Smart Toys for Kids

Be Amazing is a cool website featuring the best in educational and interactive toys for kids. You can buy Instant Snow, a Blizzard in a Bucket, Magic Sand, a Singing Rod, and plenty of slime and instant worms. Be Amazing has also partnered with Mentos to carry their new line of rockets, geysers, and other products fueled by the chemical power of Mentos (inspired by the Mentos/Diet Coke viral video phenomenon on YouTube). Great ideas for your own kids or as creative party gifts.

Compostable Cell Phones

Researchers at the University of Warwick's Warwick Manufacturing Group have devised a novel way to recycle discarded mobile telephones - bury them and watch them transform into the flower of your choice. The researchers used a biodegradable polymer that looks and functions like plastic until it hits the compost heap, then begins to quickly decompose within 2 weeks. Embedded in a viewable window within the case is a flower seed which does not germinate until the case begins to break down. They're still working on how to deal with the inner electronics of the phone, but it's an interesting direction that many companies are considering as more and more consumers demand earth-friendly products. With luck one day we'll be able to turn disposable diapers into a field of flowers...

Evolution Pod Travels through Land, Water, and Air

If you were impressed with our last hyper submarine post, you'll love the new Evolution Pod, a flying pod that can travel on land, slide through water and snow, and fly thanks to a gliding parachute that acts as a highly portable wing. Presented at the 2007 Moscow Air Show, these one or two-seater vehicles are actually in production and available now starting at $7,200.

Hyper Submarine

A fascination with submarines led Reynolds Marion as a young boy to design on paper a fully-submersible river raft made of 55 gallon drums, in the hopes of building it for the Great James River Raft Race in Richmond, Virginia. The submersible river raft was never built, but Marion's fascination with submarines continued into adulthood, and today he has built the first Hyperbolic-submarine. The Hyper-Sub, is a revolutionary vessel that operates not only as a boat that can travel at high speeds for hundreds of miles, but can also be fully submerged in water for an extended period of time. The Hyper-Sub is the first small craft built with the horsepower, sea-keeping, and range to allow operation on the high seas, which also functions as a self-charging, autonomous, one-atmosphere submarine. Check out Marion's website to learn where you can pick one up for yourself.