Touch-Sensitive Robot Butt: Ghost in the Shiri

We’ve seen androids that have crossed the uncanny valley in terms of their face. But what about their other parts? Well, thanks to 24-year old Nobuhiro Takahashi, you can scratch realistic butts off of that list. Takahashi has invented Shiri, a mechanical butt that responds to touch.

shiri touch sensitive robot buttocks by Nobuhiro Takahashi

Shiri – Japanese for buttocks, and my prime proof in my theory that Apple Japan was facepalming when they heard the iPhone personal assistant’s name – has three main parts: a silicon skin, a pair of actuators and a microphone. The actuators serve as Shiri’s muscles while the microphone senses how the skin is touched. Stroke it and it will clench its cheeks; spank it and it will quiver. Yes this is very creepy, thanks for asking.

Takahashi says he invented Shiri because he’s aware that humans don’t just communicate verbally; we also have physical reactions or expressions. Takahashi also said that Shiri is a great starting point because our butts have large muscles and thus make more visible movements. I hope for his own sake that his friends and family believed him. Seriously though, I assume the rest of the world is now behind Japan in robotics, amirite?

[via Daily Mail]


Get a Sauna Anytime, Anywhere with the Sauna Suit

Not everyone has the luxury of going to the spa at least once a week for some much-needed pampering and sweat time at the sauna. If you’re a girl or guy who wishes you could go sweat it out at the sauna more often, then a portable and practical solution (although we give no assurances that it works) is the Sauna Suit.

sauna suit
With this thing, what you see is really what you’ll get. It’s a suit fashioned from heavy-duty PVC material that makes sure that you sweat it out, regardless of what you’re doing.

Mop the floor, dust the windows, bake a cake, make dinner, do all the chores you need to do while losing all that excess water weight in the process. Just make sure you don’t overdo it, for your own health’s sake.

The Sauna Suit is available from Amazon, and costs between $10 and $26(USD) depending on the model.

[via Gadgets Matrix]


This Week’s Top Web Comedy Video: Kiss My A$$ [Video]

It’s refreshing when people stay true to themselves, isn’t it? Especially when that self is an amusingly angry comedian who hates everything and isn’t afraid to sing about. Denis Leary, ladies and gentlemen! He’d like to share some opinions about Amurrica. More »

Higgs boson up for spoof sale as retailer opens subatomic shop

With the Higgs boson – or something that looks a whole lot like it – now identified, retailers have wasted no time in throwing the elusive subatomic particle up for sale. UK online retailer Ebuyer has led the charge, with a spoof listing for the banging boson promising delivery on May 29 20129.

The boson up for grabs is the standard model, Ebuyer says, with an approximate mass of 126 GeV. However, you’ll have to buy your own 27 kilometer long particle accelerator, since that’s sold separately. Even the “Frequently bought together” suggestions are slyly comical, being a 200x USB microscope and a pair of pink craft tweezers – perfect for getting your Higgs boson out of the packaging.

Of course, you can save your £7,297.35 if you’re short on cash at the moment, since the Higgs boson is actually all around us: you just can’t see it. The particle is the last significant hold-out of the standard model, requiring vast quantities of energy in order to reveal it; that’s why its taken the mighty colliding power of the LHC to tease it out.

More on today’s Higgs boson announcement here.

[via Andrew Jones-McGuire]


Higgs boson up for spoof sale as retailer opens subatomic shop is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Flatulence Deodorizer Pads Take the Stink Out of Your Farts (but Look Hella Uncomfortable)

Most farts stink, and that’s a fact of life. I have yet to meet someone who has pleasant-smelling farts, because the closest thing to “pleasant” are farts that have no smell.

The worst fart I’ve encountered is the silent but deadly type. You know, the ones that are released without a sound, but smell like someone just crapped in their pants? Yeah, you’ve probably smelled at least a few of these in your lifetime.

Flatulence deodorizer
If you’re guilty of unleashing a few of your own stinky bad boys to the world yourself to much embarrassment, then you might want to pick up a couple of these flatulence deodorizer pads. They’re supposed to go inside your underwear and not outside of it, as the image above suggests. While you might not feel comfortable placing a pad on your butt, you might want to reserve use for it only during moments when you can’t afford to stink up the place.

The secret to the pads is that they’re embedded with activated charcoal. I can’t vouch for its effectivity, although you might want to try them out if you’re known for extremely stinky flatulence.

These Flat-D pads are available from Colonial Medical for $29.95 for a box of 10. And no, we’re not joking. They really do exist.

[via Laughing Squid via Dvice]


Silicone iPhone 4/4s Case Nose Who’s Calling

Silicone iPhone 4/4s Case Nose Who's CallingThe Hana Silicone iPhone 4/4s Case not only displays a distinctive design  that sets it apart from other iPhone cases, the unusual suggested user finger placement ensures anyone can “pick” it out from the crowd.


