These 3” tall plastic robots aren’t actually robotic. They just stand there looking like robots, but pull off their feet and there’s a surprise ball-point pen sticking out of their little robot bottoms. We’ll send you one in robot-appropriate silver or gold.

Welcome to the science of fun, in which you make your own bubble gum. This kit from Edu Science includes gum base and confectioners’ sugar, a little flavored corn syrup and citric acid plus extreme mint, watermelon and blueberry flavoring. For ages 8 up to however old bubble gum blowers get.

Still good advice, no matter what you’ve heard. And much easier with this excellent 33-piece set of pointed brush-tip markers (black, brown, light and dark green, yellow, orange, light and deep purple and royal blue); 0.4mm fine-tip markers (light and dark green, yellow, orange, red, pink, sky blue, dark blue, brown and black); and (12) double-ended color pencils. The whole artistic shebang comes in a tray with a pencil sharpener. From our friends at Helix®.

Story of our surplus lives, mysterious stuff. This really nice, thick-walled plastic case is marked “Trendy Study Box,” and it has us stumped. Measures approx 8-1/2” long x 5-1/2” wide x 2-1/4” high. But then sturdy latches unsnap, and two trapezoidal trays swing out, each approx 7” long and tapering from approx 5” down to 1-1/2”. They swing on corner hinges are 1” dia, making for (2) extra secret compartments. In black and blue trendy plastic.

Not so little, actually, this lantern. In matte-finish white plastic, it stands 13” tall x 7” across and has a flickering-flame 25-lumen LED for you fans of verisimilitude. Kind of Paul Revere-looking, if you ask us. Has a slide switch and folding hanger, but will also stand on its base. Weather-resistant and the (3) “AAA” batteries are included.

The Alligetter is a pick-up tool that works much better than "You come here often?" Sorry--joke. This pick-up tool is for getting stuff that's stuck in the garbage disposal, an alternative to having your fingers disposalated. Translucent white plastic with a gatorish head and 2-1/2" long serrated jaws, a white LED for lighting up the drain, and a clever little device to spread those rubber drain flaps, it folds for storage. Personally, we think it's way too alluring to stick down a drain, and its real future is with imaginative children and invented games. Consider buying some marbles or playing cards. Or mini dinosaurs… Please note, the included (4) AG-3 batteries are getting old, may be corroded and in need of replacing. Check out our battery assortment Button Cell Batteries for low cost replacements. That's just the way surplus works sometimes.

It’s faux hurricane season here in Chicago, and time to break out our faux hurricane lantern. Regardless of the season, though, it’s great as an accent light in any room, back yard or camper. Stands approx 10” tall x 5” wide, in steel with an antiquey copper finish. Has a carrying/hanging handle, and a push-button turns on both a 25-lumen flickering LED flame and an 80-lumen bright-white LED. Comes with (4) “AAA” batteries.

Put your spare cookie change in one of these whimsical, kid-tastic fabric coin purses. Shaped and sized like a sandwich cookie, call it oreohydroxical, 2+” x 1/2” thick, there’s a zipper almost all the way around, with a little heart on the end of the pull because you love cookies. We’ll pick an assorted trio in chocolate, pink, purple or other appetizing colors.

Can’t beat cheap, and that’s the price you’ll pay for these standard, everyday, traditional two-pocket paper folders. You’ll get a 10-pack in assorted colors, which may include burgundy, yellow, purple, white and some other colors because the world is a rainbow of possibilities.

We recommend these zinc-plated steel L-brackets for bracing weak table legs or mounting lesser shelves, but you could also pass out a couple to anyone who asks for your brackets at basketball tournament time. Measure 4" x 5" x 1-5/16" at their widest, with (6) countersunk 3/16” mounting holes.

These translucent plastic three-ring binders have 1” rings and measure 10-1/4” x 11-5/8”. You pick the aqua color; the frosted white with a transparent sleeve on the outside front for a title/contents sheet; or the textured translucent white with clear sleeves on the inside of both front and back covers.

We feel your pain. Nothing says first-world tragedy like camping with no way to make kale/bacon/acai berry smoothies. You’ll need this rechargeable travel blender. Holds 16 oz and has a 4-blade rotor on an eye popping, 15K rpm, ice-crushing motor. Recharging is easy via an included USB/Micro USB cord. Measures 2-3/4" dia x 9-1/4" tall, and includes a safety cap for the blades, and top and bottom caps for the bottle. BPA-free and dishwasher safe, and runs for (3) hours on a charge. Non-smoothie drinkers can use it for making brandy alexanders.

With its own Kong. Our each is a pencil with a windowed pattern to (vaguely) resemble a skyscraper, plus a sliding gorilla eraser to climb up it. It’s what Fay Wray would have used to take the SATs.

