For trendy geeks looking for a way to liven up their surroundings (whether that’s their office cubicle, their bedroom, or their own body), ThinkGeek.com almost always delivers. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed not to find something worth your money in one of the online store’s many categories.Tagged with the boldly efficient motto “Stuff for smart masses,” ThinkGeek knows its audience well. Anyone who has spent time with Internet message boards, technology help desks, or cult classic video games and movies will recognize many of the products. Just for starters, here are a few products you can own today:
- Wi-Fi Detector Shirt: The design is a signal tower with five bars, which actually glow based on the strength of the Wi-Fi signal in the area. The decal can be removed when washing is necessary, and the whole thing runs off three AAA batteries which are tastefully concealed in a pocket inside the shirt.
- USB Laser Guided Missile Launcher: Maybe you’ve been suffering through interminable office warfare, plagued by NERF darts and rubber bands. This launcher connects to your computer’s USB port and allows you to aim and unleash a hefty barrage of missiles at nearby cubicles. The launcher can pivot 180 degrees around and 45 degrees up.
- Doctor Who Cell Phone Alert Charms: For fans of the popular (and long-running) British science-fiction television series, these cell phone charms are sure to be a hit. They come in three varieties, featuring the TARDIS phone booth vehicle, a cyborg Cyberman from the planet Mondas, or a genetically manipulated mutant cyborg Dalek (voted the all-time greatest monster in a 2010 survey of SFX magazine). The charms attach to your cell-phone and, whenever a call is received, spin and light up.
- Heat Changing Arcade Mugs: These mugs are targeted at those need to liven up their caffeine consumption. Based off the popular 1980s arcade games Pac Man and Space Invaders (referred to as the non-copyrighted titles Pac Boy and Space Intruders, respectively), the mugs appear with only a few designs when cool. Add hot coffee (or another hot beverage), however, and they come to life, just as if you put a quarter in.
For those interested in the story behind ThinkGeek, the whole thing started as a Virginia-based ISP in 1995. The innovative line of products soon followed and eclipsed ThinkGeek’s original purpose. Shortly after launching the new site on Friday the 13th, 1999, the site was slashdotted (bottom line: the server crashed) and was later acquired by Andover.Netnow known as Geeknet. In addition to ThinkGeek, Geeknet also includes slashdot.org, sourceforge.net, linux.com, and freshmeat.net, which are all some pretty good geek sites in their own right. ThinkGeek definitely stands out among them, however. Be sure to check on April 1 for the site’s annual selection of gag productssome of which are popular enough to be produced, including a Tauntaun sleeping bag based off the famous scene from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.