1. I'm A Product Promotion Magnet

Every day my snail mailbox is filled with catalogs featuring some of the most interesting and unusual products imaginable. And it’s no different with my e mailbox, where I receive an average of 200 messages a day touting goods from the mostly normal to the extremely exotic. I also delight in surfing the web looking for sites that offer unique products.

Here are some of my favorite wonderful stuff vendors. Please take a minute to let me know about your favorites. I’ll publish your best soon.

Compelling Kits

Carl’s Electronics is one of my favorite haunts for out-of-the-ordinary educational toys. Though Carl’s sells some assembled test equipment, they’re really into kits, including new technologies, robotics, physics and computing. They even have a candy making kit. Ever since I built my first microcomputer (an Altair 8800) from a kit, I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for the build-it-yourself world. I love surfing Carl’s just looking at and drooling over the fantastic line of kits featured there.

All images and quoted text in this section courtesy of Carl’s Electronics.

Fuel Cell Car Runs On Water

Thames & Kosmos fuel cell kit

"Pour in the water and watch it separate into hydrogen and oxygen, forming a gas to power your vehicle across the floor. Now that we have your attention, roll up your sleeves and find out more through experiments and demonstrations you can do on your own...."

The fuel cell

"Fuel cells are one of the most promising means of producing energy in the future. Because they do not consume fossil fuels they are considered environmentally friendly. Automobile manufacturers are already experimenting successfully with this technology and it is widely believed that fuel cells will become the energy source for automobiles in the near future."

"30 Experiments include: How to build a solar-powered car; Effects of direct and indirect radiation; Characteristics of a solar module; Electrolysis and its effect on water; Oxy-hydrogen test; How to construct and load a reversible fuel cell; Decomposition of water in the fuel cell; Qualitative and quantitative analysis of gas in a fuel cell; How efficient is electrolysis?; How light influences electrolysis; Solar electrolysis; Fuel cell-powered car. Add your own experiments!"

"Kit contains: Complete reversible fuel cell (hydrocycle system), Wire, Motor, Chassis, Axle, Gas collector, 4 Wheels, Solar panel with support, Syringe, Tube, Digital multimeter, Test tube, Protective goggles, Labels, Bag of small parts for fuel cell, Bag of small electronic parts, Comprehensive lab manual with 30 experiments and demonstrations, (Additionally required: 1 quart of distilled water)."

The Thames & Kosmos Fuel Cell Kit sells for $124.95.

Join our discussion on this topic