Category: Just Plain Fun

What fun are toy cars if you can’t smash them together and cause little car crashes? These new r/c cars encourage reckless driving by sending their occupants into the sky when they hit. No airbags here, just flying little men, spiraling through the air to an untimely demise. Buttons on the sides of each car automatically trigger ejector seats that make its passengers and driver go airborne on contact.

Somehow I let these Mario Brothers miniature golf players slip between the cracks when they came out a couple of months back. But in my quest for holiday gifts for gamers, they popped back on my radar screen — so I guess it’s better late than never. Mario and Luigi sit on your tabletop and can putt a tiny golf ball into a little cup.

Give your Xbox 360 system a retro-lounge makeover with these animal print faceplates. These snap-on replacements for the standard Xbox 360 front cover don’t just look like their mammalian counterparts, they’re velvety soft to the touch.   Whether you’re going for a jungle theme or fifties kitsch, they’ll definitely get looks when you have your friends over.

G4TV’s Attack of the Show has put together this unbelievably large cabinet for playing classic arcade games. It’s so tall that players have to stand on stepladders just to reach the controls. The cabinet measures in at over 13-feet tall, and has a 70-inch screen for massively monstrous gaming action.

Check out this never before seen episode of 24, shot back in the early 1990s. Apparently, CTU’s technology hadn’t come along quite as far as it has today. Seriously, I don’t know what’s funnier, the AOL and Prodigy references, or the old brick cordless phone.

Put your cash in this bomb-shaped piggy bank and if you’re not a good saver, you’ll be punished. The electronic piggy bank waits for you to add coins too it every day. If you’re not consistent, it’ll explode, sending coins all over your desktop. 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.

Do you ever find yourself sitting at your computer, toiling away in your e-mail box when those late afternoon hunger pangs hit you? This laptop out of Germany might help you get your blood sugar going. Nope, the Chocolap isn’t a functional computer, rather, it’s a fake laptop made from cardboard, and loaded with a delicious edible chocolate keyboard in the middle.

Okay, okay, enough about pac-man already, right? Wrong. Check this awesome custom made guitar by Ian Schneller over at Specimen Products. This sweet 25 1/2″ scale instrument is made of ebony, basswood, and maple with mother of pearl accents, and is finished in the happy familiar yellow lacquer of our beloved arcade character. Bonus: twelve blinking lights in the headstock controlled by a variable switch in the eyeball!

These USB flash memory drives get their inspiration from aluminum soda cans. While they won’t actually quench your thirst, they will store plenty of your files when you pop their tops. The miniature soda cans come in a metallic blue or chrome silver finish which does a great job simulating a shiny aluminum can.

This could very well be the best home arcade cabinet of all time. Not only does it include a fully decked-out arcade emulation system, complete with real arcade controls, it also happens to have a kegerator built in. That’s right.

I know, I know. The year is 2007 and I’m writing two stories in a row about Pac-Man. But I really couldn’t resist this one. Pac-Txt is a great mashup between the classic 1980s arcade game and Zork.

I’ve pretty much weened myself off of compact discs since my very first iPod, but for those of you who still enjoy your music in a flat, round format, here’s a unique CD player to listen to your oldies on. The Cathay PK-24 desktop stereo looks like a miniature grand piano, but when you pop its lid, there’s a CD player hiding in there.

If you wore one of those Casio calculator watches from the 80’s, here’s something else that just screams “I’m a geek, I have no girlfriend, and I don’t care.” The chrome calculator belt buckle lets you add, subtract, multiply and divide, all from the convenience of your waistline.

What better way to get your day going than with little chocolate donuts? Check out these little USB flash drives that happen to look like Homer’s favorite high-carb treat. In addition to the traditional chocolate frosting, they’re also available in strawberry (my personal favorite) and some weird green shade too (moldy donut?)

What better way to use a couple of old Macintosh computers? All it took was a little orange paint for the “pumpkin”, and a JPEG viewer application for the face. This is the best use for old Macs since the original MacQuarium.

With football season in full swing, why not arrive at your next tailgate party in style? This ride-on cooler not only speeds you along to your destination, it’ll keep your drinks and snacks nice and chilled on the way. This rechargeable electric scooter holds up to 24 cans of your favorite beverages, along with 8 pounds of ice right under your bum.