Archive Category: Toy & Video Games

Video Games In Legos

Posted by Jill Harness in Arts & Crafts, Everything Else, Toy & Video Games, Video Clips on June 30, 2009 at 12:14 am

This is a really creative stop motion video using Legos to play out our arcade favorites. Only 8 bit could look this good in block form.

Link Via Off World

 
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Garbage Pail Kids

Posted by Miss Cellania in Toy & Video Games on June 29, 2009 at 11:17 am


The Garbage Pail Kids were collectible trading cards created in response to the Cabbage Patch Kids. The gross-out cards are back in print now, with the seventh series available in stores. How well do you remember the classic Garbage Pail Kids? Today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss presents a “Who’s who” that will test your memory. Link

 
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There’s A Squid In Your Water

Posted by Jill Harness in Animal, Toy & Video Games, Travel & Places on June 27, 2009 at 2:46 pm

Bandai toy company from Japan has finally realized that bottles of water just aren’t cute. As Japan is the cute capital of the world, this just wouldn’t do. To fix the problem, they developed these adorable floating squids that can be added to any bottle of water. Thank god for Japanese innovation. Of course, they’re only available in Japan, but at least they’re affordable at only $6 each.

Link

 
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NES Controller Doorbell

Posted by Jill Harness in Home & Garden, Science & Tech, Toy & Video Games on June 27, 2009 at 2:18 pm

An intrepid Nintendo fan hacked a wireless doorbell together with a NES controller. It looks really cool, I just wonder which button actually makes the door ring.

Link

 
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80s Toys As Action/Horror Movies

Posted by John in Toy & Video Games, Video Clips on June 23, 2009 at 4:15 pm

Toy Movies

(Atom Films Link)

Toy Movies is a short film by Dan Meth. It’s a compilation of trailers for faux movies based on toys from the 1980s, including The Smurfs by Peter Jackson, ALF by John Carpenter, and Cabbage Patch Kids by David Cronenberg. Run time: 2 minutes.

Via Topless Robot

 
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Barbie Foot: Barbie Foosball Table

Posted by Alex in Arts & Crafts, Pictures, Toy & Video Games on June 23, 2009 at 1:31 am


Photo: designboom

French designer Chloe Ruchon took the manly game of foosball and gave it a decidedly feminine twist: she used Barbie dolls as the foos men!

Chloe’s table, Barbie Foot, was made in collaboration with Mattel and foosball manufacturer Baby-foot Bonzini. It was showcased in the DMY Berlin Design Festival 2009.

Designboom has more: Link - via Inhabitat

 
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The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

Posted by Miss Cellania in Science & Tech, Toy & Video Games on June 22, 2009 at 11:10 am


We’ve featured adorable subatomic particles from The Particle Zoo previously at Neatorama. Now they have a new item called the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation. This cuddly plush toy represents the residual radiation from the Big Bang. The perfect gift for someone who understands what that is -or someone who doesn’t! Link -via Bad Astronomy Blog

 
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Crayon Rings

Posted by Alex in Arts & Crafts, Pictures, Toy & Video Games on June 5, 2009 at 6:57 pm

What better way to teach your tots fashion sense and art at the same time than with these beauts? Behold the Crayon Rings, made by Timothy Liles out of washable (a must!) crayons.

It’s available at The Future Perfect, though at $50 a set, it’s more of object d’art rather than real toys for kids. Link - via Inhabitots and Yokiddo

 
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Planet In Action: Ship Simulator

Posted by Alex in Blog & Internet, Toy & Video Games, Video Clips on June 2, 2009 at 7:09 am

Wanna-be pilots have Flight Simulator, Microsoft’s iconic computer game, but what about those who want to steer a cargo ship? Enter PlanetInAction’s "Ships", an online simulation that uses Google Earth to let you get in touch with your inner helmsman and steer your own fleet of ships from barges to the cruise ship Queen Mary 2.

