The U.S. State Department is not happy about yesterday’s celebratory announcement and rocket launch in Iran. Revealing the opening of a new space center, Iran also launched a rocket, the Explorer-1, towards the heavens–although whether it actually got to space is up for debate, since Iran’s first domestically built rocket, sent skyward last year, may have failed to reach orbit. Iran says this effort is all about scientific and technological development, but the international community is clearly concerned that the country isn’t just envisioning using these rockets to launch satellites.

For the sake of the scoop, Ben & Jerry's managed to do what no refrigerator manufacturer has: jolt into development the world's most eco-friendly ice-cream freezer. Unveiled for Earth Day 2004 at a Manhattan scoop shop, the chiller relies not on greenhouse gases but on sound waves to keep the precious stuff cold. Research on thermoacoustic refrigeration limped along for 20 years or so until the ice cream duo forked over $600,000 to a Penn State team, which made the prototype in two years.