Miscellaneous
Start up five metronomes at different times and you get a ticking cacophony. But place those five tickety-tackety timekeepers onto a board spanning two soft drink cans, and something miraculous happens. We’re not physicists here, but we’re told this...
POSTED Tuesday, May 6, 2008
If you’re looking for the tallest tower of LEGO in the world, here's a picture of it right here. This monster was built in the Legoland Windsor theme park in the U.K. of 500,000 LEGO bricks, and stands just...
POSTED Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Attention Foosball players: Here’s the largest table football game in the world. In fact, Table Football XXL is so huge, two entire soccer teams — 22 players — could face off with it, settling their challenges without ever setting...
POSTED Friday, May 2, 2008
It’s impossible to concentrate without being comfortable. That’s the idea behind the unambitiously named Daybed, a lounge-workstation design concept by Humanscale that blends in with the rest of your chic furniture around the house — if your house is...
POSTED Tuesday, April 29, 2008
You've gotta love tech concepts that throw any notion of practicality out the window and just focus on making the most "gee whiz" product possible. Just take a look at this Ticketime concept. It's an airplane ticket, right, but on...
POSTED Tuesday, April 29, 2008
We’ve seen plenty of fat-measuring devices, but this Overall Health Balance Scale from Japan’s National Electric takes that fitness feedback idea a whole lot further. This as-yet-unreleased instrument helps you avoid metabolic syndrome, that dread combination of symptoms that...
POSTED Monday, April 28, 2008
Like it or not, LED color therapy is a thing. We've even been in a LED color therapy sauna (at InSpa World), though left unconvinced about the power of blue light vs. green light to make us "succeed" or...
POSTED Friday, April 25, 2008
Nothing makes mornings more painful than being jarred awake by some drivetime DJ or a horrible, harsh buzzer. You aren't meant to wake up that quickly; it just isn't natural, I say. You should wake up gradually and greet the...
POSTED Friday, April 25, 2008
Now that you can make your doorbell sound just like Captain Picard’s, you might as well kick back with a brewski, opened by his very own NCC-1701. We don’t remember any of the Starships Enterprise from Star Trek looking...
POSTED Friday, April 25, 2008
Looking to spy on your boss, kid, or ex-wife? Well, take a peeksy at the SupaSlim Bug. About the size of a credit card, you simply leave it in a place where you want to be able to hear what's...
POSTED Thursday, April 24, 2008
If you have a garbage pit that has no electrical outlets, and you really, really need to de-stench the place, apply these Air Aroma Aerologic wireless “scenting solutions” to that nasty problem. You won't even have to go in...
POSTED Thursday, April 24, 2008
Good design takes what was previously a drawback to a product and makes it a benefit. Take this fancy umbrella stand, for example. While drippy umbrellas fresh out of the rain are usually an annoying mess-maker, this stand turns the...
POSTED Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Would vegetarians still refuse to eat meat if that meat came from a test tube rather than the carcass of a dead cow? Apparently, not, as PETA is offering up $1 million to the first scientist who can create commercially...
POSTED Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Does telepathy exist? Can our thoughts influence events? Should you exercise before reading minds? Check out the video for the answers.
POSTED Monday, April 21, 2008
Even though certain unscrupulous funeral directors will try convince you that Uncle Harry needs to be in a $5000 hermetically sealed casket to show how much you really loved him, these days many people have realized that there's no...
POSTED Monday, April 21, 2008
Don't like what's on the tube? Don't put up with it — you're the sheriff now (the remote even comes with a badge to prove it). With some quick programming, you can blast the channels up and down at...
POSTED Friday, April 18, 2008
Who knew what was going on inside inkjet printers? Yikes. A lot of that ink, which costs three times more per milliliter than a $350 bottle of the finest Cristal champagne, is seeping into a gummy well of useless...
POSTED Friday, April 18, 2008
This has got to be a first. The Quadruple-Neck Guitar has now exploded on the scene, but the problem now is, who the heck will be able to do it justice? Contrary to the fake, musical-talent-free Guitar Hero paradigm,...
POSTED Friday, April 18, 2008
If you’ve spent the past decades pruning and cultivating those spectacularly small bonsai trees, here’s the perfect finishing touch: CrashBonsai, a tiny smashed car, wrapped around that tree, just like in real life! Artist John Rooney painstakingly crushes, melts...
POSTED Friday, April 18, 2008
Take a pair of radio-controlled racing boats, partition off a kiddie pool, and you have yourself an RC Speed Boat Challenge. Hey, it's like slot cars on water. Those little suckers look like they could go fast, but look...
POSTED Thursday, April 17, 2008
As we prepare for NBC Universal's Earth Week visions of a more natural world dance in our heads. Along those lines we bring you Fumiaki Goto's incredibly environmentally friendly Music Dining Table. Constructed in much the same way as a...
POSTED Thursday, April 17, 2008
When we first saw this tattoo, we thought that either the artist or the subject must have been really drunk during the inking. Why aren't those red and blue lines lined up better? It turns out we just weren't...
POSTED Tuesday, April 15, 2008
It pains me to say it, but the WristWriter, despite how ugly it is, is a pretty useful device. It's basically a bulky wristband that has a scroll of paper and will hold a pencil, tape measure or anything...
POSTED Thursday, April 10, 2008
Behold what modern, cheap spy tech hath wrought: Secret Eyes is a service specifically set up to ensnare cheating guys, sending a “female decoy” to “test your boyfriend or husband to demonstrate his faithfulness.” For between $795 and $1995,...
POSTED Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Equalizers are hip — no longer meant only for computers and high-end audio equipment. Just take a look at the SpeaQualiser Raver and Chiller, which join the likes of the equalizer watch and other products. The SpeaQualiser looks like...
POSTED Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Now the celebrity-obsessed can determine which of those gods they worship would see them eye-to-eye. Even the height-challenged might feel better if they knew they were taller than the Marquis de Sade. Let's just hope you're taller than Hitler....