This Week’s Top Web Comedy Video: Meet the Band [Video]

The bassist! The guitarist! The drummer! The roadie! The… sea captain? Sure, why not! There’s more to a band than just the musicians. Or at least, there should be, as you’ll quickly learn here. More »

Bluetooth Brick Phone Handset: The 80s Called and Wants Its Phone Back

Want to one-up the douchebags who flaunt their fancy Bluetooth headsets while talking into space? Bring this bad boy out and they’ll know how OG you are. It’s also a Bluetooth headset, but it’s in the form of the classic 80′s brick phone that your elders – or you – used to rock back in the day.

bluetooth 80s brick phone

I don’t know if creator Brad Helmink made it extra large for effect or if it’s just been a long while since I saw one of these, but my goodness. You might need a building permit to own one of these.

bluetooth 80s brick phone 2

Like most Bluetooth devices, all you need to do is pair the brick phone with your phone and you’re ready to go to John F. Kennedy High School and participate in insider trading.

bluetooth 80s brick phone 4

If your testicles meet the minimum weight limit needed to carry the 80s Bluetooth Brick Phone, head to indiegogo and pledge at least $45 (USD) to be one of the first to own it if and when the fundraiser meets its goal of $55,000. That’s chump change for a teen star or a stock broker.


Beard Cozy Adds Some Hair to Your Drink the Right Way

We’ve all gotten a hair in our drinks at some point, though we probably all reacted differently. (Only the small majority of us hit someone and then was beaten by a group of hoodlums and left to die on the streets. That was me. Not the hoodlums, of course, the guy who almost got killed.) We’ve also probably all spilled a little bit of a drink in our facial hair, which I can assure you populates my face in a gorgeous manifestation of peach fuzz. With the Beard Cozy, you can cover your booze or other canned drink with the beard off of someone else’s face to help maintain the temperature of your beverage! Also, the manliness of your sole.

beard beer xl

The Beard Cozy is a manly “mug cozy” for cans, and you should probably pick one up if it’s interesting to you. Also, you should pick up my phone, which I just dropped, and I don’t care if you find it interesting. I hope you find it uninteresting, because it finds you uninteresting you LOVELESS SLUG. “You know this is the last time I’m ever inviting you over, right?” I don’t care, since I just climb through your fire escape and watch you eat anyway.

This was made by Etsy seller armsandink, and you can cheat on me by heading over there, but the Beer Cozies are currently sold out. If you’re looking for more beard-related items, check out the Bearded Ski Mask and the Viking Beard Helmet when you’re prepared to move on.

[via Uncrate]


Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, which is stuffed with geeky lists.


Hyperdog Tennis Ball Launcher Makes Terrorizing Neighborhoods More Fun

Are you sick and tired of having to throw a tennis ball for your dog, just to have him bring it back to you in almost no time at all?  If that is an accurate description of you, read on.  You weigh more than the average person for your height, enjoy pizza, and live in a single bedroom apartment.  “Wow, you’re good.”  They don’t pay me for nothing!  Scratch that – I meant to say “they pay me nothing” but it came out funny.

The Hyperdog Tennis Ball Launcher is a great way to shoot balls far off enough that you will be able to take a quick bite of that delicious foot-long hot dog with relish.  “How do you know all this about me?”  I peep through your windows when you shower while I watch TV.

The Hyperdog Tennis Ball Launcher shoots tennis balls up to 220 feet away!  But you know advertising – the “up to” number was attained with some strange malarky involving steroids, speedos, and a convenient wind pattern.

Just load up the ammo, pull back the surgical-tubing-lined slingshot piece, and boom!  Let ‘er fly!  Right into your neighbor’s window.  That’s when you’ll be glad you bought those really expensive Air Yeezy’s walk barefoot like a nomad and can run with the breeze between your bunion-filled toes.

Of course, there are tons of alternative uses that I think are more fun than the old “play fetch with a dog.”  You could play fetch with your neighbors!  And by “fetch,” I mean you sit up in a tree and try to nail them between the eyes at their annual neighborhood barbecue.  That’ll teach them not to invite me to social occasions.  *Knocks down another guest*

If you like this tennis ball launcher, be sure to check out the more dangerous handgun drill and the less dangerous banana gun.  I’m feeling a bit violent today, especially after that great session of P90X.  I feel like the great Liam Neeson from Taken!  WHERE IS SHE?

Note that every link in this post goes to something gun-related.  I support the right for bears to have arms, since armless bears make me cry bitter tears.  Bitter, bitter tears.

[via Bless This Stuff]


Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a blog with geeky lists for your eyes to feast on!