But I doubt I’d ever get bored at it had my dad made me something like this mushroom cloud treehouse sculpted by Dietrich Wegner called the Playhouse. I also doubt that he’ll ever be able to make something that looks remotely like this in our backyard.

As you can probably already tell from the photo, this isn’t exactly a treehouse in the sense that it’s not a house that’s built on a tree, although it’s shaped like one. I don’t think Wegner also meant for any kids to actually play and hide away inside it.

The work was previously displayed at the Weston Art Gallery. Of Playhouse, the sculptor has this to say about where he drew inspiration for it (and it doesn’t have much to do with kids in a treehouse..I think):

When an image stands in limbo, between associations, it occupies a flexible place in our mind. Wegner creates images that are safe and unsettling, abject and beautiful…The ephemeral beauty of a mushroom cloud is frightening, how it floats for a minute, delicate and blooming, yet remains chaotic and utterly destructive. We experience a contradiction between what our eyes enjoy and what our mind knows.

[via Laughing Squid via Dvice]

As you can see, the clock has four wires. Only one of them stops the countdown when cut. The other two are decoys and do nothing while one wire will immediately “detonate” the alarm. Obviously the thrill will wear off if the wires had fixed purposes, which is why Krumpus made it so the the role of each wire is randomized each time the sequence is activated.

By the way the countdown sequence isn’t just for the alarm. It can also be activated at any time by pressing the big red button, perfect for Counter-Strike LARPing. Here’s the clock in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Yes, you’ll have to replace any wires you cut, but Krumpus says that replacing them will be easy because they’re attached with screw terminals. Krumpus also made a mock C4 version of the clock, just for kicks:

The “bomb” is powered by an ATMega328 microcontroller with an Arduino bootloader. If you didn’t understand a word from that previous sentence either, fret not! Krumpus will be selling a kit this fall so you can have your own Defusable Clock. The kit will only include the electronics, but I’m sure you can cobble together a bomb-looking device. The kit will also be “fully hackable” so Arduino nuts and tinkerers will get more than their money’s worth with this thing.

[Project Lab via Laughing Squid]

The Big Bang Speaker (a.k.a. the “Sound Bomb”) has the look of one of those ACME cartoon bombs that blew up in Wile E. Coyote’s face after the Road Runner managed to leave him spinning in the dust. It connects to your media player using a bright red 3.5mm audio cable that looks like a fuse – a nice touch.

The orb-shaped bomb has two speakers for stereo sound, and can be powered by either 4 AA batteries or via USB. While I doubt that the volume levels from this compact speaker are going to live up to the “bomb” moniker, are you really buying something like this because you’re an audiophile? Then again, the product description says it’s “acoustically designed to deliver a crisp and clear sound” – so maybe the sound doesn’t actually suck.

The Big Bang Speaker should explode onto the scene early this August. In the mean time, you can pre-order one over at I Want One of Those for £29.99 (appx. $49 USD).

The guys at Russian design shop Mystake have created these candles that look just like bombs and dynamite sticks. They’re called “notmy” candles, as in “Officer, those are NOT MY explosives sitting on the table.” But unlike the real deal, these ones are guaranteed NOT to explode. At least I hope so.

You can grab the notmy bomb candle for $4.90 (USD), the dynamite for $6.90, or the “ammunition pack” that includes both for $10.90 over at the Mystake Shop. Of course, if you happen to be friends with any ATF agents, you might want to skip putting them out when they swing by the house.

Just toss this plush softball-sized cartoon “bomb”  into any room and as soon as it hits the floor, it’ll shout out your favorite four-letter word. Toss a dozen of these into your company’s next shareholder meeting to keep things really interesting.

You can get your grubby little hands on these for just $10 bucks over at the home of all things stupid – Stupidiotic, and let the F-Bombs fly. FORK!

Designed by Mexico City industrial designer Joel Escalona, the USB bomb should keep your data safe, since its design is likely to deter to anybody who might have thoughts of stealing it, lest they might get blown to smithereens. The device looks like one of those bombs that Wile E. Coyote might have purchased from the ACME catalog, or maybe from those old Spy vs. Spy cartoons in MAD magazine.

As an added bonus, it’s big enough to house either a ton of flash memory or a hard drive, given its oversize design. At this point, it’s still just a prototype, but I’d certainly buy one.

[via pan-dan]

Designed by artist Mark A. Regelman II, the Tick Tock Timebomb Clock (appropriately subtitled “Just Hope it Doesn’t Stop”), looks a little too much like a real explosive device for anyone’s good. While the clock might not actually blow up, I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t want to have one of these in a public place if you have any interest in your own personal freedom.

At this point, the clock is a one-of-a-kind prototype, but in the mean time, might I suggest these alternatives.

[via Pan-Dan via TrendsNow]

If you don’t add coins each and every day, the bank will start to vibrate, flash its lights and make sounds once an hour until you pay up. If you don’t get to it in time, BOOM! Coin-tastrophe!

Japanese toymaker TakaraTomy plans on releasing the exploding piggy bank just in time for the New Year, so you can start out 2008 right by keeping your resolution to save more money. It’ll cost about ¥3,000 yen, or about 2,700 pennies if you’re already starting to save up for one.

[Reuters via electro^plankton]

The ridiculous President Briefcase is just a gag product, but if you happen to leave it ANYWHERE, you’re likely to stir up a bigger scare than the Aqua Teen Hunger Force prank did in Boston earlier this year. The $65 metal box looks suspiciously like those evildoer devices you’d find in a Mission Impossible movie, complete with cryptic satellite maps, toggle switches, and an imposing red button with a skull on it.

If the fact that it looks like a bomb isn’t enough for you, it also features a hidden compartment. Presumably, this is where you’d stash your contraband, but for some reason this doesn’t seem like a very good hiding spot.

[via The Red Ferret Journal]

To keep you on your toes, the alarm will pick a random color coded wire that must be detached within a pre-set amount of time. Thankfully, the clock doesn’t actually explode, but it plays a loud explosion sound if you don’t pull the proper wire. The DangerBomb will be available this March for under $40 from GeekStuff4U.

If you prefer a less jarring wake up experience, you might want to check out something like the Voco Clock.

[via Akihabaranews]

Now you can own one of these original devices if you’re willing to part with some serious cash. Someone has posted one of the actual “bombs” for sale on eBay. We’re only a few hours into the auction, and the bids are already over $3,000. The seller claims that the money will be used to fund more public art in the Boston area, so at least it’s going to a good cause. This is certain to be a collectors item (if the police don’t come and confiscate it as evidence.)

[UPDATE 2/1 3:00pm: It appears that the auction has since been pulled from eBay. Someone always has to pee on my parade ]

[UPDATE 2/2 10:12pm: A few more ATHF LED signs from around the country have turned up on eBay here, here, here, here, here, and here. So if you're interested in picking up a piece of history, now's your chance.]