Paul’s in love with these solar patio accent lights, probably because he’s charmed by Edison bulbs, which these resemble. Dual COB strips inside a glass bulb are powered by a solar cell in the base. The bulb and cell hang upside down in a 6-1/2” tall x 5” black wire cage, like work lights, with a handle. Has a sensor for auto shut-off plus a main switch. Picture a series of them hung from a wire over your deck, across your back yard or at your campsite, with no outlet needed. They also look good sitting on a table.

These assorted colored balloons come in packs of (25), and they should inflate to approx 9", which in our eyes is the perfect size for a balloon. You’ll get (3) packs for a total of (75) balloons. In case you forgot, balloons don’t go bad, so it’s always a good idea to have a supply on hand.

Then you might love these Pentomino and Tangram wooden STEM puzzles, or they might drive you mad. You pick the (12)-piece that fits in a 2-3/4” square and will reconfigure into (40) combinations, including a giraffe, elephant and butterfly; or the simple-appearing (7)-piece, also 2-3/4” square, that has (40) solutions including a swan, rabbit and dancing man. To save you from madness, they come with challenge cards that include solutions.

Santa and Tiny Tim? No. Rudolph, maybe? Not a chance. These are the delightful characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas, 2-1/2” tall hard rubber figures including Jack Skellington, Sally, Zero, Mayor, Oogie Boogie, Lock, Shock, Barrel, Scary Teddy and more. They’re all on 1” chains with a split ring, and we’ll pick (1) for you because then opening the package will be more like Christmas morning (but still the nightmare before). No one knows what you’ll get in this blind pack because the surplus gods will be choosing, not us.

Your long boring cable-tie nightmare is over. Celebrate with these novelty zippees. All come in six-packs and are 5-3/4” long x 3/32” with an 18-lb limit. You pick: the dinosaur ties feature (2) each of blue brachiosauri, green velociraptors and purple pterodactyls; the Star ties have 1-1/4” stars on the ends--(2) each in red, white, and blue.

Welcome to AS&SDOT, the better department of transportation. We provide all the highway, driveway, hallway, deck or bathroom crossing signs that the government neglects to post because they don't know what's really crossing your path. Mount your very own well-made indoor/outdoor critter-crossing sign. Each is metal, 12" square with a graphic depiction of the critter(s), realistic or otherwise, and each hangs diagonally from a pre-drilled 1/4" hole.

This little putting game is packaged as Toilet Golf, and includes a plastic extension putter, (2) hollow 1-5/8” dia golf balls, a tee, flag and hole, plus a 38” x 32” felt green made to fit around a toilet base. In the interest of good taste, and the memory of our golfing grandmother, we suggest that it’s a cute way to introduce a toddler to the royal and ancient game. But if you do decide to putt on the throne, be sure to employ the included “Do Not Disturb” sign.

You could be, and you don’t even need electricity. These extremely old-school pinball games use just (6) little steel balls and gravity, which is pretty much everywhere, as we’ve discovered. Measure 9-7/8" x 5-1/4" under clear plastic with a spring-loaded plunger and 15 ways to score. No electricity means no TILT light, so you can tilt to your heart’s content if things aren’t bouncing your way. You pick the Hi-Score traditional game or the Treasure Hunt game with undersea creatures.

Nothing says compact fun like rubber finger puppets. We recommend these for adding a touch of whimsy to parental or grandparental reading of bedtime stories. You pick a quartet of rubber cats or squirrels, in four different colors/breeds, all approx 2” tall and all cute as the dickens.

Each of the (6) diamond-coated carbon-steel bits in this set has a 1/8” shank for use in rotary tools. All of them are 1-3/4” long and include: a ball, cylinder, two sizes of cones, a spindle, and a point.

Little solder girls also welcome, of course. Teach a kid to solder with this AmeriKit® Learn to Solder Kit from Elenco®. The kit will result in a working two-tone and flashing Euro siren, and comes with a 25W soldering iron, a speaker, dual LEDs, 4” side cutters and a spool of lead-free rosin-core solder. Includes detailed instructions for ages 12+.

