BEST SELLERS

Rare earth magnets are usually killers for their size, and these thick nickel neodymium discs are no exception. The price, on the other hand, for (3) 7/16" dia x 1/4" 5-lb lift or (2) 15/32” dia x 3/16” 8-lb lift magnets each stored on a 2" dia steel disc, is a rare exception.

InkJoy is the Paper Mate® name for a particularly smooth ink, but it’s the medium 1mm points that make these so pleasant to write with. Measure 6” long with black ink and pocket-clip caps. Our each is a pack of (8) pens.

Or singing suppositories. The pair is very magnetic, whatever they are. The 1-3/4" long prolate spheroids look like highly polished black hematites. Hold them an inch apart in your palm, toss 'em into the air and listen to them make a sound like the cyber-crickets. Or an electrocuted chicken. The manufacturer suggests keeping these mega-magnets away from computers, pacemakers, TV sets and credit cards.

Start them out right with this (profusely) hand-illustrated, 96-page book: The Story of Inventions. Includes toasters, toilets, television, computers, cars, chocolate bars, dishwashers, pianos, flying machines, bicycles and blue jeans among many others. Includes a timeline, glossary and index. No age recommendations, but we like it for pretty much anyone.

These nice, chisel-tip black permanent markers are the standard style and size at 5-1/4” long, and they also give off the standard smell. We just love that new marker smell. Standard is fine, but surplus is divine! Disregard the “IDS” logo and phone numbers on the barrel—that’s why you’ll be getting a dozen of them for less than 8 bucks!

Gel pens and mascara—the two causes of smear fear. Cure the first one with this pack of (20) gel highlighter markers. They’re not felt-tip highlighters, but a waxy, crayon-ish filler that lays down a day-glo translucent stripe. You advance it by twisting the top. Manufacturer says it won't dry out, smear or bleed through. You’ll get (10) neon yellow-chartreuse plus (2) each in pink, purple, blue, green and orange.

If you can, we'll give you these (4) neon Sharpie® markers for under six bucks. if you can't, you'll have to pay $5.75. Either way, the markers--in orange, lime green, pink and alarming yellow--will fluoresce under black light. All have fine points and permanent ink.

Voted most likely to attract by the judges, this magnet has the relative strength of 10 men. A shiny silver 1/2" cube of neodymium magnetism, it packs approx a 15-lb pull. If our boss Pat were that strong he could lift 2,160 lbs! Besides its superpower strength, this beautiful cube also would improve the looks of your fridge or bulletin board to no end.

Now you can have a good, strong hook without drilling any holes. This plated magnetic hook sticks to any ferrous metal surface via a 2" dia alnico magnet with a 10-12 pound pull. Handy gadget to hold a tool, towel, broom or key ring (and if the ring is too heavy, consider throwing away the keys to your 1983 Chevy, and maybe a few more). The 3/4" long J-hooks have threaded ends and are removable. Our each is a package of (2).

These are very nice 48-page, 5” x 7” cardboard-bound notebooks with themes and some unobtrusive notes/formats that will be easy to ignore if you’re not a Starship captain, artist or astronomer. You pick: the United Federation Captain’s log has a date/location entry on each lined page and fold-out info on the back cover, like a warp-speed conversion table while the Stargazer’s notebook has 1/4” rules plus a lightly printed 3-1/4” dia circle with 30-degree markings to chart the sky, plus a fold-out back cover with an astrolabe and constellation chart.

Make a whole bunch of fun and instructive Lego® machines/chain reaction models like marble runs and mousetraps involving ramps, buckets, funnels balances and much more. Comes with (33) Lego® elements, (6) Lego® balls, a dozen paper props, and a 78-page instruction booklet for (10) machines. You add a few common household items. Includes suggestions for more complicated devices if you have your own Lego® pieces, and if you don't, what are you waiting for? Ages 8+.

50 Science Things to Make and Do is just that, a passel of experiments, all illustratively explained in two facing pages of this big 104-page flip book, and all easily done with common household items. Includes wind and water power, bugs, crystals, paper planes, rubber-band guitars, balances, gloop, optics and a ton of other fun, informative stuff. Officially classified as "cool" by several of our geekiest staffers.

OK, chicken plucking and how to build an igloo, but you could combine them if you needed to. How To is a book of wilderness skills with instructions on over (75) things you might need to know someday, including the two above, plus opening coconuts with a rock, sheep-shearing, crossing deserts (with the associated treating a snakebite), surviving bear attacks, starting fires in the rain, cleaning fish, tanning hides, and shoeing horses. Takes a nice, fun look at desperation in the woods. We've already used a bunch in the office.

"WE DARE YOU!" by Vicki Cobb is a 322-page book for children, filled with over (300) scientific challenges and experiments that can be done with ordinary household stuff. A savvy adult could introduce kids to science by betting them their allowance money on the afore-mentioned challenges, including making square eggs without using a square chicken, writing with potatoes, blowing frozen soap bubbles, and a whole bunch more.

The 5/32” bore in the center of this small plated neodymium magnet just makes it easier to mount. Measures 3/4" dia x 1/4" thick with a pull of approx 7 lbs. Works great with #6 or #8 flat head screws.

Add a door/drawer pull to any ferrous surface with this 1" dia x 1/4" thick neodymium disc in a polished sleeve with a 3/16" dia hole in a stand-off. Comes with a 1" slip-ring attached, and hangs on for 22 lbs worth. Plenty handy for hanging stuff from other stuff, too.

This plated N52 14,200 gauss neodymium magnet is shaped like a miniature silver ingot, measuring 1-1/2" long x 1/2" wide x 1/8" thick. Has a big hangonability quotient, which the manufacturer claims is 15 lbs of pull, meaning it's probably closer to 13 lbs. Impressive either way for such a cute little magnet. 

Beats us, frankly, but this black plastic cover, 1-3/4” x 1-1/2” x 1/4” (not unlike a tiny toilet seat cover) is hiding a really nice 1” dia x 1/8” (think: quarter size) plated neodymium magnet, with at least a 8-lb pull, inside. The mystery is that the cover won’t open unless you break it. The magnet grabs fine in the case or out of it. Tap it on its side with a hammer to crack open the case and reveal nothing but magnet.