The big idea book : five hundred new ideas to change the world in ways big and small

The web site Idea-a-day.com has published a new idea everyday since the year 2000.

Now five hundred of the best ideas from the site have been compiled into The Big Idea Book.

The ideas range from the utterly compelling to the completely insane but are always inspirational.

Some of the greatest ideas include inventing an alarm clock that scans local radio traffic broadcasts and weather forecasts and adjusts the alarm time accordingly.

On days when traffic is really bad, the alarm might sound an hour early.

On mornings when it is raining heavily, it probably wouldn't ring at all. Or, how about engineering solar powered plant pots on wheels that would manoeuvre themselves around a patio as the sun moves around the sky.

Each 'Ropot' would be programmed to seek out just enough sun and water to flourish.

Quite uniquely, Ropot gardens would change in design throughout the day. .