Gizmodo: oddities

Confronting Your Digital Doppelganger Deranges and Disturbs

Mark Wilson — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:20:00 EDT

I've always figured that if you spent enough time on the internet, you could discover anything. And when I came across my apparent long lost twin earlier today, my theory proved eerily true.

I found him on Kotaku as part of what appears to be a promo shot for some Call of Duty title on the Wii. And I had to check the photo a few times through the morning, just to assure some nagging part of my brain that even though I've written for Kotaku and been behind the scenes with Activision, no, I've never posed for an Activision photo shoot.

Even now I'm just beginning to be convinced, and only due to my diligent study.

He has my hair (both the curly mop on my head and the Ben Affleck from Chasing Amy wannabe thing on my face), but there's something almost imperceptibly off. He has a stronger jaw that drives his visage to appear confident, fierce even. While you can see me on the right, tentatively trying Wii Music for the first time, you see other world me, confident me, attacking COD like I'm going to kill the TV.

Would this oddworld me win in a bar fight, a round of Wii Sports, or an IQ test? Would my wife find him attractive? None of these possibilities are all that fun to contemplate.

In the digital realm, you become accustomed to copies. Be it Bittorented MP3s or your Mona Lisa desktop wallpaper, a copy of almost anything is accessible in moments that's indistinguishable from the real thing. Seeing a copy of yourself doesn't feel nearly as convenient. It's startling, and it calls to question, just how original am I after all? Just how "me" is my me?

I also don't own red shoes, though after seeing this photo, that's a situation that I clearly must remedy.

Bicycle for Two Seats Riders Next to Each Other

Adam Frucci — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:50:00 EDT

Bicycles built for two seem like they'd be romantic, but how do you decide who gets to sit in front? It's clearly the better position, as you get a view of the open road rather than of your bikemate's sweaty back. That's why this strange mutant two-person bike makes sense… sort of. I mean, it seems like just riding separate bikes would be easiest, but what do I know? [eBay via Spulch]

Girlfriend Pillow Offers Flat-Chested Comfort

Charlie White — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:53:14 EDT

Add this Girlfriend Pillow to that Lap Pillow we showed you a few years ago, and you could end up with a whole girl, minus all that bothersome yapping. This one takes the concept a step further, quivering with delight thanks to its internal vibrator that runs on two D batteries.

Looks like they put the double Ds in the wrong place. Too bad the designers chose to make this $14.99 pillow so flat-chested. What about that old saying, "Anything over a mouthful is wasted"? We disagree. In fact, we're hoping the next version will contain a couple of double-D-sized flasks, strategically located.

Product Page [Collections Etc.]

Beethoven Clock, Bringing the Grouchy Old Composer Into the 21st Century

Charlie White — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 19:30:00 EDT

Here's a two-thirds scale bust of Ludwig Van, wearing a pair of Vuarnets and reminding us of what time it is. Judging from his expression, it looks like the old master isn't too joyful joyful about wearing these shades; he could thinking about committing some of the ultra-viol, my little droogies. We think this statue looks more like Bill Murray than Beethoven, anyway.

This bust/clock has now become a collector's item—there were only 100 of them produced at an undisclosed price. Dang. We were getting ready to place this one right next to our statue of Mozart in a bikini. – Charlie White

Beethoven Clock [Normal, via The Uber Review]

Weird Combo of the Day: Free Batteries With Your Booze

Charlie White — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 09:10:08 EST

We've heard of getting a free ice cream scooper with the purchase of two boxer briefs, a free calculator with a pair of socks, and now you can get a couple of free Maxell batteries when you buy a bottle of Japanese grog, or as they call it, sake. Is this some kind of ancient samurai hangover cure?

C'mon, you're invited to send us a picture of the next Weird Combo of the Day! – Charlie White

Thanks, John!

Ping Pong Ball Prowess: Miraculous Shot After Shot

Charlie White — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 13:36:21 EST

We're just wondering how long it took this guy to perfectly nail so many shots of those ping-pong balls into a variety of glasses. Just look at some of those ricochet shots. The entire video is just downright remarkable.

Another amazing video involving quarters and shot glasses, after the jump:

These videos must've taken an extraordinary amount of time to produce, but in our book, it was well worth it. – Charlie White

Ping Pong Cup Madness [Shoutfile]
Quarters - Amazing [Revver]

JLr7: Watch From Another Planet?

Charlie White — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 08:35:44 EST

Here's another one of those cryptic watches that make you guess what time it is, the JLr7 by e35 whose little J and L-shaped LEDs seem to light up at random. Even its name seems arbitrary, but check out the top row of LEDs and you'll see: JLr7. How does it work? The first three rows of lights show the hours in a 12-hour format, the fourth displays quarter hours and the rest of the rows show minutes and seconds.

This must be how they tell time on another planet. Adding to its weirdness is a setting that lets you trigger an automatic animation every 15 minutes between 6 p.m. and midnight that makes it look like it's going bananas. It looks positively otherworldly with its gunmetal finish and alien characters; get it with your choice of blue or green LEDs. It's at TokyoFlash now for ¥9800, or $85.22. Check out more pics, plus a diagram showing how to read this puzzling watch:

Bizarre. I thought this would cost more than $85. – Charlie White

JLr7 by e35 [TokyoFlash]

Fishy Extension Cord

Charlie White — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 16:24:00 EST

Something's fishy about this extension cord with the male plug at its head and female receptacle on the other end. Not sure what kind of fish this is, but we're thinking it must be an electric eel.

Better tuck this sucker away somewhere so you don't accidentally step on it. Check out the site for a variety of fish-inspired oddities. – Charlie White

More fishy stuff [Novmichi, via Spluch]

Jeep and Mitsubishi Sharing Alarm Codes?

Charlie White — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 14:11:27 EDT

Are Jeep and Mitsubishi using the same car alarm codes? Check out this video, where our beloved bloodbrother Ray Wert at Jalopnik wants to get into his Jeep, hits the unlock button on his remote key fob, and the alarm goes off in the Mitsubishi next to his Jeep. WTF? Ray tells us that Mitsubishi and Daimler Chrysler, Jeep's maker, once shared components, so maybe this is just a coincidence.

This happened to me one time, where a valet parker brought me the wrong car, an identical model to mine in which my keys actually worked. Could happen. Anyway, car alarms are a big pain in the ass; they make lots of unwelcome and unexpected noises when not needed, and any self-respecting car thief can defeat them, anyway. But at least they could all have unique codes. – Charlie White

Breaking Odds! Wert Encounters Strangeness In Detroit Parking Garage [Jalopnik]