Gizmodo: Balls

400,000 Bouncy Black Balls Invade Reservoir to Save Los Angeles From Cancer Water

jesusdiaz — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:45:00 EDT

While yesterday the world was ogling over the iPhone 3G black body, some people were just awing over black balls. 400,000 of them. Black balls everywhere, bouncing, swinging, cavorting, happily hopping down the side of the Ivanhoe Reservoir with two objectives. First, to fight bromate by stopping sunlight, which forms this carcinogenic component mixing the chlorine and bromide in the water. Second, to let me use "bouncy black balls" in a headline.

It took 30 minutes to unload all the balls from 190 giant bags into the 10-acre, 58-million gallon water reservoir that serves 600,000 people in downtown and South L.A.

The move to deploy the balls—3,000,000 will follow soon—comes after Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials registered high levels of bromate between June and October 2007. Although these weren't dangerous enough to put the population in risk or call Jack Bauer, the department thought that it would better to be safe than sorry.

Head to the Los Angeles Times to watch the full video. [Nelson Environmental via LA Times—additional photos by Curbed]

Dude Takes a Tennis Ball to the Crotch at 50MPH for 'Science'

Adam Frucci — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:10:00 EDT

This poor bastard signed up as a volunteer for this "science" show and ended up having to stand with his junk in front of a tennis ball machine. The test? To see what happens to your body during a solid strike to the ol' hangin' brains.

Shockingly, his pulse rate went up a lot. That's about all the science they had the budget for, apparently, as they spent all the rest of their money on the hilarious ball-on-ball CGI animation and showing the poor idiot taking the shot about 25 times from different angles. This is reality TV at its best, folks: trying to justify intentionally nailing a guy in the balls with science and then forgetting to, you know, do anything scientific. [Glumbert]

Rotopault Kinetic Sculpture Is Mezmerizing

matt buchanan — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

About 30 seconds after I clicked play on this video of Brad Litwin's latest kinetic sculpture, Rotopault, I said "cool" and flicked my mouse to close the window. And then I just kept watching. It does the same thing over and over again: Launches a ball as it rotates, then catches the ball as it swings back around, without ever missing. Incredibly simple, but for some reason incredibly hypnotic, I think because the sounds it makes as it goes through the motions are precisely rhythmic. [Brad Litwin via BBG]

Teste Touch: Deez Nuts Are Made for Ticklin'

Benny Goldman — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Teste Touch, a humongous pair of testicles swinging from the ceiling, were a big hit at NYU's ITP showcase tonight. As you can see in the video, the nuts are designed to reflect a real scrotum, expanding and contracting based on the outside environment.

The Teste Touch's built-in temperature sensor lets it respond to heat like real testicles; when it's cold, the balls shrivel up like George Costanza's, and when it's warm, they look like something you'd find in a JCC steam room. When tickled or touched, the sac moves and giggles, and while this may not be totally accurate, it is entertaining.

Jason Krugman, Stella Kim, and Ben Chao, the three students who masterminded the whimsical Teste Touch, kept it pube-free on purpose; they wanted the balls to be friendly and huggable, and not, you know, gross or anything.
[TesteTouch]

Golf Guns for People with Disabilities or Complete Nutters

jesusdiaz — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT

We knew about the Golf Ball Launcher prototype, but now a company called Air Force Golf wants to actually sell a $795 300-yard range model, starting next month. But really, why stop at 300 yards when you can do 500 yards using an AR-15 magazine-fed automatic rifle or an M-11 semi-automatic pistol?

That's what the people from Bloom Automatic promise with their $45 adapter, which will launch golf balls as far as 500 yards, depending on the caliber of the gun. You just have to load a blank bullet, fire, and ducks will fall by the power of your balls. Or get it into the hole from tee box. And make ducks fall along the way. The adapter works in a variety of weapons, form a M1911 Colt pistol to the Russian SKS semi-automatic carbine. Scary looking, yes, but better golf balls than actual bullets.

Air Force Golf's launcher, however, works on compressed air and it looks more friendly in all-white. The developer came up with the idea after his dad had a stroke, "leaving him without the use of both his right arm and leg." He said that a few months later he thought that this was a good way for people with disabilities to "keep enjoying the greatest game ever played," even if it was going to be in a completely different way. [Bloom Automatic and Air Force Golf via UberGizmo]

The Specially-Made Jump That'll Throw a Truck Into a Backflip

Adam Frucci — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:30:00 EST

Last week I told you about how Rhys Millen plans to do a backflip in a truck on New Years Eve. Clearly, such a feat requires a specially-built jump, as you can't just lean back in a truck and have it do a flip. So here's a look at the jump they've build which includes a "flipper" near the top to help launch the truck into a rotation right at takeoff, presumable keeping the truck and giant-balled man inside safe to land right-side-up. The jump will be broadcast live on ESPN on New Years Eve and, presumably, will be all over YouTube the following day. [Red Bull Experiment]

Plasma Ball Night Light Makes Us Nostalgic For Bed Wetting

Jason Chen — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:20:20 EST

Our parents were too cheap to buy us one of those plasma balls that arc'ed "lightning" to your fingertips when touched, but this Plasma Bulb Night Light is a cheaper way to relive our childhood than to look on Craigslist for a some lady to breast feed us. For just $9.99, the night light keeps away demons at night while simultaneously throwing blue and purple lightning all over your room. No points for finding out what happens when you smash the glass and free all those latent electrons. [ThinkGeek via Uber Review]

Brando Goes Balls over Hubs, Card Readers

Jason Chen — Tue, 22 May 2007 19:30:32 EDT

It's ball day over at Brando, which is why they've just released a USB Ball Hub and a USB Ball Card Reader.

