fast Is the Earth Shifting?
- Sean Goldman: Home by Christmas
- No Churchgoing Christmas for the First Family
- How Panera Bread Defies the Recession
- Climate Change: How Fast Is the Earth Shifting?
- Holland's Plan to Tax Every Kilometer Driven
- Mexico City's Revolutionary First: Gay Marriage
- In Germany, a Disturbing Rise of Right-Wing Violence
- Has the Alleged Fort Hood Gunman's Imam Been Silenced?
- The Pentagon Prepares for a Missile Attack from 'Iran'
- Why Brittany Murphy Is Worth Remembering
- Domestic Terror Incidents Hit a Peak in 2009
RSS