"There's no air in space to compress to ring against your ear, " she told CNN in an interview at the TED conference in Long Beach, California, in March.

CNN: Cosmic music from dying stars

Ashford's ring road was turned into a shared space in November 2008.

BBC: Tunbridge Wells shared space under consideration

Although email has gone from after-school treat to a dull routine in the space of 20 years, no one is ready to ring its death knell just yet.

NPR: As Facebook Matures, Is It Losing Its Edge?

Once an animal is in a chute, the small space where an animal is held just before it enters the ring, she said, a prod can only be used on the shoulder of a horse if the judge, contestant and owner of the animal all agree that it is needed because a horse will not leave the chute.

BBC: Are rodeos a form of culture or cruelty?

Scientists suspected the ring might be present and had the perfect tool in the Spitzer space telescope to confirm it.

BBC: New ring detected around Saturn

The capsule-shaped device is made of black plastic, save for an LED ring that serves as a drive activity, internet connectivity and free-space indicator for the HDD that lies within.

ENGADGET: Hands-on with Transporter, the peer-to-peer social storage solution