POSTED Monday, April 7, 2008
If you ever go to the Frankfurt Airport, don't get too alarmed the first time you see someone trying to push a luggage cart onto the escalator. You see, unlike most regular carts, these ones have been designed to...
POSTED Monday, April 7, 2008
If you don't want to get wet when it's raining out and also don't mind looking like a complete jackass, the UFO Cap is for you. It's like a hat that has a giant brim that sits over your shoulders....
POSTED Friday, April 4, 2008
Digital Foci makes a lot of different-sized digital photo frames, but this Pocket Album is its smallest yet. The tiny trinket with its 1.5” screen is small enough to use as a keychain, holding 74 miniphotos in its decidedly mini...
POSTED Thursday, April 3, 2008
Okay, I’ll be up front with you. I just can’t stand April Fool’s Day. We’re supposed to be telling you the truth, gaining credibility every day and becoming a site upon which you can rely. Then along comes this...
POSTED Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Today Daily Candy brought a new business model to our attention. FamousFlakes is a new store in Soho that sells a "pure" powdered distillation of, well, celebrity skin. Gross? Definitely. But really, who doesn't want a piece of Britney...
POSTED Tuesday, April 1, 2008
We’ve heard of MotionPortrait before, that software that animates still photos, turning them into moving, smiling and talking 3D models. But we haven’t seen an example of it used like this, where a nearly lifelike model is animated in...
POSTED Monday, March 31, 2008
While DVD movies may be quickly becoming obsolete due to the emergence of Blu-ray as the winner in the high def disc format war, they're still a great way to back up data that you have sitting around on your...
POSTED Monday, March 31, 2008
Now I'm not veterinarian, but I'm pretty sure there's no good reason to go out and buy a doghouse that has an oxygen pump on the side that fills the pooch abode with pure O2. It's a part of the...
POSTED Friday, March 28, 2008
Self-conscious about that mini-car you’re driving? Make fun of yourself with this Windup Key, available in either a stationary or moving version as you see here. Hey, this oughta go well with that wind-up lamp, giving you the illusion...
POSTED Friday, March 28, 2008
Listen carefully to the oldest sound ever recorded. The year is 1860, and a woman is singing “Au Clair de la Lune” into a barrel-shaped horn, which causes etchings to be inscribed on a soot-blackened piece of paper. Called...
POSTED Thursday, March 27, 2008
Slide is a different kind of faucet. At first, we thought it was touch-controlled, but no, the top part of it is actually moved backward to both turn it on and regulate its temperature. It’s certainly a clean design,...
POSTED Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Looking to start a dance party? Well then, my friend, all you need is this International Dance Party, a machine that has one setting: party. When inactive, it just looks like a big black box. But when its radar detects...
POSTED Wednesday, March 26, 2008
There are so many places that you can't bring your own beer: stadiums, movie theaters, and public beaches, for example. What a drag! No longer. From now on you can hide your beer cans in Canouflage, re-usable can wraps...
POSTED Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Imagine a Star Trek-like Tricorder for scary looking foreign languages (like Japanese, for example) and you'll have a pretty good idea of what the Quicktionary 2 Kanji Reader brings to the table. The device allows the user to scan kanji...
POSTED Tuesday, March 25, 2008
If the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle ebook readers just aren’t doing it for you, now there’s a third choice, the Ectaco jetBook that rolled out today. While this $349.95 reader’s 5-inch screen is smaller than the Sony Reader or...
POSTED Monday, March 24, 2008
In my book, HotSeat's Flight Sim Chassis just might be the world’s best, if not the most expensive flight simulator made for individual use. It has a tubular steel frame with six speakers and 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound,...
POSTED Friday, March 21, 2008
We’re big fans of Nixie clocks, using old Nixie ("Numerical Indicator eXperimental") tubes from the pre-LED/LCD era and turning them into unique timepieces. Now we’ve found another Nixie wristwatch (here's the first one we saw), created as a gag...
POSTED Wednesday, March 19, 2008
This mini stun gun, called The Runt, is about the size of an iPod nano, but can smack you down with so much voltage you’ll think you got hit by a truck. The 950,000-volt version ($69.95, pictured above right)...
POSTED Monday, March 17, 2008
It’s really easy to hook up with members of the opposite sex on the highway, isn’t it? Just use the handy suction cups to stick your CallMe Prism-I to the inside of your car window, displaying your phone number...
POSTED Monday, March 17, 2008
Let's get this out of the way early—this is a long, green pickle that happens to yodel. It's available for $13 and there is no word on how many different Yodels this pickle is capable of belting out. What...
POSTED Thursday, March 13, 2008
This mechanical Venus Fly Trap won’t really be much competition for that cloud of bloodthirsty vermin swarming around our back porch every summer, but maybe the one insect you catch with its motion-sensing maw might serve as a grim...
POSTED Wednesday, March 12, 2008
We’ve seen some kooky tape dispensers before, but this one goes overboard with the assistance of gears and wheels. If you’re the laziest guy in the office, you might not mind this $36 tape-dispensing bot on your desk, even...
POSTED Wednesday, March 12, 2008
It's too early for April Fool's, and this isn't some sort of mutant camera escaped from a Chernobyl factory — it's a beautifully modded Holga toy camera capable of creating 3-D photos. Randy Smith, who's made a career out...
POSTED Monday, March 10, 2008
While blowing out your birthday candles with your own breath is all well and good if you like your cake with spittle frosting, it's a lot more fun to do it with a gigantic air vortex cannon. Yep, an...
POSTED Friday, March 7, 2008
While it might be impossible to capture lightning in a bottle, capturing it in a block is much more doable for mere mortals. You can do it yourself by either buying or building your own Lichtenberg figure. How, prey tell?*...
