BEST SELLERS

Ten furlongs are condensed to (7) inches, with very small horses, in the Desktop Derby, a 6-horse straight track that lets you win money while you teach the children the evils of pari-mutuel betting. The electric track pulsates and moves the nags along at a pace of about 45 seconds per race, with heart-stopping lead changes. The best part is that they're un-handicapable: a different horse, in a different lane, seems to win every time. Measures 9-7/8" x 3-1/2" x 2" high and runs off (2) "AA" batteries, included. (Stable the horses in the base between races.)

We just learned that. You’d think we’d have known. Now we do. They’re sort of like round dreidels, with a hollowed-out middle around the stem, which causes them to turn themselves upside down while they’re spinning. Great lesson in center-of-mass instruction for physics teachers. Includes an explanatory booklet with activities and discussion topics. You’ll get (3) wooden tops at 7/8”, 1-1/4” and 1-1/2” dia.

But cute. The pangolin is the most illegally trafficked animal in the world, because people think pangolin scales cure diseases. It’s worse than having a rhino horn. They're nice little critters, actually, like armadillos with better armor, and they eat bugs and curl up in a ball when threatened, like so many of us. Our pangolin is 7” long x 3” tall in hard rubber. Football coach alert: this is the perfect mascot looking for a school. “Join us in welcoming the Fighting Pangolins of Northeast Southern Idaho State Teachers' College!”

AKA hand boiler. An exotic bit of hand blown glass with a bulb at top and bottom connected by some zippy tubing that spirals, loops, and/or jogs. In the closed system is some colored liquid (methylene chloride) that is very light. Hold the lower bulb in your hand and as the liquid is warmed it pushes through the loops to the upper chamber. When all the liquid is pushed out of the lower bulb, expanding air will bubble through the tubing making it appear that the liquid is boiling. WARNING! The glass is fragile and the liquid is nasty. If you drop the thing on the kitchen tile, it will eat the finish off the tile and the stain in the liquid will permanently stain the floor, so don't let kids handle this item unsupervised. About 7" tall, it is a favorite in our stores.

Well, if you had a crystal ball, you'd be able to see that there's a crystal ball in your future, and you'd know not to pass up this very, very nice glass gazing ball. It's 4-1/4" dia (and heavy) and comes with a footed dark-wood stand that spins smoothly. The stand is just over 3" dia. Together, the ball and stand are 6-1/4" tall. Comes in a presentation and storage box. The perfect accessory for your next fortune-telling gig.

And more. This accessory kit for smart phones (works with iPhone, Samsung, HTC, iPad, tablets and many others) has a 2” long clip-on bracket with screw-in macro, wide-angle and fish-eye lenses. Paul loves his kit and he’s our optics expert. Use the macro for insects, coins and diamonds. Fish-eye and wide-angle for great visual effects. Includes a little pouch to carry it all in, and tiny lens caps.

Note: Two lenses come threaded together to conserve space. 

This electronic keyboard measures a totable 16-3/4” x 6-1/2” x 2”, and has (37) keys, (24) demo songs, (92) tones, (2) tempos and an adjustable volume that pretty much goes from loud to really loud. Includes a mic, which you may have to fiddle with to make it work properly (surplus!), Then again, with your voice, you should probably stick to just pounding the ivories, which are plastic. Requires 4 "AA" batteries and has a fake LCD display sticker at the top for we know not why. 

May the ink be with you, at least for a while. These Star Wars™ tattoos from Disney are temporary, but this kit offers lasting fun. Comes with more than (100) assorted tats and stickers, from 1/2" up to 3-1/4" x 2-1/4", some metallic, some glow-in-the-dark, some collectible. All the classic are here, from people and creatures to words and weapons. Don’t like images on your skin? Make a collage and use the inner packaging as a backdrop. Ages 4+. Made in the USA.

