The Maxablaster is a 38-million-candlepower flashlight that was made at home by (mad?) optics engineer Ralf Ottow. Replacing a commercial flashlight’s bulb with a plasma-powered mercury arc bulb, the Maxablaster creates a highly focused beam of light with a high UV content not so different from a star.
We’re not germophobes here at Gizmodo—not necessarily because we aren’t afraid of tiny sickness-inducing attack—but because we’re too lazy to dust let alone sterilise. But the Germ Guardian Air Sanitizer offers a lifestyle of sloth paranoia we could live with. Using UV-C rays (like similar models on the market), the device kills 99.9% of airborne germs with light alone. Why do we like it? The Germ Guardian’s design induces feelings of an inescapable bleak future—like it’s waiting for us to curse, at which point it will blind us with a flash of light and we’ll boil in our skin. Now that’s a conversation piece. $US200 [product via appliancist]
Out here on the toothbrush beat, you run into all sorts of fear-mongering products such as the VIOlight Toothbrush Sanitizer. Now you can take that germophobia out on the road with the VIOlight Travel Toothbrush Sanitizer, a smaller version of that near-miraculous home version that probably does no good but might make you feel better anyway.
Just like the home version, this travel version works with ultraviolet rays, and its makers claim that 99% of the germs are killed in seven minutes. Never mind that the 1% of bacteria that are left are probably superstrong, and might just put the hurt on you 10 times as much. But then, the way you feel about this product is probably a whole lot more important than the way it actually works. But hey, it’s your $27.99. [productdose]
Our own Charlie White got a chance to fiddle around with that fancy UV Sonicare Flexcare toothbrush we showed you this morning, and he came away impressed. He says it runs as quiet as a mouse, which is good if you don’t want to wake up your wife with a toothbrush that sounds like a chainsaw, and it feels nice and solid in your hand. It has a few different modes, including a timed three-minute brush and a click brush. The UV sanitizer that nukes germs is available separately, just in case you don’t want to invest in a whole new brush setup.
Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let Charlie stick the thing in his mouth to try to clean up the Dorito crumbs and whisky breath, so I guess we’ll just need to wait till August to test their claim that it removes more plaque than any other electric toothbrush.
galleryPost('philipstoothbrush', 5, 'philipstoothbrush'); –Adam Frucci
We love our Sonicare toothbrushes. But how could you improve on a design that’s prevented any cavities since we started using it? By adding a UV sanitizer. Peter Pachal at Sci Fi has the scoop.
galleryPost('sonicareuv', 3, 'Sonicare UV');
The Halo UV Vacuum aims to make paranoid germophobes not flee your home at the site of your carpet, which typically contains 100,000 dust mites per square yard. It claims to terminate the mold, dust mites, germs, viruses, bacteria and other microscopic creepy-crawlers lurking in your carpet and mattress with extreme prejudice—granted, I don’t if anything can kill what’s undoubtedly festering in my roommate’s mattress.
It also sports a HEPA filter, telescoping handle and automatic height shifter. Plus, the rep promised me it could totally handle the Oreck challenge and lift a bowling ball, which totally sold me.
If the germ genocide works, the only things that suck (sorry, had to) are the price ($400, like another sweet vacuum) and that the UV light doesn’t make for a fun light show to keep you entertained while you vacuum, which is what I was hoping for. More pics after the jump.
galleryPost('halovacuum', 4, 'Halo Vacuum');
– Matt Buchanan
Product Page [Halo]
Have sensitive skin? Then hook up one of these UV bead cellphone charms to your phone and always be aware of how much UV light you’re getting. The beads start out white, but change as they suck in the radiation.
You can buy different amounts of beads depending on your needs—but get enough and you can have a Japanese Mardis Gras anywhere. Politely asking women to take off their tops is how they do it. – Jason Chen
Product Page [Rakuten via Gearfuse via Techie Diva]
Doctor Who fans for whom the Tardis USB hub was not enough can satiate their lust for all things Timelord with this sonic screwdriver. It’s actually a screwdriver-free zone, with a pen at one end and a UV light at the other.
So, while you may not be able to take a Cyberman to pieces in a schmazillionth of a second, you can write down Rose’s phone number—in normal ink if you’re not bothered about sharing her with the Doc, or with UV ink so that no one can read it except you*. It costs $12.99 and there’s some useless Sonic Screwdriver trivia and more shots after the jump.
