Watch the video to see the whimsical gadget in action:

It would’ve been funnier if the door had a motion sensitive gizmo that would emit doorbell sounds when someone knocks on the door from outside. Or if the door opens when you knock on it. Or if it explodes. Or becomes a doorbell. Excuse me while I think of more possibilities.

[Bobby Petersen via Notcot]

The Chadster outfitted his bike with a large dual-trumpet horn from a train, connected up to a tank filled with compressed air. He says this produces much louder results than you get by just hooking up the horns to an air compressor, so I can only imagine how loud it really is. The video clip below gives you a sense of it, but I’m guessing that in person, it’s much more startling.

The rather simple build requires a cruiser in order to provide a large rack for holding the compressed air cylinder, along with some hose, bungee cords and duct tape. Chad provides instructions on how to build your own over on Instructables, but recommends that you only use it to give pedestrians a scare (and maybe a heart attack,) and not riding in vehicular traffic. Personally, the bigger problem I see is that the rider of the bike probably needs to wear earplugs when riding if they don’t want to go deaf.

The Tentanic is a 1:2 scale replica of the luxury liner that famously hit an iceberg and subsequently went under. It’s so huge that it can accommodate up to one thousand people in all. Or you could just invite a smaller number of people and bring along most of your luxuries from home, like your refrigerator and dining table and everything else but the kitchen sink! And speaking about sinking – they plan on releasing an iceberg tent to go along with it.

The Tentanic is currently available for pre-order on Firebox for a whopping £7,500 (~$12,000 USD). Oh yeah, and happy belated April Fools day.

[via Gadgets Matrix]

I must say, Blizzard really gets the idiosyncracies of mobile gaming. Supply Depot has simple controls and is perfect for a 5-minute or even 5-second burst of gaming.

You can play the first mission of StarCraft: Supply Depot 2 on Blizzard’s website right now. Get on it, it might not be there tomorrow.

The game’s a bit too gory for kids though; if you have children I suggest you check out the company’s new Blizzard Kidzz educational games.

Google’s crack research scientists have determined that the reason we’re not as efficient as we could be when using our computers is that we’re only using 50% of our hands at any given time. Basically, in Chrome Multitask mode, you connect two mice to your computer, so you can surf multiple websites or use two applications side-by-side – at the same exact time. The technology would also allow you and a friend to surf side-by-side on the same computer.

Brilliant! The funny thing is that I always have multiple application windows open side-by-side, since I have a big 27-inch screen, so this doesn’t look that unusual to me – other than the part where there’s a second mouse for my left hand.

It is truly another revolutionary old-new technology by Google.

Check out the Gmail Tap page for more hilarious features, such as “Double-black diamond mode,” which allows users to type 8 messages at once. Beat that, keyboard!

[via Reddit]

According to Google, the new Google Maps for NES will ship on a cartridge, offering internet access directly from your old 8-bit console. A gigantic farm of computers in the cloud are said to transform the regular Google Maps experience into a version usable on the NES.

Here, let’s let Google Product Management Director Ken Tokusei explain it for you…

You gotta love the part where you blow into the cartridge “to fix bugs.” For now, you can play around with the 8-bit style Google Maps over at maps.google.com, then clicking on the “Quest” button in the upper right-hand corner, or by simply clicking this link. Be sure to check out Street View for more pixelated fun.

This non-descript, but suspicious looking device can take over the controls of just about any television from up to 400 feet away, and offers several modes for its pranks. First, there’s the Bomb button, which randomly changes channels and volume levels over a 5 to 15 minute period of time. Then, there’s a Jam button, which blocks out any other attempts to use regular remotes. Finally, there’s full control mode which lets you manually control key TV functions, including channels, volume, and even the video input button.

In addition to messing with TVs, it can be used to trigger the IR remote feature of many digital cameras from afar – in case you want to snap a self-portrait out of the range of a conventional remote.

The pocket-sized gadget isn’t exactly stealthy looking, but on the other hand, you can stand pretty damned far away while using it. That said, you want to see the reaction of your victims, so you can’t stand too far back.

If you’ve got a legitimate (or nefarious) use for the NRSTGIRJ, you can grab one over at ThinkGeek for $29.99 (USD). Thankfully, the Jumbotrons at stadiums don’t have an IR remote control, or else I’m sure you’d be using one to play Battlestar Galactica reruns at the basketball game. Not that it would be a bad thing.

The SWAT team really showed up 20 minutes later, scaring the entire family who were all in the home. The mom called 911 and eventually they persuaded the family that it was alright to go outside.

They are now investigating the situation. They know that someone used a telephone relay service to send a message to the police pretending to be someone from inside the house. The message said that someone had been shot and that there was gunfire.

I’d hate to be the prankster when the police catch him.

[CBSDFW via armedgamer]

You can ask Siri to send a message for you, call a contact, set reminders on your calendar, locate a certain place that you might want to go to, or even ask random questions so it can find the answers for you. The latter was what 12-year-old Charlie Le Quesne was up to, when he received quite a shocking and expletive-filled response.

In response to Charlie’s question “How many people are there in the world?”, Siri responded with the answer, followed by: “Shut the f**k up, ugly tw*t.” But this was no fault of Apple’s.