Let’s say you and your camp buddy go camping. You’re going to have a better time if you both have a Camp Buddy clipped to your pack. This super-handy 10-function multitool has a foldout knife, fork, spoon, whistle, mirror and magnifier, plus a white LED flashlight with an included battery, a compass, a stick sharpener and a tinder compartment in the housing. Measures a compact 6" long x 2" x 1-1/2". Ages 8+.

Pick up Norwegian Elkhound and you’ll have a pretty good idea what 50 lbs feels like, and you’ll know what you can check on most airlines. If you’ve misplaced your Elkhound (really? again?) your next best bet is to just get this digital luggage scale. Has a backlit 1-3/8" LCD display and will weigh up to 50kg/110 lbs. Includes auto-zero, auto shut-off, a tare function and an adjustable hanger, plus a tape measure so you can make sure you’re not exceeding carry-on size. The housing measures 4" x 2-1/4" x 1" and it comes with dead batteries so you’ll need a pair of “AAA”s.

Couldn't tell it from the glass variety by just looking. This plastic mirror with squared off corners measures 3-15/16" x 5-15/16". Comes with protective film on both sides. We're thinking camping, lockers, deserted island or just a nearly-unbreakable travel item. Pretty flexible, too, if you like fun-house mirror effects.

This handy little 5VDC 1.8A USB adapter has a folding, non-polarized plug, which makes it perfect for travel-charging, leaving in the car or keeping in your pocket as an emergency kit. In black plastic, it measures just 1-5/8" square x approx 1” when folded. UL. Note: This item will be available in stores on 11/1/19.

There’s power all around us. Surging like crazy. In many media. This is why we all need a multimedia surge protector like this 125V 15A 6-outlet surge protector, which will take up to 1500 joules with a max surge voltage of 6kV and a max spike current of 75kA. Has 400V protection between hot and neutral, and neutral to ground, and 500V protection between hot and ground. Also has inline coax protection and EMI and RFI filtering. The (2) sets of (3) outlets each can be tilted 45 degrees to the side. Indoor use only. UL.

Walking around with earbuds that don’t light up and pulse to the music? What are you, some kind of Luddite? These 1/8” standard jack buds have a 37" electroluminescent cord that will keep time while you boogie on down the street. Rechargeable via the included 9” USB-to-micro cord. Has call/music/mic modes.

Snap Circuits® kits are perennial faves here at the home office, and this 47-piece kit is an electronic honey. The most fun you can have without a soldering gun, and it’ll teach you about electricity and magnetism. You’ll learn how the electricity in your house works, and specifically how light switches control electricity, among many other things. Leads to more than (90) projects, and includes a 68-page profusely illustrated manual and a large base grid. The manufacturer, Elenco®, says it’s made for ages 8 to 108, but we’ve never tested it on anyone over 94, so we can’t verify that. You add a trio of “AA” batteries, which, conveniently, we can include in your order.

Special for bottlesquashers. This collapsible cup collection brings together your two favorite hydration intake problems for people on the go. Your cup of morning Joe and exercising on the go. Both are non-toxic silicone bottles. (In assorted colors) The water bottle starts out like a little squat barrel approx 5-1/2” x 2-3/4” dia, but pull up on the top and it rises to a full 9” tall. Flip cap has a screw-down lock, and there’s a carabiner near the neck to hang it from. Holds approx 17 oz. Our squishable silicone coffee cup looks like the takeaway cups you get at coffee shops, complete with the slide-up cuff that keeps your fingers from burning or freezing. Holds 10 oz and stands 5” tall x 3-1/4” dia at the top. Push on its head and watch it sink to just half its size. Must have for people on the move.

Plus it’s round! The How Smart Are You ultimate trivia set has (200) questions on little discs, split between science and nature, lateral thinking, number-crunching, and visual clues to catch phrases. All this in a 7-3/4” round box, roughly the same size and shape as your head.

Electronics. The best thing that ever happened to calipers. Save your eyesight and measure accurate outside and inside dimensions with this digital instrument. Powered by an included button-cell battery, it measures up to 6 inches in .001 increments or 155 millimeters in .01 increments. Hardened stainless steel, 9-1/4" x 3" OA, with a locking vernier, it comes with a nice sturdy storage case and extra battery.

Made specifically for attaching to pill bottles, this 1-3/4" dia magnifier has a 2X acrylic lens with a blue tint that increases readability. It’s mounted on a ring and bracket with a rubber strap to hold it in place on the bottle and keep the lens an inch above the label/instructions.

