Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

Because dreams occasionally do come true, a Sonic The Hedgehog themed LEGO playset originally proposed by LEGO Ideas user toastergrl (aka 24-year old Viv Grannell) has garnered the necessary 10,000 supporters on the website and approval by LEGO to become an actual product.

Tired of jigsaw puzzles featuring scenic landscapes? I swear, if I have to assemble one more beautiful mountain range at sunrise… Well for those looking for something a little different for their next jigsaw puzzle, how about this two-sided Chinese Takeaway Jigsaw Puzzle from Fizz Creations?

We all pay our respects in our own way, and LEGO builder and YouTuber Douglas Hughes decided to construct this kinetic Jeopardy! sculpture in honor of the late, great Alex Trebek. Featuring contestants Ken Jennings (most wins), Brad Rutter (most money won), and James Holzhauer (most records), the figures move and buzz in, complete with light effects.

Think a billion is a big number? Well by most comparisons it certainly is, but a googol (10¹⁰⁰) is so astronomically large that it contains 10⁹¹ number of billions. But did its ridiculously large size stop YouTuber Look Mum No Computer (aka Sam Battle) from building an electronic counter to try to count to it?

Inspired by the laws of nature, the Rippling Table from conceptual furniture maker Mousarris represents a single moment frozen in time. In this case, the ripples caused by a water droplet hitting a body of water.

What do you carry your gaming dice around in? I use a Ziploc bag, but now my dice smell like a tuna salad sandwich because reducing, reusing, and recycling is one of my passions. But maybe you’re fancy, maybe you require one of these dagger, axe, or crossbow dice storage boxes from Etsy shop GamePLA.

Do you have a beach-themed bedroom? Me neither, but I wish I did. And this XXL Sand Crab Floor Pillow handmade by Etsy shop BigStuffed would make the perfect addition. Just imagine that crab peering out from under the side of your bed, ready to grab your leg and pull you under.

Looking to protect yourself from airborne pathogens and being identified by Big Brother? Well, you’re in luck. With the Blanc full-face modular mask with HEPA filter. Nobody will know who, or WHAT you are, but they will know you aren’t getting sick.

There are good ideas, and then there are great ideas. And modder Robdp82 building a gaming PC (mostly emulation with some light e-gaming) into a 1984 Voltron Castle of Lions playset transcends even a great idea, and we can only hope when aliens finally visit earth this is the first thing they see so they don’t just immediately death-ray us all.

Do you have a hard time falling asleep at night? Is it so bad and specific you need a fried chicken-shaped pillow with an integrated pouch for your phone so you can play audio of chicken frying just so you can fall asleep?

A NASA rocket-themed lava lamp: like jumping off your roof with a fitted mattress sheet for a parachute convinced you’ll be able to walk away unscathed, it just makes sense. Available from Firebox, the out-of-this-world lamp costs $49 and contains blue liquid and red lava.

What do you get when you combine a Rubik’s Cube with mobile gaming capabilities? The WOWCube Entertainment System, a $250 gaming platform with 8 processors powering 24 individual screens that allows players to twist, tap, shake, and tilt the unit to play games and solve puzzles.

Do you know what my feet have been missing? A pedicure. My wife won’t even let me sleep without socks on because she’s worried I might make accidental contact. They’ve also been missing these Star Trek: The Next Generation house slippers, perfect for boldly going downstairs for breakfast on a Saturday morning.

As we learned from the movie Gremlins, if you’re going to bring a mogwai into your house, there are three simple care instructions you must follow: “First of all, keep him out of the light, he hates bright light, especially sunlight, it’ll kill him.

Jar Jar Binks: hands down everyone’s favorite Star Wars character, even beating out the space slug that almost eats the Millennium Falcon. And now thanks to the work of artist scadarts, he’s can also be everyone’s favorite fine art subject.

This officially-licensed backpack is inspired by the design of NASA astronauts’ classic orange flight suits, complete with mission patches. You’ll look like a member of the flight crew walking around with one of these – especially if you wear it with a helmet and some moon boots.