They’re kinda like legos with all the shapes you can make, but they are complete spheres, and they stick to each other, or your refrigerator, super easy. Made from rare earth magnets they are super powerful and super addictive some people even forget their cigarette addiction. Whaa!?!

Buy your set of 216 Bucky Balls from ThinkGeek today. Watch the video to learn more about how awesome these little shiny balls really are.

More hands on video action of Bucky Balls available at PerpetualKid. Only$29.95!

Shop for more Science themed Geek Toys ->

Mable’s favs on the Geeky list:
- Miracle Berry Fruit Tablets: Everything tastes sweet now! (WTF Miracle Fruit?)
- The Vampire Seduction Handbook: hold still for a minute will ya.
- Beating Heart Stress Relief Pillow: for those rare nights alone.

This is only a small sample of the rad gifts available at ThinkGeek right now. Choose from other nerdy gifts like plants that grow to say I love you, electronic assisted t-shirts of love, lots of caffeinated themed goodies, and plenty of novelty breath mints for those old school gamers and cupcake lovers. Visit V-Day Gift Guide now.

A couple months ago a friend emailed to tell me about a berry that I “might be interested in”. She pointed me to the now infamous NY Times article about the “Miracle Fruit“, and I proceeded to flip out. For those of you who haven’t been introduced to this truly magical berry, it makes sour things taste sweet and food in general just tastes better. How exciting is that? It contains a substance called “miraculin” that binds with your taste buds for up to 2 hours of “everything tastes like heaven” fun. Wow, talk about a natural sweetener. Sign me up!

But there’s just one problem: availability. Wikipedia says Miracle Fruit was documented way back in 1725, yet it only gained popularity in America in 2008, thanks largely to the “flavor trippers” referenced in the NY Times article. Without a solid growing infrastructure in place, it’s been really difficult to obtain the berries or the packaged tablets. Most retailers run out of stock for months at a time! I tried to find some seeds so I could grow my own, but at the time nobody had any stock available.

This morning I opened up an email from my homies at Think Geek and almost fell out of my chair when I saw they are now selling Miracle Fruit tablets! The date on the email said it arrived yesterday, but by the time I arrived at their site they were already sold out and taking backorders. Noooo! But since Think Geek is located in the USA (unlike most retailers) and has amazing customer service, I’m just going to backorder a couple packs now. What can I say, I have an insatiable sweet tooth and the idea of sucking on a lemon and having it taste like candy is too novel to resist.

Every story I’ve heard about Miracle Fruit has been funny and amazing. If you’ve tried this miraculous berry, please share your story in the comments. I’ll report back when my shipment arrives

PS- I predict that this berry is going to be so instrumental in getting people to eat healthy. We’ll start by eating a miracle berry before a big leafy green salad – you know, so even the most picky tastebuds can “tolerate” real food. Then we’ll only need a half berry as our bodies become used to eating well. Then one day we’ll realize that we don’t even need to “flavor trip” anymore. Did this idea occur to anyone else?

Get up to 50% off some items over at the ThinkGeek January Clearance Sale. Awesome gifts like digital photo frames, 8-bit tie, USB beverage coolers, watches that double as a camera, or LCD screen, or even USB storage, and tons more. Check it out.
Hot Tip: Be sure to browse the Mega Deals section for the biggest savings.

Also definitely worth taking advantage of is the Perpetual Kid Huge January Sale. Get unique gifts at jaw dropping prices like USB heated gloves, ABC cookie cutters, marshmallow blaster, and lots more. One of my favorites is the You Are Here Doormat.

6 Device Electronics Charger: This little beauty is going to simplify a lot of lives. It’s six tentacles contain “six adapters that fit most portable devices, allowing an entire briefcase-full of electronic office tools to be fully powered in an average of two hours”. Comes with a regular and car charger so that you can also power up on the go.

Roomba 500 Series Robot Vacuum: It’s December 2007, and jet packs are still not available yet. The next best thing would definitely be the cleaning robots available from iRobot. Not only is the new 500 series vastly improved from earlier models, but there are also robots that mop your floors, vacuum up your shop, and clean your gutters. Also, with no AI chip* there’s no threat of your Roomba leading an electronic revolt. *(You’ll need iRobot Create developers kit for that)

Chaotic-Artistic Gadget Organizer: Shopping for an oxymoron? This beautiful tangle of wires is named Harry, and he is as unique and tech savvy as his future owner. Inside his guts you can have fun nestling not just gadgets, but keys, wallets, and whatever else you’re likely to throw on the table as soon as you get home.

DIY Laptop Sleeve/Bag: The laptop bags that we featured in our Indie Christmas part 1 post were amazing, but sometimes totally custom is the way to go. Let your laptop lover design every detail of their bag with the Skooba customizable sleeve that also cleverly transforms into a handled bag.

Bluetooth Rear View Mirror: Between cell phone laws and sloppy drivers, Bluetooth devices continue to prove themselves invaluable for traveling. The only question is, which will make you look crazier: talking to an earbud or talking to your rearview mirror?

USB Podcast Studio Kit: Blogging is so 2006. All the cool kids (and pretty much everyone else) know that podcasting is where its at. With this kit, give your nouveau podcaster “everything needed for crystal clear audio recording and editing”, packed up all cool into an aluminum briefcase.

Check back in a couple days for some last minute gift ideas in our Gadget Gift Roundup Part 2.

For other novel ties with a techie flair check out ThinkGeek’s “Ties Suck” Tie and their Power Tie.

Fast forward a few years and someone finally got it right! The Laser Star Projector is not a toy and promises to “fill any room from the tiniest bedroom to the largest warehouse with a crystal clear animated star display“. Yes, it’s animated, too! You’ll see thousands of green laser stars and blue clouds (along with the occasional shooting star) that are constantly moving and morphing. Everyone who sees it in person supposedly has an OMG moment, and I can’t wait to try it out for myself.

OK, I may not have a jetpack or servant robot yet, but this kind of technology will pacify me for now.

Also available @ Think Geek

$189 (with Free Shipping @ Perpetual Kid)

$14.99

The Polarity Game is part skill and part strategy. The skill portion is easy to overcome with a little practice, and then you can delve into the strategy part for some long lasting fun. The goal is to get more of the magnetic pieces to stack in your favor than your opponent. This is difficult to do because of the chaos that ensues when dealing with multiple magnetic fields on the board.

After reading the well written description at ThinkGeek and the user reviews at Are You Game I get the feeling this game will stay in our game closet for years to come.

I’m a little leary about the fact that this extends your faucet quite a bit (2.25 inches), but if you have the room in your sink, then I’d definitely join the cool kids on the block and get one. Midnight trips to the bathroom, tooth brushing, even simple face washing would become fun just by using this technological marvel. This LED faucet light attachment comes with two universal adapters for use with almost any standard faucet in the USA. Be sure to check out the customer action shots to see all the fun others are having.

$12.99 – $19.99