Dave’s Cool Toys Blog

On February 7th, President Obama hosted the second White House Science Fair. 100 students from 30 teams showed their projects in various rooms in the White House.

The President viewed some of the displays and talked with students about their work, then spoke to all the students and teachers in the East Room.

After viewing the project of a Joey, from Phoenix, Arizona, President Obama wanted to see a demonstration of his air-powered marshmallow launcher, and he and the student, pumped up the gun and launched a marshmallow across the State Dining room.

What a cool president.

You can check out the White House Blog entry for this event here.

Via Gizmodo

Check out this post by a guy named Jamie. He has invented a cool walking robot toy and he’s looking for a name for it. You can leave your suggestions in the comments section of the video on YouTube and if they use your name, you will get a robot.

Jamie is a bit… enthusiastic… and, perhaps disorganized in this video, but it does look like a cool toy. Check it out.

Check out these great videos below. They feature Dicken Schraden and his kids, Mila and Korben covering Depeche Mode songs. Dad is awesome and talented. The kids are adorable and amazing. One comment I read on YouTube sums it up for me, "wait till these kids grow older and finally realize just? how cool their dad was."

Via Cubiclebot

Shains bracelet at gift fair in New York.

Dave’s Cool Toys will be going through some changes and updates in the next month or so. There may be times when our site is not available or the shopping cart may not be available to place an order.

If you find our site is not available, it does not mean we are gone, only that we are currently making updates and upgrades to the site. Check back soon and things should be back to normal (only better)!

Some of the changes to the site will be obvious, and some will be behind-the-scenes and our customers will not notice any changes.

Thank you for your patience while we make these upgrades.

This post will remain at the top of our blog during this time. Scroll down for most recent posts!

	The Wipeout track

There’s a video that caused some uproar online which appeared around Christmas of a very cool racetrack with two levitating cars racing around it. The cars, according to the inventors, are modeled after the vehicles in the video game WipeOut.

There was much discussion on whether or not it was real. It was not.

There are some clues in the video. For one, the inventors claim to be from the Japan Institute of Science and Technology, which doesn’t exists. At 1:15 the smoke trailing from the car overlays the walls of the track (very sloppy). They are never very clear on how they are controlling the cars. They use the name "Wipeout" at the end. And lastly, the credits say "(C) Copyright! All rights reserved belong to Sony Entertainment and SCE Studio Liverpool."

It turns out that the video was a viral ad for the new Sony videogame wipEout 2048.

Of course many folks felt deceived and cheated by the video. Presumably, they were planning on buying it. Not sure where they were planning on getting the liquid nitrogen.

But this video reminded me of an actual video that is in some ways more amazing than the fake one. This one is by the Association of Science-Technology Centers and it features a real quantum levitation track.

Below is the fake game video followed by the real quantum levitation video.

A slinky on an escalator. Nothing more to say.

Check spelling

	Medeival Pushpins to hold up your medeival stuff

The next time you need to pin up a notice at work, do it in medieval style with these cool medieval pushpins. Your notes are sure to be noticed when it’s tacked to the bulletin board with an axe! Each one is about an inch long not including the pin. They come in sets of 10, 2 each of 5 different axes and sword handles including a Sabre, Single Handed, Broadsword, Katana, and Axe.

The Medieval Pushpins are available on Amazon for $13.00.

	The 10th Doctor Tells a Bedtime Story

Nerd Approved has collected some videos of Doctor Who cast members reading bedtime stories for the BBC’s preschool channel, CBeebies.

Cast members include David Tennant, Christopher Eccleston, Alex Kingston, John Simm, Freema Agyeman and John Barrowman.

A quick search of YouTube turns up more Dr. Who bedtime stories, but they have put together a nice collection.

I must admit that I’m not familiar with the books they are reading. Perhaps it’s been too long since my boys were little, or maybe it’s just that they are books published and popular in England.

But the videos and the concept is wonderful and I wish we had something like it here. Instead we have The Disney Channel.

