USB Whack It

This may not offer the same whack 'em silly with a mallet satisfaction that you get with the arcade-style Whac-A-Mole. But for those who'd like to take a piece of amusement park classic home or to the office, this USB version is definitely a superfun replica. Instead of mole heads popping up that you strike with a soft black mallet, you tap your finger on each blob as it lights up. USB pinball machines next hopefully? Too bad this Whack It doesn't allow you to replace the heads with certain persons you'd like to rap on the noggin'. Though nothing a little ingenuity won't fix. As with anything repetitive, watch out. This game could get engrossingly addictive. That said, ready, steady, whack!

Via popgadget.net

Price: £12.49 (US$25)
Availability: At Gadgetbox
Device: USB desktop accessory
Specs: Powered by USB or battery, includes 30-second or 1-minute gameplay modes, LED scoreboard

Do the Weeble Wobble

Imagine this scenario. You've had, as the Beatles' soundtrack goes, a hard day's night. You get home ready to do bodily harm to inanimate objects. That's where designer Jin-Sook Kim's modern twist on the Weeble Wobble steps right up to the task. It's really a lamp, but it's also anger management in an airbag. Punch the bag hard enough, and voila, the energy activates the light. To turn it off? Well, no instructions on that, but a couple of high kicks ought to do the trick? Even the "lost in translation" instructions on the Weeble Wobble--"Punch! And then the light on"--adds a certain quirky modernity.

Via Yanko Design

Digital mousetrap will text you when it's done

Someone was bound to say it, so it might as well be us: A better mousetrap really has been built.

U.K.-based Rentokil is making the bold claim that it's invented "the smartest and most humane mousetrap ever"--and for good reason. This is no low-tech Tom and Jerry device, Tech Digest says, but a sophisticated digital system that kills the offending rodents in 45 seconds using infrared beams, carbon dioxide and toxic gas. And the "Rodent Activated Detention and Riddance Unit" (RADAR) isn't done yet: It will then send a text message to the owner, announcing the mission accomplished.

It sounds something like the mouse equivalent of the "Crustastun" to the lobster. Except, of course, for the use of its contents. We hope.

Via CNET Crave

Photo credit: Rentokil Initial

Full-sized transformer in China

CNET Asia blogger Rick Martin has posted pictures from various Chinese sites about two guys from Nanjing who built a life-sized Transformer robot. This 4.5m piece took the builders three months to make with parts from a Citroen C2 car.

This model doesn't really transform or move, but it's impressive nonetheless. In an interview with a Chinese newspaper, the creators said they are planning to build an even larger Optimus Prime in the future. That'll be quite a sight--and one we can hardly wait for.

Pedal Powered Lambo

If you don't have a million bucks, here's a nifty way to straddle between the haves and the have-nots. Go the Pedal Powered Lambo way, which basically translates to "How to get a Lamborghini for under US$10,000. Another designboom idea, this wire frame-inspired "fast" car teams wire sculptor Benedict Radcliffe with Ben Wilson who dabbles in pedal-powered transportation. Hopefully, the sum of the effort is greater than the parts because it gets a little drafty cruising the streets in this Lamborghini otherwise. Do make sure you have a really huge horn to toot on, just so you can overtake the grannies on their quadcycles.


Souce designboom

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