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See psychedelic patterns the safe way! Press your hand on this 6" x 6" sheet of liquid crystal and leave a print of swirling colors that, like the mood ring of yore, you can use as a sign of your mood. The pattern will blend and fade in seconds as the crystals react to temperature. Tiny liquid crystals inside the film-like material react to the heat of your hand, 25-30°C (77-86°F) by changing colors. As science, it demonstrates the way liquid crystal displays work. And you can cut each crystal sheet into pieces to incorporate into a science project. Or just leave it out for guests to play with when the party turns boring.

Go ahead—have soup, or stew, or anything gooey, without worrying about a spillage tragedy. This red plastic soup system measures 5” dia x 4-1/2” tall tapering to 3-1/2” at the bottom. Looks like a giant coffee cup, but with a gasketed screw cap that has a stubby fork and spoon cleverly hidden inside. Freezer- and microwave-safe, and BPA-free. Safe up to 200 degrees, but hand-wash only. Has a small tray and a divider inside, both of which you can ignore if you don't have a 2- or 3-part lunch. Try the beef barley, it’s excellent.

These pretty, and pretty small, polished semiprecious stones include sodalite, tiger eye, quartz crystal, aventurine, amethyst, red jasper, fluorite, and rose quartz, plus a bonus assortment. You’ll get approx 1/2 oz of each in small corked bottles, 7/8” dia x 1-1/2” tall. The semiprecious pebbles are roughly 1/8” to 3/8” long.

Zivko the Robot is back in stock! Our best selling STEM kit ever! Just call her (or him--it’s unclear and we don’t like to ask) “Zivko” because “the Robot” is her last name. Using just a screwdriver and side cutters, you build Zivko from this 107-piece S.T.E.M. kit. Set the mode for “Follow Me” or “Explore,” and Zivko will, yes, track you, or evade obstacles, respectively, via an infrared sensor and micro-controller programming. Interactive LEDs and sounds abound. Measures approx 5" x 5-1/2" x 6-1/2" when assembled with all (6) legs. You add (4) “AAA”s for power, which is the least you can do for someone this cute. Ages 10+.

Pop one of these roughly 1-1/4" dia stones into the toe of a sock, smash it with a hammer, and be the first person ever to see your real-as-Nature-makes-it geode!! Ninety percent of them have the familiar beautiful white crystals inside. Formed by volcanic action, they are found all over the world, but ours are from Mexico. There is no way to tell from the outside if they have crystal centers, but we will send you two just to raise your odds, and we haven't had a dud yet in our stores!! Much much more fun and satisfaction than buying one already cracked.

More fun than a canned ham, this flip-top storage tin has a train set inside, with a plastic steam engine, tender, boxcar and caboose, as well as a 12-piece track that forms a 10" x 22" oval. You add a "AA" battery and you're the engineer. 

Nothing screams HANDY! like Cotton PopUp wipes, little 3/4" diameter tablets that turn into 9" x 10" towelettes when submersed in water. Equally handy for campers, Navy Seals, toddler parents or anybody who slobbers a lot. They come in easy to take and store tubes, (8) per tube. so go out there and get dirty. They are made of cotton so they are perfect for cleaning in and around the home.

Cat lovers know litter boxes, but now, through the magic of modern design, we can all pull tissues straight out of a cat’s butt. Don’t act like you’re offended. Our Cat Butt Tissue Dispenser is a 5-1/2” cube (which fits a small cube tissue box) in super-classy golden yellow fuzz-fur with a cat’s head on one end and a raised tail on the other. Ironically, though, it’s you taking care of business every time you pull a tissue from that poop portal. Kitty’s gold and white face has whiskers and surprisingly realistic eyes. Lucky for you, they face forward so you don’t have to look at them while you’re ripping a tissue from that innocent little cat’s butt. The whole thing is 10” long overall, and if you can find brown tissue to hang out the back, we salute you. You think pulling tissues from a cat’s butt is gross? Wipe the boogers and snot off your face and then we’ll talk.

The smart cutters and choppers these days are using ceramic knives because they stay so sharp for so long, and who remembers to have their knives sharpened? Ours measure 7" long over all, with a red, green, or deep aqua handle, a 3" blade and a sheath. Don't go into the kitchen without one. Slice, dice, chop and mince, and forget about sharpening. Like you always do.

Let's cut to the chase here -- buy these the first time you read this, or they're going to be gone! There aren't that many of these flexible chopping mats, and the versatile 15" x 12" x 0.024" thick mats are not only ideal for small kitchens where every inch counts, they're great for any kitchen, and for cookouts, camping and picnics. Our each is a set of (2) of the translucent Euro-look mats that protect countertops from sharp knives and fresh-from-the-oven cookies, and protect food from outdoor surfaces. They can be lifted and slightly folded to funnel chopped food neatly into a pot. They're dishwasher safe, and roll up for portage or storage.

