In Surplus World, it often does. That teensy error on the cardboard tag brings you this snazzy blue-speckled enameled steel coffee mug, the sort that legions of prisoners have dragged along the bars of their cells in legions of movies, at a price that is freeing. Maybe has a cowboy look to it, too. Holds, yes 10 ounces, and measures 3-1/8" x 3-3/16" dia.

And they’ll save you considerable drawer space. Our 4-piece set of stainless steel nesting measuring cups from Superb Chef have short handles to save space. They’re the usual 1, 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 cup sizes but with added smaller increments (incl 1/3) on the sides. They also have small spouts for pouring, and holes for hanging or stringing together if you’re into that.

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.

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). 

The biggest doggie don’t is: don’t leave the do-do behind. To that end, here’s a cute little plastic bone-shaped carrier for the bags, with a clip. Hook it on the leash and fill it with the included (80) standard-size dog-do plastic bags. The bags are printed with dog-related patterns--bones, paw prints, etc., which your dog will find funny. (Yes, dogs have a sense of humor; you just don’t get their jokes.)

We’re music-loving folk here at the surplus capital of America, so we like this high-quality, triangular, olive drab nylon case, originally intended to be a gun case, for toting your ukulele from luau to tiki bar. Padded, measures 22” long x 10” wide at the big end, narrowing to approx 4” at the bottom. Zipper on (3) sides, shoulder strap, outside 5” x 7-1/2” flapped pocket, and myriad slots on both sides. Also good for a junior fiddle, or some flutes and tin whistles.

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®.

Cases for mounting butterflies, bugs, rocks, fossils or any other three dimensional collectibles. Known as Riker mounts, these are sturdy cardboard boxes 7/8" deep, with glass glued into the front cover for viewing. They are filled with a fairly firm, white, expanded, synthetic, cotton–like material. The cushiony filler holds the three–dimensional viewee in place without pins or glue. Very handy for the proud trophy hunter. Our smaller is 8” x 12” and the larger 12” x 16–1/2”.

You need this keychain with a handy 3” long x 1-1/8” wide white plastic compass/thermometer combo on a 7/8” slip-ring. From the “Keychains With Purpose” line of products (our new favorite name), it’s made for folks devoted to being prepared. You know who you are, and so do we.

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.)

What we have here are 96-sheet, white genuine Post-It  note pads, 4” wide x just shy of 3” tall with adhesive strips on the top edge. Plus, for mysterious reasons, the samples we received have (5) pink capital letter Fs strung across the top margin. Just ignore them, unless your name is Frances, Fiona, Frank, Felicity or Fanny--or Fogarty, Fletcher, Fox or Fernandez, but don’t ask for a discount because they’re already cheap. You will probably get some letters other than F, too. That’s why they call it surplus.

From Scientific Explorer®, the people who start kids off right, come these self-contained kits for kids 6+. You pick: the Amusin’ Illusions™ kit with (26) optical illusions, including eye monster, penrose triangle, hole in your hand, dancing cube, mobius strip and many more, and comes with 3D glasses and a 19-page manual; or Fingerprint Science™ for budding forensic scientists, which includes a bottle of fingerprint powder, dusting brush, acrylic magnifier, tape tabs, (32) fingerprint cards and a 29-page instruction manual.

This 3-pack of plastic measuring containers does double duty as measuring and storage units, and they nest inside one another. Big one is approx 7” tall x 4” square, tapering to 2-3/4” square at the bottom, marked for up to 1000ml and 4 cups in the usual increments. Middle guy is marked for 500ml, 2 cups and 16 oz. Smallest one is marked for 250ml, 1 cup and 8 oz. With blue, red and yellow snap-on lids, respectively.

This tall, straight, clear plastic bottle is a flaskish shape, measuring 8” tall x 4-3/8” wide x 2-3/8” at its thickest, in an elliptical profile. Holds 32 oz and it’s clear, so you can fill it with colored sand or make your own “find it” game. Comes with a gasketed screw cap on a 13/16” ID mouth.

Special for bottlesquashers. This collapsible, non-toxic silicone water bottle (In assorted colors) is easily the cutest thing that ever held H2O. 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, comes in four assorted water friendly colors and is rated for -40 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Great for camping, hiking, mom-ing and kid-ing. 

Or pipettes, depending upon how you roll. These pipet fillers are chemical-resistant, 2-1/8” dia rubber with the traditional A, S & E valves. S is 7mm ID and E is 9mm ID. Squeeze A to evacuate the bulb, S to suck the liquid up, and E to release the liquid. Should be able to fill up to 25ml. Non-chemistry folks could just leave one in their bathroom and let visitors speculate about its purpose.

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’d call it the Scent of a Woman pack, but we don’t deal in gender stereotypes, so we won’t. What it is, is a pack of (6) 7ml (1/4 oz) amber glass, screw-cap bottles, 3-1/4" long x 3/4" dia with 3/8" steel roller balls in nylon sleeves in the mouths. Pop off the roller tops and use the included glass dropper to fill the bottles with perfume, essential oils, gin or anything else you’d like to roll on.

For your dog. These thick rubber chew toys will take some serious mastication. You pick: the faux bone has a squeaker inside, is covered with indentations and nodules for for added chew-fun, and measures 6-3/4" long x 1-5/8" dia; or the chewy rubber ring, 7" dia x 4-7/8" ID x 1-1/8" thick. We’ll pick one in either purple, green or blue because dogs don’t care and neither should you.

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.

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.