POSTED Friday, March 7, 2008
Those Russkies have a great sense of humor, making this bar of Gmail soap. Whether it’s for sale or not, it’s an accurate symbol of the free Google email service, scrubbing your electronic missives of spam, offering a clean...
POSTED Wednesday, March 5, 2008
If you're a musician and want to start recording your hot, hot tunes at home, you need a proper setup. And while, yes, you could just record directly to your computer, where's the fun in that? Don't you want your...
POSTED Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Trolling around the backstreets of Harajuku, Tokyo I happened upon an intriguing device called the One Hand Player from Bandai. Released a couple of years ago in Japan, the music gadget has mostly flown under the radar but still retains...
POSTED Saturday, March 1, 2008
If you just had an ultra-thin voice recorder in your pocket all the time, think of all the things you’d avoid forgetting. Just whisper a reminder into this credit card-sized digital device’s 6.5-millimeter thinness, and your faulty human memory...
POSTED Friday, February 29, 2008
Google has just announced a pretty wonderful new program, offering free lifetime phone numbers and voice mail accounts to every homeless person in San Francisco. This is designed to help them get on their feet, giving them a point of...
POSTED Thursday, February 28, 2008
In what can only be a hint from the time traveler Doctor Who, the Glitter Gun has appeared on store shelves. It'll fire six fearsome shots of glitter from each cartridge like bursts of confetti — though be ready...
POSTED Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Ah, the old piggy bank. It was a great way to learn how to save your pennies when you were a kid, and there was always that satisfying smash to look forward to when you had finally saved up enough...
POSTED Tuesday, February 26, 2008
“Open the pod bay doors, HAL.” Can’t you just hear that sentence in your head as you look at this 1/12 scale model of the Discovery EVA pod from 2001: A Space Odyssey? Wish we had more information about...
POSTED Monday, February 25, 2008
We are all so petrified of germs, we turn to the highest tech to get rid of them, every last one. But that's not going to be easy. In sheer numbers, there are 20 times more creepy crawlies in...
POSTED Wednesday, February 20, 2008
There are so many gadgets out there that are poorly thought out and even more poorly executed, it takes something really, really crappy for me to really take notice. This is one such gadget. It's a heart-shaped digital photo frame...
POSTED Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The In-Reach Child Tracker is an easy way to put a homing device on your kid without the unpleasantness of surgical tracking device implants and things of that nature. After all, why should you be expected to keep an eye...
POSTED Friday, February 15, 2008
Although I can hardly get five minutes of attention from most of my female friends when I talk tech, for some reason if I mention the name Hello Kitty I get full attention. This belated Valentine’s Day post is...
POSTED Friday, February 15, 2008
For all you girls who are alone on Valentine's Day — or you guys who want to get your GFs a little something more than just chocolate and roses — vibrators personal massagers are always a good option. The...
POSTED Thursday, February 14, 2008
While this armor for cats and mice is contemporary art (Itcy and Scratchy inspired, perhaps?), this suit of dog armor is authentic and 200 years old. Historians estimate that the armor was built in Japan between 1800 and 1850...
POSTED Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Those friendly gents above are standing inside the leg of the "tallest structure ever moved by humans over the surface of the Earth," the Troll A offshore gas platform in the North Sea. Standing nearly 1,650 feet tall, it's absolutely...
POSTED Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Settle back in the AquaFit 19DT for a relaxing soak in its hot tub, or mosey on over to its other side for a vigorous aquatic workout. It 's so versatile, you can either outfit it with the exercise...
POSTED Friday, February 8, 2008
Who needs to fly an actual personal helicopter with all that danger when you can vicariously fly a Silverlit Picoo Z that's about the size of a deck of cards? They've been improved, flying forward now instead of just...
POSTED Friday, February 8, 2008
While we're big fans of the PowerSquid surge protector, here's another approach that also makes sense, appropriately named Socket Sense. Not only does its outlets expand to accommodate those pesky wall-wart power adapters, the receptacles are also situated at...
POSTED Thursday, February 7, 2008
Make fun of that friend of yours who got busted last weekend by giving him this Police Alarm Clock, scaring him out of bed with siren noises, that familiar flashing blue light, and a realistic-sounding threat from the cops....
POSTED Wednesday, February 6, 2008
You know, there aren't enough gadgets out there designed for conductors. Sure, there aren't all that many of them out there, but they deserve all the convenience that the rest of us desire, don't they? Finally, here's a device designed...
POSTED Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Want to exponentially improve your video shooting or still photography way beyond that of mere amateurs? Here's the key word: stabilize. You could hold that camera rock-steady with a $5800 Steadicam system, or you could schlep around a cumbersome...
POSTED Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The problem with terrible breath is that you're always used to your own, so its hard to know when you've got a bad case of halitosis without subjecting a friend or loved one to a hot wiff of your inner...
POSTED Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Here's the desk you need if you're going for an aircraft theme in your fancy office: It's made from the front of an actual jet engine plucked from a Boeing 747. We had no idea that engine was so...
POSTED Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Life can be pretty boring. I mean, not too many people have jobs that are all that exciting, so unless you're a professional stuntman or rock star or something, it's safe to say your life isn't full of thrills. I...
POSTED Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Did you go vote? Good, now forget about all of that nonsense and get ready to celebrate the true meaning of this day: to drink. While being Super Tuesday, it is also Fat Tuesday, or the start of Mardi...
POSTED Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Just when we thought we'd seen the smallest personal helicopter in the world, along comes this one that's even smaller. It sits there, growling on its little tripod until some intrepid flyer with a death wish squats down, revs...
POSTED Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Sure, you've been in tunnels before while driving. We all have. But have you had to ride an elevator to get to one while still sitting in your car? That's much less likely, but it's exactly what you have to...
POSTED Monday, February 4, 2008
Who hasn't occasionally lost his PDA an instead scrawled an important phone number, address, or reminder on his hand? It happens to the best of us. But if it's something you do frequently, you might consider purchasing a set...