OUR SURPIE POLICE SAY: Due to our sale pricing MAX ORDER QUANTITY IS (5) Per Order. Any more and your order will fail in the shopping cart.

It’s back. Once upon a carnival, the bamboo back scratcher was the prize every kid came home with and there wasn’t an unscratched back in America--unless the kid came home with a goldfish, which are worthless for scratching backs. Now you can return to those thrilling days of yesteryear with our high-quality, 19” long bamboo back scratcher. Style may vary, but the relief your back feels won't, and you don’t even have to go to a carnival to get it. 

Forget watchmaking, you could write "A Tale of Two Cities" on a piece of tortellini with this triple magnifier visor. Magnifies from 1.8X to 4.8X. Has a flip-down 1.9X lens and a flip-down 4.5X loupe, plus dual white LEDs in a pivoting mount, powered by (2) "AAA" batteries each, not included. The whole thing is in a black plastic visor, 7-3/4" wide x 5-1/4" deep with a flexible plastic strap and adjustable dial control. Opens to 9" max dia, and has coated acrylic lenses. Now then: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....

It’s a ninefer. This 6” long x 1/2” hex ball-point pen has a rubber stylus at the other end, which unscrews to reveal a tiny driver with both small Phillips and regular heads, while the shaft has a little bubble level and (4) rulers: 0-4” x 1/16”; 0-10cm x 1mm; and both 1/200mm and 1/300mm rulers. The ninth part is our name on the side, so you remember where the coolest stuff comes from. Plus it’s in the ruler shade of yellow, with a pocket clip. (Sorry, no laser.) Need more ink? Our refill pack is a set of (2) black and (2) blue cartridges. Just pull out the silver knurled tip of the pen to screw in a new ink cartridge and your Great American Novel will be finished in no time.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!! Mystery boxes of stuff like what you see in the catalog. Maybe we had a little left but not enough to continue the listing. Maybe we only got a few as part of an odd lot. Maybe we lost some, and just found them in the warehouse. You will get items which originally listed for at least $25.00 total in our catalog (or would have, if we had enough). You pick. The “electro-mechanical” box has things like motors, switches, hardware and components that are useful parts but want to be worked into something bigger. The “consumer” box has more ready-to-go type items, and things that don’t have as technical a flavor, like bottles, toys, books, and giant rubber bands. The fun is in the mystery and surprise. Perfect if you don’t know what to give Aunt Maude and Uncle Ned, or if you can’t decide how to bring your order up to the minimum. Every couple of months the contents will keep changing, so even if you have gotten a box before, feel free to order again! (Please note: Ordering multiple boxes at the same time will result in duplicate items.)

You can only carry so much bottled water in the woods. Campers and preppers alike will want this water purification tube, eminently backpackable at 9" long x 1" dia x an ultralight (2) ounces. Called the Water Washer, its microfiltration membrane is good for 1,000 liters. Meets EPA and U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards, and filters out 99.9% of waterborne protozoa and 99.9999% of bacteria, including E. coli and salmonella. No batteries, no BPA, no chemicals, no aftertaste, and no reason to go into the wild without one. Or two.

Da Mare could use this to point out cracks in the infrastructure at Wrigley Field. You, having a forgiving nature, will resist the urge to point out cracks in da mayor's infrastructure. You will, of course, use it to point out chimney cracks to the tuck-pointer, a cracked limb to the tree-trimmer, and the crack in your profit picture during a slide presentation. You can do all that and much, much more with the highly visible bright light from this <1mW green laser pointer. It's an unbelievable tool. If you need a laser pointer that seems to go on forever and is so strong that you can actually see the beam in the dark, it will be the best low-cost investment you ever made. Or the coolest high-end toy. The 532nm (+/-10) Class II light is 5-5/8" long x 1/2" dia, with (2) "AAA" batteries (not included), a momentary-on switch, pocket clip. An absolute necessity for astronomy, construction, surveying, warehousing, inspection and other large sites. And for playing in the dark.

Pickles, tamales, red cabbage and the like keep getting tougher to open, so why not give yourself a little help with this (4)-size jar opener? It’s (2)-sided with one side handling 1-1/2” and 2” lids, and the other opening the 2-1/4” and 3" lids. The handle provides you with extra leverage, and a comfortable grip. Comes in an attractive red and gray, and it’s easy to store.

Think scarecat, like scarecrow. This black cat is an outline cut from sheet metal with green cats’-eye marbles for eyes. Cat’s-eye marbles for eyes! Measures 14” long with the tail x 6-3/4” tall. Has a small hole in the upper back, and (2) in the middle feet for mounting, but could also be stuck into the ground. Made to frighten varmints, and while we didn't have any critters to test it on, it did make our copywriter noticeably uncomfortable.