If a snow globe and a powered speaker had a baby it would be this tornado light show that whirls to the music, with Bluetooth technology. Makes us proud to know there are electronics engineers out there designing this sort of thing. This 8W unit has a rechargeable battery and USB charge cord, a 1-5/8" dia 70-18KHz speaker and an impeller. Inside the 3-1/2” dia globe is, yes, snow and red, green and blue LEDs that react to sound in a whirlwind effect. Has a micro SD card, a standard 1/8” jack, and 32-foot Bluetooth 2.0 capability. The whole shebang stands 7-1/4" tall on an approx 3-1/2" square base.

If so, you might understand this circuit board originally from an HVAC controller. Maybe better to have an artistic brainstorm and repurpose this pretty little thing. Might be fun to use as a part on a faux robot. (Fauxbot!) Measures 2" x 5-3/4" with a 2-digit alphanumeric display, (14) green LEDs, (9) push-button switches, a 12-pin connector with multicolor leads, and, because it is true surplus, no wiring diagram.

Stainless steel mortar and pestle set. Mortar measures 5-1/4” dia x 3” on a 4” dia attached saucer-like base. Holds approx 250ml. Pestle is 6-3/4” long with 1-1/4” and 2” dia heads. Nice for the lab, or for folks who want everything in their stainless steel kitchen to be stainless steel. You know who you are. And we salute you.

Neon strip cardboard spectacles with diffraction gratings as the lenses. You can see the regular world, but all light sources and bright objects appear in multiple rainbow hued images. The effect is a little as though the whole world were a giant hologram. Great stocking stuffer or birthday party item for grade school ages.

Shibusa Studio has miniaturized the business of table-top photography, which we do a lot of, and you should too, don’t you think? Their folding plastic photo booths have a 4-1/4” dia hole in the tops with an attached cover, (2) COB LED light strips powered via USB port or wall adapter that you supply. (We like these). Also have black and white foam backdrops, and fit into black canvas zippered carrying cases. You pick: the small studio measuring approx 11” cubed when assembled; or the large studio, 15-5/8” cubed when assembled. For 3-D photos, add the motorized white plastic photo-booth turntable. Measures 7-3/4" dia x 2-1/4" tall, and will spin approx 5 rpm when plugged in via the 5-foot USB cord. Rated to hold up to 11 lbs.

Chain down the deck furniture or tie up the pooch with this 7 x 7 strand galvanized steel PVC-coated aircraft cable (1/16" dia, 3/32" dia with the coating). Rated for a 95-lb workload, our each is a 500 foot, neatly spooled length. Buy it by the reel and you get the reel for nothing. Please Note:

Your entire order will ship standard ground when purchasing this item. Contact us for expedited shipping information. Thanks!

Get plugged in with this pair of jacks, one each: 1/8” (3.5mm) feminine jack to 1/4” plug; and 1/4” feminine jack to 1/8” (3.5m) plug. Both are TRS--tip/ring/sleeve--wired. You get (4) jacks in all, you lucky thing, you.

OK, they’re not from outer space--they’re from Mattel/DASH Robotics--but they are snap-together scorpion Kamigami™ (robot) kits. For added coolness, you program and control them via your iPhone, Android or Amazon Fire with a download-able app. They feature 3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope, an IR XMTR and dual IR sensors in a pre-wired drive-train housing with LiPo battery pack. Bots are made of sheet plastic and rivets, and will run, race, dance or battle lightning-fast, for a half-hour on a 45-minute charge. You pick the more realistic Scarrax™ model at 7” x 3-1/2” x 3” or the more futuristic Musubi™ at 12” x 8” x 2-1/2”.

Stick a coin on top of the fishy plate on this plastic coin bank and it triggers a Hiya Kitty inside to mew some cat noises, then peeks out and reaches out a paw to snatch the coin. The box, which is mysteriously made to look like an fruit crate, measures 4-3/4" x 4" x 3-1/2". You’ll need to add a couple of “AA” batteries but that’s the standard price of kitten cuteness today. CLICK HERE for video.

