Cell-phone-powered robot Rubik’s Cube solver
Can we just agree that unless you’re my friend Eric, solving a Rubik’s Cube is hard? Until now! All you need is a Rubik’s Cube, a cell phone, and this robot guy. It uses Lego Mindstorms parts, a Lego programmable robotics kit and a Nokia N95 mobile phone. Then it just takes it and scans it and…solves it. Seriously cool (and surprisingly meditative).
(Thanks to Steve for the submission!)
Double nut illusion
Synchronized dancing robots
Nothing like light-up dancing robots to get you in the holiday spirit–and they even make a Christmas tree…kinda. Watch for the little guy that falls over halfway through. Part of the choreography, or too much robot eggnog?
(Thanks to Steve for the submission!)
Who gave Darth Vader the remote?
This one just plain made me laugh…
(Thanks to Eric for the submission!)
Pop-up Lego Kinkaku-ji Buddhist temple
HEY! Did you miss us? The Day Improver snuck away to the wild Pacific Northwest for a few days of hiking in the rain forest and on the rocky beaches. And…get this…it was sunny. No, I’m not kidding.
But now we’re back and sorting through all your day-improving submissions. First up, this awesome pop-up project featured on the always-entertaining Lego site, The Brothers Brick (be sure to watch the whole video so you can see how it works):
(Thanks to Steve for the submission!)
Five-pound gummy bear
Do you like gummy bears? Do you really, really, REALLY like gummy bears? How about the equivalent of 1,400 gummy bears?
Enter the 9.5 inch, 5-pound World’s Largest Gummy Bear, in your choice of blue raspberry, green apple (my favorite!), or red cherry. C’mon, it’s only 12,600 calories, and according to the website,
Its monstrous size is only matched by its enormous taste. The World’s Largest Gummy Bear tastes just as delicious as its pint-sized counterpart.
Seriously. It’s the greatest flippin’ gift ever.
Can’t handle that much gummy bear? Try the Giant Gummy Bear on a Stick (only 1/2 pound).
(Thanks to Steve for the submission!)
LEGO mania
Seriously super cool, especially if you’re a 1980’s-LEGO-loving geek like I was…OK…am:
(Thanks to Steve for the submission!)
Toy Fair Roundup: The 10 Best (including Star Wars mind control)
Gizmodo picked their 10 best toys for adult kids (“AKA Geeks”) from this year’s Toy Fair. Some reeeeeealllly fun stuff, including my personal favorite, the Star Wars Force Trainer. Guided by Yoda, use your mind to make a ball float up in the air. Seriously. Your MIND. Don’t believe me? Check out this story from National Public Radio. Scroll down a bit to see the video of host Jaki Lynden making the thing work.
There’s also another mind control toy coming soon, Mattel’s Mind Flex, which requires you to put a ball through a hoop. Much more difficult and headache-inducing, apparently, so my money’s on the Force Trainer. Probably literally, since I bet it’s a pretty cool way to spend Friday night with our friends. From the NPR story:
Both toys use a modified form of electroencephalography — or EEG — technology to measure electrical signals emitted by the brain, says Jim Sullivan of NeuroSky, the company that created the technology that makes the toys work.
The signals are applied to algorithms that were developed by researchers after careful study of people in various states of attention, Sullivan says. With the right focus, the signals trigger a fan. The harder the player concentrates, the stronger the fan blows — and the higher the ball elevates.
(I know, right?)
