Do you know that horrible, horrible feeling when you need some information and you can’t Google it? Whether you’re on the road, your battery is down, or that twisted girl with a a geek fetish that has finally accepted a date with you asks, in a lilting voice, about the Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures, only one thing can save you: The Pocket Ref.

Adam Savage from Mythbusters was amazed by this tiny handy book saying: “It’s got everything in it…” . And by everything he means from how to make glue or how to tie a knot to all math, science & physics formulas, metal hardness scale, first aid, car rental numbers and much more.

Take advantage of the 3rd edition and give it to all the handicraft lovers in your life. You’ll be thanked time and time again.

How much under $29.99?
Some: €11.99 on ThinkGeek.

The one thing babies do best is drool. Needless to say, all their toys have one common characteristic: wetness.

Parents who want to introduce their children to books from a young age will face a major problem: paper and water don’t mix.

But see… someone solved that problem too. Her name is Amy Pixton and she created the TyBooks – indestructible books made out of Tyvek that can withstand the wrath of any teething baby. Illustrated by Kaaren Pixton, these wordless books are both a fun toy and an educational tool for kids under the age of 2.

Three titles are available: Farm Charm, Creepy Crawlies and Things With Wings.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $12.95 on Amazon.com.

Via BoingBoing

I’m an internet user and that’s about it, meaning I don’t know much about how the internet works. I wanted to write about The Complete April Fools’ Day RFCs so I asked a friend to explain to me in layman’s terms what it’s about. I had to wait for about 5 minutes because he was busy laughing, remembering pther funny RFCs he read and laughing some more.

So, I think it’s safe to assume that programmers, network admins and the like will enjoy this. As for the rest of the world… Well, some explanations are probably in order. According to Wikipedia, RFC (Request for Comments) documents are a series of memoranda encompassing new research, innovations, and methodologies applicable to Internet technologies. The RFCs gathered in this book are the quirkier ones, such as Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP/1.0) (RFC 2324), IP over Avian Carriers with QoS (RFC 2549) and Debug networks with a rubber chicken (RFC 2321).

Even if you don’t understand the tech talk, you can tell by the names that there’s some funny stories in there. Unfortunately, this book can’t be entertaining for non-techy people, but those who understand what it’s about will be thrilled.

How much under $29.99?
A little: $23.99 on ThinkGeek.com.

Are you a hypochondriac? If you said “yes”, under no circumstances buy this book. If you know a hypochondriac… only give him this if you hate him.

The Complete Manual Of Things That Might Kill You has 190 pages of potentially lethal things. You get chronic diseases and life-threatening disorders ordered by symptom, information, treatment and – best of all – an assesment of the level of fatality. After all, you need to know if you’ll die now or later, right?

Sadistic little book. I love it. Good thing I’m not a hypochondriac…
(If you also like the idea of this book, you have to read the first chapter on Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat. It’s hilarious. Here’s a link to the Gutenberg version.)

How much under $29.99?
Some: $19.95 on WhatOnEarthCatalog.com.

Ah, another book for those parents who want to make their kids cringe everytime the teacher calls out their name in class… I hope no one actually takes this seriously, but I know I’m hoping in vain. The stars are giving their kids weird names, now why wouldn’t we? (Because it’s stupid, that’s why, but hey, it’s your kid you’re scarring for life.)

Anyway, this is the culprit: Sci-Fi Baby Names, the book. Luckily, it offers a wide range of names (over 500), some of which are actually normal, like James (as in James T. Kirk of the Enterprise). Of course, you could also choose to name your daughter (or even worse, your son) Barbarella.

Useful or not? Perhaps. At least as a fun present for a geek on the ‘your freedom ends now’ party.

How much under $29.99?
A lot: $10.99 (special offer), $12.95 regular price on ThinkGeek.