Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

Because picking up poop is one of the least desirable aspects of dog walking, Toyota recently applied for patents related to a dog-walking robot that can even clean up after a dog takes care of its business.

These unique crash helmets are decorated in the style of a disco ball, handmade and sold by Etsy shop Disco2Disco. Each helmet features a retractable visor and is not VDOT approved for road wear. That’s a shame too, because how else are you supposed to let other motorists know you’re the life of the highway party?

Presumably a little drunk and inspired by how comfortable a dog bed looked at the time, University of British Columbia students Noah Silverman and Yuki Kinoshita developed the Plufl, a giant dog-style bed intended for human use.

Musicians looking for a practice amp might want to check out Positive Grid’s Spark Mini. It’s a compact guitar amp that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker. Honest to god, this is one of my favorite things ever.

Because you can’t even get married today without getting superheroes involved, ring maker Manly Bands has teamed up with DC Comics to produce The DC Collection, a line of superhero-themed wedding bands. Currently available rings include The Wonder Woman, The Superman, The Bruce Wayne, The Joker, The Flash, and The Aquaman.

Designed and manufactured by Fred, the BUFF BABY line of products appear to be exercise equipment designed for newborns. Of course, they only look like that, with the Speed Punching Bag (affiliate link) actually being a crinkle-filled cradle toy, and the dumbbell a toy rattle.

Because dreams really do come true, and that means nightmares as well, engineer Chad Etzel went and built the unholy Furbtroller: an Xbox controller modded using Furby body parts, including eyeballs and mouth for joysticks. I only hope by the time you’re reading this that it’s already been cleansed with fire and wiped from the earth.

Determined to win the costume contest at this year’s Halloween party? Look no further than the Skeletonics kinetic-energy powered exoskeleton – perfect for taking your Transformer costume to the next level. The next level being the 1st place pedestal at the costume contest, just so we’re clear.

Have you always dreamed of building your own wooden whale kinetic sculpture? Who hasn’t? It’s one of the dreams that unifies humanity. And thankfully, photographer and artist Sylvain Gautier documented the process in which he built this particular model, so you can follow along and build your own.

Crafted by car kit maker and Florida Man Mike Vetter, the ETV (Extra Terrestrial Vehicle) is a custom body kit that makes cars look like their gullwing doors are about to open and a bunch of bug-eyed aliens are going to crawl out with laser blasters to conquer earth.

Because Kidrobot refuses to stop taking my money, the toy company is releasing a $50 combo plushie pack featuring an LED-lit Borg Cube and Locutus of Borg (the Borg designation for Captain Jean-Luc Picard after his assimilation in 2366).

German artist Evelyn Bracklow paints tiny, realistic black ants on vintage porcelain, making the pieces appear to be crawling with the insects. Why exactly, I’m not sure, but they certainly make for an interesting conversation piece.

Because dream it and you can achieve it, modder Michael Pick (aka the Casual Engineer) went and built himself a custom MacBook Mini, which he considers “the world’s smallest MacBook Pro.” It doesn’t actually run iOS, though, instead, it’s powered by a Raspberry Pi 4 running iRaspbian OS.

The Pipersong Meditation Desk Chair is a desk chair designed for sitting cross-legged at your computer, so you can get your work done and align your chakras simultaneously. MULTI-TASKING. Not only is the chair suitable for cross-legged sitting, but also a variety of other unorthodox seated/kneeling/squatting positions so you can “activate your sit” or switch between numerous positions without the need for more chairs.

The DIY Tandem Shower by Boona is just that: a do-it-yourself solution to doubling your existing shower heads by adding another attached to a long rod. Impressively, the Tandem Shower has already far surpassed its Kickstarter goal, with more than $400,000 in funding past its initial $10,000 goal.

The Bauhutte BGB-100FA Electronic Gaming Bed is a motorized bed designed to be used with the rest of its insane line of gaming furniture (seen above, sold separately), allowing a user to adjust the angle of incline for both their back and legs to achieve maximum long-term gaming comfort (and presumably help prevent bedsores from never leaving your bed).