Toys
Shocking Thumbwars Literally Shocks Your Thumbs in War
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 11:30 AM on October 30, 2008
Calling all masochists who are growing weary of Chinese Roshambo! Shocking Thumbwars, a 3-in-1 party game, is a game where you avoid getting shocked—literally—by beating your opponents in 3 different challenges: 50/50, where the first person to reach 50 (by button mashing) is safe from a shock; Rebound, which is like Ping-Pong except with LED lights instead of a ball; and Endurance, which we like to call "Jackass" because this game's winner is determined by which idiot can hold onto the device longer as it continuously delivers increasingly intense shocks. Shocking Thumbwars can be purchased for about $US30, or if you want to electrocute yourself for free, just stick a fork into a socket. (Please don't really do that. Thanks!) [Firebox via ChipChick]

Not able to let cyclists and sprinters have all the performance-enhancing fun, pro gamers are apparently equally avid dopers, according to an interview
That cute girl in sales
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You know what would make gaming even more fun? Pain. Or at least that is what the folks at Mindwire would like you to think. Their new MindwireV5 unit helps you get into the action with sensations ranging from a "crashing car to the blast of a machine gun's multiple bullets hitting you; a sharp zap all the way through to a soft massaging feeling." Five self-adhesive pads are connected to the arms, legs and stomach which administer a range of electric shocks that create sensations that mimic in-game action.
If you're going to be walking around in a thunderstorm, it might not be a good idea to be wearing an iPod. A 39-year-old dentist from Vancouver had a shocking experience while he was out jogging and listening to his iPod. Lightning struck a tree next to him, and then jumped over to him, throwing him 8 feet and resulting in second degree burns on his chest and left leg. There were also a couple of burns exactly where his iPod wires led up his torso, along either side of his neck and face and then into his ears. Did he live to tell the tale?