The worst bit of snowball-fighting has always been, to me, the massive pain caused as you over-chill your hands by frantically sculpting your 100'th snowball: something that'd not be a problem with this snowball gun. It sculpts the 'balls for you, three at a time, and then you can use its internal slingshot to fire them at neighbour kids up to 15 metres away. Actually I've remembered that the worst bit of snowball fighting is being hit by one that "accidentally" has gravel in it, but you take my point. With this baby tucked under your arm, wintry Cold Wars will be decidedly more one-sided. Yours for $US30. [HammacherSchlemmer via OhGizmo]

As you wait for your eggs to boil, timed perfectly with your Lego minifig egg timer, why not throw down a few minifig-shaped ice pops to stay cool? With this US$13 tray from Lego, that wild fantasy can become a reality, today. The silicon tray makes three minifig ice pops, which you can eat or place in a Lego castle to recreate the witch death scene from the Wizard of Oz. Your choice. Lastly, as you have probably already figured out, sans sticks this mold doubles as a minifig ice tray too. Just be sure to eat the correct minifigs when the time comes. Little plastic people and lemonade just don't mix, no matter how tasty that concoction may appear to the avid Lego collector. [Lego via OhGizmo]

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The landing thrusters aboard the Phoenix Mars Lander apparently did their job and them some. First, they successfully fired and gently deposited the multimillion dollar probe on the surface of the Red Planet. And then, by doing just that, they blew away three to six inches of Martian soil to reveal the shiny, slick face of what could be a large ice patch. Brendan Fraser's frozen caveman body was noticeably absent from this block of ice, but NASA scientists were elated anyway. The discovery reaffirms that the landing was indeed a bull's eye, akin to the Opportunity rover "hole in one" crater touchdown more than four years ago.

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Your cocktail parties will surely be the talk of the town once you acquire one of these R2D2 ice buckets. Not only will it keep your ice nice and cold, but it'll do so using Han Solo ice cube molds, providing ice that's shaped like Solo trapped in carbonite. What ladies will be able to resist the combo of your charm, your extensive knowledge of Dr. Who episodes and a vodka soda kept cold by Han Solo? No ladies, that's who. No ladies. [The Green Head via Oh Gizmo!]

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If you are serious about your on-the-rocks beverages, you probably already know that ice is a major factor in constructing the perfect drink. The best ice consists of quality water and is shaped in such a way that it does not take up much surface area—which ensures that your drink does not get watered down prematurely. Fortunately for you, the pinnacle of ice-making technology is here...today! A Japanese company named Taisin has developed a mould that creates a perfect ice sphere by slowly melting a chunk of ice inside a press and then closing around it.

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This ice hovercraft school bus has to be the coolest and worst news ever to descend upon children all over the world. I mean, I would have loved to go to school in one of these spiffy snowspeeders powered by dual fan engines.

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It's actually not quite as dirty as it sounds. Thermablades, developed by Tory Weber, are heated to five degrees Celsius, which cuts down friction between the skate and the ice by increasing the layer of water between the two. Result: Players go faster, easier. Right now, barely 10 players are set to don the fancy footwear next month, but the idea has enough traction (sorry) that Wayne Gretzky himself thinks they're "going to revolutionize hockey." I know nothing about hockey except what I learned from his N64 game and I suck at skating, so I'll take his word for it. [Reuters]