POSTED Monday, February 4, 2008
Nemorelaxer looks like something out of a quasi-futuristic movie, but it may be showing up at an airport near you soon. Nemorelaxer is the ultimate device that any regular traveler will want. It is a sound proof pod that...
POSTED Monday, February 4, 2008
Tucked away in the back of Fuji's booth at PMA 2008 was an interesting prototype for a 6x7 film camera. With over four times the resolution of 35mm film, 70mm 120/220 roll films have long been the favored film...
POSTED Friday, February 1, 2008
Dutch engineer Ralf Ottow has created an extraordinarily bright light that he calls the Maxablaster— it's a 38-million candlepower light that shines a beam so strong that it can illuminate an object that's four miles away. It uses 54...
POSTED Friday, February 1, 2008
Ever wonder what it’s like to be one of those $100,000 tunas stored in the deep freeze at fancy sushi joints? Well, now’s your chance. The Snow Room is a ten-degrees-below-zero "spa" that will be making its way to luxury...
POSTED Thursday, January 31, 2008
We've heard of a white-hot spotlight, but this flashlight is ridiculous. Manufacturer Wicked Lasers calls this monster The Torch, and the 4100-lumen light packs enough punch to literally set the world on fire, starting up a pile of loose...
POSTED Monday, January 28, 2008
If you didn't see the guy standing next to this scale model Airbus A380 in this video, you'd think it was the real thing. The massive radio-controlled airplane could hardly be called miniature with its 18-foot wingspan and four...
POSTED Friday, January 25, 2008
There's nothing worse than being honked out of bed early in the morning by an obnoxious alarm clock. The Dawn Alarm solves that problem with an array of exceedingly bright LEDs on top that start out as soft as...
POSTED Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Are you constantly afraid of being caught in a very tiny fire? Well, you should protect yourself against such completely unlikely events! Just carry around one of these PinQy, a tiny, completely impractical fire extinguisher that's sure to help you...
POSTED Monday, January 21, 2008
This Visual Dual Gear Gadget Clock is downright awesome. I mean, who doesn't love seeing the inner workings of a clock? And when everybody has the same old boring digital alarm clock, why not get something a little bit different?...
POSTED Saturday, January 19, 2008
The fight to keep your robot running longer and your electronic doodads powered has a new champion: the Panasonic Evolta battery. The double-A battery is said to have a lifespan 20% longer than its competitors, including Duracell and Energizer,...
POSTED Friday, January 18, 2008
Do you just love getting up in the morning? Does the sound of your alarm clock going off, shocking you awake from sleep, fill your heart with joy? I don't know what the hell's wrong with you, but congrats on...
POSTED Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Clutter, it's the curse of the gadget aficionado. The more toys you get, the more cables you get and the more of a mess your apartment looks like. There's just no getting around it. Or is there? The Stelton Super...
POSTED Tuesday, January 15, 2008
After a long week in Las Vegas, something about these domino-shaped flash drives seems so right. The design concept by Brazilian designer Marcos Breder takes the form of interlocking halves of dominoes. The design is practical, too. Besides the...
POSTED Monday, January 14, 2008
Belkin will ship the $100 Podcast Studio in June 2008.
POSTED Friday, January 11, 2008
Was a pie left out on a windowsill too long? A bottle of pills swapped for a laxative? Pepper sprinkled inside a wig? We may never know, but all that matters now is that the Boxing Grannies have their...
POSTED Friday, January 11, 2008
I'll be honest — I'm not sure I can explain the function or the purpose of the Jakks Pacific EyeClops BioniCam. When you point the spherical front part of the BioniCam close to something like your skin or a...
POSTED Thursday, January 10, 2008
If you’ve mastered Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and think you’re ready to try your chops by actually playing, Synesthesia Corp. might be drumming to your beat. The company unveiled its new digital drum pads, available later this year...
POSTED Monday, January 7, 2008
Okay, I'll let it out of the bag real quick. The Illumino is a Lite Brite put into the body of an older-bodied iMac. Naturally I would be quick to judge a product like this for so blatantly ripping...
POSTED Sunday, January 6, 2008
Video Relay Services is a cool way that deaf people and the hard of hearing can use videophones. In a nutshell, it adds a real-time interpreter into the loop between the caller and the receiver who translates voice into...
POSTED Saturday, January 5, 2008
Beer pong may be the sport of champions, but it definitely has its downsides. Anyone who has progressed through a good (or bad) game knows that the beer can get mighty warm by the end of the game, specially...
POSTED Saturday, January 5, 2008
People get really, really attached to their dogs. Like, really attached. They're like surrogate children that can't talk back and are cheaper to take care of, with conveniently shorter lifespans. If you are one of those people who are obsessed...
POSTED Thursday, January 3, 2008
If there's any one benefit of technology that we can say for certain stands above all others, it's the ability it gives us to spy on each other. I mean, where would we be without wiretaps, hidden cameras, keyloggers, and...
POSTED Monday, December 31, 2007
No, this isn't mission control for the next NASA space mission. It's actually the Tokyo Traffic Control Center, the brain of all the roadways in the biggest city on earth. It's impressive, to say the least. Manned by operators working...
POSTED Monday, December 31, 2007
Thick, chunky batteries can only mean gadgets that are thicker than they need to be and weigh much more than they should. Thankfully Zhang Xiachang has come up with a battery that is so thin, you can roll it...
POSTED Monday, December 31, 2007
Yes, we know that Christmas is tomorrow, but these are gifts that will certainly work as late holiday presents or as birthday gifts all year round. Show your friend just what you think of his bad-combination gadget habit with...
POSTED Monday, December 24, 2007
As digital picture frames move beyond mere autonomous devices and onto the Web, they become easier to use and more interactive. Here's an example of that, Ality's updated Wireless Pixxa frame, which lets you send and receive pictures to...