Link | YouTube Clip - via Kris Abel’s Tech Life

 
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Scrabble Board Game Photo Frame

Posted by Alex in Arts & Crafts, Pictures, Toy & Video Games on May 29, 2009 at 7:52 am

Do you have an old Scrabble board game abandoned because of a few missing tiles? (Or perhaps because you hate losing at Scrabble) Well, turn it into this marvelous DIY photo frame. Check out the instruction at Photojojo: Link - via DIY:happy

 
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Prisoners Smuggle In Stuff with a Toy Chopper

Posted by Alex in Crime & Law, Gadget, Toy & Video Games on May 26, 2009 at 12:21 pm

Remember the story of how prisoners in Brazil have been smuggling in cell phones using pigeons?

Well, that’s low tech compared to what these other prisoners did:

Four suspects were arrested late on Sunday outside a maximum security facility in the southern town of Presidente Venceslau in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state after the mini-chopper, 14 mobile telephones and the equivalent of 500 dollars in cash were found in their rented car, according to reports in local media.

Link

Note that this is also in Brazil: what’s up with that? Can’t they smuggle things the good ol’ fashioned way - in their butts - just like all other prisoners do in the rest of the world?

 
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10 Failed Toy Lines Based on Movies

Posted by Miss Cellania in Movies & SciFi, Toy & Video Games on May 20, 2009 at 8:42 am


Because Star Wars created a demand for movie toys (and none existed when the movie premiered), toy companies now make them available before they know whether the movie is a hit or a bomb. This makes for lots of wasted product when a movie tanks. Topless Robot has ten examples they should have seen coming. I had no idea there were action figures for Battlefield Earth! I want one, just for the kitsch value. Link -via Digg

 
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8-Bit Fatalities by Steven Lefcourt

Posted by Alex in Arts & Crafts, Pictures, Toy & Video Games on May 20, 2009 at 1:18 am


Image: TastyPaints.com [Flickr]

Steven Lefcourt of TastyPaints was inspired by the controversy over the violence in video games to create this set of 8-Bit Fatalities:

Before Mortal Kombat, violence in video games was largely unheard of or ignored because of its extreme pixelized simplicity. But when Liu Kang and Sub Zero came along to finish off arcade goers the world changed and parents were in an uproar (not mine though).

I couldn’t understand what the big deal was though, because as a videogame player all my life I had already considered my actions life and death. Just because you didn’t see pac-man violently tearing into the ghosts with his jaws, or mario smashing in the brains of a goomba, thats what I knew was happening. I knew my goal was to kill these enemies, so Mortal Kombat wasn’t a big change for me. To me, it was still just a game, where fake deaths happened as part of game progression. To uninformed adults, however, Mortal Kombat was a photo realistic depiction of kids becoming complicit in virtual murders. And so, I decided to show everyone just what I imagined was happening when these little blocky, pixelized abstractions did when they came into contact with eachother, but in a much more visceral, and gory way than could ever be shown with limited graphical systems.

I’m totally digging the Dig Dug fatality! Link - via kottke

 
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Transformers USB Memory Stick

Posted by John in Gadget, Toy & Video Games on May 19, 2009 at 6:47 pm

This 2GB USB memory stick transforms into the Decepticon Ravage. At the link, there’s also a laser mouse that transforms into the Autobot Grimlock and a USB hub that transforms into the Autobot Blaster.

Link via Geekologie

 
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Custom Bobble Head and Cake Topper: Get Your Own Mini Me!

Posted by Alex in Toy & Video Games on May 18, 2009 at 3:20 pm


Custom Bobble Head and Cake Topper - starting at $99

W00t! I’m happy to announce that we’ve started a new collaboration with Wendy Lee of One and Only Figures to bring custom bobble heads and cake toppers to Neatorama’s Online Store.

These custom bobble heads are perfect for weddings (as a cake topper), graduation presents, or even if you simply want a mini me figurine. These durable personalized figures come with completely customized, hand-sculpted face in poly-clay. Turnaround time is fast: just 2 to 3 weeks when you choose from the wide selection of the available body-types.

