Wheelblades eliminate the need of a counterbalance on the larger driving wheel, meaning that the wheelchair can also be easily pushed by another person. They were designed by Patrick Mayer and are supposed to redistribute the pressure of the weight optimally to prevent the front wheels from sinking into snow. It’s definitely an interesting design to improve the mobility of people who use wheelchairs.

Wheelblades will be available starting October 2012 for 224 Swiss Francs (~$246 USD.) Mayer is currently seeking investors to help fund a production run of his Wheelblades.

[via designboom]

The scientists are using a technique that they use when studying ice crystal formation in avalanches to figure out why ice cream loses flavor and texture after sitting in the freezer too long. The key bit of tech used to hone ice cream to a creamy and freezing point is an x-ray machine. The machine allows the scientists to look closer into the structure of ice cream than ever before.

How creamy and tasty ice cream is depends on the size and shape of the ice crystals. Apparently the larger the ice crystals are, the chewier and less tasty the ice cream is to eat according to the researchers. We already knew that the quicker you can freeze ice cream, the creamier it is thanks to smaller ice crystals. Part of the reason ice cream doesn’t taste as good after a while is blamed on our freezers that can fluctuate a few degrees in either direction. That slight temperature fluctuation allows part of the ice cream to melt and then refreeze causing a loss of flavor and texture. The goal of the study is to create ice cream better able to withstand fluctuations in temperature.

[via MNN]

This ice tray looks like a banana clip from an assault rifle. It will make ten ice cubes that are shaped like bullets. Since the ice cubes it makes are bullet looking on both sides, this must be some sort of two-sided mold.

When you pop them out you get bullets complete with cases and all. I think this will give a new meaning to, “Let’s do some shots!” You can get your hands on the Bullet Ice Cube Tray over at Amazon for $6.99 (USD).

[via Red Ferret via Boing Boing via Gizmodo]

A plug at the ends of each tray ensure that water doesn’t get into the middle of the straw molds, so you can drink through them. The straws this thing produces look a little chunky to me, but that’s okay – just more ice surface area to keep your drink chilled.

Ice Straw trays are available over at FredFlare for $14(USD) each. I’d love to see someone come up with ice-based Crazy Straws. That’s an ice tray I’d buy.

The tray is made from silicone, not those impossible to crack hard plastic sort, and has six smaller carbonite cubes and one large cube. It’s hard to tell what size the cubes are, but I bet the larger one is more for a punchbowl. I think I would put some grape juice in there and make them look black like the film’s carbonite.

The tray sells for $9.99 (USD) over at Kotobukiya’s website. It is crazy cool though and would be perfect for a Star Wars Blu-ray viewing party or Halloween. I could totally see doing some Jell-O shots out of this thing too. I want one!

At one point or another, I’m sure we’ve all tried in vain to combine two or more flavors – most of the time turning them into an oddly-colored mush. By developing a special split compartment cup, along with a dual-source straw, you can enjoy two flavors from the same cup. Not only will you look cool doing it, you can decide whether they want to sample flavor individually, or to mix them to a degree of your choice. That’s thanks to the special valve in the middle of the straw contraption. You can expect to find the new double Slurpee cup and straw in 7-Eleven stores starting in June.

I know, I don’t know why I should be so excited by the prospects of mixing artificially-colored, frozen sugar water, but I am. I’m sure if this goes over well, we’ll see a tri-chambered Slurpee in 2012.

[via USA Today via Geekosystem]

That material is a solid at room temperature and when you drop it in coffee that is in the 140 degree range it absorbs the heat and the material inside melts. As it absorbs heat, it will cool your coffee three times faster than normal and keep you from burning your taste buds off.

The paradox part comes in the fact that while these things absorb heat and cool the coffee to start, once that material inside starts to harden it puts some of that heat back into your drink to make it warmer for twice as long. These beans are on Kickstarter right now to land funding and are well over the amount they need, but you can still contribute to the project if you want. A pledge of $40 or more will get you a set of five Joulies for yourself.

This awesome snow removal device had a 25” length that can go out to 36”, an aluminum handle, plastic head, and nylon bristles. The materials may not be better than any other ice scraper you’ve seen, but it’s design makes sure that none of that matters.

If you’ve ever thought you might have frostbite just from cleaning off your car in the winter, this is definitely something you need to have. And at only $17, you can’t say that it’s not a good investment.

[via 7Gadgets]

The massive ice Transformer was created by sculpture artists Michel de Kok and Antti Pedrozo, and it is truly a sight to behold.

The only problem is that the second Megatron gets his hands on an open flame, the Decepticons will win.

