Ukraine accordion duo Vasyl and Viktor Kravchuk turn in an impressive cover of John Williams’ Imperial March from the Star Wars saga. We can imagine Darth Vader making a typically grand entrance to the music, while an army of stormtroopers dance the polka.

Sending cargo and ships into space is extremely expensive and resource-intensive. But there’s an idea that’s been bandied about that would use endlessly-moving tethers to catapult ships into space from Earth’s orbit. Kurzgesagt explains how this relatively simple concept could dramatically improve space travel.

We’ve had some experience around here driving around in microcars, but we’ve never seen anything quite like this custom-built remake of a 1970 Chevy Nova, powered by a Kawasaki motorcycle engine. It looks like a pain to get in and out of, but a blast to drive.

Two musicians with reggae riddims coursing through their veins dropped by the NPR Music studio to turn in a great mini concert featuring the tracks Englishman in New York, Don’t Make Me Wait, and a mashup of Shape of My Heart and Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD. We were hoping for a little Boombastic or It Wasn’t Me though.

Induku’s miniature chess sets are laser cut from baltic birch plywood, and make a great stocking stuffer of bonus gift. Once you pop the pieces out, they hold in place in the cutouts on the board. The set can also be personalized with an engraving up to 40 characters.

Husband and wife design team Gareth Smith & Jenny Lee’s typographic short film plays a clever visual trick, simulating the physics of what might happen if all of the letters on advertising signage started to break loose from their appropriate locations, and came to rest in totally haphazard ways.

Artist and designer Love Hultén shows off another one of his amazing custom builds. This time, he took a modern Korg Minilogue analog synthesizer, and built a Commodore SX-64-inspired portable wooden enclosure to house its electronics, then outfitted with cool orange knobs, and a matching keyboard in retro shades of tan and brown.

In this vintage 1959 newsreel from British Pathé, we go inside a UK factory where they transformed gold bars into incredibly thin sheets of gold leaf. According to the narrator, a single gold bar could cover 9000 square feet with the leaf it produced. We’ve got tendonitis just watching the guys doing the hand-hammering process.

FLUX, the guys behind the Delta 3D printer have a new product in the works – a desktop CO2 laser engraver and cutter that won’t break the bank. It’s designed for ease of use, yet is as capable as pro models, with on-board camera alignment and water cooling, along with optional autofocus and rotary capabilities for curved objects.

Artist Bert Hickman creates amazing organic works of art by firing a multimillion volt electron beam into acrylic. The powerful electrical jolt creates lightning bolt patterns inside the plastic. In addition to flat art, he also makes cubes, spheres, and even guitar bodies.

This mini pagoda from 1Man1Garage was inspired by classic Japanese architecture. It’s made from laser-cut birch, and comes flat-packed for you to assemble yourself. Load it with a tea light, and it’ll cast nifty shadows on your wall and tabletop. Measures 7″(h) x 6″(w) x 6″(d).

Smart guys Mark Rober and James Bruton show us how to game the system with engineering know-how. They recently collaborated on a special bowling ball that can consistently bowl strikes by simply leaning in the direction you want it to go after you release it down the alley.

YouTube has some pretty strict rules about including copyrighted music in videos, but if the snippets are short enough, you can get away with it. To see what he could get away with, remix artist Eclectic Method decided to make a whole new song entirely out of tiny bits of Jimi Hendrix tracks.

This beautifully-crafted desktop sculpture features a precision laser-etched map of the Milky Way, using data captured by the ESA’s Gaia mission. Its 5068 stars look particularly stellar when set on the LED-illuminated base, which projects its light into the heart of our galaxy. Measures 3″ in diameter, and runs on AAA batteries.

These rugged, waterproof power banks are great for keeping gadgets charged up with either a 5000 mAh or 7500mAh battery capacity. Plus, they double as an emergency LED flashlight and flashing SOS signal. Save an additional 15% in The Awesomer Shop with code BFSAVE15 (through 12/15/19).

It may not be Christmas quite yet, but it’s always a good time for candy. Sit back, relax and enjoy the fascinating process behind the creation of these colorful holiday treats, from machines that pull hot sugar, to ones that transform a 100 lb. block of candy into a thin and twisty rope.