Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

Scorpion: I’ve never eaten one, and I’m perfectly fine with that. Actually, I prefer it that way. But for those of you who have to try every culinary oddity earth has to offer, Hotlix is selling these Chocolate Dessert Scorpions (affiliate link).

Presumably inspired (but also probably not) by the giant musical keyboard Tom Hanks plays in Big, YouTuber RKade decided to build the world’s largest keyboard, submit it for Guinness World Record recognition, and then use it to play a typing game.

Bitcoin mining operations are notoriously power-hungry and create a lot of heat in the process. So why not use that heat to keep you warm during the winter months with the Heatbit, a Bitcoin mining space heater?

Because who hasn’t dreamed of having googly eyes, Fred is selling these Chill Out cooling gel eye pads. You just place them in the freezer for 20 minutes, then lie down and let the stress slip away.

Cup Noodle: I can’t tell you how many I’ve eaten in my life, but if you take my college years into account, it has to be well over a million. Okay, maybe not that many, but definitely in the hundreds.

Because there’s a market for absolutely everything, the Cheetos Body Pillow is a neck/body pillow in the form of a giant Cheetos Puff. Unfortunately, it is not Cheetos scented, which is a misstep in product design if you ask me.

Because what Trekkie doesn’t need Star Trek-themed dinnerware, Toynk is selling this officially licensed Original Series Enterprise NCC-1701 8-piece ceramic dinnerware set. Made by Ukonic, the set includes four plates resembling the Enterprise’s saucer section and four bowls printed with the ship’s NC-1701 designation.

Because why should anywhere be safe from killer robots of the future, researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have gone and developed MARVEL, a quadruped robot with magnetic feet it can use to climb metal walls.

Crafted in the shape of a Jawa Sandcrawler, this massive 64-oz tiki punch bowl from Geeki Tikis is just the vessel to get the Mos Eisley cantina rockin’. Available from Toynk, the set also includes a 2-oz Jawa mini mug for individual sipping and is sure to be a hit at your next Star Wars-themed tiki party.

Constructed by brilliant engineer Shane Wighton of Stuff Made Here, Jigzilla is a jigsaw puzzle assembling robot that uses machine learning to determine which pieces fit together and where. In the video, Jigzilla tackles a custom 4,000-piece all-white jigsaw puzzle made by Shane and manages to complete the whole thing except for the very last row.

A perfect stocking stuffer or White Elephant gift, the Bookie Cushion from Fred is a small whoopie cushion designed to be squeezed between the pages of a book. Obviously, it’s most appropriate for books like Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind or Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury.

Speedfolding, the name given to a pair of industrial robotic arms coupled with a ‘machine vision’ neural network called BiManual Manipulation Network (BiMaMa-Net), can fold up to 30 to 40 garments an hour. The robot, developed by researchers at UC Berkeley’s AUTOLAB, can pick up a garment laid before it in any random position and proceed to fold it in about a minute or two.

Aliens: they are among us. And when they’re not busy infiltrating our society wearing convincing human costumes, they’re up in their UFOs abducting cows with their tractor beams. And here to commemorate one of their favorite pastimes is this UFO Cow Abduction desk lamp/night light.

Constructed and sold by Etsy shop BlessingsConcrete, this concrete Millennium Falcon coffee table features a top-down silhouette of everybody’s favorite smuggling spaceship. I mean, unless you have a different favorite smuggling spaceship, although I wouldn’t share that opinion with Han Solo or Chewbacca if I were you.

UK print studio Dorothy reimagined a bunch of influential video games in the style of an oversized stamp sheet, with each game displayed in a minimalist abstract style along with the year it was released. The artwork celebrates 50 years of gaming and features a lot of the most celebrated games of the past half-century.

Felt artist Lucy Sparrow went and constructed an entire McDonald’s restaurant out of felt, complete with a menu board, food items, a drink machine, seating, and wall art. Wow. Would I try to eat the fries?