Here’s one of David’s bedtime stories not include din the Nerd Approved posting.

Via Nerd Approved

A day in the life of Monkey, a rescue dog. Adopt a pet – you’ll both be into something good!

	Legoman washed up on shore

A giant Legoman washed ashore in Siesta Key Village, Florida Tuesday. He’s about 8 feet tall and on his chest is the message "No real than you are." On his back is the name Ego Leonard and the number 8.

A google search leads to this website for Ego Leonard.

Oddly enough, this isn’t the first Legoman to wash up on shores. Three years ago, one washed up in Zandvoort, Holland, and one also washed up on Brighton Beach, England. This leads to the question "were they all released into the sea at the same time and this guy has been making the transatlantic journey ever since?"

A google search of the text on his torso leads to this website for Ego Leonard, which seems to belong to a group of Dutch artists.

The information on the main page of their website says:

"I would like to introduce myself:
My name is Ego Leonard and according to you I come from the virtual world. A world that for me represents happiness, solidarity, all green and blossoming, with no rules or limitations.
Lately however, my world has been flooded with fortune-hunters and people drunk with power. And many new encounters in the virtual world have triggered my curiosity about your way of life.
I am here to discover and learn about your world and thoughts.
Show me all the beautiful things that are there to admire and experience in your world. Let’s become friends, share your story with me, take me with you on a journey through beautiful meadows, words, sounds and gestures."

Below is some video of the most recent visitor to our shores.

Via BoingBoing

Since I recently posted about Google honoring Gumby’s creator, I happened to come across this video and thought it was very cool.

It was created by a London-based artist named Nicos Livesey. He creates them by making loaves of plasticine with intricate designs in them. He then slices them and stop-motion photographs them, creating these interesting animations.

Via Colossal

	Recalled Frog Mask

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of children’s frog masks sold at Target stores due to a suffocation hazard. Consumers should stop using the mask immediately. About 3,400 masks were distributed and are being recalled.

The plush frog masks lack proper ventilation and, when worn secured in place across a child’s face, it presents a suffocation hazard. There have been no incidents or injuries reported.

The mask being recalled is a green frog-themed mask with yellow and red highlights. There are two eye holes and an elastic band meant to secure the mask around the back of the child’s head. The label includes the UPC code 06626491474.

Consumers should immediately take the mask from young children and return the product to any Target store for a full refund.

For additional information, contact Target Guest Relations at (800) 440-0680 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.target.com

	Today’s Google Logo

If you visit Google today, you will be greeted by this logo shown here. The reason? It’s Art Clokey’s birthday.

You do know who Art Clokey is don’t you? Of course you do. He’s Gumby’s Dad.

Art first created Gumbasia, a stop-motion film, which let him to create Gumby and eventually an entire cast of characters including Pokey, The Blockheads, Prickle, Denali, and a few others. Gumby’s head was inspired by the hair of Art’s father.

Later, Clokey also created the Davey and Goliath series. (My friend, Rich, still uses Goliath’s voice to call me "Davey").

Art Clokey passed away in 2010 from a bladder infection.

Lots of Gumby Videos
are available for purchase on Amazon!

	Dollar Store Organs

I love the dollar store. A lot of the stuff they sell is stuff I wouldn’t spend a dollar for. But this week I got a great deal on Halloween decorations. In fact I may go back for more before they are all gone.

For just a dollar each, I picked up the two bloody organ meats shown here. I picked the brain and the heart, but they had other organs as well.

They are packaged in a bloody tray and shrink-wrapped complete with a humorous label. The label on the brains says “Bogus Brains. Suggested Serving – Braised Left Lobe with lightly sauteed fava beans”. The hears label says “Cheating Heart. Suggested Serving – Ice cold, single portion with a lovely green sauce”.

I purchased them at our local Dollar Tree Store. Find one near you and get your organ meat while they last!

UPDATE: I found these on Amazon, but the price is $9.99! Big difference. They have the heart and brain.