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Particle Zoo
Will plush neutrino toys become hot little numbers for the holidays because of the recent faster-than-light claims?
We science geeks aren't exactly experts at gift-giving (or gift-getting) during the holidays — just ask Sheldon Cooper from TV's "The Big Bang Theory. "It's no wonder suicide rates skyrocket this time of year," he says.
That's where the 10th annual Science Geek Gift Guide comes in. We turn to you for guidance on geek giftitude, offer up the top suggestions for your approval, and send a box of books to the science geek who comes up with the top-rated suggestion.
This holiday season could be an especially good one if you have a yen for particle physics: There's a lot of buzz about the search for the Higgs boson's hiding place, as well as the evidence for faster-than-light neutrinos. So what better place to turn for a totem than the Particle Zoo, which sells plush subatomic particles (larger than actual size) as well as other cosmic toys and cards.
"The Higgs is by far the top seller," Particle Zookeeper Julie Peasley told me today, "but dark matter is pretty high up there." Other top-sellers include photons, strange and charmed quarks, tachyons and the cosmic microwave background radiation. Peasley hasn't noticed that sales are affected by the ebb and flow of discoveries in physics — all she knows is that the Particle Zoo is about to head into its rush season.
"I don't have a life for two months," she said.
The handmade particle plushies are not recommended for kids under 5, but there are plenty of other options for your budding Einstein — including Baby's Nuclear Physics Book, a $51 cloth creation available from Verdant Violet via Etsy. The online shop also offers soft books about molecular genetics, neuroscience, paleontology, microbiology and physical anthropology, but you may have to put an I.O.U. under the tree. Current shipping time is six to eight weeks.
There's plenty more at Etsy for older physics and space fans, including $25 Einstein cufflinks (do geeks wear dress shirts, let alone cufflinks?), a $10 handblown DNA pendant and all sorts of space-themed gifts.
If the geek on your list is entranced by the Large Hadron Collider, the pop-up book titled "Voyage to the Heart of Matter" ($24.75 from Amazon.com) might be just the ticket. The paper versions of the ATLAS detector, the collider ring and the big bang are a bit delicate, so I wouldn't advise leaving it on the little kids' table, but it makes a great conversation piece for students and grown-up geeks alike.
When it comes to space, one of the big topics for the year ahead is NASA's next mission to Mars, set for launch on the day after Thanksgiving. You'll find all sorts of Mars Science Laboratory paraphernalia on eBay, ranging from patches to wooden models of the Curiosity rover — or you can get your geeks a Lego set and have them build their own rover, as Tim Goddard and Xander R have done.
Are these enough suggestions to gear up the geeky side of your brain? Hope so, because now it's your turn. Leave your suggestions for the Science Geek Guide as comments below. There are a few categories we'll want to stay away from, because they're covered more closely by my colleagues. For example, don't suggest video games, or mobile devices, or other consumer electronics such as computers, TVs or DVD players. Books and DVDs are OK, although science books will be covered in an item next week.
I'll pick out some of the suggestions for your consideration in a follow-up item next week, and the top vote-getter as of noon ET on Nov. 28 will be crowned as the Science Geek Gift of the year. The person credited with suggesting the top gift will be eligible to receive a pile of books to warm a geek's heart, including "The Cult of Lego," "The Physics Book," "Science Ink" and an autographed copy of "The Case for Pluto." May the best geek win!
