The founders of Nanodots (small spherical magnets) have created the world’s largest magnetic sculpture, replicating the Golden Globes awards statue made from more than 550,000 gold Nanodots. The sculpture, which was crafted in a Golden Globes gift suite in Hollywood, weighs more than 600 lbs! This sculpture has surpassed the previous world record of 32,786 magnetic dots. Guinness World Records Limited presented Nano Magnetics with the certificate of “World’s Largest Magnetic Sculpture” on Friday.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: magnets

Here’s the Golden Globe award I’d like to win! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 17, 2011 at 9:57 pm.

Well, I did it. I went ahead and bought a set of the Tegu blocks “for my son”. If you will recall, these are wood blocks with magnets in them. This lets you create some unique structures with the box. The front of the box displays a rooster created out of the blocks. The options have changed a little since my post in August, so lets take a look at the options.

Sets

The blocks now come in new 8-piece set. So the three sets include:

• 8 Block Pocket Set (comes with pouch) $28.57
• 26 Block Discovery Set $55-$70
• 52 Block Original set $100-$125

Finishes

The blocks now come in three finishes, with an additional combo pack:

• Natural (the least expensive)
• Color Tints (mix of colors)
• Jungle (includes natural, mahogany and green-tinted blocks)
• Mahogany (the most expensive)

We purchased the Natural Discovery set. Unfortunately we purchased it before they started offering a free Travel Tote with purchase, but that’s what you get as an early adopter.

What’s in the Box

The Discovery Set consists of:

• 12 Cubes
• 4 Small Planks
• 10 Large Planks

The original set has 52 blocks, and contains some blocks that are thicker than the two planks and not quite as long as the large one.

I liked the packaging. It is simple, efficient, but looks nice. The blocks have a very nice finish and the edges are rounded. They are, however, a little smaller than I expected. If they had had the colored and Jungle sets when we ordered ours, I think I would have gone for the Jungle. The Green and Mahogany blocks would have made a nice combination with the natural blocks. However, I do like the natural finish.

I have not spent a lot of time with them. I did break them out before wrapping them up in the interest of science… uh… yeah, that’s why. They are fun to play with. The magnets make for an interesting effect. I built a wing-less rooster:

I placed one of my son’s blocks next to the rooster to give an idea of scale. The cubes are 1 inch square and feel small. The comb of the rooster as a little tricky, it wanted to rotate, but then again, it is fun to try to get it to hold the shape. Check out their web site to see a running video of using the blocks. As I am writing this post they are running the 12 days of Christmas with all the gifts built in Tegu blocks.

Unfortunately, they have also made that their home page, so I can’t see where to get to some of the other cool pages they had that displayed a number of creations, and more story of the blocks. You can get a lot of that information from a downloadable PDF off that page, but that is not as nice as being able to browse as before.

The Company

A big part of their story is how they make them. They are made in a factory in Tegucigalpa, Honduras where they are committed to paying a living wage to their workers, and harvesting wood responsibly. Again, go to their site to read more about them.

Construction

I SO want to take these apart to look inside, but they are too pretty (and too expensive) for me to do that. Here is a nice closeup:

It looks like the cut them down the middle, and insert the magnets. The seams match up remarkably well, and that block was the most visible in my set.

I really like these blocks. They are a little pricey, but I think they have a a quality and uniqueness that justifies the cost. It is a great twist on the classic block set, and feels like something that my son we be able to share with his son some day.

Filed in categories: Geek Toys, Kid Gadgets, Reviews

Tagged: blocks, magnets, toys

Tegu Magnetic Wooden Blocks Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 15, 2010 at 11:00 am.

One of the great things about being a geek and a dad is the new justification for purchasing that being a parent gives you. Sure, my wife did not really buy that the Star Wars Bobble-Heads I bought on Woot were for the boy, but it helped me justify the purchase.

My latest interest is a new product (at least to me) from Tegu. They look to be simple wooden blocks, but they add a wonderful little secret underneath… magnets. This provides opportunities for some very interesting constructions.

The blocks are available in two sets and two finishes. The Original Set includes 52 blocks in four shapes. It runs $100 in natural finish, or $125 in Mahogany.

They also have a less expensive Discovery Set that contains 26 blocks in three shapes. It runs $55 in natural finish or $70 in Mahogany.

Here is a picture from their site that shows a plane using the natural and mahogany blocks together:

I have a feeling this will make it on my Son’s Amazon wishlist for Christmas. They recommend the kit for Ages 3+, as it does contain small magnets. (via Dadlabs)

Filed in categories: Geek Toys, Kid Gadgets

Tagged: blocks, magnets, toys

Tegu Blocks originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 17, 2010 at 11:57 am.