We love NASA and so do you, or someone you love does. And with the 50th anniversary of the moon landing this year (July 20), why not show your support by sticking a bunch of classic NASA “meatball” logos on your stuff? You know the one--the blue sphere and white stars with the NASA name in white, a red chevron slashing through it and a white orbiting swirl wrapping it all together. You’ll get (15) logo stickers in 1” dia ; a 3-1/2” logo sticker; a 3-1/2” window cling logo; and a good, old-fashioned 10" x 2-3/4" white bumper sticker with the logo and the following phrase: “IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE! (OH, WAIT, YES IT IS!)”. Hard not to love that aerospace-engineer humor.

Spin this spindle and watch it turn in perpetuity!!  Well, for a long time anyway.  Inside the 5-1/2" long colored plastic spindle are magnets which are repelled by magnets in the 5" x 3" black plastic base.  The variously colored spindle floats in the air above the base thus virtually free of normal friction. Nifty desk toy named "Revolution".

Please note #91664 with flashing red lights was incorrectly advertised, that item is not available. 

It’s time for water balloons, and this packet of self-sealing Happy Baby Balloons couldn’t be more convenient or cool. You’ll be able to fill and tie (111) of them in 60 seconds. They’re called baby balloons because they’re small, about 2” long, in red, blue, green, purple, orange, yellow and pink. Ingenious filling system involves a water-source attachment and thin straws leading down to each balloon. When you pull the straws out, the balloons instantly seal with a tiny O-ring. Balloons and O-rings are 100% biodegradable. Each package has (111) total balloons in (3) bunches. You’ll be back for more. Ages 3+.

They could be finger puppets, but they could be hands in search of a mini manikin. Wherever they came from, they're 2-5/8" long in both light and darker toned flexible rubber, and remarkably life-like in a ready-to-shake pose. You'll get (5) total: (2) right; (2) left: and one of one or the other, we'll randomly select the skin tones. Some of us think they'd be an interior decorating breakthrough if you lined up (15) or (20) of them on the mantel.

When the fate of the earth hangs in the balance, you'll need a gyroscope. This “Avengers: Age of Ultron” gyro includes a stand and has a cord that you feed through the top and yank to spin it. Lights up briefly, but probably longer than James Spader. Measures 3-1/4" x 3-1/4" (the gyroscope, not James Spader) on a 6" x 4-3/4" stand, and it has an Avengers sticker on it.

Even if you're not a female flamingo yourself, you can still hatch an adorable hot pink flamingo. You’ll get an equally hot pink, 4-1/4" egg, which you immerse in water and wait a couple-three days while it hatches and grows to 8”+ tall. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Take Pinky out of the water and he or she will shrink back to egg-size and regrow endless times. (The egg, however, will be history.)

Bigger than a baseball across the top, this is one ginormous jewel. You pick a clear or translucent-sky-blue, 24% lead crystal, cut-glass gem. It’s 3-1/8” dia at the top, tapering to point 2-1/8” deep. Could be mounted in a stunning, but really, really, really big engagement ring.

Part of Dorling Kindersley’s Ultimate FACTIVITY Collection©, this 95-page, large-format paperback is chock full of fun facts, activities, pictures and more than (500) stickers for scientific tyros to stick on whatever they want to stick stuff on. The theme is "BUGS", and it's aimed at non-squeamish youngsters with minds for the entomological. It's a real "Insect-o-Fest"!

There's nothing better for long, lonely days than watching critters in the back yard, and this National Wildlife Federation® paperback, Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife, shows you how to expand your local menagerie beyond squirrels and sparrows. Includes (17) wildlife-friendly projects for the entire family in (168) pages with more (200) color photographs. Contains instructions on getting your yard or garden certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat, too. Be the first on your block to be able to say that at a cocktail party.

No need to wait 70 million years anymore. Satisfy your impatient paleontologists with this DIY fossil-making kit. Comes with (2) bags of air-dry clay, (7) acrylic paint colors, a brush and (3) dinosaur figures. Never too early, or late, to learn about fossils.