Salted Lemon’s drinks refresh your outlook

Salted Lemon smoothie and juice bar takes its name from its most popular drink, which combines juice from fermented lemons, fresh lemon juice and liquid sugar. With loads of vitamin C and a mild, tart taste, this is my go-to drink when I feel a cold coming on. A 16-ounce Salted Lemon is $4.50, or $5.50 for a 23-ounce drink. I also love the Thai Gingerade ($5.25 and $6), a refreshing blend of fresh ginger, Thai basil, crushed ice and lemonade. Visit Salted Lemon at 1723 Liliha St.; 538-1291. — Lacy Matsumoto, Liliha

Dog bowl’s unusual design slows hungry pups

Eating too fast can be fatal for a dog. I knew this, but despite having dogs with healthy appetites all my life, I’d never seen cause for alarm. Then our new Rhodesian ridgeback puppy came home. Watching her inhale food at just 8 weeks old, I thought, “This dog is going to die.” After some research I ordered Kyjen’s slow feeder, basically a dog bowl with a built-in obstacle course, for less than $20 on amazon.com. Mealtime went from seconds to minutes, and she thinks rooting out all the food is fun. — Stephanie Kendrick

Photomath app helps with kids’ homework

Apologies to my middle school math teacher, but I’ve forgotten how to do square roots. As my kids get older and math classes get harder, sometimes I need a little help to help them with homework, so I downloaded the free app Photomath. I snap a picture of the math problem with my phone camera and it is solved like magic. Touch the answer and the steps to solving the problem cascade down the screen. Tap each step for a full explanation. It’s a math refresher course in a matter of seconds. — Donica Kaneshiro

Book takes look at ‘de-extinction’

The blockbuster film “Jurassic Park” introduced many people to the idea of bringing animals back from extinction through cloning. Since then there’s been the successful cloning of sheep and other domesticated animals, and the almost successful cloning of a recently extinct species of ibex, a type of mountain goat.

In the book “How to Clone a Mammoth” (Princeton University Press, $24.95), DNA researcher Beth Shapiro covers the subject of “de-extinction” in detail — the theory, techniques and tremendous challenges. Those who find the science too dense or boring can jump ahead to her intriguing discussion of what could happen if a mammoth or other long-extinct animal were successfully cloned. What would we do with it, how would it fit in and what would be its chances of survival in today’s environment? — John Berger

Make trash splash with hoops-style bin

You don’t need to be a hoops fan to enjoy using this officially licensed Spalding Wastepaper Basketball trash can. With its white plastic “netting” and bright orange rim, recycling paper or aluminum cans is a lot more fun when you’re draining imaginary 3-pointers from across the room.

At a little over a foot tall, this 5-gallon trash can is also the perfect size for stashing kids’ toys. Buy a couple and they’re stackable when empty. As an added bonus, toddlers will get a kick out of putting random things in the basket and taking them out — over and over and over again. Pick one up for $9.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond. — Jason Genegabus