POSTED Friday, December 21, 2007
Good news, prisoners! Well, relatively good news. I have no news relating to you getting out of prison. So, yeah, sorry about that. But good news for your time in jail! You might be getting fewer cavity searches in the...
POSTED Friday, December 21, 2007
Getting tired of wagging your lips all the time? Send a message with this Lampex USB Magic Wand, and give those skinny arms of yours a bit of a workout. The Wand connects to your computer via USB —...
POSTED Thursday, December 20, 2007
This little CD-shaped device is actually a synthesizer. The Chimera Synthesizer to be exact. So what's it do?The Chimera bC16 is a miniature patch synthesizer that can crank out a cacauphany of analog beeps, blips and bleets. Each of...
POSTED Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Are you really easily entertained? Do you need little more than a bunch of flashing lights to hold your attention? Well, I'd make fun of you, but maybe it's for the best. More sophisticated varieties of entertainment tend to...
POSTED Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Sure, drinking is basically America's favorite pastime, but did you know that sometimes it can be unsafe? I know, I was surprised too. But apparently, if you drink too much, you start acting like an idiot and are prone...
POSTED Monday, December 17, 2007
So there you are, walking down the street, when you hear a voice in your head. And instead of the regular voice, the one that tells you that you want a cheeseburger or that you should buy more video games,...
POSTED Thursday, December 13, 2007
Sorry meatheads, you had it coming. If counting up to 15 and keeping track of sets in your head is a bit too much, it's okay, there is always room for technology to step in and compensate for that...
POSTED Sunday, December 9, 2007
If you've got so much money that you're just looking for new ways to waste it, Tobias Wong and Ju$t Another Rich Kid created the Gold Pill for you. It's a pill dipped in gold and filled with 24-karat...
POSTED Thursday, December 6, 2007
We’ve already seen robots that are created to help us in the kitchen, play with our children, and keep us safe from harm, but what about the lower species out there? What would happen if a roach, beetle, or...
POSTED Wednesday, December 5, 2007
If you use propane tanks to fire up your grill for summer barbeques, you know how heavy the steel containers can be. And rusty; what with the trade-in programs, these tanks get used so many times that they look less...
POSTED Thursday, November 29, 2007
Here's a novel gift idea for the sadistic set. The Shocks Car Key from Bim Bam Banana takes advantage of our complacent trust for those keyless entry devices, delivering a little jolt to whoever is unfortunate enough to push...
POSTED Thursday, November 29, 2007
Sure we'd all love to be immortalized in bronze, marble, or other expensive medium, but with the fame and recognition the celebs of the world have gained from being cast in wax, Madame Tussauds might be the option for...
POSTED Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Do you drink so much that you often forget where you placed your beer due to extreme intoxication? Well, you've got a problem. You have a couple of options, as I see it: solve that problem by getting some...
POSTED Monday, November 26, 2007
Sure, you might be hoping to get "toys" such as HDTVs, digital cameras, or cell phones for Christmas, but for kids, toys mean just that: toys. Toys are straight-up fun, and this Magnetix I-Coaster looks like it'd make any...
POSTED Friday, November 23, 2007
Nobody likes a melty chocolate bar, nor does anybody like a cold, rock-hard chocolate bar. But how is one to know if your sweet treat is at the proper temperature? Oh, if only there was some way technology could...
POSTED Friday, November 23, 2007
If you're really, really anal about cutting things in a straight line, have trouble keeping your hands steady when you aren't drunk, or have Parkinson's, this tool is for you. It's a laser-guided hand saw, and it tells you...
POSTED Wednesday, November 21, 2007
This public bathroom opening soon in China is going to be one of the hardest toilets to find in the world. That's because, when not in use, it's underground. Yes, this hidden toilet hides underground underneath a sculpture until...
POSTED Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I really love that umbrellas have become one of the hottest objects to do wacky concept designs of. I mean, who could have guessed that the lowly umbrella, of all things, would capture the imaginations of designers everywhere? In...
POSTED Monday, November 19, 2007
If you have a kid on your shopping list this holiday season, and that kid happens to enjoy slime (and really, what kid doesn't), let me help you out with your list-making. The Discovery Polymer Lab is a slime workshop...
POSTED Monday, November 19, 2007
Sometimes, I just don't understand why or how a gadget came into existence. Just take this Egg Digital Photo Frame, for example. I mean… what? It's a little egg-shaped thing with a 1.5-inch screen. Yes, 1.5 inches. It can...
POSTED Monday, November 19, 2007
Everyone loves the glow of an open flame, but starting a fire in your home without a fireplace isn't recommended. Designer Chetan Sorab has come up with the Match-light, which looks like a pile of glowing matchsticks, to help...
POSTED Monday, November 19, 2007
Amazon has big plans to get into the eBook game, and its all set to announce a new device aimed at people looking to lighten their bookshelves and download books from Amazon: the Kindle. The Kindle sports a big,...
POSTED Friday, November 16, 2007
Even though the Japanese introduced HD to the world over 30 years ago, it wasn't until just recently that high-def was introduced to the Moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and NHK sent an orbiting satellite to the Moon...
POSTED Friday, November 16, 2007
If you're planning on spying on your grandma for some strange reason, I've got the perfect gadget for you. This spy bug is hidden inside some bags of potpourri, the perfect hiding spot in any home run by a woman...
POSTED Monday, November 12, 2007
Who would have thought beds could be cool? The Gravity Zero Groove sleep system from Hollandia International comes with a 150-watt sound system built in to make drifting off to La-La Land a more soothing experience, but after looking...
POSTED Monday, November 12, 2007
Somewhere out there in gadget land a clock radio is having one hell of an identity crisis. It could sit there in a cute package and perform its function as desired, or it can be a wild child and...
POSTED Monday, November 12, 2007
TakaraTomy, a Japanese toymaker who isn't coating toys in lead or drugs, is trying to teach better ideals, like saving, with this exploding bomb piggy bank. Drop a coin or two into the piggy bank every day and all...