From the U.S. Navy stock of unused Gob hats (no, we don’t know where that name comes from) or more familiarly “dixie cups,” in white cotton twill. We’ll pick from sizes 7 through 8-1/2 if you’re going for the Cracker Jack look, but if you turn the sides down like Gilligan, one size fits every noggin. Upright, it should be squared up for authenticity. Group discount available for drama teachers staging South Pacific.

Really. Our each is a 10-foot roll of 1/2” wide, self-adhesive magnetic strip. Flexible, too, so the craft, kitchen, classroom and cubicle uses are limited only by your imagination! (We heard that on an infomercial once--we really don’t know much about your imagination, but we always assume that is it vast and nimble.)

The world does not live by screw caps alone. These thick amber glass vials are 3-5/8" tall x 1-7/16" dia with a lip and 1-1/8" ID mouths. They’ll take a #16 cork, which we’ve included to save you time because we’re thoughtful that way. Made in the USA. Holds about 1.35 oz. with the cork, and about 2 oz. without. (That's about 40ml and 60ml, respectively, if you're into the metric system.) 

Just 3” tall x 1-3/8” wide x 1-5/8” deep, it’s in an acrylic case so you can see your work after you assemble it. Using Arduino®, it’s open source so you can make your own games, but it comes with an SD card with (3) games--Flappy Birdz, Tiny Shooter and Tiny Tris--with more available for download. Parts include pre-cut acrylic and all circuitry, including a 1-1/8” OLED (organic light-emitting diode), 3/16" joystick, (2) momentary push-button switches for control. Powered by a 3.7V 290mA lithium battery. The 1/2” x 1/4” speaker can be turned off for surreptitious classroom play. Also comes with decals. Requires just a screwdriver for assembly, no soldering.

How big are your locking pliers? This giant pair, in hardened steel, will grip the largest vices in captivity at 14” long with serrated 1-7/8” jaws that adjust from 11/16” to a gaping 2-1/4” ID. Tighten via an 11/16” bolt. Easy to locate, too, in a popsicle-ish lime green.

Light up your feet for safety’s sake with this pair of bike pedals with (8) red LEDs in each. Measure 4" x 2-3/4" x 1-1/4" with the standard threaded axles, and powered by internal dynamos (we really like saying “internal dynamos,” and now you can too) that will make the LEDs glow in either direction of rotation.Includes a free wrench for installation, and in case you weren’t paying attention in physics class, the left pedal is necessarily reverse-threaded.

Most likely. Luckily we have just the Brain Teaser to take care of that for you. This 2-1/2" green (or black) and natural wooden puzzle looks like a Rubikish cube but is actually more like a snake made from 3/4” wooden cubes and held together by a pretty elastic elastic cord. Unfolds to a zig-zag snake approx 14’ long and ready for you to reconfigure back into a cube. We’d show you how, but our brain has to remain unteased for copywriting purposes.

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!

Our medium-gray closed-cell foam comes in 14-1/8" x 3-3/4" x 1/4" thick slices with self-adhesive backing. You get two slabs, the better to pad something with.

This bright headlamp has a 45-lumen LED (which is bright!), and comes with an elastic strap to put it on your noggin when you’re biking, spelunking, mining coal or fixing that leaky pipe under the sink. Measures 3” x 2-1/2” x 2-1/4” with a pivoting mount. In orange and black plastic, and you add (3) “AAA” batteries.

Nothing says camping tragedy like having no place to hang your water bottle when you're stalking elusive critters. This 2-5/8" assorted colors aluminum carabiner has a canvas strap with a rubber gasket on it to grab onto the top of your standard water bottle with a 7/8" cap. This makes it great for biking and hiking, too. Also has a slip ring for sundry other stuff.

These brand-spanking new 12VDC motors are made to move automobile seats but are willing to change. They spin at approx 190 rpm, draw 1.5A no load, and stall at approx 25A. Threaded shaft is at a right angle and is 4-1/8" x 7/16". Shaft thread is non-standard, so treat it as a smooth shaft and mount pulley or gear with a setscrew. Measures 5-5/8" x 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" overall, not counting the shaft, and has power terminals opposite the gearbox with (2) 1/4" mounting holes opposite the shaft.

You can't start investigating crime scenes too early. This kids fingerprint kit comes with a 1" magnifier, ink pad, print-lift tape, a dozen fingerprint cards and the ever-popular dusting powder, plus instructions. For ages 7+. Dieting parent alert: nothing takes prints like a stainless steel fridge door.!

It’s a combo gardening and art set for the princess in your family. Comes with a 9” plastic dish, potting soil, (10) paint pots, (2) brushes, some pebbles, (2) resin mushrooms and the mandatory fairy house. Includes wheatgrass seed and beans, fabric flowers, glitter, purple pellets, plastic marbles, gems and a genuine poly-resin garden fairy. For royalty ages 7+.