For further inspiration, here are some more suggestions (some of which may be outdated):
Previous Science Geek Gift Guides:
- The gift of science (2002)
- For the scientist who has everything (2002)
- Toy traditions go back to the future (2003)
- Your toys will be assimilated (2004)
- Gifts for space geeks (2004)
- Find your star (2005)
- The top gift for science geeks (2006)
- Season's readings for kids ... and for grown-ups (2007)
- The top geek gift of 2008
- Gifts from the sixth dimension (2009)
- Make your own geeky goodness (2010)
More science gifts:
- Edmund Scientific: The classic science store
- Educational Innovations
- Exploratorium Science Gift Guide 2011
- GeekDad Holiday Gift Guide 2011
- Home Science Tools gift guide
- Imagination Soup math and science gifts
- MakeZine Holiday Gift Guide
- Robot Snob suggestions for robotics fans
- Sheldon Shirts: Big Bang Theory gifts
- ThinkGeek: Stuff for smart masses
- xkcd store
You don't need to buy me a present. All I ask is that you connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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:)
Product: Theodore Gray's Elements Vault: Treasures of the Periodic Table
Physics is hot these days, but for lovers of chemistry, this kit from Theodore Gray will be a real treat. His gorgeous book about the elements, "The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe" showcased the elegance of the periodic table, and the beauty of the elements. This collection incudes new text and photographs, reproductions of historic documents, a pop-up model of an atom, and samples of several elements.
A USB Microscope, with the ability to capture images digitally, is a great geek gift!
I'd be happy just getting a few Uranium marbles from back in the day. Nothing says Merry Christmas like a little bit of radiation.
The article wondered whether cufflinks would be appropriate for a Geek citing the lack of evidence that they wear dress shirts let alone ones with French cuffs. But obviously the author is unaware of the number of geeks who have their wrists pierced and for whom cufflinks would be perfect.
Alienware M17x 17-Inch Gaming Laptop. It's a gaming geek's must have.
I'll settle for the Alienware like he said ^
Heres a new Geeky Device that everyone MUST HAVE!.
A New type of EarPhone
by USER-902253 » Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:46 pm
We all know how we like to dive off into our own world leaving the real world behind to fully immerse ourselves in our alter state of mind.
This can hardly ever be achieved because the earphones used to take us into that world still allow the outside world to creep into our thoughts.
But I have a new idea that will finally block the real world out when we want to cross over into the "Ether"
The idea involves using the same type of earplugs that one would use while in a loud welding or manufacturing shop to reduce the decibels of parts being ground or large pieces falling to the ground.
The earpiece would be the same foam insert that you can pick up for maybe a quarter and comes in pairs one for each ear. You twist the earplug and then insert it into the ear canal where the ear plug expands closing the ear canal off to the outside world.
But instead of the earplug blocking out all of the sounds all that would hear would be what you were listening to.
The ear bud portion of the headset would cylindrical in shape to allow for conformity of the earplug to better fit into the ear canal. Once the foam expands and fits perfectly into the ear canal you are then ready to fully immerse yourself into the world in which you are listening to without the interuptions from the outside world.
To replace the spent foamy all one needs to do is too remove the cylindrical speaker from the foamy inserting the near ear foamy over the speaker.
Other designs of the ear foamy could designed to have a stretchy area around the base of the foamy that could then be stretched over an existing headphone, twisted and then inserted into the ear canal.
To facilitate the best sound possible small air holes would need to be poked in the ear foamy so that the holes penetrated through to the speaker insert cavity which would then allow an unmuffled flow of sound into your head.
Posted by Dryson Bennignton, thought of by Anuiruson Bennington who absolutely hates being bothered by his brother Branigan Bennington while he is busy conducting his research.
My top picks for the year:
Periodic Table of Elements Shower Curtain from Mental Floss;
Geek Magnetic Poetry Kit from NeatoHub; and
The Binary Blanket from Think Geek (too cool, it spells out the word "blanket", in binary code, over and over.
I gotta say, although this article is selling me junk I didn't feel like I had links, upon links and more links stabbing me in my eyes. See, there are tasteful ways to subliminally advertise.
Hot Item:
The Schroedinger Mystery Gift Box:
There might or might not be a radioactive atom, chlorine gas, and a dead cat inside. Please don't call PETA.
If you are looking to give something unique to a science-geek loved one, we make laser-cut ornaments, coasters and tote-bags, called the "Heroes of Science", which we sell on etsy.com. There are various scientists (of more than one gender) to choose from. There is nothing else out there that is quite the same. Check us out on etsy under etsy.com/shop/eavesmade. Thanks!