fish

Physics-defying fish tank is a disaster waiting to happen

Over in Japan, the Oita Marine Center features a funky fish tank that seemingly defies the laws of gravity, matter, and sensibility: thanks to some vacuum technology, the fishies can swim "out" of the tank so that you can feed them, pat them, etc.

Cool, yes, but this would be an absolute atrocity if anything went wrong. Those poor fish! Though I must say, some hilarity would certainly ensue if water started randomly spewing out all over a crowd of unsuspecting aquarium patrons. But still...those poor fish!

(Via Geekologie)

Robot fish looks more like chum

As pet robots go, we can't exactly say this one is the cutest or cuddliest. In fact, we can't even say what it looks like at all, except for maybe a giant shark tooth.

But to hear the Taiwanese Industrial Technology Research Institute tell it, this is actually a robotic fish with the unlikely name of "POPO," according to I4U News. POPO can reportedly swim on its own for 24 hours on its rechargeable batteries without bumping into things because of its ultrasound system.

That's all well and good, but we think they could have … Read more

Will the FishCam catch you a delicious bass?

Remember that bird-watching gizmo that interprets bird calls for you? I could've sworn it would be considered anathema to the whole raison d'etre of the pastime. But then one of our editors, Harry Fuller, who happens to be really serious about bird-watching, said that it was actually a cool device. So maybe I'm wrong when I think that certain classic professions are being corrupted by geeky gadgets.

Nevertheless, I think this one is a little much. Called the FishCam, this device is a $362 souped-up fishing rod with a camera attached to the line so that you … Read more

They're shaped like 'fish.' They change colors. And they're speakers.

In my opinion, the Happy Fish Speakers don't actually look anything like fish--more like trilobites turned on their side. But I digress. These inexpensive ($16) USB-powered speakers, sold by Hong Kong manufacturer Brando (also known for the Wii Sports Pack), contain LEDs that will cycle through a range of colors. We've seen plenty of animal-shaped speakers, from pigs to my beloved penguins, but these are a tad more abstract. Kind of late-'90s-iMac-ish, actually.

Personally, I think it could grow a tad annoying to have something like this flashing its multicolored lights next to my computer all the … Read more