Would you eat this? I wouldn’t. Not this close, anyway. But zoom out a thousand times, put it in a toaster and this can be your breakfast. It’s a pop tart photographed by artist Caren Alpert, who keeps taking more electron microscope photos of everyday food. More »
Cake artist Claudia of Cakerific freely admits that she’s come a long way since her first Optimus Prime cake, and I have to agree. It’s amazing what a couple of years of regular baking practice will do for you.
This awesome Optimus Prime cake was made as a very special groom’s cake for a guy who had his wedding and his birthday on the same day. While it looks like Bob’s future birthdays will now be superseded by anniversary celebrations, at least he’ll never forget the date. Claudia doesn’t say what the cake is filled with, but I’ve heard that Energon is pretty tasty stuff.
Now I’m waiting for somebody to make a cake that can actually transform between an 18-wheeler and a giant robot.
[via Retroist]
In what has to be the worst case of wasteful packaging in the history of modern conveniece, a grocery store in Austria is actually selling pre-peeled bananas that have then been re-packaged in cellophane-covered foam trays. More »
You know, I kind of like Claptrap from the Borderlands games, but I have to admit, he was also really, really annoying. Still, he made the game a little more interesting with his stupid banter. He’s just not as cool as R2-D2.
Now this Claptrap wedding cake may not move and say smartass things, but it is still pretty awesome. It was made by Black Sheep Custom Cakes and the details are so nice that it looks real.
“Check me out! I’m dancing! I’m dancing!” Alright, just shut up and get in my mouth. Mmmmmmm yummy! Your dancing in my tummy you stupid pile of gears.
[via When Geeks Wed]
Do you have trouble getting popcorn into your mouthhole? Yeah, I know it can be tricky to reach into the bowl and perfectly align your hand with your mouth to ensure the popped kernel ends up in the right spot. Well, there’s finally a solution to this first-world problem, courtesy of the Popinator.
The fine folks at Popcorn Indiana conceived of this ridiculous gadget, that’s sole purpose is to locate your mouth and fire a single kernel of popcorn at it from up to 15 feet away. According to the “electrical engineer” in this video, the machine uses binaural microphones to detect when somebody says “Pop!” and then triangulates their location so it can adjust the popcorn launching mechanism.
Whether this is a real device, or simply a publicity stunt for a viral video, it’s pretty awesome. (Especially the screwy blinking lights on the front.) Though I doubt they’d ever be able to bring the Popinator to market, as they’d probably be inundated with choking lawsuits from idiots who don’t know how to catch popcorn in their mouths properly.
[via VVV]
Live long and prosper by upgrading your diet with more cookies! That’s right, carbs are good for you! Just look what they’ve done for William Shatner! Whether you prefer Kirk, Spock, Bones or Scotty, you’ll love these Star Trek cookie cutters and the delicious baked treats you can make with them.
With these in your mess hall, you’ll be replicating cookies that look like the Starship Enterprise, a phaser, Spock’s hand, the Federation or Klingon logo. The set comes with one each of the aforementioned shapes, though there’s no guarantee that your cookies will be iced as nicely as the examples provided here. That’s up to you and your steady hand. Just be sure not to wear a red shirt while baking, or your oven might explode.
You can grab the full set of Star Trek cookie cutters over at ThinkGeek for $19.99 (USD). I wonder how much that is in Federation Credits.
[via That’s Nerdalicious]
Popcorn can be a fantastically healthy potato chip alternative, but always ends up playing second fiddle. So in an attempt to finally claim snack world supremecy, a company called Popcorn Indiana has created the Popinator, a voice activated kernel cannon that promises to be the perfect weapon to finally dethrone chips—at least if it ever becomes a reality. More »
Before you ask: it looks like the real deal. Popcorn, Indiana has decided that it’s just too much trouble to reach into that bag or bowl and has devised the Popinator, quite possibly the world’s only smart popcorn launcher. A binaural microphone array on the machine’s front listens for a clear “pop” command — say the magic word and the Popinator will aim one of its many corn projectiles at your mouth, no hands required. We’re still working to glean all the details, such as whether or not the snack delivery vehicle will be a commercial project and how much money it would take to install one at home (and, we’ll admit it, the Engadget offices). In the meantime, you can hop past the break to catch one of the most appetizing and laid-back promo videos you’ve likely ever seen.
[Thanks, Peter]
Update: Popcorn, Indiana has answered back and says the Popinator is currently an in-house project, but it may well become something you can buy if everything lines up. We’ll let the full statement speak for itself:
“All we have to say is: it is a work in progress right now. We certainly hope that one day it will become a commercial project, but as of now there is no shipping date and no price tag. It is purely a fun internal project we are toying with here at Popcorn Indiana. Based on the very positive responses we are getting online, we think this is well worth looking into as a commercial product.”
Filed under: Household
The Popinator voice-activated popcorn launcher: because greasy hands are just so 2011 (update: yep, may become a product) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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