Lavochkin Escape Pod

Bored of work, tired of your date, trapped in a burning building? The Economist reports that there is an answer for your mid-week blues: the Lavochkin escape pod. Created by Russian scientists (so it will only work about 1/3 of the time) the pod allows you to jump out of a high rise and float safely to the ground. The pod has inflatable edges to protect you should you bounce into other buildings or objects on your descent. W4 researchers been walking through Hoboken with a prototype and sadly they found that it does not work while you are on the ground or trapped in midst of a crowd of bad accents. The social escape pod is apparently still in development.
+"Burning ambitions," 23 June, Economist.