One of the downsides to living in a huge city like New York is that you're constantly bombarded with the noises of your surroundings. Be it construction, cars or annoying neighbors, it's rare to have a truly quiet moment to yourself living in the middle of a bustling metropolis.

Well, there might be something you can do about that in the near future. A lab in Germany has developed noise-canceling windows that filter out most of the sounds that hit them. As windows generally act as an amplifier for sounds, vibrating and sending noise right on through, the researchers developed a different approach for these. Much like noise-canceling headphones, these windows send out a quiet vibration of their own, canceling out the sounds coming at them. What results is a space insulated from the sounds of the city, and an apartment that allows you to get a decent night's sleep for once. — Adam Frucci

Discovery Channel, via Boy Genius Report