INNOVATIONS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR TOMORROW…19,20and 21

19.     Roller Coasters with Wings

On traditional roller coasters, your weight is centered over the wheels, but two new coasters — the X Flight at Six Flags Great America and Dollywood’s Wild Eagle — have you hanging off the side of the track, dangling in midair. It’s kind of like you’re sitting on the wings of a plane. The Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard had to completely reimagine the seat design to handle the stress caused by the differently distributed weight.

Cora Currier

20.     A World without Hangovers

Researchers at Imperial College London are closing in on a formula for a new kind of booze — synthetic alcohol, it’s called — that would forever eliminate the next morning’s headache (not to mention other problems associated with drinking). The team, led by David Nutt, a psychiatrist and former British drug czar, has identified six compounds similar to benzodiazepines — a broad class of psychoactive drugs — that won’t get you rip-roaring drunk but will definitely provide a buzz. According to Nutt, the alcohol substitute would be a flavorless additive that you could put in a nonalcoholic drink. And when you want to sober up, all you’d have to do is pop a pill. Clay Risen

21.     Mind-Reading Shopping Cart

In February, Chaotic Moon Labs began testing a robotic shopping cart that acts a bit like a mind-reading butler. To start it up, you can text message the cart’s built-in tablet computer. Now it knows who you are and what you need for dinner. The cart uses Microsoft’s Kinect motion-sensor technology to track and follow you through the store, pointing you — in a synthy voice reminiscent of a G.P.S. navigator — toward products on your list. The system will also warn you if you’ve added something that violates your dietary restrictions. Still only a prototype, the cart isn’t nearly as nimble as its human-powered cousin, but it does have one main advantage. Items you add to the cart can be automatically scanned, and you can finalize your purchase from the device, skipping the checkout line entirely.

Farhad Manjoo