POSTED Friday, November 9, 2007
Having a tough time trying to decide whether you should ski or snowboard this winter sports season? Let me make it hard for you: there's a new, third option. It's called Switchboarding, and it's kind of a mix of...
POSTED Friday, November 9, 2007
Are you rich and insecure? Do you need everyone to know just how loaded you are in order to stay happy? Well, you need to be more obnoxiously ostentatious, my friend. It's for your own good. Might I recommend...
POSTED Friday, November 9, 2007
Digital photo frames are, by and large, kind of dumb. Regular photo frames don't need to be plugged in and look classier than some overpriced contraption that shows a slideshow or can connect to the Internet. However, alarm clocks...
POSTED Thursday, November 8, 2007
Mowing the lawn sucks. It's tedious, dirty, and sweaty. I mean honestly, who like walking behind a lawn mower in the hot summer sun? Nobody I know, that's for sure. That might change, however, if more lawnmowers look like...
POSTED Thursday, November 8, 2007
To the casual observer, this is just an ordinary ballpoint pen, but underneath its mild-mannered skin, it's bristling with the latest technology. Forget that camera in your tie; not only does this pencam surreptitiously record video and audio, but...
POSTED Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The Mai Tai DeepSee a one box femtosecond laser, which is another way of saying that the machine pulses its laser beam extremely quickly (A femtosecond is equivalent to 1 millionth of a billionth of a second). Recently, lasers...
POSTED Tuesday, November 6, 2007
You know how annoying it is when you're trying to see something really, really tiny through your million dollar microscope and the subway beneath your building jostles the table just a little bit and then all of the sudden...
POSTED Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Unlike in the States, cigarette machines are everywhere in Japan. Rather than get rid of them due to the problem of underage kids being able to buy packs of smokes from them like we did here, they're using technology...
POSTED Monday, November 5, 2007
As if the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai is located, needed any more ludicrous, over-the-top expensive attractions, Ferrari has just announced plans to build a 62-acre theme park there dedicated to its automobiles. Costing a whopping $624.5 million to...
POSTED Monday, November 5, 2007
Think of Bug Labs as high-tech Legos for grown ups. They're a set of snap-together modules that you can put together however you want to create custom gadgets. Sound awesome? It is, it really, really is. Each module is...
POSTED Monday, November 5, 2007
The DelFly MAV is a marvel of engineering. It's an ornithopter, a flying robotic bug, and it weighs a mere 16 grams. It can fly for 15 minutes at up to 30MPH or can hover in place for 8...
POSTED Friday, November 2, 2007
While you might think that there's not much more you can do to an umbrella to make it better, this umbrella looks pretty brilliant. I mean, it has a module in the handle that wirelessly connects to Accuweather.com, getting...
POSTED Thursday, November 1, 2007
Let's say you're the quintessential Trekkie. Once you've played your last round of golf with that NCC-1701 putter, it might someday be time to beam up to that great starbase in the sky. After you've lived long and prospered,...
POSTED Thursday, November 1, 2007
Not that I don't trust cops with their firearms, but this strikes me as a pretty great idea: the Newburgh Police Department is going to start sticking cameras on the barrels of cops' guns. They'll automatically start recording audio and...
POSTED Wednesday, October 31, 2007
If you love danger, you might do extreme sports. If you love danger and also keeping your private areas neat and trimmed, you might like the very aptly named no!no! Shaver. It burns away your short 'n curlys using thermodynamic...
POSTED Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Are you a slob? Do you have trouble finding your remote control beneath the piles of magazines and empty chip bags on your coffee table? Perhaps it's time to take more extreme measures to make sure your remote is always...
POSTED Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Alright, this is just getting out of hand. Technology is making this generation of kids the laziest ever. This Electric Plane Launcher is being sold by a science mall as an "educational aid," but is it really that hard...
POSTED Monday, October 29, 2007
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop the (digital) presses. This is a gadget first. One of the amazing conceptual designs we spoke highly of in the past is actually becoming a reality. The Keyport key thing-a-ma-jigger is going into production! As...
POSTED Saturday, October 27, 2007
Snoring horses keeping you up all night? Horse too worked up about the Breeder's Cup later today? It's alright, all horses are dealing with those kind of jitters. The difference this time around is that you will be prepared with...
POSTED Saturday, October 27, 2007
Meet the TI-Nspire — Texas Instruments' latest graphing calculator. This one is a tad different that the TI-xx's of years past because it includes a brand spanking new layout chock full of real keys, miniature nub keys between the real...
POSTED Thursday, October 25, 2007
Even if you don't play golf, you have to admire the design of this Nike SQ Sumo Iron that will be available starting November 1. Tom's Stites, Nike's chief designer of such implements, calls it "the most forgiving iron...
POSTED Thursday, October 25, 2007
It is pretty dang surprising that this technology trend is so slow to take off. With displays so small they can be rolled up, everyone and their hamster owning an iPod and wireless everything existing; it was only inevitable...
POSTED Tuesday, October 16, 2007
You know how some photo editing software (iPhoto and Photo Booth, for example) have settings where you can twirl your face like a tie-dyed t-shirt? Now you don't need a computer to get that special effect, just Will Gurley's...
POSTED Tuesday, October 16, 2007
It's hard to say if this little tool would actually work or not, but the Zilopop Stainless Steel Lollipop claims to be able to freshen your breath. It's shaped like a small disk on a stick, and even has its...
POSTED Monday, October 15, 2007
It's tough to be green and clean cut, but this solar powered shaver suits that need perfectly. The Sol Shaver Solar Razor is a traditional electric razor that adds a bit of green via a solar charger. No more...
POSTED Saturday, October 13, 2007
Here's a great example of horrible gadget design. This doggie lamp is creepy and awful in amost every way. First, there are the red, glowing eyes, which give our electronic canine friend a decidedly demonic feel. The there's the...