Rather, it was the work of mischievous pranksters who had tinkered around with the displayed iPhone 4S at a Tesco branch in Coventry and re-programmed the phone’s name to the seven-word phrase.

Charlie’s horrified mother, Kim, told press: “I thought I must be hearing things, so we asked again and the same four-letter stuff blared out.” They complained to store staff, who agreed to unplug the phone and remove it from their display.

A Tesco spokesperson said that they were conducting an investigation into the matter, and stated: “The handset will be going back to Apple for diagnostic tests.”

[via Daily Mail]

Instructables contributor DIYHacksAndHowTos came up with this simple circuit which you can install into a box, and it’ll play back any sound you want when the box is shaken.

The circuit requires just a small number of inexpensive components you should be able to pick up at a Radio Shack (or order from their website), and minimal soldering skills. Once assembled, you record the sound you want it to play, hot glue it to the box, and let the fun begin.

Nice sound there at the end. Though I like the idea of recording Chewbacca’s growl or maybe some broken glass if I make one.

This seems like a simple enough gag that someone over at ThinkGeek should consider turning it into a product for next Christmas. For now, you’ll hae to build your own. You can find complete build instructions over at Instructables.

Simply replace the entire department’s regular desk calculators with one of these “special” calculators, guaranteed to miscalculate everything they key into them. To seal the deal, you might want to attach a company memo stating they they’ve all received their new calculators as a gift from the company.

The Wrongulator may look like a typical solar LCD calculator, but it’s designed to drive its users batty, by replacing all proper mathematical logic with complete and utter rubbish, providing brilliant answers like “10 + 5 = 10″.

You can get your hands on one over at UK gadget shop RED5 for £4.95 (~$7 USD). Just be sure not to let one accidentally get into the hands of the payroll department.

The flash of the used camera he bought is in there, waiting for its victim. Thanks to a mercury tilt switch from an old thermostat, anyone who tilts the Magic 8-Ball will get an eyeful of light. That’s what you get for consulting a toy about your decisions in life!

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As you saw in the video, arfink also connected a switch to disable the flash. This will let him conserve the battery until the next victim comes along. Get the lowdown on the hack at the Hack A Day forum.

[via Ubergizmo]

The Cellphone Lock Up will trap phones – or any object for that matter – that fits within its narrow space. As you can see, iPhones fit perfectly inside this odd prison cell.

I wish it was more intimidating or over the top though, like if it was made of titanium or had huge fat bars. As it is you’re almost tempted to just smash the – oh, I get it now. You can order the Cellphone Lock Up from The Lighter Side Co. for $16 (USD). Manual included.

[via Random Good Stuff]

If all BlackBerry users are going to get for gaming are text-based ones, I think they’d be better off with this one.

[via Imgur via Reddit]

ThinkGeek never lets us down in the way of oddball gadgets. Just in time for the holidays is their new TannenBomb Prank Holiday Ornament. That’s right, a prank holiday ornament. This clever little globe has a bit of hidden technology contained within. While sitting in its box, or even lying out somewhere, it looks and acts just like any normal decoration. The fun begins when they hang it on their tree.

The act of placing it on a tree (or a hook) activates a trigger, which tells the device to play one of four random sounds at random intervals. At any given point of a day, people will hear a beep, mosquito tone (ultra high frequency nerve grating sound), a Christmas cricket or an elf giggle.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

$11 sounds like a reasonable price to pay for driving your friends or loved ones crazy this holiday season. Heck, it even looks like a stylish ornament, what with the zombies and robots on it. Were it not for the fact that it would bug the crap out of me, I’d hang one up on my tree.

Thanks to Apple’s ingenious smooth gorilla glass front and back on the iPhone 4, you can easily apply decals to the backside, and the guys at Topdecal took advantage of this with their clever decal design. Just slap this removable vinyl label on the back of your pal’s iPhone 4 when they’re not looking, then flip the phone upside-down from where they left it. Next time they go to answer a call, hilarity (followed by a swift beating) should ensue.

You can grab one over at Topdecal’s Etsy shop for $9.99 (USD). If they’re sold out, keep checking – they seem to be replenishing as they sell ‘em.

[via Doobybrain]

The prank involved a homemade setup that included a weather balloon, some digital cameras, and a lot of helium. The flying contraption was then sent into the stratosphere, Rickrolling the entire planet.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The homemade “Astleyroid” went up nearly 90,000 feet (17 miles!) before the weather balloon popped, and the gear fell back to earth. It’s kind of amazing that the balloon made it all the way into space. Too bad they didn’t do this back in 2007, when people still cared about Rickrolling.

The people that pranked a dude named Leif make my shenanigans look pitiful by comparison. The epic nature of the prank makes me wonder if the people who made the cardboard office for Leif actually did any work while he was gone or just spent all their time cutting cardboard.

While Leif was on vacation, his coworkers took everything from his office and replaced them with cardboard versions. Everything includes the desk, computers, books, food, and all. I would just keep all that cardboard stuff, it has to be cooler than the real items they replaced. Check out the video to see how epic the gag really was…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via TechEBlog]

If this was real I bet 90% of people who use it will just say that they’re tweeting from a twitter booth. Assuming that would fit in 140 characters or less.[via Livejournal via reddit via buzzfeed via geekologie via walyou]