Zippo are famous for their lighters, so a Zippo Hand Warmer evokes images of hands on fire… now that’s heat.
That’s just my overactive imagination, fortunately, and all this thing does is keep your extremities warm, not burning. It’s powered by lighter fluid and you can use it on the spot, as it comes with a 4 oz. can. The important thing to remember is slipping it in its pouch, because you don’t want to know what hot metal and hands do when they meet.
So is it better than a crystallization warmer? On one hand, it’s more difficult to operate and needs to be refilled constantly, not to mention it’s pricey; on the other hand, it can keep warm for up to a day on a charge, which can in no way be matched.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide when and how long you need to defreeze, but it sounds good to me for long (and cold) trips.
How much under $29.99?
Some: $21.49 on Amazon.com.
Via bookofjoe
Most piggy banks are for children to save their pennies. But don’t give this one to a kid, unless you’re in the mood for some uncomfortable explanations…
Despite the name, the Sperm Bank isn’t for that, you dirty people; it’s just supposed to hold coins. Inevitably, it’s destined to either become a joking matter for the whole office/household or get studiously ignored.
To keep with the theme, it should be used to save money for articial impregnation or the children’s college fund. Too bad it’s too small for either of those.
How much under $29.99?
Some: $10.99 on Stupid.com.
Snuggling under the covers hugging a hot water bottle and watching TV is one of the best parts of the winter holidays.
While it doesn’t matter what the bottle looks like (it could be puke brown, if it does the job it’s good enough), these Knitted Hot Water Bottles are too cute to ignore. They’re made of rubber and covered in kitted yarn, and they come in two sizes and two patterns, heart and cross (perfect for Swiss people?).
The only rational reason to choose these over a regular water bottle is that yarn feels better to the touch than plain rubber… but the irrational reason is the strongest: they look so lovely!
How much under $29.99?
Some: $14.95 on Amazon.com.
Via CribCandy
One of the most fascinating things we saw in chemistry class was the way flames changed color if you threw certain substances on an open fire. It’s not an uncommon occurance – hell, it even happens while cooking – but it’s usually accidental, like when a pot happens to be coated in a funny paint.
For a little bit of impressive DYI fire magic, the Mystical Fire is the thing to use. And you don’t need to be in chemistry class to try it. Wherever there’s a fire burning, one tiny satchel can turn the flames blue, green or red for special atmosphere and lots of fun.
Funky Christmas fireplace, anyone? Or save it for next year’s beach party, but make sure you get enough satchels for a large fire.
How much under $29.99?
A lot: £1.49 on BoysStuff.co.uk.
Via DVICE
Love it or hate it, DeviantArt is one of the biggest art communities on the internet, even though an certain amount of the content would fit better under “junk”. But that’s not important now. What matters is that four of their lovely emoticons have become real, in the form of Emoticon Stress Balls.
^^, Oo, >.< and :| are here and all they want is to be squeezed by your tense hands... Since most people use stress balls simply as decoration, you don't need to be angry to want these. They're just so cute!
[P.S. I hope you appreciate the lack of jokes involving "balls" and "to squeeze". It was tough.]
How much under $29.99?
Some: $12 on DeviantArt.com.
Via Gizmodo
Looking through owl puke is science. Honest.
Owls have an interesting digestive system: two stomachs, one to do the digesting, one to store the things that can’t be digested. And since the bones have to go somewhere… they end up puked on the ground.
You can buy a small sample now. Subtly called an Owl Pellet, what you’ll be getting is a sanitized “pellet” thrown up by a bird (at least they took the time to clean it up a little). And it’s a complete kit, it comes with wooden probes for poking through the thing and a bone identification card to figure out exactly what part of your bird’s meal you got.
Science!
How much under $29.99?
A lot: $5.99 on ThinkGeek.com.
As far as gifts go, if you want to make an impression choose something customized. Something nice and customized, that is.
Fortunately, the Custom Silhoutte Pictures fits both criteria. For a special present (and nice decoration) just send along a profile photo of your husband, mother, son or even cat and artist Karl Johnson makes a cutout after it.
My mother actually had one done of herself (by another artist) and even though it might seem it will look out of place on a wall, the black cutout on white background is actually quite classy.
How much under $29.99?
A little: $25 for a 5×7 on CutArts.com.
Via Outblush
There’s things that should remain private. Like those nakes photos you took at that party, you know? But when you’re living with the parents or sharing the apartment with someone, a memory card left in plain view could be an invitation for trouble to waltz in.
And if you’re going to hide something, you’d better do it well. The Spy Coins are perfect for stashing small objects, and the Hollow Kennedy Half was made for the Micro SD card. As long as you don’t leave it laying around on the coffee table for people to notice it’s not a current currency, your photos will be safe.
If this is not the right size or coin for you… no problem, there’s lots more where that came from, for various prices.
How much under $29.99?
A little: $25 on Spy-Coins.com.
Via bookofjoe
The second most obvious phenomenon generated by anime (after a lot of money changing pockets) is an increased interest about Japanese language and culture.
But let’s face it, not many anime fans can actually learn Japanese. However, there’s an easy way of leaving a Japanese mark on whatever you want: the DIY Japanese Name Stamp Set.
There’s not much DYI involved, actually. You get a list of Hiragana characters and their English phonetic equivalents, decide on how you’d spell your name with them, slide them into the stamp and tada!
Why someone would want to stamp their Japanese-style name all over the place is unclear, but this is much easier than actually having to write it down.
How much under $29.99?
Some: $14.99 on ThinkGeek.com.
Emergency contact and info is someting potentially life-saving, but how many of us actually do something to make sure it’s easily accessible in an extreme situation?
Personally, I rely on the fact that anyone can call the number listed as “mum” in my phone. But that might not occur to everyone, and not all people can work a cell…
The Pocket.doc offers a simple alternative (or addition) to this method. Because yes, we could just write it down on a regulat sheet of paper, but people are lazy. This accordion notebook includes forms for critical emergency, medical and contact information, and since it’s the size of a credit card it’s easy to stash away and forget about it until you run into trouble.
And at $4… there’s really no reason not to get it.
How much under $29.99?
A lotL $3.99 on GetButtonedUp.com.
Via GearDiary
