You find yourself held under “house arrest” in a remote jungle region of Indonesia, sometime in the late 1950s. You may have your suit, fedora and at least one halfway decent tie, but the chances of getting back to the US of A seem slim. The CIA thinks you’re not so dispensable, so spytechs—with the help of the always patriotic Goodyear Company—build an inflatable aeroplane that they can drop into a jungle clearing. Here’s what it looks like when fully inflated and ready for takeoff:
Bless Skymall and its world of wonderful and strangely fascinating gizmos for bringing us this: the portable neck traction device, supposed to help relieve tight muscles and “joint and nerve pressure.” Simply place around your neck (that’s a worrying start, if you ask me) and “pump the inflation bulb until you feel a comfortable stretch.” That’ll be somewhere short of popping your head off like an unfortunate Legoman, I guess. Available now, for all you crick-necked blog readers who don’t sit at your PC properly, in three neck sizes for US$69.98. [Skymall via Random Good Stuff]
This is Mr T, on the case Tellin’ you inflatable pubs aren’t the place To hang with friends af-ter school Because it just makes you a fool
The Jelly Click mouse concept could make it easy for business travellers to carry around a full-size mouse without taking up a whole lot of space. The device itself is fairly simple: a small flexible board carries all of the circuitry while the body is composed of plastic that can be blown up manually.
How do I love thee, Astone Sit N Joy inflatable massage chair? Let me count the ways. Cup holder. Dock for iPod. Remote control. Works on the beach, grass, home, prison (probably). Great name (ass-tone, heh). Wipes down for easy maintenance. Wonderful lay-dee-filled gallery (see below.) Just 122 US buckeroonies. [AxPertZ via New Launches]
The “Bay Watch” bikini life jacket concept is brilliant on three levels: It can help save lives, it is much more attractive to wear than traditional life jackets and your likelihood of being saved by a male lifeguard in the area probably increases ten-fold when you are wearing it. Plus, it looks as though there is some additional padding in the rear to achieve J-Lo levels of buoyancy. Again, it is only a concept at this point, but it certainly has mounds of potential. [Bernstrand&Co. via Made in England]
newVideoPlayer("blowuphome_gawker.flv", 475, 376);We recently showed you simulations of Mars voyages here on earth, and now NASA is looking to get in on the fun. The department of space nerds will begin a yearlong test of an inflatable moon base in Antarctica in January. Fully inflatable in a mere 11 minutes, the base probably won’t be housing astronauts on the moon in the near future, as after this test they’ll probably need to test it in a vacuum chamber. But hey, eventually, right? [SpaceRef via The Raw Feed]
Water skiing is too traditional for you, you say? Well, try out the Inflatable Body Pod-Suit Float, the only summer water sport that’ll make you look like a comical double amputee right before you’re dragged face first into the wake. [Product Page via Nerd Approved]
The Mega Mech Airmagination inflatable robot isn’t quite the My Buddy/Optimus Prime hybrid that we’ve had in mind since age 8 1/2, but it brings us one step closer to the loving embrace of cold, possibly sharp steel talons. Because the Mega Mech Aimagination a fully remote controlled friend. Essentially an RC car with a balloon sticking out, the Mega Mech can also learn a few preset phrases and speak them back all killer-robot-like.
The idea is great considering the pricetag is just $40, but something tells me that there’s an Airmagination Rollerskating Doll out there that’s just not being treated right. [product via scifitech]
Even if you don’t have a pool, just the notion of this inflatable beverage cooling bar floating toward you across the cool blue water might be enough to make this summer’s high temperature and humidity seem a bit less oppressive.