And yes, this one is a bobble head of Neatorama author Miss Cellania, who didn’t have the slightest clue that I made her one!

Link to all custom bobble heads and cake toppers | Graduation and Wedding bobble heads

 
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Tetris In Real Life

Posted by Alex in Arts & Crafts, Pictures, Toy & Video Games on May 18, 2009 at 2:35 am

Swedish photographer Erik Johansson of alltelleringet created this fantastic image of what Tetris would look like in real life.

See the rest of his creations here: Link - via Super Punch

 
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The World Outside of World of Warcraft is Now Superfluous

Posted by John in Toy & Video Games on May 11, 2009 at 6:40 pm

Gamers at MIT have built a self-contained life pod in which to play World of Warcraft. It features a built-in toilet, three days worth of food rations, fresh water, and a small cookstove. Thanks to these Prometheuses among us, it is no longer necessary to go outside or interact with people face-to-face. Truly, we live in an age of marvels.

Link via Geekologie

 
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Video Gaming’s Oldest Preorder Went Unfulfilled

Posted by Queuebot in Toy & Video Games on May 10, 2009 at 1:33 am

Blogger Mike Smith of plugged in tells the story of one gamer who placed a $10 preorder for the computer videogame Duke Nukem Forever - back in 2001!

Originally planned for a 1998 release, Duke Nukem Forever was to be the latest shoot em up adventure starring the iconic character Duke Nukem.  Its constant delays had become an industry inside joke, winning Wired magazine’s Vaporware award seven years out of eight.

Sadly, 3D Realms ran out of money and all work on the game was canceled yesterday. 

As Guardian games writer Steve Boxer told the BBC, “It would have been nice to see another Duke Nukem game, but given they had more than 12 years it’s just incompetence of the highest order…Sadly, Duke Nukem Forever was the most aptly named title in the history of games. Now, it’s just Duke Nukem Never.”

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.

 
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Pac-Man HotHead

Posted by Alex in Home & Garden, Toy & Video Games on April 27, 2009 at 3:00 pm

Nom … nom … nom … We’ve just gotten our delivery of these wonderful Pac-Man Hotheads pot holder / oven mitt. After years of chomping down on ghosts, Pac-Man is back for a new mission: protecting your hands from hot handles and piping hot cookie pans.

Link: Pac-Man HotHead - $14.95 | We’ve also gotten the Calf & Half Creamer back in stock

 
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Video Game Covers as Artsy Films

Posted by Alex in Movies & SciFi, Toy & Video Games on April 26, 2009 at 8:22 pm


Photos: cossix and daphny [Flickr]

Selectbutton forum user Daphaknee reworked videogame covers as if they were vintage art films. The result is fantastic - here’s the entire list: Link - via Wonderland

 
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Game Cakes

Posted by Miss Cellania in Food & Drinks, Toy & Video Games on April 20, 2009 at 9:49 am


CakeWrecks has a collection of really neat cakes that share the theme of classic board games, from chess to Operation! The Taboo cake shown was made by a 16-year-old named Melia. Link

 
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Pac-Man Runs Amok

Posted by Miss Cellania in Toy & Video Games, Video Clips on April 16, 2009 at 11:14 pm

(Daily Motion link)


French prankster Remi Gaillard creates havoc with a real-life version of Pac-Man. -via Metafilter

Previously at Neatorama: Gaillard’s Super Mario Kart.

 
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Missile Command Skirt

Posted by Miss Cellania in Arts & Crafts, Fashion, Toy & Video Games on April 15, 2009 at 10:46 pm


It’s the 21st-century version of the poodle skirt! Lenore of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories made a circle skirt festooned with a scene from the classic video game Missile Command. Instructions are included. This would be perfect for your next geek sock hop! Link

 
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Noodle Slide Makes Somen Fun

Posted by Jill Harness in Food & Drinks, Toy & Video Games on April 15, 2009 at 2:56 pm

This toy seems like one of the most fun toys ever made for noodles. Granted, it may be one of the only noodle toys ever, but how cool is it to eat your noodles from a water slide?

