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It certainly isn’t the first Star Wars-themed version of Monopoly, but Hasbro’s latest edition is the first to ditch that classic square board. In its place is a round-shaped board that has players trying to build bases on a variety of different planets instead of buying up fancy properties. In the original version of Monopoly…
Bloomberg Businessweek recently toured National Audio Company, a shop in Springfield, Missouri and one of the last and definitely the largest remaining manufacturers of the classic audio cassette tape. It’s almost adorable to see all the old machines whirring to pump out tapes that you thought no longer existed. Surprisingly and improbably, NAC made more…
Labor Day Weekend is one of the busiest times at Yellowstone National Park, and its famous geyser, Old Faithful, reels in 90% of the park’s 3.6 million annual visitors. To keep that geyser reliably spewing steam and water 140 feet into the air every hour or two well into the future, the park is surrounding…
Working under the assumption that Star Wars fans have an unlimited supply of nostalgia and funds, Pottery Barn has priced its new Millennium Falcon bed at $4,000. So have fun explaining to your kids why they’ll have to choose between a fancy bed or college. The bed is hand-painted, though, and made from real hardwood…
The premise of Catch Phrase is pretty simple: a player is given a word or phrase, and must then use any other words in the English language to get other player to guess it. But since this Falcon-shaped version only serves up phrases from the Star Wars universe, it might be slightly easier to play—if…
Building a hunter-killer robot that is programmed to terminate an entire species is normally the job of the bad guys. But when said species is the crown-of-thorns starfish, which feeds off coral, that robot is actually fulfilling a vital mission. The crown-of-thorns is a serious problem for coral reef — it’s a difficult-to-kill pest, the…
Hordes of party-minded hipsters are heading out to Black Rock City this weekend for the annual Burning Man festival — possibly as many as 70,000, if past growth trends hold. And according to British seismologist Paul Denton, that’s enough frenzied dancing feet to generate a small earthquake measuring about 0.5 on the Richter scale. That…
If you’ve been following our coverage of what Lego has in store for the new Star Wars movie, today’s reveal probably doesn’t bring too many surprises. But at least we now have official pricing info. However, Lego is slowly revealing these sets one-by-one throughout the day. So you’ll want to check back periodically as we…
If you’d rather Google the weird thing growing on your hand than go see your friendly neighbourhood healthcare professional, good news: Google is announcing support for a bunch more medical conditions, without having to ever leave search results. Illnesses have ben part of Google’s Knowledge Graph, the thing that pops up relevant information right into…
Whether you’ll be hitting the stores at midnight, or waiting until the crack of dawn to begin your The Force Awakens toy hunt, try and remember that this will be the first Star Wars collecting adventure for some kids, so try not to trample any little ones as you reach for that last Rylo Ken.…
Now don’t get us wrong, we’re not advocating bank robbery as an easy way to resolve your financial difficulties. We’re just really looking forward to the first security camera footage of a perp using this electronic Chewbacca mask to hide their identity behind authentic Wookiee roars. Available now for 30 well-spent dollars, this battery-powered mask…
Second only to Lego as the worst possible thing to step on in bare feet (see Home Alone) the Micro Machine brand has made various random appearances since Revenge of the Sith left theaters. But it’s returning with a vengeance for The Force Awakens with a line of new and classic vehicles. The most interesting…
We haven’t seen more than a couple teasers, a trailer, and a few TV spots for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but it already seems clear that BB-8 is going to be a fan favorite alongside R2-D2. But if Sphero’s $150 self-balancing BB-8 toy is too rich for your blood, Hasbro’s got you covered. For…
In addition to a line of character cars that sees Star Wars characters mashed up with hot rods, trucks, and convertibles, Hot Wheels also has a line of tiny but wonderfully detailed spaceships including everything from Poe’s new X-Wing to a gold-plated version of Fett’s Slave I. And for the imaginationally-challenged Hot Wheels is even…
What would Star Wars be without all of those crazy intergalactic weapons like blasters and lightsabers? It wouldn’t be a ‘war’ and there definitely wouldn’t be a reason for Nerf to create a bunch of new dart guns. So deep down, we’re hoping that peace never actually comes to that far away galaxy. The most…
One of the things that sets Star Wars apart from all of the other space operas that have come and gone are its wonderful ships and vehicles. The iconic X-wing is easily as recognizable as Darth Vader is, so of course The Force Awakens is going to usher in a whole hanger full of new…
We’ve brought you lots of custom-built X-Wing and Millennium Falcon drones, but for those of who don’t know the difference between a servo and a Dremel, these new flying toys from Air Hogs will let you easily fly a couple of classic Star Wars spaceships. For amateur pilots the $110 Millennium Falcon quadcopter might be…
Not sure if you can pull off a full Chewbacca hoodie? This Chewbacca backpack is a nice compromise because the furry hood is detachable for those times when you’re not waiting in line with hundreds of other understanding Star Wars fans. The back is covered in faux fur, partly because it helps keep the backpack’s…
Sphero’s BB-8 will undoubtedly be one of the most sought-after toys heading into the holidays, but it turns out it’s not the only company who’s figured out how to bring BB-8 to life. This larger version of the droid isn’t remote control, but it can still roll, talk, and interact with kids through simple voice…
It was a historic moment in meteorology late last week, when three Category 4 storms were simultaneously spotted marching across the Pacific. As if that wasn’t ominous enough, a tropical depression has just added itself to the mix. Yesterday, NASA’s GOES satellite captured this beautifully ominous image (below) of one typhoon (Kilo), one hurricane (Jimena),…
