Perfect for hands-on hobbyists. Foot-pedal speed controls free up your paws to do the real work. This one's for 120VAC devices, and ideal for machines using approx 200W or less. Measures 5" x 3" x 2-1/4" tall, with a 6-foot cord that plugs into the wall and a grounded female plug for your sewing machine, rotary tool, scroll saw, or, if you really make a lot of banana Daiquiris, blender.

No self-respecting number cruncher can afford to be seen without one of these fashion classics. We'll pick out (3) black or white vinyl pocket protectors in the traditional 5-1/2" x 3-1/2" size. Order quickly; It's only a question of time before these are seen on the runways in Milan.

Geology for those with short attention spans? The original Magic Rocks®, of course! Mix the solution in a jar of water, drop in the pebbles, and watch them grow into a forest of multi-color stalagmites. Growth starts in 10 minutes, is impressive in 30 minutes, and complete (up to 4" tall) in 2 hours. Extra credit if you can make it grow stalactites by gluing the pebbles to the bottom of a jar, then pouring the solution in and turning it upside down. Who knows? Maybe it will work. Comes with a set of marine decals to decorate the jar. Definitely not for use with living fish. For ages 10 and up.

Nice little pulley unit kit includes (1) pulley each at 50, 30, 25 and 20mm and (3) pulleys at 11mm, plus myriad bushings, a 3VDC motor, (2) belts and a belt guide, base, mounts and assorted hardware. Includes graphic assembly instructions, plus a couple of rudimentary drawings with suggested projects. It's a mechanical science project waiting for a home.

C'mon baby, light someone's fire with this magnesium and flint fire-starter kit. The 3" steel hack-saw-type blade and a 3-1/8" x 3/8" x 1-1/8" hunk of magnesium, with a rod of flint embedded in one long side, are on a keychain for carrying but are easily removed from it. With the serrated edge of the blade, shave some Mg into a small pile of tinder. Strike the flint with the opposite edge to spark the tinder-Mg's interest, and you're Prometheus.

These stainless steel tailors' shears are sized halfway between "Edward Scissorhands" and "my grandfather was a cutter in the garment district." At 12" long they're perfect for folks who do a lot of heavy duty snipping or are just tired of wimpy little scissors. And yes, please don't run with them.

Hold the bottom onion-shaped bulb of this 4" glass toy in your hand and watch the liquid (green, red, blue or purple, we'll pick) magically bubble up into the top chamber and keep on bubbling like the dickens, as your grandmother used to say. The magic is ethyl alcohol and physics. WARNING! The glass if fragile and the liquid is nasty. If you drop the thing in the kitchen it will eat the finish off the tile and permanently stain the floor, so don't let the kids handle this item unsupervised.

Smart campers buy glow-in-the-dark rope. You'll get (100) feet of 5/32" dia 7-strand paracord with a 220-lb working load, a 660-lb breaking point, and a nice light green glow-tone. Handy for not tripping at the campsite, and for rustling cattle in the dark, as long as they weigh less than 660 lbs.

Why does Roger always get the credit for the skull and crossbones pirate flag? We feel it is time to share and have elected Barry to the post because he just walked by the vast editorial department here at A.S.&S. (AKA "my desk") Our Jolly Barry flag is 3ft x 5 ft., black polyester with a reinforced edge containing grommets for flying. It has the traditional skull and crossbones in white with the added fillip that the skull is wearing an eye patch! Sail Away!!

Drop some coins into this dog's dish and watch him get all wiggly wacky with barely controlled excitement while he gobbles your change and stores it in the base of the bank. You add a pair of "AA" batteries because animatronic dogs don't eat Alpo®. Pup is 3-1/2" tall on a 5-7/8" x 3-1/8" x 2-1/2" base. We'll pick a pup from our litter of assorted mongrels. See it in action. Click

You will survive, too, just like Gloria Gaynor, and in the woods, even. But only if you have this U.S. Army manual, cleverly titled: SURVIVAL, Department of the Army Field Manual FM21-76. It's 287 heavily illustrated pages of techniques for staying alive (add your own BeeGee jokes here) including orientation, food & cooking, fire- and shelter-making, rafts, animal, insect and plant recognition, and much more. This is the 1970 edition, but staying alive in the woods hasn't changed a whole lot since then. In soft-cover.

Moms and teachers everywhere will thank us for stocking this 9" long slingshot that's made of a Y-shaped double-eraser plastic top on a #2 pencil. Get the proctor's attention during the SAT! Package says it proves the pen is mightier than the sword, and you could ask the other kids in detention if that's true.

In another triumph of good taste, let us introduce our first squirting toilet bowl trick. Measures 3-1/2" tall x 3-3/4" deep and shoots over (5) feet when some unsuspecting person lifts the little lid. Perfect for mom's birthday. And no batteries required!

How about three extra hands? This multi-purpose workstation tool has a large 3X, 3-1/2" dia LED-lighted magnifier on a 10" gooseneck (you add 4 "AA" batteries), a soldering-iron stand, cleaning sponge plus steel wool, a canister of flux paste, a pair of  alligator clips with ball-socket mounts on the ends of a 4" rod  plus an extra hand with a third alligator clip on a 10" gooseneck. It all weighs in at a stable 3+ lbs and has a 7-1/4" x 6-3/4" base so you won't need fourth hand to hold it upright.

From the world of gag gift boxes, this Hot Dog Homestead box has illustrations for a DIY house kit made out of (9) kinds of meat, including pate for plaster. Measures 11-1/2” x 9-3/4” x 3” deep and is meant to amuse folks before they open it to find their real gift inside. We here at the home office think you should pack it with, yes, (9) kinds of meat--for even more laughs.

Attention robotics boffins: Here's a nice, powerful 12-24VDC Mabuchi brush motor with a gearbox and pulley attached. At its nominal 24DC, it spins 45rpm, draws 280mA no load, and stalls a 750mA. 7.5 in-lbs of torque and is rated for continuous duty. Has a 3/4" long x 5/16" flattened shaft with a 4-5/8" dia x 5/16" wide (3/16" ID) single-sheave pulley attached, with a matching O-ring. The gearbox measures 2-3/4" x 3" x 9-1/16". The motor measures 1-1/16"dia x 1-5/8" long and comes with 7" leads and a 2-pin Molex connector.

These large momentary SPDT push-button switches are rated 10A at 125/250VAC and are mounted to a 2-7/16"dia lens plate with a 1-1/8" long x 15/16 - 2 shaft that comes with a plastic washer and nut. There's also an internal 12V 3W replaceable indicator bulb. Needs 3" of rear clearance. You pick a red, green or yellow lens.

Couldn't tell it from the glass variety by just looking. This plastic mirror with rounded corners measures 3-15/16" x 5-15/16". Comes with protective film on both sides. We're thinking kids, camping, or just a nearly-unbreakable travel item. Pretty flexible, too, if you like fun-house mirror effects.