Link

 
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Monopoly Money

Posted by Miss Cellania in Money & Finance, Toy & Video Games on April 15, 2009 at 11:24 am


It’s a shame we can’t pay our income taxes with Monopoly money, the subject of today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss. Can you distinguish the denomination of Monopoly bills by their color? It’s easier if you’ve played the game lately! Link

 
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Giant Microbes: Cute Plush Toys of Deadly Diseases

Posted by Alex in Medicine, Toy & Video Games on April 13, 2009 at 1:54 pm

A few years ago, Drew Oliver got a Eureka moment. He was reading a memoir by scientist Richard Feynman. In it, the physicist wrote about being amazed looking at a water droplet through a microscope to see a microbe swimming about. This gave Drew a multimillion dollar business idea: a line of plushy germs for the scientifically-minded.

With the help of his brother, Drew launched Giant Microbes, which makes dozens of cute plush dolls of germs that cause some of life's most miserable diseases like ebola, HIV, flesh eating bacteria, ... and yes, even STDs!

We've recently gotten our shipments of Giant Microbes, so if there's someone close to your heart that could use a little herpes, mad cow, or even the black plague, here's your chance: Link

 
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Origins of 10 Classic Toys

Posted by Alex in Toy & Video Games on April 13, 2009 at 7:14 am

Last month, our very own Stacy (who just survived a freaky accident involving a downed power line - glad you’re ok, Stacy!) wrote a very neat post over at mental_floss about the background stories of 10 classic toys.

Take, for instance, Slinky:

Slinky was invented by Naval engineer Richard James. He knocked a spring off of a shelf when he was working to develop springs that could keep ship instruments stable in choppy waters. The spring did what a Slinky does… it stepped down to a stack of books, then to the table, and then to the floor, where it righted itself into a cylinder. James knew it would be a great toy, and tests by neighborhood kids proved him right.

Link - via i met a possum

 
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Minimates based on Hitchcock’s Psycho

Posted by jstruan in Arts & Crafts, Movies & SciFi, Toy & Video Games on April 9, 2009 at 9:26 pm

mother

This week is Custom Con 22, where toy customizers get to show off their latest creations. So far, my favorites are Luke Porter’s set of Psycho Minimates. Other particularly strong entries are Sillof’s Victorian Avengers and action figures based on the movies of Terry Gilliam.

 
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The Rattleback (Wobblestone) Phenomenon

Posted by Queuebot in Gadget, Science & Tech, Toy & Video Games, Video Clips on March 31, 2009 at 1:26 pm


[YouTube - Link]


A rattleback or wobblestone is an object with a smooth bottom that can be spun like a top. Unlike conventional tops, however, the rattleback has an asymmetry which gives it a preferred direction of spin. If spun in the opposite direction, it will begin to wobble, and then change the direction of its spin.

It would seem that if a spinning object changes the direction of its spin, it is defying the law of conservation of angular momentum, but apparently it is the rocking/wobbling motion that is converted into counter-rotational motion, not the initial rotation.

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Minnesotastan.

 
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Like a Good Neighbor, Who’ll Choke Your Kids …

Posted by Alex in Toy & Video Games on March 23, 2009 at 2:04 pm

File this under irony: State Farm gave away some 800,000 cuddly "State Farm Neigh Bears" to show what good neighbors they are, only to recall them because the teddy bears’ eyes could pop off and choke a kid.

Maybe they should change their motto to "Like a good neighbor, you know, the one who’ll choke your kids, State Farm is there." I kid, I actually have a State Farm policy, and my agent has always been nice to me, though I’ll be suspicious the next time I get a teddy bear from them ;)

Link - via Rue The Day!

 
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