Insulting in Russian no Longer Possible

One of the last remaining hurdles for the human race to come together as one is the language barrier. Although most educated people know two languages (english is almost a requirement if you are going to use the Internet), talking to someone that doesn't understand your language is still a pie-in-the-sky dream. Well, not according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. Together with German scientists, they have put together a system of electrodes (attached to your cheeks, neck, and throat) that, when connected to a sophisticated computer program, translates whatever you are saying into other languages almost instantaneously. So you could go to Poland, connect the electrodes, plug them in to a handheld computer with speakers, and speak in english to that cute polish college student. The computer speaker will play what you are saying in Polish, to the astonishment of the girl and your travelmates. The researchers say that it will be at least 10 years before the technology sees production, but the Tower of Babel has strated to inexorably crumble. Full article from Slashdot here.

With 11 electrodes attached to his face, Stan Jou mouths Mandarin Chinese and it is translated into English. By Philip G. Pavely, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review via AP