I’m not sure exactly how the switch works, but Light does mention that it’s a modified pull chain switch. Place it in between a book, secure the string and then connect the plug of any electrical device into the switch’s own socket. When you pull the book outward, the string is pulled with it, toggling the switch.

The Secret Passageway Switch was sold at Vespoe for $50 (USD), but unfortunately it’s sold out as of this writing. Hopefully Light will make some more. Although I’m sure the tinkerers among you can cobble your own version without spending a penny.

[B.Light Design via Uncrate]

The camera is about the size of a stick of chewing gum so you can easily hide it. It can capture still images, audio and video with a (ultra-grainy) resolution of 352 x 288, and it adds a time & date stamp to the video or image it takes. It has 2 GB of memory built-in, which can be augmented by a mini SD card. You can transfer the data from the camera to a computer via USB.

The camera works for up to 2 hours, enough time for you to catch the drink thief. Connecting it to a computer via USB also recharges it. The camera sells for $38 USD at Amazon.

[via devicepedia]

Each pen has a built-in ultraviolet LED light, you can read messages that are invisible to the naked eye. It’s perfect for writing down personal information like your PIN number or passwords – assuming of course that nobody else has a black light lying around, and you can actually remember where the heck you wrote your note. Keep in mind that while the ink is “invisible”, it’s also permanent, so don’t be writing nasty bathroom stall limericks on the walls of your house unless you plan on living with them in perpetuity.

If you want to exchange secret notes with a friend, buy a couple and play a game to see if you can find all the hidden messages you leave for each other. Of course, running around with a UV light in hand, you might come across other evidence of foul play you didn’t intend to. Don’t mind that blood spatter – it’s nothing.

The Invisible Ink Spy Pen is available over at Perpetual Kid for $9.99 (USD).

So how does it work? They say, “lifting the lid increases the volume proportionally with height” which means, of course, that moving the cap up makes it louder and moving the cap down makes it quieter. To change the station, you just rotate the cap. There is an LED light in the base that gets brighter and darker with tuning.

Of course, like so many cool gizmos this thing isn’t available yet, but you can visit their website, from which you can send them an e-mail and pester them to make it.

[via Core77]

This nifty project was created by Randy at F.A.T. He says, “The breathalyzer microphone is a system for the inconspicuous collection of blood-alcohol content level data sets. In other words, you can measure a person’s sobriety with a device, that for all intents and purposes, looks no different than a standard microphone.”

He kindly put the how-to up on Instructables, in case you’re inspired to make one of these for use on your drinking buddies. In essence, you rip a cheap karaoke mic apart, add some wires to the XLR and the switch, make a tricky bracket, attach it to an alcohol sensor you previously ordered from Thailand, and voila. To make it portable, you can use a tape deck or something else to hide a datalogger and arduino.

Then you just have someone talk or sing into the microphone, and use a computer to get the SD card readings to get the info. Now you know fo’ sho’, that mofo is DRUNK. And you have computer data to prove it to him.

[via Make:]

The website says, “It is funny that you can’t realize it is a correction tape by its outlook.” My outlook is: isn’t correction tape is all but obsolete, what with the developments we’ve made in the wonderful world of computing? Who needs this in 2008? Low-level government functionaries in third-world countries? Old West barkeeps with handwritten ledgers? Clumsy scrapbookers?  Luddites?

This concept is decidedly lower tech than other Legoriffic products like these. Still, anything that even looks kind of like a Lego is pretty cool in my book. Now I just have to figure out a way to work correction tape into my daily activities and I’ll be all set.

Meanwhile, you can get one of these for $7 here. They come in green, yellow, red, or black, but you don’t get to pick which one you get, you just get a random color. Order a whole bunch and you can click them together to make a correction-ready, rasta-themed desk array.

While the camera’s 176 x 144 capture resolution isn’t sharp enough for than grabbing more than rudimentary moving images, it’s enough to get the general idea of what’s going on. A built-in SD memory card slot provides up to 2GB of digital storage, and at that low resolution, I’d imagine you can store quite a bit of content on a single card.

Gadget importer Chinavasion offers the mini spy cameras for about $100 each (or less in wholesale lots). Expect to spring another 75 cents for a pack of Juicy Fruit or DoubleMint.

[via 7Gadgets]

Hidden inside the Tire Clock Spy Cam is a digital video camera with a 2.4GHz wireless transmitter. An included remote receiver can view and record what the camera captures. If the general concept of such a gadget isn’t strange enough for you, add some Engrish text that reads “The Best Wish For My Good Friend” and the Queen’s English spelling of “Tyre”, and you’ve got yourself one oddball device.

Unless you happen to run an auto parts store in Hong Kong, I don’t know if hiding a spy cam in something that stands out quite so much as this is a good idea.