Pardon us if we don’t swipe right, but we’re just selling digital thermometers here. This one, from HomeMedics®, is 8” long but the 3-1/2” probe folds away and tucks into the 4-1/2” long handle. Readout is 1” x 1/2” LED display, shows -40 to 450F, -40 to 232C, and has a hold button to freeze display. Made for cooks, but because of its wide temperature range it doesn’t really care what or whom it’s measuring, heat-wise. Powered by a pair of common CR2032 batteries (included). 

It's small, as actual solar systems go, and you have to assemble it, but still…. You snap together this (not-to-scale) model of our solar system, paint it, and position the pieces. You get (6) colors plus a tube of glow-in-the-dark paint and a brush, the (8) planets (Pluto didn't make the cut, remember), and cardboard rings for Saturn. Sizes range from just under 1/2" for Mercury to the 1-7/16" sun. The finished model is articulated and stands approx 4" tall x 12" across on a 3-7/8" dia gray plastic base. Ages 8+.

"Screeeeeek! Screeeeeek! Screeeeeek!" Recognize that? It's the sound of someone sawing a styro-foamal block. It's followed by the sound of a vacuum sucking up hundreds of little foam shards. Free yourself from both with this clever electric hot-knife that slides through those chunks of craft foam like a straight razor through a ripe mango. Perfect for carving foam blocks into shapes - or smaller blocks. Measures 10" long OA with a 4-3/4" long, needle-like cutting wand, heats up to 410°F (so be careful), and makes screeeek-free and shardless cuts. Has a 7-foot cord, line switch, safety stand, and wall-outlet adapter.

From Robotikits™, these nifty kits are solar-powered (or halogen bulb-powered on cloudy days), which means: no batteries required. You pick. The ATV is a lunar-rover type buggy on steroids, with (6) wheels and a planetary gear assembly so it will climb up and over obstacles, powered by a simple pager motor. Finished model will be approx 4-1/8" x 3" x 3-1/8". Bring a pair of side cutters and be age 8+. The other option is the 7-in-1 modular solar-powered kit that lets you create (7) space-related contraptions, including an astronaut, space dog, explorer, rover, shuttle, space mechanic and space station. They’ll range from 2-1/2” cubes to 8-1/2” x 4-1/2” x 3” for the space station. Powered by the included micro-rechargeable battery, charged from the solar panel, or by (2) “AAA”s, but you don’t have to use them. You will need scissors and side cutters.

Don’t stick cotton swabs in anyone’s ears, even your elephant’s, although the largest of these will be tempting. Our each is a giant 325-piece pack of single-tip cotton swabs on wooden sticks and in (6) different sizes. The smallest is about what you’ve got in your medicine cabinet, and the rest range on up to the elephantine, 8-1/2” long with 3/4” dia swabs on the end. Were thinking artists, art restorers, auto detailers, electronics techs, gunsmiths and fussbudgets of all sorts will love them.

Safety Glasses-R-Us. Behold our cornucopia of safety glasses, all in variations on the classic aviator style with added side shields. Measure approx 5-1/4” to 5-3/4” across with polycarbonate lenses. You pick the black metal frames with dark lenses and shields meeting ANSI Z87.1 standards or the brown plastic frames with dark lenses and shields.

Or just stop worrying about the line breaking. Battlecord is skinny but megatough stuff. And this one is a 50-foot length of black cord rated for 2,650 lb test. Measures 1/4” dia with a 7-strand core and is rot, mildew and UV resistant. Made in the USA for Atwood Rope.

This carved and painted trio of wooden ducks came in from Indonesia (and boy, are their arms tired). Measure 9”, 7” and 5-3/4” long, respectively, and they’re made to sit on a mantel or shelf with their necks extended out and down, overhanging the edge, so they stare at you, as ducks will. You can even put them in a row if you want.

Snap Circuits™ has added Brics, their name for little plastic building blocks that are, luckily, compatible with those other little, inerlocking plastic building blocks you have. This award-winning 200-piece Bric Structures set has sheets and blocks plus Snap Circuits connectors, blinking and steady LEDs, a slide switch, a fiber-optic bundle, an incandescent bulb and a melody integrated circuit, along with adapter blocks to mate the Snap Circuits components with the brics. Has instructions to make (26) electrified models, including a house and a tower, on the 10” x 5” base. You add a trio of “AA” batteries. For ages 8+. Winner of Six Toy of the Year Awards!