Airport Security Decides 3-Inch Toy Gun Is a Weapon

This itty bitty plastic rifle was recently declared a "firearm" by airport security officials at Gatwick Airport. Which I guess makes the toy soldier it had been attached to an enemy combatant?

Ken Lloyd and his wife were transporting the figurine across country lines after having purchased it at the Royal Signals Museum at Blandford Garrison. Officials removed the rifle but let the soldier pass:

Lloyd said his wife had demanded "a reality check".

"The antenna was individually scanned as suspect and as the figurine's SA80 rifle was pulled from the box, the security search officer contacted her supervisor," he said.

The security personnel gave the three-inch bit of plastic back to Mrs. Lloyd, who promptly stuffed it in an envelope and mailed it back home—but not before the airport's customer service department X-rayed the package to make sure there were no very tiny bullets along for the ride.

The Watch That Comes From the Future

This spiffy watch is called La Clé du Time—the key of time. They should have called it Le Watch Batman.

It seems that Mathias Buttet—the designer for Swiss watch manufacturer Hublot—has found a stash of kryptonite and is decided to use it all in these new watches. Nothing is known about them except that its price will be on the high six and it will be officially presented this March. 

 

 

You Probably Shouldn't Use Your iPhone as a Ping Pong Paddle

Just like you shouldn't kickflip your skateboard grip-taped iPhone case, please don't whack balls with these cases. But, in traditional red, green, blue and black color options, you can at least display your team-colors for $30 here.

 

 

My Breakfast Could've Been So Much Less Disgusting

Milk jugs, useless. Milk comes in containers, sillies! But this jug is different: Usingscience—a pH sensor—it detects if the milk inside is sour. Which would've saved my granola this morning, truth.

The Perfect Turkey Timer

I love stupid single-purpose kitchen gadgets. Inserted into a turkey or chicken, this timer's legs pop up like a boner when the inside reaches 165 degrees—not 180, like most—for perfectly roasted bird. It's $13.

 

 

I Will Never Drink Any Beverage Called MeatWater

I think I'll judge a book by it's cover on this one. And right now, MeatWater—a protein-rich drink flavored like various meats—sounds like the liquid equivalent of a Dane Cook autobiography.

I mean, I guess we can congratulate Till Krautkraemer for creating liquids that taste like a poached salmon salad, thai beef salad, cheeseburger or Hungarian goulash (best seller!). But doesn't half the appeal of eating meat lie in its physical properties?

British Satellites Will Beam Info Down From Space Using Android Smartphones

The communication components in smartphones and satellites aren't all that different, except that satellite guts are better rated for external factors like temperature and impact. But one British aerospace firm wants to see how well a smartphone fares in space.

Wired says that the University of Surrey and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited are working together to create a satellite, dubbed the STRAND-1, which uses the internals from a commercial Android smartphone to handle all the communication and control, transmitting photos of Earth while it's in orbit.

The researchers are excited by the possibility of using smartphone internals because they cost a fraction of what aerospace-grade components would cost. The satellite, which is 11.8 inches long and weighs under 10 pounds, will initially have an on-board computer that monitors the smartphone components and make sure everything is functioning as it should. If all goes to plan, the satellite will go into orbit sometime this year.

 

 

The Mako Bike Tool Will Fix Your Bike and Fit In Your Spandex Shorts

A Best in Show winner at this year's Outdoor Retailer show, the MAKO is a multitool designed specifically for bikes. Which is good! Because I've never been able to figure out what I'm supposed to fix with my regular multitool.

Made of aerospace titanium, the MAKO comes with four 1/4" driver bits, 5 metric box wrench sizes, 2 spoke wrench sizes, and a bottle opener. Because it's not a mulittool if it doesn't have a bottle opener.

 

 

Show How Electric Your Love Is With $200 Rings

The electricity that courses through your body whenever you're together. The way you fit perfectly in her arms, powering you up. The voltage you feel as the relationship sours, when you stick your ring into a wall-socket.

 

 

People Actually Get Married With Those Lego Rings

There are real humans who use these Lego rings to tie the knot, for real.

Attach Lego Bricks to This iPhone Case

iPhone cases are pretty damn boring, they're like a wasteland of silicone and plastic sameness. Not this one! This case is awesome. The SmallWorks BrickCase ditches those tired materials for Lego, turning your iPhone 4 into a playground for Lego bricks.