POSTED Friday, October 12, 2007
You do lots of pushups, but you have such a darned hard time keeping track of how many you do. I know, big guy, multitasking is hard. I mean, with all that counting, how are you supposed to focus...
POSTED Thursday, October 11, 2007
If you want to be scared awake by a big, talking robot head rather than just jolted awake by a buzzer or the radio like usual, Mr. Clock Radio is for you. This sassy bot head sits atop a...
POSTED Thursday, October 11, 2007
We've seen high-tech shopping carts before, loaded up with scanners and touchscreens and able to scan in your load of groceries before you hit the registers, but we've never seen one quite like this. Rather than simply tallying up...
POSTED Thursday, October 11, 2007
Get out of the way ladies, because here come the Discovery Radio-Controlled Arthropods, exact replicas of the creepiest, crawliest gigantic bugs on earth. Instead of killing bugs, you'll revel in their presence underfoot as you charge up one of...
POSTED Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Dogs are really great — man's best friend and all that — but unless you live in the wilderness and let your dog run wild and poop where he pleases, there's always that unpleasant business about cleaning up after...
POSTED Monday, October 8, 2007
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed what seems to be a kind of miracle plastic, one that's thin and transparent yet as strong and durable as steel. The new material could be used for lighter, stronger armor for...
POSTED Friday, October 5, 2007
The potential for creating art with human remains has been around since the beginning of, well, human remains. For the most part, it's something society has shunned, choosing instead to bury the dead, or cremate them and save or...
POSTED Friday, October 5, 2007
What do you do when those trees lining your boulevard get diseased, die or fall down? Getting a large growth could take years, and that's a surefire way to lose the aesthetics of your trendy neighborhood. Working with Sharp...
POSTED Friday, October 5, 2007
Are you planning to propose to your sweetheart in the near future? Do you want to screw it up royally by over-nerding things? Great! I have just the thing to make your awkward dreams come true: the Euricase Multimedia...
POSTED Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Your house is boring. I mean, no offense, but it's just so traditional. It doesn't float in water, for example. That would be a fun way to mix things up, don't you think? Take this Jellyfish 45 habitat, for...
POSTED Tuesday, October 2, 2007
We can't guarantee that this is the smallest airplane ever, but it is the smallest one we've seen that can hold a human. It can't hold just any human, though: from the looks of it anyone just a little...
POSTED Tuesday, October 2, 2007
We're big fans of timepieces, and even bigger fans of products that look like they've been dropped through a wormhole from the future. The CB2 World Panel Clock looks like it satisfies our passion for all things time, with...
POSTED Monday, October 1, 2007
Your hamster is a fatty. Just look at him, sitting in his cage, nibbling his pellets. He might as well be eating a cake with his bare hands on the couch in front of the TV. He needs to...
POSTED Friday, September 28, 2007
Spykee, the robot formerly known as Spyke, made its first American appearance today at Digital Life. The 'bot, which you can control from remote locations via Wi-Fi, reminds us a lot of the ConnectR robot that iRobot introduced today....
POSTED Thursday, September 27, 2007
Nothing says disgusting like having an open box full of your cats urine and fecal matter sitting out in your bathroom or kitchen. Sure, a cat's gotta do what a cat's gotta do, but try to retain some dignity in...
POSTED Thursday, September 27, 2007
I think we all know how annoying it is to have to go somewhere for DNA testing. I mean, honestly, how many hours and days have I wasted waiting around for a paternity test? It's a figure I'd rather not...
POSTED Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Lenevo's new office in North Carolina sports a striking installation: this interactive water wall. When you walk by the gigantic screen, motion sensors make the wall appear as if water is rippling along behind you. It's a really cool...
POSTED Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Lego has just released their biggest and most insane set ever: a $500, 5,000-piece Millennium Falcon set so monstrous that the instructions alone weigh a whopping 4 pounds. It's sure to take many, many hours to build, which is...
POSTED Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Drawing with a pencil and a piece of paper is so last century. In this fantastic new age full of technological wonders, isn't it only natural to expect on of the most basic form of the arts — drawing...
POSTED Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Forget everything you learned in science class. Now it is possible to create a rainbow indoors and without having to wait on one of those pesky rain showers and prismatic light effects. This rainbow maker from Discovery projects a...
POSTED Tuesday, September 25, 2007
How bright does your flashlight need to be? If you're trying to blind Bigfoot in his tracks you might want to consider the Black & Decker Sport Spot that has an impressive 20 million candlepower rating. It uses halogen...
POSTED Monday, September 24, 2007
The release of this item pretty much seals the deal — the end is near. That fussy dog who is always too hot or too cold can now relax comfortably in the Komfort Pet Carrier, or rather, that overprotective...
POSTED Friday, September 21, 2007
Yesterday, M-Audio introduced its latest Session Music Producer USB microphone. At $99, it's less expensive than other M-Audio mics, and has the added benefit of an in-microphone headphone jack, which, according to the company, means that there's a shorter...
POSTED Friday, September 21, 2007
The last time that I burned a mix CD was quite a while ago. Nowadays, if I want to share songs with friends, I'll email the files, or transfer them from my iPod. Which is why I feel a...
POSTED Thursday, September 20, 2007
In Japan, everything is constantly being improved, it seems. They're never happy with whatever the current version of their things is, so they need to upgrade, upgrade, upgrade! And while bathtubs might seem like they're doing OK as-is, these...
POSTED Wednesday, September 19, 2007
There are a lot of places people are prohibited from smoking these days. Trains, planes, elevators, restaurants, offices, and so on and so forth — the list is much shorter if you look at where you can smoke than...
POSTED Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Not all clever gadgets are brand new, nor do they all require a fancy screen and a rechargeable battery to function. Check out this cane, for example, which hides a map of Boston inside it. Not only will it...