[via Nerdcore via Neatorama]

The company claims to take a chunk of ice from the cold waters up in the polar areas and then hack 1000 pieces of the ice off. The ice is then packed into a capsule, tossed in a box, and then sold to idiots who will pay about 24,95 euro (appx. $32.50 USD) for a single piece of ice.

The capsule that the ice is crammed into measures 9-inches and you are supposed to keep the ice in your freezer. I guess the idea is when the polar ice caps are all gone you will have your own piece of this precious ice. Of course should that happen we will all drown and it won’t be such a big deal at that point. Plus, your fridge will probably stop working due to the rising flood waters.

How awesome would it be to have a minifig floating in your cocktail? Or to have minifig popsicles? Order the ice tray from the LEGO store for just $8 (USD) and find out.

[via likecool]

New from Fred & Friends, these Brain Freeze ice cube trays let you crank out four blobs of frozen cerebral matter to present to your party guests. And while they’re shown frozen with crystal clear water in the photo above, I think they’d be even better if you swirled some red and purple food coloring into your cubes for the optimal effect.

Even though it’s only February, I’m definitely ordering some of these for next Halloween. You can pre-order yours over at Perpetual Kid for $7.99 (USD) a tray. Drink up and have some grey matter with your Grey Goose.

[via 7Gadgets]

The CoolIT PC is named after the system’s cooling technologies, provided by CoolIT systems. 19-year old Dominic Heiße painstakingly built the entire CoolIT computer case from scratch, using MDF for the main case structure, overlays of Plexiglas cut to look like icicles, and  (I think) layers of Bondo for building up the snowy look on the surface.

The case is loaded up with a heavy duty Boreas liquid cooling rig, along with 15, count ‘em, 15 neatly arranged fans in the back of the case. The whole thing is illuminated by tons of cool blue LEDs to complete the icy cold look. Check out the gallery below for more pics:

You can see Dominic’s complete photolog of the construction process over on the CoolIT Forums. Very cool indeed. Downright cold, actually.

[via modding.ru]

The tray features three different aliens and can make up to 24 invaders at once. You can get an Ice Invaders tray at Amazon for $8 USD. If you live in the UK it might be cheaper to get it from I Want One of Those; the base price is $8.31 but if you factor in shipping it might be cheaper overall.

[via Shiny Shiny]

So geek is ThinkGeek’s thinking that they even have a recipe for Pi-tini:

The Pi Symbol Ice Tray sells for $9 USD. If you can shake anything 3.14 times, then I salute you. You are a true nerd. Plus you have ultra-accurate muscle control.

[via UberReview]

Just chill these special ice cube rocks in your freezer for about an hour before use. 2 or 3 rocks should keep your drinks nice and chilled. Originating from Sweden, the cubes are cut from a natural stone called Nordic Rock, known for its ability to retain cold (and to occasionally carry a tune). When not in use, you can keep the rocks in the included leather pouch. This also serves as a handy weapon if you feel the need to beat someone over the head.

You can grab a set of 10 rocks from UK gift retailer Mocha for £15.99 (appx. $29 USD). Rock on!

[via roadside scholar]

Given the heritage of Tetris, it’s only appropriate that these Icetris ice cube trays would come from Dima Komissarov of Russian design shop Mystake. With enough frozen blocks, you should be able to play a complete game in the confines of your hi-ball glass. The only downside I can see to playing Tetris with ice cubes, of course, is the fact that they might melt before you can even complete a row.

Now the bad news — there’s no word on when and where you’ll be able to get your hands on these, but I definitely am clearing some space in my freezer in anticipation.

The Portable Dry Ice Maker can crank out a one-pound block of dry ice in less than a minute. For those of you who don’t know about dry ice, it’s a super-cold ice that chills out at a teeth-chattering negative 109.3° F (-78.5° C). Although its practical use is to keep food and drinks cool for long journeys, it’s best known among the geek set for the awesome low-hanging fog that it produces when immersed in warm water.

So if you need to freeze a lot of stuff, or are just looking for that cool fog effect, you can pick one up form Hammacher Schlemmer for $499.95.

[via GadgetGrid]

The clear, ice-like acrylic case inspired the name “Alaska” for this LCD calculator. While the pictures might make it look white, you can really see all the way through it, meaning that it transforms into whatever color lies beneath it.

When looking at the calculator from off-angle, the numbers virtually vanish beneath the tall cylindrical buttons. However, when looking head-on, the digits are completely visible. I also dig the cool dot-matrix LCD screen that’s got mod square pixels. The manufacturer, Area Plus, also makes a version with removable buttons “for fun & play game,” but I’m not sure why you’d want to do that.

The Alaska acrylic calculator can be found on Japanese online boutique Cataloger, and retails for ¥3675 (about $32 USD).