It's only $20 on Amazon and works great with any Lego bricks. Go wild, the whole back and top of the iPhone is open for your creative interpretation. This is one of the few times where I approve of adding bulk to your phone.

Japanese Toilets Have Crazy Video Games to Play While Peeing

Sega has installed toilet games in bars and arcades across Tokyo. It's called Toylet and games include measuring volume of urine, measuring power of stream, wiping a wall clean of graffiti and even controlling wind to lift a girl's skirt up.

It sounds insane but also potentially awesome, the games use a pressure sensor attached to an eye level LCD screen for gamers to watch. Those who can pee hard and long will separate themselves from the soft and short. Sega says the games would be available to play only until the end of the month. Take advantage!

 

 

The Endless Chocolate Bar Breaker Probably Won't Keep Me Slender

I love that crunch-clink sound a chocolate bar makes when I break it in two before stuffing both halves into my mouth. Thanks to this simulation keychain, I can have that sound without any of the calories. Or the oh-so-yummy-taste.

It's the whole "not real chocolate" part that's getting to me, even if the keychain comes inthree flavors—milk chocolate, high-milk chocolate and white chocolate—so I think I'll just get some real chocolate instead.

If you prefer to pretend breaking chocolate with this trinket though, it will be available in Japan for about $7 per bar. If your obsession runs more along the lines of soybeans or bubble wrap though then you don't even have to wait and can order something now.

 

 

Sneak this $10 Keychain Tool Onto a Flight for Mid-Air Screwdrivering

Let's face it—you're probably up to no good with this keychain tool, which conveniently disguises itself as a key. At about a third of the price of a Swiss Army knife, it has eight handy tools.

That's three different screwdrivers, a pair of tweezers, a wire-stripper, bottle-cap opener, nail file and nail cleaner. It comes with a fake key which the tool hides behind, and a stainless steel key-ring. Just in case the user can't distinguish between a screwdriver and a nail file, the various tools' names are even marked on the key.

 

 

What Are 25,000 Ping Pong Balls Doing in This Tiny Apartment?

Recently some guy decided that perfect way to decorate his 90 square foot apartment was by plastering its walls with 25,000 ping pong balls. For some reason I think he was on to something.

Sounds and looks crazy, but somehow that strange design makes the place feel like the ideal spot for a quick break from work.

 

 

Put Grip Tape on Your iPhone to Never Let It Slip Again

If you're annoyed of your iPhone slipping out of your hands, here's an idea: replace the glass back with skateboard grip tape. Sure it might char up your hands but it'll never ever slip again!

Jokes and scratchiness aside, I think it actually looks pretty awesome. It's clean but still full of character. The guy who made this actually made the grip tape iPhone out of necessity, as he dropped his iPhone, breaking its back. He tried other materials first (silicone, sandpaper, etc) but eventually settled on grip tape.

 

 

Pie Chart Plates Keep You Eating Right (Or Wrong)

Portion control is the most obvious means to eat better, but how much is too much? ThisWheel of Nutrition dinnerware makes it as simple as putting food on your plate.

In Diet, Extra Ordinary and Super Size configuration, disregarding your health is as simple as shattering the proper strategic place setting—unfortunately, it doesn't look like the design is actually for sale.

Extremely clever, but the fact that each portion is shaped like a pie/pizza/cheese wheel slice won't help dieters one bit. So we'd better start growing celery and grapefruit in wedge form, stat.

 

 

Mobiado Sticks With Rivet-Like Buttons For Classic 712ZAF Phone

At least Vertu can point at its concierge service as one of the reasons its phones are so damn pricey. Mobiado can't even claim its phones are stylish.

Still, the Classic 712ZAF candybar handset is made from aluminum, stainless steel, sapphire crystal and a ceramic coating, so at least it can withstand being dropped when you're pummeled for being such an expensive jerk.

Don't expect much more than a 2.2-inch QVGA screen, A-GPS, 5.0-megapixel camera with LED flash and noise cancellation via the two microphones. It comes in six different colors—namely, black, black satin, silver, grey, blue and red, with the price not yet known.

 

 

Bottle-Opening Remote Makes Sitting on the Couch Drinking Beer Even Less Labor Intensive

Screw combining a phone with an MP3 player, this is the sort of gadget convergence that makes a real difference in life.

This Eraser Can Save Your Memories

It looks and acts like an ordinary eraser until you open it and discover it is also a USB memory stick.