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Santa Claus Is Cloning To Town
By rickyjames, Section News Posted on Fri Nov 21, 2003 at 03:31:27 AM PST
Well, I had turkey at an office party yesterday and trudged behind my wife through the mall last night at one-quarter impulse instead of my usual warp speed. This can mean only one thing: I'm behind on my Christmas shopping. Maybe you are too. Fear not! Here's what I've come up with as the coolest science-oriented gifts for you, er, your kids. First up is something I wrote about on Slashdot over a year ago before plunging into the SciScoop writer's bullpen that's still a cool gift today: the QX3 Video Microscope that takes pictures like these for around $50. The QX3 was produced by Intel's short-lived Toys division and is technically a surplus item, but it's still available from a lot of places - and well worth getting. Naturally, I've already got a QX3 so I had to put some other gizmos on my personal Christmas list - like a levitating globe, the forever flashlight, the cracker-sized digital spy camera and what I really want most - the craze sweeping England and Japan and just making inroads into America, the $35 Powerball. This thing is one cool physics toy that lets you work out and be a couch potato at the same time. I want one! But Wait! That's Not All!

The other classic childhood gift besides a microscope is of course a chemistry set, but they're all politically correct these days (for example, in Texas it's a crime punishable by a year in prison to own a glass test tube without a permit!!!) and generally don't have poisons or explosive components in them - and where's the fun in that? Besides, chemistry for kids is so 1950s - it's biology that's the New Frontier. And what could be a better intro into that world for a kid than the $80 Discovery Kids Ultimate Labs DNA Explorer? Not only can you extract real DNA with this cooler-than-cool microlab; it's even got a built-in magnetic stirrer, centrifuge and electrophoresis separation chamber! It's the perfect holiday gift: no poisons or explosives, and just what your kid needs to insert Ebola glycoprotein genes into human rhinoviruses!!! It's also the perfect way to get your kid to understand how all those Santas can be in every store - obviously, they're clones! PS - If you actually buy somebody a gift as a result of this article, or have your own suggestions, please leave a comment and let us know! We love knowing we've helped fuel an economic recovery!

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· Scoop · my Christmas shopping · what I've come up with · science-or iented gifts · something I wrote about on Slashdot · QX3 Video Microscope · pictures like these · still available from a lot of places · levitating globe · forever flashlight · digital spy camera · Powerball · one cool physics toy · work out and be a couch potato at the same time · chemistry set · politicall y correct · in Texas it's a crime punishable by a year in prison to own a glass test tube without a permit · poisons · explosive components · where's the fun · 1950s · biology that's the New Frontier · Discovery Kids Ultimate Labs DNA Explorer · insert Ebola glycoprotein genes into human rhinoviruses · an economic recovery · More on Games · Also by rickyjames