sock

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots are back, and they're bigger and more kick-ass than ever.

Just in time for the holidays, Hammacher Schlemmer is selling a pair of bumper cars designed to look and act much like the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots we loved as kids. The Bionic Bopper cars feature a steel-cage cockpit where the driver can sit and use two joysticks to maneuver the robot's arms and deliver metal-crushing uppercuts to the opposing robot's head.

The cars measure 74 inches high by 59 inches wide by 62 inches deep. Each is equipped with a display in its midsection to keep tally of the score (one hit equals one point).

Three wheels underneath the 850-pound machines allow you to move forward, backward, left, and right at a breakneck speed of 3 mph, and rubber bumpers along the bottom of the vehicles ensure that the fighters are at "optimal distance for scoring." Also, prepare for some epic battles because the Bionic Boppers' gas engine promises up to five hours of continuous use. … Read more

This week's episode is inspired by Natali's incredibly appropriate (if not unintended) comment from last week's episode. Really, if you haven't heard it, check it out. Then listen to today's show where we discuss a wide array of chairs on which to sit. That's right, chairs are the "it". Why, what were you thinking?

Divided Salli saddle chair

Street Sign Chair

MUR-01 speaker chair

Patio furniture for eating in the pool

Spray can caps make for unique chairs

Chair Socks: The 1970s flatter your furniture

Acoustical resonance massage chair

F-4 Phantom Ejection Seat office chair is the perfect way to dramatically exit a meeting

Hot Asian gadgets Barista Bot

It’s about time Cool, infuriating watch

Gender gap Go plate (Thanks Tyson!)

Pretty Terranium – Interactive installation

Tool time Sleeve Tattoos – Slip On Tattoo Sleeves

Kill me A prop for your boobs… Read more

Here's a conundrum: when the world is deep into hysteria over a potential pandemic like the swine flu, how does someone who wants to poke fun at the problem do so?

For Jude Gomilla and Immad Akhund, the answer was a single sleepless night about 10 days ago during which the two San Francisco entrepreneurs built what has become a massively popular Flash game called Swinefighters.

In Swinefighters, players--dressed as giant-syringe-wielding and mask-wearing doctors--are tasked with killing off rogue viruses in the form of sneering pigs. Each time you hit a pig with the syringe, it is wiped out, … Read more

Today we talk with Doug Bandes from Broadband Enterprises about the new Web shows the network has to offer. Plus, we'll spend some time talking more about The Dark Knight, as well as Comcast capping your bandwidth. So come take a listen--if your ISP allows it.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Every once in awhile, along comes a gadget that's most useful for what it doesn't produce. A perfect example is the "Static Electricity Eliminator."

All that's needed to work this simple little device is to press its rubber end against any grounded (metal) object until its light flashes, indicating that you're no longer a walking piece of Velcro for laundry just out of the dryer. As Coolest-Gadgets notes, it's particularly handy this time of year when a conspiracy of heaters, carpets, and loved ones threatens to turn you into a victim of spontaneous … Read more

As a wise woman once said, "Socks rock." Most people never leave home without a pair of socks, at least if they're wearing shoes.

But just in case, the Gallo stockings vending machine allows anyone to protect their feet from the inside of their shoes in a pinch.

The psychedelic Italian vending machine dispenses a wide array of absorbent footwear, perfect for yuletide emergencies, ad-hoc puppetry sessions, or avoiding fashion police busts.

Unfortunately, seeing and using the machine could lead to a frustrating infinite loop.

1. You see the machine.

2. It blows your socks off.

3. … Read more

Brad Stone and Matt Richtel of the New York Times recently wrote a piece (here) about the risks of unscrupulous use of Internet blogs and message boards.

According to the article, the FTC says John Mackey, chief executive of Whole Foods Market, masqueraded as a third party to promote his company on Yahoo!. The story also describes how various politicians and reporters have also gotten into trouble by using assumed identities on the net. This practice is called "sock puppeting".

Blogging under your own name can be a problem too, as Google discovered when Google's Lauren Turner … Read more

With a name like the "Transrotor Artus," this contraption sounds like a piece of heavy machinery that might be found in an assembly plant. And by the looks of this photo, it almost could be.

But closer inspection of the top reveals the real purpose of this erstwhile bucket of bolts: a turntable. And not just any old record record player, but an "LP player/phonograph/grammophone" that goes for $150,000, according to Hiendfi, and weighs nearly a quarter-ton. Maybe it's priced by the pound.