7 craziest things connected to the Internet

Cows. Crops. Sewers. Thanks to the 'Internet of Things' trend, the world is now full of crazy, wirelessly connected stuff. Here are some of the wildest.

Sewers

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Gross truth for New Yorkers: About 27 billion gallons of raw sewage are dumped in the New York Harbor every year, thanks to sewer systems that overflow during a storm.

Dontflush.me aims to warn New York residents when these overflows happen, so they don't flush the toilet and inadvertently make the problem worse.

Sensors at the sewer send water-level data to Cosm -- the same platform that powers Natural Fuse -- which in turn are made available to users through Cosm's Twitter and text-message services.

Dontflush.me's creators also hacked together a "Bulbuino," a lightbulb-like orb that changes color based on the sewer's water-level data. It can offer a visual cue to skip the flush.

"It's a great example of the 'Internet of Things' advancing. People are so bored of hearing about the Internet-connected fridge, which is really just a fridge with a tablet attached," says Usman Haque, the Cosm founder. "It's moving beyond that: the capacity to not only record, but also share, compelling data that can change our world."

  @julpepitone - Last updated September 18 2012 09:05 AM ET

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