Awesome Leisure

We’ve seen cool toys that look like ray guns but none that fire a ray. After building a Halo-inspired plasma knife, Jay from the Plasma Channel returned to his workbench to create a raygun that shoots powerful bursts of static electricity from its tip. The 120,000-volt, 3D-printed gizmo produces an arc that becomes visible when shorting it directly to ground.

We used to play the hell out of the Sega Dreamcast game Crazy Taxi. The ride-and-drive simulator Taxi Life is a far more sedate take on the same. The sim puts you behind the wheel of a cab to pick up passengers in Barcelona, Spain, and also to create and manage your own taxi company. The game hits PS5, Xbox, and Steam on 3.7.2024.

This two-piece metal planet puzzle from Hanayama is more challenging than it looks. Designer Masui Ohno created this brainteaser that asks you to solve what should be a simple problem: release the silver planet from inside of its golden ring by twisting, turning, and pushing its bumpy surface through the jagged inner ring. Measures appx 2″ across.

Musician Alex Melton is known for taking popular songs and changing up their genres. His cover of Van Halen’s Jump is unlike any we’ve heard before. His toned-down indie pop arrangement of the track imagines what the song might have been like if John Mayer or Hozier sang it. Melton’s version could totally be a hit on its own merits.

There’s an art to infusing spirits with spices and fresh ingredients. This 1800 Tequila does it the right way, starting with the distiller’s signature double-distilled 1800 Blanco Tequila made from 100% Weber blue agave, then infusing it on site using ripe cucumbers an jalapeños to impart natural flavors without pulp residue.

Bill Skarsgård stars in this bonkers action/dark-comedy about “Boy” – a man who seeks revenge after his family is murdered by an evil empire that publicly executes dissidents as a form of entertainment. H. Jon Benjamin (Bobs Burgers, Archer) plays Boy’s inner voice who drives our anti-hero to brutally dispense of his enemies. In theaters 4.26.24.

French vocalist Sarah Schwab is a master of musical impressions. We’re not familiar with all of the singers she mimics, but her imitations of Kate Bush, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Cher, Cyndi Lauper, Sia, and others are uncanny. Check out her Instagram channel for more, including her take on Bohemian Rhapsody.

A while back, we checked out a complicated machine that used LEGO Technic parts to pull a chain around a bunch of gears. That one was built by Brick Technology. The Brick Machines took the idea and expanded on it with a ridiculously complicated machine driven by a continuous chain built from 1,184 LEGO chain links.

Magician Nate Jester shows off a neat card trick by Paul Gertner in which he takes a shuffled deck and then progressively unshuffles it into suits and then puts the entire deck back in suit and numerical order. For added flourish, the word “UNSHUFFLED” gradually appears on the edge of the cards. Here’s the same trick performed for a live audience.

The King of the Hammers is perhaps the most balls-out off-road event on the planet. Each year, drivers and spectators gather in the California desert for two weeks of high-horsepower, dirt-throwing, rock-climbing action. Monster Energy put together this fun 5-minute reel to look at what you can expect if you’ve never attended.

The Boston Typewriter Orchestra is hoping to score a spot on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. Their 2024 submission to the popular show is this mechanical tour de force titled Selectric Funeral, a rhythmic and enigmatic track performed on four vintage typewriters, bells, and effects pedals. It’s also their first song to incorporate an electric typewriter.

Orgeat syrup is best known for its use in the Trader Vic’s classic Mai Tai. It’s usually made with sugar and almonds, but El Guapo’s special Creole Orgeat switches things up with organic Louisiana pecans. A delicious taste of New Orleans mixed with rum and fruit juice or with whiskey and bitters for a unique Old Fashioned. It’s also tasty in coffee drinks.

Celebrate your love for Star Trek with these official playing cards, artfully designed by Theory11. The cards come packed in a dark or light silver-foiled tuck box, with illustrations of Starfleet officers from The Original Series and the latest Trek movies on each face card. The backs have a symmetrical pattern inspired by the original Enterprise NCC-1701.

After testing various LEGO door mechanisms, the Brick Experiment Channel is back with another series of engineering tests using LEGO and Technic parts. While most of their brick-built elevator and lift designs are motorized, one of them runs on pneumatic power. That scissor lift and rotating lift inspired by Scotland’s Falkirk Wheel are really neat.

LEGO has made lots of Millennium Falcon sets, from the tiny 92-piece microfighter to the massive 7541-piece version. But this 921-piece mid-size Millennium Falcon (#75375) is the perfect weekend build and doesn’t need a big display space. The spaceship measures 9.5″ L x 7.5″ W x 5″ H, and includes a stand and LEGO Star Wars 25th anniversary plaque.

The Daft Punk track Face to Face brilliantly chopped up samples from 20 songs from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Music producer Nickster challenged himself to create a new version of the track using newer samples from songs by LCD Soundsystem, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, MGMT, and others. We’re impressed with how he captured the spirit of the original.