DESK TOYS

You're buying the drinks and this wacky, yet debonair, bird with a top hat and plastic base (7" tall OA) can't get his fill of water. Get him started, and he dips his beak into your glass repeatedly. How? Fluid inside his glass body condenses from the evaporative cooling of the water off the bird's beak, making it top heavy and dunking it back into the water. The condensate rejoins the liquid pool in the bird's bulb, and he tips up again. Process continues indefinitely. It works, but it's not any more than moderately well made, and not any more than moderately priced. WARNING! The fluid and dye inside the bird can permanently stain, and the bird's glass body can easily be broken. Children are fascinated by the bobbing bird, and the educational possibilities are great. But they should watch him, not fondle him!! Manufacturer warning states this item is not intended for children 8 and under. 

No, it doesn't; it runs out. See for yourself with this hourglass full of iron filings. The steel base has a magnet, so time flies when the glass is on it, and the filings make pretty stalagmites. Stick a magnet on the neck, however, and you can stop time altogether. Glass is 5-1/2" tall on the base and filings run out in about 40 seconds (three trips make a two-minute egg) with the magnet, somewhat longer without it.

Newtonian demonstrator for science teachers. Mindless play for the rest of us. These are shiny, nicely balanced, high-performance examples of the classic Newton's Cradle - a ball on one end of a row of (5) suspended, barely touching balls swings into the others, and the ball at the opposite end reacts to the collision. The 11/16" dia balls in the all-metal frame 6-1/2" high x 4" x 4-1/4" will collide about 30 times. Awesome. Even more awesome that we paid someone to count the bounces just for you! (Unpacking note: Less awesome if you just yank it out by the suspension lines and pull a couple of balls loose. Be gentle.)

Interesting wire contraption that we played with as a child. A series of (4) tiers of overlapping and intertwined brass wire semicircular hoops are anchored at the open end to a pair of full circles. The whole can be shaped into a tube, double balls, a flower petal, etc, depending upon what areas are opened, which closed. A variety of colored beads on the hoops add a decorative touch. Fun, intriguing and decorative all at the same time.

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".

A real desktop mesmerizer. This 7"x 5" moving sand sculpture creates endless sand-dune vistas, and can be so easily flipped to start over that you need never go back to actually working. The sand is so fine it's nearly liquid; the current version is called Polar Dessert and is white and blue with a touch of black mixed in, plus a little glitter. Black metal base and frame brings the total size to 8"x 5-5/8". If Roald Amundsen had one of these he never would have left Borge, Østfold.

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.

Like the days of our lives, the sand in this glass timer is running out. This hourglass is a double teardrop shape with blue sand, and takes approx an hour to empty (nothing was certain in the pre-digital age, my friend), and stands 11-1/4" tall x 4" dia. Keep one on your desk and no one can accuse you of being a clock-watcher, or use it anywhere you'd rather not hear a beep.

Time was, these service bells were on every teacher's desk and the front desk of every hotel in the world. They're still a classically beautiful design, and they'll still bring folks running when you tap the little plunger on top. The shiny matte chrome bell sits on an enameled steel base and the whole thing is 3-1/8" dia x 2-1/4" tall.

Our each is a dozen gorgeous, glimmering glass gems, in a round cut in (12) different colors, including pink, green, blue, red, golden, white, and various shades of each. Think diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, amethyst, topaz, whatever. In a dark blue book-like presentation box, the Queen collection features (12) gems at 40mm across (approx 1-1/2” or tad bigger than a silver dollar) by 27mm (approx 1”) deep.

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.

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 (4) AA batteries you put in it wear 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.

Don’t be alarmed—this Inox® alarm clock won’t walk around your room while you’re sleeping. It’s a Robot Clock because it has a stylish robot look to it, round with (4) asymmetrical outcroppings, and it switches modes when you change its orientation. Measures approx 3-1/2” x 3-1/2” and acts like a clock with 2" backlit-like LCD display when it’s upright, a timer when turned to the right, a calendar to the left, and an alarm when upside down. Beeps intensely, which is good in an alarm. Has 12/24-hour modes, plus daily and single alarm modes. You supply (3) “AAA” batteries. Be gentle when you rotate it. Robots have feelings, too.

Another oldie but goodie. Approximately 6" tall evacuated clear glass bulb mounted in a black stand, 3" in diameter at the top. A four bladed vane is balanced on a needle inside the sphere. Because opposite surfaces of the vanes are black and white, incident radiant energy is absorbed or reflected to a different degree. The result is a spinning vane. The brighter the light, the faster it spins. Simple, but compelling. Brief explanatory instruction sheet included.

Our compact 4” dia globes have smooth dual axes rotation and measure 5" wide x 6" high overall, including the nice black stand they’re attached to. All show their features in excellent detail. You pick: the Moon globe, showing craters, seas, rilles, valleys, mountain ranges and landing sites of manned and unmanned missions; the Celestial globe with stars, constellations and celestial images by noted German cartographer Karl Harig; the Political globe with an easy-to-read map indicating political borders and capital cities; the Antique-Style Political globe, which is like the Political globe, but old-time looking; or the Satellite globe, which shows the landmasses and oceans of earth as they appear from satellites. A few different globes next to each other make for a really great display, but they’re all nice enough to stand alone.

Need some comfort? Want a prettier paperweight? These hunks of melted, smoked glass have pooled to approx  3-5/8" x 2-1/8" x 5/8" thick, and weigh about 1/3 lb. They're flat-bottomed with rounded tops, sort of like cool flip-phones that never ring. Bound to make you feel better.

Sculpt your own creations! Each set these magnetic sculptures includes a 3.5 x 2.75 inch magnetic base and assorted metal icons. Assortment of different styles, including acrobats, balls, celestial, money, nuts and golf. We'll send you (2) different in your pack of 2. Now go and get your Michelangelo on.

You've seen everybody's favorite desk toy. The one that makes you swear you can pick up the coin that's right inside it. Too bad it's really a hologram you're looking at! Now you can own this petite version of the popular "illusion" toy. This one, 6" dia x 2" tall, with a 1-5/8" opening on the top, leaves more money in your wallet and more room on your desktop. And try to touch that little rubber frog that comes with it. It's either enchanting - or enchanted!