POSTED Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The small Dutch town of Makkinga is undergoing an interesting experiment: they've gotten rid of all their traffic signs. Yep, there are no speed limit signs, no stop signs, no yield signs — no signs of any kind. The...
POSTED Tuesday, September 18, 2007
There is a great divide between learning to play the guitar and actually being able to rock. The Power Tour Guitar from Hasbro and Tiger Electronics can partially help, by teaching riffs without the needing expensive equipment and mangled...
POSTED Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Do you really hate mornings? Do you feel like putting a gun to your head when you get out of the shower and realize that you have yet another soul-crushing day at the office ahead of you? Well, that...
POSTED Monday, September 17, 2007
On Friday, Yahoo started sending out invitations to Yahoo Mash, which will be the company's answer to Facebook, MySpace, and Friendster. The company announced the product one year after it failed to acquire Facebook, exemplifying the philosophy "if you...
POSTED Monday, September 17, 2007
I'm pretty sure this Zyken NightCove alarm clock is way nicer than whatever you use to wake yourself up in the morning. And not just because this thing costs $2,500, although, to be honest, that does have a lot...
POSTED Monday, September 17, 2007
Getting rolls of sushi to come out right can be a pretty tricky process. Chances are your guests are already vastly impressed that you're even going to try to serve it to them, so once you mess it up...
POSTED Friday, September 14, 2007
It may not be the Nike + iPod, but the Brando USB Pedometer is quite a bit cheaper and can still keep track of all of those steps. This device can record walking data for up to three days....
POSTED Thursday, September 13, 2007
Great news for humanity: Russia just tested the largest non-nuclear bomb ever, a vacuum bomb that took out an area the size of two football fields. The "Father of all Bombs" consisted of seven tons of some sort of...
POSTED Wednesday, September 12, 2007
How's this for an unlikely yet extremely exciting potential fuel source: salt water. Yes, the substance that covers 70% of the earth's surface, the most common liquid on earth. A Pennsylvania man has figured out a way to burn...
POSTED Wednesday, September 12, 2007
If you like the idea of exercise through cycling, but also enjoy the camaraderie of riding with others, here's a product for you. The Ergo Bike Premium 8i is an exercise bike that keeps you inside away from dangers...
POSTED Tuesday, September 11, 2007
This slick gadget from Korea is a dictionary of all things. I know, I know… in America our dictionaries are big books or just websites, while in Korea they're gadgets that put most of our fancy tech to shame....
POSTED Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Boy, is the record industry ever scramblin'. They know the CD is just about dead, and now they're looking for a new way to make money off their artists. Their solution? Ringles. Nope, I'm not kidding, unfortunately for the...
POSTED Monday, September 10, 2007
If there's anything that's important to teach your kids, it's the value of saving money and being fiscally responsible. If there's a way to do the exact opposite of that, it's giving them a touchscreen ATM. It makes taking money...
POSTED Saturday, September 8, 2007
Now here's a satisfying piece of gadget design: an alarm clock that's shaped like a grenade. To turn the alarm off, simply hurl it across the room. It doesn't explode, unfortunately, but I suppose that would be dangerous and...
POSTED Friday, September 7, 2007
LED flashlights are awesome. Not only do you get a really bright light from very little power, they can withstand a lot of shock and last a long time, too. Surefire has introduced a LED flashlight that produces a...
POSTED Wednesday, September 5, 2007
No, this isn't the hot new cellphone from Samsung. Sure, it's shaped like one and has a slick number pad, but it won't help you call anyone. It's actually a remote for door locks. Yep, door locks. It's a...
POSTED Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Last week, we told you about Japan's imminent launch of "space fireworks" that would be happening on Sunday. Well, it happened, and we've got pictures to prove it. To recap, a 28-foot rocket was sent into the atmosphere, leaving...
POSTED Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Summer is drawing to a close, so you know what that means: it's almost time for the 4-month Christmas consumerist orgy to begin! You'd better start planning how you're going to decorate you home; you don't want the neighbors to...
POSTED Tuesday, September 4, 2007
If the traditional (or not so traditional) cuckoo clocks are a bit too dull for your liking, you may want to take a look at this diddy. Artist Michael Sans stuffed and crucified a cuckoo, which died from natural...
POSTED Friday, August 31, 2007
This Sunday night, people in Japan will be treated to a fireworks display of the likes the world has never seen before. What makes these fireworks different than those we see here in the States on the 4th of July?...
POSTED Thursday, August 30, 2007
It's back-to-school season, and Crayola's Audio Ruler is just another example of how today's school supplies are more sophisticated — if not more useful — than the ones you had as a child. This "ruler" is really a marker: you...
POSTED Thursday, August 30, 2007
Those wacky MIT kids are at it again! This time MIT Media Lab researcher Tad Hirsh has created intelligent coconuts. Just how smart can a coconut be? These coconuts include audio sensors and will be hung in San Jose, California,...
POSTED Thursday, August 30, 2007
Bad news, waiters and waitresses: Your days are numbered. You're about to become obsolete, replaced by technology that can do your job more efficiently and without requiring tips. A new restaurant in Nuremberg, Germany, has replaced its waitstaff with...
POSTED Thursday, August 30, 2007
This Spirit of St. Louis travel suitcase timepiece takes the term "travel alarm clock" literally. Paying homage to transatlantic traveler Charles Lindbergh's historic flight from New York to Paris in 1927, this clock aims for vintage realism inside and...
POSTED Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Japan-based Yamaha has always been at the forefront of digital music, and its latest instrument maintains that tradition. The company has unveiled a device developed by artist and video-game creator Toshio Iwai called the Tenori-On. The gadget is a...
POSTED Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Generally speaking, aesthetics aren't the first priority for people designing and building supercomputers. They've got more important things to worry about, like getting the components together, getting everything working properly, and keeping it all cool enough so it doesn't...
POSTED Tuesday, August 28, 2007