Bucky Balls; Magnetic Building Spheres
Ah, carbon - how sweet you are. You are the basis of life on Earth, you let our pencils write, and you form the most fortuitous fullerenes. And what are fullerenes, a collection of balls. Now, imagine replacing those hard to play with atoms, with rare earth magnetic spheres. Suddenly, you have BuckyBalls Magnetic Building Spheres, and now your life will never be the same.
Super absorbent Polymer Spheres
These are made from a hydrogel, a super-absorbent polymer, Sodium Polyacrylate, formed into round balls that are available in various colours and sizes*. They can absorb more than 200 (some say 800) times their weight in water.
* This material is available in various shapes, as well. Most commonly, the round shape in a variety of colours is used by gardeners who wish to water their plants, especially house plants, in artistic and practical ways. This material slowly meters its stored water to plant roots, eliminating the need for daily watering. From time to time, a gardener simply adds water enough to keep the marbles plump.
Sugru silicone rubber;
Sugru, or Formerol, is a patented multi-purpose, non-slumping brand of silicone rubber that resembles modelling clay. Sugru was developed and is marketed by FormFormForm. Sugru retains its plasticity for thirty minutes, self-curing at room temperature after approximately 24 hours. The material adheres to aluminium and ABS plastics. When cured, it has a 'soft touch' or slightly flexible, grippable texture similar to features commonly found in soft over molds. It is waterproof and dishwasher-safe. The material is thermally insulating, with a service temperature range between -60 and 180 °C. Sugru is not resistant to some solvents.The product has a shelf life of six months.
The name Sugru derives from the Irish language word "súgradh" for "play".
Salt and Pepper Batteries (Shakers)
Although shaped EXACTLY like real-life batteries, the battery shaped salt & pepper shakers gadget is absolutely harmless and is hygienically fit for storing salt and pepper.
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OR
a few tubes of oil paint to try something new!
The paint tube was invented in 1841, superseding pig bladders and glass syringes as the primary tool of paint transport. Artists, or their assistants, previously ground each pigment by hand, carefully mixing the binding oil in the proper proportions. Paints could now be produced in bulk and sold in tin tubes with a cap. The cap could be screwed back on and the paints preserved for future use, providing flexibility and efficiency to painting outdoors. The manufactured paints had a balanced consistency that the artist could thin with oil, turpentine, or other mediums.
Paint in tubes also changed the way some artists approached painting. The artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir said, “Without tubes of paint, there would have been no Impressionism.” For the Impressionists, tubed paints offered an easily accessible variety of colors for their plain air palettes, motivating them to make spontaneous colour choices. With greater quantities of preserved paint, they were able to apply paint more thickly.
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