Yet another great Snap Circuits® kit, this one based on lighting and optics, with a bonus 3-dimensional circuit board. Includes (50) parts and over (150) projects. Special components include an infinity mirror; red, green, blue and white LEDs; 6-way gel wheel; photoresistor; and a diffusion lens. Parts compatible with all other Snap Circuits® kits, too.

Plug this cut-diamond-shaped, white plastic speaker into your audio player, and its internal amp and 3/4” speaker will go to work. Measures approx 2” across x 1-1/4” deep not counting the standard 1/8” mini-plug. Recharges via the included USB cord. (Charge for a couple hours before using, and adjust the volume, as it’s prone to clipping.) You pick red, white or black.

We’re music-loving folk here at the surplus capital of America, so we like this high-quality, triangular, olive drab nylon case, originally intended to be a gun case, for toting your ukulele from luau to tiki bar. Padded, measures 22” long x 10” wide at the big end, narrowing to approx 4” at the bottom. Zipper on (3) sides, shoulder strap, outside 5” x 7-1/2” flapped pocket, and myriad slots on both sides. Also good for a junior fiddle, or some flutes and tin whistles.

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.

You’ll need a little trouble light, and this is the littlest one we’ve ever offered. From iZoom®, it’s a compact 8-1/4” long with a 15-element, intense COB LED in a 3-3/4” x 2” reflector with cage, and a 4” long folding hanger. Has a disc magnet with a 5-lb pull on the bottom. Comes with a trio of “AA” batteries and is available in red, black, yellow and orange to complement its classic design. We’ll pick the color because you have enough to worry about.

Yes, your desktop is made of atoms (you, too) but this is a 7" dia chrome and black model of an atomic structure (Boronish, Paul says) that keeps on turning via the magic of electromagnetics, at least until the 9V battery you put in it wears out. Stands approx 9" tall on its base.  Ignore that "perpetual motion" on the box, unless you have a perpetual battery. Minimal assembly required, but a maximum person like you won't have a problem with it.

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.

Mini bells for bikes, not bells for mini-bikes, although why not? These smaller bells make the traditional ding! when you pull the lever. Steel, with plastic thumb-pulls and mounting rings that open to 7/8” dia. Put one on your handlebars, or adjust the size and wear it as a ring, so people will get out of your way when you’re on foot. We’ll pick one in red, green, blue or yellow.

Good clean fun for trips to the beach or pool. This 4-3/4” rubber shark has a small human foot sticking out of its maw. Give him a good squeeze and the leg pops out up to the shin. Quickly repeated squeezes make it look like the shark is having lunch.

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.

The Smithsonian knows dinosaurs, and now we’ve got dinosaur puzzles from them. Our 100-piece, 8” x 10” puzzles feature various images of the prehistoric beasts, including a dilophosaurus, stegosaurus, rebbachisaurus, mamenchisaurus and diabloceratops, or multiple dinos. We’ll pick (1) for you, because all dinosaurs are awesome. For ages 6+.

Is mighty bright, actually, and warm white. Our COB LEDs are 5/8" dia, mounted on PC boards that measure approx 1-1/8" x 3/4". Nominally rated at 32VDC up to 1A, with heat-sink backings. Best with a constant current supply, which will draw 170mA or use a current limiting resistor and a heat sink.

Because it’s a squeezebox, a toy(ish) accordion with (7) bisonoric melody keys and (2) chordal keys, plus (1) to release the bellows. Measures 7-1/4” x 7” x 4-1/4” with thumb and hand straps, plus a strap to keep it shut between performances. Perfect for budding, one-kid bands or, in bulk, for starting an accordion orchestra to compete with all of those annoying ukulele players.

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.

If not, you need this modern accent light. In brushed aluminum, this one’s a circular light diffuser with (3) dozen 3-headed fins. Measures 3-1/2" dia x 1-5/8" below a 2-3/4” x 1-3/16” solid housing. Housing has 2” leads and a bar mount. Operates between 85-265 VAC, so standard house current works but the light needs to be hard-wired. Draws just 1W for a warm-white LED. From Lumicon.

Tell them these are cell phones with only a one-number contact file, and with no texting. Your kiddlier kids still enjoy walkie talkies, and this Educational Insights set has a 300-foot range. Press the connect-disconnect button and the other kid has (5) seconds to respond and you’re both ready to talk at the same time. Also has a cricketish call signal and high/low/off switches. Units are 4-3/8” x 2-3/8” x 1-1/4”. All you add is the gum.

You’re bound to be able to read through one of the lenses on this triple-lens hand-held magnifier. You pick. There’s a large, 5-1/4” acrylic lens at 1.5X with a 1” dia bifocal on the left at approx 2X and a doublet in the handle at approx 7X. (Ignore the surplus-inducing mis-marked lens powers; we tested ’em and the powers listed here are accurate.) Has (3) white LEDs under the main lens for your viewing pleasure and measures 10-3/4” long . The other is the same thing in a slightly smaller size, 8-3/4” long overall with a 3-3/8” x 1.5X main lens with a 1” dia bifocal on the left at approx 3X and a doublet in the handle at approx 7X. You add (3) “AAA” batteries for the LEDs.

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".

A smaller version of the monster flood lights most of us can’t afford, this one’s rechargeable from iZoom with a 600-lumen 10W COB white LED with a 2-3/4" x 1-3/4" reflector in a water- and dust-resistant 4-3/8" x 3-1/4" x 4-1/4" with a padded 3-5/8" handle and adjustable 6-1/2" x 5-1/4" H-shaped base plus an adjustable mounting bracket. Includes a cigarette-plug charger and wall plug. Runs a little under 2 hours on a full charge.