Wonder Bread hasn’t been available in Washington state for two years? I never noticed. And it seems that many in Southern California may not either, as Interstate Bakeries Corp. is now closing down Wonder Bread production in that area. The company has been operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for 3 years now. The bakery closures will not affect its money-making snack lines of Hostess Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos.

For real this time? A new film version of Logan’s Run has been going through the on-again, off-again movie studio romance for a few years now. The latest director tied to the project, Joseph Kosinski, has never made a feature film, but slashfilm gathered up some of his commercial work. From the looks of it, Logan’s Run promises to be visually stunning, at the very least.

Officials in Broward County, Florida are considering adding recycled glass to eroding beaches. Sand is, after all, the main ingredient in glass. Tests have shown that organisms can live in the crushed glass just as they do in sand. But some remain concerned that there could be “unforeseen consequences.” Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California, a former dump that now has beautiful, naturally tumbled seaglass, was the inspiration for the recycled glass as sand idea.

A new design for the $5 bill will be revealed on September 20th. Counterfeiters have been bleaching $5 bills and turning them into $100 bills, retaining several security features such as the ink test that is commonly used at retail cash registers. A new $100 bill is also in the works, with a high-tech security thread that “combines micro-printing with tiny lenses — 650,000 for a single $100 bill.” Crane & Co, supplier of paper for U.S. currency since 1879, has a $46 million contract to produce the new security thread. Sweden’s 1,000 kroner utilizes the same thread. In 2002, Crane purchased the currency paper mill and printer AB Tumba Bruk, which was associated with the Swedish mint. Now known as Crane AB, the firm was founded in 1755, giving it a longer history in currency manufacturing than its parent company. Crane AB’s website has an animation showing this security thread on the kroner. The technology is called Motion. Here is a Riksbank page illustrating it along with other Swedish currency features. The redesigned $5 will be in circulation early next year, the $100 towards the end of 2008.

Caltrans has spent over $500,000, perhaps close to $1 million, spreading the word that the Bay Bridge will be closed during the upcoming Labor Day weekend. A major connector between Oakland and San Francisco, the double-decker bridge’s seismic retrofit projects began after an extensive study following the 1989 earthquake, when a section of the upper deck collapsed. This weekend the Yerba Buena viaduct, a 350-foot-long, 90-foot-wide section, will be demolished and replaced. This task, daunting enough without the 81 hour time restriction, has been planned for maximum efficiency. Concrete-saws will divide the viaduct into 63 pieces. A crane will lift the pieces onto trailers, with trucks standing by to tow them away immediately. The replacement viaduct will be pushed into place with a roller system. And with luck all will be ready for Tuesday morning’s busy commute.

Two bulls escaped from their pen at the California State Fair as children were exiting the arena. Rodeo clowns and police officer Pam Irey distracted the bulls and got the remaining kids to safety. Irey was flung by a bull and is in the hospital with broken ribs.

Electronic toll collection has practically become a requirement for road toll situations. The new Benicia-Martinez bridge, northeast of San Francisco, of course uses FasTrak, California’s ETC system. But the bridge is unusual in that it has open-road tolling, meaning that drivers don’t have to slow down to have their FasTrak pass identified. Two FasTrack Express lanes handle cars going by at the speed limit of 55mph. The system actually works on vehicles going up to 100 mph and a license plate photo is snapped for back-up. Highways in the U.S. with open-road toll setups have been in around for a few years, but the Benicia-Martinez is only the third bridge to employ it. Speed limitations don’t stem from the electronics but the road layout. Existing toll structures retrofitted for electronic collection weren’t designed for cars going the speed limit. Tollbooth lanes are narrow and rebuilding costs are high. The Benicia-Martinez bridge had the advantages of space and new construction to enable speedy toll collection.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are not as likely to yawn when they see someone else yawn. In the study, 24 children with autism spectrum disorder and 25 normally developing children watched videos of people yawning. There was no change in yawning frequency in the autistic group.

Treehouses aren’t justs for kids anymore. Adults are having treehouses built for “home” offices and cigar retreats. With electricity, Internet, insulation, and heating, these hideaways offer every amenity except plumbing. Bugs, squirrels, and strong winds are hindrances. But there’s just something about being up in a house in a tree.

A nice follow-on to yesterday’s recycled traffic signals, artist Jerry Kott takes empty wine bottles, cuts them apart, and reassembles them into hybrid bottles and hanging lamps. (via luxist)