Archive for April 2023

Because after the robots have dominated the land, it’s only natural they set their sights on the water, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Munich, Germany, have developed a robotic jellyfish capable of efficiently swimming and manipulating objects, using only 100mW of power in the process.

The Shot Rocket is a small, rocket-shaped pouring device that allows four shots to be filled simultaneously, dispensing liquor through its fins into separate glasses. Available on Amazon (affiliate link), it’s sure to be a hit at college parties.

To help fill the Jurassic Park you started constructing after purchasing the previously posted 15-Foot tall brachiosaurus statue comes this $10,000 lifelike stegosaurus statue. Created by Design Toscano (the same manufacturer of the brachiosaurus), the stegosaurus measures 16 feet long and 7 feet tall, or roughly half the size of a real full-grown stegosaurus.

Based on the Cursed Halo Again mod created by Steam user and modder InfernoPlus, Cursed Halo Kart is a combination of Halo and Mario Kart, where players race around the track in Warthogs, trying to kill each other and win the race.

Researchers at Google’s AI-focused research company DeepMind recently gave a pair of small humanoid robots the tools needed to learn how to play soccer on their own. Using DeepMind’s latest artificial general intelligence, the robots were able to gain the skills necessary to run around kicking the ball and trying to score goals.

Carefully crafted by Twitter user The Mad Maker, this Mandalorian bust is made entirely of flan, earning it the appropriate moniker Flandalorian. Hoho, I see what you did there, and I like it! Especially with caramel sauce and a scoop of ice cream.

Designed to look just like the one worn by Michael Keaton in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, this Utility Belt Prop Replica features all the gadgets seen on film, including a Batarang, grapnel launcher, and communicator. Available from The NECA Store, the belt’s four cartridge slots can be customized with any of the eight unique cartridges included: a torch, taser, scanner, micro camera, re-breather, gas pellets, and smoke bombs.

Taking personal customization to the next level, Formify is selling gaming mice that are 3D printed based on a photo of your own hand. Finally, I’m tired of using a generic mouse. I have a unique hand, and it demands a unique peripheral made just for it.

Cyberpunk taxidermist and YouTuber Yi Zhizhu decided to mod a deceased Hercules beetle (Dynastes Hercules) into a realistic mechanical model using a bunch of small watch parts and springs and lights, and other pieces. If you scroll down, there’s a video documenting that process, the entirety of which I thought was pretty fascinating to watch.

Because what else would a pirate wear in the plundering offseason, Chinese footwear manufacturer Feionusin has created these skull slide sandals. Available on Amazon (affiliate link), the sandals are perfect for letting everyone know you’d rather be sailing the high seas with a knife between your teeth and a belly full of grog.

Designed and crafted by artisan Vitalii Osnach of Etsy shop NoirArtefact, this Thunder Dragon Leather Backpack is sure to be this season’s Renaissance faire must-have. The genuine leather bag is painted with luminescence, so it glows in the dark with patterns on its scales, wings, and belly.

Because it’s important to start your children on the path to becoming gamers at a young age, baby product manufacturer Bumkins is selling officially licensed Nintendo Game Boy and NES controller silicone baby teethers. Available on Amazon (affiliate link), the teethers are just the thing to get your youngster familiar with trying to destroy something after repeatedly failing to beat a difficult boss.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have created a life-size 3D printed hand with embedded sensors, so the soft hand can “feel” objects while learning to delicately pick them up without damaging or dropping them. That’s cool, but still not the hand I want grabbing my delicates when I’m being told to turn my head and cough.

LEGO Masters finalist and gamer Nick Lever combined his two passions into this 1:1 scale LEGO Nintendo Game Boy. The life-size portable gaming system is made of 354 pieces and 115 unique parts and even features a pressable D-pad and insertable game cartridges.

Summer nears, and what better way to celebrate than with a pair of banana flip-flops? That was meant to be rhetorical. Made by the ever-popular brand MAIITRIP and available on Amazon (affiliate link), these banana sandals (not to be confused with a banana hammock) are the perfect summer footwear.

Madrid-based luxury fashion brand Loewe has released its Spring/Summer 2023 womenswear collection, which includes the Pixel Perfect line of clothing that appears to have been plucked from Minecraft characters. The collection features many of Loewe’s most popularly selling designs, but pixelated.