These are exactly like they sound: a USB card reader and a USB hub, both shaped like balls. The reader flilps up and open to reveal different ports to plug into and includes microSD, miniSD, and M2 support. The hub, on the other hand, is just a USB hub that lets you plug in things at different angles so they don't bump up against each other.

The last time we saw so much of Brando's balls was on the set of the original Superman. – Jason Chen

USB Hub [Brando]

USB Reader [Brando]

'The Floppy' Indoor Golf Balls

Travis Hudson — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 18:30:03 EDT

The name of this product sounds like the e-mails the usually fill up my spam folder, but The Floppy is actually an indoor-use golf ball. It is made out of a soft core and woven outer shell, but still feels like a real golf ball so that short game can still be practiced indoors—no chance in hell I'll be hitting the links with the downpour of rain that is sweeping the nation. $10 for a pack of three or $35 for a dozen. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via OhGizmo!]

Cat Toy Turned USB Hub?

Travis Hudson — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:00:29 EDT

This device look familiar? It should for cat owners like myself. I usually see toys like this lying around the floor or being gnawed on by a feline, but this device is not a cat toy, but rather a USB hub. The Soft Hub USB 2.0 is simply a spikey green ball with a few USB ports. Yes, just what I need. Plugging my expensive gadgets into a device that my cat wants to knock off the desk and play with. Great idea! –Travis Hudson

Spikey Soft USB Hub Drives Cats Crazy [Everything USB]

L'Anchrone: Amazing Clock Has Balls

Charlie White — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:42:10 EDT

This is one amazing clock. Called L'Anchrone, its pendulum is activated by the weight of falling ball bearings. The guy took well over 18 months to design and build this intricate masterpiece, going through multiple design convolutions and even consulting an old physics book from 1894 to figure out exactly how it should be done.

With all of the clinking and clanking noises this thing makes, it's certainly not the kind of clock you'd want in your bedroom, but it's just the kind of fascinating Rube Goldberg machine that becomes even more rare and exceptional as technology marches on. It's all mechanical, consisting of 1,600 parts weighing a total of 660 pounds. It's a beautiful work of art in motion. – Charlie White

L'Anchrone [Betrisey.ch, via Hacked Gadgets]

U of Nebraska Bills the RIAA for Wasted Time

Adam Frucci — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:55:00 EDT

The University of Nebraska isn't scared by the RIAA and their army of undead, soulless lawyers. No, they're refusing to hand over student data to the bullies, but what makes them even cooler is the fact that they're billing the RIAA for the time they've wasted. Hot damn, that takes balls.

Will the RIAA pay up? Doubtful, but this sends a clear message that the U of N isn't going to put up with their BS. First the ISPs, now the colleges. You just can't find an institution that'll bend over and take it, can you, RIAA? –Adam Frucci

TechDirt [via BoingBoing]

Glowing LED Balls Protect Your Zen

Travis Hudson — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 10:35:14 EST

These glowing balls are useful in a couple different ways. First and foremost, they can supposedly provide a zen atmosphere and act as a calming device. Secondly, and debatably more important, they allow me to make all of the "ball" puns that I could handle. The AIL-B120 and AIL-B130 will glow different colors depending on the ambient noises in the room. These balls are manufactured by ELPH, the Japanese company, and will likely never be hitting the North American shores. Doesn't matter, I think Americans have the ball situation under control. – Travis Hudson

The dancing LED balloons... [Akihabara]

Radar Golf Ball Finder

Travis Hudson — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 13:45:13 EDT

Isn't Labor Day weekend fantastic? Well it is great until you hit the links and lose your first ball. This little gadget might be the perfect companion on the golf course. This $250 kit includes 12 golf balls that have embedded microchips that capable of being located with the handheld radar golf ball finder. This will, by no means, help your worthless golf game, but it will make you spend less time digging through the forest trying to find your ball. Oh, and don't try to use these balls on the PGA tour, they aren't legal and Tiger will probably beat your ass if he finds out about it. – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Coolest-gadgets]

Bus Light/Write Mini - Bath Salt Replacement

Jason Chen — Sat, 13 May 2006 07:19:12 EDT

Boy, we wish we had our very own Brian Ashcraft from Kotaku right now to decipher all the Japanese on this page. Nevertheless, with our high tech Rosetta Stone we can see that this nifty bath salt replacement comes in six different colors (red blue green pink yellow purple).

Each one of these only costs $2.80, so collect all six and use them every day, like the site says. Unlike bath salts, these don't melt (we think), so you can keep on enjoying them when you clean yourself daily. You do wash daily, right?

Update: We weren't clear on this, but these aren't actually bath salts. They are little atmospheric lighting balls that have a soothing effect similar to bath salts. Gomennasai.

Light/write "bus pallet" [Banpresto]

Yes, That's Right, Power Balls

tgrumet — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 06:52:07 EST

Better balls, more power. That's what NanoDynamics came up with when it created its NDMX golf ball, which features a metal center to better distribute weight and keep the ball from over-rotating. This makes for a straighter drive that's less prone to accidental slicing or deviations from grass. Just $25 for three of these power balls, though let's face it, it doesn't help your swing, does it?

Power Balls [Fast Company]