No, it won’t ruin the grass, as long as you flood it with light. Try this rechargeable Solar LED floodlight from iZOOM® with (60) LEDs casting (300) lumens for 164 feet x 120 degrees. Measures 5-3/8" x 3-3/4" x 3" in a waterproof aluminum housing with a pivoting, keyed 4" x 3" mounting bracket and a 19-foot cord, plus a 6” x 5” solar panel with an internal storage battery and mounting stake, hardware and screws. Auto shut-off in ambient light and an 8-hour charge time for a 4-hour cycle.

Great little 12VDC oil-less diaphragm style air pump. For you techies out there it draws 40-300mA, 2.0 Litres/min, 350mm Hg max pressure. These are takeouts but in great condition. Outlet port is 5/32". Overall size 2-3/4" x 1-1/16".

This nicely made 13-piece file set has a dozen diamond-encrusted files at 2, 4 and 6mm wide x 1-3/16” long with 120, 180, 300, and 400 grit surfaces. They all fit nicely into a colleted 4-3/4” long aluminum handle, which is included . Go rub something the right way.

Well, lesser flack. Mount this clear plastic shield over the chuck of your rotary tool and watch it keep dust, chips, shards and other debris out of your eyes and nose. Measures 2” x 1-1/4” with a 5/8” dia barrel. Works great with our 92283 rotary tool.

We’re out of red; you’ll have to make do. These fluorescent yellow paint markers from Krylon® have a 3/16” wide wedge tip. Paint dries within 15 minutes, the same time it took the Music Man to meet Marian the Librarian at the footbridge, so be patient. Can be used on fabric.

The under-powered can opener we call it. This electric can opener takes (2) "AA" batteries but is as weak as the old "My dog ate my homework" excuse, so we suggest using it for parts instead of trying to open cans of soup with it. Or better yet, find a way to add another "AA" Battery. It has great parts either way. A six-way set of meshing gears and arms, a 3VDC 90mA/220mA motor that spins approx 5K (torqued out), and two-piece plastic case. Great for DIYers, hobbyists, small-motor heads or thin cans of soup. 

Teacher Alert! At this price males a great school project to show the inner gear workings of a gadget!

Light up your feet for safety’s sake with this pair of bike pedals with (8) red LEDs in each. Measure 4" x 2-3/4" x 1-1/4" with the standard threaded axles, and powered by internal dynamos (we really like saying “internal dynamos,” and now you can too) that will make the LEDs glow in either direction of rotation.Includes a free wrench for installation, and in case you weren’t paying attention in physics class, the left pedal is necessarily reverse-threaded.

Call it a gonzo version of our best work-light, this 4-5/8" x 2-1/4" x 1" cigarette-pack-size light has (60) white LEDs in a 3" x 1-1/2" window with a bright mode and a way brighter mode that would blind a turkey vulture, plus (4) more for a standard flashlight mode. Includes a flip-out easel, hook and a disc magnet. Comes with (3) "AAA"s. Manufacturer rates this bad boy at 900 lumens. 

Nothing really stops extraterrestrials, of course, but you can use this one to keep your leftover wine sealed, especially if you’re drinking in Area 51. Stick the green head in the neck of the wine bottle, push back on his little alien forehead and the bottom expands to keep it tight in the bottleneck.

Not for big fish, but for someone with a lot of dirty laundry or a bunch of unwieldy sports equipment to tote. In dark mesh, 54" long x 32" wide with a drawstring. Buy it for the coach or athlete in your life. Or for the launderer in your life.

Nice set of (10) sketching pencils from Reeves, 7" long, running the hardness scale, (1) each at 4H, 3H, 2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B and 4B. We like the 2B for our crossword puzzles and the included sharpener means broken tips are no longer an excuse to not finish them.

Actually, it's a set of (36) different little polished gemstones and minerals from around the world, all identical sizes (1/2" x 3/8" x 1/8" thick), mounted and identified by name and origin on an 8" x 10" card. Super nice at a super price, for teachers, designers or jewelry makers. The set includes amazonite, amethyst, aventurine, black obsidian, blue lace agate, buttermilk jasper, carnelian, Dalmatian dacite, dumortierite, fancy jasper, fluorite, gold stone, hematite, howlite, jadeite, lapis, leopard skin jasper, mahogany,obsidian, moss agate, nephrite, Picasso jasper, orange calcite, picture jasper, rainbow jasper, rose quartz, rhodonite, rock crystal, rhyolite, red jasper, snowflake obsidian, sodalite, serpentine, tiger eye stone, turquoise and unakite.

Turn the knob on this battery-powered lantern and watch the trio of 12-element COB LEDs go from nothing to 600 lumens. Measures 8-7/8" tall x 4-1/2" dia with a clear 4-1/8” tall window around the light, which has a folding handle and a bonus compass on top. You add (3) “D” cell batteries and you’re good for approx (6) hours, or more if you dim the light. We’ll pick one in red, blue or green because it doesn’t matter.