Fall 2003
5
Antquarium
Back in the day, I used to own an ant farm. Admittedly, it did not last long as I was a bit antsy over
the prospect of them getting out. Plus the whole farm could get kind of gross after a while. The ant farm
desperately needed an update. Luckily, the friendly folks at NASA apparently had nothing more impor-
tant to do than address this problem. Now, it is possible that NASA had an actual, acceptable reason
for creating this dandy new ant farm. Technically, they might have wanted to observe ant behavior in
zero gravity. Personally, I would venture to guess that this is merely an excuse to relive the happiest
days of their lives: childhood. That is, after all, the most acceptable time to own and run an ant farm.
Thanks to cutting-edge technology, this is no longer the case. Inside the Antquarium is a highly
nutritious non-toxic gel which will sustain the ants, only requiring the owner to open the lid briefly once
a month to aerate the inside. After poking four holes into the gel to begin the networking system, only the
addition of ants is necessary to have your very own thriving ant farm. But the best feature of the Antquarium
is that “worker ants conveniently carry their late brethren to the top of the gel for easy disposal.” If only
everyone had roommates that nice.
$33.95
Waterball Launcher SL175
It seems there is a myriad of new products out there that take an old
toy and just spiff it up. We shouldn’t complain though—not when this leads to
products such as this one. Instead of your regular super soaker, which lacks
precision and tends to dampen the spirits of innocent bystanders, this gun
launches small spheroids up to 10 feet away. Using the phenomenon of surface
tension of a Newtonian fluid, this gun certainly ups the ante when it comes to
precision. With a reservoir capacity of 175 shots, this launcher can shoot up to 40
globules a minute. Unfortunately, due to my current enrollment in Transport Phenom-
ena, I will be forced to sit and analyze the speed required of the mechanism (which I would
most assuredly take apart) if I ever purchase one of these. Sometimes being educated just
takes the fun out of life’s little pleasures.
$24.95
Bop-It Extreme 2
At one of the recent KSE meetings, a hot debate arose over the New Generation Timeless
Toy to be featured in this issue. While there were strong supporters of Bop-It, I stand true to my
decision that it is not particularly “timeless”—although the makers of Bop-It seem to dis-
agree. In an attempt to appease all those staunch Bop-It supporters, I dedicate this Engineer’s
toy to them.
The amount of mastery, cunning and incredible artistry that went into the creation of
Bop-It is perhaps inconceivable to the educated mind. However, those of us who have managed
to remain untouched by “higher education” would testify wholeheartedly to the genius of this
toy. It seems that the Bop-It gods are indeed smiling down upon us as the newest Bop-It—the
Bop-It Extreme 2—has recently made its way onto the market. Not only can you bop it, twist it, pull it
and flick it, but now you can do this to four different musical styles. As if being able to choose between pop, rock,
Latin and R&B was not sufficient, the longer you play the more the beats evolve. This means that you will no longer
be restrained to a single pop beat. But the people at Hasbro were not just concerned with the overall Bopicity of this
toy. They also considered the feelings of others. The Bop-It Extreme 2 has a headphone jack allowing the player to
listen alone or plug into speakers and cause the whole world to dance. Apparently, the Bop-It has a bit more staying
power than some of us would like to believe. Alas.
$22.99
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