Add some fun to your desk with the Galileo Gravitator from ScientificsOnline.  The Gravitator comes with four spheres decorated to look like Saturn, the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter.  The spheres float within the brass-colored cage of the Gravitator.  The base of the Gravitator have LEDs to illuminate the suspended globe, so it can be used as a nightlight.  The Gravitator is $59.99.  (I think we can safely ignore the claim that the desk toy can help us prove Galileo’s theory that all objects in a vacuum fall at the same rate, however!)

Filed in categories: Geek Toys, News

Tagged: Geek toys, magnets

Galileo Gravitator originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 17, 2010 at 10:17 am.

Desk DOTs are a set of six .79 inch (20mm) ceramic magnets. Use them as unique paper clips, fridge magnets, or a fun geek toy to keep you amused while at work. They remind me of a giant version of the CyberCube.

Filed in categories: Geek Toys

Tagged: desk toys, magnets, Spotlight Gadgets

You really need a set of balls – magnetic ones originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 8, 2009 at 10:00 am.

I’ve loved playing with magnets since I was a kid. I remember that anytime something in the house would break that might have a motor in it, I would snatch it out of the trash, dismantle it and retrieve the magnets from the motor. I even had a little metal fishing tackle box with tools and scavenged magnets that I kept under my bed. I was an odd child. ) Now that I’m an adult, I’m still odd and I still love  magnets. That’s why I was really excited to be able to review two magnetic puzzle sets. One from NeoCube and one from CyberCube.

CyberCube

The CyberCube is made of 216, 6mm, Neodymium spherical magnets otherwise known as rare earth magnets.

It comes packaged in a simple but nice presentation box in the shape of a 6×6 cube. Unlucky for me, the CyberCube was shipped to my day job and when my boss saw it, he took it out of the box and wrecked the cube shape. At the time, I didn’t know how to get it back into that shape. I actually had to email the company and ask for directions so that I could take the image that you see above. )

Each magnet is about the size of a BB. These magnets are extremely strong and it takes a bit of effort to detach one from the group. Often, when you pull one magnet, you come away with a whole string. In a weird way, it almost makes the group of magnets feel like one living thing.

What’s the purpose of these magnet sets? There isn’t one really… It’s a fidget object. Something to keep your hands and mind busy when you’re bored or need a break from some other task. You can make all sorts of shapes. Above you see a cube in process.

Impressive huh? The videos on  the CyberCube site make this lowly cube look like nothing.

If you set this on your desk at work, people won’t be able to help themselves and will have to pick it up. It’s as if it were a magnet. Sorry, couldn’t resist ;o)

Price: $39.99

NeoCube

NeoCube is another magnet set that uses rare earth magnets. It doesn’t come in a nice box like the CyberCube, but you do get a few extra magnets just in case you lose a few. While CyberCube only sells one set of magnets, NeoCube has a 6×6 cube set (216 magnets) which they call the NeoCube Alpha set and a NeoCube Mini set, that can create a 3×3 cube (27 magnets). You can also buy both sets together if you’re a complete magnet maniac.

Besides the difference in the the number of magnets per set, the only other difference between the NeoCube and CyberCube is the size of each magnet. The NeoCube magnets are smaller.

I didn’t have a set of calipers handy to measure the exact size, but here you see the CyberCube 6×6 cube on the Left and the NeoCube 6×6 on the right.

The NeoCube magnets perform the same as the CyberCube magnets in that you can create all sorts of shapes with them.

So far the shapes that I try to create are super lame. But both the CyberCube and NeoCube sites have videos with someone showing how to create things. They make it look so easy ;o) It’s really not that easy for me – at least not yet.

Price: Alpha and Mini set $34.95, Alpha set $29.95, Mini set $13.95

Summary

Which set should you buy? The combination Alpha / Mini set from NeoCube is the better buy because you get 35 more magnets than the CuberCube set for a cheaper price. The only issue might be the size of the magnets… the Neo’s are smaller. Heck, buy a set from both company’s and then go wild and stick them altogether! Regardless as to which set you might choose, they will keep you entertained for hours and make a great gift for your favorite geek. Anyone else out there have a “thing” for magnets?

Filed in categories: Geek Toys

Tagged: magnets, Puzzle, Toy

NeoCube and CyberCube Neodymium Magnet Sets Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 16, 2008 at 9:00 am.