Business Idea of the Day

In June, Billy Mays the television direct-response advertisement salesperson well known for his introduction, “Hi, Billy Mays here,” died from an apparent heart attack. Here’s a video tribute to him that includes his famous line and the openings of 30 of his TV commercials. The commercials include: Liquid Diamond GatorBlade Gopher Ding King Handy Switch Vidalia Slice Wizard Green Now Hercules Hook iCan Insurance Kaboom Orange Glo OxiClean Zorbeez Quick Chop Big City Slider Station Engrave-It Fix It Mighty Shine Steam Buddy Awesome Auger EZ Bundler Vidalia Chop It Dual Saw Flies Away Jupiter Jack Grater Plater Mighty Mendit Mighty Putty Tool BandIt What Odor

Fast Company: The James Dyson Awards, a sprawling event that garners thousands of entries from design students the world over, is a pretty phenomenal wellspring of ideas–the short list runs into the hundreds. Treehugger points us to one concept we hadn’t seen: A collapsible milk jug that makes the milk last longer. The designer–who has to remain anonymous for now, since the contest isn’t over–points out that plastic milk jugs basically foment milk spoilage, because they trap air in the container.

Two long-time runners, good friends and entrepreneurs were fed up with stuffing money and ID’s uncomfortably into their running sneakers. When ingenuity and technology took over the duo became the brainchild behind a new product called VITAband , the first in a series of pieces, combines technology and the safety of a personal health network into a convenient, wearable accessory. Launching in September 2009, VITAband is a combination of design and function that conveniently and securely stores emergency information remotely and offers access to money by contactless payment – all in one streamlined device. VITAband is a sleek and durable unisex bracelet designed with standard emergency medical iconography that alerts first responders there is crucial emergency information available in the event of an emergency

The New York Times: Few people can claim to have created an entire industry from scratch. But Greg Wittstock, who long ago labeled himself “The Pond Guy,” laid the foundation for the multi-million-dollar backyard water-feature industry in 1991 when he started Aquascape Designs, shortly after completing his sophomore year at Ohio State University. From back-breaking beginnings digging his customer’s ponds by hand, Mr. Wittstock built his St

Fast Company: For those of you who don’t like the taste of flat milk, Coca-Cola is coming to the rescue with Vio, a concoction made of skim milk mixed with sparkling water, fruit flavoring, and cane sugar. It sounds slightly nauseating, but Coke assures us that the milk won’t curdle in its aluminum bottle.

The Wall Street Journal: When a man in a Cartier watch stepped into the IWC Schaffhausen boutique in Beverly Hills recently, salesman Hua Huynh sprang into action. He led the customer to a case of Aquatimers, the Swiss brand’s line of self-winding dive watches. “What’s the damage?” asked the customer, pointing at one model.

MyMotherLode : “A lightning fire has been spotted in Yosemite National Park in the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.” The fire is called the Wildcat Fire . The Grand Canyon trail is currently closed from Glen Aulin to Pate Valley. From Business Opportunities Weblog .

Times Daily: The technology has been tested and proved sound. John Locker says all he needs to make his cooling garment successful is for someone such as Oprah Winfrey to wear it around for a few days. Locker has experimented with the cooling technology for more than six years. He has made vests, jackets and other garments. All perform the same task: Cool the body on even the hottest day

Times Daily: The technology has been tested and proved sound. John Locker says all he needs to make his cooling garment successful is for someone such as Oprah Winfrey to wear it around for a few days. Locker has experimented with the cooling technology for more than six years

Red Ferret: Quirky is a clever new community portal based around the idea of product development. Submit an idea, other members of the community vote on it and the winner product gets made in a factory and everything. The site promises to deliver a new product every few days, which is a pretty ambitious goal. The catch